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By . Mark Prigg . Air pollution in China and other Asian countries is causing storms in North America to become stronger and changing weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, a new Nasa study has claimed. Researchers found that pollutants are strengthening storms above the Pacific Ocean, which feeds into weather systems in other parts of the world. The effect was most pronounced during the winter, the team said. Scroll down for video . The Temple of Heaven in haze-covered Beijing: Air pollution in China and other Asian countries is causing storms in North America to become stronger and changing weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, a study suggests. The key to the changes in weather is the Pacific storm track. This represents a critical driver in the general global circulation by transporting heat and moisture around the world, the team said. The transfer of heat and moisture appears to be increased over the storm track downstream, meaning that the Pacific storm track is intensified because of the Asian air pollution outflow. Lead author Yuan Wang, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, said: 'There appears to be little doubt that these particles from Asia affect storms sweeping across the Pacific and subsequently the weather patterns in North America and the rest of the world. 'The effects are quite dramatic. 'The pollution results in thicker and taller clouds and heavier precipitation.' Northwest Pacific winter storms are now 10 percent stronger than they were 30 years ago, the team said. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the first study of its kind, scientists compared air pollution rates from 1850 to 2000 and found that anthropogenic (man-made) particles from Asia impact the Pacific storm track that can influence weather over much of the world. The team used detailed pollution emission data compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and looked at two scenarios: one for a rate in 1850 – the pre-Industrial era – and from 2000, termed present-day. By comparing the results from an advanced global climate model, the team found that anthropogenic aerosols conclusively impact cloud formations and mid-latitude cyclones associated with the Pacific storm track. 'The climate model is quite clear on this point,' said Wang. 'The aerosols formed by human activities from fast-growing Asian economies do impact storm formation and global air circulation downstream. Researchers found that pollutants are strengthening storms above the Pacific Ocean, which feeds into weather systems in other parts of the world, leading to heavier rainfall across North America . 'They tend to make storms deeper and stronger and more intense, and these storms also have more precipitation in them. 'We believe this is the first time that a study has provided such a global perspective.' In addition, Zhang says large amounts of aerosols and their long-term transport from Asia across the Pacific can clearly be seen by satellite images. The Pacific storm track represents a critical driver in the general global circulation by transporting heat and moisture, the team notes. The transfer of heat and moisture appears to be increased over the storm track downstream, meaning that the Pacific storm track is intensified because of the Asian air pollution outflow. 'Our results support previous findings that show that particles in the air over Asia tend to affect global weather patterns,' Zhang adds. 'It shows they can affect the Earth’s weather significantly.' | Pollutants are strengthening storms above the Pacific Ocean . These feed into weather systems in other parts of the world . Effect was most pronounced during the winter . Back to Mail Online home . Back to the page you came from . | 71e3bf9ff4d8b23862e1ecad594a0a9282770fc9 |
By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 10:28 EST, 24 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:42 EST, 24 July 2013 . Stefanie Janikiewicz (pictured outside court) was nearly three times the drink drive limit when she drove for around seven miles at a snails pace along the M55 . A teacher who drove the wrong way up a motorway after a wine and cocktails drinking session was freed by a judge today. Stefanie Janikiewicz, 25, was nearly three times the drink drive limit when she drove for around seven miles at a snails pace along the M55 towards Blackpool, Lancashire. When she was eventually stopped after seven calls to police from other motorists Janikiewicz stunned officers by admitting she thought she was on her way to Liverpool, around 55 miles away in the other direction, to speak to an ex-boyfriend. She travelled for much of her 38 minute journey along the hard shoulder 'at walking pace' and she had so much to drink that she could not remember what she had done. Janikiewicz, from Thurstaston, Wirral, admitted dangerous driving and drink driving at Preston Crown Court and could have faced up to two years in jail. She was given a six month sentence suspended for 18 months and was banned from the road for two years. She was also ordered to pay £350 costs. Judge Anthony Russell QC said she could go free because of her previous good character and the fact she was an 'impeccable person and popular teacher'. After the case Carole Whittingham, of the Campaign Against Drink Driving said: 'The judge's ruling is an abysmal decision and as far as I am concerned sends out totally the wrong message. I would call for a minimum five year ban and a jail sentence. 'A short suspended sentence shows the courts do not take drink driving seriously enough. It is so disappointing. Driving on the wrong side of the road can have catastrophic consequences. 'This woman is a teacher and is a role model to young people. What sort of message does the sentence send to those pupils?' Earlier Susan Carter, prosecuting, said the alert was raised on May 12 at midnight after police received seven telephone calls saying Janikiewicz was travelling in her Nissan Micra along the M55 heading towards Blackpool on the wrong side of the carriageway. She added: 'An officer was deployed and it transpired that the vehicle was first seen in the vicinity of Junction 30 of the M6 at 11:37pm, seven miles from where eventually she was stopped. 'A PC Braithwaite travelled in the third lane and saw the defendant travelling towards him at walking pace, the vehicle was stopped and the defendant appeared dazed and confused and smelt strongly of intoxicants. 'She provided a positive breath test at the roadside of 97mg in 100 ml of breath. The limit is 35mg. In interview she could give little explanation as to how she came to be travelling on the wrong side for such a long period.' She said that earlier in the day Janikiewicz had travelled from London to Manchester and had been drinking on the train. She had then gone for a meal in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, and drunk more alcohol before setting off in her car. Mrs Carter said: 'Liverpool is a journey which she says she had taken many times because her boyfriend lived there. There was no accident but the aggravating features are the length of time travelling in the wrong direction, she was on the road from 30 odd minutes, and the level of drink consumed.' Janikiewicz admitted dangerous driving and drink driving at Preston Crown Court (pictured). She was given a six month sentence suspended for 18 months and was banned from the road for two years . In mitigation the court heard Janikiewicz works for charity Teach First, which trains graduates to become inspirational teachers working in areas of deprivation. She was working with several schools in Greater Manchester, mainly in Bolton, alongside staff teachers to raise aspirations of pupils as well as their grades. Defence lawyer Virginia Hayton said: 'On that morning she had absolutely no intention of driving that day. She had travelled back on the train to Manchester, she lives in Didsbury. 'It is a miracle there was no accident or . even a near miss. It could have had terrible consequences not only for . others but also yourself' - Judge Anthony Russell QC . 'She had a couple of drinks on the train but had no intention of driving, she then went for a meal with her sister. Following an argument, she had little recollection of anything after that, whatever possessed her to get in her car she doesn't know. 'She is genuinely remorseful and grateful for the court allowing her to graduate. She is clearly an excellent student with Teach First. She hopes to return. She is clearly an asset to the education system and parents say she has turned their children's behaviour around. She is a popular teacher. 'She is aware that there is a custodial risk. She can see that it is such a serious offence which clearly crosses the custodial threshold. I ask you to suspend any custodial sentence. 'There was no excessive speed, she travelled little over seven miles the wrong way but it had taken her 38 minutes to do so. She has no recollection of the travelling. 'She must have travelling extremely slowly because it has taken her so long. There was no accident, she must have been crawling along the hard shoulder, it is an unlit road. 'One can only assume she was on the hard shoulder. Thankfully there was no accident and no one has been hurt, she could have killed others and herself. 'The impact of an immediate custodial sentence would be highly catastrophic. She has not touched alcohol since the offence.' Sentencing, Judge Anthony Russell QC, told the teacher: 'It is clear that you were driving for some considerable distance while completely unfit to do so. 'It is a miracle there was no accident or even a near miss. It could have had terrible consequences not only for others but also yourself. 'It was a serious case of dangerous driving. The other side of the coin is that you are an impeccable person and have become a popular teacher. It is clear you have a great deal of support and it is very much to your credit that you recognise the problems you have and have been addressing that. 'This case clearly crosses the custodial threshold but I have come to the conclusion to suspend because of your good character.' | Stefanie Janikiewicz was stopped as she drove the wrong way up the M55 . The teacher, driving towards Blackpool, thought she was going to Liverpool . Given a six month suspended sentence and banned from road for two years . | 8ffbb1a7a588ec8a3de4301420993d446344376c |
By . Mike Dawes . Australia captain Michael Clarke regrets warning England seamer James Anderson to 'get ready to have your 'f***ing arm broken' during the first Ashes Test last winter. Clarke was fined 20 per cent of his match fee by the ICC for the remark in Brisbane, which was was picked up by the on-ground stump microphone and inadvertently relayed to the watching world. The Australian acknowledged the confrontation, which was allegedly sparked when Anderson threatened to punch the hosts' Test debutant George Bailey in the face, may not have shown him in a good light but did not regret standing up for his team-mate. Get ready to have your f***ing arm broken: Michael Clarke gestures at James Anderson (right) in Brisbane . 'Maybe I hadn't said exactly what I said to James Anderson (previously), but I'd stuck up for my players on a number of occasions and it's never been picked up on the stump mic,' Clarke told www.cricket.com.au. Squaring up: Anderson and Clarke have words during the winter's first Ashes Test . 'I regret the language I used and I regret that I said it over the stump mic. 'The last thing I want is for boys and girls watching cricket to be going and playing club cricket and saying things like that to opposition players. 'I think it's unacceptable that the Australian cricket captain is setting that example. 'But I don't regret standing up for George Bailey one bit. I don't regret being extremely honest with James Anderson and telling him what Mitchell Johnson's plan was. 'I don't regret that - I just regret that everybody heard it and the language I used.' Clarke dismissed talk that the spat . was driven by a long-standing grudge between the pair, who first played . against each other 12 years ago. 'The media like to do up that we have history,' the 33-year-old said. 'The only history I have is that England kept beating us. 'And he (Anderson) was a part of England and I was part of Australia.' Clarke . also said he hoped suggestions that people liked him more because of . the row were wrong, adding: 'I think it's an insult if that's why it . (public opinion) has changed. 'If people like me more because I said that to James Anderson, then I think that's very silly. 'If . people think that all of a sudden I'm a good captain because I said . that to James Anderson, then I think that's silly as well.' Spark: This clash between Anderson and George Bailey (obscured) is alleged to have prompted Clarke's threat . | Clarke's comment picked up on stump microphone in Brisbane . Confrontation allegedly sparked by Anderson threatening to punch George Bailey . 'It's unacceptable the Australia captain is setting that example,' says Clarke . Clarke dismissed suggestion him and Anderson had long-standing rift . | 2bde3a4af6b40bca39f33b240f35dbdc047d654d |
By . Mail Today Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:44 EST, 22 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:44 EST, 22 December 2012 . Rattled by the massive protest at Raisina Hill and a tight rap by Congress president Sonia Gandhi over the gang rape incident, the home ministry and the Delhi Police swung into action on Saturday evening, announcing a slew of measures to make the Capital a safer place for women. Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde announced the setting up a commission of inquiry to review the response of the security agencies after the shocking gang rape was reported. The minister assured the people that the government will take steps to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to enhance punishment in the "rarest of rare rape cases", stopping short of stating if it meant death penalty for rapists. Demonstrators demand justice for gang rape victim . Police turned on protestors who are outraged by official response to the brutal rape . Police manhandle women's rights campaigner as the the disruption escalates . Women in the city demanded made their voices heard . A picture speaks a thousand words for these outraged women . India Erupts: A sea of protesters demanded faster and stricter action in rape cases . He also announced the appointment of a judicial commission to review women's security. The measures, which should have been announced much earlier, came after a miffed Congress top brass pulled up the authorities for "poor" handling of anti-rape protesters by the Delhi Police on Saturday. The party's concern was articulated by none other than Sonia, who spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the evening, demanding swift action in the case. She also wanted the PM to ask the home minister to ensure that all steps are taken to protect the victim. Congress sources said Sonia also spoke to Shinde and expressed her displeasure at the inaction of the ministry and the police. She asked him to take the "severest" action against the alleged rapists. She said she had been following the case daily and is learnt to have demanded justice to be "fast-tracked". Several senior Congress leaders watched with unease on television as the police fired water jets, lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to lathi-charge on demonstrators, comprising mostly college students, who had gathered at India Gate and Raisina Hill to protest against the gang rape of the 23-year-old girl. The police crackdown was perhaps the biggest the city has seen after the anti-Mandal agitation of 1991. At least 72 people were injured, including 37 policemen. One constable and an RPF inspector suffered serious head injuries. Two DCPs were also reported to be injured in the protests. Security forces fired a total of 125 tear gas shells in seven sessions during the day. Two government vehicles, a Delhi Police bus, six public buses and two motorcycles were reported to have been damaged in the protests. The protests started on a peaceful note with thousands of protesters marching from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan, carrying placards and raising slogans against the city and the Union government. "Stop raping India. Change the law," read one of the placards. When the police tried to stop the protesters from jumping over the barricades at Raisina Hill, the agitation turned violent, forcing the police to resort to mob control measures. Former Army chief Gen V K Singh takes part in a protest showing his support for women's rights . Television channels went viral capturing the police action, which drew criticism from different sections of the society, denting the image of the police further. The home minister said the protesters had gathered for a just cause and claimed the government had taken a serious view of the sentiment of the people. He also assured that the lathi-charge on the protesters would be probed and claimed itwas resorted to only after some people tried to bring down the security barricades. The government has asked police commissioner Neeraj Kumar to give an explanation on the police action by Monday. Further, he has been asked to explain how the OB vans of channels entered the high-security Rajpath and India Gate without prior information. Top Congress sources confirmed their dissatisfaction with Kumar's handling of the entire case and the agitation. Too little Shinde announced five policemen will be suspended. Half-an-hour later, the Delhi Police said a total of eight cops have been suspended in connection with the case. Those taken off duty were, however, junior- level policemen, including one sub-inspector and seven constable and head constable-rank policeman. The action is unlikely to soothe the rising tempers of Delhiites. The agitators wanted the responsibility of the gang rape to be fixed at the top of the police hierarchy and those in the home ministry. However, it seems, the senior officers are being spared the flak by making junior policemen the scapegoat. | The minister announces inquiry into botched handling of gang-raped student . Criminal Procedure Code to be be reviewed for 'rarest of rape cases' Sonia Gandhi puts pressure on PM to take 'severe' measure against the alleged rapists . 72 protesters and 32 policemen injured in the biggest clash in the city since 1991 . Protestors want heads to roll at a top level but many fear junior officials will take the fall for Police failures . | a241b5604cf01403ca732be64ea157f5253deeb6 |
(CNN) -- Victoria Pendleton rounded off another night of triumph for hosts Great Britain in the Olympic Velodrome with a storming ride to take gold in the women's keirin Friday. Pendleton suffered bitter disappointment on the first night of finals when she and partner Jess Varnish were disqualified in the women's team sprint for a technical infringement, but made amends with the second gold of her Games career. The 31-year-old Pendleton powered to the front with over a lap to go and held off a determined challenge from China's Guo Shuang to claim an emotional victory. "My legs were still good from last night. I really wanted to show what I've got. It turned out okay, I guess," she said. Lee Wai-Sze of Hong Kong took a surprise bronze with Pendleton's arch-rival Anna Meares of Australia out of the medals. Pendleton will get one more chance for golden glory when she defends her women's sprint title. She followed Britain's men's team pursuit squad on to the track after the quartet of Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Peter Kennaugh had broken their own world record to take gold by beating arch-rivals Australia in the final. Tour de France winner and Olympic time trial champion Bradley Wiggins was in the 6,000 capacity crowd to watch his GB compatriots defend their Beijing crown. Wiggins had been part of that team, which also set a world record, and the 2012 version did not disappoint either. Clancy and Thomas were picking up their second successive golds in the event as they crossed the line in a time of three minutes 51.659 seconds. Australia were just under three seconds adrift with New Zealand winning the bronze medal after beating Russia in their run off. There was promise of more gold for the rampant home team in the women's team pursuit where the trio of Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Dani King broke their own world record in qualifying. Their time of three minutes 15.669 seconds, edged their own mark for the 3,000m event set at the world championships earlier this year. It is the seventh world record to be set in the velodrome and the fifth for the hosts, who won the men's team sprint on the first night. | Britain win two gold medals on second night of competition in track cycling . Victoria Pendleton takes women's keirin after disappointment of team sprint . GB men's team pursuit squad break world record to beat Australia in final . GB women's team pursuit squad beat their own world mark in qualifying . | db4c1b86d2da79fdd140371ef6a14033acf65fba |
Tottenham Hotspur commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the death of Bill Nicholson before their game against Newcastle at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Nicholson, the most influential manager in the club's history, was honoured with a minute's applause, while Tottenham's players wore specially-made t-shirts and a host of former stars also paid their respect on the touchline. Darren Anderton, Martin Chivers, Ray Clemence and Pat Jennings were among those paying tributes ahead of the 1.30pm kick-off with the family of Nicholson also pitchside. Tottenham Hotspur legends paid tribute to former manager Bill Nicholson, who died 10 years ago this week . Former players waited on the White Hart Lane pitch before the game against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon . Tottenham's players wore special t-shirts during their warm-up with Nicholson's famous 'Echo of Glory' phrase . T-shirts worn by the Tottenham players during their warm up had 'Echo of Glory' written on the front. The phrase was made famous when Nicholson said: 'It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory.' Tottenham also produced a special souvenir match-day programme, which reportedly included never-before-seen photographs of his time at the club, as well as a free commemorative pin badge. The club also took the decision in the summer to pay tribute to Nicholson with their new kits. Tottenham's home kit for the season features the 'Echo of Glory' quote, while the away kit features 11 golden stripes representing the 11 trophies he won during his time at the club. Nicholson made more than 300 appearances for Tottenham before a spell as manager from 1958 to 1974 . During his 16 years at the club, Tottenham became the first British club to win a major European trophy after clinching the 1963 Cup Winners Cup and the first club to win a League and Cup double in 1961. Tottenham fans held banners paying tribute to Nicholson as everyone in the ground observed a minute's applause . Tottenham and Newcastle's players, as well as fans inside the stadium, observe a minute's applause before kick-off . Tottenham's club shop was selling special t-shirts in honour of Nicholson . Nicholson memorabilia was also on sale outside the club's ground as fans paid their respects to their former manager . Tottenham's official match-day programme was in honour of their legendary manager . Nicholson celebrates winning the 1971 League Cup with Martin Chivers (left) and Alan Mullery (right) Nicholson, who died 10 years ago this week, proudly looks at Tottenham's trophies in 1963 . | Nicholson was Tottenham's greatest ever manager, winning 11 trophies during his time at the club . A minute's applause was observed before kick-off as a host of former players also paid their respects . Tottenham produced a special match-day programme and club shop sold commemorative t-shirts . Tottenham's players also warmed up in t-shirts with Nicholson's famous 'Echo of Glory' phrase on them . | 1d02b441165b895a42f33a543dda277bb8a8732e |
By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . The recent news that animals were abused during wild late night parties at London Zoo is just the most recent example of why animal conservationists may need need to rethink their strategy on keeping animals in captivity. Zoos across the world vary widely in the standards of welfare they offer creatures, and indeed many people believe that keeping animals in enclosures at all is an outdated concept that should be scrapped. But now a group of Danish architects has come up with a zoo design that could allow people to safely watch animals, without the creatures ever feeling like they’re imprisoned. Scroll down for video . Even if you love going to the zoo, seeing an animal in captivity and out of their natural habitat can be upsetting.Now a group of Danish architects has come up with a zoo design (pictured) that could allow people to safely watch animals, without the creatures ever feeling like they’re imprisoned . In this Zootopia, the humans are hidden from animals in shelters and mirrored pods, while the animals roam around a huge 300 acre complex divided into continents. The Bjarke Ingels Group design, which is still in its very early stages, has been put forward for the 50-year-old Givskud Zoo in Denmark, according to a report by Becky Quintal in Arch Daily. These continents can be accessed by visitors using ramps, bridges, and tunnels hidden in the ground. They would then be able to hide inside shelters, pods and hollowed logs as the animals pass by. At the heart of the design is a huge swooping circular plaza that lets people climb up to look down on the parkland. This also allows visitors to get access to a trio of the zoo's three habitats: Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The entire zoo is ringed by an elevated walkway and a 2.5 mile-long hike connects all three continents. Particulars of the design are still to be confirmed and its unclear exactly how far the barriers between animals and visitors will be broken down. This image suggests the barriers will be minimal, allowing humans to come close to the animals, without the animals feeling like they are being watched . In this Zootopia, the humans are hidden from animals in shelters and mirrored pods, while the animals roam around a huge 300 acre complex divided into continents . To keep people safe, the architects believe visitors could travel by bike, which would have spherical mirrors attached to keep them hidden . On the left is a mock up of what the rock enclosure for penguins would look like, while the right image reveals panda bamboo cottages. The entire zoo is ringed by an elevated walkway and a 2.5 mile-long hike connects all three continents . It is touted as a wild night out. But parties at London Zoo are becoming a little too wild. Drunken revellers have been taunting and abusing the animals at Zoo Lates events, which are held on Friday nights over the summer. Incidents include a woman punching a bird, a male pouring beer on a tiger, a reveller stripping off before entering the penguin enclosure and butterflies squashed underfoot. There are also claims that a drunken woman tried to get into the lion enclosure.The animals are said to have been disturbed by loud noise and flash photography at the parties. To keep people safe, the architects believe visitors could travel by bike, which would have spherical mirrors attached to keep them hidden. Other ideas include having huge spheres hung from tension cables over bears, lions and or travelling by boat alongside elephants. ‘We must make sure that our cities offer a generous framework for different people – from different backgrounds, economy, gender, culture, education and age – so they can live together in harmony while taking into account individual needs as well as the common good,’ the company writes on its website. ‘Nowhere is this challenge more acrimonious than in a zoo. 'It is our dream – with Givskud – to create the best possible and freest possible environment for the animals' lives and relationships with each other and visitors.’ Others particulars of the design are still to be confirmed and its unclear exactly how far the barriers between animals and visitors will be broken down. The design is currently early initial master plan for an overhaul of the part that's scheduled to be completed by 2019. These continents can be accessed by visitors using ramps, bridges, and tunnels hidden in the ground. They would then be able to hide inside shelters, pods and hollowed logs as the animals pass by . The left image shows a crater design within the safari section allowing people to get close to the animals at minimal risk. On the left is a bear lumber enclosure with huts . At the heart of the design is a huge swooping circular plaza that lets people climb up to look down on the parkland. This computer generated image shows what Zootopia could look like by night . To keep people safe, the architects believe visitors could travel by bike, which would have spherical mirrors attached to keep them hidden.Other ideas include having huge spheres hung from tension cables over bears, lions and or travelling by boat alongside elephants . Visitors would be hidden from the animals in clever holes, such as the savannah crater lodges on the left, or on mirrored balls in the elephant rice field enclosure (right) A map of what the 300 acre complex would look like. The design is currently early initial master plan for an overhaul of the part that's scheduled to be completed by 2019 . Givskud Zoo is a zoo and safari park in Givskud, 20 kilometres north west of Vejle in Denmark. The park opened in 1969 under the name of 'Løveparken' | Danish architects, Bjarke Ingels Group, came up with the concept design as part of the overhaul of Givskud Zoo . 300 acre complex is divided into continents - Africa, Asia, and the Americas - with a huge circular plaza at its centre . Each continent can be accessed by visitors using a maze of ramps, bridges, and tunnels hidden in the ground . Visitors can travel by bike, foot or boat, and hide inside shelters, pods and hollowed logs as the animals pass by . | b2dcb4e3063e56258db3290aeda1bc6c9b9e9cca |
By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 12:32 EST, 1 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:47 EST, 1 August 2013 . Smiling as he pets a baby goat in his lap, James 'Whitey' Bulger could not look further removed from the tough reputation he established throughout his decades-long crime spree. The image of the notorious Boston mobster is just ones of the many never-before-seen photographs released by his lawyers, who may ask the judge if they can present them as evidence in his trial. The pictures, charting his life from his teen years to middle age, could be an attempt by Bulger's defense team to paint the alleged murderer, who is now 83, in a more sympathetic light. They show no trace of the suffering he inflicted as he allegedly killed 19 people, laundered money, distributed drugs and extorted victims. Different life: An image of notorious Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, released by his defense lawyers, shows him petting a goat in an insight into his life before his capture in 2011 . Photographs from his youth present him as a confident teenager at a time when he was already gaining a reputation in South Boston as a street fighter and thief. Later images show him grinning alongside Boston . Bruin Chris Nilon and the Stanley Cup, sitting shirtless in the sun, . and petting the dogs he shared with girlfriend Catherine Greig. Greig, . who was captured with Bulger in 2011 and is serving an eight-year . prison sentence for helping him during his crime spree, makes numerous . appearances throughout the photographs. The couple are snapped walking the dogs together or petting parrots. Greig has said she does not regret her life on the run with Bulger as she still loves him. Swagger: Bulger as a youth growing up in Boston, where he had a reputation as a street fighter . Ladies man: Bulger, who was 14 at the time of his first arrest, is pictured with an unidentified woman . Release: Bulger's llawyers may ask the judge if they can present the images in court during his trial . Another image shows Bulger with the former vice chancellor of the Boston archdiocese, Frederick J. Ryan, who allegedly sexually abused teenage boys at Catholic high school in the 1980s. 'Given Whitey Bulger's lack of respect for humanity, it comes as no surprise that Whitey Bulger is associated with a serial pedophile such as Fred Ryan,' attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented two of Ryan's victims in 2002, told the Boston Globe. Ryan, who was ordained in 1964, was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006 after he was accused of taking two Catholic Memorial students to the chancery to molest them. Bulger faces allegations that he took . part in 19 slayings while leading Boston's Irish mob over a decades-long . crime spree throughout the 1970s and 80s. Youth: Bulger, right, joined the Air Force in 1948, when he was 18 and continued to get in trouble . Connections: Bulger (center) with former Massachusetts Senate president William Bulger (left) and an identified man, right . Scandal: Bulger, left, is pictured with Frederick J. Ryan, a priest who was defrocked in 2006 for allegedly molesting teenage boys from Catholic high schools in the 1980s . All smiles: Bulger, right, grins beside former Boston Bruin Chris Nilon and the Stanley Cup . High life: A shirtless Bulger is pictured on holiday in another image released by his defense team . Prosecutors claim he was also a FBI informant trading information on Italian Mafiosi in exchange for protection from crooked FBI agents - but Bulger has denied this, as well as killing two women, Debbie Davis and Deborah Hussey. On Wednesday, prosecutors pushed to know whether he would testify in his own defense, saying he has had time to think about it - but they didn't get an answer before court adjourned. Bulger's lawyer, J.W. Carney, told the court that he expects to call 15 witnesses to the stand, but added: 'That may not be the limit to the defense.' Before the long-awaited trial began on June 6, Carney told reporters he expected his client would take the stand. But . in his opening statements, he made no mention to the jury that they . would hear from Bulger himself and he has been silent about whether the . gangster would face cross-examination. At home: Bulger is pictured with dogs belonging to his long-term girlfriend, Catherine Greig . Couple: He is pictured with Greig, who was also arrested when he was found in 2011 and remains in prison . At ease: Bulger and Greig, who is serving 8 years in prison, are pictured together enjoying a vacation . Family life: The couple walks their dogs - a simple enjoyment his alleged victims will never enjoy . Richard Sunday, a friend of Bulger's who has received letters from him since his capture, said the mobster 'always preached he wanted his day in court' and vowed to tell his story and clear his name. 'If he doesn’t testify about what he knows, the world will know he’s a rat,' Sunday told the Boston Globe. Tommy Donahue, whose father is among Bulger's alleged victims, said he is eager to see him testify. He says Bulger still has a chance 'to try to save any name he has left' by possibly exposing some law enforcement corruption. Arrest: Bulger is accused of killing 19 people, extortion, money laundering and drugs distribution. It is not yet known whether he will testify at his trial, which has already been underway for nearly two months . Seeking justice: Patricia Donahue, widow of alleged murder victim Michael Donahue, leaves the Boston court with her son Tommy, who said he hopes to see Bulger testify to reveal any police corruption . | Photos chart Bulger's life from his teenage years growing up in Boston . Lawyers may ask judge if images can be shown to the jury in his trial . Question still remains over whether or not the mobster will testify . | eee2c72146e64fa42d9b173514879d4f3a5037ff |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 15:03 EST, 24 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:31 EST, 24 August 2012 . Detectives investigating the gangland execution of a dancer who appeared in a video with X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos have charged three men with his murder. Reece James Menzies was shot dead after a gang burst into a flat last month and fired a bullet into his head. The 21-year-old, known as Stylie, had recently travelled 100 miles from his home in Wembley, North West London, to Boscombe in Bournemouth, Dorset. Shot in the head: Three men have been charged with the murder of Reece James Menzies (pictured) in a suspected gangland execution . Reece James (left) had appeared in a controversial music video with X Factor judge Tulisa (right), in which she made a 'C' shape with her hand, a sign associated with a gang . His body was found at around 2.30am on Wednesday, July 25, at an address in Roumelia Lane. A spokesman for Dorset Police said: . 'Detectives investigating the alleged murder of a man in Bournemouth . have charged three men in connection with his death following the advice . of the Crown Prosecution Service. 'Three London men, aged 22, 24 and 33, . have been charged with the murder of Reece James Menzies and will . appear before Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning.' The three men were arrested at addresses in London and Folkestone, Kent, on Tuesday morning. Detective Chief Inspector Kevin . Connolly, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: 'The three men . have been in custody for the last 72 hours and they have all been . interviewed at length. 'We have presented details of these . interviews as well as evidence gathered over the past month to the Crown . Prosecution Service, with whom we have worked closely. 'Although I cannot go into any further . detail, I continue to appeal for witnesses and anyone with information . to come forward and help us with this investigation.' Crime scene: The body of the 21-year-old, also known as Stylie, was found at an address in Boscombe (above), near Bournemouth, last month . Controversial: Tulisa denied suggestions she . referenced the Church Road Soldiers gang in this video, which also . starred Reece James . X Factor judge Tulisa had appeared . alongside the victim in a controversial music video, in which she made a . 'C' shape with her hand - the gang sign of local mob the Church Road . Soldiers. The former N-Dubz singer explained the gesture as a reference to her birthplace - Camden. Detectives had previously released . CCTV images of a car they believed was used by the assassins in what . they described as a 'major breakthrough in the case'. A silver Audi A3 saloon - captured on . CCTV - was driving from nearby Christchurch Road into St John’s Road . toward the scene of the murder, in Roumelia Lane, where Reece was gunned . down, at around 1.30am on July 25. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Reece James Menzies, 21, shot dead after gang burst into a flat in Boscombe . Three men, aged 22, 24 and 33, held at addresses in London and Folkestone . Victim had featured with former N-Dubz singer Tulisa in controversial video . | 037f9ac9f4bb7cc24cff5a5d6ddf9884d1527d4c |
New fossils of an ancient primate found in the Amazon may be the first monkey to have traveled from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to South America. The fossils suggest that monkeys first arrived in South America nearly 10 million years earlier than previously thought. Scientists believe the first primates traveled to South America, which was once an isolated island before it joined to North America three million years ago, from Africa on natural rafts that drifted across the Atlantic ocean. A reconstruction of the 38 million year old Perupithecus ucayalensis (left) found in South America is shown above alongside a species it closely resembled - Talahpithecus parvus, that lived in Libya 39 milion years ago . The two groups of primates then evolved separately to create distinct families of primates. However, evidence for when this epic journey occurred has been patchy and the oldest fossil of a monkey found in the New World was 26 million years old found in Bolivia. A new fossil has the potential to force anthropologists to rewrite the evolutionary history of how our early ancestors first began walking upright on two legs. For decades scientists have believed that our upright posture evolved in a common ancestor shared with the great apes including chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans around 15 million years ago. This led to the broad torsos and mobile forelimbs that appear all great apes - known as the orthograde body plan. But a 12.3 million year old fossilised hipbone belonging a prehistoric ape named Sivapithecus indicus discovered in modern Pakistan, is challenging this belief. This species was thought to be an ancient relative of the orangutan that emerged after the great apes split from the gibbons and lived around 12 million to 10 million years ago . Fossilised skull fragments have suggested it had the facial features similar to modern orangutans and scientists assumed it would also have an ape-like body plan. However, the new hipbone has revealed that these creatures had a narrow torso that more resembles those of monkeys. This suggests that Sivapithecus may have had both ape-like and monkey-like features, and has left researchers baffled about how it fits into the evolutionary tree. But now fossilised teeth, found on a riverbank in a remote part of the Amazon in Peru, that have been dated at 36 million years old suggest the crossing from Africa may have occurred far earlier. The teeth bear little resemblance to those from other species found in South America, but instead are more similar to teeth from African primates at the time. This suggests that the fossils may belong to one of the first primates to make the crossing from Africa. Researchers from the Museum of Natural Sciences in La Plata, Argentina, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles have named the new species of monkey Perupithecus ucayaliensis. Its name is derived from the country where the fossil was found - Peru - and the Greek name for monkey, pithecus. Ucaylainesis is named the area of Peru where it was sound - Santa Roasa in the Ucayali Department. Mariano Bond, the palaeontologist who led the study of the fossils at the Museum of Natural Sciences in La Plata, said the animal would have been a small monkey with a body only around 10 inches long. Writing in the journal Nature, Mr Bond said: 'Perupithecus ucayaliensis was a small primate, comparable in size to the tamarins Callimico and some species of Saguinus. 'The new specimens are important for understanding the origin and early evolution of modern platyrrhine (New World) primates because they bear little resemblance to any extinct . or living South American primate, but they do bear striking resemblances to Eocene African anthropoids, and our phylogenetic analysis suggests a relationship with African taxa.' The scientists examined fossilised teeth (above) that were found found in the Peruvian Amazon in Santa Rosa . The new species teeth more closely resemble those of monkeys in Africa such as this Vervet Monkey . This artists impression of Perupithecus ucayaliensis shows that the small primate may have looked like . The scientists believe that Perupithecus may be most closely related to an extinct primate called Talahpithecus, which lived around 38-39 million years ago in what is now Libya. They found one complete and two incomplete upper molars that were dug up from a river bed during a dry period in Santa Rosa, eastern Peru. New World monkeys are typically distinguished from their counterparts in Africa and Asia by their flat noses and relatively small size. There are around 150 species of New World monkeys - also called Platyrrhini which means ‘flat nose’ - living in Central and South America. These include capuchins, marmosets and tamarins. It is thought that they originally arrived in South America after crossing the Atlantic Ocean on natural rafts made of vegetation along with other mammals like rodents. Until the new fossils were found, rodents were thought to have arrived on the continent long before primates but the new discovery means they arrived at roughly the same time. Writing in Nature, Mr Bond and his colleagues said: 'Numerous studies have focused on the possibility of primates crossing the Atlantic to reach South America from Africa. 'A similar means of arrival in South America has often been proposed for the hystricognath rodents, the dispersal of amphisbaenian and gekkotan lizards. 'The discovery of these new primates brings the first appearance datum of caviomorph rodents and primates in South America back into close correspondence, but raises new questions about the timing and means of arrival of these two mammalian groups.' Dr Kenneth Campbell, from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, added it had taken years of searching before the new fossils had been found. He said: 'Fossils are scarce and limited to only a few exposed banks along rivers during the dry seasons. 'For much of the year high water levels make palaeontological exploration impossible.' New world monkeys like this golden lion tamarin evolved to have flatter noses than their African cousins . | Palaeontologists have named the new species Perupithecus ucayaliensis . Its fossilised teeth were discovered on a river bank in Santa Rosa, Peru . The teeth are unlike any New World monkey but resemble those in Africa . The 36 million years old fossil suggests monkeys travelled from Africa to South America around 10 million years earlier than previously thought . | 3f8087c7bbfdba04e8bd5d8c7be02da7c1aadf3a |
(CNN) -- There's no such thing as an off-duty cop. At least if it's Justin Rogers, there's not. The police corporal from Pinole, California, was just capping off a family vacation in Hawaii. He was going through security at the Honolulu airport last Saturday, when he felt compelled to spring into action to stop a rowdy security breach. He had just taken his shoes off to go through the body scanner when he heard a "loud crash" off to his side, he told CNN affiliate KTVU. "When I turned around, I saw a woman with her arms flailing, screaming at this TSA agent." He turned back around, thinking security officers would handle the ruckus. They didn't at first. The disturbance turned into fisticuffs, TSA surveillance camera video revealed. The woman, who was trying to force her way through the security section for flight personnel, lit into the female TSA agent who was blocking her path. "The next thing I know, I heard what I thought was skin to skin contact, like somebody getting punched," Rogers said. "Sure enough, she was punching her." Time for action . He saw that the agent's colleagues were far away from her, so he thought he'd better help out. He bounded over a waist-high security barrier and with a quick swoop and a professional takedown separated the assailant from the agent and immobilized her on the floor. Other TSA agents came running. In comfy shorts, T-shirt and ankle socks, Rogers didn't look much like an officer of the law. "I was in relaxed mode." His wallet and presumably his ID had already gone through the X-ray machine. But his immobilization posture over the suspect looked professional, and he quickly told agents who he was. "I held up my hand and said, 'I'm a police officer; I'm a police officer,' because I was worried maybe they'd think I was assaulting somebody." They believed him. In fact, TSA later issued a statement lauding Rogers for his "swift actions" in "immediately" subduing the individual and preventing the TSA officer from being hurt any more. An airport policeman pulled out a pair of cuffs, and Rogers helped him secure the suspect's wrists. The woman was arrested and charged with assault, CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now reported. She was homeless and had been wandering the airport. "That was pretty much the end of story," Rogers said. CNN's Jim Barnett contributed to this report. | TSA lauds the off-duty police officer for his "swift actions" Justin Rogers puts his belongings on into the X-ray machine . He hears a crash and some punches and sees a woman hitting a security guard . The cop on vacation in Hawaii jumps a security barrier and takes down the assailant . | 7f8a66317a2e11de8f67205f0372a8eec9c332df |
By . Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 15:37 EST, 5 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:37 EST, 5 April 2013 . An NFL star and gays rights supporter claims he is in talks with a number of football stars about revealing their homosexuality and that up to four are considering coming out at the same time. Brendon Ayanbadejo, who played for last season’s champs The Baltimore Ravens and is an outspoken supporter of gay marriage, told the Baltimore Sun that by coming out together the move would take the pressure of any one player to have to handle being the NFL’s first openly gay star. ‘I think it will happen sooner than you think,’ Ayanbadejo told the newspaper. Ex-Baltimore Ravens and gay rights supporter Brendon Ayanbadejo has said that four NFL players are considering making an announcement about their sexuality at the same time . ‘We're in talks with a handful of players who are considering it. There are up to four players being talked to right now, and they're trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together. 'It would make a major splash and take the pressure off one guy. It would be a monumental day if a handful or a few guys come out. ‘Of course, there would be backlash. If they could share the backlash, it would be more positive. It's cool. It's exciting. We're in talks with a few guys who are considering it. 'The NFL and organizations are already being proactive and open if a player does it and if something negative happens. We'll see what happens.’ Divisive issue: There has never been an openly gay active player in football's nearly 100-year history . Activists: Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, left, and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, right, have emerged as outspoken LGBT advocates in the NFL . A 10-year veteran, the 36-year-old . Ayanbadejo played primarily on special teams with the Super Bowl . champion Ravens. He had a career-high 30 tackles from scrimmage last . season, a sack and 14 stops on special teams. Ayanbadejo made the Pro Bowl in his first season with the Ravens after also making it twice while with the Chicago Bears. The revelation follows a report last month by CBS sportswriter Mike Freeman that a player is reportedly preparing to make a public announcement about his sexual orientation before the 2013 season . He wrote: 'I'm told that a current gay NFL player is strongly considering coming out publicly within the next few months - and after doing so, the player would attempt to continue his career.' Freeman did not say who the player is or any specifics about when his announcement would be made. Openly gay former player Scott Fujita told Freeman: 'I honestly think the players of the NFL have been ready for an openly gay player for quite some time now. Homophobia: Both Chris Clemons, left, and Chris Culliver, right, have made anti-gay comments in recent months . He added: 'Trust me, the coming out of a player would create much bigger waves outside the locker room than inside.' But on the opposite end of the spectrum are opponents and a culture of homophobia. Last month Seattle Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons tweeted: 'Who on God's earth is this person saying he's coming out of the closet in the NFL?' He said a player revealing that they are gay would be a 'selfish act' by somone 'just trying to make themselves bigger then the team.' Days before the Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver was asked about the prospect of gay players in the locker room during a radio interview. Culliver shot back: 'I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that.' When asked if he believed there were any gay players on the 49ers roster, Culliver responded: 'No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do.' Culliver later issued a bizarre apology for his remarks, saying that the comments were a 'reflection of thoughts in my head' but not representative of how he feels. Hoax: A debate about gay players in the NFL was sparked anew in the Manti Te'o 'fake girlfriend' scandal, where the star claimed that he was the victim of an online prankster . A debate about gay players in the NFL . was sparked anew in the Manti Te'o 'fake girlfriend' hoax, where the . former Notre Dame football star claimed that he was the victim of a . prankster who was posing as a woman and later faked her death. It was alleged that Te'o was gay and had invented the online persona in an attempt to cover it up. He denied he was behind the scam - as well as being gay - in an interview with talk show host Katie Couric. At the NFL scouting combine last month, Te'o - as well as several other players - were reportedly asked about their sexual orientations. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called such a line of questioning 'unacceptable,' and the New York attorney general has urged the league to investigate. Michigan quarterback-turned-receiver Denard Robinson, Colorado tight end Nick Kasa and Michigan State running back Le'Veon Bell indicated they were asked about their sexual orientation at the combine last month in Indianapolis. Holding firm: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said asking potential players to reveal their sexual orientation is 'unacceptable' | Brendon Ayanbadejo claims up to four players are in discussions about revealing their homosexuality at the same time . No players have been identified, but announcement could take place 'within the next few months' There has never been an openly gay active player in American football's nearly 100-year history . | 51bf87f900debcff7ef52dc1acfbaa6c02d92142 |
By . Charles Walford . and Michael Seamark . Updated: . 13:28 EST, 18 February 2012 . Rupert Murdoch came out fighting yesterday declaring his ‘unwavering support’ for Sun journalists and announcing that a Sunday version of the newspaper will be launched very soon. The media mogul flew into Britain to grapple with the crisis engulfing his News International group and immediately lifted the suspension of all staff arrested over alleged phone and computer hacking and bribery of officials. Staff have accused the company of a ‘witch hunt’ after an internal management committee passed information to police that led to the arrests of ten senior executives at the Sun. Scroll down for video . All smiles at The Sun: Rupert Murdoch smiles confidently as he leaves his home in Green Park and heads to The Sun's office yesterday . In a visit to News International’s . headquarters at Wapping, East London, Mr Murdoch told staff: ‘Everyone . is innocent unless proven otherwise.’ But he warned: ‘We will obey the law. Illegal activities simply cannot and will not be tolerated – at any of our publications.’ In an email, the 80-year-old News . Corporation chairman said recent events were ‘a source of great pain for . me, as I know it is for each of you’. ‘I’ve worked alongside you for 43 . years to build The Sun into one of the world’s finest papers. It is part . of me and is one of our proudest achievements,’ he said. Journalists at the tabloid are angry . that News Corporation’s Management Standards Committee gave police . information – including the identity of sources – that led to the . arrests, which include the deputy editor, picture editor and chief . reporter. Investigation: A detective leaves the home of Mike Sullivan, The Sun crime editor, with paperwork and other potential evidence last month after four of the paper's journalists were arrested . The MSC, which was formed to clean up . the company following the phone-hacking scandal, is trawling through . internal emails and passing details of suspected illegal activity to . Scotland Yard. The Metropolitan Police has arrested and bailed the ten Sun journalists, nine of them held in dawn raids on Saturdays. News International journalists fear further arrests. All were immediately . suspended on full pay in the wake of the arrests. But, Mr Murdoch . said he was doing 'everything to assist' them, including paying their . legal fees. He said they were free to work until any formal charges are made against them. He added: 'Everyone is innocent unless proven otherwise.' Despite . the invitation, it was not clear if all nine journalists would return . to work after it was reported that some were considering their . options. The heavy-handed police tactics have . drawn strong criticism, with the Yard accused of diverting officers from . murder, rape and terrorism investigations to join ‘Stasi-like’ raids . against journalists. Mr Murdoch, who dramatically closed . down the News of the World last July at the height of the phone-hacking . scandal, insisted journalists’ ‘legitimate’ confidential sources would . be protected. But he wrote: ‘We will turn over every . piece of evidence we find – not just because we are obligated to but . because it is the right thing to do. ‘I made a commitment last summer that . I would do everything I could to get to the bottom of our problems and . make this company an example to Fleet Street of ethical journalism.’ Mr Murdoch said he planned to remain . in London for several weeks and would build on the Sun’s ‘proud heritage . by launching the Sun on Sunday very soon’. Five staff at The Sun were arrested last weekend following information being passed to police by its parent company . Dear Colleagues: . I've worked alongside you for 43 years to build The Sun into one of the world's finest papers. It is a part of me and is one of our proudest achievements. The Sun occupies a unique and important position within News Corporation. I have immense respect for our heritage, your exceptional journalism and, above all, you, the talented women and men who work tirelessly every day to ensure our readers have access to such a trusted news source. I believe this newsroom is full of great journalists and I remain grateful for your superb work and for the stories you uncover to inform and protect the public. None more so than over the last three weeks. My continuing respect makes this situation a source of great pain for me, as I know it is for each of you. We will obey the law. Illegal activities simply cannot and will not be tolerated – at any of our publications. Our Board of Directors, our management team and I take these issues very seriously. Our independently chaired Management & Standards Committee, which operates outside of News International, has been instructed to cooperate with the police. We will turn over every piece of evidence we find -- not just because we are obligated to but because it is the right thing to do. We are doing everything we can to assist those who were arrested -- all suspensions are hereby lifted until or whether charged and they are welcome to return to work. News Corporation will cover their legal expenses. Everyone is innocent unless proven otherwise. I made a commitment last summer that I would do everything I could to get to the bottom of our problems and make this Company an example to Fleet Street of ethical journalism. We will continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, which I know are essential for all of you to do your jobs. But we cannot protect people who have paid public officials. I am confident we can live by these commitments and still produce great journalism. We will build on The Sun's proud heritage by launching The Sun on Sunday very soon. Our duty is to expand one of the world's most widely read newspapers and reach even more people than ever before. Having a winning paper is the best answer to our critics. I am even more determined to see The Sun continue to fight for its readers and its beliefs. I am staying with you all, in London, for the next several weeks to give you my unwavering support. I am confident we will get through this together and emerge stronger. Thank you, Rupert Murdoch . Labour leader Ed Miliband said yesterday he was 'outraged' that News Corporation executives were being criticised for co-operating with the police over claims of corrupt payments to public officials. Mr Miliband insisted Rupert Murdoch was 'absolutely right' to uncover what had taken place at the paper - and that the company ought to have helped police 'years ago'. 'I must say I think the people being outraged about what News International is doing to cooperate with the police - I'm outraged at that," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'Of course News International should be co-operating with the police. There is evidence, there are allegations anyway, of criminal activity. It would be quite wrong for them not to cooperate with the police.' Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been one of the leading figures campaigning against News International, said the launch of the new paper would not end the crisis. He tweeted: 'I'm told the PR line is to restate the plan for a Sun on Sunday. This will not draw a line under the crisis faced by News Corp in the UK.' Despite Mr Murdoch's charm offensive, many were still furious about the treatment of their colleagues at the hands of the MSC. In a sign of how low relations have sunk, one senior staff member dubbed former editor of the Daily Telegraph Will Lewis, an MSC member, the 'chief witch hunter' and said there would be demands that he be sacked. Sources close to the investigation believe they have . uncovered evidence of 'serious suspected criminality over a sustained . period' by some public officials supplying The Sun with information, . dismissing the suggestion from some reporters that they were being . investigated over 'trivial' matters, such as £50 lunches with sources. The MSC has been feeding Operation Elveden, the police investigation into corrupt payments, with information over the past few months. In all, 21 people have been held. The five members of Sun staff arrested last weekend were deputy editor of the paper Geoff Webster, chief reporter John Kay, picture editor John Edwards, deputy news editor John Sturgis and chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker. Also held in the dawn raids were a 39-year-old Ministry of Defence employee and a 36-year-old member of the Armed Forces. In January, senior members of The Sun's newsroom were held by police and later released on bail. They were head of news Chris Pharo, executive editor Fergus Shanahan, crime editor Mike Sullivan as well as former managing editor Graham Dudman and a 29-year-old police officer. In July last year, former chief executive of News International and ex-Sun editor Rebekah Brooks was questioned by detectives as part of Operation Elveden and those involved with Operation Weeting, the investigation into alleged phone hacking by journalists. In November, long-serving journalist Jamie Pyatt was also arrested in relation to allegations of corrupt payments to police officers. The arrests followed the shock closure by News International of the News of the World in July last year after lurid phone hacking allegations emerged. The new Sunday tabloid the Sun on Sunday will replace the News of the World. No date has yet been announced for the . first edition of the paper - but Mr Murdoch said it would be . 'the best answer to our critics'. Journalists at The Sun, which is owned by News International, said they are the victims of a 'witch-hunt' | Embattled Murdoch comes out fighting with shock announcements in bid to save scandal-hit paper . He flies in to London and will stay for weeks to give staff his 'unwavering support' at a time of 'great pain' Nine senior staff arrested amid claims police and officials were paid around £100,000 in return for information . He clears them to go back to work saying 'everyone is innocent until proven guilty', but 'bruised' staff are said to be considering if they will return . Sunday edition of The Sun to be launched 'very soon' will fill gap in market left by shut down News of the World . Launch will not draw a line under the crisis, says Labour MP Tom Watson . | a2c8304a6ed294431fc92cdac9e8796255208b60 |
By . Mia De Graaf . PUBLISHED: . 13:16 EST, 22 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:46 EST, 22 February 2014 . An 18-year-old threatened to burn down his family home and knife his mother after she bought him the wrong kind of trainers for Christmas. Jake Wilder leaped for a kitchen knife, screaming 'I'll jab you!' in front of his younger siblings after opening his present from under the tree. When the teenager said he was going to burn down the house in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, his mother, Rachael Anderson, called the police, a court heard. Rage: Jake Wilder leaped for a kitchen knife when he unwrapped a pair of trainers he didn't want (file image) Today, Wilder was banned from visiting his mother, and handed a suspended 21-day jail sentence for the 'extremely hurtful' attack. Magistrates heard that Wilder, his older sister and two younger siblings were at home with their mother, Mrs Anderson, for Christmas Day. But the festivities came to a halt when Wilder opened his mother's present towards the end of the day. He broke into a rage, advancing on his mother in front of his siblings. On Boxing Day, officers arrived to arrest the teenager and he admitted common assault in a police interview. 'An argument broke out over some trainers she had bought him and there were young children present,' said prosecutor Clare Barclay. 'Hurtful' attack: Police arrived at the Rachael Anderson's house in Abingdon on Boxing Day to arrest her son . 'He was aggressive towards his mother and threatened her with a kitchen knife, saying 'I'll jab you'. 'He also threatened to burn the house down and she called the police.' Howard . Wilson, mitigating, told the magistrates in Oxford that Wilder was now . living in the same road as his mother, with a friend. 'He has apologised to his mother and sister for the words he used, which must have been extremely hurtful,' he said. Wilder wore a white baggy jumper and grey tracksuit bottoms and smirked at two friends during the hearing. Sentenced: Magistrates at Oxford Magistrate's Court banned Wilder, 18, from visiting his mother . Presiding magistrate David Simmons told the teenager: 'You have pleaded guilty to a serious offence. 'The use of a knife in a domestic setting makes this a very serious incident and the fact that young children were present to witness it makes it worse.' Wilder was sentenced to 21 days in prison, suspended for one year, and ordered to pay £85 pounds costs and a £60 pounds victim surcharge. He was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from visiting Mrs Anderson. Mr Simmons added: 'You need to get some help for the problems you are having in dealing with aggression and in particular towards family members.' | Jake Wilder, 18, leaped for kitchen knife after opening present . Mother Rachael Anderson called police when he went to burn house . Judge berated 'extremely hurtful' attack in front of young siblings . Handed 21-day suspended sentence and banned from visiting mother . | 3ba876d25f20b196cf230d4c725788de80b4cbaa |
By . Becky Barrow, Business Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 20:06 EST, 18 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:04 EST, 19 August 2013 . The sharp increase in house prices comes amid growing concern that Government schemes to boost the housing market may be fuelling another house price bubble . The average asking price of a home in England and Wales has jumped by around £20,000 since the beginning of the year, a report reveals today. A typical home advertised for sale in an estate agent’s window now has a price tag of £250,000, equal to nearly ten times the average full-time salary in this country. The sharp increase comes amid growing concern that Government schemes to boost the housing market may be fuelling another house price bubble. At the beginning of January the report, from the property website Rightmove, reveals the average asking price was £228,989. Today it is £249,199, a jump of £20,210. In London, the affordability crisis facing anybody wanting to get onto the housing ladder, or move to a larger home, is even more acute. The average asking price in London hit £501,067 this month [aug], compared to £454,875 in the same month last year, according to Rightmove. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, called on ministers to ensure ‘an unsustainable boom in property prices’ is not created by their recent interventions. He said: ‘It is now critical that the supply of property improves so that the goal of a significant increase in transaction numbers is not over-shadowed by an unsustainable boom in property prices.’ Since April, a scheme called Help to Buy helps people with a small deposit of five per cent to buy a new-build property for up to £600,000. They are given a five-year interest-free loan for up 20 per cent of the property price. From January, another scheme, which confusingly is also called Help to Buy, will allow people with the same small deposit to buy a home, with the Government providing a guarantee to the mortgage lender of up to 15 per cent of the loan. This scheme will apply to old properties as well as new properties. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, has called on ministers to ensure 'an unsustainable boom in property prices' is not created by their recent interventions . The Institute of Directors slammed the . new Help to Buy scheme as ‘very dangerous’, while the consultancy . Capital Economics said it is ‘ropey economics’ but added it may be ‘more . successful politically.’ Rightmove . said it is ‘already seeing early signs of demand outstripping supply’, a . problem which Britain’s housing market has faced for many years to the . fury of housing campaigners. The housing charity Shelter says 250,000 new homes are needed every year, but only 106,820 were completed between May 2012 and June 2013, according to the Government’s figures. Kay Boycott, a director of Shelter, said: ‘Unless we see radical action from the government to tackle our chronic shortage of homes, house prices and rents will quickly rise even further out of reach for millions of people across the country struggling to find a stable home of their own.’ Overall, the Rightmove figures show the average asking price has risen by 5.5 per cent over the last year, although it fell by 1.8 per cent in August. The asking price of the average flat has reached an all-time record of £209,652, compared to £188,445 for a terraced property, £204,392 for a semi-detached home and £364,254 for a detached house. | Growing concern Government schemes to boost the housing market may be fuelling another house price bubble . From January another scheme will allow people with small deposit to buy a home, with the Government providing a guarantee . Rightmove said it is ‘already seeing early signs of demand outstripping supply’ | 9b9e2aaf144a7699be0dc75655f8af534ca766c3 |
By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 12:43 EST, 12 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:43 EST, 12 September 2013 . The perfect recipe for love used to be eyes meeting across a crowded room followed by hours of scintillating conversation but now it seems that stimulating chats have been replaced by 140-character tweets. According to a new study, Twitter is now the most common way of winning over a potential new partner and has even overtaken texting and phone calls. On average, it now takes 224 tweets, 163 text messages, 70 Facebook messages, 37 emails and 30 phone calls to seal the deal. Virtual romance: Witty tweets have replaced love letters as the modern way to impress a potential date . And as a result of all the tweeting, texting and emailing, young couples now fall in love faster than ever before. The study, which was conducted by electronics retailer PIXmania, found that within the space of a single generation, the amount of time taken for love to blossom has more than halved. Couples aged 55 and over said on average their courting process took more than two and a half months (78 days) whereas for those under the age of 25 it takes just under one month (24 days) for them to refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. As a result, researchers believe that this could signals the end of the traditional 'three day rule' where would-be lovers wait for 72 hours before calling a date back. Instead, it's now closer to three hours, with two thirds saying they were happy to contact their new beau within four hours of their first date. You've got mail! Texting and phone calls were almost, but not quite, as popular as tweeting a new love . Fast love: As a result of all the tweets, texts and calls, couples now fall in love faster than ever before . Interestingly, men are more likely than women to pursue a potential partner over social media, sending an average of 517 Facebook messages and tweets a year compared to just 386 for women. The study also found that less than one in ten of the nation’s couples still write old-fashioned love letters to each other. However, the number of couples willing to send saucy texts and explicit pictures to each other has increased, with more than a third of couples admitting to sexting. Over half of the people questioned by researchers also said they feel less inhibited when using . technology to chat up a date. Technology is also the preferred method of ending modern relationships, with 36 per cent saying they prefer to break up over the phone, 27 per cent admitting to doing it by text and one in eight (13 . per cent) saying they had done it using social media. Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of PIXmania.com, said: 'With the nation obsessed with constantly communicating with one another, modern technology is putting the speed into speed dating and encouraging more contact between budding lovers. 'The days of penning a simple love letter to woo your new beau are over. From flirting on Facebook to teasing on Twitter modern day lovers are increasingly embracing technology to help snare their catch.' | Twitter is now the most popular way to impress a new love . Texting and phone calls were the second most used method . It takes on average 224 tweets and 163 texts to start a relationship . | 6991fbc35a2ea375865b2ef5d6c92f728150ef43 |
By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 12:29 EST, 7 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:30 EST, 7 March 2014 . Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious giant statue of an Egyptian princess guarding a temple. They say the 6.5ft tall alabaster figure of a pharoanic princess is part of a huge 465 feet tall statue. Dating from approximately 1350 B.C, the mysterious giant was found outside the southern city of Luxor. The giant statue of King Amenhotep III's daughter dating from approximately 1350 B.C., outside the southern city of Luxor. Amenhotep III reigned from c1390 - 1352 BC, when Egypt had become the richest and most powerful nation on earth through war and conquest. Countries like Babylonia, Assyria, and Mitani were emerging as potential new rivals, and Amenhotep began writing to the other rulers of the Near East, carving letters on small stones that messengers took to foreign princes. The Amarna letters, as they became known after they were found in 1887, were the key to Amenhotep's success, especially when backed up with gifts from Egypt's great wealth. In the southern part of his kingdom, Amenhotep and wife Tiy were worshipped as gods. Amenhotep's new temples were also dedicated to Egypt's many gods, particularly Amen-Re, the king of the gods. The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said the statue was once part of a larger statue that was nearly 14 meters (456 feet) tall and guarded the entrance to a temple. Ibrahim says the statue is of Iset, the daughter of Amenhotep III, and is the first found that depicts her without her siblings. Archaeologists uncovered the statue next to the funerary temple of Amenhotep III, who was worshipped as a deity after his death. An Egyptian-European team uncovered the statue of princess Iset, 170 centimetres tall and 52 cm wide, during renovation work at the Amenhotep III mortuary temple on Luxor's western bank, Ibrahim said. The 6 ½-foot-tall alabaster statue of a pharoanic princess, dates from approximately 1350 B.C., and was found outside the southern city of Luxor. 'The statue is part of a 14-metre-high (46-foot) alabaster sculpture of Amenhotep III that was at the entrance of the temple sanctuary,' team head Dr Hourig Sourouzian said. The sculpture features the 18th Dynasty ruler on his throne, his hands on his knees, his daughter standing between his legs, wearing a wig and a long tunic and holding a neckless in her right hand. Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor Temple. The new statue was found outside the southern city of Luxor . It is the first time a sculpture has been found that depicts the princess alone with her father: others show her with her two parents and her brothers, Sourouzian said. The statue of the princess 'was eroded, especially the face', and the feet were missing, ministry official Ali El-Asfar said. The princess's name and her titles, among them 'Love of her father', were carved on the statue, Asfar added. Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs. | 6.5ft tall statue believed to be part of an even bigger 456ft tall structure . Discovered outside the southern city of Luxor . | 2c15a5ecdcecd80bb7595ba391b073e4c9e2556d |
By . Pa Reporter . Ahead of this weekend's Premier League action, Sportsmail will be providing you with all you need to know about every fixture, with team news, provisional squads, betting odds and Opta stats... Here is all the information you need for Newcastle's home clash with Crystal Palace... Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace (St James' Park) Kick-off: Saturday 3pm . Odds (subject to change): . Newcastle 8/11 . Draw 5/2 . Crystal Palace 4/1 . Referee: Mike Jones . Managers: Alan Pardew (Newcastle), Neil Warnock (Crystal Palace) Head-to-head league record: Newcastle wins 17, draws 4, Crystal Palace wins 7 . Team news . Newcastle . Central defender Mike Williamson returns to the Newcastle squad for Saturday's home Barclays Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. Williamson missed the 1-0 Capital One Cup second round victory at Gillingham through suspension after being sent off for two bookable offences at Aston Villa last weekend, but is available once again. Blocked: Mike Williamson (right) returns to the Newcastle squad to face Crystal Palace following suspension . However, fellow defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (ankle) and midfielder Cheick Tiote (hamstring) are still missing, as are full-back Davide Santon and striker Papiss Cisse (both knee). Provisional squad: Krul, Elliot, Janmaat, Dummett, Haidara, Coloccini, Williamson, S. Taylor, Anita, Abeid, Gouffran, Sissoko, Colback, Cabella, De Jong, Obertan, Aarons, Riviere, Ferreyra, Perez, Armstrong. Crystal Palace . Scott Dann remains doubtful for Crystal Palace's Premier League trip to Newcastle on Saturday. The former Blackburn defender is still battling a niggling hip problem, while Wilfried Zaha could jump straight into action after rejoining Palace on loan. Light at the end of the tunnel: Joe Ledley (right) is two weeks away from overcoming groin strain . New Eagles manager Neil Warnock will definitely be without midfielder Joe Ledley, who could still be two weeks from overcoming his groin strain. Provisional squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Mariappa, Ward, Delaney, McCarthy, Dann, Hangeland, Jedinak, O'Keefe, Bannan, Zaha, Garvan, Williams, Guedioura, Bolasie, Thomas, Puncheon, Kebe, Gayle, Murray, Campbell, Chamakh. Key match stats (supplied by Opta) Newcastle have won each of their last four league games against Crystal Palace, keeping a clean sheet in each match. The Eagles have conceded in second-half stoppage time on each of their last two trips to St James Park. Newcastle scored a goal in the closing five minutes in both games against Palace last season. Newcastle United are one of only two teams yet to score this season, along with QPR. Palace enforcer Mile Jedinak made more tackles (133) than any other player last season and already leads the way in 2014-15 with 15. Late show: Papiss Cisse (left) scored in the final minute to give Newcastle a 1-0 win and their fourth straight victory over Crystal Palace back in March . The Magpies have failed to score in seven of their last 10 Premier League games. Crystal Palace have won just two points from their last five Premier League games (D2 L3), this after winning 15 out of 15 in their previous five. Newcastle have scored only 14 Premier League goals in 2014, fewer than any other ever-present side. Since the start of last season, no team has picked up more red cards in the Premier League than the Magpies (7 – level with Sunderland). Crystal Palace have conceded two or more goals in each of their last five Premier League matches. | Mike Williamson returns from suspension following red card at Aston Villa . Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Cheick Tiote, Davide Santon, Papiss Cisse miss out . Toon targeting first Premier League win of the season . Wilfried Zaha could make second Crystal Palace debut at St James' Park . Winger rejoined Eagles on loan from Manchester United . Scott Dann (hip) doubtful to feature under new manager Neil Warnock . Joe Ledley two weeks away from overcoming groin strain . | 25bcf58f8d74965356b9a77ee45bfe85ec1a31bc |
By . Mark Prigg . and Victoria Woollaston . Samsung is believed to be preparing to unveil its much anticipated Galaxy S5 smartphone ion February 24th, it has been claimed. The firm has sent journalists invites to a 'Samsung Unpacked event at the Mobile World congress show in Barcelona. It is expected to reveal the Galaxy S5 and a new, curved version of its Gear watch. Scroll down for video . Samsung's invite: The firm is expected to show off the Galaxy S5 handset, along with a new version of the Gear watch . The handset is expected to be announced on February 24th, and go on sale worldwide in April . Source: Sammmobile . It has been claimed the new handset could have a new 'smart' home screen that changes depending on the users location, or what they are doing. This image, obtained by website @evleaks, show a home screen displaying a series of cards. Similar to the Google Now system, it shows nearby locations as well as information gleaned from apps about what the user is doing. For example, it shows details of their latest run, a flight they plan to catch and text messages from friends. The image could reveal a major look for Samsung's flagship handset if it is legitimate. The specs for Samsung's new Galaxy S5 have already leaked online, amid claims the handset will come in both metal and plastic versions. The handset, which is is expected to have a 5.25inch screen and iris scanning to recognise users without a password, will also have a new superfast Snapdragon processor. There will also be a mini version of the S5, and a camera version called the Zoom, according to the Sammobile web site. First, let’s get the most mysterious thing about the Galaxy S5 out of the way: Yes, it will come in both metal and plastic versions as has been rumored, with the metal version costing around 800 Euros ($1080) and the plastic model coming in at around 650 Euros ($880),' the site says. The move is identical to Apple's decision to launch a plastic iPhone 5C alongside its flagship 5S model last year. The site also claims to have an almost complete set of specs for the handset. 'As expected, the Galaxy S5 will sport an AMOLED display of 2,560×1,440 resolution; we were unable to confirm the size, though it should be around 5.25-inches as has been rumored often.' It is also expected to be the first mass market mobile to use a new super-fast Exynos 6 Snapdragon 805 processor, which could give the handset a major speed boost. Leaks of Samsung's new menu system show a series of 'smart cards' showing information to users than can change depending on where they are or what they are doing . It could also allow the handset to run in 64bit mode - although the site believes that, again like Apple, only the metal version will do this. Recent reports also claimed the handset could feature an iris scanning system designed to recognise users without the need for a password. It will also boost a 16MP rear camera, and run KitKat, the latest version of Google's Android software. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas last week, Lee Young Hee announced that the firm is looking to release its next flagship phone between March and April - and admitted it will be called the Galaxy S5. Seeing double: Two version of the S5 are expected to go on sale in April, a metal and a plastic version . Lee also discussed the possibility a future model of the phone could feature iris recognition technology, yet did not confirm if it would be added to S5 or not. Rumours have suggested Samsung is working on a follow-up to its Galaxy Gear smartwatch since last year, too, and this could be unveiled at the same time as the S5. Lee told Bloomberg: We’ve been announcing our first flagship model in the first half of each year, around March and April, and we are still targeting for release around that time. ‘When we release our S5 device, you can also expect a Gear successor with more advanced functions, and the bulky design will also be improved.’ Lee is referring to the criticism the watch received when it went on sale in September last year. Biometric experts at New York-based firm EyeLock have created a dongle fitted with an iris scanner. The Myris device can register up to five different users. Each user begins by scanning their eyes to take an image of their respective irises. These unique images are then translated into an encrypted code. The scan takes between 10 and 20 seconds and the authentication code is created immediately. Once registered, each user can add various online passwords to their Myris profile. Next time the user visits one of these accounts, instead of entering a password, they can scan their eyes for immediate and secure access. According to EyeLock, the False Acceptance Rate of the average fingerprint sensor, in which the system is hacked by an unknown print, is one in every 10,000 scans. For iris scans, this increases to one 1 in 2.25 trillion scans. Myris is set to go on sale before the summer and will cost around $250 (£150) although an exact date and price is yet to be announced. Some analysts claimed the Korean firm had rushed the production of the gadget in order to beat Apple to releasing a smartwatch, and the design suffered. However, Apple has still not announced its rumoured iWatch. Regarding the iris recognition technology, Lee said during Samsung’s press event at the Consumer Electronics Show: ‘Many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology and we are studying the possibility but can’t really say whether we will have it or not on the S5.’ Samsung is said to be working on adding biometric technology to a future model to rival the popular fingerprint scanner on Apple’s iPhone 5S. Samsung is said to be working on adding biometric technology to a future model in its Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets to rival the popular fingerprint scanner on Apple's iPhone 5S, pictured . Samsung is also set to unveil a second-generation Galaxy Gear, original model is pictured, along with the S5 at Mobile World Congress in February . Iris scanning is more secure than fingerprint scanning, and the technology involved is cheaper, making it a more obvious choice to add to future models. Iris scanning involves a simple charge-coupled device digital camera that uses visible and near-infrared light to take a clear, high-contrast image of a person’s iris. When the camera takes the image, a scanner plots the centre of the pupil, edge of the pupil, edge of the iris, eyelids and eyelashes. It then analyses the unique patterns in the iris and translates this pattern into a code. Next time the eye is scanned, this code is compared to the pattern to authenticate a match. The iris scanner would not be the first time Samsung has introduced eye-tracking technology. Its Galaxy S4 includes a feature that locks onto the movement and position of a user’s eyes. The phone can analyse where the user is looking and will automatically scroll a web page when the eyes reach the bottom of the screen, for example, or lock the screen when the user looks away. Both of Samsung's new devices are expected to be unveiled during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. They will likely then go on sale in Korea in March, before being rolled out worldwide in April. Samsung is set to release its next flagship phone - the Galaxy S5 - between March and April. The Korean firm also hinted that either the S5, or a future model, could be fitted with an iris scanner, stock photo of an iris is pictured, that would be used to unlock the device . | Invites sent for 'Samsung Unpacked' event, where firm traditionally revealed new version of its handsets . Will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona . Handset expected to have super-fast new Snapdragon processor . Could be on sale worldwide in April . | bb17a7792bc4b158325b8992e3672e575ad70fc2 |
(CNN) -- Once more, as I often do, I find myself wishing for the late, great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. It was he who said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." But it was Florida Gov. Rick Scott who brought Thompson's maxim to life Wednesday. In fact, Gov. Scott brought it to the stage of a televised debate. To begin with, Scott has all the telegenic appeal of a garden slug: lean and hairless and slick and creepy. But then again, I've been a friend and business partner of James Carville for 30 years, so who am I to judge? What Gov. Scott demonstrated to the world is that, beneath that creepy exterior is an even more creepy psyche. A guy who is so deeply weird, so twisted and nutty that he would boycott a debate at the last second because his opponent had a small electric fan beneath his podium to keep him cool. Granted, the fan was a violation of the rules, but who cares? A human being would have sent minions out after the debate to note that his opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, broke the rules. A politician with even a dash of personality might even have used it to mock Crist: "I suspect Charlie was worried his face would melt" -- a sly shot at Crist's perma-tan. I have seen and done a lot of crazy stuff in political debates. In 1992, my compadres and I stole the stools Bill Clinton rehearsed on from a Williamsburg, Virginia, hotel and put them on the stage of the Bush-Perot-Clinton town hall debate in Richmond, so Gov. Clinton would have the home-butt advantage. I made one client so angry before a debate that he rhetorically bludgeoned his opponent until the poor man wept onstage. I know a politician who whispered the name of his opponent's mistress to him in the opening handshake of a debate. I even saw the governor of Texas forget how to count to three in a nationally televised debate. But I ain't never seen nothin' like Rick Scott's fan dance. Scott refused to come on the stage for seven excruciating minutes. The moderators were flummoxed. Crist could not conceal his glee. He had the same expression on his face that I had when I was an 18-year old pizza delivery boy called to bring lunch to the lovely dancers at The Doll House in Austin. "I cannot believe my luck. This is not really happening." Everything since that magical moment for me has been anticlimactic, and I'm sure everything from now on will be for Crist. No matter. Crist will become governor again, and Rick Scott will slink back under the rock from whence he emerged. But even there, in the gritty grime of the fetid Florida sand, he will be recognized and remembered as the guy who blew it because of a fan. When Dr. Thompson removed himself from this Earth he had his ashes shot out of a cannon. A spectacular explosion of fireworks scattered Hunter's earthly remains over Colorado. Rick Scott's political demise was considerably less spectacular; the remains of his career as a politician were blown all across Florida by a one-foot-wide electric fan. | Paul Begala: Hunter Thompson said: When going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Enter Rick Scott . Scott held up debate seven minutes when rival for governor, Charlie Crist, had fan in his podium . Begala: Scott's political career blown across Florida by a one-foot-wide electric fan. | 169528202d6e56c3dddae261247a2e634bac0779 |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor and Jason Groves . PUBLISHED: . 06:42 EST, 6 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:19 EST, 6 February 2013 . Their rivalry was such that John Prescott once likened Peter Mandelson to a crab. Now it has been reignited after Lord Mandelson was appointed to a prestigious role in the former deputy prime minister’s home city of Hull. Lord Prescott has written an ‘irate’ letter to the local council after being passed over for the post of High Steward in the city where he was an MP for 40 years. New Labour wars: Lord Mandelson has beaten his great rival Lord Prescott to the role of High Steward of Hull - Prezza's home city . Instead, the Labour-controlled council . has appointed former business secretary Lord Mandelson to act as the . city’s new ambassador. He will try to attract business and investment to Hull. The post is being revived after almost 40 years. Lord Prescott, who recently failed in . his bid to become Humberside’s first elected police and crime . commissioner, responded by firing off a letter to city hall demanding to . know why he had not been consulted. One source said councillors who saw the letter were ‘rolling about on the floor laughing’ at his self-important tone. ‘It reeked of a sense of entitlement,’ the source said. ‘It was a “don’t you know who I am” letter.’ Lord Prescott had a spiky relationship . with Lord Mandelson during the New Labour years and in 1997 they . battled over who was ‘minding the shop’ while Tony Blair was on holiday. Lord Prescott was MP for Hull East from 1970 to 2010, and missed out on becoming Humberside's police and crime commissioner last year . During a Thames visit, Lord Prescott was presented with a Chinese mitten crab, which he christened Peter. Yesterday he insisted he was unfazed by the council’s decision. The roles date back to 1583 but lapsed . in the 1970s. The city recently restored them after petitioning the . Queen in a ‘loyal address’. Lord Mandelson’s grandfather, the wartime Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, once held the post. To add insult to injury a junior role of High Sheriff has gone to former Tory Cabinet minister Virginia Bottomley. The . latest snub for Lord Prescott comes after he was defeated in his bid to . become the police and crime commissioner for Humberside. Lord Prescott admitted he had contacted the council demanding to know why he had not been asked about who should become chosen to be High Steward. The political heavyweights who played a key role in New Labour's have had a long-running rivalry . Lord Prescott said: ‘I was notified . about the decision late on Monday afternoon and have contacted the . council for further information. ‘I . am surprised it wasn't discussed with me earlier but I will continue to . do what I have done for the last 43 years - to promote Hull and fight . to bring jobs and investment to the city. ‘I also have no interest in being a steward again - I did that job on the liners for ten years.’ Council . leader Steve Brady confirmed Lord Mandelson and Baroness Bottomley had . accepted the unpaid posts: ‘We looked very strongly at the family . connection with Lord Mandelson, secondly he was previously Business . Secretary and thirdly he has very strong connections throughout Europe. ‘Although . this is a civic office I am sure he will understand the problems of . Hull and work with the people who care about this city, including John . Prescott. ‘All I am concentrating on is getting as many people battling for Hull as possible with influence to make a difference.’ In 1997 Lord Prescott christened a Chinese Mitten Crab 'Peter' in a swipe at his great rival . Other council figures insisted Lord Mandelson was the right man for the job. Former Lord Mayor Colin Inglis said: ‘As a former European Commissioner and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is precisely the sort of highly placed and well-connected individual Hull needs to press its case.’ Labour Cabinet member Phil Webster added: ‘We made a strategic choice and we never set out to upset anyone. If it has caused offence we are sorry for that.’ | John Prescott writes 'irate letter' to city council after ceremonial role is given to his great rival . Councillors were 'rolling around on the floor laughing' at the protest . Ex-Business Secretary Peter Mandelson to become High Steward of Hull, with High Sheriff role given to ex-Tory Cabinet minister Virgina Bottomley . | 2d9040bee51b9a231eadcd84ddcc73236feb3775 |
Though required by the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, a use-of-force report documenting the shooting that killed teenager Michael Brown 'doesn't exist,' it has emerged. Megan Asikainen, Ferguson's City Clerk, has claimed there is no use-of-report, Yahoo News reported, saying she 'said multiple times that the document doesn’t exist.' Asikainen expressed similar sentiments to MailOnline, following a public records request under Missouri's Sunshine Law. Where is it? A Ferguson city clerk has claimed there is no use-of-force report for the incident in which Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, pictured . The Ferguson police department states in its 2010 General Orders rulebook that use-of-force reports must be filed, the news site noted. 'Use of Force Report is required for all use of force incidents, to include the pointing of weapons or using weaponless, hand-to-hand control techniques even though they have little or no chance of producing injuries when gaining control over, or subduing non-compliant or resisting persons,' the rulebook says, a copy of which was obtained by the website. The rulebook also states that if a police officer shoots and injures someone, 'The watch commander will complete the Use of Force Report F-080 and forward it through the chain of command to the chief,' Yahoo News pointed out. Police Chief Tom Jackson did not immediately return a request for comment from MailOnline. This week, Jackson appeared in a taped video, in which he regretted the time Michael Brown's body was kept outside, saying 'it was just too long.' Officer: Darren Wilson of the Ferguson police department is seen in this file photo. The department explicitly states in its 2010 General Orders rulebook that use-of-force reports must be filed . The Ferguson police department violated a state law when it failed to include the 'name of the victim and immediate facts' in a police report on the Michael Brown shooting, Yahoo News reported. Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson last month - and there is no use-of-force report for a February 2013 incident Wilson was involved with, according to the news site. Asikainen told MailOnline there is no use-of-force report for the February incident. 'I don't think there can be any explanation for the absence of a report other than it is still being reviewed by the chain of command,' criminal justice professor Matthew Hickman told Yahoo News. Citing the St. Louis County Police Department, Hickman said 'With an outside agency doing the [criminal] investigation, Ferguson may just be in a holding pattern.' A request for comment to the Ferguson city council was not immediately answered, either. | Though required by the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, a use-of-force report for the shooting that killed teenager Michael Brown 'doesn't exist,' it has emerged . A city clerk has claimed there is no use-of-force report . The Ferguson police department states in its 2010 General Orders rulebook that use-of-force reports must be filed . Brown was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson in an incident last month that led to protests in the city . | a73a14f0e5138a829d7bcd26a91deceb286952db |
A state of emergency was declared in Sardinia yesterday after a cyclone left at least 18 people dead and thousands homeless. Streets vanished under floodwater and bridges collapsed as rivers burst their banks when the equivalent of six months of rain, almost 20in, fell on the island in less than 24 hours. Gianni Giovannelli, the mayor of the north-eastern town of Olbia, where 13 of the victims died, described Cyclone Cleopatra as ‘an apocalyptic storm’. In the town of Arzachena nearby, four . members of the same family, including a 16-year-old girl, were drowned . when their basement flat was submerged in a flood. Other children were among the dead as torrential rain lashed the island. 'State of emergency': A truck and a bus are stranded by flood waters in a tunnel near Olbia, Sardinia. Cyclone Cleopatra hit the island on Monday night, killing 18 people . Flood: A rescue worker wades down a flooded street in San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia - where 450mm of rain fell overnight . Clear-up: Rescuers work in the small town of Uras next to a submerged car. Sardinia's regional government has put aside 5 million euros for the clean up . Affects: This picture, issued by the Italian Police, shows a wrecked police car recovered from a crack in a bridge that was caused by torrential rains, in Dorgali, Sardinia . Aftermath: People work to shift floodwaters surrounding their homes in Olbia, Sardinia. Hundreds have been left homeless following the storms . Last night the Costa Smeralda, the playground of the international jet set, was virtually unrecognisable. Rivers of mud ran down the streets, train lines were destroyed and farmland disappeared under the water. Environment . minister Andrea Orlandi estimated that around 2,700 people have been . displaced after their homes were submerged by water and mud. Some spent the night in makeshift shelters in school gymnasiums, while others stayed with relatives. Many . Sardinians are questioning why government departments, including the . Civil Protection Agency, did not issue warnings before the cyclone . struck on Monday night. However, . agency head Franco Gabrielli defended the warning system, saying it . worked but that nothing could predict such ‘an exceptional event’. Attempts: A truck tries to drive through a flooded street close to Torpe near Nuoro, Sardinia while rain continues to fall . Rubbish: Piles of debris lie in a flooded street in the town of Olbia. The Prime Minister said today the storm was a 'national tragedy' Ruined: An overturned car lies in the middle of a flooded street while a man tends to a broken door in Olbia - one of the worst affected areas . Flash flood: A man walks in a flooded street of Siliqua, Sardinia. The government have set aside 20 million euros in emergency funds for the clean up operation . The . Italian government has pledged £17million to tackle the immediate . emergency, which was described by the prime minister, Enrico Letta, as . ‘a national tragedy’. He said: ‘At the moment the priority is saving lives.’ However, the rescue operation last night was hampered by renewed storms and the fact that many roads have been destroyed. The rainfall caused many rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Prime Minister Enrico Letta said today, 'This is a national tragedy.' Bad weather is forecast to continue today. The . mayor of Olbia, the northeastern . Sardinian town that was among the worst-affected areas, said the sudden . flooding had burst 'like a bomb'. He added that the same amount of water . fell in 90 minutes that usually falls in the city of Milan in six . months. Mayor . Gianni Giovannelli said houses across the area had been left . half-submerged by the floods and rescuers were still searching for . possible victims. Thrown: Scores of cars where swept away by floodwater and discarded on the side of the road in Olbia . Help: Firefighters use an inflatable dingy to rescue a citizen in the flooded Terralba, Sardinia . Destroyed: A pile of belongings lie in floodwater outside a residential street, while locals tend to their damaged properties in the background . Terrible: A woman wades through inches of water in the kitchen of her home in Olbia, Sardinia . Livelihood: A wider view of the room showing more flooding. Authorities have said around 2,700 have been damaged . Level: A badly flooded garage in Cagliari, Sardinia, that looks out on to the flooded street in the distance where debris can be seen floating in the water . 'We've just found a dead child we had been searching all night for,' he told SkyTG24 television. Residents told of narrow escapes as sudden floods of water surged into their houses. 'We . managed to open the door with all this water inside, it was just . devastating. The kids didn't have anything, they were naked, naked, they . managed to get out by the back stairs,' Olbia resident Francesco . Brandano said. 'Everything is wet, everything needs to be thrown . away. Everything is gone, documents, everything. We haven't got anything . left.' The declaration of a . state of emergency will mean resources will reach devastated areas more . quickly, with swathes of the island under muddy flood waters that . covered cars and swamped houses, displacing 2,700 according to . authorities. The government set aside 20 million euros in immediate emergency funds to help the rescue and clean-up work. The regional government of Sardinia separately approved 5 million euros in aid funds. Underwater: A street near Nuoro, Sardinia, is completely flooded following the 90-minute torrential downpour . Devastation: Due to extreme rainfall, a bridge collapsed, pictured, near Oliena, Sardinia. Bad weather was predicted to continue throughout Tuesday . Danger: Two men use an inflatable dingy to get around in a flooded street in Olbia, northern Sardinia. Bridges were felled by swollen rivers and water levels reached 3 metres . Submerged: A car and a motorscooter stand in floodwater near a house that was destroyed following a heavy storm, near Olbia, Sardinia . The Red Cross said hundreds of people had . been forced out of their homes and into temporary shelters set up in . sports halls and other centres. Several bridges were swept away in Olbia . and in the region near the central town of Nuoro. 'The situation is . tragic,' regional governor Ugo Cappellacci told SkyTG24 television. 'The . hotels in Olbia are full of people who have had to escape, but there . are thousands who have damage to their homes.' The disaster raised questions about how well prepared Italy's cash-strapped local governments, under increasing financial pressure after more than two years or recession, are to deal with sudden emergencies. 'We're facing an exceptional event here which has put our system of territorial planning and management into crisis,' said Antonello Frau, deputy head of the island's geological service. 'We really have to assess how we manage these situations, which are becoming more frequent.' Scale: The image shows the entrance to a tunnel completely flooded following a heavy storm, near Nuoro, Sardinia, and two large vehicle left stranded inside . Rainfall: A woman wades through her flooded garden last night - with floodwater well above knee-level . Flooding and landslides have been common in Italy, dominated in many areas by rugged mountain ranges. However Legambiente, Italy's main environmental group, said the disaster showed there was an urgent need to step up measures to handle floods and other disasters, a call backed by the national geological council. It said more than 6 million Italians faced a potential risk from flooding but it said the risk had been made worse by reckless building, particularly in coastal areas. 'This is not just the fault of climate change' the association's president, Gian Vito Graziano, said in a statement. Spread: Tourists walk through heavy rain and wind in a flooded Saint Mark's Square in Venice, Italy today . Stormy seas: Two tankers are battered by gale winds and ferocious waves in the rough waters of the Gulf of Cagliari, Sardinia . | As many as eighteen people - including four children - died when Cyclone Cleopatra tore through Sardinia . Hundreds were evacuated and are now homeless after 450mm of rain dropped in 90 minutes on Monday night . State of emergency has now been declared, with Prime Minister Enrico Letta saying, 'This is a national tragedy' Government set aside 20 million euros for rescue and clean-up, with Sardinia's regional powers approving 5 million . | 50cf67dc08e4f00d68ca304ffb835575a67ca308 |
The Israeli military has identified the three teens, one reportedly a 16-year-old American, who were abducted by terrorists in the West Bank on Thursday. Naftali Frenkel was captured along with Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, according to officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Islamic militant group Hamas of kidnapping the teenagers after Israeli troops arrested some 80 Palestinians, including dozens of Hamas members, in an overnight raid in the West Bank. Scroll down for video . Eyal Yifrach, left, and American Naftali Frenkel, right, are two of the teens abducted last Thursday by terrorists in the West Bank . ‘Those who perpetrated the abduction of our youths were members of Hamas,’ he said on Sunday. ‘This has severe repercussions.’ The Palestinians have rejected blame, saying the teens went missing in territory under full Israeli control. Frenkel’s mother said her family is in close contact with the security forces and getting briefings on any new information, reports NBC News. ‘We feel and know that they are turning the world in order to find the three,’ Racheli Frenkel told reporters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, has accused the Islamic militant group Hamas of kidnapping the teenagers, including Gilad Shaar, right, after Israeli troops arrested some 80 Palestinians in overnight raids . After thanking Israelis for their prayers, she also issued a heartbreaking message directed at her son. ‘Mommy and Daddy and your brothers love you until the end of the world and you should know that the people of Israel are doing all they can to bring you back home,’ she said. Israel's prime minister and President Shimon Peres have both reached out to the families of the missing teens. ‘We are one nation, we are one family and I want you to know that all of Israel is with you during these difficult times,’ Peres told them on Saturday, according to the president's office. Peres also said that all branches of Israel's security forces are ‘doing everything to bring our boys home,’ adding that ‘the people of Israel are praying for their safe return.’ Israeli soldiers patrol an area in the West Bank town of Hebron on June 15, 2014, as they search for three teenagers who went missing near a West Bank settlement . The crisis has escalated already . heightened tensions between Israel and the new Palestinian government, . which is headed by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas but backed by . Hamas. Palestinian militants . have repeatedly threatened to kidnap Israelis, hoping to use them as . bargaining chips to win the release of prisoners held by Israel. This would be the first time three civilians have been taken at the same time. The overnight raid was concentrated in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, in the area where the youths disappeared. A Hamas website said more than 60 of those arrested were members, including senior figures in the movement. The Israeli military also detained supporters of Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group. Israeli soldiers search for three teenagers who are believed to have been snatched from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc between Bethlehem and Hebron, reportedly while hitchhiking . ‘Palestinian terrorists will not feel . safe, will not be able to hide and will feel the heavy arm of the . Israeli military capabilities,’ military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner . said. The Palestinians' self-rule government, which administers 38 percent of the West Bank, has . insisted it is not to blame, saying the teens went missing in territory . under full Israeli control. ‘The Israeli government cannot blame the Palestinians for security issues in areas that are not controlled by them,’ said Ehab Bseiso, the spokesman of the Palestinian unity government. He also condemned what he called the ‘latest Israeli military escalation against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza and the Israeli air attacks on Gaza, which led to the wounding of several Palestinians.’ Asked about Netanyahu's claim that Hamas carried out the kidnapping, Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said that ‘this is something we have no information on.’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused militants from the Islamist movement Hamas of kidnapping the teenagers . In its first statement on the issue, Hamas praised the kidnapping but did not claim responsibility. In . a message sent to journalists, it referred to ‘the success of the . kidnapping’ and said that ‘the movement pays tribute to the heroes who . are behind the kidnapping.’ In the Gaza Strip, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed Netanyahu's claims of Hamas involvement in the abductions as ‘silly.’ Hamas governed Gaza for seven years before striking the unity deal with Abbas. It remains in de facto control of the coastal territory, which is separated from the West Bank by Israel. Despite the exchange of accusations, security officials from Israel and Abbas' forces have been cooperating closely in the West Bank trying to find the kidnappers. | Naftali Frenkel was captured along with Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, on Thursday . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Islamic militant group Hamas of kidnapping the teenagers . Israeli troops arrested some 80 Palestinians, including dozens of Hamas members, in a Sunday morning raid in the West Bank . 'Mommy and Daddy and your brothers love you until the end of the world,' said Racheli Frenkel in an emotional plea to her son . | b976b65346f1da438ccaf9187dc457ad0ed7f625 |
Cleaning cars and performing somersaults for £2.30. It was once all in a day's work for Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez. The 25-year-old cost the Gunners £30million when he arrived from Barcelona in the summer. But the forward, who is understood to be pocketing a wage of £150,000-a-week, has reflected on his childhood in Chile where he couldn't even afford to buy a new pair of boots. Alexis Sanchez trains with his Chile team-mates in Santiago ahead of their friendly against Peru . Sanchez - seen here celebrating after scoring against Man City - has made a solid start to his Arsenal career . 'My first pair of boots were given to me by the Mayor of Tocopilla after my mum went to speak with him,' said Sanchez, as reported by the Daily Express. 'One day he turned up at my house and just gave me them. I was made up, like a dog with two tails! 'As I could do somersaults, people would say to me, 'do a somersault and we'll give you 50 or 100 Pesos'. 'I also used to clean cars.' Sanchez is back in his native Chile as he prepares to take on South American rivals Peru in a friendly on Saturday, before taking on Bolivia next Wednesday (October 15). Sanchez's tale is one that has taken him from rags to riches via River Plate, Udinese and Barcelona . Manchester United target Arturo Vidal (centre) is also part of the Chile squad to play Peru . Despite playing in the top tiers of Italian and Spanish football, with Udinese and Barcelona, Sanchez insists the Premier League is the hardest. 'Compared to the other leagues I've played in, I think this is the hardest and I like it a lot, I really do,' Sanchez told Arsenal.com. 'Before I signed, people had told me about how Arsenal were a big club with lots of quality players. Now I'm here I look at all the players during training and realise just what fantastic quality they all have.' With a wealth of attacking talent at the Gunners, Sanchez has started life at Arsenal in a variety of forward roles but admits he feels 'slightly more comfortable' when he is deployed on the right. 'I can run and cut inside on my left foot, but any position is good for me as long as I'm playing football because I hate being on the bench,' added Sanchez. 'If you take me off it's like you're taking the ball off me. 'I want to win everything. Looking at the coaches and players we have, with a winning attitude and ambition, we can win absolutely anything.' Sanchez, attempts to evade the challenge of Branislav Ivanovic, insists the Premier League is the hardest test . Arsenal entertain Hull on October 18 and will be looking to get their title bid back on track following last weekend's defeat by Chelsea. Manager Arsene Wenger will be hoping the former Udinese star comes through the international break unscathed, following Wednesday's news that injured Mesut Ozil faces 12 weeks on the sidelines. Sanchez has thrilled Arsenal fans with some stellar performances, collecting the club's player of the month award for September. And with five goals to his name so far this season, it's fair to say he has been flipping good... Like our Arsenal Facebook page. | Alexis Sanchez currently in Chile training ahead of friendly against Peru . The forward joined Arsenal in a £30million deal this summer . Sanchez says the Premier League is the toughest he has played in . | 3e1f307394ed546d35f1bea3f3b83dc1d76a9f71 |
(CNN) -- The United States on Thursday expanded a visa ban and set the groundwork for sanctions against Russians and others over the crisis in Ukraine, while Europe also threatened similar action if the matter cannot be resolved diplomatically. The dual action intensified the western response around Russia's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula last week triggered by political upheaval in Kiev. The United States has led the charge on sanctions with Europe seen as a more reluctant partner, at least initially. Russia is the European Union's third-largest trading partner after the United States and China. Germany relies heavily on Russian energy. Visa bans, which were expanded by the State Department, were already in place for some Russian and Ukrainian officials. President Barack Obama also signed an executive order allowing the U.S. government to impose a host of sanctions on both individuals and entities deemed to be violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. If Russia continues "this violation of international law" in Ukraine, "the resolve of the United States and our allies and the international community will remain firm," Obama said in remarks at the White House. His executive order provides the legal basis for sanctions against specific people and entities, though the United States would do so "based on the situation on the ground" in Ukraine, a senior administration official told CNN. It targets those responsible for or complicit in actions that "undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine," the executive order states. No names were revealed, but Russian President Vladimir Putin was not on the list, officials said. Any sanctions would range from freezing assets and blocking property under U.S. jurisdiction to preventing American companies from doing business with any person or entity listed. The Obama administration had previously put trade and investment pact talks with Russia on hold. Separately, Europe also threatened sanctions if the crisis cannot be resolved diplomatically through talks between Moscow and Kiev. The European Council, an arm of the European Union, said it would suspend bilateral talks with Russia on visa matters, and also threatened travel bans, asset freezes and cancellation of the EU-Russia summit if there is no timely diplomatic progress. It also threatened "severe and far-reaching" economic consequences if Russia further destabilizes the situation. Also in Washington, a congressional committee was set to vote later in the day on a resolution condemning Russia's actions and urging the United States to pursue a broad range of economic and other sanctions. Military ties, G8 . U.S. action also extends militarily to boost support for allies in the region. The Pentagon added six fighter jets to the four currently on a NATO mission in the Baltics and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun is about to take part in a previously scheduled exercise in the Black Sea. In addition, the Pentagon has suspended military exercises with Russia, and the Obama administration has suspended preparations for the upcoming G8 summit of industrialized nations in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the site of the just-completed Winter Olympics. Russian lawmakers are drafting a law that would allow the nation to confiscate assets belonging to U.S. and European companies if sanctions are slapped on Moscow, Russian state media reported. Labott reported from Rome and Kosinski from New York; CNN Money's Mark Thompson and Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report. | President Obama signed an executive order allowing sanctions . The sanctions would be aimed at Russians and Ukrainians threatening Ukraine . Visa bans are already in effect for some Russian and Ukrainian officials . NEW: Europe to suspend talks with Russia on visas, threatens other economic steps . | 5cde2f83304a0185ffb6f8fcf3322bee65d2740a |
She's the first lady of fashion who worked as creative director of Smythson and often sits front row at the biggest shows, but it seems that Samantha Cameron has been taking style inspiration from her husband. Samantha, 43, was sporting a more androgynous style than usual as she and the Prime Minister arrived in Birmingham ahead of the Conservative Party Conference. Wearing a pinstriped blue and white shirt, not dissimilar to the one her husband David was sporting, dark cord trousers and navy heels, the mother-of-three exuded an understated yet chic style. Scroll down for video . Trendsetter? Samantha Cameron is well-known in the industry for her sartorial wardrobe choices and as she arrived with husband David ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, she rocked an androgynous style . While fashion editors have quietly been championing mannish shirts for months, are we ready for cords to make a comeback from the 90s? Christopher Tennant, style writer at the Wall Street Journal, said: 'Banish all thoughts of preppy high-schoolers and '70s flares. Corduroy is cultivating a more refined air. 'Corduroy can be groovily retro or preppy and professorial. It has a reputation as a bit of a workaday fabric, but good, 100 per cent cotton corduroy is like velvet in its richness and is fantastic to work with.' It's a man's world: Crisp tailored shirts and trousers have been the fash-pack's wardrobe essentials so far this season and it seems that Mrs Cameron has taken note . Androgynous dressing is certainly the style de rigeur. The high street has witnessed sales of trouser suits soar by 157 per cent after recent awards ceremonies such as the Baftas and the Oscars, where fashion's finest were championing the trend. Style icons Cara Delevingne, Kourtney Kardashian, Madonna and Ellen Degeneres have been embracing the manly look since the start of the year and the red carpets were blanketed in ladies’ tuxes. Androgynous dressing is back on the style agenda but that doesn’t mean you have to look manly. 'Clean-lined suits with cuts in the right places can look feminine and flattering as shown at Jil Sander, Tods and Versace,' said fashion blogger Lydia Faye Jones. Although the look has been a celebrity favourite on the red carpet, it has crossed over into everyday wear with sales of plain black and navy trouser suits up by 157 per cent along with white shirts increasing by 105 per cent at Debenhams. Here they come: David and Samanta Cameron's outfit choices weren't too dissimilar as they arrivedat the The Hyatt Hotel in Birmingham . Fashionista: Samantha often wins over style critics for her love of mixing high end designer, such as Roksanda Ilincic, Erdem and Phillip Lim - with high street options such as Zara and L.K. Bennett . Clearly Samantha, who quickly became an ambassador for British style when husband David was made Prime Minister in May 2010, is up-to-date with the trends (her sister does work for Vogue, after all). She often wins over style critics for her love of mixing high end designer, such as Roksanda Ilincic, Erdem and Phillip Lim - with high street options such as Zara and L.K. Bennett. She also hosts a party at Downing Street every season to celebrate London fashion week, with this year's esteemed guests including Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss. The Prime Minister and his wife may have been all smiles on arrival last night, but David Cameron today vented his frustration at the chaotic start to his Tory party conference, overshadowed by the defection of a second MP to UKIP and a minister quitting in a sleaze scandal. Shaking up her style: Samantha is well known for mixing high street with high-end and chops and changes between a more masculine style, left, and feminine dresses, right . Frow: Samantha Cameron sitting on the front row at the Erdem SS13 show . Friends in high places: Natalie Massenet (C) MBE, Caroline Rush (R) CEO of BFC and Samantha Cameron (L), celebrate a year of British Fashion . The Prime Minister sought to focus voters' attention on the next election being a straight choice between him or Ed Miliband standing on the steps of Number 10, but admitted: 'It's not been the best start.' But he faces spending the week dogged by questions about how many more Conservatives will switch to UKIP in the coming days and weeks, in protest at his policies on Europe and immigration. The Tories have been plunged into crisis on the first day of their annual gathering in Birmingham. Mark Reckless yesterday stunned the Tory leadership by announcing he was joining UKIP, despite spending the last two weeks repeatedly denying he planned to do so. Bad start: David Cameron today vented his frustration at the chaotic start to his Tory party conference, overshadowed by the defection of a second MP to UKIP and a minister quitting in a sleaze scandal . And hours after UKIP leader Nigel Farage paraded his newest recruit, it emerged charities minister Brooks Newmark had been forced to quit over allegations he sent explicit photographs of himself to a woman - who was actually an undercover reporter. The married father-of-five today admitted he had been a 'complete fool' but pleaded for privacy for his family. Mr Cameron had hoped to focus attention on plans to curb benefits for the under-25s, but has been blown off course by events beyond his control . The Prime Minister today revealed his anger at the double blow to his party's image in a live TV interview. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'I have to admit it has not been an ideal start.' | Samantha, 43, wore crisp pinstriped shirt and corduroy trousers . Arrived on arm of David in Birmingham last night . Has long been regarded as a style icon and hosts fashion party at Downing Street every season . | 7ed2bb8e587e1ac39c1c19a700f4009d298e8115 |
By . Chris Hastings . PUBLISHED: . 19:50 EST, 6 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:50 EST, 6 July 2013 . Speech: Sir Winston Churchill used the phrase in 1952 . It is not every day that George Osborne is described as being Churchillian. But the Chancellor’s insistence that ‘We are all in this together’ when talking about the spending cuts echoes a phrase used by Sir Winston Churchill at a private dinner more than 50 years ago. The wartime Prime Minister said ‘We’re all in it together’ in a speech to tax collectors and former Chancellors of the Exchequer about the economic and political threats facing Britain in the 1950s. Until now historians had no idea that Churchill had ever made the remark. But a sound recording of the speech, which was made on May 28, 1952, has been found among the politician’s private record collection – currently being digitised by experts at the Churchill Archive at the University of Cambridge. The recording, which was played for the first time on BBC Radio 4 programme Churchill’s Secret Cabinet last night, is one of several Churchill had privately commissioned for his own benefit. In many instances they are the only surviving public record of his attendance at private events. Historian and Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts said: ‘Both George Osborne and David Cameron have used a near identical phrase and they are being Churchillian without actually realising it. ‘Of course they were both unaware that Churchill had ever said it.’ Churchill, who kept his record collection in a mahogany cabinet in the dining room of his Chartwell home, shared his concerns about Britain’s future at a Jubilee dinner organised by the National Association of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Taxes. Favourite phrase: Chancellor George Osborne is being unwittingly Churchillian every time he uses his mantra . He said: ‘I feel a great burden upon me at my age having seen so much and been through so much. ‘Not that I cannot bear it in the ordinary physical sense but I do see great perils hanging over the country. We have all got to fight together for the life of the nation...Our feeling is to some extent alleviated by the fact that we’re all in it together.’ Experts say the fact the Prime Minister was so open about his feelings might mean the speech was impromptu. Churchill becomes more light-hearted as the speech progresses, paying tribute to members of the audience. He says the country owes them a debt of gratitude and thanks them for their help ‘in extracting more and more money from those who guilelessly voted us into office’. Nearly identical: David Cameron is also famous for using the phrase in this time of austerity . He jokes about his last visit to the association some 25 years earlier, when he was ‘only’ Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury, compared with his new positions as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. Mr Roberts said it was ‘extraordinary’ to learn new things about Churchill, who died in 1965. The record collection also includes a previously unheard recording of a speech Churchill made to RAF personnel at Biggin Hill in 1951. He recalls how he crashed while taking flying lessons in the years leading up to the First World War. He says that his dinner companion on that night thought he looked like ‘a ghost’, before telling the officers: ‘I suspect you’ve had many more exciting adventures than that.’ There is also a recording of Churchill explaining to the French people his decision to sink the country’s fleet in July 1940 in a bid to stop it falling into enemy hands. He speaks in the schoolboy French he learnt at Harrow. Mr Roberts believes that Churchill kept recordings of his speeches so he could study them to improve his technique. But the collection also includes a number of musical and comedy works, including Noel Coward’s Don’t Let’s Be Beastly To The Germans as well as songs by music hall acts. Experts at the Churchill Archive are racing against time to digitise the recordings, which are in a poor state and on the verge of collapse. | Until now historians had no idea that Churchill had ever made the remark . Recording from 1952 was played for the first time on BBC Radio 4 . | a213ca6cb74ae8853ba35954dc1763ca2d821a01 |
By . Jenny Hope Medical Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 19:01 EST, 2 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:02 EST, 2 December 2013 . The vaccination costs £75 with each child needing at least four doses. Campaigners are urging the Government Advisory Committee for Vaccination to include it in NHS care . Campaigners are calling for a vaccine against the leading cause of deadly bacterial meningitis to be offered free on the NHS. Bexsero is the first jab to protect against meningitis B, but it is available only privately. The Government’s advisory committee on vaccination has so far refused to endorse it for routine use, saying it is not cost effective. It costs £75 a dose and children require four each, costing between £400 and £500 in total. Meningitis Now, the UK’s largest meningitis charity, said it welcomed . the move, but wants every baby to have it free on the NHS, instead of . only being available to those who can afford it. The UK has one of . the highest Meningitis B incidence rates in the world - affecting an . average of 1,870 people each year - and the disease can kill in hours. Anyone . can get the strain, with one in 10 people affected dying and one in . three survivors suffering life-changing after-effects such as limb loss, . brain damage and epilepsy. It kills more children under five than . any other infectious disease in the UK, while teenagers are also more at . risk than other age groups. Some experts estimated its use on the . NHS would have saved 60-80 lives this year alone, while others fear . rejection of the jab will be a severe setback for vaccine research. Meningitis . Now founder Steve Dayman MBE, who launched his fight against the deadly . disease after losing his baby Spencer to meningitis in 1982, said ‘The . availability of the lifesaving vaccine in the UK is a watershed moment . in the fight against the deadly disease. ‘The vaccine is one of the . most significant leaps forward in the fight - it’s taken decades to . develop and stands to save thousands of lives and spare so much misery. ‘We . welcome that it is now available privately, but believe every parent . should have the choice and chance to vaccinate their baby - not just . those with means. ‘Universal vaccination is the best way to stop the disease. ‘We . must also consider herd immunity, when a large proportion of people are . vaccinated, it removes a great chunk of the disease and helps to . protect those who haven’t had the vaccine.’ Campaigners claim, in . extreme cases, it can cost £3million in support and treatment for each survivor of the disease. Campaigners are calling for the treatment to become routine throughout the NHS . Figures earlier this year showed £28million was paid out in compensation . to the families of children left permanently disabled by meningitis . missed by GPs between 2008 and 2012. Sue Davie, chief executive of the charity, said ‘We are asking the Government to not only consider costs of treating the disease, but the cost of bereavement support for families and after-care for survivors from prosthetic limbs to lifelong support through school and adult life.’ The vaccine Bexsero is licensed for infants aged two months and over - babies being most susceptible during the first year of life - and older children. It has taken 20 years to develop the jab using a revolutionary new approach against a range of disease-causing strains.Bexsero has been tested in more than 7,500 patients including infants, toddlers, adolescents and adults across the world. Studies show most vaccinated infants and teenagers develop a strong immune response. Novartis offered earlier this year to make the vaccine available at cost to the NHS, which is understood to be far lower than the price on the private market. Andrin Oswald, Division Head, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, said ‘While we are delighted that MenB disease is now vaccine preventable in the UK, it is our belief that the greatest public health benefit can be achieved through the introduction of the vaccine onto the National Immunisation Programme. ‘We hope that the Department of Health will make the vaccine universally available as soon as possible. | Bexsero is the first jab to protect against meningitis B . Government advisory committee has refused to endorse it for routine use . Campaigners are calling for £75 vaccination to become commonplace . | 2d832a3129a1ac0486edaac4e1ed14dc9210ae75 |
(CNN) -- One of four former Khmer Rouge leaders charged with crimes against humanity was ruled unfit to stand trial and could be set free, a spokesman for the special U.N. court in Cambodia said Thursday. Lars Olsen said the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia decided that Ieng Thirith, the 78-year-old former minister of social affairs in the Khmer Rouge regime, was "not fit to stand trial as she has dementia." Prosecutors have 24 hours to object to the court's decision, Olsen said. If there is no objection, Ieng Thirith will be released, he added. Opening statements by the defendants are scheduled for Monday. Ieng Thirith was the only woman among the four defendants in the trial, which charges surviving leaders of the four-year Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, genocide, homicide, torture and religious persecution. The other defendants are her husband, Ieng Sary, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister; Khieu Samphon, the nominal head of state; and Nuon Chea, the prime minister, also known as Brother Number 2. The head of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, was known as Brother Number 1. He died in 1998, long before the U.N.-backed court came into existence. Under Pol Pot's leadership, the Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of ordinary Cambodians during a four-year reign of terror that was eventually halted in 1979 by invading Vietnamese forces. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge ordered people out of Phnom Penh, the capital, and other cities in Cambodia to work in the countryside. It is said to be responsible for about 1.7 million deaths, roughly a quarter of the population at the time. Its stated aim was to create a Communist utopia, but instead the regime forced Cambodians into what has been described as a living hell. City-dwellers were marched into the countryside and forced to work as farm laborers. Those already living in rural Cambodia were expected to produce enough food for the country while teaching farming to those who had never done it before. Currency was abolished, and anyone with an education was considered a threat. No one was allowed modern medicine, and the country isolated itself in an effort to become completely self-sufficient. The results were disastrous: People died of starvation and disease as soldiers tortured and killed anyone suspected of being disloyal. In the end, virtually everyone, including the soldiers, became a target due to the leadership's paranoia. | The special U.N. court in Cambodia decides Ieng Thirith has dementia . Three others, include Ieng Thirith's husband, face charges of crimes against humanity . The Khmer Rouge regime's four-year rule in the 1970s is blamed for 1.7 million deaths . | a9298bfbe8d567fd26c1e1d8d1ce25247ddd4490 |
By . Ollie Gillman For Mailonline . Barack Obama's great-uncle, a Second World War veteran, has died aged 89 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Charles T. Payne, who helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp in World War II, died on August 1 in Chicago. Mr Payne was briefly in the pubic eye during the President's first election campaign when Obama mistakenly said his great-uncle had liberated Auschwitz. Barack Obama's great-uncle Charles Payne, pictured with his wife Melanie, has died aged 89 . Mr Payne played a role in liberating Ohrdruf, a section of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany . When he was just 20, Mr Payne, had in fact helped free prisoners at Ohrdruf, a section of the Buchenwald concentration camp where an estimated 56,545 people were killed by the SS. It was Soviet forces who liberated Auschwitz in January 1945 as they marched across Nazi-occupied Poland. Mr Payne, who is the brother of Obama's maternal grandmother Madelyn Dunham, said at the time that he was 'truly astonished' by the attention paid to the gaffe, and called his nephew 'truly an astounding young man'. The veteran modestly played down his role in the liberation of Ohrdruf, but described the horrors he saw there, including a circle of dead inmates in rags that had clearly been near starvation when they were killed. He said: 'They were there with their tin cups like they were called to get food, then had been machine gunned. 'Nothing but just skin over bones with nothing, no flesh at all.' During his first election campaign, Obama mistakenly said that Mr Payne had helped free prisoners at Auschwitz, but quickly corrected himself . After the war, Mr Payne went to college in Kansas, where he had grown up. He went on to graduate at the University of Chicago, where Obama would later lecture on constitutional law. Uncle Charlie, as he was called by the President, became a pioneer in IT at the university, retiring aged 70 from his position as assistant director of the college's library. Melanie, his wife of 50 years, said her husband was 'very pleased and proud' to have served in two Presidential delegations in recent years to commemorate World War II anniversaries. He is also survived by a son, Richard. | Charles T. Payne freed prisoners at Ohrdruf, a section of the Buchenwald concentration camp where more than 56,000 died . President Obama mistakenly said his great-uncle liberated Auschwitz . Mr Payne leaves behind wife of 50 years Melanie and son Richard . | 503cee39d225411afa9be4c1fa4aeb5a3d7c35d1 |
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea test-fired a short-range missile off its western coast in the middle of last week, according to Yonhap News Agency. Quoting an intelligence source, Yonhap says Pyongyang launched a KN-06 short-range missile in an attempt to improve it and increase its range. This launch would be the North's first test of a short-range missile in 19 months. In July 2009, North Korea fired a series of short-range missiles off its east coast, a move criticized by the international community. The South Korean Ministry of Defense tells CNN they cannot comment on the report. Tensions have been high between the two Koreas since two attacks last year killed 50 South Koreans. North Korea also announced last week it will cut all ties with the South and threatened to strike with military force. It is not the first time Pyongyang has threatened to attack Seoul. CNN's Jiyeon Lee contributed to this report. | Short-range missile fired last week, news agency says . South Korea won't comment on it . | ffa685c7130a07ac29436c79ead5c7f63819e21e |
By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . PUBLISHED: . 08:17 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:24 EST, 22 August 2013 . Scientists have bottled the Earth’s most colourful light show, along with several auroras from other planets. The colours were created inside a glass dome known as a Planeterrella where charged particles glow vividly when exposed to a magnetic field. This is similar process to that which creates the Northern Lights and will help scientists better understand how different auroras are formed. Guillaume Gronoff (left) and his summer intern Sam Walker (right) built the Planeterrella, which recreates Earth's Northern Lights and the auroras from several other planets . Dr Guillaume Gronoff and . his intern Sam Walker from Letourneau University in Texas, built the . Planeterrella at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. ‘It recreates the atmosphere of the Earth at 80km in altitude when an aurora is occurring,' said Dr Gronoff, a research scientist at Nasa Langley. 'The aurora is created when particles, originally from the sun, precipitate into the atmosphere.' The Planeterrella machine is a spinoff of an experiment from the 19th century called the Terrella. The Terrella, created by Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland, first demonstrated the glowing result of electrically charged particles mixing with a magnetic field. The Planeterrella recreates the atmosphere of the Earth at 80km in altitude when the Northern Lights (pictured) are occuring . From, 1896 to 1917 the Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland designed an . experiment called the Terrella, to better understand the formation of the polar lights. The experiment consisted of shooting electrons from a duct to a magnetised sphere in a vacuum. The electron gun represented the sun, and the magnetised sphere represented the Earth. A century later, new designs of the experiment have branched out to simulate different interactions between different stars and their planets, hence the new name, 'Planeterrella'. Dr Gronoff and his team upgraded the old experiment by adding several spheres, which allowed them to recreate the auroral ovals that occur on Earth and several other planets. ‘For example, we can show the reaction when Io, the satellite of Jupiter, sends particles to Jupiter. We can also simulate the aurora at Neptune and Uranus, when their magnetic fields are directly pointing towards the sun,’ said Dr Gronoff. There are around 10 other Planeterrella machines in Europe, and the first was created by Dr Gronoff’s PhD advisor, Dr Jean Lilensten, in France. Studying auroras and the relationship between the sun and the Earth is a key focus area of Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate. The Planeterrella machine will used for demonstrating how each variable interacts to create an aurora. The colour of the aurora in the bottle is purple because of the nitrogen used. The aurora on Earth is usually green due to reactions with oxygen in the atmosphere . ‘The Planeterrella allows us to create analogies with existing processes, like the aurora at Mars, which do not have a global magnetic field, but several localised magnetic fields, or Uranus and Neptune, when the magnetic fields of those planets point towards the Sun,’ explained Dr Gronoff. Dr Gronoff warned that the experiment is only an illustration; more complex phenomena are occurring in the magnetospheres of planets. For example, there are various gases on each planet that can create different colour effects within auroras. Dr Gronoff is now planning on incorporating this variable using a few extra magnets and some carbon dioxide to simulate the aurora on Mars. | Colours created when particles in a dome were exposed to a magnetic field . This is a similar process that leads to the Northern Lights on Earth . Team are now using extra magnets and CO2 to simulate the aurora on Mars . | 9b34f7ade19b3288dd4ce325f6754acad92571a0 |
Spanking and whipping should not be banned in British-made online porn videos, Lib Dem MPs have demanded. Backbench MP Julian Huppert attacked rules revealed last week which ban a host of erotic acts considered 'harmful' by ministers. The new laws aim to bring 'video-on-demand' online porn into line with videos sold in licensed sex shops. It means around 10 acts - ranging from spanking to strangulation, aggressive whipping and being tied up – are now banned from web porn sold in the UK. Mr Huppert has tabled a Commons motion calling for the new rules – laid down in the Audiovisual Media Services Regulation 2014 – to be annulled. Mr Huppert, MP for Cambridge, said the new rules 'mean that all video-on-demand services that originate from the UK can't show various acts, such as spanking'. He said: 'It seems to me to be very odd to say that this - assuming it is consensual - is acceptable for somebody to do in their own home, for them to photograph it, film it, but not to look at it online if it comes from the UK. 'To me the case for banning things should be driven by issues around consent, and around genuine risk, not about whether we happen to like things or not.' Banned content includes 'the portrayal of sexual activity which involves real or apparent lack of consent' and 'the infliction of pain or acts which may cause lasting physical harm'. This effectively outlaws acts including physical or verbal abuse (whether or not it is consensual), physical restraint, caning and strangulation. A Government spokesman said: 'The legislation provides the same level of protection to the online world that exists on the high street in relation to the sale of physical DVDs. 'In a converging media world these provisions must be coherent and the BBFC classification regime is a tried and tested system of what content is regarded as harmful for minors.' But critics argue the change not only damages the country's porn industry, with online viewers still able to access content banned in the UK by watching videos filmed abroad, but amounts to 'arbitrary censorship'. A number of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' style sex acts have been banned from online porn made in the UK. A movie based on the erotic novel is currently being made staring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson (pictured) Spanking and whipping, which are featured in the saucy novel Fifty Shades of Grey, are on the banned list, as well as: . Aggressive whipping . Physical or verbal abuse (regardless of if consensual) Strangulation . Jerry Barnett, founder of anti-censorship campaign Sex And Censorship, told Vice News: 'R18 is a strange thing. 'It's a set of weird and arbitrary censorship rules decided between the BBFC, the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service). 'There appear to be no rational explanations for most of the R18 rules - they're simply a set of moral judgments designed by people who have struggled endlessly to stop the British people from watching pornography.' The Audiovisual Media Services Regulation 2014 came in to effect on Monday. Erotic film director Erika Lust told the Independent: 'With this legislation, the UK is in danger of finding itself back in an age where porn is simply the boring, unrealistic, male fantasy of bimbos eagerly pleasing men as if it is their duty, where women are submissive and lack ownership of their sexuality. 'Women in the industry will now fear the loss of their livelihoods as well as their sexual independence.' | Backbench MP Julian Huppert attacked new online porn crackdown . Rules ban a host of erotic acts considered 'harmful' by ministers . The acts include spanking, strangulation, whipping and being tied up . | 6b86c87f6f039cf25949cf531c25c1ec2bc8e6a5 |
A gentler side of Billy the Kid can be seen in a rare new picture to emerge of the legendary Western outlaw. Respected forensic artist Louis Gibson, who previously identified the sailor kissing the nurse in the famous V-J Day picture taken in Times Square, has studied the latest image and says it is indeed the Kid, born Henry McCarty. Gibson bases her opinion on several striking similarities between this photo and the only authenticated picture of the Kid, and says the head shape and hair are the same, as well as his signature pinky ring and crooked teeth. Put together: A new photo purporting to show Billy the Kid (left) has emerged. The only verified picture of the Western outlaw was sold to billionaire William Koch in 2011 for $2.3million . Owner: The latest picture is owned by Billy the Kid collector Ray John de Aragon, whose grandmother allegedly treated the outlaw as a medicine woman . The only verified picture of Billy the Kid was sold in 2011 to billionaire William Koch, and shows the gunslinger leaning against his rifle in a cocky stance. 'I think he went out, had some booze, partied with some saloon girls and just got wild,' Gibson told the Houston Chronicle, of the original image. The latest picture shows 'progression of his personality, he looks really shy in this (new) photo, he looks like he had a transformation'. If the picture goes to auction, it could fetch several thousand dollars. However, some experts are suspicious about the picture's origins, since it is currently owned by Kid-collector Ray John de Aragon, a man who routinely brings out pictures claiming they show the outlaw. De Aragon says his grandmother was a medicine woman who knew and treated Billy the Kid, and that he came upon the picture through a friend of his father's who was once close with the subject. He says it's an 'old family picture of Billy the Kid'. Gibson will get no share of the profits if the photo is sold at auction. She was paid just $750 for her work analyzing the photo. While there is only one authenticated picture of Billy the Kid, this isn't the first time someone has come forward with a photo of the gunslinger. Last year, historian Frank Parrish claimed to have found a picture of Billy with friend Dan Dedrick. Billy the Kid was a wanted outlaw in the American frontier of the late 1800s. He was born to Irish immigrants in Manhattan, but eventually found his way West to New Mexico where he descended into criminality and killed his first man at the age of 18. According to popular legend, Billy the Kid killed 21 men, one for each year of his short life. But the reality is probably somewhere between four and nine. He was shot dead in 1881, after New Mexico's governor put a price of $5,000 on his head. Another picture of the Kid surfaced last year, showing him (right) with friend Dan Dedrick (left) | New image reportedly shows Billy the Kid, real name Henry McCarty, as a younger man . Only authenticated image of the American outlaw was sold at auction in 2011 for $2.3million . | f31c05ef68e99dc117c43f3724ebf4f34a1c2a61 |
(CNN) -- Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, visited a camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan on Wednesday. The camp, run by the United Nations, UNICEF and Save the Children, is home to about 1,000 people who have fled the two-year Syrian civil war. Jordan has been receiving about 7,000 new refugees a day, according to UNICEF. While at the camp, children sang to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The cost of war: 2 million Syrian children afflicted by trauma, disease, malnutrition . Their visit comes on the same day Save the Children issued a report saying that more than 2 million children have been afflicted by trauma, malnutrition or disease during the Syrian civil war. The war has interfered with vaccination efforts across the country, the group said. About two-thirds of Syrian children lack vaccinations for preventable diseases, according to the group's report. In addition, one in three children have been injured in the warfare, the report said. Meanwhile, in Syria, the European Union said Wednesday that an employee of its delegation in Syria died in a rocket attack in Derava, a Damascus suburb. Ahmad Shihadeh died while providing humanitarian assistance to residents of the city, where he also lived, the EU said. Syrian regime losing grip on border with Iraq . CNN's Ed Payne contributed to this report. | NEW: European Union official killed in rocket attack in Syria . Jordan averages about 7,000 new Syrian refugees daily, UNICEF says . The Syria civil war began about two years ago . Report: The war has afflicted more than 2 million children with trauma, malnutrition or disease . | 1a198a8d5ef6a08e95d6ab669d459046d62174be |
(CNN) -- The eagle eyes of his playing partner's caddie halted Rory McIlroy's charge at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. McIlory was poised to finish the day one shot behind leader Craig Lee but instead he was handed a two-stroke penalty after Ricardo Gonzalez's bag man threw doubt over McIlroy's play at the second hole. The former world No.1 was subsequently judged to have taken his shot with one foot on the white line that marks the spectator's path on the course. "I hit my second shot on the second hole just into the left rough, but it was in the spectator crosswalk, so I took a drop, which obviously you're allowed to do out of it," McIlroy explained to reporters. "I didn't notice it but my left foot was still on the white line as I played the shot and you need to take full relief. "I dropped it in a really bad lie, so actually had I known, I would have taken a better drop. "It was unfortunate, but that's the rules of this game. I don't feel like I gained any sort of advantage by my foot being on a bit of white paint. "I have to try to make up the shots as early as possible tomorrow. It gives me a bit of extra motivation." Phil Mickelson may have squeezed his way through the cut but the American hit a sweet spot in Saturday's third round. The British Open champion sunk nine birdies and an eagle to move two shots adrift of the lead alongside India's Gaganjeet Bhullar. "I love the fact that I have a chance and that I'm in contention the first tournament out this year," Mickelson said. "I love that I've played better each day. The first day, I felt terrible. The second day, half of it started to come around and today it started to feel pretty good and hopefully I'll be able to build on it again." At the top of the tree, Lee is hoping for a fairytale finish to the Abu Dhabi tournament as he chases his first European Tour win. "The quality of the players behind me is nothing I have been used to before," said Lee, who holds the lead on 12 under par. "It's possible -- and fairytales do happen." | Rory McIlroy handed two-stroke penalty at Abu Dhabi Golf Championship . The punishment drops former world No.1 three shots behind leader . American Phil Mickelson finds form to move to two shots off the lead . Scotland's Craig Lee takes 12-under-par lead into final day in the desert . | a009f2423a7fc0c08ca5b624aaee146834478c44 |
A teenage call girl said to have illegally slept with two of the highest paid stars in European football ‘no longer considers herself a victim’, a criminal court heard today. Zahia Dehar was just 16 when she allegedly started accepting cash from a range of famous players, including Frenchmen Franck Ribery, 30, and Karim Benzema, 26. Both men – whose combined wages amount to some 17 million pounds a year - face up to three years in prison if they are found guilty of having sex with an underage prostitute. Scroll down for video . On trial: French internationals Franck Ribery, 30, and Karim Benzema, 26, deny knowingly paying for sex with Zahia Dehar when she was under 18 . Famous face: Ms Dehar, now 20, has become one of the most famous names in France since the players were first arrested, building up a career as a fashion icon, reality TV star, and the muse of designer Karl Lagerfeld . But, as the opening of their Paris trial, Ribery’s defence lawyer said Dehar had withdrawn her status as a civil plaintiff, and conceded that neither men knew how old she was. Referring to Dehar, barrister Carlo Alberto Brusa said she was ‘no longer the victim and no longer considers herself one, and she is out of the trial.’ He added that even ‘the prosecutor has recommended that the case be dismissed. In consequence, we have a trial without accusations. Ms Dehar, now 20, has become one of the most famous names in France since the players were first arrested, building up a career as a reality TV star, and the muse of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. High fashion: Ms Daher attending a Versace fashion show. Trading on her notoriety as a sex symbol, Zahia Dehar reinvented herself as a lingerie designer, showing her first collection on the Paris catwalks in January last year . Video Source YouTube . Neither Dehar, nor the footballers, were in court today, instead leaving the process to their lawyers. Paying for sex is legal in France, but only if all parties involved are more than 18 years old. The age of consent in the country is 15. The maximum sentence for sleeping with an underage prostitute is three years in prison, and a fine of around 40,000 pounds. Both footballers deny the charge. Ms Dehar was 17 when she was paid in 2009 to fly from Paris to Munich, where Ribery plays for European Champions Bayern Munich, to sleep with him as a 26th 'birthday treat’. Video Source YouTube . The 'Birthday Treat': Ms Dehar was 17 when she was paid in 2009 to fly from Paris to Munich, where Ribery plays for European Champions Bayern Munich, to sleep with him as a 26th 'birthday treat' Hoodwinked? Carlo Alberto Brusa, Ribery's lawyer, said his client did not know how old Ms Dehar was at the time. Ribery is pictured holding the FIFA Club World Cup after winning it with German side Bayern Munich . He admits having sex with her, but said the cash he gave her – the equivalent of some 650 pounds – was solely for travel, food and a hotel. Mr Dehar is known to have lied about her age to all the footballers she slept with, including Real Madrid forward Benzema, said Mr Brusa. Benzema is alleged to have paid Ms Dehar just over 400 pounds to sleep with her after the French Union of Professional Footballers' awards in May 2008, when she was 16. Sylvain Cormier, for Benzema, said his client denied this claim, adding: ‘From the outset, Karim Benzema has said that nothing happened.’ Daniel Vaconsin, Ms Dehar’s barrister, confirmed she had withdrawn as a civil plaintiff in the case, so will not be seeking damages. ‘She is not asking for anything,’ he said. Highly paid: Franck Ribery, left, and Karim Benzema earn some £17million a year between them . Ribery's brother-in-law is also charged with soliciting a minor for sex, and five other accused face maximum prison terms of 10 years on charges relating to the case, including ‘aggravated pimping’. Ms Dehar is said to have picked up celebrity sportsmen at the Zaman Cafe off the Champs Elysee in Paris. The nightspot, which has now been shut down, was always full of pimps and prostitutes, according to prosecutors’ files. Ribery and Benzema both helped France qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil this summer, and are hoping to stay out of jail so they can play in the contest. Their trial, which is due to end on Thursday, continues. | Zahia Dehar told court footballers did not know she was underage . Franck Ribery, 30, and Karim Benzema, 26, earn £17m a year between them . They're accused of having sex with Ms Dehar when she was 17 in 2009 . She's now one of most famous names in France since the scandal broke . She's become a fashion icon, reality TV star, and muse of Karl Lagerfeld . Maximum sentence for sleeping with underage prostitute in 3 years in jail . Both footballers deny the charges . | 53d47b1112870efa02084271e8e2d98137a0c2df |
(CNN) -- Professional ballet dancer Michaela DePrince was just three years old when she saw a ballerina for the first time. She was standing near the gate of the orphanage she was living in the West African country of Sierra Leone when she found a magazine with a female ballet dancer on the cover. The image of the beautiful, smiling ballerina mesmerized the young orphan, who had just lost both of her parents. "I was just so fascinated by this person, by how beautiful she was, how she was wearing such a beautiful costume," she remembers. "So I ripped the cover off and I put it in my underwear." At the time, DePrince -- or Mabinty Bangura as she was then called -- had no idea what ballet was. But she kept onto the picture, dreaming of one day becoming as happy as the ballerina on the magazine cover. "It represented freedom, it represented hope, it represented trying to live a little longer," she recalls. "I was so upset in the orphanage, I have no idea how I got through it but seeing that, it completely saved me." Shortly after, DePrince was adopted by an American couple and began a new life in the United States. Today, at the age of 17, she is one of the ballet world's rising stars -- last month she traveled to South Africa to make her professional debut in Johannesburg. "I worked very hard and I was en pointe by the time I was seven years old," says DePrince. "I just moved along fast because I was so determined to be like that person on the magazine and she was what drove me to become a better dancer, a better person -- to be just like her was what I wanted to be." Read related: Sierra Leone 'will become aid donor in next 50 years' Tens of thousands of people died during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002. The horrors of the decade-long conflict defined DePrince's early memories: Her father was murdered by rebels while her mother starved to death shortly after. One of her uncles took her to an orphanage hoping she'd be adopted and taken to a safer place. But life in the orphanage was tough for the three-year-old girl. She remembers being called "the devil's child" and being ill-treated by the orphanage's carers because she had vitiligo -- a skin condition that causes blotches of lightening skin. Children in the orphanage were given numbers ranking them from the most favored to the least -- DePrince was ranked 27th out of 27 children. "I didn't get enough food, I didn't get the best clothes, I got the last choice of toys," she says. "I was in the back and they didn't really care if I died or whatever happened to me." Hopelessness and despair engulfed DePrince even further when she witnessed the murder of one of her teachers at the orphanage, a pregnant woman "who was the only person who actually took time to care for me," she says. "She was going outside the gate and I was walking with her, I was going to say bye, and then these three rebels come -- two older and a younger one and they see that she's pregnant and what they used to do is if it was a boy, they would keep the baby, if it was a girl they would kill the mother and the baby," she says. "So they cut her stomach and they saw that it was a girl, so then they were angry and they cut her arms and legs off and left her and the baby there. I was trying to save her and so I went underneath the gate and the little boy saw all these older people doing these things and I guess he wanted to impress them and thought it was funny, so he stabbed me and so I have actually a scar from it and it was a black out after that -- I have no idea how I survived that, it was awful." Watch: Former child soldier speaks out . But DePrince's life changed once and for all in 1999 when at the age of four she was adopted by a couple from New Jersey. Passionate about dancing, she earned a full scholarship to the prestigious American Ballet Theater's summer intensive in New York aged 13. A year later she took part in the youth America Grand Prix, the biggest ballet competition in the world, where she walked with yet another scholarship. The teenage dancer also became the subject of "First Position," an award-winning documentary about the competitive contest and performed on hit TV show "Dancing with the Stars." Graced with talent and strength, DePrince says she has had to work even harder to get accepted into the rarefied world of ballet dancing -- a predominantly white preserve. Read related: South African ballet dancer confounds racial stereotypes . She says she almost quit dancing when she was 10 years old after a teacher told her mother that she didn't want to put "a lot of effort and money into the black dancers because they just get fat and get big boobs and big thighs." But those words only served to make DePrince even more determined. "I'm still trying to change the way people see black dancers, that we can become delicate dancers, that we can be a ballerina." DePrince also says she'd like to start an art school in Sierra Leone. She wants to use her remarkable story to teach little girls on the continent that if they have a dream they can definitely achieve it. "Even though you might have had a terrible past and even though you might have been through a lot and might be still going through a lot, if you have something that you love and that makes you happy and that gives you that feeling inside to continue growing up and that makes you want to have a good future then you should focus on that and not focus on the negative." | Sierra Leonean ballet dancer Michaela DePrince lost both of her parents aged three . She was adopted by an American couple and became a ballet dancer in the United States . DePrince made her professional debut last month in South Africa . She wants to change traditionally held views about black ballet dancers . | 83adb06c916e1a600ad3f59ad6290bdebf6e39d1 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . A black college student who had saved up money from his part-time job to buy a designer belt at Barneys department store was pounced on by police 'because he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase', according to a new lawsuit. Trayon Christian, 19, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday for unspecified damages against the Madison Avenue store and the NYPD who wrongly accused him of fraud. Mr Christian, who lives with his mom in Queens, had decided to splash out on a $320 belt by designer Salvatore Ferragamo after seeing one of his favorite music stars, Harlem rapper Juelz Santana, wearing the accessory. Trayon Christian, 19, has brought a lawsuit against Barneys and the NYPD after they wrongly accused him of fraud when he purchased a designer belt . Barneys department store is facing a lawsuit after a 19-year-old black student claims he was wrongly grabbed by store detectives because of his color and accused of stealing a designer belt . However once he had paid for the belt and had left Barneys on April 29 this year, the fashion-loving teen was grabbed by undercover officers on the street. According to the civil rights lawsuit, the 19-year-old was asked 'how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt'. Harlem rapper Juelz Santana (pictured right) wearing the belt coveted by his teenage fan . Mr Christian's lawyer Michael Palillo told the New York Daily News: 'He’s never been arrested. 'His only crime was being a young black guy buying a $300 belt.' A Barneys store employee had asked the 19-year-old for ID when he used his Chase debit card to buy the belt. Mr Christian showed the clerk his state ID. The store cashier then subsequently called the police to claim that the purchase was a fraud, according to the lawsuit. Officers took the teenager, who is an engineering freshman at the NYC College of Technology, to a local precinct. Mr Christian once again showed his ID, debit card and receipt for the belt. Officers still refused to believe the teenager. 'In spite of producing such documentation Christian was told that his identification was false and that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase,' the suit states. Finally Chase bank was contacted who verified that the debit card belonged to Mr Christian. It was only then that he was allowed to go after spending two hours in a holding cell, the suit claims. The NYPD denied this and said the student was only held for 42 minutes. The student, who has no history of arrests, said that he will never shop at Barneys again following the incident. The teenager, who now works at Target, told the News: 'I brought the belt back to Barneys a few days later and returned it. I got my money back, I’m not shopping there again. It’s cruel. It’s racist.' A Barney's New York spokesman said: 'Barneys New York typically does not comment on pending litigation. 'In this instance, we feel compelled to note that after carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale. 'Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and we stand by our long history in support of all human rights.' | Trayon Christian, 19, taken to NYPD precinct despite using his own debit card and ID at the upscale Manhattan store . The college student, who lives with his mom in Queens, New York, had saved up from his part-time job to buy the Salvatore Ferragamo belt . Mr Christian is suing Barneys and NYPD for unspecified damages . | b69e90f671b374ce6ca40238ad25b6794452b269 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 20:34 EST, 12 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:23 EST, 13 February 2013 . Theresa Moran Camera, left, allegedly let her three-year-old son pump gas by himself last month . A mother allowed her toddler son to handle a gasoline pump unsupervised, causing the three-year-old to spray fuel all over himself, police alleged today. Theresa Moran Camara, 46, was charged by Manheim Township Police in central Pennsylvania for endangering the welfare of a child. Police say they were called to a Giant supermarket on January 19 and determined that the boy removed the nozzle from the vehicle without releasing the handle. Witnesses said that as a result, gasoline was sprayed all over the child, LancasterOnline.com reported. Police surveillance video further confirmed eyewitness account, and showed a woman allowing a small child to pump gas into a Toyota Rav4, the Smoking Gun reported. Camara told police that she had ‘allowed her son to help her in pumping gas and confirmed that he had sprayed gasoline onto both of them,’ according to the affidavit. The vehicle had left by the time police arrived, but witnesses gave investigators a license number. The Pennsylvania woman was filling up her Toyota Rav4 at this Giant supermarket gas station in Lancaster County on January 19 . Court officials say Camera doesn't have a lawyer on file, and a home listing for her couldn't be located. Lancaster County was formed in 1729, and is located between the state capital of Harrisburg and Philadelphia. | Alleged incident occurred last month at supermarket gas station . Mother Theresa Moran Camara was charged with child endangerment today . | e51502911cf023ee56ebc53d23e4affe2d5b2e6b |
By . Jack Doyle . PUBLISHED: . 18:15 EST, 12 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 18:31 EST, 12 March 2014 . Security firm G4S has agreed to repay more than £130 million after overcharging the Government for tagging criminals. The embattled firm agreed to cough up 108.9million, plus VAT, only months after it offered to pay just a quarter of that sum. The settlement follows an audit last year showing that taxpayers had been routinely charged for tags on criminals who were in jail, living abroad or even dead. Time to pay: Security firm G4S has agreed to repay £108.9million, plus VAT, after overcharging the British Government . Costs of cleaning up the scandal helped pushed the company - a member of the FTSE 100 index - to an annual loss. It reported a pre-tax loss of £170million, compared to a profit of £313million the year before. The group is still blacklisted by ministers, meaning it cannot bid for new taxpayer-funded work. Almost £200 million was also wiped from the FTSE 100-listed company’s value yesterday as shares fell by more than 5 per cent. In December, tagging contractor Serco agreed to pay £68.5 million plus tax after wrongly invoicing the Ministry of Justice. Bad times: The security firm reported a £170m pre-tax loss for 2013, compared to £313m profit in 2012 . | G4S to repay £108.9million, plus VAT, for overcharging Government . Reported a £170m loss for 2013, compared to £313m profit in 2012 . | e52e4c8d18d893a1bd3929809952bc0f4130a4b1 |
Scientists are learning how children's brains change as they develop intellectual abilities like reading and math - by letting them watch Sesame Street. The team at the University of Rochester are using brain scans to study watching to children's TV show to see how neural pathways change as we develop. They say it could pave the way for new understanding of brain development, and even lead to new therapies for learning disabilities. What your brain looks like on Big Bird: One one the team's neural maps. The fMRI scan on the left represents correlations in neural activity between children and adults, in the middle between children and other children, and on the right between adults and other adults. Unlike X-rays, CAT scans, and other . types of brain imaging, fMRI involves no risks, injections, surgery, or . exposure to radiation. Using magnetic fields, the scans virtually . segment the brain into a three-dimensional grid of about 40,000 pixels, . known as voxels, and measure the neural signal intensity in each of . those tiny sectors. For example, researchers have compared scans of adults watching an entertaining movie to see if neural responses are similar across different individuals. 'But this is the first study to use the method as a tool for understanding development,' said lead author Jessica Cantlon, a cognitive scientist at the University of Rochester. Eventually, that understanding may help pinpoint the cause when a child experiences difficulties mastering school work. 'Psychologists have behavioral tests for trying to get the bottom of learning impairments, but these new imaging studies provide a totally independent source of information about children's learning based on what's happening in the brain,' says Cantlon. For the investigation, 27 children . between the ages of 4 and 11, and 20 adults watched the same 20-minute . Sesame Street video. Like the regular program, the recording featured a . variety of short clips focused on numbers, words, shapes, and other . subjects. The researchers analysed brains scans of both children and adults as they watched Sesame Street characters, such as Bird Bird, shown here, to see how their brains developed as they learnt . The study produced 609 scans of each participant, one every two seconds, as they watched Big Bird, the Count, Elmo and other stars of the educational series. Using statistical algorithms, the researchers then created 'neural maps' of the thought processes for the children and the adults and compared the groups. The children then took standardized IQ tests for math and . verbal ability. Children whose neural maps more closely resembled the neural maps of adults scored higher on standardized math and verbal tests. In other words, the brain's neural structure, like other parts of the body, develops along predictable pathways as we mature, the team said. The study also confirmed where in the brain these developing abilities are located. For verbal tasks, adult-like neural patterns in the Broca area, which is involved in speech and language, predicted higher verbal test scores in children. Puppeteer Jerry Nelson, who died last year, is shown with 'Sesame Street' character Count von Count. Researchers are using the show to study how we learn . For math, better scores were linked to more mature patterns in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a region of the brain known to be involved in the processing of numbers. Although the study does not advocate TV watching, it does show that 'neural patterns during an everyday activity like watching television are related to a person's intellectual maturity,' says Cantlon. 'It's not the case that if you put a child in front of an educational TV program that nothing is happening–that the brain just sort of zones out. Instead, what we see is that the patterns of neural activity that children are showing are meaningful and related to their intellectual abilities.' | Team showed children and adults 20 minute long Sesame Street videos while giving them brain scans . Researchers were able to build 'neural maps' of changes to see how children learn . | b58d8c45e420135e708d9a34880628f62c1ff41b |
It is estimated that around 8,000 people are killed by landslides every year, while many others narrowly escape the terrifying ordeal. But now a new way of predicting landslides has been developed – and it uses a system of fibre optic sensors to act as the ‘nervous system’ of slopes. The technology can detect small shifts in soil slopes and could be used over large areas to detect potential landslides before they threaten people’s lives and livelihoods. A new way of predicting landslides has been developed – and it uses a system of fibre optic sensors to act as the ‘nervous system’ of slopes. Here, mud surrounds a building after a fatal mudslide in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on July 30, which was caused by torrential rain . Optical fibre sensors are commonly used to monitor the condition of infrastructure such as the exterior walls of tunnels, dams, pipelines and railways in remote rural areas, which are difficult for humans to observe. In this case they can be used as the sensing element, but can also be used as a means of relaying signals from a remote sensor to the electronics that process the signals. The fibres can measure strain, temperature or pressure so that the quality being measured - movement for example, - varies the intensity, wavelength or transit time of the light in the fibre. Now, Italian researchers have embedded optical fibre sensors in shallow trenches within slopes to detect and monitor both large landslides and slow slope movements. Landslides are a collapse of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff and are always preceded by ‘pre-failure strains, the researchers from the Second University of Naples said. Optical fibre sensors are used to monitor the condition of infrastructure such as the exterior walls of tunnels, dams and pipelines, which are difficult for humans to observe. They have now been proved to be effective when embedded in slopes, where they can monitor movement of soil. A stock images of fibre is shown . Landslides are described as the mass movement of rock, soil or debris down a slope of land. They can destroy houses and bury people in seconds with little or no warning. Landslides are thought to have increased in frequency because of human activity, which causes the 'failure' of soil or rock that make up a hillside. Earthquakes: Plate tectonics move the soil that covers them, so when earthquakes strike on or near steep slopes, it is common for soil to slip and trigger landslides, according to the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Natural disasters: Volcanic eruptions and tsunamis are among the natural events that can cause landslides. Heavy rainfall: Slopes can become saturated with rainfall, causing landslides. This risk increases if trees have been cleared because there is no network of roots to support the soil, which simply washes away. Earlier this month, a landslide in Maharashtra state, India was caused by monsoons, leaving 17 people dead and many more trapped. In August, more than 40 people were killed when huge landslides in Hiroshima, Japan, destroyed homes when mountainsides collapsed in wet weather and tonnes of mud buried people living in the suburban neighbourhoods below. Mining: Blasting techniques can cause vibrations under the soil, which can trigger landslides. The Gyama Mine Landslide occurred in 2013 and trapped 83 people in China. It was one-and-a-half miles (3km) long. While the magnitude of pre-failure strains depends on the rock or soil involved, they are measurable. The new technology can detect small shifts in soil slopes, and can therefore detect the onset of landslides. Electrical sensors have been used for monitoring landslides, but they are easily damaged, unlike optical fibre sensors which are more robust, economical and sensitive. Professor Luigi Zeni, of the university, said: ‘Distributed optical fibre sensors can act as a “nervous system” of slopes by measuring the tensile strain of the soil they’re embedded within.’ He explained that his team have combined several types of optical fibre sensors housed in a plastic tube, which can move under the force of pre-failure strains. Using the technology, experts will be able to monitor the movement and bending of the optical fibre remotely to determine if a landslide is imminent. Professor Zeni said that the use of the fibre optic sensors overcomes limitations of other types of sensor because they have no moving parts and ‘can withstand larger soil deformations’. ‘These sensors can be used to cover very large areas - several square kilometres - and interrogated in a time-continuous way to pinpoint any critical zones,’ he added. He believes that based on tests so far, the technology has the potential to be developed into a new tool to monitor areas at risk of landslides and to develop early warning systems sensitive to small movements of earth or rock. A major landslide can completely erase houses within seconds, as well as wiping out families and communities. The researchers hope that their invention will prevent loss of life just as hurricane tracking can prompt coastal evacuations and save lives. The findings of the initial test will be presented at The Optical Society’s annual meeting, Frontiers in Optics, in California next month. A major landslide can completely erase houses within seconds, as well as wiping out families and communities. The researchers hope that their invention will prevent loss of life just as hurricane tracking can prompt coastal evacuations and save lives. Here,the remains of a house can be seen after a mudslide near Oso in Washington State this March, when 43 people lost their lives when a portion of an unstable hill collapsed . Based on tests so far, the reseracers behind the technology think ithas the potential to be developed into a new tool to monitor areas at risk of landslides and to create early warning systems sensitive to small movements of earth or rock. Here, rescue workers look for missing people after the Oso landslide in Washington state, US . | Scientists at the Second University of Naples, Italy, embedded a network of fibre optic sensors in a slope to prove they can monitor the movement of soil . It can detect very small movements and can be used over large areas . Technology could be used to predict landslides - potentially saving lives . Around 8,000 people are killed by landslides every year . Optical fibre sensors are commonly used to monitor the condition of hard-to-reach infrastructure such as tunnels, bridges and pipes . | 0663fa92c8b61fab6d1d97cc56a8863c22b55f77 |
The average person who uses social media has romantic or sexual conversations with two people other than their current partner. These results from a new US study (University of Indiana) echo many others: that 'remote infidelity' - loving or sexual interaction that doesn't involve physical contact - is on the rise. But the jury divides sharply on the effect this will have on our relationships. The average person has romantic or sexual conversations on social networks with two people other than their current partner . Some consider it not just an alarm bell but a loudly clanging church-tower size one - as harmful to the relationship as in-person one-night-stands or affairs. Others believe this is nothing new, that people in love have always flirted (usually without intent) and it's not cheating if body parts don't touch. They also believe - crucially - that what your partner doesn't know, won't hurt the relationship. Surprising (to the people with the first mindset but not the second), the University of Indiana research actually found no correlation between people who had saucy or soppy chats with others and their commitment to the relationship. Which sparks another, rather interesting question. Regardless of whether cheating is in the flesh or 'remote' and digital, if your partner doesn't know about it, does it really matter? Tracey says that if we get away with cheating it can make us judge our partner for being too naïve . Whether we're talking about good old-fashioned in-the-flesh infidelity or the online version, if you don't blab to big-mouthed friends, there's absolutely no chance you'd ever get found out, have MI5 standard passwords on all your accounts, never plan to see them again (or never have, if it's digital), you had safe sex (if in person) and it meant nothing, what harm can cheating really do? Some people (usually the less faithful type) say it depends totally on your personality. If you genuinely see nothing wrong with what you did and your motivation was solely opportunity, how could cheating possibly harm your relationship? Your partner is none the wiser and your behaviour towards them hasn't altered. Where's the problem? Well, here's a few. Lots of people do get caught - ironically, more so with 'remote' infidelity than physical because once you're online there's a more visible, documented and (remarkably easy to find) trace. There goes the 'they'll never find out' defence. But even if you did manage to commit the perfect infidelity crime, very few people truly believe there's nothing wrong with cheating. Even the smoothest, slickest serial offender, fond of boasting of their conquests to equally unfaithful friends, is aware they're doing something wrong. And this is where it all unravels. Knowing we've done something that would hurt our partner subtly alters our perception of them. You got away with something, so you're one up on them. This makes them appear either naïve and too trusting or vulnerable and hopelessly helpless. Good relationships are based on mutual admiration and respect, not pitying your partner or secretly thinking they're stupid. My conclusion? I'm sticking with what I've always said about infidelity. If you want to know if what you're doing is cheating, ask yourself this question: Would my partner be upset if they could see what I'm doing right now? If you answer yes, then you're cheating. Continue doing what you're doing after you've answered yes and you're effectively saying 'I don't care about my partner's feelings'. In person or online, let's not kid ourselves. It all means something. For more of Tracey's thoughts on love and relationships, visit traceycox.com. | The average person has romantic conversations with two people online . Tracey says that many of us don't consider this cheating . If we get way with an affair it can make us judge our partners . It can make them appear naïve, too trusting or vulnerable . | 8bb6ca080c0891c2051ea242ebec6eba27ee6fe5 |
By . Simon Tomlinson . PUBLISHED: . 00:12 EST, 13 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:14 EST, 13 April 2012 . A large bang heard by hundreds across the country last night was a sonic boom caused by two Typhoon aircraft responding to an emergency, the Ministry of Defence said. The RAF jets were despatched to a small civilian helicopter that had emitted an emergency signal on a frequency it should not have been using, but the error was realised too late. An MoD spokesman said the fighter planes, scrambled from RAF Conningsby, in Lincolnshire, had been authorised to go supersonic and were already on their way to the helicopter. Confusion: A large bang heard by hundreds across the country last night was a sonic boom caused by two Typhoon aircraft, like this one pictured, responding to an emergency, the Ministry of Defence said . Drama: A member of the public captured this image as a fighter jet responded to a distress signal sent from a helicopter over Shoscombe, Bath, Somerset . Unexplained: The two jets, bottom, with the 'mysterious' silver object that was spotted above Bath at the same time . He said: 'We can confirm that a small . civilian aircraft was transmitting inadvertently on an emergency . frequency at approximately 6.10pm. 'Two . typhoons from the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) responded accordingly and . authorisation was given from them to go supersonic, which resulted in . the sonic boom. 'There was no actual threat to the civilian aircraft and they soon rectified their mistake.' The £125m jets triggered a string of 999 calls across 150 miles of English countryside as they caused a huge sonic boom while smashing the sound barrier. But the incident turned out to be a false alarm when it emerged the red-faced helicopter pilot, flying near Bath, Somerset, had broadcast the emergency signal by mistake. Sound alert: The jets broke the speed of sound - causing a large boom to be heard for hundreds of miles across the country - and raced to the aid of the helicopter, flying near Bath, Somerset . The bang resulted in a deluge of . calls to police forces across the West Midlands, Warwickshire, . Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire were inundated with calls following . the massive boom on Thursday. Buildings and houses were reportedly shaken, stunning residents and baffling emergency services from across the three counties. A number of concerned locals witnessed the dramatic scene as one of the Typhoon jets tailed the helicopter. Donna . Bunton, from Shoscombe, near Bath, saw one of the Typhoon jets tailing . the helicopter - before snapping the dramatic scene on her camera. She . said: 'I first heard a massive sonic boom. We get Hercules aircraft . flying over here quite a bit - but this was louder than that. 'I then saw this helicopter, with the jet tailing it. It was so low you could see its triangle shape. 'The Typhoon was swaying behind it from side to side - I have never seen anything like it before. 'I went inside to grab my camera, then took a quick picture as it was flying off.' The jets broke the speed of sound - causing a large boom to be heard for hundreds of miles across the country - and raced to the aid of the helicopter, flying near Bath, Somerset. Concern: The loud bang was heard in Swindon, Bath, Coventry and Oxford (above), leading to fears it may have been an explosion or underground tremor . But they were called back to their base after it emerged the aircraft had only broadcast the emergency signal in error. A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shockwaves created when an object travels through the air and breaks the sound barrier. The noise contains large amounts of sound energy, meaning sonic booms are often mistaken for explosions. Speculation about what could have caused the noise ranged from a large explosion to an underground tremor. It is the second time this year that a sonic boom has been created by a Typhoon aircraft. In January, the MoD confirmed that a loud noise heard by people across the North of England was caused by an RAF fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. Warplane: A Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 in full weapons configuration . Dan Cross, bar and restaurant supervisor at Millsy's in Earlsdon, Coventry, said the noise was so forceful it shook the walls of the restaurant. 'It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen,' he said. 'I thought somebody had dropped one of the big ovens in there. 'It was a really loud bang and the room shook and all the wine glasses on the rack shook. 'When it wasn't coming from the kitchen I thought maybe it was the cellar, but then wondered if it could be something else. 'It was weird, but didn't last long.' Jennifer Lawlor, a supervisor at the Spar shop in Daventry Road, said she did not experience anything, but her boyfriend, Martin Ward, rang her and told her the walls of his house were shaking. 'He said there were two very loud bangs and he felt the room was shaking,' she said. 'He lives up in Stoke and is off work sick at the moment so wasn't sure what it was - he thought he might be hallucinating. 'He was actually quite freaked out by it and I had to tell him he wasn't going mad and lots of people were talking about it.' The jets were scrambled because the frequency the helicopter pilot mistakenly transmitted on is only used when an aircraft is in particular trouble. Such a signal could indicate the aircraft had been hijacked or had 'gone rogue'. | Large bang initially thought to be explosion or tremor . False alarm as civilian chopper issued alert by mistake . The £125m jets triggered a string of 999 . calls across 150 miles of English countryside . | 1bcc3d183e4d2fd901c2f77501728fc951204938 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . Hundreds of Google interns have flooded a San Francisco Bay Area apartment complex and the full-time residents say their partying and late hours have gotten out of control. The much sought after internships afford the lucky college students salaries of upwards of $6,000 per month and, apparently, also afford the free time needed to throw a raucous party. Meanwhile, the children and families who already called Crescent Village apartments in North San Jose home are wishing these twenty-somethings would go back to where they came from. Surprise! Last month, at least 400 Google interns were moved into North San Jose, California's posh Crescent Village apartments, much tot he chagrin of full-time residents . Party time: Residents say the interns like these, who are paid a whopping $6,000 per month over the summer, began partying in communal areas like the pool and courtyards of the 1,750-unit complex almost immediately . Until this year, reports New York Magazine, Google did something more typical for its fresh-faced interns: the company offered them a living stipend and told them to find a place of their own. But not this year. This year, the tech giant put its summer interns up in the high-end complex of some 1,700 apartments, which rent for upwards of $3,375 per month. There are swimming pools, tennis courts, a fitness center, basketball court, and even a wine room and full-time activities director. A Facebook page called Crescent Village Google Interns has nearly 400 members. Though the page was up early Monday, as of around noon it had been taken down or suspended. The intern pictures represented here were found through the group page before it was taken down but are not necessarily the students to blame for Crescent Village complaints. A Yelp review calling it a ‘pretty bad’ situation said parties happen all week long and that security at Crescent Village has been powerless to stop it. Pricey: Aside from the lucky interns, Crescent Village houses families and commuting Silicon Valley professionals in apartments that run as much as $3,375 per month. The interns stay for free. All inclusive: The interns also dine, travel, and participate in group leisure activities for free . Last month, a list of rules and reminders were distributed throughout the complex. Among them was a request to ‘honor the “quiet enjoyment” of your neighbors.’ Another reminded tenants of the pool hours of 10 to 8. What’s worse, the residents weren’t told all those students were coming. ‘At first I thought it was summer camp,’ resident Rochelle Fisher, 46, told NY Mag. ‘But then I noticed that the kids were too old.’ Photos like these dot the Facebook accounts of the prestigious interns, many of them grouped on an official Crescent Village Google Interns page . Fisher said the interns don’t bother her as much because she’s on the top floor, but that neighbors have complained about crazy behavior from the temporary residents. And outside her apartment, Fisher said the interns have, at times, been a nuisance. ‘They dart out into the middle of the street,’ Fisher said. ‘They jaywalk all the time. I have to be very careful when I'm driving.’ The internship also reportedly includes free transportation, food, and other unbelievable amenities. It’s almost as if the recent Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy comes to life when the students arrive at Mountain View. To blame? One neighbor in the North San Jose complex took to Yelp, 'the situation is pretty bad' and said the loud partying occurs throughout the week in communal areas such as the one pictured . Yes or no? A comedy about just how posh the Google intern positions are was coincidentally released last month and stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn . Rainbow-colored glasses: The film seems to have drawn at least some of its inspiration from reality . In fact, The Internship is about two men who land the dream position at Google. One less lucky intern, who is working at Yahoo! for the summer, has nonetheless been lucky enough to befriend a Google intern. ‘It's pretty fun,’ he said of Crescent Village, calling the parties held four or five times a week ‘sort of normal college parties. 'One temporary issue': One Yelp reviewer of Crescent Village (pictured) bemoaned the annoying summer-long stay of the highly-paid students, but admitted it was, at least, temporary . ‘You put a bunch of 20-year-olds in the same place, and what do you expect,’ he said. Thankfully for the annoyed residents, they expect the invasion to end rather soon. ‘It's like a dorm now,’ wrote another Yelp user who rated the complex highly and called the interns a ‘temporary issue.’ ‘I could hear a lot of noise, people talking and singing even in the middle of the night. The sound-proof is pretty good if I close the windows, but it's summer time, I want some fresh and cool air.’ Shutdown: After reports emerged Monday of the interns' behavior, someone quickly suspended a Facebook page dedicated to Crescent Village Google Interns (screen shot pictured here) | 'I thought it was summer camp': Around 400 interns moved into the Crescent Village Apartments in North San Jose last month and residents weren't warned . The coveted positions pay $6,000/month with free food, transportation, and leisure activities . | dc889ac667a0aeaf940493825dfad33518c0937b |
(CNN) -- Few people seem eager to return to the news articles they didn't have time to read during the day, and even fewer are willing to pay for that privilege. So to attract new users, Readability began offering its news-inbox service for free starting Tuesday evening. Previously, people had to pay $5 per month to access the tools for saving articles to their accounts and synchronizing them between computers, e-readers, phones and tablets. Readability is in one of several services, which also includes Instapaper and the venture-capital-backed Read It Later, for bookmarking a lengthy article to revisit when in a more leisurely setting. Some people prefer reading on a Kindle or iPad, rather than on a computer or smartphone, and these services typically allow people to customize fonts, strip out ads and other distractions, and read on a device without an Internet connection on, say, a subway ride. In addition to the free Readability service, the New York software developer will also offer an application that runs on the iPhone and iPad. The app should be available in Apple's App Store, also for free, as early as this week, and people will be able to subscribe through the app, Readability co-founder Richard Ziade said in a phone interview. Readability was spun out of consulting firm Arc90. It first launched its subscription Web service in February, and after a disagreement with Apple over financial terms, the company said in March that it would eschew the App Store in favor of tools that could be accessed exclusively through a Web browser. Beyond the inbox service, Readability also offers website publishers a button so that users can choose to read on the site without distractions from ads. About 4.4 million articles are accessed through Readability's system a month, Ziade said. However, Readability's paid service, which is designed to give most of the revenue to the publishers whose links are being read, has only managed to attract between 2,000 and 10,000 subscribers, he said. "It's been quite clubbish," Ziade said. "We tell you to get your credit card out after, like, the second click, which is unheard of on the Web." The free version of Readability will limit users' inboxes to 30 articles each, and they won't be able to access links saved in their archive folders until they pay the $5 monthly fee. Sending an inbox full of articles to a Kindle will also require a subscription. A rival, Read It Later, sells its mobile apps for $3. Another called Instapaper, which says it has about a million subscribers, took an alternate route when the one-man startup announced in April that it would stop offering a free version. Founder Marco Arment said then that the free app brought more users but that they were unhappy with the limits imposed on it. As a result, they were publicly tarnishing the app's reputation with negative reviews. Arment, who has advised Readability in the past, declined to comment for this article. In an interview with CNN in May, he said, "I think a lot of people are getting a little bit tired of what comes along with being free." A greater concern for these small software companies is the lion in the room. Starting in the latest Mac operating system called Lion, Apple added a feature called Reading List to its Safari browser allowing users to temporarily save links. The newest iPad and iPhone software then allows users to freely access those same articles and by clicking a button called Reader, removes the ads. Apple's Reader tool happens to be based on the work at Arc90 that eventually became Readability. Arment has said, in his optimistic view, that the recent developments at Apple could introduce more people to the concept of article inboxes, and when they want more powerful features, maybe they'll buy Instapaper. However, Ziade sees Apple's moves as competition, but he said Apple leaves an opening for other apps to flourish because the Safari tools won't work on every platform. Readability is soldiering on, and the company will begin allowing developers to build apps that integrate deeply with its service. It is holding a New York event on Thursday to announce a major partnership with Longform.org. "There's a real surge of interest in long-form, generally, on the Web," said Matthew Howard, a director for the New York Review of Books. "It's kind of exciting to have these tools coming out that are bringing new readers to this kind of stuff." | Readability is making its news-inbox free . The company will also release free apps for the iPhone and iPad . The service, like rivals Instapaper and Read It Later, lets users save articles . | 8c8353f710ce90692268661c3e8806925d506368 |
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- Of all the terrifying moments during Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst was when word came that the roof of the Louisiana Superdome was tearing away. During the storm and for days after, the dome was a refuge of last resort for people who had nowhere else to go. It was an iconic image of the city itself, and it became a symbol of all that went wrong with the evacuation. The Superdome suffered severe damage -- 70 percent of its 10-acre roof was ripped away, revealing the metal framework underneath, and allowing oceans of water to flow inside. Over 70,000 stadium seats were soaked, and water poured down over 2 million square feet of walls, electronics and furniture. Doug Thornton, senior vice president of SMG, a managing company in charge of the Superdome, watched as the city's crown jewel was shredded. "There were projectiles that had actually been driven into the aluminum skin of the Superdome," he says. "We were very concerned about debris falling from the roof. We had no water pressure. We had no ability to remove trash and debris, and we were taking on more and more and more people. The Superdome was literally the poster child for misery and suffering." As the last of the storm's refugees were finally evacuated from the area days later, Thornton flew out in a helicopter and looked back across his own neighborhood to the Superdome, seeing an ocean of water the whole way. "I didn't think there would be any way to come back ... not to the city, not to the dome, not to my home." Still, within days, he and his staff returned, called in architects, and began examining the Dome to see if it might be saved. For a month, they crawled through the framework, studied structural components, and finally decided that a restoration could be attempted. Maybe a long shot, but possible. So mounds of debris were cleared. Anything that had been damaged beyond repair was removed, and the expensive process of replacing everything that had been lost began. The cost was staggering. A new sound system was put in for $7 million. Concession stands: $3 million. Video systems: $8 million. Phones: $8 million more. And on and on it went. All of this was happening under enormous time pressure. The NFL wanted the Saints to open their 2006 season in the Superdome, and that game was slated for little more than a year after Katrina. Work would have to proceed seven days a week. So Thornton is grateful for every break that came his way. The crews replacing the roof hoisted a "No Hurricanes" flag as a joke to stave off any storms that would delay their efforts. It worked. They finished more than a month ahead of schedule. Inside, all those soaked stadium seats were molding. They could not afford to replace them all, so they cleaned them, covered them in plastic, and for two months blew hot air beneath the plastic to thoroughly dry them and kill off any residual mold. That worked too. Only 20,000 were beyond saving. Thornton stands far up in the stands looking over the vast expanse of seats and shakes his head in wonder. "If we would have had to replace 72,000 seats we wouldn't have made it." But they did make it. Much remained to be done, but the Dome was declared "football ready" and filled with fans to see New Orleans' beloved Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons in the home opener. Since then, the Saints have, of course, won the championship of the NFL, making the whole comeback seem as if it were fated. Thornton knows better. The work has continued nonstop for five years, and it goes on still. This is the largest stadium restoration project ever attempted in this country on one of the largest rooms in the world. When it is all done, it will have cost more than $300 million. And yet it is the small moments that Thornton remembers most as he walks the hallways, tending to this landmark of a beleaguered city. Near one stadium gate, he points out a spot where every day during the crisis he saw an old woman crouching, helping tend to some children. He says he still wonders, almost every time he passes, what happened to her. But just as he did with the Superdome itself, he hopes for the best, and works on. | Katrina ripped roof of NFL Superdome stadium as people sought shelter inside . Superdome restoration largest stadium project of its kind in U.S. history . 72,000 stadium seats were damaged; all but 20,000 seats were saved . After stadium re-opened, NFL's Saints won their first game and later, the Super Bowl . | a81e0b1c90c53bc458697cc6a670186d4eb8333b |
By . Lucy Crossley . Pilot: Richard Pease is accused of being over the drink drive limit while at the helm of a passenger hovercraft travelling to the Isle of Wight . A hovercraft pilot appeared in court today accused of being nearly three times over the drink drive limit while in charge of a busy Isle of Wight passenger vessel. Richard Pease, 50, fell ill at the helm of the Hovercraft Freedom 90 carrying 36 passengers, leaving one of his colleagues to step in and take over the controls as it travelled from Portsmouth, Hampshire. Pease, from Cowes, Isle of Wight, was later arrested under the Railway and Transport Safety Act 2003. Tests allegedly revealed he had 96 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his breath. The legal drink-drive limit is 35. He appeared in front of Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court in Newport today charged with driving a motor vehicle while over the alcohol limit and contravening Merchant Shipping regulations by failing to present for duty free from alcohol. Prosecutor Sunyana Sharma told the court Pease was in 'sole control' of the vessel, which can take up to 127 passengers, as it journeyed to Ryde on the island. She said Pease was the only person responsible for controlling the vessel during the incident on June 22, 2014. 'The defendant was the master and pilot of the Hovercraft Freedom 90. He is an experienced driver of some 18 years,' she told the court. 'On the day in question...he was the individual in sole control of the hovercraft and driving.' Pease, who wore a suit and blue tie as he stood in the dock, did not enter a plea. Magistrates adjourned the case and released Pease on unconditional bail for a hearing at Newport Crown Court on September 8. Hovertravel, which runs the service, is the world's longest running commercial hovercraft service and is the only scheduled passenger hovercraft service in the Europe. Hovertravel boasts of offering the fastest way to cross the Solent between Southsea, Portsmouth and Ryde, Isle of Wight, and operates two hovercraft with a frequent service of a journey time of around 10 minutes. More than 26 million passengers have travelled on the company's hovercrafts since it was established in 1965. Vessel: Pease was at the helm of a hovercraft run by travel firm Hovertravel, which boasts of being the world's longest running commercial hovercraft service and Europe's only scheduled passenger hovercraft service . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Richard Pease, 50, arrested after he fell ill at the helm of a hovercraft . Vessel carrying 36 people was travelling from Portsmouth to Ryde . Pease appeared before magistrates on the island charged with driving over the alcohol limit, and failing to present for duty free of alcohol . | d09d55c92a35e23bb20a9c1268c719fc3438915b |
Hong Kong (CNN) -- Undeterred by the embarrassment of a failed rocket launch earlier this year, North Korea appears to be pressing ahead with the development of long-range missiles, according to an analysis of satellite images by a U.S. academic website. Drawing on commercial satellite imagery, the website 38 North suggests that the reclusive North Korean regime has carried out at least two tests of large rocket motors at the Sohae Satellite Launch Station on the country's west coast since April. That's the same site from which the nuclear-armed North launched a long-range rocket on April 13 that broke apart shortly after takeoff. Pyongyang said the rocket was supposed to put a satellite in orbit, but the launch was seen by many other countries as cover for a ballistic missile test. The most recent test of a large rocket motor at Sohae took place in mid-September, according to the analysis posted Monday by 38 North, which is run by the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. "These tests, critical for the development of new rockets, appear to have been of liquid-fueled, first stage engines" for the type of satellite launch vehicle that failed in April or a new long-range missile that was on show at a parade in Pyongyang this year, 38 North said. Another big rocket launch would further sour North Korea's relations with the United States and South Korea. The failed launch in April scuppered a deal for Washington to provide thousands of tons of food aid to the North's malnourished population. It also drew condemnation from the U.N. Security Council, which repeated demands for Pyongyang not to carry out similar tests in the future. The botched launch followed previous attempts in 2006 and 2009. The difference this year was North Korea's decision to invite members of the international news media inside the country during the launch period, allowing them to visit the Sohae station ahead of the launch. North Korean state-run media also reported the rocket's failure to put a satellite in orbit, something they hadn't done for the two previous launches. But the setback hasn't stopped Pyongyang from vaunting its alleged military capabilities. Last month, it said its missiles could reach the U.S. mainland, a claim questioned by some analysts. The unsuccessful satellite launches in 2006 and 2009 were both followed weeks or months later by nuclear tests. That hasn't happened so far this time, but 38 North warned Monday that it remains a possibility. "In the aftermath of the U.S. and South Korean presidential elections, Pyongyang may embark on a new round of activities in the first half of 2013, including rocket and nuclear tests that will contribute to further development of its nuclear deterrent," the website said. President Barack Obama was reelected this month in the United States, and the South Korean presidential election takes place next month. South Korean officials have said they believe the North is ready to carry out a nuclear test whenever leaders in Pyongyang make "a political decision" to go ahead with it. The 38 North article Monday also noted construction activity on the upper gantry platform of the launch area at Sohae that would tally with future launches of long-range rockets that are much larger than the one that failed in April. The website said it had previously reported indications that North Korea was working on such a rocket. The analysis of the satellite pictures for 38 North was provided by Nick Hansen, who has specialized in image technology during a 43-year career in intelligence for the U.S. military and private sector. He pointed to the removal of fuel tanks, the appearance of exhaust stains and the apparent scorching of nearby vegetation between April and September as signs of rocket engine tests at Sohae. The South Korean defense and unification ministries declined to comment on the article from 38 North. CNN's K.J. Kwon in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. | North Korea has carried out at least 2 rocket motor tests since April, website says . It cites commercial satellite imagery that shows activity at a launch site . A failed rocket launch by the North in April scuppered a food aid deal with the U.S. The academic website sees the possibility of rocket and nuclear tests in 2013 . | 8f229e3ecc366d1aae3e5b4944f657da38e2b1fc |
By . Miles Goslett and Brendan Carlin . PUBLISHED: . 16:15 EST, 1 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:37 EST, 1 June 2013 . Lord Laird has referred himself to House of Lords standards watchdogs over his contact with a fake lobbying company . Westminster's new ‘cash for questions’ row deepened last night after a second politician admitted being caught up in the sting that forced Tory MP Patrick Mercer to resign the party whip. Ulster Unionist peer Lord Laird confirmed that he had been approached by two BBC journalists posing as consultants for fictitious consultancy firm Alistair Andrews Communications. The Mail on Sunday understands he will feature with Mr Mercer in a Panorama exposé due to be broadcast this week. The former PR executive insisted he had not broken any rules because he had never agreed to act on the fake consultancy’s behalf, nor accepted any money. But Lord Laird revealed he had referred himself to House of Lords standards watchdogs and to Black Rod, the House’s senior official. Lord Laird said last night: ‘In recent days, I have been the subject of a scam operated by journalists masquerading as communications consultants. ‘This has led to allegations that I have broken the rules of the House of Lords. 'I wish to make it clear that I did not agree that I would act as a paid advocate in any proceedings of the House nor did I accept payment or other incentive or reward in return for providing parliamentary advice or services to the Society of Friends of Fiji. ‘I do not believe that I have broken any rules. ‘However, I have referred myself to Black Rod’s office and to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards, and I will be making no further statement until I have received their ruling.’ Mr Mercer, a former Tory frontbencher, resigned the party whip last week after he was accused of taking £4,000 to lobby and ask parliamentary questions on behalf of Fiji. The MP for Newark is also accused of agreeing to provide a parliamentary pass for a fictional member of the Fijian government. Patrick Mercer MP has quit the Tory party over allegations he took £4,000 from a fake lobbying company and did not declare his interest . Mr Mercer said he was taking legal advice on the allegations but had resigned the whip ‘to save my party embarrassment’. He announced he would stand down at the next Election but is facing pressure from Tory colleagues to quit now – even though a by-election could mean losing a rock-solid seat to UKIP. The row has led to fresh calls on David Cameron to introduce a ‘right of recall’ allowing voters to sack misbehaving MPs and to set up an official register of lobbyists. | Lord Laird has referred himself to watchdogs over his contact with fake lobbying company set up by undercover journalist . But he insisted he had not broken any rules and had not taken money . Follows the resignation of the whip of Patrick Mercer MP over the sting . | 4b325cd8481b63079c1ebbe62fbff005a730a8f9 |
(CNN) -- Two years after a Fort Bragg soldier disappeared after visiting a North Carolina bar, police believe they have found her remains. "We are deeply saddened that the discovery of the apparent remains of Army Spc. Kelli Bordeaux now concludes our final hopes of her returning safely," Col. Christian Karsner, Task Force Bragg's chief of staff, said Wednesday. The remains were found Wednesday near the I-295 corridor in northern Fayetteville, police said. Nicholas Michael Holbert, 27, has been arrested and will be charged with first-degree murder in connection with Bordeaux's death, authorities said. Fayetteville police said more charges might follow. Holbert led police to a shallow grave where the soldier's apparent remains were found, according to The Fayetteville Observer. Holbert, a registered sex offender, allegedly knocked Bordeaux unconscious in the parking lot of a bar before killing her behind the tavern, the Observer reported, citing arrest warrants. Bordeaux was assigned to the 601st Area Support Medical Company, 44th Medical Brigade and served as a combat medic, Fort Bragg said in a statement. "Our new hope is that her family, members of her unit and her friends will take some comfort from this news and the degree of closure it may bring, as well as the information that this discovery may reveal," Karsner said. 'Got home safely' In April 2012, the 23-year-old soldier left the Froggy Bottoms bar early on a Saturday, police said at the time. She had been drinking and was given a ride home by a bar employee, according to a U.S. Army official who spoke on condition of anonymity at the time of that story. At some point, the Army official said, Bordeaux sent two text messages. One said, "got home safely." The official did not know who the text was sent to or the contents of the second text message. In the months following Bordeaux's disappearance, throngs of police, military members and volunteers scoured the area for Bordeaux. Bordeaux was described as a "very good soldier, not the type of person that would come up AWOL or missing," Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine said in 2012. Bordeaux was reported missing when she failed to report for duty, the official said at the time. Bordeaux's mother, Johnna Henson, has said police told her that someone had gave her daughter a ride to the bar, where Bordeaux sang karaoke. The medical examiner's office in Raleigh will try to determine the positive identification of the remains. CNN's Phil Gast and Joe Sutton contributed to this report. | Army Spc. Kelli Bordeaux disappeared after leaving a bar in April 2012 . A 27-year-old man faces a murder charge in connection with the soldier's death . Fayetteville Observer: The suspect is a registered sex offender . A medical examiner's office will officially identify the remains . | d734cf58efc6edee488774e4614ca07a925fa9a4 |
By . Anna Hodgekiss . PUBLISHED: . 10:15 EST, 2 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:08 EST, 3 December 2013 . A young bride has spoken of the huge dilemma she faced over whether to have her large intestine removed, meaning she would need an ileostomy bag for the rest of her life. Lauren Henderson was just 25 when doctors said she would need surgery to treat Crohn's disease, which causes the lining of the digestive system to become inflamed. Her condition had become so bad that doctors said she would need surgery to relieve pressure on the large intestine, instead fitting her with a bag to collect solid digestive waste. Brave: Lauren Henderson (on her wedding day earlier this year) was told she would need surgery to remove her large intestine and replace it with an ilesotomy bag . She said: 'I debated whether to get the . surgery. I kept turning over in my mind whether it would change my . image. 'I feared the unknown - what people would think, whether my . relationships would change.' She eventually decided to go ahead with the surgery and, far . from hiding from the consequences of her illness, wore her ileostomy . bag on honeymoon as proof that she survived her life-changing Crohn’s . disease diagnosis. She said: 'After everything, it’s been perfectly . manageable and I’m so glad I had the surgery. I can’t believe I went for . so long being in such pain.' Mrs Henderson, who has a three-year-old . son, Teddy, was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. She . said: 'At first, I thought my upset tummy was due to food poisoning. It . started getting particularly bad during my final year of university. I . was so ill that I was crying in front my tutor. Happy: Mrs Henderson, pictured with husband Kieran and son Teddy, was diagnosed with the digestive disorder Crohn's disease when she was 21 . Support: Mrs Henderson's condition causes the lining of the digestive system to become inflamed. It became so bad that doctors said she would need surgery to relieve pressure on the large intestine, instead fitting her with a bag . 'It . felt like there was a hot stone bouncing around in my lower abdomen. It . was mortifying to have to run to the loo so frequently, sometimes . mid-conversation. 'When the . diagnosis finally came I was relieved I didn’t have cancer, but for a . while I was in denial about how I would need to deal with Crohn’s for . the rest of my life.' Mrs Henderson, a drama teacher, met her husband Kieran, an IT specialist, on a plane to Benidorm in August 2011. In the first few weeks of their relationship, Mrs Henderson, now 26, hesitated from informing her new partner about the full extent of her incurable condition. Awareness: Far from hiding from the consequences of her illness, Mrs Henderson wore her ileostomy bag on honeymoon as proof that she survived her life-changing Crohn’s disease diagnosis . She said: 'I tried to hide what was going on, but it became increasingly difficult. 'Exhaustion . made my life a misery. Things came to a head one day when we were sat . in the car and all I could think about was how desperate I was for the . loo. 'Kieran already had an inkling from talking to my mum, but I decided to tell him everything. Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system. Inflammation can affect any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the back passage, but most commonly occurs in the last section of the small intestine (ileum) or the large intestine (colon). Symptoms include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss and, in the long term, the inflammation can result in additional complications, such as narrowing of the colon. It isn’t fully understood what causes it but genes, a faulty immune system and previous infection may play a role. There is no cure but there are medications to help control symptoms. In up to 75 per cent of cases, surgery will be needed to repair damaged parts of the digestive system.here are currently at least 115,000 people living with Crohn’s disease in the UK. Crohn's disease can affect people of all ages, including children. However, most cases first develop between the ages of 16 and 30. 'He was completely unphased. He simply told me how brave I was, and how he’d always support me.' Mr Henderson, 22, proposed in January 2012, the day before Mrs Henderson decided to go ahead with the surgery to separate her large intestine from her small intestine. The operation in June 2012 resulted in her being fitted with an ileostomy bag, which collects all solid digestive waste. In December, the change was made permanent when surgeons removed her large intestine. Despite the life-changing surgery, Mrs Henderson refused to let the modification to her body stop her from enjoying life to the full. She said her wedding in March 2013 and her subsequent honeymoon to Jamaica helped to restore her confidence. She said: 'I had picked out the . perfect wedding dress, and I was worried how whether the surgery would . stop me from wearing it. As it turned out, I had absolutely nothing to . worry about. Quite the opposite. 'I . attended my brother’s wedding as a bridesmaid before the surgery and . that occasion was utterly ruined by the symptoms after I ate something . which didn’t agree with me. 'The surgery allowed me to enjoy my . wedding to the full. I could eat what I wanted and was free to be . myself. It was absolutely wonderful. Together: Mr Henderson, 22, proposed in January 2012, the day before Mrs Henderson decided to go ahead with the surgery to separate her large intestine from her small intestine. The couple married in March this year . 'I found the perfect bikini for our honeymoon - a nice two-piece. At first I thought I couldn’t wear it because of the ileostomy bag but Kieran told me to buy it if I liked it. 'I wore it on honeymoon and I didn’t care in the slightest what people thought. We had a wonderful time.'Mrs Henderson, of Kidderminster, has now . started connecting with people online who are considering whether to go . through with bowel surgery. Plight: Mrs Henderson has now started connecting with people online who are considering whether to go through with bowel surgery . She said: 'I spoke to one young woman who was in a similar situation to me. I was able to reassure her and she’s had her surgery now. She’s doing fine. 'I’ve been contacted by several people - mostly women, but some men - who have found it useful to hear about my experiences. 'If I can help to make anyone feel less anxious about their decision, then I think that’s wonderful.' Anyone interested in joining Mrs Henderson's support group can find it online by searching “Support Young People With Crohn’s - Become Aware!” on Facebook. | Lauren Henderson was diagnosed with Crohn's disease aged 21 . Condition causes the lining of the digestive system to become inflamed . Was told at 25 she needed surgery to remove her large intestine and an ileostomy bag fitted to collect waste - but struggled with the decision . Now says having the surgery means she is pain-free for first time in years . In a bid to raise awareness of condition, wore her 'bag' with bikini on holiday . | d82808ccf18f32b5b5ff7f6fcb988f16ae45964f |
By . Ian Drury, James Chapman and Matt Chorley . PUBLISHED: . 10:37 EST, 23 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:59 EST, 23 May 2013 . David Cameron yesterday tore up an order banning troops from wearing their uniforms in public that was issued in the wake of the Woolwich attack. He is understood to have told Defence Secretary Philip Hammond he was ‘seriously dismayed’ at official guidance given to personnel in London following the murder. As the row raged in Whitehall, troops and their families posted pictures of themselves in full uniform online, in defiance of the ruling from the Ministry of Defence. Strength: Prime Minister David Cameron gave a statement in Downing Street, vowing that the terrorists will not divide Britain but make it stronger . Armed: Military personnel in uniform stand guard at Woolwich Barracks yesterday, where security has been tightened . Insisting that the ban be rescinded, . Mr Cameron told a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall: . ‘The best way to defeat terrorism is for everyone – including our brave . service personnel – to go about their lives as normal.’ The dressing down was a blow for Mr Hammond, who is understood to have agreed that the uniform ban should be implemented. Security had been tightened within . hours of the attack amid fears that other military personnel could be . targeted in ‘copycat’ strikes. Instructions issued to commanders said . that troops should be ‘advised to maintain a low public profile until . further information is received; uniforms should be concealed while in a . public place, particularly when travelling alone or from home to unit. Defiant: Soldiers walk outside Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich Headquarters, close to the scene where a soldier was murdered in John Wilson Street . Floral tributes, and a T-shirt, have been left outside the Royal Military Barracks, near the scene where a solider was brutally murdered in broad daylight . ‘Specifically in London District, . uniform is not to be worn outside units or when travelling to and from . units unless authorised at military one-star level or above.’ Boris . Johnson arrived at Downing Street for the Cobra meeting with a warning . that the Woolwich knife attack must not be blamed on British foreign . policy. 'It is completely . wrong to blame this killing on the religion of Islam, but it is also . equally wrong to try to draw any link between this murder and British . foreign policy or the actions of British forces who are risking their . lives abroad for the sake of freedom. 'The fault lies wholly and exclusively in the warped and deluded mindset of the people who did it. 'What we need now is, for the sake of the victim and the sake of his family, for those killers to be brought to justice. 'I think I want to pay particular tribute, not just to the work of the police and security services yesterday. 'But . also, above all, to the people of Woolwich, who showed such exemplary . courage and bravery in a very difficult situation indeed.' 'The . people of London should take their cue, from the behaviour of the . people of Woolwich yesterday, who showed such astonishing natural . courage in dealing with an appalling event, and who stood up to these . killers. 'I think that . that’s the spirit of London, and that’s what I would call upon people to . do today: go about their lives in the normal way.' But current and former servicemen . defied the ruling by posting pictures online. Former soldier Glenn Rees, . of Maesteg in Wales, was among those who posted a picture of himself in . uniform. He wrote on Facebook: ‘The . Government’s decision to ban military personnel wearing uniform in . public whilst investigations are being carried out is ridiculous! Backing down already! ‘Been out of the Forces for three . years to the day … Least I could do for this innocent soldier and his . family. Brothers Unite!!’ The heightened state of alert was a . throwback to the 1970s and 1980s, when military personnel were ordered . to wear civilian clothes on the streets because of the threat from the . IRA. In recent years, troops have been . encouraged to wear their uniforms in public. But jihadist websites have . urged Muslim extremists to target those in uniform as revenge for . British forces fighting in Afghanistan. Colonel Richard Kemp, a former . commander in Afghanistan, said he opposed the restrictions, explaining: . ‘As we saw in this case you don’t need to have somebody in uniform, you . just need to have someone who knows a bit about soldiers and does a bit . of observation in the vicinity of a barracks and can identify a soldier . very quickly.’ General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence . Staff, also lent his support to Mr Cameron’s decision. He said he believed it was an . ‘isolated incident’, adding: ‘There is no reason at all why we should . not wear our uniforms with pride, but on a common sense basis.’ Ann Annis, 49, whose 22-year-old son . Simon died in a Taliban bomb blast in 2009, said: ‘It’s a sad reflection . of Britain when they’re being advised not to wear their uniforms but to . go out in civvies. Defiance: Two women soldiers walk along a path in Woolwich shortly after the murder in south-east London . ‘I don’t want them hurt, of course, . but they should be allowed to wear their tunics with pride. 'The best way to defeat terrorism is for everyone – including our brave service personnel – to go about their lives as normal' Prime Minister David Cameron . 'It used to . be that our soldiers in uniforms were applauded on the streets but now . the country has become too lily-livered.’ Sources close to the Defence Secretary . said the ban was part of a raft of ‘immediate and automatic reactive . security measures’ after the attack. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: . ‘Following a review of the situation this morning, a decision has been . taken to relax some of these temporary measures imposed yesterday.’ The Woolwich atrocity was an attack on the British way of life, David Cameron said yesterday. But, speaking outside Downing Street after chairing the crisis committee Cobra, he insisted the outrage would serve to unite different communities. ‘What happened in Woolwich yesterday has sickened us all,’ said the Prime Minister. ‘The people who did this were trying to divide us. They should know something like this will only bring us together, make us stronger.’ Mr Cameron said the attack was a betrayal of Islam and ‘solely and purely’ the responsibility of the accused. ‘This view is shared by every community in our country,’ he added. ‘This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life; it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country. There is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act.’ The Prime Minister said Britain would be resolute in its ‘stand against violent extremism’. ‘We will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms,’ he added. ‘We will defeat violent extremism by standing together, by backing our police and security services, and above all by challenging the poisonous narrative of extremism on which this violence feeds. Britain works with our international partners to make the world safe from terrorism – terrorism that has taken more Muslim lives than any other religion. It is an utter perversion of the truth to pretend anything different.’ President Barack Obama said: ‘The United States stands resolute with the United Kingdom, our ally and friend, against violent extremism and terror. ‘There can be absolutely no justification for such acts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim, the police and security services responding to this horrific act and the communities they serve, and the British people.’ Baroness Warsi, minister for faith and communities, said she had been ‘incredibly impressed’ by the way in which British Muslim communities had ‘unreservedly and unitedly condemned’ the barbaric acts. | Military chiefs imposed automatic ban on uniforms outside bases . Restrictions reviewed at meeting of emergency Cobra committee . David Cameron made clear he wants life to 'carry on as normal' | a5036f97ae3fd206d5c09e96d7534669d36c0ed7 |
Scientists have been forced to invent monitoring technology to protect dolphins from being killed while swimming through military training waters, it was revealed today. Conservationists feared the bottlenose dolphins were at risk from laser-guided missiles when their family pods swim into Ministry of Defence explosive trials at Aberporth in Cardigan Bay, Wales. But a team of experts at defence firm QinetiQ created a special listening system to find the dolphins - and can now hear their distinctive clicking sounds from more than 20 miles away. Worries: Conservationists feared the bottlenose dolphins were at risk from laser guided missiles when their family pods swim into Ministry of Defence explosive trials at Aberporth in Cardigan Bay, Wales . And thanks to the company’s Passive Acoustic Monitoring (Pam) system, when a pod of dolphins is heard entering a missile testing area, all firing is stopped to let them pass through safely. The detection of marine life in the area had previously relied on remote camera systems and visual observations by aircrew, because nobody else can enter the area during a missile trial. But Pam uses an underwater microphone known as a hydrophone and processing equipment to identify the sounds made by marine mammals, which QinetiQ says is robust and cost-effective. The system has been in use for two years at the MoD testing zone, which is a conservation area and has the largest population of protected bottlenose dolphins in Europe. They are also one of only two significant . populations in Britain. It is an offence under existing law to . deliberately kill, injure or disturb European marine protected species. A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesman told MailOnline: 'Animals do not wage war, so why should they suffer because humans do? System: Pam uses an underwater microphone known as a hydrophone and processing equipment to identify the sounds made by marine mammals, which QinetiQ says is robust and cost-effective . 'Wars are human endeavours, but just . like civilians, animals can easily become victims. For animals, there . are no Geneva Conventions and no peace treaties - just our mercy. 'Our troops deserve the best protection, and animals deserve to be left out of human conflict.' QinetiQ, which manages the range under a . long-term partnering agreement, won the top environmental prize at the . MoD’s annual Sanctuary Awards for its dolphin detection technology. Competition . judge Jane Hallett said: ‘This project demonstrated an innovative . approach to an emerging issue within marine conservation. ‘It shows how defence requirements can be successfully integrated with environmental responsibility.’ The . award citation said: 'This is an excellent example of how the proactive . management of noise can enable the MoD to continue its business and . conduct live explosive trials.' Aerial view: The MOD Aberporth range covers 2,500 sq miles of Cardigan Bay, home to hundreds of bottlenose dolphins. Other marine mammals in the area include porpoises and grey seals . A QinetiQ spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The MOD Aberporth range has a rich and diverse history of innovation and problem solving. 'Animals do not wage war, so why should they suffer because humans do?' People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesman . ‘The . development of the PAM system is an excellent example of this . creativity and technical expertise being used to protect the natural . resources in and around Cardigan Bay.’ The MOD Aberporth range covers 2,500 . sq miles of Cardigan Bay, home to hundreds of bottlenose dolphins. Other . marine mammals in the area include porpoises and grey seals. Separately, . in May, the Royal Navy was blamed for driving dozens of dolphins to an . agonising death during anti-submarine war games. A four-year investigation by scientists . ruled out every other cause for the UK’s largest stranding of common . dolphins in shallows off the coast of Cornwall in 2008. Marine conservation: The system has been in use for two years at the MoD testing area, which is a conservation area and has the largest population of protected bottlenose dolphins in Europe . The area was hosting a week of ‘live fire’ war games involving 20 Royal Navy ships, helicopters and submarines - including the nuclear-powered sub HMS Torbay - as well as 11 foreign vessels. And scientists believed trials of anti-submarine warfare techniques, using a range of mid-frequency sonar devices in the water to detect hidden vessels, were the most likely cause of the deaths. But the Navy rejected the investigation’s findings. In August, two studies were released in America suggesting US Navy training and testing could inadvertently kill hundreds of whales and dolphins and injure thousands over the next five years. Most of the deaths would come from explosives, though some might come from testing sonar or animals being hit by ships. According to the reports, computer models show it may kill 186 whales and dolphins off the East Coast and 155 off Hawaii and Southern California. | Conservationists feared bottlenose dolphins were at risk from missiles . They live in Ministry of Defence testing area at Aberporth in Cardigan Bay . But QinetiQ experts created a special listening system to find the dolphins . Researchers can now hear distinctive clicking sounds from 20 miles away . | 8887f5ac13d244d004e58a731dac009f834ec47b |
By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 07:40 EST, 7 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:10 EST, 7 February 2014 . One of America's richest businessmen has sparked anger after he claimed the wealthiest 'one per cent' earn more money because they work harder than everybody else. Sam Zell, who is estimated to be worth $4billion, made the incendiary claim during a live television rant on Wednesday night, insisting that the nation's affluent should be emulated, not criticized. The Equity Group Investments founder's comments come at a sensitive time since billionaire venture capitalist Tom Perkins claimed the criticism of America's rich was akin to the persecution . of Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Scroll down for video . 'We work hardest': Sam Zell, who is estimated to be worth $4billion, made the incendiary claim during a live television rant on Wednesday night, insisting that the nation's affluent should be emulated, not criticized . 'The quote '1 per cent' are being pummelled because it's politically convenient to do so,' Mr Zell said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s "In the Loop" with Betty Liu. 'The problem is that the world and this country should not talk about envy of the 1 per cent it should talk about emulating the 1 per cent. 'The 1 per cent work harder. The 1 per cent are much bigger factors in all forms of our society.' Controversial: Zell's comments come at a sensitive time since billionaire venture capitalist Tom Perkins claimed last month that America's war on the rich is akin to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930s . Asked how he thought the average worker on the minimum wage could emulate his success, he said: 'The stories are rampant of people who started with a candy store and took it from there. 'There are lots of people who have the ambition and have the motivation and have succeeded.' It comes weeks after Perkins, a founder of Kleiner Perkins . Caufield & Byers, wrote a letter to the Wall Street . Journal in which he said the public's turn against the rich represents a 'dangerous rift' in America and compares such progressive radicalism to . the German Kristallnacht. Comparisons: Mr Perkins referenced the Kristallnacht attacks on Jews in Germany in 1938 . Anger: Resentment towards the super-rich has been building since the Occupy Movement began in September 2011 where protesters claim the global economy is engineered by an elite oligarchy of wealthy individuals to make the rich richer and the poor poorer . 'I would call attention to the . parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its "1 percent," namely . its Jews, to the progressive war on the American 1 percent, namely the "rich,"' he wrote. But Zell held back when asked for his views on Perkins' outburst. 'The word persecution is not the right word,' he said. 'I think that the politics of envy, the politics of class warfare are what has separated America from many parts of the rest of the world. And we have benefited dramatically from not having class warfare, from not having envy.' Barack Obama has come under fire from the nation's financial elite for repeatedly insisting he wants to redress America's rich-poor balance since he came to power. In his 2012 State of the Union address, Obama said: 'The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.' Resentment towards the super-rich has been building since the Occupy Movement began in September 2011. Occupy supporters claim the global economy is engineered by an elite oligarchy of wealthy individuals to make the rich richer and the poor poorer . Forbes counts Zell as America's 110th richest person with an estimated net worth of $4billion, accrued through his real estate and private equity empire. | Sam Zell made incendiary claim during TV debate on Bloomberg Television . Comes after Tom Perkins likens war on rich to the Nazi persecution of Jews . Zell is estimated to be worth $4bn through his equity and real estate empire . He claimed America's affluent should be emulated, not criticized . He said: 'The 1% work harder and are bigger factors in all forms of society' | 754b6c0c7b8a808ca29cd862a76f210de92d84b8 |
A widowed Thai mother is facing deportation and could be forced to leave her children in the UK after her British husband was killed in a car crash. Om Gorry, 36, faces the prospect of leaving her children, James, 10, and Emily, four, and returning to her native Thailand because she has been unable to prove to officials that she is their primary carer. Mrs Gorry, whose British husband Alan was killed in a car crash two years ago, has been told her children are British citizens and so are entitled to remain in the UK. Om Gorry, 36, faces being deported to her native Thailand after her British husband Alan died. Mrs Gorry (pictured with the pair's children, James, 10, and Emily, four) is currently living in Hampshire with her children . Mrs Gorry, who was born in Thailand, moved to the UK to live with husband Alan (together above) in 2004. However, the pair moved back to Thailand when she found out her mother was ill and her husband later died . She said officials have suggested that they could be looked after by their paternal grandmother in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire. However, Mrs Gorry is appealing the decision and family and friends have now launched a petition to keep her in the country while an online campaign in support of her case is growing support. Mrs Gorry married her husband in 2004 and the couple lived in Hampshire before temporarily moving back to the Far East in 2007 because her mother was ill. Between 2004 and 2007, Mrs Gorry applied for permanent residency in the UK, which she was granted. However, after moving to Thailand, and leaving the UK for more than two years, her right to a permanent residency was ended. After the death of both of her parents and Mr Gorry in the space of three years while living in Thailand, Mrs Gorry decided to return to England with her children so she would have the support of her late husband's family. She was granted a temporary European Economic Area Family Permit visa to enter and live in the UK and they moved in with Mr Gorry's mother Pat in April last year. Alan Gorry (above) died aged 36 in a car crash two years ago. Mrs Gorry moved back to the UK, to his mother's home in Hampshire, following his death . The children settled in at a local school and the family has since tried to move on from the tragedy of losing 36-year-old Mr Gorry. The European Economic Area Family Permit allowed Mrs Gorry to live in the UK as long as her two children, who both hold British citizenship, remained in the country. In addition to the permit, Mrs Gorry chose to apply for a derivative residence card, which proves the holder has the right to live in the UK as a primary carer and shows employers they are allowed to work here. She said she was desperate to be granted the derivative residence card because it would help her find employment in the UK. However, she recently got a letter from the Home office which said it had rejected her application and reviewed her case. Officials said she had not proved she was the primary carer of her children and suggested that her 69-year-old mother-in-law could care for James and Emily instead. In an apparent U-turn by the Home Office, her passport has now been confiscated and she has been told to make plans to return to her homeland immediately. She said: 'Everything was going really well, we had a new start and I was getting my life back together then suddenly this is hanging over me. 'When I got the letter from the Home Office I was so shocked and upset and I just couldn't get my head around it. 'They said I hadn't proved that I was James' mother but we sent his birth certificate and Alan's death certificate. I just don't know what more I can do to prove it to them. 'Who on earth is going to leave without their children? My little girl is only four, I'm not going to leave her. 'If I have to go I would have to take them back to Thailand with me, but that wouldn't be what's best for them. They've just started settling in and making friends at school. 'It will affect them if I have to leave. They've already lost their father and now the government wants to take their mother away from them too. 'The decision is ridiculous.' Extracts from Home Office letters to Mrs Gorry show that her Derivative Residence Card was refused (above) The letters also warn Mrs Gorry that she should 'make arrangements to leave' the UK and return to Thailand . Helen Thompson, a family member, has now launched a petition to send to Prime Minister David Cameron, which has already fetched more than 2,600 signatures. She said: 'It's been an absolute nightmare for the family and to suggest Pat can be the primary carer is ridiculous. They haven't asked her or done any checks on her finances or health. 'She works in London four days a week, she's going to be 70 this year and she has an enlarged aorta so she has to watch her blood pressure. 'There's no way Om would leave her children here, she'd have to take them with her back to Thailand, but then that's denying their rights as British citizens. 'The effect it would have on the children would just be devastating. It's just outrageous. ‘They love being over here with all the family, they just love it. ‘They are denying the children’s right to a family life. It’s just ludicrous. 'It shouldn't have to come to this and it has cost us so much money already. 'Om's amazing, she's a really strong person but we all have our moments where we get upset and worried. She just needs the structure and stability now to move on with her life.' Mrs Gorry (pictured with her 10-year-old son James and four-year-old daughter Emily) said she is appealing the Home Office decision. Friends and family have also set up an online petition against the deportation . Mrs Gorry is appealing the Home Office decision but doesn’t know when the case will be heard. She is appealing on the grounds that the decision fails to consider the best interests of her children and that it doesn’t take into account her right to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. She also claims the Home Office decision fails to take into consideration the compassionate and exceptional circumstances which she has found herself in, and the fact she has been the children’s primary carer since they were born. A Home Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'This case is subject to an ongoing appeal and it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.' | Om Gorry, 36, has been told to prepare to return to her native Thailand . She lived in UK with husband Alan in 2004 before pair moved to Far East . Alan, a UK citizen, died in crash and she moved to UK for family support . She brought her two children with her and moved in with husband's family . Now facing deportation because she cannot prove she is the primary carer . Children have been told they can stay in UK as they are British citizens . | ead9c5483fc0a3bf95c1f8c13618a8b5db614841 |
Vice President Joe Biden called on Native American leaders to continue fighting what he called an "epidemic" of domestic violence on tribal lands and throughout the United States. Biden tailored the message of the White House's "It's On Us" campaign against sexual assault to address the disproportionately high rate of domestic violence in Native American communities, emphasizing the need for bystander intervention and community action during the White House Tribal Nations Conference. Native American women face the highest rate of domestic violence and abuse in the U.S. "It's not about vigilantism, it's about intervening," Biden said. "To me it's the definition of manhood. It's not standing by and saying, 'Well, it's a family affair.'" Biden's remarks come as tribal authorities prepare to take on new authority in March 2015 to prosecute non-Native Americans who perpetrate domestic violence on tribal lands, which was included in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act last year. The Vice President emphasized that it's now up to tribal governments to use their new authority to "enforce the law, prosecute and stand for the women who have for too long endured not just injustice, but indifference." Attorney General Eric Holder, who spoke after Biden at the conference, said already three tribes are part of a pilot program this year that has charged more than 20 non-Indians in domestic violence cases and touted increased collaboration between federal officials and tribal authorities. Biden spoke passionately about domestic violence and even reenacted calls he said he heard while visiting the National Domestic Violence Hotline. "The most horrific prison on earth is the four walls of an abused woman's home. And far too many Native American women, for far too many, that's a daily reality," Biden said. "I apologize for it taking so long, so many women damaged in the meantime." | Vice President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday at the White House Tribal Nations Conference . He highlighted the high rates of domestic violence among Native Americans . Biden's messaged tied into the White House's 'It's on us' campaign . | 334763c34a78cd1a0696f6940cbdfa30a4080d5e |
(CNN) -- A Virginia grand jury indicted six Colombian nationals Thursday for the kidnapping and murder of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in the South American country during an attempted robbery last month, federal authorities said. Special Agent James "Terry" Watson died after being stabbed in a taxi in Bogota, Colombia, on June 20. He was assigned to the DEA unit in Cartagena and was on temporary duty in Bogota. The six defendants operated a robbery and kidnapping conspiracy using cabs in Bogota to lure victims, and the driver of the cab would signal to conspirators to commence the abduction and robbery, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Watson was allegedly shocked with a stun gun by one defendant and stabbed with a knife by another defendant, the Justice Department said. 10 things to know before visiting Colombia . Watson, 42, had been watching the last game of the NBA finals at a Bogota restaurant at night and left in a taxi, a State Department spokesman said last month. Investigators believe Watson's cab stopped at a traffic light and his assailants jumped out of two other cabs, which pulled up on either side of the vehicle in which he was riding, a law enforcement official said. According to the official, Watson managed to escape from the cab and was taken to a hospital, where he died. In Colombia, such attacks are known as "millionaire rides." Authorities said the suspects they arrested were part of a gang known for millionaire ride robberies. The DEA said Watson was a 13-year veteran of the agency. He had been sent to Afghanistan three times on counternarcotics trafficking assignments and had previously served in the Army and worked for the U.S. Marshals Service. The indictment sends "an unmistakable message to all who commit acts of violence against America's law enforcement professionals: no matter who you are or where you live, we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. Indicted were: . -- Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 38. -- Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27. -- Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 26. -- Hector Leonardo Lopez, 23. -- Julio Estiven Gracia Ramierez, 30. -- Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 21. Each of them was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap. Oviedo-Garcia was also charged with two counts of assault. The federal grand jury in Virginia also indicted Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 30, a Colombian national, for his allegedly trying to destroy evidence in Watson's murder, the Justice Department said.col TV reported. The United States will request extradition of the suspects, but it has not yet done so formally, a law enforcement official said. U.S. officials have extradited and prosecuted suspects accused of killing U.S. federal agents in the past. Read more: Colombia arrests fake nuns with cocaine under their habits . | Six Colombians accused of operating a robbery and kidnapping ring out of cabs . These attacks in the South American country are called "millionaire rides" DEA Special Agent James "Terry" Watson died after being stabbed in a cab robbery . | 7ea9359484589587a727f97719e9bda558fdc54e |
(CNN) -- Jose Mourinho has admitted he was left angered by the decision to sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona, although the Inter Milan coach reveals he is delighted to welcome Samuel Eto'o to the San Siro. Jose Mourinho believes Inter Milan have done good business in selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona. Inter are on the verge of completing a deal which will see them receive 45 million euros ($64m) plus Eto'o for Ibrahimovic after both players agreed terms with their prospective clubs. Mourinho knows it will be a blow to lose last year's leading goalscorer in Serie A but, speaking about the deal for the first time, admitted it is a fantastic bit of business. "I was a bit angry because no coach is happy to lose Ibrahimovic," the Portuguese told Sky Italia. "But no one is not happy to have Eto'o -- we have lost a top player but we have taken another one. If I talk as a coach and a man on the pitch, I say that I don't want to lose this player. If I talk as a manager, I say that Inter have done great business," added Mourinho. Mourinho feels Ibrahimovic will adapt to life at the Nou Camp in no time but insists he would not make a similar move. "He had this dream and wanted to go," added the Nerazzurri coach. "He told me he would miss me and I told him exactly the same thing. He's going to a club in which I worked for four years, Barcelona are an extraordinary club and he will be happy. "I didn't give him any advice but I spoke to him a few days before the final decision. I told him that if he wins the Champions League with Barcelona he won't be doing anything extraordinary, seeing as they have won it twice in three years. I like doing something extraordinary, not what's normal." | Jose Mourinho angered by the decision to sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona . However, Inter Milan coach happy to welcome Samuel Eto'o to the Italian club . Inter Milan to receive 45 million euros ($64m) plus Eto'o for Swede Ibrahimovic . | fceaaaa78741b027956bdc204886b890a3657929 |
(CNN) -- A woman who has been in a vegetative state for nearly 17 years was transferred to a private clinic Tuesday where she is expected to die -- ending what has been a lengthy and controversial legal fight. A portrait of Eluana Englaro taken in July 2008 in Italy. Englaro has been in a vegetative state for nearly 17 years. Eluana Englaro suffered irreversible brain damage in a car crash in 1992, when she was 20 years old. For years, her father has fought to have her feeding tube removed, saying it would be a dignified end to his daughter's life. Beppino Englaro says that before the crash, his daughter visited a friend who was in a coma and told him she didn't want the same thing to happen to her should she ever be in the same state. Euthanasia is illegal in Italy, but patients have the right to refuse treatment. It is on that basis that Englaro argued his daughter should be allowed to die, because she had expressed the wish not to be kept alive while in a coma -- indirectly refusing treatment, he said. "We knew Eluana well, and we always thought of her as a champion of freedom," her father said in October. "She had clear ideas about her life and for her, life was about freedom -- not an obligation to live." A series of legal battles finally ended in November, when Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation, upheld a lower court ruling allowing Englaro to suspend his daughter's treatment. But although Englaro had cleared the last legal hurdle, the court's decision sparked a new fight to find a hospital or clinic that would take out Eluana's feeding tube. Several clinics initially came forward to say they could do it, but the Italian health minister then issued a decree to remind them of their duty of care. Under pressure to adhere to his decree, the clinics backed off. Finally, a private clinic in the northeastern Italian city of Udine agreed to assist in Eluana's case. Monday night, Eluana was transferred from the church-run hospital in Lecco, north of Milan, where she had been kept alive to the Udine clinic. A handful of protesters tried to block the ambulance carrying Eluana from leaving the clinic, one of them holding a banner reading, "Only thieves and assassins act at night." The case has been a controversial one in Italy, a heavily Catholic country where the Vatican has great influence. Last Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI told pilgrims that "euthanasia is a false solution to suffering." Tuesday morning, a top Vatican official was quoted in the Italian media saying, "Stop the killer hands." The Udine clinic says the removal of Eluana's tube will begin in about three days, and the process of allowing her to die will take about 20 days. Clinic officials gave police an outline of the specific steps they are going to take with Eluana during that time. The outline adheres to the Cassation Court's ruling, which required certain steps and conditions once Eluana's feeding tube is removed. Among the steps and conditions was a rule that no video or photography may be taken and that only certain people may enter the patient's room. | Eluana Englaro has been in a coma for 17 years after a car crash . Englaro was transferred to a private clinic Tuesday where she is expected to die . Her father has fought for years to have her feeding tube removed . | 058568ee39ad194f5161a08a88ebcc8ee5223c41 |
(CNN) -- It's not a good week to be a celebrity cell phone. But before we even begin to dive into that world, let's go into a different preventive exercise that you'll thank me for later: Take your cell phone out. Go into the media library that stores your photos. Among the pics of your pet and that amazing plate of spaghetti from that fancy dinner, find the incriminating ones you wouldn't want a soul seeing. Erase them. Do the same with text messages. All set? Good. Now we can carry on with a feeling of safety while immersing ourselves deeper into the story at hand. On Wednesday, two of Hollywood's hottest young stars -- Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis -- reportedly found themselves at the center of a cell phone hacking scandal that is said to have eventually made its way all the way to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI could not confirm the name of specific hacking victims, and a representative said in a statement that "The FBI is investigating the person or group responsible for computer intrusions of high-profile figures, but due to it being an ongoing investigation, we're not at liberty to confirm specific victims or the number of victims." Neither Johansson nor Kunis has confirmed that their phones have been hacked. For Johansson, alleged nude photos zoomed across the Internet after they were allegedly stolen from her cell phone. And while there is supposedly only one photo of Kunis taken from her phone, it's the alleged photos and texts to and from Justin Timberlake that are causing a stir. Kunis and Timberlake had definite on-screen chemistry in "Friends with Benefits," a film about, well, friends who sleep together. Pretty much anyone with knowledge of Hollywood or celebrities thought something was going on there. With every media interview, the two joked and feigned a flirty relationship that raised eyebrows. Then, the media blitz ended, Timberlake was spotted again with ex Jessica Biel, and that was that. That was until Wednesday, when reports of alleged stolen cell phone photos from Kunis' phone reportedly of Timberlake -- one where he's said to have a pair of underwear on his head -- started surfacing. As of early Thursday, said photos -- if they actually exist -- had not yet surfaced. In unrelated, but still relevant, cell phone hacking news, Sienna Miller for the first time opened up this week about how she was a victim of the massive News of the World phone hacking scandal that invaded the lives and communications of several celebrities, politicians and families of murder victims. When stories began hitting newsstands that clearly no one could possibly know about aside from Miller and her closest confidants, she said on "Today," she became "incredibly paranoid" because she felt "everything is compromised enormously. ... It had a huge impact on relationships, friendships and my career." While Miller's case is far different from the alleged cases of Johansson and Kunis, all of this hacking raises the question: How can situations like this be prevented? Here are a few suggestions, ideas and thoughts* that can help not only the celebrities involved, but, in one scenario, might also aid our struggling economy. (And before you let loose in the comments, be aware that the tongue was firmly in the cheek when these were written.): . â– Build a government-run celebrity cell phone network: Just like you and me, celebrities have cell phone contracts with the same old protections of non-celebs. Well, they (clearly) need better mobile security. So, take whatever cell phone system the CIA, FBI and military operate on -- with all of the necessary security measures in place -- build an offshoot version of it only for celebrities, and charge them an exorbitant amount of money each month for it. In fact, charge them based on how scandalous the content on the phone is. The more nude pics or salacious texts you have, the higher your monthly rate. The money goes straight to the government, their nude photos stay safe, and our national debt just got lessened. U.S.A! U.S.A! â– Walkie-talkies and CBs: If the technology of today makes it easy for scandals of this nature to occur, people of importance should turn back the clock and embrace the old school. Trouble ensues when your phone doubles as a portable hard drive for photos and other potential red flags. A walkie-talkie doesn't. Hey, get a beeper while you're at it. The worst thing that can happen there is someone texts you "58008." â– Make cell phone hacks an act of terrorism: Somewhere, the hacker behind the celebrity stings is laughing and living it up after exposing the lives of people in the spotlight. One surefire way to stop him/her and 99% of the others from trying to continue the art of the hack? Those so-called "enhanced interrogation" techniques. Answer this: Would you post a nude photo of someone if it meant potentially being waterboarded and slapped repeatedly? Didn't think so. *Or just don't take/have/send things like this on your phone. | There are reports of alleged stolen cell phone photos of Justin Timberlake . Those photos are alleged to have come from Mila Kunis' phone . News comes on the heels of reports about Scarlett Johansson . Alleged nude photos of Johansson surfaced on the Web . | 268b487eb38a90c4e6190d274a26ea3b860cc7e9 |
Greater Manchester Police are hunting this man is searching for this man in connection with the attack on the pregnant woman on January 17 . Police are hunting a criminal who broke the leg of a pregnant woman during a 'terrifying' attempted robbery. The attacker pounced on the 27-year-old victim as she left a newsagent in the Moston area of Manchester at 12.40pm on January 17. The man threw the victim to the ground, breaking her leg, while attempting to steal her handbag during the daylight assault. Detectives from Greater Manchester Police investigating the case have said it was 'pure luck' that the unborn baby was not harmed. The man shook the terrified woman violently as she lay on the ground and shouted in her face in a foreign language that she could not identify. The attacker unsuccessfully tried to steal the woman's car before fleeing the scene which is just over two miles north of Manchester City's Etihad Stadium. The woman screamed, told the attacker that she was pregnant and even opened her handbag to show the man that she did not have any valuables, cash or a mobile phone in her bag. The criminal dragged the woman on the ground by the strap of the handbag before fleeing empty-handed. The woman was taken to hospital where she was assessed by medics. Fortunately, the baby was not harmed although the woman was extremely shaken. She told officers: 'The whole incident seemed to last a long time but in reality would only have been about five minutes. He was very close to me when he was grabbing and shaking me and standing right in front of me. 'When it was happening I was very concerned about the safety of my unborn baby and for myself. It was quite terrifying when he was grabbing and shaking me. I didn't know what he was going to do or what he wanted as I couldn't understand him. 'I feel in shock and very anxious about it. It is going to change my behaviour and going about Moston when I'm by myself or with my children. It's even more worrying that it happened during daylight hours.' The man pounced on his victim outside this shop in the Moston area of Manchester on January 17 . The attack happened on Hodge Street in the Moston area of Greater Manchester at 12.40pm on January 17 . The woman was interviewed by specialist officers from Greater Manchester Police who constructed an artist's impression of the man. He is described as a black male who is 5ft 10 tall, stocky and with a round face. He was a distinctive scar on the left side of his face and was clean shaven. He was wearing a black zip-up hooded top with white strings and light blue jeans. Detective Constable Saj Sardar said: 'The victim impact statement this woman has written describes just how harrowing her ordeal was. Her only thought was to protect her unborn baby and she was naturally terrified something would happen to injure her and her unborn child. 'Thankfully, though this is purely by luck, it does not appear the unborn baby has been harmed but that does not detract from just how frightened this young woman was.' Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. | The woman was attacked at lunchtime outside a Manchester newsagent . The male attacker dragged the woman to the ground and broke her leg . Police said it was pure luck that the woman's unborn child was unharmed . The man also tried to steal the woman's car before fleeing empty-handed . Detectives have issued an artist's impression of the 5'10 assailant . | 55d927b38e6d92bee0b0560905d48ca44063aa49 |
By . Nick Enoch . and Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 16:54 EST, 28 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:27 EST, 29 November 2013 . A 14-year-old girl who went missing from her Sydney home earlier this week has been reunited with her emotional parents after she was found safe and well. Krystal Muhieddine's parents Wally and Suzanne had made a desperate plea for information regarding the whereabouts of the teenager after she left her home in Hunters Hill, one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs on Tuesday morning. She had last been seen getting into a silver hatchback with red P-plates driven by a teenage boy that was unknown to her parents. But police found her with a boy in a coffee shop near the Aire River in Victoria today. Safe: Krystal Muhieddine, 14, was found with a teenage boy at a coffee shop in Victoria on Friday . Worried: Krystal's parents, Wally and Suzanne Muhieddine (pictured), had made an emotional plea for her safe return . She hugged her parents as they were reunited later the same day after her parents flew in to Tullamarine Airport. According to Mr Muhieddine, Krystal . and the boy had been camping after the teenager grew 'angry and . frustrated' at home and ran away. He said that he and his wife will talk to Krystal in a bid to negotiate ways in which they can be 'better parents'. He told Fairfax Media: 'We’re going . to approach this from a position of negotiation, see what she would like . and what’s satisfies us. 'Clearly what we’ve been doing hasn’t worked. 'Our heart goes out to parents who don’t get the same good news we received today.' Runaways: The teenager had last been seen getting into a car with an unknown man . Fearing the worst, Mr and Mrs Muhieddine held a press conference earlier this week appealing for help to find their daughter. Mr and Mrs Muhieddine said that their daughter was 'only a baby... she sleeps with her teddy bear'. 'You're not in trouble, no one is in trouble - we just want to know where you are and that you are safe,' Mrs Muhieddine told news.com.au. Friends of Krystal said she had recently spoken about a boy. Her . parents said she might have been communicating with someone online . before she disappeared despite a ban on social media websites in the . family home, but her father was adamant she had never had a boyfriend. 'She's never dated anyone. She's never been anywhere without me dropping her off,' said Mr Muhieddine. Last Friday, Krystal - the second youngest of four daughters - sneaked out of the house to see a movie, telling one of her sisters she had her mother's permission. She later lied to Mrs Muhieddine, saying a friend's mother was planning to collect her. After being reprimanded for her actions, the family then enjoyed a 'great weekend' together. According to Gladsville Police, members of the public had come forward with information regarding Krystal's disappearance, but a spokesman said that wasn't how she was found. Home: The family hail from the Hunter's Hill suburb of Sydney, pictured, one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs . | Krystal Muhieddine left family home in Sydney suburb of . Hunters Hill on Tuesday and did not go to school that day . Police believe she was picked . up in morning by unknown male driving a silver-coloured hatchback . with red P-plates . Her parents feared the worst and had made an emotional plea for her to come home . But the teenager was found safe and well with a teenage boy at a coffee shop in Victoria . She hugged her parents as they flew in from Sydney to be reunited with their daughter earlier today . | 275f0b15ab16de237b4c0c8d0e177e3f7c638ae6 |
A woman has been jailed after she bit off another woman's ear while the pair's partners were fighting in a drunken pub brawl. Paula Hammond attacked Gail Lowe at a working men's club and proceeded to sink her teeth into the victim's ear as their spouses argued about a pint of beer. The 42-year-old attacker told Mrs Lowe she would 'bite her f***ing ear off' and repeatedly punched her, before tearing off a chunk of flesh and spitting it out. A bystander put the piece of ear into a glass to preserve it, and the organ was re-attached during an operation which required Mrs Lowe, 39, to have 30 stitches. Warning: graphic content . Assault: Gail Lowe, left, had part of her ear bitten off by Paula Hammond, right, at a working men's club . The victim is still undergoing reconstructive surgery, and has suffered lasting psychological damage due to the traumatic assault at the the Alverthorpe Working Men's Club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Hammond, a shopkeeper, had denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent, claiming she was acting in self-defence, but was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court last Friday and sentenced to five years in prison. Graham O'Sullivan, prosecuting, said that the attack came after Mrs Lowe had gone to the club with her husband Dean, 42, to watch a gig in November 2013. He added: 'During the evening the victim's husband got into an altercation with a man. Paula Hammond then assaulted her. Horror: Mrs Lowe's ear pictured after the assault, which took place in November 2013 . 'They fell to the floor or into a table. It was at this point Miss Hammond threatened to "bite her f***ing ear off". 'One witness saw her biting her ear. There was after that several punches delivered to Mrs Lowe's head.' He continued: 'The severed ear was picked up by someone who had the presence of mind to put it into a glass.' He said the victim later needed 'something in the region of 30 stitches in the hope it would heal', adding: 'Mrs Lowe has been left with an area of tissue which is dead and has needed reconstruction which is ongoing.' Defence barrister James Littlehales claimed the offence came 'on the spur of the moment', adding: 'This clearly is a tragic case for all concerned. It is a very unusual case for a woman and totally out of character. 'She has appreciated what she has done and its psychological effect effect on the victim. She has genuine remorse.' Judge Neil Clark told Hammond: 'You have been convicted of a very serious offence. 'Gail Lowe described being hit on the hit on the back of the head and falling forwards. She remembers you shouting you were going to bite her ear off. 'The witness could see your jaw moving. It was clearly a deliberate act. You then delivered a number of punches to her and walked away without showing any emotion.' He told her that her five-year prison sentence had been aggravated by the fact that she was drunk at the time of the attack. Venue: The incident happened during a gig at the Alverthorpe Working Men's Club in Wakefield . Speaking after the case, Mrs Lowe said that she thought the row had been sparked by a misunderstanding after her husband picked up a drink belonging to Hammond's partner. 'No one really knows why the fight kicked off between our partners,' she said. 'It seems he got angry when Dean picked up his pint glass by accident.' The victim added: 'Life will never be the same again - the attack has affected me and all my family. I have teenage daughters and I get anxious every time they go out. 'I used to be a fairly confident person but my self-esteem has taken a big knock. I've been having counselling to help me move on. 'I've been left disfigured and obviously that's not a nice thing for a woman. I can't do little things like put my hair up because I'm worried people will look. 'Doctors said it would be impossible to re-attach my ear but I begged them to do it. They had to stretch the skin across as part of the reconstruction, but it's not the same shape as it used to be.' Mrs Lowe said that the trauma had been worsened by Hammond's refusal to accept responsibility for the crime. 'She should have just pleaded guilty,' she said. 'She wouldn't own up to it and now she's been given a longer sentence as a result.' | Paula Hammond, 42, jailed for five years over attack on Gail Lowe, 39 . Assault came as the women's partners fought during a row over a pint of beer at working men's club in Wakefield . Witnesses saw Hammond bite off a chunk of flesh and spit it out . Victim has had 30 stitches and reconstructive surgery in wake of attack . | 8bd0fe6450e1a4ad1a24726c4501c1edb65a5993 |
By . Daniel Postgate . Bagpuss must be the best loved pink-and-white cat in television history. His enduring popularity is one of the reasons the little stop-motion animation series made by my father Oliver Postgate and his creative partner Peter Firmin is still being voted Britain's favourite children's TV series decades after it was first broadcast. But he very nearly wasn't pink and white at all. Peter, whose idea it was to make a series about a magical cat whose thoughts could be seen, wanted Bagpuss to be marmalade and white but when the special fluffy fabric came back from the dyers something had gone wrong: the stripes weren't remotely orange, they were pink. Bagpuss, the famous pink and white cat, turns 40 this year . Peter, however, decided to go with the creative flow - something he and my father did a lot - and pressed ahead. And so it was that Bagpuss 'the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical... saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world' was born. By the time Bagpuss was first broadcast in 1974, I was a sophisticated ten-year-old, so it didn't matter at all to me that the human star of the show was Emily Firmin, the youngest of Peter's six daughters and my regular friend and playmate. Besides, I'd already had my own go in front of my father's camera, playing a guard in another of their TV shows, Pogles' Wood. I'm now a cartoonist-turned-illustrator-turned-writer, and spend part of my time looking after Smallfilms, the company my father created in the 50s and through which he and Peter made such much-loved children's classics as Ivor The Engine, Noggin The Nog and The Clangers, as well as Bagpuss. Bagpuss with his creator, Oliver Postgate . Bagpuss was shot in the big barn at Peter's farm - a dusty, mysterious but definitely magical place - using a camera that Dad had modified to shoot a single frame at a time using bits of Meccano. That habit of making do and mending is very much at the heart of Bagpuss, with each of the 13 episodes beginning with a lost object that Emily had found and Dad's narration kicking off each story with the magical words... 'Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss, . 'Old fat, furry cat-puss, . 'Wake up and look at this thing that I bring.' And with that Bagpuss would wake up, the picture turned from sepia to colour and the mice from the mouse-organ would get busily to work, cheerily cleaning up the lost object, while Bagpuss told a story, helped and hindered by Madeleine the rag-doll, Gabriel the banjo-playing toad and Professor Yaffle, the blustering and fearsomely intellectual wooden woodpecker. Along the way, there'd be some sort of lovely folk-song too, beautifully sung by John Faulkner and Sandra Kerr, who respectively provided the voices for Gabriel and Madeleine. Dad, who'd been to drama school as well as art college, had the most wonderful voice for telling stories, a voice that I've learned, since he died in 2008 aged 83, was woven into the childhoods of millions of children who grew up in the 60s and 70s. For Bagpuss, he provided the voices of the narrator, Bagpuss and Professor Yaffle, the latter being secretly based on the great radical philosopher, Bertrand Russell, who my father knew as a child. Dad's own father, my grandfather, was Raymond Postgate, who somehow managed to combine being a highly regarded left-wing historian with setting up the annual restaurant guidebook The Good Food Guide, and Russell had been a regular visitor to their north London home. Russell's high-minded, slightly halting delivery had clearly left its mark on Dad but the decision to give Yaffle similar vocal characteristics was an affectionate one for he and Dad shared many similar views, particularly when it came to pacifism and nuclear disarmament. Daniel revealed that he is working on a new series of the Clangers . Some of these views he secretly passed on to Bagpuss, a fact he took great pleasure in revealing when the University of Kent presented Peter and him with honorary degrees at Canterbury Cathedral in 1987. They'd taken Bagpuss along as guest of honour, with Dad proudly announcing to the assembled throng that the pink-and-white cat was definitely 'a Miaow-ist'. In 1999 Bagpuss was voted Best Children's TV Programme in a BBC poll, an accolade that delighted Dad and Peter and caused sales of merchandise - and particularly of pink-and-white cats - to go through the roof. Suddenly, after decades of just scraping by, they had some money. Characteristically, they spent a big chunk of it paying for a new wing to be built for a Romanian children's hospice. Dad said it was what Bagpuss would have wanted. 'Dad had the most wonderful voice for telling stories, a . voice that I've learned was woven into . the childhoods of millions of children who grew up in the 60s and 70s' Bagpuss may have been filmed in a converted Kent barn but, for its 40th anniversary, we've just had it digitally restored. All 13 episodes look absolutely wonderful - Dad would have been proud and I know Peter is because he still lives just down the road, as does Emily, who is now an artist. Although Peter technically retired last year, at 85 he's busier than ever, and we're working on a new series of The Clangers. I'm writing the scripts and Peter is the design consultant, and he's already creating various bits and bobs. 3 Months the original series ran for, from 12 February 1974 until 7 May 1974 . 13 The total number of episodes made - but they ended up being shown on rotation for 26 weeks a year over the next 13 years . 40m Pounds has been contributed to the UK economy so far by merchandise featuring the pink-and-white cat . 15 minutes is the total length of each episode - and the first 2 minutes and 51 seconds of each is identical . We have no immediate plans to make new episodes of Bagpuss, although I'm regularly asked about it. I'm very wary; it's so idiosyncratic, so very much Dad and Peter's creation. But I haven't totally rejected a proposal from an American company. An American company? I can hear shrieks of horror from Bagpuss's millions of loyal British fans. But Americans do understand Bagpuss - make do and mend is a big thing in the States and I can see an old clapboard shop somewhere on the coast of Maine with a large pink-and-white cat presiding, a little sleepily, over all sorts of gently paced, slightly wistful fun. He'd still be baggy and just a bit loose at the seams but the important thing is that Emily would still love him. Because it wouldn't be Bagpuss if she didn't. Happy Birthday Bagpuss, a book of projects to make, is out now from Collins & Brown, £11.99. | Bagpuss, the series about a cloth cat, turns 40 this year . Here its creator's son, Daniel Postgate, remembers Bagpuss and his father . He reveals he is working on a new series of the Clangers . | 8071cbf9a32e3a9d84b5280cb2536942562b5835 |
A Spanish businesswoman killed her workmate and then injected the semen of male prostitutes into her mouth and vagina to make it look as if she had been raped and murdered. María Ángeles Molina was jailed for 22 years yesterday for the grisly crime committed to cover up identify theft and plot to steal €1million in an insurance scame. The killer, known as Angie, lured her friend Ana Páez to a Barcelona apartment she had fraudulently rented in her victim's name just three days before. Jailed: María Ángeles Molina killed her workmate before injecting the semen of male prostitutes into her mouth and vagina to make it look as if she had been raped and murdered . She sedated her friend before placing a plastic bag over her head and sealing it with gaffer tape. To make it look like her victim had been raped, Molina then injected the semen, which she had obtained from a brothel. The elaborate cover-up came after Molina had stolen Páez's identity and used it to take out bank loans and insurance policies worth €1million in her name. She was pictured on CCTV entering a bank, wearing a wig, to withdraw €600 from an account in her victim's name. Barcelona High Court yesterday sentenced Molina to 22 years in prison. It noted 'she took advantage of her friendship to steal ID documents with the intention of gaining economic benefit'. She was given 18 years for the murder, which took place on February 19, 2008, and a further four years for fraud. The court heard that, to gain an alibi, Molina travelled to Zaragoza in a Porsche to recover the ashes of her father. When she returned to the Catalan capital she carried out her sickening crime. Police searching her home found an unopened bottle of chloroform and an insurance policy in Páez’s name. And Molina's boyfriend at the time also passed police Páez's original passport and ID card which he found stashed behind Molina's bathroom cistern. Molina denied the charges and said she was out shopping at the time of the murder. She told the court: 'Without yoghurts or condensed milk I am nothing.' But the court ruled: 'The amount and the relevance of the evidence, amply accredited, leave no doubt as to the identity of the killer.' | María Ángeles Molina had racked up €1million debts in Ana Páez's name . Lured her 'friend' to Barcelona apartment, then drugged and killed her . | b9bb24d7fb18dd03d3988d3e5ac040ba06085a74 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:09 EST, 7 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:53 EST, 8 July 2012 . A former police officer with the U.S. Marines befriended his teenage girlfriend’s alleged rapist to retrieve a video that the assailant had filmed of the horrific attack. Elric Shawn Millner, 24, is said to have plied a 17-year-old girl with copious amounts of alcohol and raped her on August 3, 2010 in Webster, Texas. The teen had no recollection of what had taken place until Millner showed her videos of himself, and others, sexually assaulting her while she was intoxicated and pleading with them to stop. Defendant: Elric Shawn Millner, 24, is said to have plied a 17-year-old girl with copious amounts of alcohol and raped her on August 3, 2010 in Webster, Texas . In the footage, she can be witnessed urinating and vomiting on herself and can be heard saying ‘no’ while Millner laughs. The victim protests that she is in pain but her assailant tells her that he knows that she likes it and continues attacking her. But the woman maintained her silence and the crime went unreported, according to KHOU.com. That is until the woman, now 19, whose name has not been released to protect her identity, started dating a former-Marine MP. Location: The assault allegedly took place at this Clear lake apartment complex where the suspect lived . She confided in her new boyfriend about . what had happened, much to his horror. He made it his mission to . retrieve the footage to use it as evidence against the attacker. He feigned a friendship with Millner and made disparaging remarks about the woman in question in an attempt to win his trust. Millner ended up confirming the allegations and showing the woman’s boyfriend the videos. But rather than taking his own revenge, the man encouraged his girlfriend to report Millner’s vile acts to the police. Millner was arrested and charged with sexual assault on Thursday. His bond was set at $50,000, according to KTRK. The video will be used as evidence against the man. | Elric Shawn Millner, 24, filmed himself and others assaulting the 17-year-old girl . In the footage, the intoxicated teen can be seen urinating and vomiting on herself, while pleading with her attackers to stop . | 91d93be3b673342de25184c67325fcf68bf74cb6 |
Jurors are deliberating the fate of a former justice of the peace convicted of killing a North Texas district attorney's wife in a revenge plot. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Eric Williams. He was found guilty earlier this month in the shooting death of Cynthia McLelland. Ex-judge Eric Williams is convicted of killing a North Texas district attorney's wife in a revenge for losing his job. His estranged wife Kim Williams said on Tuesday that she assisted in the killing. Today: Special prosecutor Bill Wirskye asks Kim Williams, the estranged wife of Eric Williams, a few questions during the punishment phase of the Eric Williams trial at the Rockwall County Courthouse on Tuesday . Dead: Eric Williams is charged with killing District Attorney Mike McLelland (left) and convicted of killing his wife, Cynthia (left , right). He is also charged in the death of prosecutor Mark Hasse (right) Prosecutors say Williams killed the three in a revenge plot after Hasse and McLelland prosecuted him for the theft of county equipment. He lost his job and law license as a result. Williams' estranged wife, Kim Williams, testified before closing arguments Tuesday that the couple's mood after the McClellands' killing was 'happy, joyous.' The estranged wife of a former Texas justice of the peace testified that she was a 'willing participant' in her husband's revenge killings of a district attorney, his wife and a senior prosecutor. Eric Williams was convicted December 4 in the shooting death of Cynthia McLelland. He is also charged, but has not been tried, in the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and assistant prosecutor Mark Hasse. Kim Williams is also charged in the slayings. She testified for more than two hours Tuesday about her role in the murder plot. 'His anger was my anger,' she said. Her testimony indicates she drove the getaway car in Hasse's slaying and helped to dispose of the weapons used in the killing of the McLellands at their home east of Dallas. 'His anger was my anger': Kim Williams, the estranged wife of Eric Williams, testifies in court on Tuesday and says she was a 'willing participant' in her husband's revenge killings . She said Eric Williams had a hit list that included former state District Judge Glen Ashworth and Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley. 'He told me if he ever decided to take everybody out, he was going to kill me too and then kill himself,' she said. With Kim Williams' assistance, prosecutors have a gun linked to Hasse's death and a mask believed to have been worn by the gunman. Williams said she has no deal with prosecutors but is hoping for some lenience when she's tried for the murders. 'I'm hoping for some consideration,' she said. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Eric Williams. Prosecutors say Eric Williams killed the three in a revenge plot after Hasse and McLelland prosecuted him for the theft of county equipment. He lost his job and law license as a result. May face the death penalty: Eric Williams walks in to the courtroom after a recess during the sentencing phase of his capital murder trial at the Rockwall County Courthouse in Rockwall Texas on Monday . | Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Eric Williams who was found guilty earlier this month in the shooting death of Cynthia McLelland . Eric Williams' estranged wife Kim Williams said she was a 'willing participant' in her husband's revenge killings . Williams is charged, but has not been tried, in the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and prosecutor Mark Hasse . Kim Williams' testimony says she drove the getaway car in Hasse's slaying and helped to dispose of the weapons used to kill the McLellands . Prosecutors say Eric Williams killed the three in a revenge plot after Hasse and McLelland prosecuted him for the theft of county equipment . | 7d42356a269a41fe05363e53e8713826c4b68163 |
She is often referred to as the 'quiet seamstress' whose dignified refusal to move seats on a segregated bus triggered one of the key flashpoints of the civil rights movement. But Rosa Parks was a committed activist who wrote of how she was tired of being 'pushed around' as a black person and was so deeply opposed to segregation she risked her whole future to defy it. This fresh understanding of Parks emerges from a remarkable new archive of her letters, writings, personal notes and photographs which is to be opened to the public for the first time. A 1950s photograph of Rosa Parks and a paper written she wrote about segregation are some of the items in the Rosa Parks archive, soon to be open to the public at the Library of Congress . A personal bible carried by Rosa Parks is one of the amazing exhibits at the library in Washington DC . Mary Mundy, senior archives specialist, left, and Maricia Battle, curator, prints and photographs division, items discuss items in the Rosa Parks archive at the Library of Congress . Beginning on Wednesday at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of the real woman behind the symbol of defiance whose courageous stand on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, triggered a yearlong boycott that helped dismantle the system of segregation. Parks died in 2005 aged 92 and a protracted legal battle between her heirs and friends had kept the collection from public view for years. However, in 2014 philanthropist Howard Buffett bought the collection and placed it on long-term loan at the national library. Scholars have welcomed the move the make the material more accessible as, until now they had very limited, if any, access to the materials. 'I think it's one of the first times we're actually able to read her voice and it just totally goes against this image of the quiet seamstress,' said Margaret McAleer, an archivist at the library. 'Her writings are phenomenally powerful.' In one extract from the collection. Parks wrote: 'I had been pushed around all my life and felt at this moment that I couldn't take it anymore.' 'When I asked the policeman why we had to be pushed around, he said he didn't know. '"The law is the law. You are under arrest." I didn't resist.' Parks pictured in 2001 at a ceremony honoring the 46th anniversary of her arrest for civil disobedience . The archive includes thousands of letters, writings and photographs never before displayed in public . A rare photograph of Rosa Parks' husband Raymond Parks is part of the incredible collection . Children's thank you and birthday cards that were sent to Rosa Parks will be available to view . Parks also wrote of feeling lonely and lost as she lived through the struggle with segregation. After her arrest, Parks lost her job as a tailor at Montgomery's largest department store because of her activism. Her husband, Raymond, also lost his job and the couple sank into deep poverty. They moved to Detroit but continued to struggle. She traveled with the NAACP, pressing for civil rights, and eventually landed a job at the Hampton Institute in Virginia earning $3,700 a year — enough to send some money home to her husband and mother. It wasn't until 1965 when Parks was hired for the district office of Michigan Congressman John Conyers that she finally earned a steady, living wage, archivists said. Parks' archive provides scholars and the public with a fuller sense of her life and faith, her personality and her pain, said library historian Adrienne Cannon. 'It's important because we see Rosa Parks in a kind of almost frozen, iconic image — a hero that is not really real flesh and blood,' Cannon said. The archives reveal Parks, pictured left in 1999, was supportive of controversial black leader Malcolm X . Parks riding on a Montgomery Area Transit System bus. She refused to give up her seat to a white man on December 1, 1955, sparking a yearlong boycott of the service which kickstarted the civil rights movement . 'Here we get a sense of a woman that is really full flesh and blood.' The collection may surprise people by revealing Parks had an aggressive edge and supported more radical actions seeking equality over the years, archivists said. She used her symbolic status to support Malcolm X, Black Panther gatherings and the Wilmington 10 in North Carolina. 'She was so deeply opposed to segregation that as the younger generation came along, she didn't hold back from them. She was in the fight,' said Helena Zinkham, the library's collections director. The library now holds about 7,500 manuscript items and 2,500 photographs from Parks, including the Bible she kept in her pocket, letters from admirers and her Presidential Medal of Freedom. A small exhibit is planned for March. All the items will be digitized and posted online. Artifacts such as Parks' clothing, furniture and a pillbox hat she may have worn on the Montgomery bus, will find homes elsewhere. The library plans to place them with other museums or institutions that can conserve and display Parks' belongings. The library is already in talks with the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture, now under construction on the National Mall, to house some items. | Thousands of writings and photographs to go on show in Washington DC . The 'quiet seamstress' is revealed as a committed activist who simply 'couldn't take it anymore' when it came to the evils of segregation . Parks' refusal to move seats on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 triggered a yearlong boycott that helped dismantle the system . Protracted legal battle had kept the amazing collection from the public for years but it will now be available for viewing at the U.S. Library of Congress . | ba08783c24071f9a3593e19da3844eef36e09710 |
Los Angeles (CNN) -- The legal troubles threatening to send Chris Brown to prison for several years began with the singer's arrest five years ago in the brutal attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. Brown has spent almost all of the past six months either in rehab or jail. He's been locked up since he was booted from a court-ordered substance abuse and anger management program on March 14. Brown has two pending criminal cases, both stemming from his alleged inability to control his anger. Brown's D.C. assault case . Brown, 24, and his bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, allegedly punched Parker Adams after a quick exchange of words on a sidewalk blocks from the White House last October. Brown was arrested on a felony assault charge, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor and he was released on bond the next day. The trial is set to begin Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court. The judge who presided over the separate trial of Brown's bodyguard was taken off of Brown's case Monday. D.C. Superior Judge Patricia Wynn said as she announced her guilty verdict for Hollosy that she believed the testimony of a limousine driver who said he saw Brown hit Adams and that Adams did not fight back. Replacing Wynn with Judge A. Franklin Burgess, a retired judge, gives Brown a fresh start with a judge who has not already given an opinion on the evidence against him. Brown's defense has been complicated by Hollosy's conviction, because the bodyguard's testimony could hurt his own appeal. Prosecutors are considering whether they will grant immunity to Hollosy for anything he says in Brown's trial. Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, says the bodyguard's testimony is crucial to Brown's defense. Hollosy did not take the stand in his own trial, but his lawyer indicated Hollosy would say that he hit Adams because Adams was trying to get on Brown's bus, and it was his job to protect his client. California probation revoked . A conviction in the Washington case would be trouble for Brown because of his probation for the felony assault conviction in Los Angeles. The judge overseeing that case has already ruled that the singer violated his probation by being arrested last October, but he is waiting until after the D.C. trial to decide whether the revocation will become final. The revocation decision will be made at a hearing after Brown returns to Los Angeles from Washington. Planes, chains and automobiles: Chris Brown's miserable trip to trial . If convicted in Washington, Brown faces another grueling "Con Air" trip. The U.S. Marshal's Service is committed to returning him to the Los Angeles jail through the U.S. Justice Department's notoriously slow and uncomfortable prisoner transport system. If Brown is acquitted in the Washington case, his lawyer will argue that he should be immediately released from jail and allowed to resume his probation. Even then, Brown must work at least three days a week on a road clean-up crew to complete more than 700 hours of community labor remaining on his sentence in the Rihanna assault. | NEW: Brown gets a new judge after bodyguard is found guilty . Brown's criminal cases stem from his alleged inability to control anger . A Los Angeles probation hearing depends on the outcome of his D.C. trial . Even if acquitted in D.C., Brown has 700 hours of community service remaining . | f9901f42fa126913ea416abdeb8a05055b60f0d7 |
(CNN) -- It is a boarding pass unlike any other. It's a memory of a day that nearly was his last on earth. US Airways passenger Barry Leonard now has the other half of his boarding pass from the fateful flight. When a FedEx package arrived at Barry Leonard's home recently, he had no idea it contained items from his flight that ended up in the Hudson River. Leonard was seated at the front of US Airways Flight 1549, and when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger amazingly landed the plane in the river, Leonard left everything he had behind and dove into the frigid water. He thought all he had left from that January day were the clothes he had on, including a pair of jeans he still wears. But recently the package with most of his left-behind belongings showed up at his Charlotte, North Carolina, home. "Everything from the Wall Street Journal of that day to my W-2 form that I didn't even realize was in this package," he says. "You know my briefcase that I'd had for decades, it was all of those things." Watch as Leonard brings out the items recovered from the water » . As he showed CNN the contents he discovered another item -- a memorable slip of paper. "This is actually the other part of my boarding pass from January 15. As you can see here January 15, flight 1549 and my seat number 1C," he says. To help return personal items to its passengers, US Airways hired Global-BMS, a Texas-based company that recovers and restores items from large disasters. Global-BMS sorted through nearly 30,000 items from the flight, cleaning them in a slow, tedious process that often involved freeze-drying items to preserve them while they waited to be processed. "Passengers' emotional ties to their possessions because of a traumatic incident like this, it's highly emotional. So we just want to make it available," Mark Rocco, a senior vice president of Global-BMS, tells CNN. Some of the items that were returned to the 150 travelers were unusable after being submerged, especially electronic items like headphones and music players. But for a lot of folks, personal effects show a little damage but are still good. Vicki Barnhardt tried on her running shoes, and though they were a little tight at first, she wears them now when she goes jogging in Huntersville, North Carolina. She tells CNN that she evacuated the plane only with her cellphone, leaving behind her purse, her wallet, driver's license, some flash drives and other items. She got most of her possessions from the plane back -- a coat, a pair of gloves and her cash are still missing -- and the items in the boxes seem in pretty good shape. The flash drives still work, though you can see some "corrosion" on them. She also got back a three-ring binder, and all her notes are still readable. Maryann Bruce found her diamonds in the parcel that was returned to her in Cornelius, North Carolina. It brought back memories of the landing in the river and made her thankful to be alive. "I just focused on wow, you know, I got all this stuff back," she says. "I can't believe I got all this stuff back, and I'm here to get the stuff back, versus the alternative where they would've been giving it to my loved ones. I didn't relive the anguish; I relived the 'Wow, I'm here to get it.' " | US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River on January 15 . Passengers scrambled to save their lives, leaving behind personal belongings . Texas company has recovered, restored and returned most of the 30,000 items . Some items, like one woman's four flash drives, are still in good shape . | 0517d2781edd8dd488fbf75ea511a2aedae953e0 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 05:29 EST, 4 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:39 EST, 4 March 2013 . Hidden: A female passenger smuggled Yorkshire Terrier onto a London-bound British Airways flight (file- . A female passenger smuggled a dog onto a London-bound British Airways flight. She managed to get the tiny Yorkshire Terrier past security at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. The Airbus A321 had taxied as far as the runway last night when a passenger alerted cabin and crew that there was a dog on board and the plane turned back to the stand. The passenger had heard a squeaking noise from under a seat. BA staff question the woman, believed to be American, then after some discussion removed her, the dog and her luggage from the plane. One passenger said: 'People are concerned about the security implications. How on earth did she manage to get a dog through security at Ben Gurion?' The dog owner was occupying a window seat. The passenger next but one to her raised the alarm. The BA flight 166 from Tel Aviv to Heathrow had already been delayed from its original take-off time of 7.00pm (local Israeli time) but was on time for its re-scheduled slot at 8.40pm. Cabin crew had already given passengers their safety briefing when the dog was discovered. Return: The Airbus A321 had taxied as far as the runway last night when a passenger alerted cabin and crew that there was a dog on board and the plane turned back to the stand . The captain announced that the woman had been removed after a dog was found in her bag. Dogs are relatively common sight at the airport and are allowed to travel on some other airlines, but not in the main cabin of BA flights. 'A British Airways spokesman said the passenger would have passed through all the relevant security and immigration points at Tel Aviv. She said: 'We did not allow a female customer to travel on board our service from Tel Aviv to Heathrow today after it was discovered, shortly after boarding, that she was carrying a small dog in her handbag. We apologise to our customers who experienced a delay to the departure of their flight as a result of this incident.' | Managed to Yorkie past security at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in Israel . Passenger had heard a squeaking noise from under a seat . Plane was delayed as women was taken off . | e8054bf39c5be2fe943c4447d1a30e4136bfb5ba |
It is the perfect video for the armchair traveller - a snapshot of South East Asia in just four minutes. American Josh Rapperport mounted a hands-fee camera on his motorbike as he raced around some of the beautiful and most perilous tracks in the world and turned the footage into a beautiful travel video. The adventurer visited countries including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, capturing amazing scenery and friendly locals. The Harvard University student used the camera when dismounted from his motorbike to record some incredible and fascinating scenes . From dirt tracks, to mountain roads to bridges, it was certainly some adventure for Rapperport . The tourist had to wait at this 'elephant crossing' as the giant animal made its way past with a couple of tourists on board . Taking in crystal blue waters, mountain-winding dirt tracks and numerous stop-offs taking in the local cultures, his adventure can now be shared by us all. Locals are filmed moving to the side as Rapperport speeds on by, with many of the routes perched perilously on the sides of mountains. A stop off in Thailand is filmed; tourists are shown leaping through a burning ring of fire and onto the sand at one of the world famous Full Moon parties. Rapperport then takes some time out to relax from his motorcycle trek. The camera is taken to the beach, into rock-pools and then on the back of a kayak at one serene location on his adventure. Cruising down the Mekong Delta, riding on elephants, and then an unfortunate collision with a moped are documented beautifully. Hopefully not drink driving?! Rapperport takes a break from his epic trek to have a cold beverage . Rapperport was on hand to catch the antics of Thai locals as well as fellow tourists as they dived through the ring of fire . The student was on hand to join in New Year's celebrations during his time travelling in Asia . Rapperport takes us through a whole host of customs and traditions throughout his journey, from visiting Buddhist temples, a stop off at Angkor Wat, to cattle-herding and New Year's celebrations. The Harvard University student said: 'I took a year away from school to do some adventuring, ending up with a journey of a lifetime, riding 3,000 miles across Southeast Asia, mostly alone, via motorbike. 'The journey took almost three months, and the experiences are something I will never forget. 'This journey took place across 3,000 miles in Southeast Asia. The views as the American traversed on the dirt roads are something he will remember forever . Rapperport's friend Logan joined him for three weeks on the trip where the pair chilled out on the beaches . There was time for Rapperport to dismount the camera and film himself enjoying the crystal blue waters . 'I rode over every variety of road and environment - through villages that rarely, if ever, had a traveler come through. '(It) was a wild and enlightening experience of adventure, culture and solitude. I rode alone for almost the entire three months. My good friend Logan joined me for three weeks.' | Josh Rapperport captured perilous dirt-tracks and beautiful beaches on three-month trip around Asia . Video also shows tourist enjoying some of the local traditions, including jumping through a burning ring . Harvard University student mostly rode alone,but was joined for three weeks by his friend Logan . | 8e90e93d42833640b92344cf4fb3f569894f665d |
Mark Noble will give serious consideration to representing the Republic of Ireland at international level after being overlooked by England manager Roy Hodgson. It has emerged that the West Ham United midfielder qualifies for Ireland by virtue of his paternal grandparents and has been pursued by manager Martin O’Neill since he took over last November. Assistant Roy Keane is believed to have scouted Noble, 27, and O’Neill wants to bring him into the Irish set-up to add quality to his midfield options for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Sportsmail's exclusive interview with West Ham's Mark Noble . Making the move: Mark Noble is ready to commit his international future to Ireland . Coup: Noble has played an important role for West Ham over the last few seasons . Noble was named West Ham’s player of the year last season and it had been expected he might be included in Hodgson’s latest squad for the friendly with Norway and qualifier against Switzerland. He was on the England radar but instead Jack Colback and Fabian Delph got the nod, leaving Noble thinking about accepting O’Neill’s offer. A passport would need to be sorted but that hurdle is not envisaged to present any problems. Noble, born in Canning Town, London, represented England at youth levels and captained the Under-21 side that made the final of the 2009 European Championships. Switching sides: Noble won 20 caps for England U21s - but looks set to play for Ireland . Decision time: Noble played for the England U21 with Gabriel Agbonlahor, Adam Johnson and James Milner . Getting his man: Martin O'Neill hopes convince Noble to play for Ireland . That 4-0 defeat five years ago to a Germany side that included six future World Cup winners was Noble’s last in an England shirt. In all he won 20 caps, scoring three goals for the Under-21s. Since then he has established himself as one of West Ham’s most important players and is this year celebrating a decade of first-team football at Upton Park. He has scored 33 goals in 287 appearances for the club. Noble, who attracted interest from Sunderland and Newcastle this summer, was thought to have been looked at by O’Neill’s predecessor Giovanni Trapattoni and would provide a strong partner for James McCarthy in central midfield were he pledge allegiance to Ireland. VIDEO Wayne Rooney named England's captain . | West Ham midfielder is eligible to play for Ireland through his grandparents . Mark Noble has never been called up to the England senior squad . Hammers midfielder won 20 caps for the England U21s . | 0d512a3fa791cb3b5c85d135dd4bea1c926b35f9 |
TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was convicted Friday on corruption and money laundering charges, and was sentenced to life in prison, according to officials at Taipei City Court. Former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian walks inside the Taipei Detention Centre in Tucheng on Friday. He was fined 200 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S.$6.1 million) as well. Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, who earlier had been convicted of lying to prosecutors, also was convicted on similar charges. She received a life sentence and was fined 300 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S. $9.1 million), according to the Central News Agency, Taiwan's official news agency. The former president was not at the courthouse when the verdict was read. He had asked to be excused and was being held at a detention center. Supporters of Chen gathered outside the courthouse hours before the verdict, wearing bright-green shirts, and carrying yellow balloons and banners. Riot police stood by in case the crowd got out of control as they protested the verdict. The former president's corruption trial began in March. It is the first for a former head of state, and has gripped the island for months. He has denied wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated. Prosecutors say Chen embezzled 600 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S.$17.7 million), took bribes, laundered money and illegally removed classified documents from the president's office. Chen has countered that the bribe money was actually political donations. He has also said that a special presidential fund from which he is accused of embezzling does not clearly say what the money can and cannot be used for. Ahead of Friday's verdict, the island's former first lady was sentenced to a year in prison for lying in her husband's corruption case. Wu was convicted on charges that she helped her son, daughter and son-in-law provide false testimony. Prosecutors said the former first couple's son has a Swiss bank account with $22 million they think are illegal proceeds. The challenge for prosecutors was to prove that Chen handed out political favors in exchange for money. The former president said he was being persecuted politically by his successor. Chen's party favors independence for Taiwan. His successor, President Ma Ying-jeou, favors closer ties with mainland China. Journalist Yin Chen contributed to this report. | Riot police stand by, as Chen supporters gather outside courthouse . Prosecutors: Chen embezzled 600 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S. $17.7 million) Former first lady Wu Shu-chen receives same sentence . Wu Shu-chen was also convicted last week of lying to prosecutors . | 239fc9433b964fa106a0b7ea2ce2706273cdb777 |
Most people will admit they have a dark side, but in the home of Star Wars super-fan Bill McBride, that side of the force is stronger than most. Sci-fi fan Bill McBride, 42, boasts the world's largest collection of Darth Vader memorabilia and is on a 20-year mission to turn his bedroom into a museum dedicated to the Sith Lord. Mr McBride, who has spent more than $284,000 on buying Darth Vader merchandise, has spent most of his adult lifeamassing a collection of more than 60,000 items including figurines, artwork and replica lightsabers. Star Wars obsessive Bill McBride has spent an estimated $284,000 for his 60,000 piece Darth Vader collection . Mr McBride has collected anything to do with his favourite character Darth Vader . Among the 60,000 pieces in his collection are these highly collectible Darth Vader figures, pictured . He has loved George Lucas' sci-fi movie series since he was five-years-old, but only began collecting Vader keepsakes in the 1980s. The Star Wars obsessive has dedicated an entire room in his Washington DC home to store his massive collection. 'The moment Darth Vader burst on screen in Star Wars, I was immediately a fan of the character,' he said. 'But when you have the imposing, powerful presence of David Prowse, the other-worldly voice of James Earl Jones, all wrapped up in one of the coolest, most amazing costumes in movie history, you can't help but fall in love.' Mr McBride said he once turned down the offer of a Porsche 911 from a man who wanted part of his collection . Mr McBride, pictured, has original movie props such as light sabers and Star Wars themed artwork. Mr McBRide has been building up his massive collection since he joined the British Army . Darth Vader was played in the original movie by British actor David Prowse, who was better known on UK TV screens as the Green Cross Code Man. Actor David Prowse, who played Darth Vader . He taught a generation of school children the correct method of crossing the road. Unfortunately for the actor, George Lucas did not like his broad regional accent and instead hired American actor James Earl Jones to voice the character. The classically trained stage actor had the perfect deep and menacing voice for Darth Vader. The hoarder, whose Darth collection contains everything from original movie props, pre-production items, original works of art and modern merchandise, said a 'market value' doesn't exist for some of his rarer items. And although some of his items could fetch for up to $16,500, he's reluctant to part ways with his cherished Vader relics. He said: 'I just had someone make one of the more interesting trade offers I've received over the years. 'A gentleman contacted me about trading for a select group of five or five items from my collection. 'Astonishingly, he offered the keys to his Porsche 911, but I turned him down, of course.' Despite his best efforts, Mr McBride says the collection will never be complete as he looks forward to the new saga in the Star Wars franchise, Episode 7. 'The hobby of Star Wars collecting is mind bogglingly vast, and it's easy to get lost. 'But if anything has changed over the decades, I am more passionate today than when I started. 'Needless to say, the entire world is now becoming fully engaged in Star Wars mania again and I for one am dying to head back into that galaxy, far far away.' Some individual items in Mr McBride's collection are worth up to $16,500 to the right collector . | Bill McBride spent $284,000 building up his 60,000 piece collection . The 42-year-old Star Wars fan has dedicated an entire room to his hobby . Mr McBride can't wait for the new movie as it offers fresh memorabilia . | 3e089711155b978b844fa25db42a3ae0589befa9 |
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- They are young, earn little and spend little, and take a keen interest in fashion and personal appearance -- meet the "herbivore men" of Japan. Former CNN intern Junichiro Hori is a self-described 'herbivore.' Author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa coined the term in 2006 in a series of articles on marketing to a younger generation of Japanese men. She used it to describe some men who she said were changing the country's ideas about just what is -- and isn't -- masculine. "In Japan, sex is translated as 'relationship in flesh,'" she said, "so I named those boys 'herbivorous boys' since they are not interested in flesh." Typically, "herbivore men" are in their 20s and 30s, and believe that friendship without sex can exist between men and women, Fukasawa said. The term has become a buzzword in Japan. Many people in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood were familiar with "herbivore men" -- and had opinions about them. Shigeyuki Nagayama said such men were not eager to find girlfriends and tend to be clumsy in love, and he admitted he seemed to fit the mold himself. "My father always asks me if I got a girlfriend. He tells me I'm no good because I can't get a girlfriend." Midori Saida, a 24-year-old woman sporting oversized aviators and her dyed brown hair in long ringlets, said "herbivore men" were "flaky and weak." "We like manly men," she said. "We are not interested in those boys -- at all." Takahito Kaji, 21, said he has been told he is "totally herbivorous." "Herbivorous boys are fragile, do not have a stocky body -- skinny." Fukasawa said Japanese men from the baby boomer generation were typically aggressive and proactive when it came to romance and sex. But as a result of growing up during Japan's troubled economy in the 1990s, their children's generation was not as assertive and goal-oriented. Their outlook came, in part, from seeing their fathers' model of masculinity falter even as Japanese women gained more lifestyle options. Former CNN intern Junichiro Hori, a self-described herbivore, said the idea goes beyond looks and attitudes toward sex. "Some guys still try to be manly and try to be like strong and stuff, but you know personally I'm not afraid to show my vulnerability because being vulnerable or being sensitive is not a weakness." Older generations of Japanese men are not happy about the changes. At a bar frequented by businessmen after work, one man said: "You need to be carnivorous when you make decisions in your life. You should be proactive, not passive." Fukasawa said the group does not care so much about making money -- a quality tied to the fact that there are fewer jobs available during the current global economic recession. Japan's economy recently saw its largest-ever recorded contraction and has shrunk for four straight quarters. Blue chip companies Sony, Panasonic, Toyota and Nissan all reported losses in May, and most are forecasting the same for the current fiscal year. Though still low by international standards, Japan's reported 5 percent unemployment is the highest since 2003. Hori agreed economics has played a role. When he finished university, "a lot of my friends were trying to work for a big company that pays well and I wasn't interested in that. I am kind of struggling financially and my father is not very happy about it," he said. Fukasawa estimated some 20 percent of men are what she would call "herbivorous" and said their attitudes were influencing others. Indeed, she said, it was a return to the norm for Japanese men, rather than a departure. "It was after World War II and the post-war economic growth that Japanese men gained the reputation as a sex animal through the competition with the West. Looking back beyond that time, older literature talks a lot about men with the kind of character we see in the herbivorous boys." Will these men simply grow out of this? Fukasawa said it was anyone's guess. Some of them may, but Japan's image of masculinity is nonetheless changing. "The men in dark suits are changing, too," she said. "Today's young people in dark suits are different from the baby boomers in dark suits. They are evolving, too." | Author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa coins the term 'herbivore men' She says these men are changing the country's ideas about what is masculine . These men are less interested in making money, sex . Fukasawa says the trend may indeed be a return to the norm for Japanese men . | 6fd38b2c79b6d365db3957534525d411690e5b32 |
(CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first of a new class of HIV drugs that attacks the virus in a different way. A woman wears an AIDS ribbon at a Cape Town, South Africa, hospital where HIV patients are treated. Isentress, developed by Merck & Co., is designed for patients who have shown resistance to current treatments. The drug has been approved for adults who already have been receiving treatment, but more testing is necessary before it is approved for new HIV patients or children, the company said in a statement. Isentress belongs to a class of drugs called integrase inhibitors. These drugs work by blocking the integrase enzyme, which helps HIV replicate by inserting its DNA into new cells. Isentress is the first drug in the class to win FDA approval. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a noted HIV expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said the FDA's approval "will be most welcome in the community of physicians taking care of HIV-infected patients." "Its mechanism of action is particularly important in that it blocks the ability of the virus to integrate itself into the genes of cells," Fauci said. "This property of the virus to integrate is important in establishing the reservoir of virus in the body that has made it extremely difficult to eradicate HIV, even with prolonged treatment." Two earlier classes of anti-HIV drugs -- protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors -- also work by blocking different enzymes involved in HIV replication. Friday's decision by the FDA will give doctors a new tool to help patients who have developed resistance to existing drugs or who are infected with drug-resistant strains of HIV. Like protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, Isentress will also be prescribed for patients in combination with other drugs to maximize the number of ways the virus is being attacked. The cost of the recommended daily regimen of Isentress -- a 400 mg tablet taken twice a day -- will be comparable to protease inhibitors, with a wholesale price of $27, Merck said. E-mail to a friend . | FDA approves HIV drug for use in adults with resistance to existing treatments . Isentress, by Merck & Co., is the first of new class of drugs to get approval . More testing necessary before it is approved for new HIV patients, children . Drug works by blocking different enzymes involved in HIV replication . | 21bf4e8709c7fe19855a20c8c398ce7d015b36f1 |
(CNN) -- Amid a high alert over an alleged al Qaeda plot to attack cities in Europe, France has warned its citizens about travel to the United Kingdom, saying British authorities believe a terror attack is "highly likely." The move follows a United States warning that Americans be careful about traveling in Europe because of the risk of terror attacks. Neither the UK nor France raised threat levels in response to the American warning, but each has now warned its citizens about travel elsewhere on the continent. Europe remains on edge after the warnings, based at least partly on intelligence about a plot obtained from a German-Afghan in U.S. custody in Afghanistan. Police in France seized 12 people for suspected terrorist ties Tuesday, but it is not clear whether they are connected to the plot that prompted the warning. Those arrests came a day after a suspected drone strike in Pakistan left five German nationals dead, adding to the unease. French national police said the 12 suspects were seized in the south of France. Three have links to a French man -- identified as Riahd Hennouni -- arrested in Italy last month, authorities said. Two of them were arrested in Marseilles and the third was arrested in Bordeaux. The nine other arrests happened throughout southern France, including some in Marseilles and at least one in Avignon, police said. Police in Marseille said the nine have links to an Islamist movement and are suspected of trying to obtain arms and explosives. It is unclear whether the 12 are French citizens. None of them has been charged. Under French law, police can detain and question suspects for up to six days without filing charges. Meanwhile, Italian police said Sunday they detained a French citizen of Algerian origin who is suspected of being a member of al Qaeda. The man was arrested last month by Italian police in Naples, Italy, on a European arrest warrant requested by France, the chief prosecutor in Naples told CNN Monday. The arrest was not announced at the time. Didier Allard of France's Palais de Justice appeals court identified the man as Hennouni and said an anti-terror judge in Paris had requested his arrest and asked that he be extradited from Italy. Elsewhere, Pakistani intelligence confirmed that five German nationals were killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike Monday in the northwestern part of the country. The Germans were among 11 suspected militants killed Monday in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's tribal region -- a remote and rugged area where militants hold sway. Three others were foreigners whose nationalities were not disclosed, said the officials, who did not want to be named. The other three were Pakistanis. The bodies were removed by the Taliban, one of the officials said. The militants killed are believed to have been members of the group Jihad al Islami, the officials said. The news of the arrests in France and the Germans' deaths in Pakistan come amid warnings from the United States, Britain, Sweden and Japan advising their citizens traveling abroad about potential terrorist attacks in Europe. It is not known if Tuesday's arrests and Monday's drone strike, however, are related to the latest alerts. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a joint bulletin Sunday warning of the potential attacks. The reported plot prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Europe-wide security advisory for Americans traveling abroad. The alert did not cite specific countries because the information about the threat was not specific enough to do so, a State Department spokesman said Monday. Jihadists from the German city of Hamburg are alleged to be at the heart of the suspected plots, European intelligence officials said. Western intelligence officials say they learned about the potential attacks after Ahmed Sidiqi, a German citizen of Afghan descent, was arrested in Afghanistan in July and taken to the U.S. air base at Bagram for questioning. He has not been charged, and intelligence sources in Germany said he was cooperating with the investigation. According to German intelligence officials, Sidiqi and 10 others left Hamburg in 2009 for the tribal areas of Pakistan -- where most of the group joined a jihadist group fighting U.S. and coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan. Sidiqi told American interrogators that at least one member of his travel group was to be a "foot soldier" in the plot, with other members of the group helping to plan the attacks, a European counterterrorism official told CNN. Sidiqi's father, Mohammed Naim Sidiqi, said his son was on his way to the German embassy in the Afghan capital to get a new passport when he was detained. Sidiqi's father says he does not believe the allegations that his son is at the heart of an al Qaeda conspiracy. "My son is not a killer, he's just not capable of that," he told CNN, stressing that such acts are absolutely forbidden in Islam. Sidiqi's sister says she, too, is shocked by the reports. According to Sidiqi's sister, her brother left Hamburg last year to start a new life in Afghanistan with his wife, an Indonesian citizen. She says that financial problems in Hamburg, including difficulty paying his rent, contributed to his decision to leave. "He had some debts and he was determined to earn money in Afghanistan to repay them," his father told CNN. According to German intelligence agencies, Sidiqi had a job cleaning aircraft at Hamburg International Airport before leaving for Pakistan. Sidiqi's father said he also did some work in Germany related to computers. Before setting off, Sidiqi told his family he was going to meet some friends in Pakistan and then go across from there to Afghanistan, according to his sister. In later phone calls he would not reveal his location, according to his father. Sidiqi's sister confirmed he had attended the Taiba mosque in Hamburg, where several of the 9/11 conspirators met. CNN's Niki Cook, Winnie Andrews, Nic Robertson, Paul Cruickshank, Matiullah Mati and Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report. | French warning: British authorities believe an attack is likely . U.S., others have warned about travel in Europe because of terror threats . U.S. warning based on intelligence from a German-Afghan in U.S. custody . This week has seen arrests and suspected drone strikes against terror suspects . | 0c67b38567fd79760b1f3f9a2da209b3034af4aa |
By . Deni Kirkova . PUBLISHED: . 11:34 EST, 24 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:20 EST, 24 September 2013 . Sophie, Countess of Wessex tried her hand at computerised laparoscopic surgery today. The royal, 48, was on a charity visit to the Science and Technology Park in Doha on day three of of her solo tour to Qatar, after a week-long trip to India. She was visiting the centre with sight-saving charity ORBIS, of which she is a patron. The Countess of Wessex tries her hand at computerised laparoscopy surgery in Qatar . The Countess is supporting the charity to help raise awareness and garner support for their projects. ORBIS launched the India . childhood blindness initiative in 2002 to help ensure that the country's . children have access to quality eye care. Sophie . was able to see the progress the initiative has been making and met . patients who have benefited from the technology and medical expertise. The mother-of-two tried out various gadgets, watched 3D surgery demonstrations and even had a go herself at the science park. Sophie is shown a mannequin used for medical training during a visit to Education City on day three . The Countess is a patron for Vision . 2020: The Right to Sight, and global ambassador for the International . Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Her visit the Qatar Foundation and Qatar Science Technology Park in Doha comes after a week-long trip to India that she undertook without her husband, Prince Edward. Sophie was at the Science and Technology Park on her visit to Qatar with the Charity ORBIS . Sophie's solo visit to Qatar follows on from a successful trip to Kolkata in India . On the first day of her Indian visit, Sophie met orphaned children from Kolkata who are being supported by the charity Future Hope. On Thursday, she saw how the eye . medics are reaching people in poverty-stricken areas of India using a plane that . has been converted into a flying opthalmic hospital and training . facility. Sophie met . patients, staff and volunteers on board the converted DC-10 Aircraft . which ORBIS uses to improve eye care for people in rural communities. Sophie watches 3-D surgery demonstrations at the Qatar Science and Technology Park . The Countess wore a silk printed blouse and her hair up in a relaxed bun as she tried out the gadget . Yesterday, . she donned a blue chiffon scarf, a white jacket and patterned trousers . as she smiled for the camera in the courtyard of the Museum of Islamic . Art in Doha. The museum, which is located on the waterfront, houses a collection of Islamic works spanning 1,400 years. Sophie Countess of Wessex posed for a portrait in Qatar today following her week-long tour of India . | Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 48, was in Doha for the third day . Visited Science and Technology Park with sight saving charity ORBIS . Tried out 3D glasses and laparoscopic surgery . | cb19bc9e53697d44918eca93c6cd5ca4df920b3b |
(CNN) -- The nonprofit that pushed last month for Venezuelan officials to investigate reports of a massacre in an Amazon indigenous community said Monday that it now believes there was no attack there. "Having received its own testimony from confidential sources, Survival now believes there was no attack by miners on the Yanomami community of Irotatheri," said Stephen Corry, director of Survival International. The statement comes after Venezuelan state media over the weekend published several reports detailing officials' accounts from the area, also concluding that no massacre had occurred. Venezuelan officials: Reports of indigenous massacre false . An aerial flyover and ground operation to the community in a remote region along the Brazil-Venezuela border showed no signs of an attack, Venezuelan Brig. Gen. Jesus Zambrano told state-run VTV. "We can testify that nothing happened," he said. Investigators "also visited other communities in the region, before reaching Irotatheri, and also nothing happened there." On Saturday, Venezuela's government ombudswoman said the report was fueled by second-hand hearsay. "It was a false, biased report," Gabriela Ramirez told reporters. "The report was made by an indigenous person that heard that another organization had said it." Last month allegations of the reported massacre trickled out of the area, where unauthorized Brazilian gold miners have long clashed with indigenous groups. A declaration on the Survival International website last month said members of a neighboring indigenous community had heard reports of a massacre from Irotatheri's residents. The declaration, purportedly from a group of organizations representing indigenous people and communities in the Amazon, said of about 80 Yanomami people who lived in the Irotatheri community, only three survivors had reportedly been found. Survival International, which advocates tribal peoples' rights worldwide, had described it as an "atrocity." In his Monday statement saying that Survival no longer believes there was an attack, Corry said visitors to the area "had heard stories of a killing in July." "We currently do not know whether or not these stories were sparked by a violent incident, which is the most likely explanation, but tension remains high in the area," he said. Venezuelan officials said last Wednesday that they were investigating the reports of an attack. Several days later, a top official said visits to the region revealed that reports about the alleged massacre were false. On Saturday, a report from Venezuela's AVN news agency said investigators from Venezuela's air force concluded that "levels of illegal mining in the area were minimal." On Monday, Corry disputed that claim, saying "many illegal gold miners are currently operating" in the area. "The Venezuelan government's reaction remains shameful. It has not said, even now, that it will remove the miners, and it immediately denied having found 'evidence' of killings, before even concluding its own investigation," Corry said. | Survival International "now believes there was no attack" Last month, it urged officials to investigate reports of a massacre . Venezuelan officials also say there is no evidence that a massacre occurred . Hearsay fueled a "false report," an official says . | 907f375ba152482759af765467771fd9840a9108 |
For the second time this year, a Russian military aircraft turned off its transponders to avoid commercial radar and nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, officials have revealed. Swedish authorities yesterday said a Russian military aircraft nearly collided above southern Sweden with a commercial passenger jet that had taken off on Friday from Copenhagen. Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told a local radio station: 'This is serious. This is inappropriate. This is outright dangerous when you turn off the transponder.' For the second time this year, a Russian military aircraft turned off its transponders to avoid commercial radar and nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, officials have revealed; pictured above is a Russian fighter jet which was spotted off the coast of Norway in 2007 . In October RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled to track this Russian Tu-95 Bear H bomber, one of two which flew close to Britain without filing flight plans or communicating with air traffic controllers. Some 26 intercepts were made in around 24 hours . Officials at Russia's Ministry of Defense in Moscow were not immediately available to comment. Sweden's air force chief, Major General Micael Byden, said the incident in international air space looked 'pretty serious,' adding the southern-bound commercial flight was immediately ordered to change course. Swedish fighter jets were sent up to identify the aircraft, and later confirmed it as a Russian intelligence plane. Media in Sweden and Denmark said the commercial plane was en route to Poland, but the carrier and the number of passengers it has on board has not been reported. Byden said this was not as serious as in March when a Russian plane flying without transponders came within 300 feet of an SAS plane that had taken off from Copenhagen. In recent months, Russia has increased its military presence in the Baltic Sea area, prompting some Swedish officials to compare it to the Cold War . In October, non-NATO Sweden launched its first submarine hunt since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Swedish authorities said a small, foreign submarine had entered its waters illegally but never found it and didn't disclose its nationality . In recent months, Russia has increased its military presence in the Baltic Sea area, prompting some Swedish officials to compare it to the Cold War. In October, non-NATO Sweden launched its first submarine hunt since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Swedish authorities said a small, foreign submarine had entered its waters illegally but never found it and didn't disclose its nationality. NATO has air patrols over the Baltic Sea and the continuous rotation of NATO military units in and out of countries such as the Baltic states and Poland. | The commercial flight was immediately ordered to change course . Swedish fighter jets identified the plane as Russian intelligence plane . In March a Russian plane came within 300 feet of an SAS plane . And in October Sweden launched a hunt for a submarine in the Baltic Sea . | 4971661ee4185b090af6e50ed1c33e7c8cf84779 |
The teacher who was jailed in August for having sex with four of her students at her home and videotaping it has appeared on Anderson Cooper with her husband to defend her actions. Brittni Colleps, 28, from Texas, spoke from jail where she is serving five years for 16 counts of having improper relationships with students as her husband sat in the studio with Cooper and his special cohost of the day Nancy Grace. The former English teacher at the Kennedale High School has previously spoken out about the incident, saying she is the victim in the case because the students, who were all aged 18, conspired to film their sex romp without her consent and then distributed the footage. Scroll down for video . Grilled: Brittni Colleps (right) spoke to Anderson Cooper (left) and Nancy Grace to defend having group sex with four of her former students . Colleps' husband Christopher, an Army specialist who was away when his wife was having sex with students in May 2011, said he still loves the mother of his three children and has even blamed himself for driving her to commit adultery. Speaking to Anderson Cooper, he said: 'I stand by my wife 100 per cent because as a Christian and believing in God, the bible says I have to love my wife unconditionally as Jesus loved the church. 'We didn't come on here for a bash fest, we came on the show to show how god has fixed our broken marriage. I didn't do the right things as the spiritual leader in my home. 'I blame myself for this situation as I committed adultery before she did. None of us are perfect, all of us are broken people, but if we choose to go back to God and put it in his hands, he will forgive us.' Responding to Anderson Cooper's question as to what she was thinking by carrying out the sex acts with her students, Brittni Colleps said from jail: 'At the time, I really wasn't thinking, I was at a really dark point in my life and there were a lot of other problems going on at the time. I had a lapse of reality and made some bad choices.' Jailed: Colleps (right) spoke from jail as her husband, Christopher, sat in the studio with Anderson . Devastated: Christopher Colleps believes he may be to blame in part for his wife's infidelity . Begged: Christopher (left) had pleaded with the jury to be lenient when sentencing his wife after she was found guilty . When the CNN anchor asked her about the 'pages and pages of texts' she had sent to students, some of which were sent while they were sitting in the classroom with her, she said: 'It wasn't the way it was made out to be, the whole situation lasted over a month and they made it seem like it was the entire school year. It wasn't that at all, it was just at the end of the year.' Nancy Grace joined in and described the messages as 'nasty' and quoted some of them as saying: 'Oh yeah, f*** that p****. Your c*** feels so good in my wet p****' The mother-of-three refused to comment at this point, only to say her case was on appeal which she said she would obviously like to win. 'I accept responsibility for the things I have done wrong and I know people have negative opinions of me but they are not me or who I am and I know I am a changed and better person.' The case against Colleps has garnered national attention, as inappropriate student-teacher relationships have been on the rise across the U.S. For Colleps, it all began with an innocuous text message to a student, asking what time a school game was scheduled to start - but it soon escalated into sexting and at one time Colleps and the unidentified student were exchanging as many as 100 sexually explicit texts a day. Happy family: Brittni (centre) and husband Christopher (right) are still together despite the former teacher's actions . Shamed: There were no rape charges brought against Colleps because all the students involved were over the age of 18 . The lewd communication included messages like, 'I'm an anything goes in sex kinda girl' and 'I like pullin' hair, bitin', scratchin', spanking, I even like being choked,' according to Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Beach. Then in April 2011, Colleps invited this student to come to her home to watch a movie and the two had sex. The student returned to her home on at least four occasions to have sex. In May, he invited three friends from the football team to her home, while her husband and three children were away. According to prosecutors, the teacher stripped down to her lingerie, displayed an array of sex toys and escorted the four young men to her bedroom for a group sex session. Scroll down for excepts of Brittni Colleps' interview with 20/20 . Victim? Brittni Colleps told ABC's 20/20 that the students, who were all aged 18, conspired to film their sex romp without her consent . Not to blame: Colleps insists she is not a sexual predator, in an interview with ABC's 20/20 . According to video footage, taken by . one of the students, 'she's performing one sex act on one student, and . she is simultaneously performing another sex act on another student, and . she has farmed out her kids for the night so that she can have four . students in, and engage in what is more or less an orgy,' Beach . explained. After the encounter, the student began circulating the footage and it made its way to the school's administration. Because . the students were of consenting age, there were no rape charges but . Texas law prohibits an inappropriate relationship between a student and . teacher. At her trial, three of the students testified that they didn't believe she did nothing wrong and that they weren't victims. 'These . were not boys these were not children. These were grown men who . connived, conspired and worked with each other to be with this woman,' Colleps' attorney Lex Johnston had said at her trial. Colleps said earlier: 'I felt like I was victimized in that video, because I did not, I never gave my consent for it,' in an interview with ABC's 20/20. 'I'm not trying to say that it's not wrong or immoral for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with her students ... but I don't think that in this situation when they were legal, consenting adults - it should not affect me or anyone else legally.' 'In no way, shape or form was I ever preying on anybody. I never coerced anybody to do anything, I never bribed anybody to do anything, I didn't offered grades in exchange for anything.' Colleps' husband Christopher has experienced a roller-coaster ride of emotions since discovering his wife was cheating, in addition to the ensuing criminal case - telling 20/20 that learning of her betrayal was the 'toughest thing I've ever had to hear.' Filled with emotion: 32-year-old Christopher Colleps, in August, wipes away tears as he pleads with the jury to spare his wife from jail . Mercy: Brittni Colleps is overcome as her husband pleads for leniency before her sentencing in August . But the 32-year-old, who testified that he and his wife had engaged in group sex on previous occasions, says he still loves Colleps and he asked the jury to spare his wife from jail. 'I love her with every part of my heart, every ounce of my being,' he told the jury. Guilty: Brittni Colleps was convicted on 16 counts of having improper relationships with students . 'I'm asking that you give her probation... because it's not mine or my children's fault.' Christopher was away at Louisiana’s Fort Polk when his wife was having sex with her students. In the 20/20 interview, the cuckold said that dealing with the aftermath of this affair will be punishment enough for his wife. 'When our children get old enough, she has to look them in the eye and tell them what she did. That is punishment,' he said. Similarly, Colleps mother asked the jury to not sentence Brittni to jail, for the sake of her family. 'I'm asking you to have mercy for her kids cause they need their mom.' Despite her family's pleas, she was . sentenced to five years in prison without parole. For Colleps, it all began with an innocuous text message to a student, asking what time a school game was scheduled to start - but it soon escalated into sexting and at one time Colleps and the unidentified student were exchanging as many as 100 sexually explicit texts a day. The lewd communication included messages like, 'I'm an anything goes in sex kinda girl' and 'I like pullin' hair, bitin', scratchin', spanking, I even like being choked,' according to Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Beach, who also spoke to 20/20. Consenting adults: Brittni Colleps, with her attorney during her trial, said all students willingly participated . Left behind: Brittni Colleps family have stood by her side throughout the salacious case . Teacher: Colleps taught English at the Kennedale High School outside Fort Worth, Texas . VIDEO: Brittni Colleps speaks out from behind bars... VIDEO: Christopher Colleps blames himself for his wife's group sex with students... | Brittni Colleps serving 5 years in jail for group sex session with 4 students in May 2011 . 'In no way, shape or form was I ever preying on anybody,' the 28-year-old now says, claiming she was the victim because she did not give her consent for the sex footage . The mother-of-three was convicted of 16 counts of having inappropriate relationships with students . Colleps' husband, Christopher, told Anderson Cooper: 'I blame myself for this situation' | cfd47653c29b002a9bdca28fac29dbdb25320921 |
By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . Neanderthals are thought to have been brutish and ruthless creatures, stopping at nothing to survive their harsh environment. But, it turns out, we may have underestimated our distant cousins. New research reveals Neanderthals made good parents and their children were well-cared for as part of the social group. Happy families: Archaeologists at the University of York have challenged the traditional view that Neanderthal childhood was difficult, short and dangerous . This is according to British . researchers who have challenged the traditional view that Neanderthal . childhood was difficult, short and dangerous. Cavemen children ‘experienced strong emotional attachments with their immediate social group’ according to the study. Researchers at York University also said there was evidence that Neanderthals cared for their sick and injured children for months and often years. The traditional view of cavemen children is that they had a tough upbringing, but that is based largely on biological evidence. However the archaeologists, led by Dr Penny Spikins, looked at cultural and social evidence by examining Neanderthal burials. In research published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, it found that children played a particularly significant role in their society, particularly in symbolic expression. Neanderthal groups (skull, pictured) are believed to have been small and relatively isolated, which meant a natural emotional focus on close internal relationships . The study of child burials, meanwhile, revealed that the young may have been given particular attention when they died, with generally more elaborate graves than older individuals. Neanderthal groups are believed to have been small and relatively isolated, which meant a natural emotional focus on close internal relationships. Dr Spikins said: ‘The traditional view sees Neanderthal childhood as unusually harsh, difficult and dangerous. ‘This accords with preconceptions about Neanderthal inferiority and an inability to protect children epitomising Neanderthal decline. ‘Our research found that a close attachment and particular attention to children is a more plausible interpretation of the archaeological evidence, explaining an unusual focus on infants and children in burial, and setting Neanderthal symbolism within a context which is likely to have included children. ‘Interpretations of high activity levels and frequent periods of scarcity form part of the basis for this perceived harsh upbringing. ‘However, such challenges in childhood may not be distinctive from the normal experience of early Palaeolithic human children, or contemporary hunter-gatherers in particularly cold environments. ‘There is a critical distinction to be made between a harsh childhood and a childhood lived in a harsh environment.’ Europeans may be closer to their Neanderthal cousins than previously thought, new research suggests. Breeding with Neanderthals has long been known to have left its traces in the DNA of modern Europeans. Scientists in Edinburgh have now confirmed that the genetic similarity between the two must have arisen after interbreeding in Europe and Asia, before our ancestors spread across the globe. Previous research speculated that modern Europeans and Asians are related to Neanderthals because they originated from a similar sub-population in Africa. Both groups evolved from a common ancestor in Africa before spreading to other parts of the world. The two groups emerged at different times with Neanderthals leaving the African continent more than 200,000 years before humans did. Now scientists at the University of Edinburgh and Wageningen University found the species mated in Europe and Asia thousands of years ago. The research involved dividing up the genetic code of each sub-species to calculate the statistical likelihood of distant or recent interbreeding. They traced the biological ties that exist between humans and the ancient species which are believed to have died out around 30,000 years ago. The research found that the two per cent of neanderthal DNA which exists in people today came from the mating outside of Africa. | Isolated Neanderthal groups had a focus on close internal relationships . Evidence suggests Neanderthals would care for sick children for years . Children played a key role in society, particularly in symbolic expression . Study of child burials revealed young were given particular attention when they died, with more elaborate graves than older individuals . | 2f6e736ad6a4131d79b20c2bdaa60cd8c42ef889 |
A long-lost Disney cartoon that features a character who was the prototype for Mickey Mouse has been discovered in a British film archive. The cartoon, called Hungry Hobos, was made in 1928 but has been missing since before World War II. The black-and-white footage features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and was drawn shortly before the character was abandoned and turned into Mickey Mouse that same year. Scroll down for video . Rediscovered: Hungry Hobos, a five-minute silent cartoon not seen since before the Second World War, has been found in a Herefordshire film archive. The short features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (left), the prototype for Mickey Mouse . Incredibly, the five-minute silent cartoon has turned up in a vault at the Huntley Film Archives in Herefordshire, where it has sat for decades. Amanda . Huntley, who runs the company, said a colleague stumbled upon it on a . shelf and out of curiosity searched its name on Google and discovered it was a . 'lost' classic. She said: 'There are a lot of lost films out there. This was made in 1928 and has been in our collection for decades. 'We specialise in social history films and not animation. But my colleague took the film from the shelf and Googled it - I don't really know why. 'We . quickly realised it was one of the great lost films. We posted the news . on specialist web forums and everybody was very excited.' Glimpse into the past: So rare is the 83-year-old animation that archivists dared only play it once while taking photos of the playback monitor with handheld cameras . Credits: Oswald's facial features and behaviour are clearly those of Mickey Mouse . Hungry Hobos follows a starving Oswald and his friend Peg Leg Pete on . a train. They rob a chicken of her egg by squeezing the animal and cook . it by using the train's wheels. Oswald's facial features and behaviour are clearly those of Mickey Mouse - the legendary character that has endured ever since. The whereabouts of the film has for decades baffled animation experts, who believed it would never be seen again. It is now expected to fetch at least £25,000 ($39,000) when . it goes under the hammer at Bonhams' Entertainment Memorabilia auction . in Los Angeles next month. Hungry Hobos was released for general . screening on May 14, 1928, just one day before Mickey Mouse's feature . debut, Plane Crazy, had its first preview screening. The film marked a significant turning point for Walt Disney as it was the last time he had to work alongside another studio. Walt Disney made 26 films with Oswald . as the central character for Universal Pictures before taking the . character to his own studio and turning it into a rodent. Phenomenon: Mickey Mouse, pictured here as the sorcerer's apprentice in Fantasia (1940), went on to become an enduring, international sensation . Mrs Huntley said: 'It is significant because it is Disney but also because the character was the prototype of Mickey Mouse. 'Disney . developed many characters and they changed over time and Oswald has the . characteristics of Mickey Mouse - he looks similar even though he's a . rabbit. 'Disney made a series with this character and then turned him into a mouse. 'Mickey Mouse has lasted over 80 years and many generations have grown up to love him. 'How we ended up with the film I don't know. It was probably collected by my father who started the company and it has been sitting on our shelves for decades. 'We have decided to sell it because it is not really what we specialise in and we can use the money to preserve other films we have.' Stephanie Connell, from Bonhams, said: 'Hungry Hobos is an incredible find, a lost masterpiece and a cartoon with a unique and vital place in animation history.' The film comprises of a 16mm double perforated celluloid acetate positive print. It is being auctioned on December 14. Watch Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Trolley Troubles (1927): . | Hungry Hobos is expected to fetch £25,000 at auction next month . Its whereabouts have been unknown since before World War II . Five-minute silent cartoon was last to feature Oswald the Lucky Rabbit before he was turned into Mickey Mouse . | e2c0f744f95a18da4eb10eae907cddd386e1c285 |
(CNN) -- Confession: I've fallen asleep while operating on patients. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. No, I've never passed out and face-planted into a patient's open belly. Nor have I fallen asleep in the operating room as a plastic surgeon in practice. But as a resident, I performed the dreaded head-bob several times. Here is a typical scenario: . The OR is silent, except for the rhythmic beep from the anesthesia machine. My surgical scrubs feel warm, like a pair of comfy pajamas. I sit, holding two tiny retractors, while the hand surgeon meticulously dissects the patient's carpal tunnel. It's a surgery I've assisted on dozens of times before. I blink and try to remember what day it is. It seems like forever ago that I arrived at the hospital. In fact, it's been more than 32 hours since my shift started. During this past day and a half, I've logged more than 15 hours in the OR and exactly zero minutes of sleep. My eyelids feel heavy, as if being pulled down by an invisible force. I begin shaking my knee up and down, an attempt to keep myself awake. "Stay still!" the attending surgeon growls. My knee stops. Heaviness returns to my eyelids. I'm dancing on the edge of sleep. Five minutes later, I lose the battle. My head briefly bobs down, then back up. I immediately look around. Has anyone noticed? Apparently not the surgeon. I look at the scrub technician, sitting to my right. She nods her head at me, knowingly. Then she digs her heel into my foot. Hard. I suppress a yelp. I'm awake now. Residency, the training to become a real, practicing physician, is brutal. During my surgical residency back in the late '90s, I was routinely expected to work up to 36 hours straight, without sleep or a designated break. Sure, I occasionally caught a few zzz's in the call room, but many nights were spent wide awake taking care of patients. I was one of the lucky ones. Although often overworked, I never considered myself abused. Some residents had it a lot worse. Things aren't quite as bad today as they were 14 years ago. In July 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented new resident work hour standards, instituting a maximum 16-hour shift for postgraduate first-year residents, aka interns. These new rules have created concern among residents regarding their education. A survey published in the June issue of Archives of Surgery found that surgical interns believed the new regulations would decrease their time spent operating, acquisition of medical knowledge, development of surgical skills and overall educational experience. So what's the real benefit to reducing resident work hours? The Archives of Surgery survey also found that the majority of interns believed the new regulations would improve the quality and safety of patient care. As physicians, this should be our primary concern. Proper residency training shouldn't necessitate working young doctors so hard that they're forced to make patient care decisions or perform medical procedures while excessively fatigued. Studies show that impairment in cognitive and motor performance when sleep-deprived for 24 hours is equivalent to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.1%. This is considered legally drunk. Do you want a drunken doctor operating on you? As a physician, my patients expect me to be at my best when treating them. Part of being at my best includes being well-rested. Since my residency days, I've never fallen asleep in the operating room. Not even close. But it often disturbs me when I think about how sleep-deprived I was as a resident. My patients deserved better. More from Dr. Youn: Seriously? Doctors say they're underpaid . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anthony Youn. | Many medical residents work long shifts and their sleep suffers . Last year new standards were implemented with a 16-hour maximum shift . Archives of Surgery survey finds surgical interns believe new regulations inhibit education . | b2e9fffbf2897d6a3c3a80ce9aaa81d2486262fa |
Borussia Dortmund have been dealt a huge blow with the news that defender Mats Hummels has been ruled out for up to three weeks with a sprained foot sustained in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich. Hummels had only returned to action in September, missing the beginning of Dortmund's season with muscle problems after Germany's World Cup win. 'Hummels' injury was confirmed following a scan performed by club doctor Markus Braun at the Knappschaft Hospital in Dortmund on Sunday,' a statement on Dortmund's website said. Mats Hummels (on the ground) will miss three weeks for Borussia Dortmund, a huge blow for Jurgen Klopp . Jurgen Klopp greets Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola at the game between Bayern Munich and Dortmund . Marco Reus (right) put Dormund ahead as they chased a needed victory against German champions Munich . 'Hummels is expected to be out for three weeks and will miss the Champions League match against Galatasaray on Tuesday and Sunday’s Bundesliga clash against Mönchengladbach, with the next game after a two-week international break being an away trip to Paderborn on 22 November.' The problems keep mounting for Jurgen Klopp's side, after Dortmund surrendered a one-goal advantage, given to them through Marco Reus, to lose to Munich and drop into the relegation places in the Bundesliga. Former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski hoisted Munich level on 72 minutes with a strong finish from the edge of the area before Arjen Robben won the game from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining. Former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski celebrates leveling for Munich in the 72nd minute . Arjen Robben then secured the three points for Munich with a well-taken penalty in the 85th minute . While the scoreline was close, Dortmund had goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to thank for keeping it respectful. He produced an array of saves to frustrate the German champions, before their pressure eventually told. Dortmund's last league victory came on September 13th and they are 16th in the Bundesliga with a miserly seven points from 10 games. | Mats Hummels forced off at half-time against Bayern Munich with a sprain . The Germany defender missed the season's start with muscle problems . Borussia Dortmund in the relegation zone after 2-1 loss to Munich . | 18d47fb5e4fc9d6639fe74d405a653f7b35f3d93 |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A series of photographic exhibitions have been organized in Europe and North America this autumn to highlight a campaign by Britain's Prince Charles to combat tropical deforestation. An aerial of Jambi Province, Indonesia showing the destruction of the tropical rainforest. The photographs were taken by world-renowned environment photographer Daniel Beltra who was this year's winner of the Prince's Rainforest Project Award at the Sony World Photography Awards earlier this year. The images graphically depict the effects of climate change on the rainforests in the South America, Africa and Indonesia. Beltra compiled a library of around 40,000 images during month long trips to the Amazon Basin, the Congolese Forest and Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. When he returned home Beltra produced a shortlist of around 1000 images from which the final exhibition photos were selected. "I shoot a lot when I'm in the air," Beltra told CNN. "Trying to concentrate on a small detail on the ground when your flying at a speed of 150 knots is difficult." And that's not the only problem Beltra encountered. The very acts of destruction he was documenting often got in the way of his work. Click here to see a selection of images from the exhibition » . "When you are photographing deforestation, you are taking a lot of pictures of logging and fires and the smoke can make it very difficult to shoot." Beltra was born in Spain but is now based in the United States. His work, which includes freelancing for the international environmental group Greenpeace, has taken him to over 50 countries and he is a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. HRH Prince Charles has long been a passionate defender of the environment and he founded the Prince's Rainforest Project (PRP) in 2007. The PRP works alongside governments, international businesses, non-profit organizations and rainforest nations to find a solution to the deforestation and degradation of the rainforests. Speaking at the Sony Awards in Cannes, France earlier this year the Prince said: "Photographic images can tell a compelling story about the truth of the situation, and the truth is that if we lose the fight against tropical deforestation, then we lose the fight against climate change." Beltra hopes that his pictures will raise further awareness of the perils that humans face in the wake of continued rainforest destruction. "I think we are all getting more aware but we really need to get our act together because at the moment we are destroying more than we are protecting," he said. The multimedia exhibitions organized by Sony are taking place at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in London, the Hotel de Ville, Paris, the Alexa Center, Berlin and the Mercy Corps Action Center, New York. | New photography exhibition showcases the destruction of the rainforests . Images taken by world-renowned environmental photographer Daniel Beltra . Photos form part of wider rainforest campaign by Britain's Prince Charles . | bebd46ad5d9b194bf2462b3903c94c0600d946c8 |
By . Anna Hodgekiss . A young woman who suffered a heart attack aged 22 died just hours before she was due to be discharged. Leigh Holden, 22, was in good spirits about returning home on July 29 last year, an inquest heard. She had been admitted to the Northern General . Hospital in Sheffield after coughing up blood, having . previously suffered a major heart attack in March. But after several days in hospital, she appeared to be recovering, her father Keith said. Leigh Holden, 22, died four months after suffering a heart attack - on the day she was due to be discharged from hospital . 'He said: 'She was happy as a pig in muck - she was coming home. The nurse on duty had told her she was being discharged the following morning.' But shortly after Ms Holden's parents left the hospital at around 8pm, she suffered major medical complications. Despite efforts to resuscitate her, she died that evening. Ms Holden was a qualified hair stylist but at the time of her death was working as a telesales executive for an insurance firm. The inquest heard that after her heart attack, Ms Holden had a stent fitted to widen her artery and was on a twice-daily medication called ticagrelor. This is designed to prevent clots from forming in blood vessels by thinning the blood. After returning to hospital with coughing problems, she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism - a blockage in the artery that transports blood to the lungs. As a result of her coughing up ‘life-threatening’ amounts of blood, doctors took the decision to reduce her ticagrelor dosage, due to fears she may lose even more blood. Ms Holden has been admitted to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield after coughing up blood . Dr Robin Condliffe, who helped treat Ms Holden, said the decision was taken to reduce her risk of dying from blood loss - but added it did increase the chance of complications with her stent. Earlier in the hearing, pathologist Dr Julian Burton said he had identified the cause of death as stent thrombosis - where the stent becomes blocked by a blood clot. Dr Condliffe said he did not believe the change in medication had caused the stent thrombosis, but had ‘contributed’ to it. Nevertheless, he felt the right treatment decisions had been taken as, had the medication not been changed, there was a strong chance Ms Holden would have died from the amount of blood she was coughing up. 'We would have been asked the question, "Why didn’t you withhold it?’ and that would have been a harder thing to justify,' he said. Assistant coroner Louise Slater adjourned the inquest and said she would be giving a narrative conclusion. The hearing will resume next month. | Leigh Holden had suffered a heart attack in March last year . Had to go back to hospital in the July as was coughing up blood . Was due to be discharged on July 29 and was excited to be going home . Just hours before she was due to leave suffered major complications . Despite efforts to resuscitate the telesales executive, she died that evening . | 5b0b234233bb036f3bbba37d9bfacd5239bb6360 |
By . Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 16:55 EST, 1 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:22 EST, 2 December 2013 . Thirty people were injured this morning when an icy bridge caused a massive pile-up of 70 cars, two tractor-trailers and one box trailer in Worcester, Massachusetts. There were no fatalities and none of the injuries were serious, but the 6:45am accident did cause traffic to stop for hours in both directions on route 1-290. Route 1-290 eastbound wasn't reopened until 10am, followed by the westbound reopening just before noon. As soon as we hit the bridge, I mean we came over the top and it was a sheet of ice,' driver Jill Conway told NECN. 'We saw cars every which way and tried to slow down and realized it was just total ice. I chose to go into the divider to slow down, and, you know, there was nothing I could do.' Scroll down for video . Pile-up: 70 cars, two tractor-trailers, and a box trailer were involved in a crash this morning when a bridge in Worcester, Massachusetts froze over . No fatalities: There were no fatalities in the crash, but at least 30 people were bussed off the road to be treated for minor injuries . Trapped: Some of the cars involved in the crash were pushed underneath a tractor-trailer, shown above . Freezing temperatures over night caused the bridge where the crash happened to freeze over. Bridges freeze faster than roads for two reasons. One is that they are exposed on all sides to the weather, which allows heat to escape faster. Also, most bridges are made of steel and concrete which conducts heat more than asphalt making temperatures variable. Those injured in the crash were bussed off the highway and taken to the hospital, while some lucky enough to drive off in their own cars recalled the scary situation. One driver says it was a 'miracle' that her family didn't get hit. Inventory: About 25 crashed cars were taken off the road and cataloged by police at a local lot . Caution: The accident happened on a bridge in Worcester. Bridges freeze faster than roads because most are constructed with heat-conducing asphalt and they are being hit on all sides by the elements . Slippery: The Massachusetts State Police has advised drivers to stay at home for the time being due to the dangerous driving conditions . 'I was trying to stop my car, but I was able to get around the tractor-trailer and stop my car and then try to just pull over because cars were kind of crashing up behind us. They have advised drivers to stay at home for the time being, due to the dangerous conditions on the roads. The weather impacted other parts of central and eastern Massachusetts today. A section of Route 9 was closed and other accidents were reported on Route 146. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation dispatched some 125 crews to treat roads in the area today. | Freezing conditions caused ice to cover a bridge in Worcester, Massachusetts this morning . The bridge caused a crash involving 70 cars, two tractor-trailers, and a box trailer . There were no fatalities but at least 30 were bussed off the road to be treated for minor injuries . Route 1-290 was closed for nearly five hours in both directions . | 10579665194533592e56e5d70dbb3afe2969abc6 |
By . Belinda Robinson . An Italian prison is caught up in an extraordinary row after prison officers allegedly organized regular 'happy hours' for inmates' where they drank alcohol and got visits from 'external guests'. The female prisoners at San Vittore jail in Milan, Italy, were given the unusual treat at least twice a week where they got to let their hair down, according to reports in Italian newspaper Ansa. Italy’s prison service said that . organizing events was not unusual, when everything happens ‘in broad . daylight, as in this case, we believe’. Happy hours: Female prisoners at San Vittore jail in Milan, Italy, pictured, were given alcoholic happy hours at least twice a week . Good times: Prisoners were even provided with a catering service at the events . However, Italian prison guards' union Osapp have blasted the revelations. It lodged a complaint to both the Ministry of Justice and the Senate president over the allegations. According to Osapp, prison staff agreed to organize the happy hours which ran until ‘late at night’ with ‘external guests’. Prisoners were even provided with a catering service and offered alcohol, say reports. The union has called into question both the costs and profits of the venture, asking for ‘urgent clarification’ from the Italian authorities. Luigi Pagano, deputy director of Italy’s prison service said he had not been contacted by Osapp and had requested more information on the entire situation. Punishment: Italy's prison service said that organizing events was not unusual . | Female prisoners at San Vittore jail in Milan were treated to happy hours . Prisoners were provided with alcohol and a catering service in jail . Italian prison guards' union Osapp lodged a complaint over the allegations . | 0599876bfd1c87a077836960d6c5873efd134587 |
Three people, including a volunteer firefighter who was sitting inside on his computer, have been struck by lightning during a wild storm that has swept across Perth. It's believed the volunteer in his 30s, who works at Rockingham Fire Station, was at home when a lightning strike hit his house at about 8.30am today. 'He reported that he wasn't feeling well, it could have been residual shocks and he was taken to Rockingham hospital,' said a St John Ambulance Australia spokesman. It's believed the man was taken to hospital for treatment and was suffering shock and a 'little anxiety' more than anything, according to another fire volunteer. Scroll down for video . A lightning strike at City Beach in Perth on Monday caused its closure that morning . Thunderstorms hit the storm early morning, bringing with it numerous lightning strikes in the metropolitan area . Two other people, a man and a woman, are also lucky to be alive when a tree they were standing underneath, at Hammond Park, south of Perth, were struck by lightning about 9am. 'They were knocked back by the force and we got to them and we transported them to the Royal Perth hospital with minor injuries,' said the ambulance spokesperson. A neighbour told the West Australian that the lightning bolt hit a tree and then hit the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground. It was reported that he was 'incoherent and lying on the grass in front of the house' after he had been hit. Thunderstorms hit the storm early morning, bringing with it numerous lightning strikes in the metropolitan area. A Department of Fire and Emergency Service spokesman said they attended a couple of reported lightning strike incidents but there was no excessive damage at either of them. 'The power went out but it was quickly restored,' he said. 'We attended a few fires east of Albany as a result of lightning strikes but we have come through relatively unscathed.' 'We are attending those fires now, they are relatively small and the bad weather has now passed through, it's overcast and there's a bit of rain,' he said. Surf Life Saving Western Australia reported the City beach and Secret Harbour were closed due to lightning strikes this morning. Three people were struck by lightning, including a volunteer firefighter, and taken to hospital for treatment . They warned people to get off the beach and out of the water during lightning, but they have now been re-opened. Weatherzone meteorologist Ben McBurney said the storm had been caused by the crossing of a low pressure trough. 'Combined warm and moist air created the thunderstorm, there was not a lot of rain, around two to five millimetres but there was a fair bit of lightning he said. He said the storms in Perth had passed through and the chance of another storm now was pretty low. 'The trough has moved east of Perth, with the high pressure ridge coming in which is associated with more stable weather.' The city forecast is looking a lot milder through the week with a bit of a cold front moving through overnight. 'The frontal system will clip Perth and there should be light showers tomorrow morning but there should be no storms in the near future.' 'The next chance of a storm is Saturday,' he said. With the temperature in Perth soaring to 38 degrees yesterday, today cooled down to a mild 24 degrees as the storm passed. A Department of Fire and Emergency Service says while they are quiet for now they will be keeping an eye on the roads which are expected to get slippery with a bit of rain. | A volunteer firefighter was struck by lightning while sitting at his computer . Another man and woman were struck while waiting for a bus . They were all taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment . Thunderstorms hit Perth early morning Monday and closed beaches . Forecast for the city is milder, small chance of rain . | e846a7f608edff5bc7d234589189d932f9acf3fa |
By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 07:05 EST, 26 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:53 EST, 26 March 2013 . A teenage soap star sobbed in the dock today after he was cleared of molesting and raping a fellow stage school pupil. The 17-year-old bisexual, who cannot be named, was accused of a campaign of abuse against another boy in 2010. Prosecutors alleged the actor forced the boy into a twisted sex game in the stairwell of a theatre. He was accused of headbutting the boy and pinning him against a wall before forcing him to perform oral sex while his girlfriend watched to prove he liked men and women sexually. Cleared: A teenage soap actor was on trial at Blackfriars Crown Court accused of rape and sexual assault but the jury found him not guilty today . But a jury of seven men and five women today cleared the star of rape and three counts of sexual assault dating from between July 2010 and September 2010. The panel had deliberated for four hours and 45 minutes before reaching its unanimous not guilty verdicts on all counts at Blackfriars Crown Court. The teenager had wept as the verdicts were returned and was hugged by his sobbing dad as he left the dock. The teenage actor, who will turn 18 in May, was accused of sending the boy lewd text messages before sexually assaulting him in the darkened stairwell as they prepared for an end-of-year school show. Prosecutors alleged he then raped the boy the following day, again in the stairwell, to prove he was bisexual to his girlfriend. - Actor cleared of four sex attacks told the court during his trial . It was said he continued the sexual abuse in September 2010 during the new school term with 'weekly' sex attacks. But the actor, supported by his family in court every day during the six-day trial, told jurors the sexual contact between the pair was always consensual. 'It was both of us, both consensual, wanting to do things and both enjoying it', he told Blackfriars Crown Court. 'It wasn't a straight man being lured in, it was both of us.' The teenager said he was 'bi-curious' and approached the boy after hearing rumours he had been with other boys and posted erotic pictures of himself online. Accused of being a 'bully' who had forced himself on the other boy, the star replied: 'I was willing to experiment with my sexuality and he had apparently done it before with other boys. 'He was another lad who was up for doing things. 'I didn't know any other boys like that, I wanted to try to experiment and he seemed - well, he was up for it.' The actor told the court he had initially said no sexual contact had taken place at all because he was 'embarrassed' to admit his sexuality in front of teachers and his parents. He admitted in the witness box breaking down and crying after the boy performed oral sex on him in front of his girlfriend. 'I was very embarrassed, that's my girlfriend there and she is watching a boy suck my penis,' the actor said. 'I was confused and I didn't think it was right. 'I put my head in my hands and started having a cry.' He denied being attracted to the boy, who he said may have become 'infatuated' with him after they exchanged saucy text messages. 'He was very much the one who took the reins, although I approached him first', he said. 'When I sent pictures of my penis, he sent pictures back. 'He said I had a nice bum, he complemented my bottom and tried to kiss me. 'Whether he said have an infatuation with me, I'm not saying I'm great looking, but whether he had an infatuation I can't answer that.' The soap star, from Surrey, put his career on hold to fight the legal battle against the sex claims. He denied rape and three counts of sexual assault. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Teen was accused of raping and assaulting fellow stage school pupil . He was accused of four sex attacks on a boy over two months in 2010 . Jury cleared him in five hours at Blackfriars Crown Court today . | 7e27c3151c9107e3fa6dd5dcf9f4140619007eae |
Viking invasions evoke images of burly, bearded men with flaming torches who are intent on sex and violence. But the conquests to foreign lands may been more like romantic getaways now that DNA has revealed that Viking's brought their women on voyages. A study has shed light on the importance of women in the colonisation of the British Isles in the Middle Ages, suggesting that Viking men were family-orientated and not as blood-thirsty as previously thought. A new study shows the importance of women in the colonisation of the British Isles in the Middle Ages, suggesting that Viking men were family-orientated and not as blood-thirsty as previously thought. This illustration shows viking men and women embarking a ship in Newfoundland with livestock . Researchers from the University of Oslo have revealed that ‘significant’ numbers of women accompanied Viking men when they sailed to places like the Scottish mainland in longboats. Their study contradicts the popular notion that raiding parties only comprised men, who were intent on raping and pillaging new territories, The Independent reported. In fact, experts think whole families may have travelled on the iconic boats to form instant communities on newly-conquered lands. They analysed DNA extracted from 45 Viking skeletons discovered in Norway, to discoverer that women played an integral part in establishing settlements in Britain, for example. Professor Eriks Hagelberg, of the university, said the inclusion of women on the trips meant that Vikings could have children and spread more quickly across the northern seas, establishing communities. Viking expeditions, illustrated by blue line, were carried out across an immense breadth. They set foot through most of Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, the Arctic and North America . Researchers revealed that women and children accompanied Viking men when they sailed to places like the Scottish mainland in longboats, questioning traditional views of bloodthirsty warriors burning local villages. A reconstruction from the Up Helly Aa Festival in Lerwick, the Shetland Islands, is shown . ‘It seems to support the view that a significant number of women were involved in the settlement of the smaller isles, which overrules the idea that it just involved raping and pillaging by males going on the rampage,’ he said. The expert conceded that it is true that Vikings did have sex with local women, but the DNA evidence studied indicates that Norse women were at the heart of new communities set up in the Viking colonies. She told LiveScience that Viking women established settlements and grew crops, and ‘trade was very, very important'. The study contradicts one of the theories as to why the Viking launched raids: that there were not enough women at home, she added. Vikings who settled in Iceland spent most of their time producing and consuming alcohol and beef, according to a study by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Experts say they did this in part to achieve political ambitions in an environment very different from their Scandinavian homeland. Davide Zori, an assistant professor at the university, said that the seafaring warriors wanted to sustain a lifestyle where chieftains hosted huge feasts of beer and beef served in great halls. Vikings who settled in Iceland spent most of their time producing and consuming alcohol and beef, according to a study by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. They analysed buildings and human bones found at the site of a Viking farmstead . The Viking chieftains used wealth and cultural displays to flex political muscle with their rivals and to cement good relations with local labourers and supporters. His team excavated a farmstead called Hrísbrú in Iceland’s Mosfell Valley, including a chieftain’s longhouse nearly 100 feet long with a ‘feast-worthy’ great hall, a church and a cemetery of 26 graves. Carbon dating and studies of volcanic eruption layers indicated that the longhouse was built in the late ninth or early 10th century and abandoned by the 11th. The team uncovered 38 layers of floor ash, including rubbish from the abandoned house, and discovered samples of bones, barley seeds and imported beads. When the Vikings arrived in uninhabited Iceland, they found forested lowlands, ample pasture land and sheltered sea inlets. The team excavated a farmstead called Hrísbrú in Iceland’s Mosfell Valley (mapped), including a chieftain’s longhouse nearly 100 feet long with a ‘feast-worthy’ great hall, a church and a cemetery of 26 graves . The team uncovered 38 layers of floor ash, including rubbish from the abandoned house, and discovered samples of bones, barley seeds and imported beads (pictured) Excavations show that choice cattle were selected for feasts, with ritual slaughter and the display of skulls common, according to the study, which was published in the journal of Antiquity. And by examining barley seeds, the experts believe Vikings may have used them to produce alcohol, as well as for bread or porridge. Over the centuries, as temperatures in the North Atlantic dropped during the ‘Little Ice Age,’ being a lavish host got tougher, Professor Zori explained. Cattle had to be kept indoors in large barns during the winter so ‘they [the Vikings] had to decide how many to slaughter and store,’ he said. ‘They didn’t have salt, so they had to use big vats of curdled milk as a preservative’ As the landscape changed due to erosion, climate shifts and cleared forests, it became harder to rear larger numbers of cattle. High-status households also struggled to grow enough grain for beer-making and local consumption, based on historical accounts, which have now been confirmed by archaeological data. ‘It got harder and harder to keep up that showiness – and when that collapsed, you didn’t have that power, that beer and big slabs of beef to show off,’ he said, explaining that the power of chieftains diminished. Over time, sheep farming replaced the raising of cattle. Professor Zori argues that Viking chieftains’ drive to produce expensive beef and beer caused them to put their political aspirations above the greater good of the community. ‘Maybe we don’t need the Vikings to prove this, but it shows you that politics can become more important than creating a productive society.’ The research, which was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, compared the 1,000-year-old mitochondrial DNA of Viking skeletons to that of modern-day people living in Norway, Iceland, Britain and other places in north west Europe. From this biological data, the experts built up a picture of how the maternal Norse lineage spread throughout areas that were colonised. Experts think whole families may have travelled on the iconic boats (illustrated) to form ‘instant’ communities on newly-conquered lands . The scientists extracted teeth and shaved off small wedges of bones from 45 Norse skeletons dating to between 796AD and 1066AD. They were discovered at various locations across Norway and are on display in the Schreiner Collection at the University of Oslo, LiveScience reported. The experts examined mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondria were houses in the cytoplasm of a woman's egg and are passed down from a woman to her children, revealing the maternal lineage. They compared the genetic material with mitochondrial DNA from 5,191 people from across Europe. The Norse material closely matched the maternal DNA of modern North Atlantic people living in the UK and Sweden, but was most closely related to people living from Orkney and the Shetland Isles. Jan Bill, a visiting professor at the University of Oslo, said that Viking women, as well as men, played an important role in setting up communities outside their native lands in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. He said that the male warriors didn’t collect female slaves on the way from Ireland, as previously suggested. A study in 2001 suggested that Viking men travelled alone before picking up Gaelic women on their way to Iceland. He added: ‘We know they transported cattle, sheep and other livestock, so why not take the kids as well? ‘I think we’re looking at family groups rather than just adult men and women.’ He told LiveScience: ‘When raiding activities started to become a more permanent thing, then at some point you may actually see families are traveling along and staying in the camps.' The researchers hope to compare Norse DNA to ancient DNA from Britain, Scotland and beyond to better understand how these people were related. | DNA evidence suggests women accompanied men on raiding trips . Study hints men were family-orientated and children may have come too . Women played helped to establish new settlements, trade and had children . Study questions stereotype of raping and pillaging warriors . Experts from University of Oslo say that male warriors didn’t collect female slaves on the way from Ireland, as previously suggested . | 87bfb11aeb3bbc1b8b3ee7b3ac9a793785ca1db9 |
By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 07:38 EST, 20 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:32 EST, 20 December 2013 . An ancient terracotta baby bottle shaped like a pig has been uncovered by Italian archaeologists. The vessel, which can also be used as a baby’s rattle, is 2,400 years old and is thought to have belonged to a member of the Messapian tribe who lived in the south of Italy at the time. The bottle, or ‘guttus’ has human-like eyes and terracotta balls in its stomach so it could become a rattle after a baby had finished drinking its meal from the quirky vessel. A 2,400-year-old pig-shaped terracotta baby bottle, which can also be used as a rattle, has been uncovered by Italian archaeologists . It was found in a Messapian tomb in Manduria, near Taranto in Puglia, Italy – a region that was inhabited by the Messapian people in around 1,000 BC – along with a number of other objects. The stone tomb, which measures eight by four square feet and is decorated with bands of blue, red and ochre, contained the remains of two people. The Messapians typically buried family members together and there were also remains of a later burial in the same tomb. ‘We found some skeletal remains piled in an angle. Other remains, related to a later burial, occupied the entire tomb,’ Arcangelo Alessio of the Archaeological Superintendency of Puglia told Discovery News. The team of archaeologists found 30 objects in the tomb, including two terracotta figurines of females, three baby bottles, including the unusual pig-shaped one, as well as jars, vases, laps and plates, which have now been cleaned and restored. A black basin and iron knife suggest a . male burial, while a traditional vase called a trozzella, suggests a . female was also laid to rest in the tomb as the vase is often found in . tombs of women at the time. The bottle, or 'guttus' has human-like eyes and terracotta balls in its stomach so it could become a rattle after a baby had finished its meal, dispensed from the quirky vessel . However, the presence of the baby bottles and the female figures suggests a newborn girl might have been buried there too, as the figures were often placed in the graves of young girls. Archaeologist Gianfranco Dimitri told Discovery News: ‘We might speculate that the female individual was pregnant at the time of death.’ He thinks it will be difficult to ascertain whether the bottle did belong to a baby, as it is probable that any baby’s bones have completely decomposed. Dr Alessio said ‘Analysis of the funerary objects and their context suggest that the two burials followed one another in the Hellenistic period, between the end of the fourth and the third-second centuries BC.’ The bottle was found in a Messapian tomb in Manduria, near Taranto in Puglia, Italy - a region that was inhabited by the Messapian people in around 1,000BC - along with a number of other objects . The team of archaeologists found 30 objects in the tomb, including two terracotta figurines of females, three baby bottles, including the unusual pig-shaped one, as well as jars, vases, laps and plates, which have now been cleaned and restored . | The bottle, or ‘guttus’ has human-like . eyes and terracotta balls in its stomach so it could become a rattle . after a baby had finished its meal . Archaeologists think the pig bottle might have belonged to a newborn girl or a pregnant woman who died some 2,400 years ago . Around 30 objects were found in a grave in Puglia, south east Italy, by the Archaeological Superintendency of Puglia . | 221c64c3ab34555ca5865907241670000d09e3c9 |
After three hours stranded on two different planes, passengers on board a beleaguered Allegiant Air flight could have been forgiven for grumbling - but instead some chose to lose themselves in song. The flight was grounded on the runway in Las Vegas on Sunday for a total of four hours. Several travelers reported that a woman passed out in the aisle while two others had medical problems. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, passengers tried to keep spirits up - with one man blasting R Kelly's song I Believe I Can Fly from a portable music player while others laughed, sang along and waved their hands in the air. Scroll down for video . I believe I can fly! The passengers on board the Allegiance flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix on Sunday burst into an impromptu version of the R Kelly song after being delayed for four hours . Relief: Passengers laughed and swayed their arms in time with the music during a nightmare journey from Las Vegas to Phoenix . The irony of the track, which opens with the lyrics - 'I used to think that I could not go on; And life was nothing but an awful song' - was not lost on weary passengers many of whom burst into fits of giggles and filmed the moment on their phones. However it was not all light-hearted singalongs. Passenger Francine Gutierrez told Fox: 'One of the passengers started getting a . bloody nose from the heat so she rushed to the bathroom. Followed by her . was another passenger that was starting to vomit. 'A . third passenger passed out in the middle of the aisle. Everyone was kind . of frantic.' The Las Vegas to Phoenix flight was scheduled to leave at 11am on Sunday with 121 passengers on board. The MD-80 plane had a technical issue . followed by a passenger with a medical issue, causing the plane to . be grounded for 80 minutes according to an Allegiance . spokesman. Overwhelmed: With lack of AC, passengers reported that this woman, seen lying in the aisle, had passed out on board . Singalong: One passenger, seen holding his personal music device, played R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly - and the irony was not lost on amused fellow travelers . Communications director Bryan Davis told MailOnline on Monday that the AC on the aircraft is connected to the engines making it extremely difficult to cool the plane while temperatures soared to 110F on the tarmac. However he did say that airline crew had passed out water to passengers. After spending an hour in the airport terminal, passengers were put on a second plane which was further delayed by technical issues. Mr Davis said that passengers had received complimentary drinks on the plane and a $100 credit for future travel. Grounded: There were technical issues with two Allegiant Air MD-80 planes on Sunday (library image) | Travelers on Allegiance flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix on Sunday complained of lack of AC in 110F heat . One passenger held his music device aloft and blasted I Believe I Can Fly while others sang along and waved their arms . | 5e188ce2b0456e1b155860f8718fa0cf490893c1 |
She might have two lovely daughters of her own but that doesn't mean Spain's Queen Letizia is immune to the charms of other people's children. The Spanish Queen looked thrilled as an adorable little girl approached her with a posy of flowers as she arrived in Luxembourg for a state visit this morning. With her was King Felipe, who looked equally smitten as he crouched down beside his wife to say hello to the child, who was warmly wrapped up against the November chill in a duck down coat and a pair of eye-catching striped tights. Scroll down for video . Smitten: Both Queen Letizia and King Felipe looked smitten by the adorable little flower girl . State visit: The Spanish royal couple are visiting Luxembourg at the invitation of Grand Duke Henri . Letizia, 42, and Felipe, 46, are in Luxembourg at the invitation of the Duchy's Grand Duke, Henri, and his Cuban wife Maria Teresa. Ever elegant, Letizia looked glamorous in a chic cream coat dress enlivened with a floral pattern created using the traditional Spanish blackwork embroidery technique. Rather more modern was her softly-waved hairstyle and the stylish grey and cream clutch she carried for her arrival at the Palais Grand Ducal in the centre of Luxembourg City. Once there, and in front of an excited crowd of well-wishers, she and Felipe were greeted by a dapper Duke Henri, 59, and his wife, who wore an elegant dip-dyed silk coat. Also in the welcoming party was Henri's heir, Crown Prince Guillaume, 33, and his Belgian wife, Stéphanie de Lannoy, 30, who comes from a family descended from the Flemish royal house of Hainault, which, among others, produced several mediaeval English Queens. Pucker up: Queen Letizia gets a kiss from Grand Duke Henri and meets his heir Guillaume (right) Glamorous: Queen Letiza and King Felipe with Grand Duke Henri and his Cuban wife Maria Theresa . Welcome party: Crown Princess Stéphanie (far left) and Crown Prince Guillaume (right) were also there . Luxembourg's monarchy is one of the youngest in Europe and began in 1815 following the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Full independence under the Grand Dukes came just under 20 years later, when the Treaty of London enshrined Luxembourg's existence in international law and ended years of rule by the Burgundians, French, Prussians and the Dutch. Although part of Luxembourg was later incorporated into what would, in 1839, become Belgium, the country remained intact through the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the First and Second World Wars. Indeed, Luxembourg's monarchy has enjoyed a considerably smoother run over the last century than Spain's own, which was abolished during the dictatorship of General Franco and only reinstated under King Juan Carlos in the mid 1970s. Juan Carlos, who stood down earlier this year, became the fourth monarch to abdicate in less than two years, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and King Albert II of Belgium. The latter's heir, now King Philippe of the Belgians, 54, is first cousin to Grand Duke Henri and a regular visitor to Luxembourg. Stylish: Letizia carried a grey and white clutch and wore a dress decorated with blackwork embroidery . Opulent: The trio of royal couples met inside the opulent Palais Grand Ducal in the centre of Luxembourg City . Looking good: Crown Princess Stephanie, 30, was pretty in grey while Letizia was lovely in cream . | The Spanish royal couple are in Luxembourg at the Grand Duke's invitation . Letizia, 42, looked smitten when she was approached by a little flower girl . King Felipe also crouched down to speak to the warmly-wrapped up child . Welcoming party also included Crown Prince Guillaume, 33, and his wife . | 90a206c6830a0bd4755ee5af40b7c6cf01becc59 |
By . Olivia Williams . PUBLISHED: . 12:21 EST, 19 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:08 EST, 19 April 2013 . A 73-year-old pensioner is facing jail today for clubbing his neighbour with a hammer in a row over a bonfire. James Sharrod was so enraged over smoke coming into his mobile home from James Killian's garden that he crept up on Mr Killian and attacked him with a lump hammer. Mr Killian, 51, was gardening at his detached £260,000 home in the village of Parkmill on the Gower coastline when Mr Sharrod entered through a gap in the fence, Swansea Crown Court heard. Neighbours at war: James Sharrod, left, bludgeoned James Killian, right, with a hammer in a dispute over Mr Kilian's bonfire in his garden in South Wales . Quiet village: Parkmill in South Wales where the two neighbours came to blows . Smoke from the bonfire had blown into the caravan park, Cannisland Park, through Mr Sharrod's windows. Prosecutor Dean Pulling said that Mr Killian had begun extinguishing the fire when Mr Sharrod entered the garden. Terrified: Angela Killian came to rescue her husband when she heard his screams coming from the garden . Mr Sharrod 'launched' at him, striking his head and body with a hammer he had hidden behind his back. The attack left Mr Kilian 'covered in blood' and he required seven stitches to a two-inch gash to his head. Mr Killan's wife Angela wrestled Sharrod off her husband after hearing his screams for help. She told the jury she thought her husband was being murdered when she saw the attack. Passing cyclist Trystan Jones told the court: 'I looked at the man and he was covered in blood. 'It looked like something out of a film.' 'He said he had been attacked by a neighbour who had hit him over the head with a hammer.' Mr Sharrod claimed he acted in self-defence, but was found guilty. Judge Paul Thomas gave Mr Sharrod bail but warned him, despite his age, he could be facing a long prison term when he is sentenced next month. He told Mr Sharrod: 'I want to know something about your physical and mental health before I pass sentence.' | James Sharrod, 73, 'launched' himself at James Killan, 51, with a hammer . Attack happened after Kilian's bonfire smoke drifted into Sharrod's home . Killan's wife wrestled Sharrod off after hearing her husband's screams . She told the jury she thought her husband was being murdered . Judge wants to know state of Sharrod's mental health before sentencing . | 0083010557502fbae7ebcf5c98985cabb799ef57 |
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