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Since returning to his childhood home this month on vacation, President Barack Obama has spent a good part of most days cloistered with three people whose company puts him at ease. They're not his wife and daughters, who came with him, but a trio of pals whose friendship dates back to Obama's high school days in Hawaii. The three men - Mike Ramos, Bobby Titcomb and Greg Orme - are among the few people still in Obama's life who knew him long before he was famous. Scroll down for video . They go way back: The President is seen above golfing with high school buddies Greg Orme, left, and Mike Ramos, right, in Kailua, Hawaii . Close quarters: The commander in chief leans over to share a thought with old pal Bobby Titcomb as they watch a college sport game in Honolulu . Barack and the boys: The President is seen above with Greg Orme on a 2008 golfing trip . There for you: Obama gives Mike Ramos a hug before getting on Air Force One in 2009 . Although their paths have long since diverged, they've made it a point to gather for frequent reunions, in one of Obama's most visible links to the days when his life was much simpler and his problems more mundane. On this visit alone, Obama has spent more than 22 hours with the group on the lush golf courses that dot the island of Oahu. When it rained, Obama and his pals went bowling, instead. And on Tuesday, in what's become a yearly tradition, the men and their families gathered for a luau hosted by Titcomb. With rain drizzling over Oahu, Obama's motorcade whisked Obama across the island to Titcomb's beachside home in Waialua, about an hour outside of Honolulu on the North Shore. Increasingly, the reunions have become the focal point of Obama's family vacation in his second term as his teenage daughters spend less and less time at their father's side. Once content to join their parents for outings to the aquarium or to get shave ice, Sasha and Malia are now more independent. Since arriving more than a week ago, Obama has been out in public with one of his daughters only once, briefly, during a hike. What Obama and his companions talk about during their many hours alone is anyone's guess. But the foursome rarely goes more than a few months without reconvening in one arrangement or another. Harking back: The foursome gather often, whether in DC or at other Presidential retreats . Firm friends: Obama, shown above when he was a senator in 2008, is seen walking away from a memorial ceremony for his mother alongside Bobby Titcomb, second from left, Orme right . In August, Obama kicked off his 53rd birthday weekend golfing with the three friends in suburban Maryland before heading to Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains. All four were classmates at Punahou School in Honolulu, which Obama has described as 'a prestigious prep school, an incubator for island elites.' In his memoir, 'Dreams From My Father,' Obama recalled a high school career that was, for the most part, ordinary — 'marginal report cards and calls to the principal's office; part-time jobs at the burger chain; acne and driving tests and turbulent desire.' 'I'd made my share of friends at school, gone on the occasional awkward date,' Obama wrote . On vacation: Obama is pictured above hiking with daughter Malia - but his children spend less and less time with him on vacation now . 'And if I sometimes puzzled over the mysterious realignments of status that took place among my classmates, as some rose and others fell depending on the whims of their bodies or the make of their cars, I took comfort in the knowledge that my own position had steadily improved.' Far less is known about Obama's buddies, of course, than about the president himself. All three live mostly private lives when they're not being photographed with the commander in chief. Ramos, who graduated from Punahou in 1978, bonded with Obama over their mutual affinity for jazz. He's lived in Colorado, but was listed as a North Carolina resident when in 2012 he attended a state dinner at the White House that Obama held for British Prime Minister David Cameron. Titcomb, who golfed another two days with Obama this month before the others got into town, was a year behind Obama at Punahou. Titcomb has worked as a commercial fisherman and an airline employee, according to the school's alumni magazine. In 2011, he pleaded no contest to soliciting a prostitute, but Obama has stayed fiercely loyal to his childhood friend. Connection? Analysts have suggested that Obama's new life - full of security, demands and motorcades (above) - has led him to especially value to companionship of his old friends . Obama played basketball at Punahou with Orme, who the alumni magazine says is now a building contractor. Aging photos show Obama and Orme decked out in 1970s fashion with their dates before attending a high school prom. Among U.S. presidents, Obama is not alone in carving out time regularly to reconnect with his roots. Franklin D. Roosevelt made frequent trips back to Hyde Park, N.Y., throwing picnics or barbecues for former neighbors and friends, and George H.W. Bush remained pals with men he served with in World War II. In the second term, presidents have often sought refuge from the pressure by disappearing into nature to fish or hunt, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University. But such solitude has become less and less attainable for presidents in modern times. 'Many people call Obama aloof, and he hasn't made a lot of friends in Washington,' Brinkley said. 'When you're president, everybody wants something from you and only these types of friends are able to simply want your well-being. They have a different level of affection for you than friends you meet later in life.' | President has spent much of his Christmas vacation with three men . Played sport and relaxed with Mike Ramos, Bobby Titcomb and Greg Orme . The pals, who all went to Punahou School in Hawaii, still meet often . Little is known about the men - but all seem to have humble occupations . | 57b452b62e64afcc8033e7f0697d0578d7206176 |
Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the world, says it has removed all guns from its store nearest to Newtown, Connecticut, and is suspending the sale of certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles from its chains nationwide. The move was made out of respect for the victims and families of last week's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting "during this time of national mourning," the store said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by this terrible tragedy," the statement said. It was unclear how long the store will keep the suspension in place for the guns, known as 'modern sporting rifles.' It's also not known whether this is the first time the store has taken such a step after a shooting that made national headlines. After Newtown, the NRA goes silent . A search of Dick's Sporting Goods website early Tuesday morning showed a blank page for "modern sporting rifles." The move comes after reports that investigators were trying to determine whether the gunman in the Newtown shooting, Adam Lanza, tried to buy a gun from a Dick's Sporting Goods store in the city of Danbury, about 12 miles away. "At this time, reports that the suspect visited one of our stores last week have not been confirmed by law enforcement," the sporting goods store said in a statement. "Based on our records, we can confirm that no firearms were sold to the suspect identified in this case." | It is unclear how long the suspension will last . Firearms were not sold to Adam Lanza, the store says . | 3e244ec80e94799218c8a601bc2045807ab334a8 |
Vincent Tan has said he is planning to take legal action ‘several agents’ over the fees they received from transfers completed during Malky Mackay’s tenure as manager of Cardiff City. Cardiff’s Malaysian billionaire owner ordered a £750,000 investigation into eight transfers after sacking Mackay as his manager last year; an investigation conducted by leading fraud and sports lawyers at London firm Mishcon de Reya and one that uncovered the racist, homophobic and sexist text and email exchanges between Mackay and former head of recruitment Iain Moody. Vincent Tan feels he overpaid for some players during Malky Mackay’s reign as Cardiff manager . Those details were revealed by Sportsmail in August but the investigation into the transfers is ongoing and Tan is determined to recover the millions he feels he overpaid to bring certain players into the club. Mackay has consistently denied any wrongdoing. But this newspaper understands that certain agents have been contacted by Mishcon’s team already and, in an interview with Reuters in Malaysia, Tan insisted the matter is not closed. Former Cardiff manager Malky Mackay has consistently denied any wrongdoing . ‘I happened to have a manager who I think overspent,’ he said. ‘I think he...overpaid a lot of players, paid the agents too much agent fees. ‘In fact, we are going to have some court cases against several agents. There'll be some court case coming up over this.’ | Cardiff owner Vincent Tan feels he overpaid for some players . Billionaire ordered a £750,000 investigation into eight transfers . Former manager Mackay has consistently denied any wrongdoing . | 24d47f39ec55260c7a8db35e53551f7c29c31f46 |
By . Emily Allen . UPDATED: . 13:54 EST, 14 December 2011 . At just 4ft 8ins and a modest seven stone you wouldn't think Hannah Powell could pack many punches. But in fact the teenager is a force to be reckoned with - she is Britain's smallest and lightest Olympic weightlifting contender. The athlete - who is nine inches shorter than most women - can already lift a . staggering 80kg but says she has a hard time convincing people she is . telling the truth about her profession. Pint sized: Hannah Powell with friend Josh Cartman. At just 4ft 8 inches tall and a modest seven stone, she is the running to compete at the 2012 Olympics . Nicknamed 'Power Powell' by her team . mates she is in the running to compete at the 2012 London Olympics. Ms Powell said: 'Whenever I meet people they are always really surprised at what I do for a living. 'Outside the gym I'm a typical girly girl and my arm muscles are relatively small. 'I think people associate weight lifting with body building and assume we all look like Jodie Marsh. 'Once I was on a night out and a man asked me what I did for a living, so I told him I was part of the British Weightlifting team. 'He didn't believe me and said I wasn't strong enough. Strong: The athlete can already lift a staggering 80kg but says she has a hard time convincing people she is telling the truth about her profession . 'So I asked him to get on my shoulders - and I lifted him up. He was around 70kg (154 lbs), which wasn't heavy for a back squat. 'It certainly broke the ice.' The 18-year-old from Birmingham told how she got into the sport when she was 11 but decided at 14 that she wanted to take things to a professional level. She said: 'My dad and uncle were weightlifters. 'They both retired when I was quite young but I remember going to competitions and thinking that it was something I wanted to try. 'I had my first initiation at 14 and I loved it. That's when I realised I wanted to take it up seriously. 'I think a lot of my girlfriends thought it was quite a strange thing to do, especially as I'm so tiny.' Athlete: Hannah has a strict routine which means she's down the gym five days a week for at least five hours a day . Hannah is a leading contender to claim one of two places available to British female weightlifters for London 2012. She can lift 60kg (132lbs) in one weightlifting position and 80kg (176lbs) in another. A strict routine means she's down the gym five days a week for at least five hours a day. She said: 'The training is very technical and specific. It's also very psychologically demanding. Powerful: Hannah got into the sport when she was 11 but decided at 14 that she wanted to take things to a professional level . 'I train five times a week, plus two core session to strengthen my back and all the small muscles you don't think about when lifting. 'They do work us hard but it's worth it. I wouldn't want to do anything else. 'For me I love the competition, the adrenaline, training hard and the social side of the sport. 'To compete in my first Olympics at the age of just 19 and in my home country would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 'It really would be a dream come true.' | Hannah Powell can lift a staggering 80kg and trains five hours a day five days a week . | 30318fa875cbd611c8c85a92ffcfb803b6b63ae1 |
Radamel Falcao's agent Jorge Mendes has reiterated that his client would be better off at Manchester United under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The Colombia international has managed only four goals in 16 Premier League appearances since arriving at Old Trafford on an expensive loan deal in the summer. In a swipe at Louis van Gaal, super agent Mendes claims he misses Ferguson and insists Falcao would score in 'almost every game' if he was allowed to complete 90minutes more often. Radamel Falcao has scored only four goals in 16 Premier League appearances this season . The Colombian is taken off against Burnley, having completed a full game only three times in the league . Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal shakes Falaco's hand after another blank against Burnley . 16 - Premier League appearances . 4 - goals . 3 - full league games played . £40,000 - Falcao’s daily wages . 'Falcao is a champion. At Manchester, I miss Ferguson because he is Manchester United and he has given a lot to this club. With Ferguson and this same squad the situation would be different,' Mendes told ESPN. 'I feel sorry with myself because I know Falcao and I know that if he is handed five consecutive full games, I am convinced he will score in almost every game. Because he is very good. 'Recently he was being the best player of the match and after 70 minutes... there are things I don't want to discuss further.' The 28-year-old has only completed 90minutes in three league games, casting uncertainty over whether United will choose to make his loan deal permanent in a £43million deal. Falcao celebrates after scoring his last league goal in the 3-1 victory over Leicester on January 31 . Falcao's agent believes that his player would have thrived under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford . Jorge Mendes (left) insists that Falcao will be playing for one of the best teams in the world next season . Nonetheless, Mendes, who includes Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea in his stable of players, insists Falcao will play for one of the world's best clubs should United decide not to sign him permanently. 'Falcao will find his way. If next season he doesn't stay at Manchester, he will be in one of the top five or six best teams in the world,' he said. It is understood that Mendes is referring to lingering interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus who have both been previously linked with the forward. | Radamel Falcao has scored only four league goals for Manchester United . Agent Jorge Mendes claims he is 'missing' former boss Sir Alex Ferguson . Colombia international is backed to score 'almost every time' if given a run of five full games . | 43142614a1380e0c80a95d7a3d53b9cf9b738613 |
By . Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 15:42 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 17:37 EST, 23 January 2014 . Busted: Bryan Tilley, 51, admitted to scyberstalking his 22-year-old stepdaughter, police said . An Oregon stepfather landed in jail this past weekend after admitting to cyberstalking his stepdaughter, slashing her roommate’s tires and hijacking her social media accounts, police said. Bryan Tilley, 51, of Keizer, terrorized the 22-year-old Oregon State University student for months because he wanted her to stop partying and seeing a guy he didn’t like, according to an affidavit. This is not the first time he’s found himself in trouble with the law. The deranged man set up a fake email account under a false name and guessed the passwords to her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, investigators said. Mr Tilley admitted to accessing his step daughter’s Instagram account at least 44 times from October to December, said the affidavit first made public by the Corvallis Gazette Times. He successfully guessed the password to all of her accounts and stole pictures from her personal computer, said the report. The step father then used a Yahoo email address set up in the name of the male friend’s brother to make threats in order to scare her away from the guy and deflect blame, said the affidavit. Mr Tilley then threatened to post the pictures on her social media accounts if she didn’t meet his demands – stop going out to bars and seeing the male friend. Police say he followed through on the threat November 4 by posting pictures on her Instagram account. Terrifying: Mr Tilley slashed his stepdaughter's roommate's tires in this parking lot, according to police . Hacked: Mr Tilley also admitted to hacking into his daughter's Instagram account to post pictures and threats, cops said . He then took things a step further by using an ice pick to slash the tires of his step daughter’s roommate before posting on Instagram that hers were next, investigators found. The torture would stop if she acquiesced to his demands. Mr Tilley then broke into the stepdaughter’s apartment on January 3 and emptied a bottle of tequila. Police say he admitted he did not have permission to be there. He was charged with first-degree burglary, identity theft, computer crime, felony coercion, third-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief. Police arrested Mr Tilley Friday and booked him into jail. He bailed himself out on Sunday. A MailOnline search of court records revealed Mr Tilley has a violent past. The disturbed man received more than five years of probation after pleading guilty in 1988 to attempted murder, first-degree assault and felony public indecency. | Bryan Tilley admitted to guessing his stepdaughter's passwords and using Instagram to terrorize her and a roommate . He slashed tires, broke into her apartment and posted pictures on her account because he did not like the guy she is seeing . Mr Tilley has a violent past that includes probation for attempted murder and assault . | bb7063fe7de84513525ad3f0ad1ed2a6c0066a43 |
Austin, TEXAS (CNN) -- Pliny Fisk III has been called a "mad scientist," a "dreamer" and a "visionary." His favorite word to describe the architectural work he does is "crazy." Pliny Fisk hopes his ideas like the "megacrete" will revolutionze how office buildings are built. Spending a day with Fisk on his 18-acre work site outside of Austin, Texas is like riding a rocket blast into the future. "To be free to do what we're doing is absolute magic," Fisk recently told CNN. Pliny Fisk opened the non-profit Center for Maximum Potential Building (CMPB) in 1975 and he also teaches architecture at Texas A&M University. Running around his architectural compound are some 10 interns, from around the world, always carrying out experiments. Watch Pliny Fisk at work in Austin, Texas » . Fisk's mission is to develop environmentally-sustainable building materials and to fundamentally change the way we build our communities, like homes and office buildings. Early in his career, Fisk might have appeared like a wacky wizard working in a secret laboratory in the Texas Hill country mesquite brush. But not anymore. Fisk is now considered to be on the cutting edge. On the day we visit Fisk he's about to launch the first prototype test of his latest invention -- an environmentally friendly cement and building structure. Fisk hopes these new ideas will revolutionize how homes and office buildings are built and how communities are planned and organized. The cement will be called "megacrete." Fisk says it will be made of magnesium oxide and phosphate from brine, which is a by-product of petroleum and water treatment facilities. If that doesn't make sense, Fisk makes it sound simple. He likes to say he's just taking waste and making buildings out of it. "The world has changed," Fisk said. "You used to think of waste stuff as a problem... now you look at that waste stuff as a huge business opportunity." The cement will hold together building modules that are essentially self-contained structures created from local and regional building materials. See photos of Fisk's proposed modules » . Pliny Fisk envisions a world where building materials leave a carbon-neutral footprint, a world where people tap into surrounding resources to create environmentally sustainable communities. That means we have to change where and how we get our building materials and cutting down on the distance those materials are transported. "We've become very hard core unadaptable and so we expect nature to follow us," Fisk said. "We're always striving to get to that point where we become as adaptable as nature is." Pliny Fisk lives what he preaches. He and his wife live where they work. Their water source is "off the city's grid." They capture rain water to drink and water their landscape. And his wife, Gail Vittori, is Fisk's philosophical soul mate. She was his student before they married. Vittori is now co-director of the CMPB and is also on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Green Business Council. Vittori might also be Pliny Fisk's biggest fan. "We need people who stretch what is possible, stretch a way of thinking," Vittori told CNN. "We're using our resources in a way that's completely disconnected from reality." Pliny Fisk III is a futuristic architect leading the march. | Pliny Fisk hopes to revolutionize how homes and office buildings are built . His recent project is an environmentally friendly cement called "megacrete" It will hold together building modules created from local and regional materials . Fisk: "To be free to do what we're doing is absolute magic" | 251687619a6f9ba58e528733a4b04f5fdfba4263 |
Ally McCoist insists he does not plan on walking away from Rangers any time soon - and wants talks with new chief executive Derek Llambias on new signings. The Ibrox boss has tendered his resignation but insists he will see out the full 12-month notice period stipulated by his contract. The club's record scorer hopes to meet Llambias - whose new role was confirmed to the London Stock Exchange at 7am on Friday morning - to discuss strengthening his squad. Ally McCoist insists he won't be leaving Rangers and will see out the full 12-month notice period . The Ibrox boss wants talks with Rangers' new chief executive Derek Llambias about strengthening the squad . It was business as usual for the Scot as he watched on during his side's training session on Friday . He said: 'I'll have to have a discussion with Derek regarding what the plans will be for the future. I spoke to him today regarding his own position and him and I will certainly sit down and discuss (adding to the squad), because that will be one of the topics that need to be discussed.' The Light Blues board announced on Monday that McCoist had decided to quit after three-and-a-half years in charge. Press Association Sport understands the likes of football board chairman Sandy Easdale and his PLC brother James want McCoist to go now but showdown talks with Llambias on Wednesday broke down without a settlement. The manager refused to divulge details about those talks at his weekly pre-match press conference or reveal the reasons behind his decision to resign. But when asked if he planned to see out the full 12-month notice period set down in his one-year rolling contract, he did say: 'Yes. Absolutely. 'I don't know if it's realistic or not but I expect it to happen because it is in the boundaries of the contract, which I look to honour. 'Whose court is the ball in now? I wouldn't say the ball is in anybody's court. I think it has been made quite clear by the board and myself that it is business as usual.' News of McCoist's resignation emerged just hours before the League One champions were due to take on Queen of the South last Friday night. McCoist, who famously said he 'did not do walking away' after the club's liquidation crisis, batted off questions about why he had chosen to resign following the shock 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. And a week later, he was still in no mood to disclose why he was choosing to bring his reign to an end. 'I would keep that private,' he said. 'I wouldn't comment at all about why I have made that decision but now that I have, I can assure the Rangers supporters, who are the most important people, that I am 100 per cent focused on continuing the job. 'The most important thing is to say that it is business as usual. That is exactly how it has been. McCoist intends to sit down with new chief executive Derek Llambias (pictured) to plan for Rangers' future . Rangers captain Lee McCulloch (right) didn't look troubled by McCoist's resignation as he joked in training . 'Our last game was not good enough so we are concentrating all our efforts on tomorrow against Livingston. 'Have I been considering this for long? Not really. It was a very difficult decision but once I had made it, there was no turning back. 'And I can assure everybody I am 100 per cent committed and focused (on the job) for the remainder of my contract. 'The Rangers fans would expect nothing less than that.' A statement released to the Stock Exchange on Monday confirming his impending departure also revealed that under the terms of McCoist's contract, his salary would almost double to £750,000 a year. That was seen by many fans as an attempt to heap pressure on the manager at a time when the business needs £8.3million before April 1 just to keep the lights on. McCoist, though, insisted he 'wasn't surprised' that the board had chosen to announce those details. He also tried to play down reports claiming he had fallen out with former Rangers strike partner Mark Hateley. The duo helped fire Walter Smith's side to nine successive titles but headlines this week suggested McCoist was angry over the Englishman's close relationship with the Easdales. McCoist said: 'Mark and I go back a long way. We've been through a lot together. I've not had the chance to speak to him but we definitely will have a chat - there's no problem about that. 'We are big boys, we will sit down and have a chat.' The former Scotland striker had been in charge for only a year before Craig Whyte's chaotic reign as owner brought the Glasgow giants to their knees. The 52-year-old insists he would be sad to say goodbye to Rangers once the end finally comes. He said: 'Would I miss the job? That's a good question! I would think you would have to miss the job. I don't think there is any doubt about it. 'It's been a massive, massive part of my life so you would definitely miss it. Have I enjoyed it? At times, yes.' | News of Ally McCoist's resignation from Rangers came last Friday night . The Ibrox boss insists he won't leave the club before his notice runs out . McCoist is keen to have discussions with chief executive Derek Llambias . Rangers are second in the Championship and face Livingston on Saturday . | f4c1f33bc5f8b878fb6ba31bfead56ac0d1501b5 |
By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 06:41 EST, 17 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:53 EST, 17 December 2013 . An overweight barman who went on a diet to get a girlfriend is now fighting off the ladies after becoming a dead ringer for One Direction's Zayn Malik. Connor Sayer, 20, tipped the scales at over 14 stone due to his habitual heavy drinking sessions and a love of takeaways. But Connor decided to get in shape to land a girlfriend, lost four stone - and developed an uncanny resemblance to the X-Factor heartthrob. Heading in the right direction: Connor Sayer, 20, after he turned his life around by losing four stone and restyling himself as a Zayn Malik lookalike . And after slimming down to 10 stone, he is now is swamped with offers from girls - and modelling agencies. Connor is even juggling two girlfriends at the same time. He said: 'I was always the funny guy, the guy who made you laugh but who was always single. I was the token fat lad of the group. 'All my mates were skinny and had girlfriends, and so I overcompensated by being arrogant and thinking I was cool. Before and after: Connor, pictured (left) at fourteen stone, shed four stone to get a girlfriend and is now fighting off the ladies after becoming a dead ringer for Zayn (right) Spot the difference: After slimming down to 10 stone, he is now is swamped with offers from girls - and modelling agencies - and is currently looking for work as a Zayn Malik (right) lookalike . 'In reality, I was just self-conscious and insecure. I didn't realise I looked anything like Zayn Malik until my friends told me I should start modelling. 'I put some pictures up on Facebook and I was inundated with messages from girls telling me how much I looked like him. 'Now, when I go to the pub or go out on a night out, girls just flock to me asking me for my number.' Connor, of Doncaster, Yorkshire - the same county as Malik - piled on the pounds late in his teens, although he admits he was a chubby school kid. He said: 'I was always the fat one, but when I started drinking, that's when it got worse. I hated being around my mates who were skinny and had girlfriends. That's what makes him beautiful: He piled on the pounds with heavy drinking sessions and takeaways - before turning over a new leaf with the popular 5:2 diet . 'I used to just laugh off my problems and I would drink five days of the week, and never do any exercise. 'I tried to lose weight in the past, but with no girlfriend to notice, I gave up pretty quickly.' Connor, who works part-time as a barman, decided enough was enough, and after reading an article about the 5:2 diet, he decided to give it a go. Fasting for two days a week, and eating healthily on the other five, Connor saw the difference almost immediately. As he was: Connor tipped the scales at more than 14 stone and described himself as the 'class clown' who no one took seriously . 'The first two weeks were the toughest because my body had to get used to being denied food,' he said. 'After that my stomach shrank and I wasn't able to eat what I did before. 'I started cycling four miles every day and the weight just fell off.' Connor lost four stone in total, and the transformation has turned his life around. He approached an agency and is now modelling part-time, but he says the best thing about looking like Zayn Malik is the attention he gets from girls. He said: 'It's a massive compliment that girls even find me attractive at all, as I still see the same lad, just a bit skinnier. 'My confidence has increased enormously, and I can't go to a pub without getting propositioned. And if they think I'm really him, who am I to tell them otherwise? 'I'm not a huge fan of One Direction, but after people told me I looked like one of them, I started listening to them. Now, I'm a total One Directioner.' Back in the day: Connor, of Doncaster, Yorkshire - the same county as Malik - piled on the pounds in his teens . | Connor Sayer, 20, from Doncaster, weighed 14 stone . Piled on weight die to love of takeaways and heavy drinking sessions . Slimmed to 10 stone on 5:2 diet . Swamped with offers from girls and modelling agencies . | 1a5835b2710a9d469bbf611a08a386c94ccc122d |
A well-known beauty editor has been accused of staging a 'full on' tantrum at a Manolo Blahnik sample sale after spotting some of her fellow attendees trying to cut the line at the VIP event. According to a witness at the sale, which took place at the Warwick Hotel in Midtown, New York, yesterday, Women's Wear Daily beauty editor Julie Naughton 'freaked out that people who had just walked in were getting queued up before her' and began lashing out at guests. 'She was screaming: "I hope these people don’t ever want to work in publishing",' the source told Page Six. 'And then [she] started trash-talking... She was being such a terrible bully.' Scroll down for video . Freak out: A witness at the event told Page Six that Julie Naughton, pictured left alongside 50 Cent and Peter Bjorn at an event in June, began screaming at people who were in the queue ahead of her . Pricey pumps: Manolo Blahnik shoes usually sell for upwards of $1,000 a pair . The Page Six witness claims that Ms Naughton said of one attendee: 'She looks like she’s from Long Island and her Chanel bag is fake.' The one-day Manolo sample sale is renowned among fashion lovers as one of the hottest tickets in town thanks to its impressive discounts and wide variety of stock. Luxury high heels which usually retail for more than $1,000 a pair are available at the sale for a fraction of the price, with some shoes going for as little as $100. VIPs and fashion editors were invited to attend an early preview of the event, which began at 9am, two hours before the general public were given access. According to a spokesperson for WWD, Ms Naughton arrived promptly at the hotel at 6.30am in order to secure her place in the queue and was merely 'defending' her space when she noticed that some people were trying to cut in. 'It was a crowded sample sale, and there were several line crashers,' the spokesperson told Page Six. 'Words were exchanged, but she was standing her ground, as she arrived earlier. She was defending her, and everyone else’s, place in line.' Celebrity must-haves: Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker (left) and actress Jennifer Aniston are both known to be fans of Manolo Blahnik's designs . 'The characterization of this exchange is inaccurate and unfair,' a spokesperson added to MailOnline. 'Julie was defending her place in line as latecomers tried to jump ahead of others who had been patiently waiting their turn. 'We know sample sales of this kind are intense and if a snarky comment or two was exchanged…well, this is fashion after all…' While notable, Ms Naughton's tantrum was not the only incident which is reported to have taken place at the event. According to reports, a luxury handbag, which had been on display at the event, was stolen. It was also claimed that staff refused to open the windows for fear that would-be thieves might use the opportunity to throw shoes out of the building and into the arms of a waiting accomplice. | According to Page Six, beauty editor Julie Naughton 'freaked out' and screamed at other attendees at the VIP event . | 134a1ee94916909c4c75017445f289ec4c322631 |
By . Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 19:07 EST, 18 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:08 EST, 18 November 2013 . Inspirational: Victoria Rathmill has become the world¿s youngest stem cell donor . At the age of just 16, Victoria Rathmill has become the world’s youngest stem cell donor. The British schoolgirl was spurred on to donate her cells after a family friend was tragically diagnosed with leukaemia earlier this year. Without her parents knowledge the A-level pupil signed up to the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register in February when she was just 16. In just a few months she was . identified as a perfect match to a patient suffering from blood cancer . and made a donation at a London Clinic last month. This . selfless act made the teenager from Macclesfield, Cheshire, the . youngest ever person in the world to provide stem cells to a . non-relative. Miss . Rathmill, who is now 17 said: ‘At first I was like: "I’ll join when I’m . 18, I’m not going to make any difference", but then a friend of our . family got ill and so I felt the need to join up.’ The All Hallows Catholic College student confessed that she did not tell her surprised parents about her plan to donate. She . said: ‘It was only a couple of weeks after I signed up that I told my . mum. Anthony Nolan sent the spit kit out to me and she asked me what it . was. ‘Though she was taken aback a bit at first, she thought it was a nice thing to do, especially given our friend’s experience.’ After registering with the charitable organisation the youngster received a phone call in October- just six months later- telling her that she had been matched to a patient. ‘After I signed up I just stopped thinking about it really. You just don’t expect to get the phone call within six months of registering,’ she said. She added: ‘It’s quite shocking to think I’m the youngest-ever - you’re never the first to do anything nowadays, it’s all been done already.’ Miss Rathmill revealed that she would happily donate again describing the process as being similar to giving blood. She said: ‘It’s just like giving blood really. I would do it again because it’s not that difficult. It’s just a couple of days out of your life to save somebody else’s - and I got a free trip to London.’ The teenager’s proud mother Paula described her daughter as being a headstrong and determined individual. Selfless: Without her parents knowledge the A-level pupil signed up to the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register in February when she was just 16 . She said: ‘It never really occurred to me to try and stop her from helping another person in their hour of need. It makes me very proud. ‘Yet even though she’s strong, what she’s doing takes courage and she’s still only 17. I didn’t want her to feel bad if it doesn’t work out for the patient, which it might not. ‘But she’s level-headed and after having gone through the donation process, she knows she couldn’t have done anymore.’ Mrs Rathmill has now urged other parents to encourage their children to donate their cells. She added: ‘To others who go through this I would say look it up, get involved and then encourage your child as much as you can. ‘I personally feel you have to trust your children to make the right decisions. ‘While it’s up to each family to decide for themselves, the question I asked myself was ‘what if Victoria was ill and a 17-year-old donor could help save her life?’ If the boot was on the other foot, I know what I would want.’ The charity’s bone marrow register is just one of two in the world that accept under-18 donors. Anthony Nolan chief executive Henny Braund said the teenagers’ donation was ‘genuinely impressive.’ He added: ‘It shows both what a special young woman she is, and how teenagers can be sufficiently mature, caring and engaged with the world around them to help save an unwell stranger.’ | Victoria Rathmill signed a bone marrow register when she was just 16 . Within months she was matched to a blood cancer sufferer . Miss Rathmill, from Cheshire, is now the youngest person in the world to donate stem cells to a non-relative . | 8a7a0abb8d7d564f26b1797d608d398ae4eae3e6 |
A rogue travel agent who duped holidaymakers out of tens of thousands of pounds by selling tickets for non-existent flights has been ordered to repay just £1. Dean Oliver, who is serving a three-year sentence behind bars, avoided a hefty sum of restitution after he pleaded poverty and an investigation found that he has no assets or cash to forfeit. Birmingham Crown Court heard the 46-year-old conman lived a ‘criminal lifestyle’ which involved ripping off customers with false promises of cheap flights and is believed to have netted him more than £100,000. Dean Oliver is believed to have netted £100,000 in a holiday scam that sold non-existent plane tickets . But Mr Oliver, from Manchester, had blown all of the cash and there was no realistic prospect of recovering any assets or funds, said prosecutor Ben Mills. As a result the Crown asked for a confiscation order of just £1 even though his victims each lost hundreds or thousands of pounds when they booked dream holidays or trips to visit family or attend weddings. Mr Oliver, who was pictured grinning following a Birmingham Crown Court appearance last year, was jailed for three years last September after a jury found him guilty at trial last July. An investigation found that Dean Oliver had blown all of the cash and there were no assets to seize . The Jamaican could have to serve just a single extra day at the end of his sentence if he fails to cough up the £1 by March 17. Mr Oliver was convicted of 19 charges of fraud and two of using a false instrument, covering a total of £25,993. But an investigation found another £103,649 of unexplained deposits in his accounts. The scheming crook promised cheap flights from his Smethwick-based travel firm and then from Digbeth, but he left 19 holidaymakers in the lurch between 2011 and 2012. Mr Oliver was convicted of 19 charges of fraud and two of using a false instrument, covering £25,993 . He set up a frequent flyers' club which aimed to attract seven million members, and he was arrested after a mob descended on his Digbeth office. Judge Richard Bond delivered a scathing address when he sentenced Mr Oliver last year, saying the scheme was ‘at best comical’ and ‘at worst’ involved ‘bare-faced lies’. He said: ‘You have an easy charm about you, I saw that demonstrated when you gave evidence to the jury, a kind smile which you used to gain the confidence of your victims. An investigation found another £103,649 of unexplained deposits in Dean Oliver's accounts . ‘I don't accept for one moment you believed this business model would succeed. I form the view you are a confidence trickster, taking money from customers knowing full well you wouldn't provide them with tickets. ‘They were all decent, hardworking people who used your services because of promises you made them. They were easy targets because they wanted tickets to visit family or important occasions such as weddings.’ ‘They are decent, loyal people, words that cannot be used to describe yourself.’ | Dean Oliver ripped off customers with false promises of cheap flights . He was convicted of fraud and using a false instrument, covering £25,993 . But investigations found another £103,649 of unexplained deposits . The 46-year-old blew all of the cash and has no assets or cash to forfeit . | b90523b3c0a97fe75a34e7e3641daaad0481f1b3 |
By . Jack Doyle . PUBLISHED: . 10:06 EST, 20 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:35 EST, 20 November 2013 . Immigration minister Mark Harper sought to allay fears about the scale of the influx from Bulgaria and Romania in the New Year . Britain will not face a flood of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria when border controls lapse in the New Year, the immigration minister insisted last night. Mark Harper played down fears of a mass influx from the Eastern European countries and ruled out extending the restrictions on migrant workers. Ministers have come under pressure from Tory backbenchers to defy the EU and protect British jobs by keeping controls in place. Currently, Romanians and Bulgarians can only work in the UK on seasonal fruit-picking visas or if they are self-employed. From January, they will have the same working rights as Britons. Mr Harper said extending the restrictions from when they expire on New Year’s Eve was ‘not legally possible’ because it would be overturned in court. However, he insisted he was ‘not complacent’ about potential problems and pointed to measures to limit migrants’ access to social housing and benefits. ‘You won’t see people just being able to turn up and get access to social housing five minutes after they arrive, which is one of the things that drives people up the wall,’ he said at a press conference. He rejected comparisons between next year’s changes and 2004, when Labour opened up the borders to eight Eastern European countries, including Poland. Officials predicted that just 13,000 migrants would come to Britain every year, but more than a million have arrived. Controls: Border Agency officials evict Romanian migrants. In 2007, when the country joined the EU, 'transitional controls' were applied which meant migrants must have a job offer in order to cross the border . Mr Harper said there was a ‘big . difference’ between now and 2004 because eight other EU countries will . also be forced to drop restrictions on January 1. He said migrants would . be lured to Germany by jobs and to other countries with larger Romanian . and Bulgarian populations. ‘In 2004, we were the only major . country not to have transitional controls,’ he said. ‘All the other big . countries did, so anyone that wanted to come to work somewhere legally . came to the United Kingdom which is why we had such a significant number . of people.’ Last week, former Home Secretary Jack Straw said dropping border controls in 2004 was a ‘spectacular mistake’. Concerns over the likely scale of . immigration from the two countries, which have a combined population of . 29million, prompted Tory backbenchers this week to demand controls be . extended. Nigel Mills, the MP for Amber Valley, proposed extending them . until the end of 2018. But Mr Harper said this would be a breach of EU treaties signed by the last Labour government. He said: ‘It simply isn’t legally . possible. The accession treaties only give us the ability – and the . other eight counties with transitional controls – to extend them to the . end of the year. We’ve extended the controls to their legal maximum.’ Mr Harper refused to make an official . prediction of how many Romanians and Bulgarians would arrive from . January, claiming to do so would be a ‘fool’s errand’. Migration campaigners have predicted . 50,000 a year will arrive, blowing a hole in the Government’s pledge to . cut net migration to ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015. | Mark Harper seeks to allay fears about influx of new workers from January . Insists immigration will not be like when borders opened to Poland in 2004 . Tory MPs have called for restrictions on workers to be extended by 5 years . But Harper warns it would be thrown out by the UK courts as illegal . | 743884739db513b396c71fa024e759587ae43a26 |
(CNN) -- Roger Federer has finally won the only grand slam tournament to elude him after beating Sweden's Robin Soderling in straight sets to claim the French Open title at Roland Garros. Federer is the French Open champion at last after beating Robin Soderling in straight sets at Roland Garros. The Swiss world number two had 13 grand slam successes to his name prior to the event, but none of them had been on the Parisian red clay. However, that changed on Sunday as the 27-year-old cruised to a 6-1 7-6 6-4 victory over 23rd seed Soderling, the man who had caused a sensation by dumping four-time winner Rafael Nadal out of the tournament earlier in the week. The victory moves Federer onto 14 career grand slam titles, level with American Pete Sampras as the most successful grand slam player in men's tennis history. He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the grand slam events. "It was probably my greatest ever victory, I was under big pressure. But I did it and it's phenomenal," an emotional Federer told a packed crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier -- before breaking down in tears after being presented with the trophy by American Agassi, the 1999 French Open champion and last player to win all four slams. "I think that now and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace and no longer hear that I've never won Roland Garros," he added. You say: Is Roger Federer the greatest tennis player in history? Soderling, who beat Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final, told the crowd: "I had the two best weeks of my career. Roger is a really worthy winner. To me he is the best player in history so he really deserves to win here at the French as well." The 27-year-old Federer, playing in his 19th grand slam final, could not have wished for a better start under threatening skies, which produced drizzling rain for the majority of the match. The Swiss dropped just one point on his serve in three games, but, in contrast, Soderling's serve was far from convincing and he soon trailed 4-0. Soderling got on the scoreboard in the fifth game but he had already been broken twice by then. In the seventh game, the Swede was facing two set points when a rasping Federer forehand flew past him. Soderling saved the first with an unreturnable serve but on the second, Federer unleashed a whipped backhand for the set. The second set, which did not have a single break of serve, was overshadowed by an incident which saw Federer come face to face with a court invader at the start of the fourth game. How it happened: See the French Open final in photos » . The man, wearing a top bearing the word 'Switzerland' on its chest, came down from high up in the stands and vaulted the barriers to enter the court. He ran up to Federer and brandished in front of the player's face what appeared to be a flag of Spanish team Barcelona. He then attempted to put a cap on the head of Federer, who retreated way behind the service line. Security took their time coming onto the court to aid Federer but when they did, they managed to accost the invader, who by that time had frantically run across the court and leapt the net. Federer at first appeared shaken -- he lost the next game to love -- admittedly on Soderling's serve, but calm was soon restored as the rain started to come down and the set went to a tie-break. Federer played it flawlessly, smashing down four aces from four serves to clinch it in style. He then grabbed the key break in the third set in the very first game. Soderling by that time had got over his early-match jitters but he could not halt Federer's juggernaut of a serve. He only earned his first break point of the match in the fourth game of that set, but the Swiss came up with a fine forehand passing shot to save. Serving for the match, Federer went break point down again to add to the drama. Soderling wasted that with a mis-hit and then netted a return into the net two points later to hand Federer the title. | Roger Federer finally wins French Open title with victory over Robin Soderling . The Swiss world number two beats his Swedish opponent 6-1 7-6 6-4 in Paris . Federer had won 13 grand slam titles prior to event, but never the French Open . The success takes him level with Pete Sampras on 14 career grand slam wins . | 1dba0c7ba6f30b8f799cb620ed32ef80c354efd5 |
Helen Nicholas has lost her court battle to stay in the military home she has remained living in since her airman husband left . The ex-wife of an RAF squadron leader today lost her human rights court battle to stay in a Ministry of Defence house. Helen Nicholas, 46, had appealed against a High Court ruling that she had to leave the property in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire. If she had won, it would have set a landmark precedent with serious implications for service families and the Armed Forces. But three senior judges unanimously dismissed her case, meaning she must now vacate the three-bedroom house. Lord Justice Lewison, sitting with Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson and Lord Justice Pitchford, told in their judgement how Mrs Nicholas and her squadron leader husband Andrew had moved into the property together in May 2005. But when he left in 2007, she stayed on. The MoD served notice on her and in 2010 won a court order that she had to leave the property. But she still refused to move out claiming the eviction was against her right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights. Her legal team argued that the move was discriminatory and she would be left on the streets as she would not qualify for local authority help if evicted. But High Court judge Mr Justice Burton rejected her arguments in 2013 and said she had to go. In dismissing her appeal today, Lord Justice Lewison said the squadron leader had no more than a service tenancy, meaning that, once he had left, the MoD was entitled to take back possession. The court heard that the MoD argued that a threat to the security of tenure for service personnel would interfere with military effectiveness, especially if it prevented rapid redeployment of personnel. They claimed it would inhibit them in providing housing for service personnel and require it to rent accommodation locally from the private sector, which would be an unnecessary burden on the public purse. The judges agreed that the MoD had validly terminated her licence to remain in the property, and there was no breach of her human rights. The disputed property - where Mrs Nicholas has lived for nearly 10 years - is in this street in Bushey Heath, near Watford, Hertfordshire . | Helen Nicholas had moved into MoD property with airman husband in 2005 . But when he left in 2007, she stayed on in property, citing her human rights . Defence chiefs won an order evicting her which was backed by High Court . The MoD insisted losing military properties would hit efficiency of Forces . Mrs Nicholas has now lost an appeal and will be moved out of home . | 6a7cfe4b0199199149e22c7feab472e60c760caf |
By . Antonia Hoyle . It's normally known as an anti-wrinkle jab – but for those crippled by stroke, Botox can be a lifeline, helping to restore lost movement. Now, more NHS patients will benefit after medical watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence licensed the muscle-freezing drug for treatment of limb problems. It follows a trial of 120 patients with post-stroke ankle difficulties which found that Botox injections enabled them to regain control and movement. Lesley Berry, 27, from Walsall, developed muscle spasms following a stroke but is having Botox jabs to aid her recovery . ‘This is one of the most important advances for years,’ says Professor Anthony Ward, of the North Staffordshire Rehabilitation Centre. ‘By allowing the ankle to function more normally, this can bring important mobility and physical benefits to patients, even those who have been suffering from this condition for many years.’ Stroke affects at least 150,000 Britons a year and there are more than a million stroke survivors in the UK. Up to 30 per cent live with muscle stiffness, known as post-stroke spasticity. One person who already knows the benefits of Botox is Lesley Berry, 27, who developed dystonia – a condition that causes muscles to spasm – following a stroke. Lesley was affected throughout her left side, and her left hand was permanently clamped into a claw. It was so bad that she was unable even to hold a cup of tea. Physiotherapy and the blood-thinning medication warfarin both failed to aid her recovery and she grew so self-conscious that she barely went out. It was only when Lesley started receiving regular Botox jabs that her body bounced back. Green light: Botox will be used by the NHS for treatment of limb problems after being licensed by a medical watchdog . ‘Both the stroke and its aftermath were incredibly scary,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t eat or talk or even go to the toilet by myself. I had to start everything from scratch, like a baby. When the medication and physio didn’t work, I began to despair. But Botox has helped me lead a normal life again.’ Stroke patients benefit because the botulinum toxin freezes stiff muscles to stop them spasming, and restores control of the limb. Previous research suggested injections could help stroke victims regain movement in arms and hands. The new study shows it can help lower limbs too, allowing feet to function normally and straightening a stuck or ‘drop’ foot. Lesley, from Walsall, suffered her stroke in November 2008. ‘One day I tried to get up off the sofa and couldn’t move,’ she says. ‘I tried to speak and slurred my words. Then I collapsed.’ She was rushed to hospital, where an MRI scan revealed a huge blood clot on the right side of her brain. ‘I had no power in my legs and had to be spoon-fed puree,’ she says. ‘I was terrified.’ Three weeks of intensive physiotherapy in hospital taught her to take tentative steps on her own. But life was far from normal. ‘I’d fall asleep from the exhaustion of walking,’ she says. ‘There was no way I could go back to my stressful job running a wine bar.’ The following September she developed an irregular heartbeat and was prescribed warfarin. But neither that, nor weekly physio, made much improvement. In early 2010, Lesley began to despair when she developed dystonia – constant spasming of the muscles. ‘I lost control over my left arm,’ she says. ‘The pain was intense. It travelled down my arm from my shoulder and stopped me sleeping. My arm was permanently clenched into my body and my left hand was like a claw. If I did manage to hold a glass, I would smash it as I had no control.’ In May 2010 she was prescribed Botox by her doctor, Poovathoor J. Alexander, Consultant Physician in Neurological Rehabilitation for Walsall Healthcare Trust. He explains: ‘It blocks the release of a chemical called acetylcholine from the nerve, which stops the muscle contracting. ‘It starts to work within four to seven days, reaches its peak function within six weeks, and should last at least four months.’ Lesley was given eight 1mg jabs – four in her biceps and four in her forearm. She found the injections ‘incredibly painful’ but, unlike other drugs used for stroke, Botox doesn’t have any known side effects on the liver or kidneys. Dr Alexander says Botox can actually improve muscle function. ‘It must be used in conjunction with physiotherapy to stop the muscles getting stiff,’ he says. ‘It relaxes the muscle injected so it is easier to stretch it. Lesley had a splint to keep her fingers stretched. ‘Each treatment costs up to £1,000, and hopefully Lesley will eventually be able to lead a normal life without it, but it’s difficult to say how many courses a patient will need.’ Lesley still has Botox every six months and is now well enough to take a degree at Coventry University. She says: ‘It’s made an incredible difference. My arm muscles stopped spasming and it was wonderful being able to uncurl my hand. Best of all, the pain stopped, I’ve got my confidence back. ‘There was a time I thought I’d never lead a normal life but thanks to the Botox I’m happy again. I don’t want to build up a dependence but as long as it keeps being effective I’ll carry on having it.’ | Botox will be used by the NHS for treatment of limb problems . Lesley Berry, 27, developed dystonia and recovered with jabs . Botox stops muscles from spasming, and restores control of the limb . | 07cd47ccb2cc7dc86127c807739e49c2ea78610d |
(CNN) -- Etta James, whose assertive, earthy voice lit up such hits as "The Wallflower," "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and the wedding favorite "At Last," has died, according to her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon. She was 73. She died from complications from leukemia with her husband, Artis Mills, and her sons by her side, De Leon said. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, and also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C. James died at a hospital in Riverside, California. She would have turned 74 Wednesday. " This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world," De Leon said. "She was a true original who could sing it all --Â her music defied category. "I worked with Etta for over 30 years. She was my friend and I will miss her always." Was "At Last" your song for your wedding's first dance? The powerhouse singer, known as "Miss Peaches," lived an eventful life. She first hit the charts as a teenager, taking "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)" -- an "answer record" to Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie" -- to No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1955. She joined Chess Records in 1960 and had a string of R&B and pop hits, many with lush string arrangements. After a mid-decade fade, she re-emerged in 1967 with a more hard-edged, soulful sound. Throughout her career, James overcame a heroin addiction, opened for the Rolling Stones, won six Grammys and was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite her ups and downs -- including a number of health problems -- she maintained an optimistic attitude. "Most of the songs I sing, they have that blue feeling to it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don't know what I'm sorry about," she told CNN's Denise Quan in 2002. "I don't!" Through it all, she was a spitfire beloved by contemporaries and young up-and-comers. "Etta James is unmanageable, and I'm the closest thing she's ever had to a manager," Lupe DeLeon, her manager of 30-plus years, told CNN in admiration. British songstress Adele named James as one of her favorite singers, along with Aretha Franklin. "If you were to look up the word singer in the dictionary, you'd see their names," Adele said in an interview. Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles to a teen mother and unknown father. (She suspected her father was the pool player Minnesota Fats.) Her birth mother initially took little responsibility and James was raised by a series of people, notably a pair of boardinghouse owners. But she was recognized from a young age for her booming voice, showcased in a South Central Los Angeles church. In 1950, her mother took her to San Francisco, where James formed a group called the Peaches. Singer Johnny Otis, best known for "Willie and the Hand Jive," discovered her and had her sing a song he wrote using Ballard's tune as a model. "The Wallflower," with responses from "Louie Louie" songwriter Richard Berry, made James an R&B star. Her signing to Chess introduced her to a broader audience, as the record label's co-owner, Leonard Chess, believed she should do pop hits. Among her recordings were "Stormy Weather," the Lena Horne classic originally from 1933; "A Sunday Kind of Love," which dates from 1946; and most notably, "At Last," a 1941 number that was originally a hit for Glenn Miller. James' version of "At Last" starts out with swooning strings and the singer enters with confident gusto, dazzlingly maintaining a mood of joy and romance. Though the song failed to make the Top 40 upon its 1961 release -- though it did hit the R&B Top 10 -- its emotional punch has long made it a favorite at weddings. James' career suffered in the mid-'60s when the British Invasion took over the pop charts and as she fought some personal demons. But she got a boost when she started recording at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Her hits included the brassy "Tell Mama" and the raw "I'd Rather Go Blind," the latter later notably covered by Rod Stewart. She entered rehab in the 1970s for her drug problem but re-established herself with live performances and an album produced by noted R&B mastermind Jerry Wexler. After another stint in rehab -- this time at the Betty Ford Clinic -- she made a comeback album, "Seven Year Itch," in 1988. James mastered a range of styles -- from R&B and soul to jazz and blues -- but she was always one step behind the popular genre of the day, said Michael Coyle, a Colgate University professor who has written about jazz and R&B and reviews records for Cadence Magazine. "She never really got her moment in the sun," Coyle said. But James soldiered on, and by the end of her life she had made so much meaningful music that she was considered a living legend. "By the mid-'90s, she's survived so long that people start to look up to her," Coyle said. James was portrayed by pop star Beyonce in the 2008 film "Cadillac Records," about Chess. After Beyonce sang "At Last" at one of President Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural balls, James lashed out: "I can't stand Beyonce. She had no business up there singing my song that I've been singing forever." She later told the New York Daily News she was joking. Earlier this year, news reports revealed that the singer's estate was being contested in a legal struggle between her husband, Artis Mills, and son Donto James. (Donto and her other son, Sametto, both played in her band.) Over the years, James had her share of health problems. In the late 1990s she reportedly weighed more than 400 pounds and required a scooter to get around. In 2003 she had gastric bypass surgery and dropped more than half the weight, according to People magazine. However, until her latest issues, James maintained a steady touring schedule and appeared full of energy even when sitting down -- as she sometimes did on stage, due to bad knees and her weight battles. Even while sitting down, James gave it her all on stage, singing as though possessed, caressing every note like a long-lost love. If that seemed a little much to critics, well, the legendary singer had a show to put on, she told Quan. "They said that Etta James is still vulgar," she said in the 2002 interview. "I said, 'Oh, how dare 'em say I'm still real vulgar! I'm vulgar because I dance in the chair?' What would they want me to do? Want me to just be still or something like that? "I gotta do something." People we've lost in 2012: The lives they lived . CNN's Denise Quan and Melissa Gray contributed to this story. | Etta James died from complications from leukemia at 73 . She overcame her addiction throughout her career . The award winning singer earned six Grammys . James was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . | a2c09432eade585df481a9f8577bf68347d37c3d |
By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 17:49 EST, 4 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:19 EST, 5 June 2013 . Older versions of Apple products - including the iPhone 4 and the iPad and iPad 2 3G models - have been banned in the U.S. after an official ruling claimed the devices breach Samsung patents. The devices are assembled in China and because the ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington bans imports of affected Apple products into America, these devices could be removed from the shelves as early as August. Apple has been given 60 days to stop selling the products but is appealing the decision, which ruled that Apple copied Samsung's 3G technology in its devices. Banned: The iPhone 4, seen here on the right, along with the older model, the 3GS on the left, cannot be imported to the U.S. anymore, a trade panel ruled Tuesday . Apple initially sued Samsung in April 2011 for infringing seven utility patents, three design patents, three registered trade dresses and six trademarked icons with its Galaxy line of products, including the Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab tablet. Samsung responded later that month by suing Apple for infringing five patents in South Korea, two in Japan and three in Germany. The companies have then continued to sue and countersue each other since. This latest ruling from the US Trade Commission on Tuesday actually overturned a previous ruling in the same case which claimed Apple hadn't breached patents. The new ruling followed an appeal by Samsung and is considered a 'final' ruling, although Apple can appeal and President Obama could overturn it. In a separate patent dispute in US federal court last year, Samsung was ordered to pay £652m ($1bn) for patent infringement, an award that was later slashed to £390m ($598.9m). Samsung then won a patent dispute on the Galaxy Tab against Apple in the UK in October. Judge Colin Birss stated that Samsung's tablets were 'not as cool' as the Apple's, and 'do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.' All import bans also have to be validated by President Obama and he has 60 days to invalidate the order. The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington issued the final ruling on Tuesday in one Samsung's suits against Apple. The panel issued a limited import ban and . a cease-and-desist order for AT&T models of the iPhone 4, iPhone . 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The versions targeted are more than a year . old but are still solid sellers, Reuters reported. Samsung and Apple are engaged in a global legal battle over their smartphones, with Apple arguing that Samsung and its Android phones copy vital features of the iPhone. Samsung is fighting back with its own complaints. The iPhone 4 was launched in 2010 and is the oldest iPhone still being made. It's the second bad court ruling for Apple in as many weeks. A preliminary class settlement which agrees to pay $53 million in refunds to iPhone and iPod Touch customers for voiding their warranties was filed on Tuesday by Apple Inc in the District Court of Northern California in San Francisco. The settlement would refund up to $200 to each customer who was denied repairs or replacement under warranty of their iPhone or iPod because a small red strip located on the outside of the device indicated that they had been in contact with water. Not for sale: The ruling also states the iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G cannot be imported as well because they violate a patent held by Samsung . Jeffrey Fazio, an attorney representing two of the four representatives of the class action, told ABC News that Apple refused to honor standard warranties and AppleCare Protection Plans if a white indicator strip near the headphone or charging jacks had turned pink or red. But 3M,the company that makes the strip (called 'Liquid Submersion Indicators') said humidity alone could have caused the color of strips to turn pink or even red. This meant that a customer who took an iPhone or iPad for repair would have their warranty voided if the liquid indicator strip was red - even if it had never been in contact with water. | Apple's iPhone models and 4 and 3GS and iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G cannot be imported into the U.S. because they violate patents of rival Samsung . The electronics are made in China, effectively ending their sales in the U.S. Apple plans to appeal the ruling by the US International Trade Commission . President Obama has 60 days to invalidate the ruling . | 2a44185b26073dd41f7751fb9a3bdda7bf22f05f |
(CNN) -- In 1984, during the first ever VMAs, I was a 20-year-old Rutgers student. Watching the show with my roommates from our off-campus apartment, Madonna's wedding gown-clad, iconic performance of "Like a Virgin" made an indelible stamp on me. I saw what an unexpected, dynamic television performance could do to elevate a show and an artist, and absorbed it all as the VMAs infiltrated pop culture. I finally made it to the third VMAs, covering the show for CNN. It was a bi-coastal event that year, and I was in New York at The Palladium. Amid a torrential downpour, I stood alongside 40 or so reporters vying to get interviews with artists like Mr. Mister and Pet Shop Boys as publicists tossed swag to keep us happy. MTV's VJs like "Downtown" Julie Brown and Mark Goodman hosted the show, and Dire Straits took home "Video of the Year" for "Money For Nothing." The cultural impact of the VMAs and the network as a whole was undeniable: MTV was in the middle of transforming the music and entertainment industry. I wanted to be part of that energy, and by 1987, I was. VMAs have always been a mix of incredible planned performances and unexpected moments. In 2000, we surprised the audience as an army of blond Eminem clones marched into the show as the rapper sang "The Real Slim Shady." In 2003, we reached into our past as Madonna reprised her first VMAs performance. But this time, she was the groom and Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were rocking the white wedding dresses. In a surprise moment for all of us, they closed their performance with one of the most memorable kisses in pop culture history. Another big surprise for our team, much to the chagrin of PETA, came in the form of a meat dress in 2010 as Lady Gaga brought her unique sense of style to the stage. Sometimes the show is all about timing. For example, in 1995 we had just started an interview outside the show with Kurt Loder and Madonna while the VMAs were still on-air. Our crew caught sight of Courtney Love walking down the street by herself, headed straight toward us. She started yelling, trying to get our attention, and then began throwing her make-up one piece at a time up at Kurt Loder and Madonna. On camera, Kurt said "Courtney is throwing stuff at us." From inside the production truck, the producers encouraged Courtney to join the interview. Courtney stumbled up the stairs and onto the stage, interrupting Madonna, and the rest is VMA history. The VMAs have a legacy of being one of the most memorable nights in music, and our incredibly talented team does whatever it takes to bring the biggest moments and most talented artists to the stage. Booking the perfect mix of those performances can sometimes come down to the wire, though. Twelve days before the show in 2008, we still hadn't locked in our perfect closing act. At the time, I was on my way to Colorado to cover then-Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. I called Kanye West and as it turned out, he was already in Denver. He picked me up from the airport and we spent the ride listening to rough demos of a new song he was working on. From the second I heard it, I knew this was the big, closing performance we wanted for the show. I shared our team's vision of that year's event and some sketches of the set and we talked through what his performance could look like. A few days later we were both in L.A. in advance of the big night. Our team went to work finalizing the details, and he went to the studio and finished "Love Lock Down," knowing that he'd be sharing it with the world for the first time just a few days later at the VMAs. For all the great moments, sometimes things go wrong. I'll never forget the moment in 1991 when the lights went out during one of Kurt Loder's live interviews, keeping the entire audience in the dark. Janet Jackson was in the middle of giving a heartfelt tribute to Aaliyah when the prompter went out in 2001. The same year, we left U2 hanging, literally. The band was 20 feet above the stage and ready to descend. Just as we announced their performance live on television, the band's power source went out. The band couldn't play, so all we heard was Bono joking that MTV didn't pay the electric bill. In 2004, we thought it would be a great idea to bring out the children of the presidential candidates. As the audience started to boo, we quickly realized that wasn't what the viewers wanted out of their VMAs. I've now had the letters "MTV" in front of my job title for 24 years and can tell you that this is a network that doesn't grow up, or old, with its audience -- and neither do the VMAs. The show is constantly evolving, and our audience expects change, innovation, risk and creativity from us. It takes the effort of hundreds of people combined with dedicated artists to plan, create and share amazing moments like when Pink! sang "Sober" from a trapeze high above the VMAs' stage or when Taylor Swift sang "You Belong With Me" as she ran up from a New York subway car to take over 6th Avenue. But, we also know that we need to create the right formula for unexpected moments, which means getting the right mix of people in the same room with the perfect music for a memorable night. This year's entire show is re-imagined for today's generation of viewers. The show will open with Lady Gaga, followed by a night of incredible performances by Beyoncé, Adele, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Pitbull and Young the Giant. The legendary Tony Bennett will present a special tribute to Amy Winehouse. And, we will be watching along with the rest of the world to see what surprise moments steal the show. From a leaky tent outside the Palladium to the highly designed, immersive time portal environment viewers will see this year, the VMAs have absolutely evolved through the years. The constant, though, are the talented artists who take over the VMA stage, capturing our audience's attention with legendary, iconic moments that will be remembered for years to come. | This year's entire show is re-imagined for today's generation of viewers . MTV is a network that doesn't grow up with its audience -- and neither do the VMAs . The cultural impact of the VMAs and the network as a whole is undeniable . | c495fe7829d775344b3a5f6c47fc53f543e3597d |
By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 11:20 EST, 10 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:36 EST, 10 April 2013 . Britons spend an estimated 62 million hours each day on Facebook and Twitter, according to a new survey on social media habits. The poll suggests that around 34 million hours are spent on Facebook each day, with a further 28 million hours on Twitter. And almost a third (30%) of the UK's 33 million Facebook users are on the network for at least an hour a day, with 13% spending at least two hours on Facebook each day. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook is the UK's most popular social network, with a new poll suggesting that around 34 million hours are spent on Facebook each day, with a further 28 million hours on Twitter . More than a quarter (26%) of UK women on Facebook check their pages at least 10 times a day, compared to less than one in five (18%) of men. Of the UK's estimated 26 million Twitter users, almost a third (31%) spend more than an hour a day on the network, while 14% - more than 3.6 million people - say their daily usage exceeds two hours. The results are based on a survey of 1,500 adults carried out by OnePoll for online bank, first direct. The survey also found Facebook was named as the primary social media platform by 59% of people. Only 9% named Twitter as their first-choice network, while 7% chose LinkedIn. And 11% of Twitter users say it is important for them to have more 'followers' on their feed than their friends, compared to just 4% of Facebook users who say it is important to appear more 'popular' than their friends. The poll suggests that around 34 million hours are spent on Facebook each day, with a further 28 million hours on Twitter . Dr David Giles, a reader in media psychology at Winchester University, said: 'People's social media habits tend to be largely dependent on the number of friends who are on the social network with them. 'If all your friends are on Facebook or Twitter all the time, you risk cutting yourself off from a social life by not doing the same. 'So you spend several hours every day online simply to avoid feeling left out of conversations, or being isolated from your friends.' Rebecca Dye, social media manager at first direct, said: 'The survey shows just how central Facebook and Twitter are to people's lives at the moment, often at the expense of other communications and regardless of how often they're actually posting updates or tweeting. "It's important we engage with our customers in ways that best suit their lives, so the more people are using social media channels to have conversations, or just to 'listen in', the more we need to develop our presence in social media," she added. | Poll finds 34 million hours are spent on Facebook each day, with a further 28 million hours on Twitter . 11% of Twitter users say it is important for them to have more 'followers' on their feed than their friends . | 660845efe82931b32bd48017dd2a75fdb66eefa6 |
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Reeva Steenkamp told Oscar Pistorius she was afraid of him and his temper less than three weeks before he shot and killed her, the judge in his murder trial was told Monday. "I'm scared of you sometimes, of how you snap at me," the South African model told Pistorius in a long chat message. "You have picked on me incessantly," she wrote, calling Pistorius "nasty" after he apparently accused her of flirting with someone at a party. "I was not flirting with anyone today and I feel sick that you suggested that," she told him via WhatsApp, according to the police officer who downloaded their chats after Pistorius shot and killed her. "You do everything to throw tantrums," she said, concluding the message: "I'm certainly very unhappy and sad." Police Capt. Francois Moller, who downloaded the messages from Steenkamp's iPhone, said that 90% of the chats between the two were normal and loving. But there were several that accused Pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness. Less than a week before he killed her, she wrote him another long message after he apparently lost his temper with her as they left a public event together. She reached the exit before he did, she wrote, adding: "I didn't think you would criticize me for doing that, especially so loudly that others could hear.... I regard myself as a lady and I didn't feel like one after we left." Pistorius admits that he killed Steenkamp, firing four shots through a closed door in his house in the early hours of February 14, 2013. Three hit her, with the last one probably killing her almost instantly, according to the pathologist who performed the autopsy. But Pistorius says he thought she was a nighttime intruder in his pitch-black house and believed he was firing in self-defense. He pleaded not guilty to murder. Read the messages . 'Terrified screaming' Moller's testimony came after a neighbor of Pistorius said on the witness stand that she heard "terrified, terrified screaming" the morning the Olympian killed his girlfriend. Questioned by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, Anette Stipp said she awoke early the morning of February 14, 2013, and heard "terrified, terrified screaming ... It sounds to me as if there's a family murder, why else would she scream like that." Stipp described hearing a series of three shots, a woman screaming, also a man screaming, and then three more shots before the screaming stopped. Her husband, Dr. Johan Stipp, testified earlier in the trial. The trial was originally scheduled to last until March 20 but will now continue until the middle of May, the South African court hearing the case said Sunday. Trial extended to mid-May . The trial, which entered its fourth week on Monday, will continue until April 4, then break for a one-week recess before resuming from April 14 until May 16, the Pretoria court announced in a written statement. It said "all parties involved" had agreed to the dates. The trial began March 3. There has been intense media interest in the case in South Africa and beyond. Pistorius first achieved global fame as an outstanding double amputee sprinter who ran with special prostheses that earned him the nickname "Blade Runner." Judge Thokozile Masipa will decide the verdict with the help of two lay people called assessors. South Africa does not have jury trials. In South Africa, premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 25 years. Pistorius also could get five years for each of two unrelated gun indictments and 15 years for a firearms charge he also faces. If he isn't convicted of premeditated murder, the sprinter could face a lesser charge of culpable homicide, a crime based on negligence. The sentence for culpable homicide is at the judge's discretion. Almost the entire trial has been televised, though individual witnesses can choose not to be shown on television. CNN's Ed Payne and CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps contributed to this report. | NEW: Chat messages show Reeva was afraid of Pistorius sometimes . Prosecutor Gerrie Nel is known for surprises, including hints his case may be nearly over . Pistorius is accused of intentionally killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013 . Pistorius says he thought she was an intruder and shot in self-defense . | 12566d772ab93342436ee84634b64e3ec30d2d24 |
By . Steve Doughty . PUBLISHED: . 19:17 EST, 9 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:07 EST, 10 September 2013 . Support: Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Nigel Lawson backs tax breaks for married couples . Introducing a generous tax break for married couples would be the most cost-effective way to help families, a former Tory Chancellor said yesterday. Nigel Lawson backed the idea of a transferable tax allowance that would give married people extra money. But he said the Prime Minister’s plans for a tax break worth an extra £150 a year is ‘very limited’ and should be ‘much more generous’. The intervention from Lord Lawson, who was Chancellor in Margaret Thatcher’s government, comes as backbenchers continue to push David Cameron and George Osborne to carry out their pledge to give married couples a tax break. Mr Cameron promised the transferable allowance worth £150 before the election in 2010. The prospect was raised again this summer. Lord Lawson backed transferable tax allowances – which mean a stay-at-home mother can shift her own income tax-free allowance to her husband – in a report on how to help families from the charity Care. He said: ‘The case for transferable tax allowances remains as strong as ever. ‘They are not only family friendly but provide a far more cost-effective means of reducing the tax burden on low-income households than can be achieved by an across-the-board increase in personal allowances.’ Lord Lawson was the Chancellor who first proposed independent taxation of husbands and wives 25 years ago. Yesterday’s report said that the benefits of separate taxation were undermined by the failure to include transferable allowances. The Care report said: ‘Since 1990 income tax rates have come down. In 1990 the basic rate was 25 per cent; in 2013 it is 20 per cent. 'The tax threshold for single people has risen significantly, with the result that the burden on such individuals has fallen. ‘By contrast, the tax threshold for families is scarcely higher in real terms than it was in 1990, with the result that, even though the basic rate is lower, the income tax burden on some families is much the same as it was then.’ Nearly there: Although the former Chancellor supports David Cameron's tax break, he does not think £150-a-year is generous enough . The report said that the tax system rewards individuals but shows ‘insensitivity to family responsibility’. It added: ‘Independent taxation was intended to give married women privacy over their tax affairs but the two million couples with children who have to claim tax credits, or, in future, Universal Credit, have no privacy. ‘One-earner families face more fiscal discrimination in 2013 than they did in 1990 and marginal tax rates that apply to families are much higher than they were in 1990.’ The report said the unfairness had been worsened by changes to Child Benefit, which have deprived higher-income one-earner families of the benefit while two-earner families on the same family income have kept theirs. The pressure group for stay-at-home mothers, Mothers At Home Matter, welcomed Lord Lawson’s comments. Spokesman Anne Fennell said: ‘Unlike our current Chancellor, Lord Lawson clearly appreciates the injustice in the current tax system towards stay-at-home parents. ‘We welcome his initiative 25 years later to remedy the injustice caused by a tax system which does not recognise the family unit. Many more couples face a “couple penalty” today if they choose to live together as husband and wife than they did 25 years ago and this falls largely in the poorer half of the population.’ | Ex-Chancellor Nigel Lawson backs tax break for married couples . Said it is a cost-effective way to help, but current allowance is not enough . Lord Lawson branded Cameron's suggested £150-a-year 'very limited' | 303633b8dc5eb96bb2a6603bf0a85752aad3918a |
A baroness has spoken of her ‘horror’ at discovering she could see her own garden using Google satellite imagery. Lady O’Cathain said: ‘I was horrified the other day when I was given a certain website to look at. I could see the roses in my garden. ‘It was on a Google map or something, and I have no idea how it was taken. Lady O’Cathain said the picture of her garden, in which she could see her roses, had been 'taken up there' ‘It was taken from up there. Obviously it was not a large aircraft, but this is happening. It did not fill me with a sense of security.’ But her comments, which were shared more than 2,000 times on Twitter, provoked concern among internet users that she appeared not to understand the difference between satellites – which capture images used by Google – and aerial photography. Others voiced concern that the baroness, who is also on the House of Lords Digital Skills Committee, was not familiar with basic technology like Google Maps. One Twitter user wrote: ‘Good God, these people are supposed to look out for us and they don’t know even the basics of today’s world.’ Another said: ‘Good thing she’s not involved in creating laws that touch on public policy or technology. Oh wait…’ The baroness’s comments were made during a House of Lords sub-committee meeting on the rise of personal drones which can take aerial pictures and video, and how they should be regulated. Paul Cremin, of the Department for Transport, said there was a problem with people buying small drones (file) Paul Cremin, of the Department for Transport, said there was a growing problem with members of the public buying small drones, often fitted with cameras, for personal use without realising they were regulated by aviation law. He told the committee: ‘You can go into Maplins today and buy a fairly sophisticated system for about £500. The question is that when you get the box home, where, first of all, does it tell you that you are buying an aircraft, let alone anything else? ‘They are viewed in the Air Navigation Order as aircraft, and you have responsibilities under that order, but if I do not know that they are aircraft I do not know how to behave. This is a very real problem that we are aware of.’ He said the Civil Aviation Authority was calling on manufacturers to include information on aviation law and relevant data protection and privacy law with drones sold for personal use. | Spoke of 'horror' at being able to see her own garden with satellite imagery . Twitter ablaze about Lady O’Cathain who is on the Digital Skills Committee . Her comments came in House of Lords meeting on rise of personal drones . | f03517c24a585d211d9dc5247e4f8cb0b1fb5650 |
(CNN) -- A former high school cheerleader who sued over injuries caused when a teammate failed to catch her during a routine, lost her appeal before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday a cheerleader couldn't sue her teammate. The seven state justices unanimously concluded cheerleading is a "contact" sport, and therefore neither the male student cited nor the school district was liable for damages. The opinion also said the stunt in question did not create a "compelling danger" to students. It is the first legal decision of its kind, according to the National Cheer Safety Foundation, a group founded by parents. The case was closely watched by school districts and parents around the country concerned about whether they would have immunity from lawsuits involving unintentional injuries from certain extracurricular activities. Brittany Noffke was a varsity cheerleader at Holmen High School, about 14 miles from La Crosse, in western Wisconsin. Her team was practicing a "post to hands" stunt before a basketball game in 2004, and after being lifted up to stand on the shoulders of a fellow student, Noffke fell backward, striking her head on the floor. The 16-year-old male cheerleader who lifted her, and then was supposed to be a spotter, failed to catch her. The girl's family sued the boy and the school district, claiming the coach was negligent by not having a second spotter and not providing safety mats. State law does not specifically spell out which high school activities involve "contact," but they typically involve sports such as football or lacrosse in which opposing teams compete against each other. But the Wisconsin high court concluded that "cheerleading involves a significant amount of physical contact between cheerleaders that at times results in a forceful interaction between the participants." Justice Annette Ziegler cited the "spirit rules" of the National Federation of State High School Association's handbook, which contained pictures illustrating various cheerleading stunts. She said all but one photo showed at least two cheerleaders in contact with one another. Because the male cheerleader just made a mistake by being out of place when Noffke fell, the court found he did not act "recklessly," the only legal standard that would have permitted a lawsuit to proceed. Although it is not considered a sport at many high schools and colleges, cheerleading has grown increasingly popular over the years, and the stunts have become more complex and dangerous, sports injury experts say. A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill study found cheerleading accounted for about two-thirds of some 93 "catastrophic" sports injuries -- including head and neck damage -- among high school girls in the past 26 years. But the study noted that other sports such as football produce far more devastating injuries, though fewer in number. Cheerleading advocates say the activity has become much safer in the past 15 years, following greater awareness of the risks and better coordination among state and national groups. The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators estimates about 4 million people are involved in the activity. | Justices rule cheerleading is "contact" sport, therefore teammates, school not liable . Brittany Noffke sued claiming negligence after she fell during a stunt . Opinion said stunt in question did not create a "compelling danger" Cheerleading group calls ruling the first legal decision of its kind . | 9a3824d8f9e5367aa0b9102e1d871753fa7b5581 |
Six-year-old Jayden David violently shakes on the ground, his blue eyes vacant and then filled with searing pain. The video shows an unvarnished look at a seizure, something Jayden once experienced routinely. Not anymore, says his father, thanks to medical marijuana. Before he started taking a liquid, nonpsychoactive form of marijuana, Jayden couldn't walk, eat solid food or take a bath. He has Dravet's syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of childhood epilepsy. It has triggered seizures so frequent that 44 times he has been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, his distraught father by his side. Jayden's doctors prescribed 22 anti-seizure pills a day, which controlled the seizures but left him immobilized due to the side effects. "He's in pain and suffering and crying," said Jayden's father, Jason David. "You can't help him no matter what. What are you supposed to do? You have to do whatever it takes to save their life." Last year, he had enough. Delirious with fatigue and emotional pain, Jason David called his mother to say he wanted to put a gun to his head, just to end the heartbreak of seeing his son suffer. His mother convinced him to not give up. David turned to something he had seen on television: medical marijuana. On June 4, 2011, David gave his son marijuana. For the first time since Jayden was 4 months old, the boy went through an entire day without a seizure. "Instead of medical marijuana, this is miracle marijuana," said David, holding up a jam jar full of liquefied and cooled cannabis. Jayden is not just walking, he's running. He plays at a park, climbing up and down the steps of the jungle gym. He swims at his local pool, splashing in the water with his father and other children. He loves to go to Fuddruckers to dig into his favorite food, a cheeseburger with mushrooms. His father has begun to wean him off the powerful pharmaceutical pills, which he believes have kept his son from developing properly. Children and medical marijuana . The liquid, nonpsychoactive form of marijuana that Jayden takes ensures the boy doesn't get "high." In a laboratory, the marijuana is distilled down to mostly cannabidiols, which advocates say is the potent medicinal value of the drug. Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana clinic in Oakland, California, helped create the original tincture Jayden took. The center still analyzes and tests the marijuana before David administers it to his son. Harborside says it helps a number of child patients, including Jayden, whose parents legally obtain the marijuana. "Parents don't want to bring their children to something controversial like cannabis," says Harborside's executive director, Steven DeAngelo. "They do it reluctantly, and they do it because they're at their wit's end." Eighteen states have legalized marijuana for medicinal uses or limited personal use. California, which has the nation's largest number of registered users, does not keep demographic data on its registrants. But Colorado has 45 registered users under age 18, Oregon reports 56 child users and Montana has 55. DeAngelo says children with severe autism, epilepsy, ADHD and cancer can be helped by medicinal marijuana. But those sick children, says DeAngelo, often face barriers to accessing marijuana. "What I worry about are the thousands and thousands of children like Jayden who are suffering unnecessarily, who I know we could help," he says. "The only thing separating them from help are outdated rules that need to be changed." Those rules are at the federal level, where marijuana remains illegal. Highs and lows of using marijuana . Dr. Seth Ammerman, a pediatrician and specialist in adolescent substance addiction, acknowledges anecdotal reports like Jayden's remarkable turnaround. But he warns that a parent is "flying by the seat of his or her pants" when it comes to treating children with marijuana. "I do think there's potential for these cannabinoids to be medically relevant, but at this time we don't know the risks," says Ammerman. Because marijuana is illegal at the federal level, the government hasn't conducted any thorough research on the possible medicinal benefits. Ammerman is in favor of federal testing, but without it, he says marijuana is too risky to administer to children. "We don't know if these treatments are going to work for every given child, or every given adolescent. There may well be serious side effects." David says he'd pit his son's progress on medical marijuana against any pharmaceutical drug that currently treats Dravet's syndrome. What drives him, he says, is the hope that his boy will one day say, "I love you," something David says a thousand times a day to his son. While we're present, Jayden says something close to "I love you." His father's face lights up. "That's all I want to hear," says David. He hugs his son. "I'm really close." | Jayden David suffers from a rare form of childhood epilepsy . The 6-year-old suffered from frequent, violent seizures . At wit's end, his father gave him a liquid, nonpsychoactive form of cannabis . For more than a year, it has helped stem his seizures . | bf025bd2258ff32d299f12b4533a628882f44d14 |
Rickie Fowler admitted he is struggling for rhythm after slumping to a third-round 73 at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Saturday which left him among the tournament's also-rans. But the US star did at least get to enjoy a camel ride during on his first visit to the region. Fowler began his Middle East debut confidently, matching world No 1 and playing partner Rory McIlroy with a first-round five-under 67. Rickie Fowler admitted he is struggling for rhythm after slumping to a third-round 73 in Abu Dhabi . But the US star did at least get to enjoy a camel ride during on his first visit to the region . But a triple bogey in a second-round 75 dashed any hopes Fowler had of adding to his meagre trophy haul and the 26-year-old was unable to arrest his form slump in Saturday's third round. 'It's just golf, it was a little rough today,' said a downbeat Fowler. 'The course is great, nothing has changed. I just got into a bad rhythm for a couple of days. I made some good swings on the last.' Fowler, relegated to the early starters after narrowly making the cut, did little positive on the front nine, bogeying the sixth hole as he struggled to find the fairways. He double-bogeyed the 10th, made his first birdie on 13, dropped another shot at 15 before a final-hole eagle added gloss to a tough day on the National course. Fowler began his Middle East debut confidently, matching playing partner Rory McIlroy with a first-round 67 . But a triple bogey in a second-round 75 dashed any hopes Fowler had of adding to his meagre trophy haul . The world No 10 finished joint fifth or better at last year's four majors, outscoring McIlroy in the process . Fowler said that last putt would give him something to take into Sunday's final round after which he will fly home to the United States to begin his build-up to April's US Masters. Asked for goals for 2015, Fowler said; 'I definitely want to win, play well through to the FedEx Cup and make the President's Cup team.' The world No 10 finished joint fifth or better at last year's four majors, outscoring his friend McIlroy in the process. But it was the Northern Irishman who won the British Open and U.S. PGA Championship while Fowler is still searching for a first tournament victory since 2012's Wells Fargo Championship, his solitary U.S. tour triumph. Fowler said he was confirmed in the field for May's Irish Open at Royal County Down and would probably play in the Scottish Open in July, but he has no other plans to appear on the European circuit this year. | Rickie Fowler admitted he is struggling for rhythm . Fowler slumped to a third-round 73 at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship . The world No 10 said his goals for 2015 were to play well through to FedEx Cup and make the President's Cup team . | d65b35e2ba861736994ad3ff6c9af31a7046fe9d |
NBC has become the centre of a race storm after airing an ad featuring a monkey performing gymnastics, right after showing the performance of Gabby Douglas, the first African-American to win Olympic gold. The network has since apologised for the advert's poor timing, explaining: 'No offense was intended.' The controversy ignited as sportscaster Bob Costas wrapped his analysis of her incredible routine during the all-around competition last night. Costas said: 'There are some African American girls out there who tonight are saying to themselves: "Hey, I’d like to try that too." More from London in a moment.' Scroll down for video . Fame: Gabby Douglas has become an international celebrity after winning Olympic gold twice in London . Sports talk: The ad followed Bob Costas analysis of her incredible Olympic win . Commercial: The network then aired what many have seen as an insensitive ad of a monkey performing on gymnastic rings . The broadcast then went to a commercial break, showing an advertisement featuring a monkey wearing a gymnastics uniform and performing a rings gymnastics event. The unintentional, but poorly-timed ad was for Animal Practice, an upcoming NBC sitcom. Angry viewers lashed out at the network on social media platforms like Twitter, accusing them of racism. 'Disgusted at NBC for showing Animal Practice with monkey right after Gabby wins her gold,' one user posted. Monkey business: The ad was for the upcoming NBC sitcom Animal Practice . Rage: Angry viewers lashed out at the network on social media platforms like Twitter, accusing them of racism . Another called it 'risky.' In a statement to MailOnline, NBC Sports said: 'Gabby Douglas' gold medal performance last night was an historic and inspiring achievement. 'This spot promoting ’Animal Practice,’ which has run three times previously, is one in a series with an Olympic theme which have been scheduled for maximum exposure. Certainly no offense was intended.' Gabby may be a rising star in gymnastics, but the golden achievement has also brought unwanted attention. The race uproar came after another nasty row involving Twitter over the gymnastics sensation’s hair, expressing their disapproval over how it was styled. Critics have argued that her dark locks should in fact mimic the tight, ballerina-style bun that gymnasts usually tuck their hair into. One user wrote: 'Gabby Douglas gotta [sic] do something with this hair! These clips and this brown gel residue aint it!'. Wowing the crowd: Gabby's gold-medal win on Thursday captivated the nation . Another posted: 'In Olympic news, why hasn't anyone tried to fix Gabby Douglas' hair?'. To which a further user replied: 'That's an Olympic sport too!' Despite . the unwanted criticism, Douglas has also had a strong show of support . from public figures like singers P!nk and Nicki Minaj, as well as . Condoleezza Rice, the first African-American secretary of state. The Capuchin monkey in the ad, named Crystal, is the same primate that appears in We Bought a Zoo, The Hangover Part II and the Night at the Museum films. She also appears in Community, another NBC sitcom. NBC's broadcast of the London games has come under intense scrutiny, which has been exacerbated due to Twitter, which viewers have used as a soap box to gripe about the coverage. It was accused of manufacturing unnecessary suspense for the women's team gymnastics final on Wednesday night- which was arguably not even close. Protests erupted earlier this week following a promo that showed U.S. swimmer Missy Franklin with her gold medal - moments before the network aired the dramatic race in which she won it. In a statement to MailOnline, NBC apologised for the tape delay mistake. Spoiler: Before airing Missy Franklin's gold medal-winning performance, NBC aired a promo for the Today show that showed her with the medal . On Monday night, a Los Angeles-based reporter and vocal critic of the network had his Twitter page suspended. Guy Adams, who writes for The Independent, lost his account after NBC complained he tweeted the email address of NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel so viewers could 'tell him what you think.' Adams' account was later reinstated. There was also outrage over NBC's decision to cut a tribute for the victims of the London 2005 terrorist bombings from its Olympics Opening Ceremony coverage on Friday. The network said it did not air the tribute because it wasn't tailored for the U.S. audience - and aired a Ryan Seacrest interview with iconic swimmer Michael Phelps instead. Watch video here . | More woes for NBC after it shows ad featuring monkey doing gymnastics, right after Gabby Douglas' big win . Commercial was for Animal Practice - an upcoming NBC sitcom . NBC says 'no offense was intended' with the ad . She's now an international celebrity after taking gold in all-around gymnastics competition on Thursday . | 2004791ab34b58abca4a97a5e83138a2aa9240c2 |
Bhubaneswar, India (CNN) -- [Breaking news update 12:09 a.m.] . There have been at least four confirmed deaths from Tropical Cyclone Phailin, Amitabh Thakor, deputy inspector general of Brahmapur, Odisha, told CNN. Three were killed Saturday; a fourth was confirmed dead Sunday. Local police told CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN, that seven people had been killed by falling trees. [Last update at 10:24 p.m.] . In morning light, India assesses damage from Cyclone Phailin . (CNN) -- Morning light on Sunday revealed some of the damage from Tropical Cyclone Phailin, which made landfall on India's eastern coast as the strongest storm to hit India in 14 years. Power lines and trees were down and cars were overturned near the spot where the center of the storm struck the coast around 9 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) Saturday in eastern Odisha state, along the Bay of Bengal. Debris littered wet streets, roofs were torn off houses and windows on buildings were smashed in Brahmapur. Odisha's director-general of police, Prakash Mishra, told CNN that two men and a woman were killed by trees brought down by heavy winds in the state. Local police in Odisha told CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN, that seven people had been killed by falling trees. Hurricanes are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean, and the wind speed at landfall -- 140 mph -- made it equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. India evacuated more than a half-million people in advance of the storm, hoping to avoid a repetition of what happened 1999, when a cyclone claimed 10,000 lives. "We have taken a zero-casualty approach," said Odisha state disaster manager Kamal Lochan Mishra. "If people do not move, force will be used to evacuate them." Since Friday, Phailin has brought nearly 8 inches of rain to Odisha's capital of Bhubaneswar, about 30 miles from the coast. The city's average rainfall for October is 6.5 inches. The storm will continue to fall apart as it moves over land, but tropical-storm-force winds are still possible through early Monday, said CNN Meteorologist Judson Jones. Rainfall will also be a problem as Phailin moves up toward the Himalayas in Nepal. Multiple states in the region were under weather warnings for excessive rainfall and thunderstorms for most of Sunday and into Monday, Jones said. 500,000 people evacuated . Residents were evacuated to safer places in Odisha and the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, national disaster-management authority chief Marri Shashidhar Reddy said. More than 400,000 were moved to safety in Odisha alone, he told CNN. Many of those evacuated from low-lying coastal areas of Odisha left on foot or by bicycle, Kamal Lochan Mishra said. They are being housed in nearly 250 emergency shelters set up in sturdy buildings like schools and government offices. The Ganjam district of Odisha is expected to be the worst hit, with disaster preparedness efforts concentrated there, CNN-IBN reported. The India Meteorological Department warned of extensive damage to kutcha houses, those made of flimsy materials like mud and bamboo, as well as damage to old buildings. Power and communication lines are likely to suffer large-scale disruption. Extensive flooding will also disrupt rail and road traffic, and crops are likely to suffer major damage, it said. In Gopalpur, a coastal resort town in Ganjam, restaurants were shuttered and streets deserted Saturday afternoon, as rain lashed down. Tourists and local residents were asked to leave the town. Power was out in coastal areas including Kalingapatnam, from where about 80,000 people were evacuated to relief camps, CNN-IBN reported. Some fishermen earlier told the broadcaster they had defied the order to leave, anxious to see what happened on the shore. Military deployed . Some fear a repeat of what happened on October 29, 1999, when Cyclone 05B, also known as the Odisha Cyclone, made landfall in the same area, killing 10,000 people. It was the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the Bay of Bengal, with winds of 155 mph at landfall, and it caused more than $2 billion in damage. In advance of the storm, military units and National Disaster Response Force personnel were deployed to coastal areas with relief supplies and medical aid, CNN-IBN said. More than 20 medical teams flew to the region. Federal and state government ministers are being briefed on the situation, the cabinet secretary said. All flights to Odisha have been canceled and train services in the state are also disrupted, CNN's sister network reported. Disaster preparedness . International humanitarian organization World Vision said it was helping local community groups prepare for the cyclone's arrival. "In a storm of this magnitude there is the potential for widespread damage to crops and livestock in the low-lying coastal areas and houses completely wiped away," said Kunal Shah, the head of World Vision's emergency response in India. "So while we are praying this storm loses intensity, we're also preparing." The organization has worked for the past several years to train local people in disaster preparedness -- including search and rescue, basic first aid and how to protect livestock -- and has thousands of emergency response kits ready to hand out where needed. "We believe communities are better prepared than they were when the devastating cyclone hit in 1999," said Shah. CNN's Lonzo Cook reported from Bhubaneswar and Harmeet Shah Singh from New Delhi and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Khushbu Shah, Tom Sater and Ivan Cabrera contributed to this report. | Power lines and trees are down, cars are overturned . Nearly 8 inches of rain falls in Bhubaneswar since Friday . The cyclone made landfall at 9 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) More than 500,000 people are evacuated, a disaster official says . | 06babddb627395fbb6eb4e641be7a8a42d8c4794 |
By . Andrew Levy . They already had a strained relationship with their ‘vulnerable’ daughter. And the elderly couple’s troubles mounted after she apparently arrived in a taxi and told them she was moving in. Peter and Betty Smith later walked a short distance from their home and stepped in front of a speeding freight train. Witnesses said the driver sounded the horn for up to a minute as he approached them at an unmanned level crossing. Level crossing: The scene where a couple died after being hit by a train in Cherry Willingham, Lincolnshire . Probe: Officers and rail workers at the scene of the incident where British Transport Police are investigating . Yesterday, neighbours in the picturesque Lincolnshire village of Cherry Willingham said the couple’s apparent suicide pact followed problems with their 50-year-old daughter Jane. Geoff Walpole, 70, who lives two doors away, said: ‘I heard that their daughter arrived with her partner recently by taxi and told them she was going to live there.’ He added that there was a ‘big row’ on the day retired postman Mr Smith, 80, died along with his 78-year-old wife. Residents near their daughter’s home in Lincoln, where she lived with boyfriend Tim Evans, described heated exchanges whenever her father visited her. One, who asked not to be named, said: ‘He used to do the garden for her, and look after the house, clean the windows, do the shopping and then she turned on him about that. He always had to sit outside in the car.’ Another neighbour, Christine Wearing, 72, said: ‘Peter was such a placid man – he was a real gentleman. He was just such a patient man and did everything for his daughter.’ Mr and Mrs Smith are understood to have told their daughter, who used to work as a children’s nurse, that they were going to the shops on the morning they died. A local shop owner said: ‘I spoke to the daughter this morning. She had moved back in recently but I don’t know why. The couple left their bungalow after reportedly telling their daughter they were getting Mr Smith's glasses fixed . Remembered: This morning a floral tribute was placed close to where the tragedy occurred in Lincolnshire . ‘Peter had problems with his glasses. They were hurting his head. So they told their daughter they were catching the bus into town to get them fixed. ‘That’s when they did it. I’ve known them for 50 years. It’s so sad.’ Mr Smith and his wife, a former hairdresser, walked on to the railway line shortly before midday on Wednesday. The crossing has a 12ft wide metal gate. Drivers have to ring the main signal box for clearance to open the gates and cross, but pedestrians are able to walk across using a stile. Residents said that the crossing was used regularly and had a good safety record. The freight train, which was travelling from Lincoln city centre to Immingham Dock in Humberside, came to a halt at another level crossing 500 yards away, a short distance from a secondary school where pupils were taking part in their sports day. A card on flowers left at the scene this morning stated: 'A love to last eternity. Together forever. RIP xx' Services between Lincoln and Grimsby were halted for three hours before resuming in the afternoon. Paramedics from the East Midlands Ambulance Service arrived at the scene but the couple were pronounced dead. The Smith family said in a statement yesterday: ‘We are deeply saddened by our loss.’ British Transport Police said officers were ‘working to establish the full circumstances of the incident, which is currently being treated as non-suspicious’. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has been informed and the Central Lincolnshire Coroner is expected to open inquests in the next few days. | Peter, 80, and Betty Smith, 79, stepped in front of speeding train together . Incident happened close to their home in Cherry Willingham, Lincolnshire . Couple 'walked onto railway line, straight into the path of the freight train' Neighbours said 'suicide pact' followed problems with daughter Jane, 50 . For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 08457909090, visit a local Samaritans branch or go to www.samaritans.org . | be8c3eef9e778c250b1d67518873e0c85434adad |
Stoke defender Robert Huth has been charged by the Football Association with aggravated misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media. Huth appeared to respond to a Twitter account which posts sexual images of individuals and asks users to guess their gender. The 30-year-old German has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the charge. VIDEO Scroll down for Mark Hughes: Robert Huth investigation by FA is ongoing . Stoke City centre back Robert Huth has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the FA's charge . Huth has been charged by the FA for responding to Twitter account 'C**k or no c**k' Huth apologised for causing any offence on January 2 after the backlash . The FA said in a statement: 'It is alleged the comments were indecent and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, contrary to FA rule E3(1). 'It is further alleged that this breach of Rule E3(1) is an 'aggravated breach' as defined in rule E3(2), as it included a reference to gender and/or gender reassignment.' Huth apologised earlier in January for interactions he made after participating with a Twitter account which invited users of the social media site to guess from cropped photographs of people in explicit poses whether those pictured have male or female genitalia. A series of tweets posted from Huth's official account showed the former Chelsea and Middlesbrough player taking part and making indecent remarks. He deleted the tweets and posted a message saying: 'Clearly no offence was meant or directed to anyone, but apologies if I've offended anyone.' In October the FA handed Rio Ferdinand a three-match suspension, as well as a £25,000 fine, for comments he made on Twitter, though that was not the QPR defender's first offence on social media. QPR defender Rio Ferdinand was made to serve a three-match ban and fined £25,000 by the FA . | Robert Huth sent several messages to Twitter account 'C**k or no c**k' The FA have charged the Stoke defender for indecent social media posts . Huth has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the charge . | 491d92f6ae81be304a06a560cc38ed54c0ba2adb |
Jumping out of buildings, running through barbed wire, flying makeshift planes and digging secret tunnels -- all desperate measures used by people to flee East Berlin after the wall went up. Those images and memories flooded back into Germany's collective conscious on Sunday, as the nation celebrated 25 years since the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. On November 9, 1989, tens of thousands of Germans literally tore it down by hand -- using their fists, pickaxes, sledgehammers and shovels. Then East Germany's communist government helped, heaving away chunks of it by crane, as its citizens streamed into the West and its one-party oligarchy collapsed. Freedom and ultimately a united Germany emerged from the bitter Cold War that had separated Berlin since the first concrete barrier went up in 1961. How 'The Tiger' fought the East German Stasi . Berlin today . In the years since the Wall came down, the city has undergone a massive transformation as people and money poured into the former East Berlin. Berlin now shines as a crown jewel of central Europe. It's a far cry from the city and the country that were bombed to ruins during World War II. And Germany is now the world's fourth largest economy and the driving market in the European Union. On Sunday, thousands of Berliners, dignitaries and visitors from around the world gathered around the city's iconic Brandenburg Gate to remember the moment that many thought would never come. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the fall of the Berlin Wall sends "a message of hope and that dreams can come true, nothing has to stay as it is, even if it's difficult." People are also visiting the East Side Gallery, the longest part of the wall still standing -- measuring 2.2 kilometers or 1.6 miles. Most of the Wall was dismantled in the immediate aftermath and much of it was sent to other countries. There are parts of the Wall at the United Nations headquarters in New York as well as U.S. embassies and presidential libraries. 25 things you love about Berlin . Grandiose work of art . A grandiose performance art celebration on Sunday is to symbolize the disappearance of the wall. The "Lichtgrenze" (Border of Light) was placed along the former path of the Berlin Wall. It comprises thousands of illuminated white helium balloons -- to be released into the sky after a performance by the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra. In a more somber ceremony, candles will burn at the National Memorial for the Victims of the Berlin Wall. Two hundred people were killed while trying to escape, many of them shot by border guards, others succumbing to accidents. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit says he hopes the ceremonies will spread hope to people around the world. "When the wall came down it was a signal to the world that freedom is possible," he said. "There are many other walls in the world and people who do not live free. We want them to watch these ceremonies and events and be inspired by them." | The Berlin Wall came down 25 years ago, as the Cold War ended . Germans celebrate Sunday anniversary with services, performance art, concert . Germans tried to break out of the former communist dictatorship in East Germany . They cleared the wall using various methods, but 200 paid with their lives . | 3ee94d218979b459196743ab0a3d2957f72422c3 |
Pago Pago, American Samoa (CNN) -- When an earthquake-triggered tsunami cascaded into this tiny island in late September, the result was 34 lives lost and untold millions in property damage. But a CNN investigation to air on tonight's "AC 360" has uncovered an array of unsettling facts that point to a single conclusion: this natural disaster was in many ways a man-made tragedy. Public records show that the Department of Homeland Security had awarded millions of federal dollars in grants for disaster preparedness here, including the construction of an island-wide siren warning system. But all the federal funding was frozen in early 2007 after DHS inspectors found that the local American Samoan government had been diverting millions of those dollars for its own uses. Birdsall Alailima, director of American Samoa's territorial office of Homeland Security from 2003 through 2007, now lives in southern Illinois, not far from St. Louis, Missouri. He showed CNN on a map exactly where on the island the sirens were to have been placed. Thirty towers in all, he said, with 30 sirens that could have been activated by the push of a single button. "You're saying that the systems should have been in place?" CNN correspondent Drew Griffin asked him. "Absolutely," Alailima said. "And people died as a result?" "Yes." He's not the only one who thinks so. Federal sources told CNN they believe that had the warning system been built, the death toll would likely have been lower. In American Samoa, however, territorial Gov. Togiola Tulafono, told CNN that he knew of no viable plan for the siren system. "There was a study, I believe, but never a plan for a system," the governor said. "I was trying to get verification of what happened to that system, but I could not get the definite information." Alailima said he was fired by the governor when the federal funding was frozen, and that the governor was aware of the preparations. "I'm not going to fault them for freezing the funds," Tulafono said. "These are federal funds that they have oversight responsibility for and they saw fit to freeze the funds." The governor told CNN he had tried to correct the problem by firing his entire homeland security staff. But, he said, that failed to solve the problem. "All I'm saying is we have tried to work with them and have tried to get partial releases (of the money), and so far that hasn't happened." A federal official calls the governor's statement "nonsense." American Samoa would have access to the frozen funds if it had agreed to pay back even some of the money it misused, said the official. The government and the governor refused, and the tsunami siren system was stopped, according to the official. A spokesman for the governor's office later declined comment on the nature of the negotiations. American Samoan government officials said they purchased another warning system -- radios that would have triggered alarms across the island. But during the CNN interview, Tulafono conceded that the system "was not in place" when the tsunami struck. CNN has learned that the FBI is now conducting an investigation into exactly what did happen to the federal preparedness dollars sent to American Samoa. It was launched, sources tell CNN, by the Interior Department as its Insular Affairs office has federal administrative responsibility for the island. The FBI investigation is only the latest and most recent attempt by the federal government to try to track what one federal official told CNN was "endemic" corruption on the island. Here are only a few instances of the alleged corruption: . • Both the current Samoan lieutenant governor and a former state senator are under federal indictment on allegations of fraud, bribery and conspiracy. A trial is pending in Washington because there are no federal courts on the island. Attorneys for both men have refuted the indictment in court filings and say their clients are innocent of all the charges. • An inspector general's report by the Department of Homeland Security issued in May 2007 cites numerous examples of American Samoan officials misusing federal grant money. The report's findings include the purchase of six flat-screen televisions for more than $25,000; purchase of executive leather chairs for $4,000; spending $77,000 on equipment no auditor could find; and extensive travel and entertainment charges, including money spent in Las Vegas, Nevada, by a Samoan official for a conference he was scheduled to have attended in Colorado. • The DHS letter freezing its funding was sent on January 12, 2007. The action was taken because "we have found that Homeland Security Grant funds have been diverted to uses by State government offices for other than the intended use of Homeland Security funds. This is not only in violation of public trust but In Lieu of agreement as well." In the Samoan villages destroyed by the tsunami, stories of corruption are not new. "The government here gets a lot of money from the U.S. federal government," Heinrich Tavai told CNN as he watched members of his Lofatonoa Pentacostal Church help in the clean up. "Every year, they get millions and millions of dollars. As you see, we look like a Third World country when we should be looking more like a U.S. territory." In half a dozen villages either wiped out or badly damaged by the tsunami, CNN could find no visible evidence of local government assistance. Workers from a tuna fish processing plant were helping in one village; in another, students from an island community college were dredging rubbish out of a stream. Red Cross officials distributed tents in other villages. Children in another village were hauling furniture on their backs to help clear the debris. When asked about the seeming lack of local government assistance, the governor told CNN, "Our departments are out there working and working very hard, and to say they haven't seen any assistance is totally false." Since 1995, American Samoa has received nearly $2 billion in federal grants from nearly every federal agency. On average the 65,000-population -- the size of a typical American suburb -- receives about $250 million in federal money each year. Congressional sources tell CNN that oversight has always been a problem because of Samoa's isolation and the expense involved in even mounting an investigation. "They can do half a dozen investigations in Wyoming or California for the amount just one investigation would cost in Samoa," a source told CNN. Federal sources said they don't believe any official is getting rich off the U.S. Treasury. Instead, they said, federal funds -- including disaster-preparedness money that was to have gone to the warning system -- were instead used to create local government jobs in an economy almost totally dependent on U.S. federal grants. Moreover, the source added, each federal agency may have many employees whose jobs are to allocate federal funds, but only a relative handful whose jobs are to "manage" or account for that money. In an e-mail to CNN, an Interior Department spokeswoman said that in previous administrations "there were real issues of neglect and failed oversight that must be addressed quickly, thoroughly and responsibly." "We will help the islands rebuild and recover," said Kendra Barkoff, "but taxpayer dollars will be invested with strong oversight and full accountability." | 34 people died in last month's tsunami that smashed into American Samoa . DHS inspectors say funds for a warning system were improperly diverted . Investigators: Some funds used to pay for flat screen TVs and trips to Las Vegas . The results of this special investigation on AC 360°, 10 ET tonight . | 76bd018831ee6592a1d957215d9505b471637a77 |
By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 11:19 EST, 16 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:19 EST, 16 July 2013 . A 22st woman shed half her body weight after discovering she was too large to sit in an aeroplane seat. Claire Coles' waistline grew to 52in as a result of an unhealthy diet of takeaways, chocolate and crisps. And the charity worker was horrified when after booking a dream holiday to Egypt with her husband Neil she was unable to get the seat belt to reach around her size 28 body. The trip that changed her life: Claire weighed . 22st and 10lbs at her heaviest - but just a year-and-a-half later she is . a trim 11 stone . Super slimmer: Claire Coles pictured after she dropped 9 dress sizes following an incident where her airline seatbelt wouldn't fit . The plane's crew were eventually able to secure tearful Claire into her seat with a special extended harness. But the humiliation last January left the 36-year-old determined to slash her daily intake of 10,000 calories and turn her life around. Claire, a charity officer from Exeter, Devon, said: 'I couldn't fit into the seat, and after the embarrassment of asking for a seat belt extender, it was still a very tight fit. 'I was so ashamed as I was overflowing onto the person sat next to me. Game changer: The humiliation last January of not fitting into her airplane seat left the 36-year-old determined to slash her daily intake of 10,000 calories and turn her life around . Life change: Claire was horrified after booking a dream holiday to Egypt with her husband only to discover she couldn't get the seatbelt to reach around her size 28 waist. SH embarked on a healthy diet and is now a svelte size 10 (R) 'It was horrendous, I just wanted the floor to open up and swallow me, I spent the five hours of the flight in tears. 'It was at that point I thought enough is enough, I need to drastically change my life. 'I was emotionally eating because I was so unhappy, ironically using food to make me happy. 'I would secret eat and hide food. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food.' Claire weighed 22st and 10lb at her heaviest - but just a year-and-a-half later she is a healthy 11 stone. She used to eat takeaways and McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with sweets, chocolate bars and crisps. Unhealthy diet: She used to eat takeaways and McDonald's for breakfast lunch and dinner, along with sweets, chocolate bars and crisps- totalling as much as 10,000 calories a day but now she can fit in her plane seat (R) But after swapping calorie-laden snacks for salads, fruit and veg, Claire lost 20in from her waist and is now wearing a dress size 10. Claire is now helping others lose weight as a slimming consultant at Cambridge Weight Plan in Exeter. She has even encouraged her husband Neil, 35, to shrink his 40in waist to a more athletic 30in. And her last flight abroad was a totally different experience. She said: 'There was so much more room around me, I was so happy - grinning from ear to ear. 'Not only was I able to get the seat belt around me, there was loads of room to spare. 'I . remember like it was yesterday just how embarrassed and sad I felt on . the last flight. Makes me proud of what I have achieved and excited . about all the new experiences I will have now I slim and healthy. 'After transforming my own life, it is so rewarding to be able to help others.' Helping hand: Claire is now helping others lose weight as a slimming consultant at Cambridge Weight Plan in her hometown . Before and after: The plane's crew were eventually able to secure tearful Claire into her seat with a special extended harness but the humiliation left her determined to slash her daily intake of 10,000 calories and turn her life around . | Claire Coles, from Exeter, Devon, weighed 22st and lived on takeaways . Waistline grew to 52in and she was a dress size 28 . Weighed 22st and 10lbs at heaviest . Shamed into dieting after she couldn't fit aeroplane seat belt around her . A year-and-a-half later she weighs 11 stone and is a dress size 10 . Now helping others lose weight as a slimming consultant . | 58f670fafe6aa85d4ebc0eb54299c48cd943a808 |
By . Lizzie Edmonds . PUBLISHED: . 15:13 EST, 18 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:21 EST, 18 November 2013 . Scientists are spending £500,000 of taxpayer’s money to see whether children’s opinions on war and the armed forces are affected by playing with dolls wearing military clothing. Researchers from the Universities of Portsmouth, Exeter, and Royal Holloway University of London will spend three years looking in to whether dolls like Action Man help children understand the military. They also aim to determine how action figures shape young people's views on conflict and the armed forces. Warfare: Scientists are spending almost £500,000 on a study to see whether children's views on conflict are affected by dolls - such as these Her Majesty's Armed Forces dolls - in military clothing . The study will focus on top-selling Her Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) dolls - licensed by the Ministry of Defence. HMAF dolls are based on current British armed forces and come with an assault rifle, radio, flak jacket, body armour, helmet and goggles. The £492,508 project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Researchers are expected to report their findings in 2016, shortly after the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. Research: Scientists will use a variety of dolls, such as these Action Men, to gauge how they shape young people's perception of the military . Research collaborator Professor Klaus . Dodds said: 'We are not examining whether war toys are good or bad, or . the psychology of such play. Findings: The results of the study - which will use dolls like GI Joe, pictured - will be published in 2016 . 'We will be examining how such toys . help shape British attitudes to our armed forces and what ideas children . are incorporating from outside sources, such as television news . footage. 'The war on terror . is being played out everywhere and since 9/11, our security and . surveillance has come under intense examination. 'Understanding war, conflict and security in modern life is an urgent task for social scientists.' The current best-seller in the doll range is a ten-inch high infantry soldier in desert combats - an image that is often seen on television news about Afghanistan. Principal investigator Dr Tara Woodyer added: 'Play has frequently been overlooked as irrelevant to how people come to understand the world. 'Yet it is precisely this apparent banality, the taken for granted nature of play, that allows its role to go unchallenged. 'Toys, and how children play with them, are not just a response to the world, they help shape our culture. 'The role of action figure dolls has been unduly neglected, especially given the enormous academic attention focused on their female equivalent, Barbie.' The action figure toy arrived in the UK as a repackaged American GI Joe toy in 1966 and was then re-branded as Action Man, which ceased to be made in 2006. | Researchers from Universities of Portsmouth, Exeter, and Royal Holloway University of London taking part in the £492,508 project . Three-year study funded by Economic and Social Research council . Study will focus on top-selling Her Majesty's Armed Forces dolls . Action figures come with assault rifle, flak jacket, goggles and armour . Findings released in 2016, after the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan . | 0f44675cada1235eb8e14b0b69de1adab7265bfe |
In "Stand Your Ground" Florida, Michael Dunn said he felt threatened by a car full of teens playing loud music and pumped about 10 rounds from his 9 mm pistol into their SUV, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis. There were, of course, no return shots, because the teens were unarmed. Dunn is white, and all the teens in the car were black. He didn't bother to call the police afterward. Dunn, 47, is on trial, charged with murder. He took the stand Monday, detailing how he was pulled up at a gas station when he asked the teens to turn down the music -- "rap crap" he called it. Through the teenagers' tinted windows he saw menace, someone reaching for something. "You're not going to kill me, you son of a b***h," Dunn recalled saying as he reached for his loaded gun in his glove box. And he only "stopped firing when it appeared the threat was over." Under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which could be used in this case, you are granted immunity from criminal and civil charges -- even if you didn't first try to retreat -- if you can show you had a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm or death. And reasonable is up to interpretation. A 2012 study by The Urban Institute found that in the "Stand Your Ground" states, when white shooters kill black people, "34% of the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable. Only 3% of deaths are ruled justifiable when the shooter is black and the victim is white." And Dunn feels justified. "I am NOT a murderer," Dunn has said. Instead, he has taken on the mantle of victimhood and claimed, "I am a survivor." Dunn saw black and Dunn saw "threat." And he still does. He wrote, while awaiting trial, "This jail is full of blacks, and they all act like thugs. ... This may sound a bit radical, but if more people would arm themselves and kill these **** idiots when they're threatening you, eventually they may take the hint and change their behavior." But it's not just the vigilantes. In January, Philadelphia police determined that a group of African American teens wearing hats and scarves in 13 degree weather looked "suspicious." The resulting stop and frisk led to the crushed testicles of a straight-A student who was simply on his way to a high school basketball game. He is now in a wheelchair. Recently, researchers at Stanford University conducted studies where police and others, cued with an image of a black person, quickly deciphered very blurred images often associated with crime, such as a gun. White people see an African American, and they're immediately looking for something illegal. They almost instantly see a threat. Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Jonathan Ferrell and the scores of other unarmed African Americans gunned down because the killers felt threatened make that clear. Still, there's another story. The toll that the assumption of white innocence has on public safety is rarely examined. For example, years ago in Wisconsin, one of Jeffrey Dahmer's young victims ran naked, bleeding and screaming into the arms of Milwaukee's finest. But the serial killer's blond hair worked like pixie dust: The officers ignored the pleas of several African American women, who begged the police to protect the child and get him to safety. Instead, the cops took Dahmer's word that this frail 14-year-old Asian American boy was really a consenting adult and handed the child back over to the cannibal. For most Americans, danger doesn't look like Jeffrey Dahmer. The second part of the same study at Stanford affirmed it. Researchers found when they flashed pictures of whites to police and others, subsequent fuzzy images linked to crime remained a blur for a lot longer. In the Rorschach psyche of America, the words "white" and "crime" are not synonymous. This means that authorities are slow to recognize the threat even of serial killers and certainly by gun-toting shooters in neighborhoods, malls, schools, and airports -- if they're white. The ability of white skin to mask a threat was evident in Atlanta last year. In October, a white man pulled up to an elementary school and breezed through an elaborate security system while packing multiple guns, including an AK-47, and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition. Eight hundred children scrambled out of the building and a SWAT team set up outside. Then, Michael Brandon Hill pointed his gun out the school window and started shooting. As dramatic as the shootings may be, the assumption of white innocence has a more widespread, corrosive effect on the criminal justice system and society. The New York Police Department has documented evidence that the relatively small number of whites who were stopped and frisked accounted for nearly twice as many illegal firearms and one-third more contraband than blacks or Latinos. Still, Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormick instructed his officers to target African Americans. "I don't have any trouble telling you this," he said, "male blacks 14 to 20, 21." In other words, where the presumption of white innocence is concerned, facts carry much less weight than perception. Similarly, whites and Hispanics are two-thirds of all crack users in the United States; yet, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that 79% of sentenced crack offenders in 2009 were black. As journalist Saki Knafo noted, "When it comes to illegal drug use, white America does the crime, black America gets the time." Law professor Jonathan Simon wrote about the ways that the American obsession with crime has created "a culture of fear." Yet, any sense of real safety and security will continue to elude this nation as long black is the default threat setting in America. | Michael Dunn says he was justified in killing black teen because he felt threatened . Carol Anderson: Dunn thinks he's a victim even though teens had no weapons . She names Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Jonathan Ferrell -- all gunned down . She says "white" is seen as innocent, "black" carries presumption of being a thug . | 11f8910023fbac9c9103d8b234ae2ad3782b5c90 |
By . Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 05:30 EST, 30 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:30 EST, 30 July 2012 . Tragedy: Nastasha Noland, 25, fell out of the door while fighting with another woman and was run over by the bus . A drunken female reveller who fell out of a party bus during a catfight was caught under the wheels of the bus and killed. The two young women clashed on their way back from a country music concert to Santa Cruz, California, when the doors accidentally opened and the tragic accident took place. Natasha Noland, 25, died after plunging from the bus at around 11.50pm on Friday on Highway 17, while a 20-year-old woman from Felton was injured. Several of the 12 to 15 passengers on the Party Bus of Santa Cruz fled the scene, according to Mercury News, and two others were arrested for drunkenness. The group was returning from a Brad Paisley concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View and were all 'highly intoxicated' and uncooperative, according to police. 'We're hoping once they sober up they'll cooperate a bit more,' said California Highway Patrol officer DJ Sarabia. The shocking news comes at a time when lawmakers are debating whether to more closely regulate drinking on party buses. Party buses are typically vans that look . like airport shuttles and can seat from 15 to 30 people. They . often have couches and bars instead of row seating and some include . stripper poles and dance floors. 'As they're fighting, somehow the door to this bus opens up and they both fall out,' said Mr Sarabia. 'The victim is run over by the bus, and the other woman is injured.' Ms Noland is the daughter of Todd and Sue, owners of a well-known Santa Cruz surf shop. Employees at Pacific Wave, where she worked as the women's goods buyer, later said they were devastated by the news. Ms Noland was a 'super fun person' who was . friendly and generous, said assistant manager Jessica Eshom, 25. She . loved country music and was known for being fashionable, Ms Eshom said. 'She had a good heart, a good soul,' said Ms Eshom. 'She was an all-around amazing person. It's unbelievable what happened.' Her 20-year-old rival was taken to hospital and treated for moderate injuries, police said. Officers shut down Highway 17 between Lark Avenue and state Highway 9 to conduct an investigation and reopened it to traffic at 3.30am. Night out: The party bus was taking revellers back to Santa Cruz from a concert in Mountain View . Highway horror: The spot near Los Gatos where the devastating accident took place . The driver of the bus, an unnamed woman has not been charged and that the incident remains under investigation. A person who answered a phone call to Party Bus on Saturday declined to comment. Another friend of Ms Noland, Natalia Lockwood, 22, said: 'She was always happy and doing fun things and hanging out with friends.' Vivacious: Ms Noland was a buyer at her parents' popular surf shop and was described a 'fun-loving' The bill seeking to clamp down on party buses would require party bus drivers to check the IDs of passengers. If any passengers are under the legal drinking age, alcoholic beverages would be prohibited unless a designated chaperone aged 25 or older is on board. The bill is expected to go before the state Senate in August. Had it been law already, 'it could have prevented what happened last night,' said assemblyman Jerry Hill, noting that the woman who was fighting Ms Noland was only 20. He sponsored the bill after 19-year-old Burlingame resident Brett Studebaker was killed in another party bus-related accident in 2010. Mr Studebaker died in a car crash on Highway 101 in San Mateo after he got behind the wheel following three hours drinking on a party bus. At the time of his accident, his blood alcohol level was 0.26, more than three times the legal limit. A passenger in his car suffered brain damage and broken bones. Doug Studebaker, the teenager's father, said he was saddened by the news of Ms Noland's death and that it points to the need for regulation of the party bus industry. 'A lot of parents and people don't know the extent of the drinking that occurs and is actually encouraged on these party buses,' said Mr Studebaker. 'There are certain vendors that are very unethical and allow underage drinking - in fact make a business of it.' Mr Hill added that part of the inspiration for his bill was a call he received from a San Carlos mother after her 15-year-old daughter emerged so drunk from a ride to San Francisco aboard a party bus that she had to be taken to the hospital. Government concern: A bill is being drawn up to clamp down on drinking on party buses. Pictured, the Party Bus of Santa Cruz . On the road: Such buses can hold up to 30 people and have couches, bars and TVs in place of normal seating . Minors drinking on party buses 'happens a lot more than we know of,' Mr Hill said. Witness Roberta . Dallimonti said on Sunday: 'I ran to the middle of the road. It was . pitch black and no other cars were around. It was just so crazy. It was awful.' The Dallimontis said they witnessed Noland's distraught boyfriend getting forced to sit in a police car. They said he was angry and punched out a police car window. No one has been charged, and the accident remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. | Passengers were being taken home from country music concert . Police said that every one of them was drunk . The 25-year-old died and 20-year-old was injured . Two more arrested for intoxication while others fled . Bill being drawn up to clamp down on underage party bus drinking . A 19-year-old man was killed in a party bus-related accident in 2010 . A 15-year-old girl from San Carlos emerged so drunk from a ride to San Francisco . aboard a party bus that she had to go hospital . | d2b7c3ebfc6e9c4de0c386fa0cdc421ed5fb511f |
By . Lydia Warren For Mailonline . and Associated Press . Kevin Ward Jr's family found out that he had died on Facebook, his devastated father has revealed. Speaking out for the first time since his 20-year-old son died after being hit by NASCAR champion Tony Stewart on Saturday night, Kevin Ward Sr. said his daughter learned of the heartbreaking news online and broke it to him over the phone as they waited for updates in the hospital. 'He was just a very God-gifted kid,' Ward Sr. told Syracuse.com of his son. 'I think he slept with a smile on his face.' Mr Ward expressed his anger at Stewart, saying only he knows the truth of what happened on the track at the Canadaigua Motorsports Park on Saturday night. Scroll down for video . Heartbroken: Kevin Ward Sr., pictured with his wife Pam and their son Kevin Ward Jr., learned that the young man had died over Facebook. They were at the race where he died but did not see him get hit . 'The one person that knows what happened . that night is possibly facing 10 years in prison. Is he going to say . what he done?' Mr Ward said. He was at the Canadaigua Motorsports Park with his wife Pamela when their son got into a crash on lap 14 of a 25-lap Empire Super Sprint race. A video of the incident apparently shows Stewart's car apparently making contact with Ward's car before the younger driver's vehicle spins out and comes to a stop near a wall. Ward can then be seen getting out of his crashed car and walking towards other cars on the track before pointing a finger, apparently at Stewart. A car . swerves to avoid him, but when Stewart's car passes close to Ward, his . right rear tire apparently hits him, and Ward was pulled beneath the car . and thrown in the air. Mr . Ward said it was the first time his son had ever climbed out of his car . during a race, and believes he reacted that way is because of 'who put . him into the wall'. Questions: Mr Ward said that all the other drivers managed to see his son walking on the track on Saturday night but for some reason, NASCAR star Tony Stewart (pictured) failed to see him . Proud: The devastated parents said they do not want their son to be remembered for his death . 'Tony Stewart was the best damn driver by . far on the track that night,' he said. 'Why he had to go up as high as he did and . hog my son, there's no reason for it.' He said that all the other drivers on the track saw the young man walking - but Stewart still hit him. Kevin Ward, Sr. 'Apparently, Tony Stewart was the only one driving out there who didn't see him,' he said. But Mr Ward did not see his son get hit because he was riding a four-wheeler over to where the car had crashed. As he headed over there, someone told him Kevin had been hit. The couple . watched for 45 minutes as emergency workers performed CPR and traveled . with their son to the hospital. There, they received the call from their . daughter. Kevin Ward Jr will be remembered at a funeral service on Thursday. Ontario . County sheriff's deputies, who have met twice with the Ward family, are . still investigating the crash and are looking at another video of the . incident. Confrontation: Ward Jr was hit after he was nudged off the course and walked on the track, pointing his finger angrily at Stewart. Stewart's car then fatally hit him when it came around the track . Sheriff Philip Povero has said that his . initial findings have turned up nothing that would indicate criminal . intent in the crash - but legal experts agree that does not mean Stewart . is in the clear. He could be charged with second-degree manslaughter under New York law if prosecutors believe he 'recklessly caused the death of another person,' with negligent homicide another possibility, criminal law professor Corey Rayburn Yung of the Kansas University School of Law told the Associated Press. 'The question over whether someone was reckless is a factual one, and one a prosecutor might let a jury decide,' said Yung, who also posts at the Concurring Opinion blog. Stewart would not expect to be charged for the car-on-car bump that sent Ward spinning into the wall. But if, for example, he were to tell police he saw Ward on the track and tried to shower him with dirt or send him a message, a first-degree manslaughter charge could be a possibility, Yung said. In a 1949 . case that Yung uses in his class, midget car racer Joseph Sostilio was . found guilty of manslaughter after he tried to squeeze a four foot-wide . vehicle through a two-foot opening at 40 mph, crashing into another car . and sending it into the one driven by Stephen D. Bishop. Bishop's car . flipped three times and he was killed. Missed: A makeshift memorial can be seen for Kevin Ward, Jr. at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York, where he was fatally hit on August 9. Ward Jr will be remembered at a funeral on Thursday . Sostilio's conviction was upheld on appeal by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Noting that a violent or aggressive act on a football field or in a boxing ring is not necessarily a crime, Justice Henry Tilton Lummus wrote: 'In the present case physical contact was not an essential part of the racing of automobiles.' Povero would not say how Stewart described the accident, but he said he has reviewed two videos and spoken to Stewart. There is no video or audio from Stewart's vehicle. 'The worst thing that could happen for Stewart is if his story doesn't seem to match other evidence,' Yung said. 'Because then it might call into question his own story.' After the investigation is completed, Povero said, the evidence will be turned over to the district attorney. Even if he is cleared by prosecutors, though, Stewart could face a civil suit. | Kevin Ward Sr and his wife Pam were in the hospital on Saturday when their daughter called them and said she'd read about the death online . Mr Ward expressed his anger at NASCAR champ Tony Stewart for hitting his son, saying only he knows the truth of what happened in the crash . Ward Jr had crashed out of the race on Saturday and walked on to the track, pointing angrily at Stewart - who then hit him . The investigation is ongoing and authorities say there is no evidence it was intentional - but legal experts say Stewart could still face charges . | 6ab579d8cb60048b697e8e8682e1c969dc8b7bef |
By . Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:21 EST, 29 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:03 EST, 30 November 2013 . Two Fargo radio personalities who photographed the remains of western North Dakota's pioneer towns for a coffee table book discovered a surprise when they returned for volume two. Some of the 'ghost' towns had come back to life, thanks largely to the oil boom.One of the images that Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp had hoped to capture for the second volume of 'Ghosts of North Dakota' was an abandoned church in Fortuna, near the borders of Montana and Saskatchewan. Circled: This photo provided by Terry Hinnenkamp shows an abandoned one-room school house in Clear Lake Township in Kidder County, North Dakota, featured in the book 'Ghosts of North Dakota Volume 2' Witching: Leann Pelvit searches for forgotten graves using an ancient method called 'witching' along the Dakota-Montana border to protect them from being disturbed in the explosion of development spurred by the region's oil boom . When they arrived, they found a recreational vehicle and semi-trailer parked in front of the building, ruling out a photo shoot. And then there's nearby Appam, which was featured in the first edition. The pair was surprised to find about 30 recreational vehicles and trailers set up behind a shelter belt that once guarded the town. 'We were shocked to see that some of the towns we photographed in 2005 or 2006 had people living there now,' Larson said. 'We always said it would be a happy day when we could say one of these towns turned the corner and starting coming back. We didn't expect it to happen like this.' New growth: A tree grows through a derelict vehicle near the old ghost town of Dore which has seen an economic and population turnaround with increased oil activity in the North Dakota region . Relic: This abandoned house photographed by Troy Larson for the book 'Ghosts of North Dakota Volume 2' is located near Barton, North Dakota, in the northern part of the state . Larson knows that the rebirth is temporary and might be the makings of future ghost town photos. 'If we're still above the ground, because Lord knows how long the boom will last out there, we fully intend to go back out there and photograph what is left,' Larson said. 'It would be a very different type of ghost town. What is a man camp going to look like when nobody is left? Will there even be a man camp?' Rebirth: The former school superintendent's house on the east side of Omemee, North Dakota, an area where nearly 150 people from 28 states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have purchased property in this ghost town on auction sites like eBay . New boom: A donkey pump extracts oil from the earth at an abandoned farm near the old ghost town of Dore, North Dakota, which Dore has seen a rebirth with the booming oil activity in western North Dakota . The second edition is 88 pages and features towns such as Bantry, Barton and Bentley, along with Raleigh, Roseville and Roth. Larson's favorite photographs are one he took of a house in Sims, which is featured on the cover, and one by Hinnenkamp of a one-room schoolhouse in Clear Lake Township that is surrounded by rings of crops on a foggy morning. The Sims house: This abandoned house in Sims, North Dakota is featured on the cover of the book 'Ghosts of North Dakota Volume 2' which documents ghost towns throughout the state . 'There was no way we could have known there was going to be a crop circle around the school house or it was going to be all foggy and misty when we showed up there,' Larson said. 'It seemed like the shot was just presenting itself to us when we got there.' The first book has sold about 3,000 copies, Larson said, and the pair had to back-order more books to meet demand. That allowed them to finance the second volume, which is available on the group's website. 'Being able to do one book was more than we hoped for, to be honest,' Larson said. 'We're poor radio guys and never had the money to do a book. We were pleasantly surprised that we were successful and it all worked out.' | Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp photographed abandoned towns for a coffee table book . They recently returned to create second volume of the book . Some of the towns that used to be abandoned now have people living in them . | d4371c5172f6f623f9252c994f636fffe3600f27 |
Epsom, England (CNN) -- Watched by the Queen of England, hot favorite Camelot won the Epsom Derby on Saturday, setting up a potential tilt at English horse racing's Triple Crown. Camelot, with odds of 13-8, added the prestigious title to his 2,000 Guineas win in comfortable fashion, triumphing by five lengths. He will now be targeted at the St. Ledger Stakes later this year, according to his owner. If successful, he will become the first horse since the great Nijinsky in 1970 to win the treble. With Camelot trained by Aiden O'Brien and ridden by his 19-year-old son Joseph, history was made on the weekend of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The pair became the first father-son/trainer-jockey combination to win England's premier Classic race. Aiden O'Brien's other horse in the race, Astrology, finished third after leading the eight-horse field into the straight before Camelot and Main Sequence surged past. It continued the O'Briens' domination of the English flat racing season, having already captured the 1,000 Guineas with Homecoming Queen, the 2,000 Guineas with Camelot and the Oaks (for fillies) with Was at Epsom on Friday. Britain's horse-loving queen . The family had earlier scooped Saturday's other main race, the Coronation Cup. Queen Elizabeth chose to commence her weekend of celebrations with a visit to Epsom Downs. An avid racing fan, the Queen has attended all but two Derbies during her 60-year reign. Before a capacity crowd of more than 100,000 people, the 86-year-old and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, were driven on to the course as opera singer Katherine Jenkins sang the national anthem. Trainer's date with Epsom destiny? Among the cheering crowds were many racegoers who embraced the Diamond Jubilee theme, with variations on the red, white and blue color scheme visibly in evidence among the usual confection of hats and headpieces. The Epsom Derby is England's premier "Classic" -- a series of races for three-year-olds that also comprises the 1,000 Guineas, the 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St. Ledger. The 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks are fillies-only races. Of the three remaining events, the treble is rarely attempted these days, due to its longer length of the St. Ledger of a mile and six furlongs. | Camelot wins English horse racing's Epsom Derby, as Queen watches . Event marks the start of British ruler's Diamond Jubilee celebrations this weekend . Camelot's trainer and jockey become first father-son combination to win race . The horse has now completed two legs of the prestigious English Triple Crown . | cee8d035a3f1f16aee3bd1aa2bb6989aec1b60b0 |
Washington (CNN) -- The White House has been tight-lipped about how many uninsured Americans have signed up for health care insurance under the Affordable Care Act, which has led to some concerns about whether enough people are enrolling in private health plans to make the economic model work. Under the law, insurance companies are required to cover anyone. But in order to make that economically feasible, everyone has to buy insurance. The White House has set a goal of enrolling 7 million people in private insurance plans through the new health insurance exchanges by March 31, 2014, the end of the glitch-plagued open enrollment period that started October 1. But it has been tight-lipped so far about how many people have actually enrolled in private insurance plans -- those who have both applied and paid the premiums in advance. Officials announced Thursday that 700,000 people have applied for insurance plans in both the 36 states that are using a federally run health care exchange and the 14 states running their own exchanges. Obamacare website 'fixable' by end of November . But don't apply that 700,000 application figure to the 7 million enrollment goal. For starters, there's no guarantee that all 700,000 will ultimately enroll in a health insurance plan. And those 700,000 applications include Medicaid enrollments. Medicaid programs are the public health insurance programs run by states to provide low-income people with health insurance. As the law was originally envisioned, more than half of the uninsured people in the United States -- 24 million or so, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation -- who would be getting insurance through Obamacare would have been getting Medicaid. Anyone who makes less than 138% of the poverty level -- about $27,000 for a family of four -- isn't eligible for federal subsidies to buy insurance, so Medicaid is effectively their only option. So it's not necessarily a bad thing if more than half of the people getting insurance under Obamacare so far are getting Medicaid. But in many of the states operating their own exchanges, new Medicaid enrollees account for more than half of the people who have obtained insurance under Obamacare since October 1. Related: Finger-pointing over Obamacare . Should it be alarming that so many of these 700,000 new applications are people trying to get Medicaid and not private insurance? Not yet, said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. "There's nothing in what we've seen to suggest anything like that," he said. "Whether you're able to be eligible for Medicaid or not is totally dependent on your income." But he did admit "Some of the numbers we've seen, preliminary, early numbers, do seem a little out of whack." But he said there's a reason for that. "In these small handful of states, they're aggressively targeting people they think might be eligible for Medicaid," Salo said. Salo pointed to people who the states already know are on food stamps receiving some other kind of state or locally funded health program. "You know who they are, you know what their income is, you know they're OK accepting government benefits. If you go after these guys, there should be no surprise that these people are being enrolled." Also, in some states, Medicaid coverage starts immediately, meaning there may be more of an incentive to enroll early because you get coverage sooner than on the private market where no matter when you enroll in the first two and a half months coverage still starts on January 1. In Arkansas they've insured more than 62,000 people in Medicaid since October 1. But in a novel twist they're doing it by using Medicaid dollars to buy people private insurance on the exchanges. Related: Obamacare more than a phone call away . And Oregon has been approved to use food stamps and other metrics as a prequalifier for Medicaid enrollment. So the state sent letters to uninsured welfare recipients that detailed simple steps to enroll in Medicaid -- i.e. just sign a form and mail it back or call a hotline. This has resulted in tens of thousands of enrollees. But Oregon also has yet to allow online registration for private health insurance. It's the one state that elected to fix the glitches in its website before going live. It may very well be that not enough people -- particularly the young and the healthy people who are needed to pay premiums to offset the benefits going out to older and less healthy -- are signing up for health insurance on the exchanges. But with so little information from the government, it is too early to tell. What we learned and didn't from Obamacare website hearing . | Early sign ups for the Affordable Care Act have lagged because of technical problems . But those first numbers may mask a different set of numbers . Many states are using Medicaid enrollees in their count toward initial Obamacare applications . | 02050bd3fa1b0443f768e909537de80cc40ea446 |
By . Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 23:32 EST, 8 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 00:35 EST, 9 October 2013 . A one-year-old boy has learned to propel himself in a wheelchair. Wyatt Banks landed in a wheelchair after recently being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that damages the spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed below the chest. An inspiring video shows the determined toddler refusing to give in to the disease, moving himself forward on a specially designed wheelchair. Inspiring: Wyatt Banks, 1, has learned to use a wheelchair on his own . Eyes on the prize: Wyatt's parents entice him to move forward with this toy . Strapped in around his chest, the boy is shown using the wheels to move forward exactly as adults do. Once a toy is shown to young Wyatt, he moves more quickly and reaches out to grab it. Doctors at the Maryland hospital he is currently being treated in say Wyatt is the youngest person they have ever seen use a wheelchair on their own, his mother Abby Banks told Fox Carolina. The young boy’s diagnosis has not been made public, it is not known if he will ever walk again. His fight against the debilitating disease is chronicled on his Facebook page. Brave baby: Wyatt is thriving despite his condition . Quick study: Wyatt Banks is the youngest-known child to use a wheelchair solo . | Wyatt Banks found himself in a wheelchair after being diagnosed with a spinal cord attacking auto-immune disease . Mr Banks is the youngest-known person to use a wheelchair solo . | 9502f3464e95d75ba53753291d1f39f82855048c |
(CNN)It's been one of the most memorable labels in British horse racing history but to the undoubted dismay of traditionalists, Glorious Goodwood is no more. The five days of racing will instead be known as the Qatar Goodwood Festival from 2015. Not content with staging the 2022 World Cup, or the 2019 World Athletics Championships, the Gulf State has now added its name to one of horse racing's most prestigious festivals. A 10-year deal has been signed with Goodwood Racecourse which is being described as the 'single biggest sponsorship deal ever done for the benefit of British racing.' "Commencing in 2015, this makes the Qatar Goodwood Festival one of the most significant and valuable meetings in the world," read a statement. In excess of $3m will now be invested in eight key races during the festival, taking the total prize money on offer at the festival to $7m. The Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes now has a total prize fund of just over $1.5m, to strengthen its status as one of the world's most valuable mile-long races. "I am delighted that Qatar have decided to play a significant part in Goodwood's position as one of the finest racing experiences in the world," said Lord March, Goodwood's owner. "Goodwood has, for more than 200 years, been about the best racing in the most English of settings, accessible to everyone. Our partnership with Qatar will make an enormous contribution to horse racing in the UK." Qatar already plays a significant financial role in the UK in a number of areas, owning Harrods, the iconic department store, the Shard, the UK's tallest building, and a percentage of the London Stock Exchange. And the sponsorship of Goodwood adds to other existing sports-related deals, with Qatar already heavily involved with European football giants Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain among others. "Thanks to the wise guidance of His Highness The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar supports sport all over the world," said Hamad Al Attiyah, President of the Qatar Equestrian Federation. "Goodwood is already one of the most iconic sporting festivals of the British summer season and we are delighted to be the title sponsor over the five days. "The sponsorship demonstrates Qatar's further commitment to British racing and, with such huge prize money on offer, we hope it will help to attract international runners from all over the world as well as continuing to see the best in Britain, France and Ireland. "We look forward to working with Lord March and the team at Goodwood and taking the racing festival to a world class racing platform." The first Qatar Goodwood Festival will start on July 28 2015. | Glorious Goodwood to be renamed Qatar Goodwood Festival . Move comes after Gulf State invest over $3m into horse racing meet . Investment labeled 'the single biggest sponsorship deal' in British racing . | f34503a35eef716e191bad712fb1bf6a9da921a9 |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Home Office said Wednesday it is banning the military wing of Hezbollah, the Lebanese political movement, because of its support for "terrorism" in Iraq and the Palestinian territories. Hezbollah fighters with the Shiite militia's yellow flags during ceremony for slain commander Imad Mughnieh. Parliament must approve the order for it to become law. The announcement would make it a crime to belong to or encourage support for Hezbollah's military wing. The order does not apply to Hezbollah's political or social activities. "It sends out a clear message that we condemn Hezbollah's violence and support for terrorism," Home Office minister Tony McNulty said in a statement. Britain's Terrorism Act allows Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to ban any group that she believes is involved in terrorism. "Hezbollah's military wing is providing active support to militants in Iraq who are responsible for attacks both on coalition forces and on Iraqi civilians, including providing training in the use of deadly roadside bombs," McNulty said. "Hezbollah's military wing also provides support to Palestinian terrorist groups in the occupied Palestinian territories, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the ban came after "new evidence" of Hezbollah's involvement in terrorism in Iraq and the Palestinian territories. In the House of Commons, Brown called on Hezbollah to lay down its arms and participate in the Lebanese political process "on the same terms as other political parties." Hezbollah is the largest Shiite Muslim political movement in Lebanon and maintains an armed force that fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006. The group has been linked to numerous terrorist attacks against American, Israeli, and other Western targets and the United States lists it as a terrorist organization. But many in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East, particularly Shiites, view Hezbollah militants as freedom fighters. | UK Terrorism Act allows Home Secretary to ban suspected terror groups . Will become a crime to belong to, encourage support for Hezbollah's military wing . UK PM: Ban came after "new evidence" of Hezbollah's involvement in terrorism . Hezbollah is the largest Shiite Muslim political movement in Lebanon . | 4f1c1cf0219209d80db7cc869230994f2cd7cfc3 |
By . Associated Press . Five members of a Vermont family assaulted police officers during a melee that erupted when security guards at a New Hampshire amusement park told them to leave their knives in the car. The fracas started at about 1:30 p.m. Monday when the Perry family tried to enter Canobie Lake Park in Salem. Some of the family members had knives on their belts and were told they couldn't bring them into the park, police said. Ashley Perry, 20, of Sutton was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. Allan Perry, 45, of Lyndon faces felony charges of rioting and second-degree assault, as well as disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and criminal trespass. He also was held on $5,000 cash bail. Damian Perry (left), 18, of Lyndonville was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. Brian Perry, 18, (right) of Lyndonville also faces a felony riot charges, simple assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. He, too, was held on $5,000 cash bail. Cash out: Joshua Perry was held overnight on $5,000 cash bail. He faces a felony charge of rioting, resisting arrest with serious injury resulting, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct . The family became belligerent and eventually two Salem officers responded to quell the disturbance. The family became more irate, yelling profanities at the officers in front of other visitors, police said. After several verbal warnings, an officer told one man he was under arrest and tried to handcuff him, leading to the fight that included people jumping on the backs of the officers, punching, kicking and grabbing for their weapons, police said. Two officers were injured, including one who was treated at a hospital for a dislocated shoulder. As backup officers arrived, the mother of the family faked a seizure, police said. She was examined by paramedics and released at the scene. Those arrested included Joshua Perry, 23, of Sutton, Vermont, who was charged with felony riot, resisting arrest with serious injury, trespassing and disorderly conduct. He was held on $5,000 cash bail. Brian Perry, 18, of Lyndonville, was charged with felony riot, assault and resisting arrest. He was held on $5,000 cash bail. E. Allen Perry, 45, of Lyndon, was charged with felony riot, felony assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was held on $5,000 cash bail. Fun of the fair: Canobie Lake Park is in Salem, New Hampshire, United States, about 40 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. The century old amusement park has over 100 rides, games and attractions . Damian Perry, 18, of Lyndonville, was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. He was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. Ashley Perry, 20, of Sutton, was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. She was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. It could not immediately be determined if any of them had lawyers. | Two police officers were after being attacked by five members of family . They became angry after being told they couldn't bring knives into a New Hampshire amusement park . Members of the Perry family were asked by security staff at Canobie Lake Park in Salem to put the knives they were carrying on their belts in their car . Several members of the family then became 'extremely belligerent' and began yelling and swearing in front of families and young children . | d2d72a6d2e593e6dbeabaf1ac4bc9553e306d2d2 |
By . Reuters Reporter . Measles cases have hit a 20-year high in the United States, a troubling increase fueled by international travel by people who have not been vaccinated against the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have revealed. Between January 1 and May 23 of this year, 288 measles cases were reported to the federal health agency, the highest year-to-date total since 1994, officials said. 'This is not the kind of record we want to break, but should be a wake-up call to travelers and parents to make sure vaccinations are up to date,' said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. Scroll down for video . Record: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have revealed that measles cases have reached a 20-year high in the US, even though the virus was eliminated in 2000 . Call for vaccinations: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that cases of measles in the first four months of this year are the most any year since 1996, as they warned clinicians, parents and others to watch for the potentially deadly virus . Home-grown measles in the United States was declared eliminated in 2000, but cases imported from patients traveling abroad continue to infect unvaccinated U.S. residents with the highly contagious respiratory disease, according to the CDC. A large outbreak in the Philippines was connected to 138 cases this year involving Amish communities in Ohio, health officials said. In all, 18 states have reported measles cases this year. Measles has caused 43 patients to be hospitalized in 2014 but no deaths, Schuchat said. Unvaccinated residents in the United States provide a 'welcome wagon' for measles imported from abroad, Schuchat said, noting the virus is still common in many parts of the world including Europe, Asia and Africa. The Philippines has reported more than 32,000 measles cases and 41 deaths from January to April 20, she said. Eighty-five percent of the unvaccinated U.S. residents (195 residents) who contracted measles cited religious, philosophical or personal reasons for not getting immunized, the CDC said (see the chart below). This chart shows the reasons why the 195 unvaccinated US residents who contracted measles this year didn't get immunized . Reasons for no vaccination: The CDC says 195 US residents infected with measles this year were unvaccinated, with 85 percent of them choosing not to get vaccinated because of their religious and philosophical beliefs . Source: Most of the US measles cases this year originated in the Western Pacific and the Philippines, according to official data . 'It was not because they were too young or had medical reasons like leukemia,' Schuchat said. 'These outbreaks illustrate that clusters of people with like-minded beliefs who forgo vaccines can be susceptible to outbreaks when the virus in imported.' The CDC recommends that, starting at age 12 months, infants receive two doses of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Infants aged 6 through 11 months old should receive one dose of MMR vaccine before international travel. The health agency also recommends vaccination for adults who were not immunized as children or are unsure of their immunization history. Protection: Medical experts recommend that, starting at age 12 months, infants receive two doses of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine . | The disease was eliminated in the US in 2000, but travelers are spreading it . 288 cases reported this year - the highest year-to-date total since 1994 . A recent outbreak among Ohio's Amish community was linked to cases of the virus in the Philippines . | aed0e9dd6ff8ac567165425ccc4b99a78460f723 |
Want a shoulder to cry on? Then find a woman in her 50s, like Nigella Lawson or Jennifer Saunders, psychologists reckon. For no one else, male or female, has as much empathy as women of this generation, according to a study of more than 75,000 adults. They will listen more other people's problems and also react better to their needs, showing sympathy, concern and emotion, the research claims. The perfect shoulder to cry on... Nigella Lawson, 53, . and her 50-something female peers have the most empathy of any particular . demographic, according to a study of more than 75,000 adults . Women are widely considered better listeners than men and those in their 50s are best of all because of both their stage of life and the period in which they were born, it added. Researchers argued that growing up in the Sixties and Seventies may have opened the eyes of these women to the struggles and experiences of others, from apartheid and gay rights to women's lib and anti-war protests. Older adults born earlier are more likely to be grumpy and cynical as their emotional functions fade with age, said study by U.S. universities of Michigan and North Carolina. They also grew up in periods of greater hardship, such as during the war or post-war austerity, which could affect their attitudes to the seemingly minor problems of others. And younger generations are from more materialistic times, the researchers wrote in the Journals of Gerontology: Psychological and Social Sciences. This could make them more self obsessed and so wrapped up in their own problems that it makes it harder for them to be concerned about that of others. But the baby boomer generation who are now in their 50s grew up in a more enlightened and media-driven age, with a greater knowledge of the world around them. This pair could cheer you up with a joke, too: . Dawn French, 56, and Jennifer Saunders, 53. Researchers claim growing up . in the Sixties and Seventies opened the eyes of these women to the . struggles of others . Famous women in their 50s include TV chef Nigella, 53, as well as Dawn French, 56, and her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, 54, and TV presenter Fern Britton, 55. Lorraine Kelly is 53, just one year younger than Hollywood sirens Sharon Stone and Michelle Pfeiffer. The researchers looked at three nationwide U.S. studies in which 75,000 adults of all ages were questioned over lifestyles, attitudes and other aspects of their daily lives. And who wouldn't mind crying on these shoulders? Michelle Pfeiffer, left, and Sharon Stone, right, both 54. The baby boomer generation grew up in a more enlightened and media-driven age, it is claimed . It found that over a lifetime, levels of empathy started and ended low but peaked in middle age and particularly among the so-called post-war baby boomer generation. Report co-author Sara Konrath of the University of Michigan, said: 'Overall, late middle-aged adults were higher in both of the aspects of empathy that we measured. 'They reported that they were more likely to react emotionally to the experiences of others, and they were also more likely to try to understand how things looked from the perspective of others.' The study added: 'Those born in the 1950s and '60s - the middle-aged people in our samples - were raised during historic social movements, from civil rights to various antiwar countercultures. 'It may be that today's middle-aged adults report higher empathy than others because they grew up during periods of important societal changes that emphasized the feelings and perspectives of other groups.' Empathy is not just about being a good listener though, said the authors of the report, it can also play a major role in society from involvement in community work to charity contributions. | No-one else has as much empathy as women of the baby-boomer generation, research claims . Growing up in the Sixties and Seventies opened their eyes to the struggles and experiences of others, it is argued . Research looked at three U.S. studies in which 75,000 adults were questioned over . lifestyles, attitudes and other aspects of their lives . | c87df8c7b893bbefa9f1c023f5f6a7baacb432e9 |
(CNN) -- The radio was going on about the space shuttle's last mission. I've never been a space person, but there was still something sad about it. America losing its step. No more space for us. Shuttle launches were like America's homeroom. The whole country checked in. The whole business left me feeling wistful as my friend and I hurtled along in our own white craft drawing a line across the desert from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. A quarter of the way there: Tyvek flapping like flags in the wind. Half-built houses mark the edge of L.A. Metro. The high-water mark of the building boom. Halfway there: We stop in Barstow for cheeseburgers and Cokes. And then it was back into the Mojave Desert. Mountains the color of cocoa sticking up from the earth. The sun a French fry lamp on the side of my face. Guilt from leaving work early tugged on me like the air conditioner dragged on the car engine. Escape to Las Vegas. "Lost Wages" my father used to call it. A pun pointed at the town's gambling industry that now just as easily applies to its entire economy. The great recession walloped Vegas harder than most places. It was a subprime boomtown that is now the foreclosure capital of America. What's Vegas like in a down economy? Are there a few more sips left in the champagne bottle? Yes. But it's flat. When we arrived on the Las Vegas Strip, storm clouds were gathered around the Statue of Liberty replica. A double take confirmed that they were real. Rain in the desert, what were the odds? A rhetorical question in any city but this one. The Strip. America's Id. Visiting there is like stepping into mainstream television: common-denominator vulgarity that you can't keep your eyes off of. "Pleasure" pumped into elephantine proportions. Like a basket containing the world's largest gourd held by a woman with the world's largest breasts. Don't get me wrong, I like sex, gambling and tippling, but its hyper-commercialization brings me down. Like how passing a blown-up picture of a chili dog on a semi ruins your appetite instead of whetting it. In the belly of the MGM Grand parking lot we unload our bags. Parents walk by holding children. Slightly older children walk by holding suitcases of beer. Everyone tingles with anticipation. There is an optimism inherent in a clean hotel room at the beginning of a weekend. This will be my headquarters. I will hang my clothes here. This will be my desk. Las Vegas hotel stays carry an additional air of mischief. We'll drink here before we go out. I will close the curtains so the sun doesn't come in tomorrow. I'll choose this bed because it's closer to the door and God knows when I'm coming back. We decided to walk over to the recently renovated Tropicana hotel and casino. In the postmodern Epcot Center that is Las Vegas, the Tropicana is Miami's South Beach. The building's handsome white gleam and jaunty retro sign held the promise of an excellent martini, and soon I was behind one the size of an office trash can. We were the only people at the bar; 7 p.m. is a dead zone in summertime Vegas. All day long people attend pool parties. And then late at night they attend clubs. From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. is reserved for showers, TV and energy drinks. Our booby prize was a video screen behind the bar showing an endlessly looping video of, well, boobs, and other body parts wrapped up in bathing suits and gyrating to music. Like songs that tell you how to dance, the decorations in Las Vegas are constantly showing you how you are supposed to behave. Later, while eating hamburgers at Hubert Keller's "Burger Bar," we are surrounded by picture of hamburgers -- hamburgers that look much juicier and more appetizing than the ones we were eating. Hours of blackjack. In my back pocket I had a set of tips my father sent me. Don't hit if the dealer has 3-6 and you have a bustable hand. If you're dealt two aces always split them and then pray for tens, etc. I withdrew $300 from the ATM and watched my pile go up and down for hours. Up. Down. Up. Down. I toggled from scotch to seltzer. Scotch. Seltzer. The dealers rotated. The fast one who prefers the ladies. The deliberate one who wordlessly guides the players. The efficient, emotionless machine who just deals, deals, deals. And then there was the ever-changing cast of players. The fat drunk tanktopper smoking a cigarette filter. Two Irish kids with gelled sea anemone hair. The chubby secretary who would scratch the table with her pink-painted fingernail every time she wanted a hit. And at one point in the night, superstar singer Michael Buble and his Argentine underwear-model wife sidle up to the table and do well until a crowd of squealing girls forms and he is forced to cash out. It's 3:30. Walk back to the room. A fight breaks out behind me. A girl lies legs-splayed on a flower planter in the lobby. A couple ruts next to the soda machine. A man lies face down in his own vomit. Prostitutes roam the floor looking for drunk prey. A topless guy smokes a cigarette in my elevator. As the door shuts and the elevator lifts, I can still hear the bingbinging clamor of America spending its energy-drink money on Texas hold 'em. In the morning it's dim sum on Spring Mountain Road, Vegas' version of Chinatown. Yes, the city has the skyline of New York and Paris, the canals of Venice and the pools of South Beach, but the real spin around the world happens in the neighborhoods that surround the Strip. About 22% of Las Vegans are immigrants who were attracted by the low cost of living and the abundance of service jobs that don't require a higher education. The city's strip malls are an international food court. Eritrean and Chinese food. Mexican and Thai. We meet cabbies from Burma, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. This global village aspect of Vegas is one of the most exhilarating parts of the area and could be a draw unto itself. They could call it "American Census 2050." From Vegas' future to its past: Downtown. The city's soul. Iconic Vegas. Neon and $9 prime rib specials. The home of old guard Vegas -- Binion's, the Gold Spike and the Golden Nugget. There are $5 blackjack tables here and strawberry daiquiris with whipped cream. To draw some of the action back from the Strip, businesses chipped in and created the Fremont Street Experience, a barrel vault canopy 90 feet high and four blocks long. It shelters folks from the sun in the day and turns into a light show at night. People rappel under the canopy. Buskers perform there. Concerts play. It's livened up the area, but it's what hasn't been done to the neighborhood that's going to save it: The old gambling houses in this neighborhood just feel right. An old piece of America that has hung on. A symbol that there is life after a bubble. The next day we leave the greatest example of American excess and visit the greatest example of American restraint: Hoover Dam. There are only 3,485 days and counting of water left in Las Vegas, literally. The canyon surrounding Hoover Dam is the evidence. Its walls are chalk white where the water line used to be. You have to move your head forward toward your belly to see where the water line is now. I piss in one of the magnificent marble art deco restrooms that sit on top of the dam. The windows there provide a dramatic view of this modern wonder of the world. Nowhere in America today is a bathroom being built like this, nor will one be built in the near future. Unless, maybe, someone decides to open up a resort on the strip called "America Then." They could buy a mothballed space shuttle and hang it in the lobby. | Brendan Francis Newnam takes road trip to "Lost Wages" Newnam: Vegas was a subprime boomtown that is now the foreclosure capital of America . He samples Vegas' hyper-commercial present, ethnic-tapestry future and iconic past . Vegas: the image of American excess; Hoover Dam: the image of American restraint . | 39afc0d8fcf3dddcc5f1113fca9f3f65dc1b6f90 |
Hong Kong (CNN) -- China has long banned the sale of certain books, but now it has banned media reports on the opening of a Taiwanese book chain in Shanghai. The Eslite bookstore -- which in Taiwan stocks titles banned on the mainland -- announced this week it had signed a letter of intent to lease 6,500 square meters spanning three floors in the Shanghai Tower, a new development that will be China's tallest when it opens in 2015. A source at the Shanghai Labor Newspaper confirmed to CNN that the paper's editor-in-chief on Thursday received a terse directive from the Shanghai Municipal Propaganda Department not to report the deal. "The matter about Taiwan Eslite Bookstore [intending] to open a branch in Shanghai should not be reported anymore," Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported the message as saying. The source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the message was communicated by SMS text message, an unusual medium for propaganda directives to the media, which are typically delivered in writing. The directive did not provide a reason for the media blackout and a spokesman at the Shanghai Municipal Propaganda Department told CNN he was "not aware" of the matter. Eslite's deputy communications manager, Jessie Lu, declined to comment on whether the media blackout would affect the bookstore in any way. "Eslite respects the rules and regulations in mainland China, including those on the book market," she said. The bookstore chain also would not comment on which titles would be available at the new Shanghai branch although Lu acknowledged that the retailer would not be able to sell books banned by China at its mainland locations, including Taiwanese public intellectual Lung Ying-tai's book about the Chinese civil war, "Big River, Big Sea—Untold Stories of 1949." Founded in 1989, Eslite is Taiwan's largest bookstore chain, with more than 40 locations, including a 24-7 branch in the capital of Taipei. Its multi-story flagship in Taipei, located a block from the iconic Taipei 101 tower, is wildly popular among locals and tourists. It opened its first overseas branch in August 2012 in Hong Kong, where titles banned on the mainland are freely available. While Hong Kong falls under Chinese sovereignty, the special administrative region enjoys a high degree of autonomy and is not subject to China's regulations on banned material. | China banned media coverage of opening of Shanghai bookstore by prominent Taiwan retailer Eslite . Propaganda department did not provide reason for media blackout . Ban follows Eslite's announcement that it will lease space in what is slated to be China's tallest commercial tower . | f2a4147e84a30627f5243be6d0b5b629c84ac74e |
A virus that has been causing severe respiratory illness across the country has for first time been blamed for the death of a four-year-old child. A medical examiner in Hamiltown Township, New Jersey, has ruled that Eli Waller died last week was a result of enterovirus 68. The virus - which carries symptoms such as cough, runny nose, sneezing and body aches - has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and Washington, D.C. - almost all of them children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier this week that four people infected with the virus had died, but it's unclear what role the virus played in those deaths. Scroll down for video . Urging calm: Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede addresses the media concerning the death of a Hamilton Township, preschooler from enterovirus 68 on Saturday October 4, 2014. The mayor said New Jersey wull continue to follow the necessary protocols in order to prevent the spread of the virus . Scene: On September 25, four-year-old Eli Waller from New Jersey, who attended preschool at Yardville Elementary School, died from Enterovirus 68 . Widespread:From mid-August to October 3, 2014, CDC or state public health laboratories have confirmed a total of 538 people in 43 states and the District of Columbia with respiratory illness caused by EV-D68 . Tragic: Emily Otrando, a 10-year-old from Cumberland, Rhode Island, died September 22 at Hasbro Children's Hospital. She was infected with EV-D68, but died from a bacterial infection that hit her in tandem with the virus . Some children are especially vulnerable to infection because of pre-existing conditions, though the medical examiner said that was not the case in the New Jersey boy's death. Eli Waller, who attended Yardville Elementary School in Hamilton, died at his home on September 25. Most of the severe cases nationwide have involved children because they generally have not been exposed to enteroviruses as often as adults have and are less likely to have developed immunity to them, officials say. Township officials said the boy's parents have asked for privacy. 'When you're given the news that a virus was the cause of death to your child, of course they were saddened, even more so because they won't get the answers or closure they need,' Mayor Kelly Yaede said. "The mother said, `We will never find out where he contracted this.'" The virus was also found in four other patients who died in September, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC declined to release any other details about those deaths. Emily Otrando, a 10-year-old from Cumberland, Rhode Island, died September 22 at Hasbro Children's Hospital. The child's death was the result of a bacterial infection, Staphylococcus aureus, that hit the girl in tandem with the virus, Rhode Island officials said in a statement. They called it 'a very rare combination', and stressed that most people who catch the virus experience little more than a runny nose and low-grade fever. The child was in good health before she developed severe breathing problems and her parents called 911, said Dr. Michael Fine, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. Warning: Children's Hospital Colorado pediatric neurologist Teri Schreiner, MD, speaks during a press conference at the hospital September 30 to update the media on the condition of 10 patients with EV-D68 . Recovering: Melissa Lewis, of Denver, helps her son, Jayden Broadway, 9, as he coughs in his bed at the Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colo. He was treated for the enterovirus 68 and released . She was taken by ambulance to a Providence hospital, where she died. 'Very quickly after they got to the hospital, things became dire,' Fine said at a news conference. This enterovirus germ is not new. It was first identified in 1962 and has caused clusters of illness before. Because it's not routinely tested for, it may have spread widely in previous years without being identified in people who just seemed to have a cold. This year, the virus has gotten more attention because it has been linked to hundreds of severe illnesses. Beginning last month, hospitals in Kansas City, Missouri, and Chicago have received a flood of children with trouble breathing. Some needed oxygen or more extreme care such as a breathing machine. Many, but not all, had asthma before the infection. Germ: Enterovirus EV-D68 is uncommon but not new and causes prominent respiratory symptoms, like a cold but worse. There's no vaccine for EV-D68 . Sick: 13-year-old Will Cornejo is recovering at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver on September 5 from human enterovirus 68 that has come to Colorado . Health officials say they have not detected a recent mutation or other change in the virus that would cause it to become more dangerous. The government says enterovirus 68 has sickenedover 500 people in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Almost all have been children. Health officials are also investigating whether the virus played a role in a cluster of 10 Denver-area children who have suffered muscle weakness and paralysis. | Eli Waller, from New Jersey, died from EV D68, health officials have confirmed . It is the first recorded death of the virus, which has now infected at least 514 across the country . At least four patients have died, however the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they are unsure what role the virus played in the deaths . Virus causes prominent respiratory symptoms, like a cold but worse . While it is common at this time each year, doctors have been puzzled by the widespread hospitalizations across the U.S. | b92d5b2c853bc6545b9ff6e1d6b49b2dd5d492fb |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- High net-worth individuals will always find ways to enjoy, celebrate and flaunt their wealth -- the yacht at Monte Carlo, the chateau, the vineyard and the Rolls Royce Phantom. The very wealthy add to this their private jets -- Gulfstreams and Lears -- providing mobile bedrooms and boardrooms for upwards of four people. The lavish interior of the custom Airbus A380 . But now those who are not just very wealthy, but super wealthy, have a new option -- the chateau in the sky. The arrival of the -- much delayed -- Airbus A380 "super" jumbo aircraft, which is due to make its debut revenue-earning flight with Singapore Airlines later this year, heralds a whole new era of super private jet. The A380 is a four-engined, twin-decked, wide-body jet aircraft built at Airbus's factories throughout Europe and assembled at its facility in Toulouse, France. Larger than any previous civil aircraft, the A380 is 30 per cent bigger than the current largest jetliner, Boeing's 747-400. In standard three-class layout, the A380 can hold 555 passengers. In an all-economy configuration, the A380 could hold more than 800. This allows the private buyer an unrivalled space in which to create the ultimate statement of luxury and power. Private jets have been on the market since the 1960s. But they tended to be far smaller than commercial passenger aircraft. Some private customers wanted the comforts afforded to those heads of state who had their own large jetliners at their disposal. Most famous of these, of course is Air Force One, the official jet transport -- though actually there are two Air Force Ones, both modified Boeing 747-400s -- of the President of the United States of America. The demand for larger-scale private and corporate jets has been such that the major aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, now offer modified versions of their passenger aircraft -- the Boeing BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) and Airbus CJ (Corporate Jet). Both of these are based on short-haul, narrow-bodied types -- the Boeing 737 series and Airbus A320 series -- both of which seat fewer than 200 people in commercial passenger configuration. But the A380's massive size -- the combined floor-space of the two decks is over 6,000 square feet -- dwarfs these otherwise capacious aircraft. In comparison, the total floor area of an Airbus CJ is 905 square feet. As soon as Airbus announced it was to embark on a project to develop the first "super" jumbo in 2001, it received an order for a private variant of the jet (then known by its codename of A3XX) from a client in the Middle East. The aircraft's size is one thing. But a luxury purchase of this magnitude also needs a sumptuous interior. This was to be provided by design consultancy Edése Doret from its offices in New York, London, Paris, Kuwait and Sri Lanka. Over the years the company has been called upon to design bespoke interiors for aircraft including the BBJs and CJs, and widebody aircraft including the Lockheed L1011 Tristar, Airbus A340-600 and Boeing 747-400. "We were excited when we were awarded the contract," says the company's president Edése Doret Jr., "and at the time no one had ever conceived of designing a private interior for such an aircraft. Unfortunately for us, the client backed out of the project and opted for a smaller [A340-300] aircraft. "We only created very preliminary layouts and basic renderings of the interior. We were then approached in early 2005 to design the interior of the A380. We felt very fortunate to get a second opportunity to design the cabin for this new customer." Beneath the two passenger decks of this modified super jumbo is an Air Force One-style air-stair -- allowing access to the tarmac without the need for a sky-bridge or external staircase -- and a crew dining area, crew gallery, crew bathroom, sleeping quarters for eight on bunk beds, a communications room and spiral staircase leading to the main deck. The main deck contains an entry lounge, grand lounge, dining area with seating for 14, main deck galley and staff seating. Then the upper deck houses a stateroom, master bathroom (with shower and hot tub), office, library, VIP bedroom (en-suite), guest bedroom (en-suite), upper deck galley, family dining area with seating for eight and an "Oasis lounge". The cost of the interior adds a further $150 million to the basic $350 million cost of the aircraft. Edése Doret won't disclose the identity of the client, leading to much internet speculation. It's most likely, however, that the client is the ruler of an oil-rich Gulf state rather than a captain of industry (Bill Gates, famously, travels economy class). | Luxury private jet based on Airbus A380 "super" jumbo . Designers had 6,000 square feet to work with . Interior fittings and modifications projected to cost $150 million . | 20e7f2c9f2335c3bf981c444f2f6b091af9df5f9 |
When most of us make a spelling misteak, er, mistake, at work a quick tap on the delete button usually does the trick. But that option clearly wasn’t available to road markers in Carlisle whose KEEP CEEAR error at the civic centre was gleefully reported by drivers. Contractors have corrected the mistake, which appeared last week, free of charge, and Cumbria County Council has apologised. Ceear-ly wrong: A bemused passer-by stops to look at the spelling mistake at the Civic Centre in Carlisle . Councillor Willie Whalen said: . 'Anybody can make a mistake. I think it is a genuine mistake, it doesn’t . look to be anything else. It really shows how hard the lads are . working.' Cyril Weber, chairman of the council’s . Carlisle local committee, said: 'It’s just a basic human error.' He . added: 'I am sure most people would be aware of what it means, in spite . of the spelling. Meanwhile in York, gas workers have . dug up road bricks with double yellow lines on before placing them back . into the road in different positions - making one of the lines barely . recognisable. The double yellow lines in now look . more like a scene from classic computer puzzle game Tetris after the . Northern Gas workers finished their handiwork last Friday. And until the surface was put back to normal yesterday, drivers were left unsure of the parking restrictions. Road markings on a York street ended up looking more like a game of Tetris than double yellow lines after builders bodged the job of relaying the bricks . The jumbled road markings resemble vintage video game Tetris, but Northern Gas says it has put them right . Computer classic: A modern version of the game called Tetris Blitz is pictured, available for free on iTunes . One of the world's most popular computer games, Tetris first appeared in 1984. It was created by Russian programmer Alexy Pajitnov while was studying computer science in Moscow. The catchy theme tune was based on a 19th century Russian folk song called 'Korobeiniki', before it was arranged by Hirokazu Tanaka - also behind the music in Super Mario Land. It is notoriously addictive - and a condition called the Tetris Effect was named after the game to explain when people spend so much time doing something that it begins to pattern their thoughts and dreams. Tetris was said to have got its name from the 'tetra' prefix in 'tetramino' - a geometric shape made of four squares, connected at right angles to each other - and 'tennis', Mr Pajitnov's favourite sport. One passerby, speaking before the . bricks had been fixed, said: 'It looks as if someone has left a trail of . scrambled egg down the street. 'I can't see how they can enforce the parking restrictions until they get some new double yellow lines painted.' Another . bystander, also speaking before the works were complete, said: 'They . could get the contractors to rearrange all the bricks, but I think that . might be rather expensive and I doubt they could figure it out. 'It's . probably far easier for the council to paint some new double yellows. It shouldn't take them long, after all they've had enough practice. 'They'd better hurry up though. This . is not a very wide road and if a couple of drivers decide to take . advantage it could cause traffic chaos.' A City of York Council spokesman said . that the works had been completed four and a half weeks ahead of . schedule by Northern Gas. Although parking restrictions in the area . remained in force throughout, no-one received a ticket over the weekend. And Northern Gas said that the jumbled surface, which have now been fixed, were all part of a plan to ensure a . professional and even finish. A . spokesman for the firm, which is . currently upgrading 0.75 miles of metal gas mains in York city centre, said the lines were fixed yesterday so as not to cause disruption during . the busy weekend - and the existing yellow marks were burned off before yellow lines were repainted. | York gas workers put road surfacing bricks back in the wrong order . Motorists left confused over whether they would get a parking ticket . Onlookers compare the unusual road markings to 'scrambled egg' | 91eb6ae118e15f9a0e7a4c56387b9ae70fac2f0f |
The former Pope has been pictured for the first time since he retired, walking in the grounds of Castel Gandolfo near Rome wearing the baseball cap he only usually wears in the summer months. Dressed all in white and complete with the matching cap, the Emeritus pope looks like he is enjoying every minute of his retirement. The picture was published in the infamous glossy Italian weekly Chi, the same magazine that ran pictures of a topless Duchess of Cambridge on holiday in France. Relaxed: The former Pope was seen walking in the grounds of Castel Gandolfo wearing a white baseball cap days after his retirement . Meanwhile Vatican officials 'gagged' cardinals gathered for the election of the next pope from speaking to the media amid reports the conclave has been delayed again. American cardinals who had been scheduled to hold their third media briefing in as many days cancelled it less than an hour before it was to have started at Rome's North American College, where they are staying. A spokeswoman for the American cardinals said 'concern' was expressed at Wednesday's closed-door meeting 'about leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers'. As the meetings were delayed in Rome, the ex Pope Benedict XVI, 85, was pictured walking with the aid of a stick through the gardens of his summer residence at Castelgandolfo on the outskirts of Rome where he will be living until his new apartment - a renovated convent in the grounds of the Vatican are ready. Favourite hat: The former Pope is pictured wearing the hat on a walk in the palace grounds back in 2010 . Preparations: Workers are pictured installing the stoves where ballots are burned during Conclave . Decision time: The stoves are hooked up to the chapel's chimney and white smoke billows from them when a decision on the new Pope is made . He is not wearing his trademark red shoes but dark ones and he appears to be deep in conversation. A second photograph saw the former Pope being joined on his walk by a group of housekeepers. The . Vatican revealed last week he had enjoyed an evening of watching . television before having a night of 'serene and peaceful' sleep. Mexican Cardinals Juan Sandoval Iniguez (left) and Josz Francisco Robles Ortega (right) wave as they arrive at a meeting at the Synod Hall in the Vatican today . Italian Cardinal Renato Martino waves to photographers as he arrives at the vatican earlier today . Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Canadian Marc Ouellet pictured in Rome today . The . former First Leader of the Catholic Church will live at Castel Gandolfo . for several weeks, sleeping in a bed just 75cm wide and without a . canopy, unlike the one the much grander one slept in over his eight . years as pope. He will then move to a specially prepared apartment at a convent in the Vatican. The retired pontiff has reportedly taken with him a number theology books as well as music to listen to. He was also hoping to play the piano - one of his favourite pastimes - in the evenings. Retirement: The former Pope pictured blessing his followers for the last time as he arrived at Castel Gandolfo last Thursday . Emotional: Thousands of people gathered to hear the Pope's final address last Thursday . Farewell: The former Pontiff left the Vatican in a helicopter after making his last speech as Pope last week . Sistine Chapel closes: Master of Liturgical . Celebrations Archbishop Piero Marini closes the door of the Sistine . Chapel . More than 150 cardinals attended the third day of the preliminary meetings to sketch a profile for the next pope following the shock abdication of Pope Benedict last month. All but two of the 115 'cardinal electors' aged under 80 have arrived for the meetings, the Vatican said. The preliminary meetings are taking place as the crisis involving sexual abuse of children by priests and inappropriate behaviour among adult clerics continues to haunt the Church and has rarely been out of the headlines. Under Church law the cardinals have until March 20 to start a conclave to choose a new pope to lead the 1.2 billion-member Church. While many observers had expected the conclave to begin as early as this Sunday or Monday, there have been increasing indications that the cardinals want more time to ponder who among them might be best to lead a Church beset by crises. Several of the prelates leaving the meetings said preliminary proceedings were still at the early stages and more time would be necessary before they could decide on when to start the conclave in the Sistine Chapel. Workmen have begun preparing the chapel, building a new, suspended floor to protect the centuries-old tiles. Workmen were pictured today installing stoves into the chapel where ballots are burned when a vote is undertaken. The stoves are hooked up to chimneys on the roof and white smoke billows out of them when a new Pope is chosen. Other preparations were also being made with the Pope Emeritus's coat of arms being removed from a floral display in front of the Vatican Governor's Palace, ready to be replaced with that of the newly elected Pope. Nonetheless, the Vatican spokesman said it was important that no one felt "pressured" into going into the conclave before they were ready and that more time would be needed for "reflection". One cardinal leaving the meeting said there had been no formal discussion on Wednesday of the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal, which led to the arrest of Paolo Gabriele, the pope's butler, further besmirching the Church's reputation. Gabriele was convicted of stealing personal papal documents and leaking them to the media. The documents alleged corruption and infighting over the running of its bank. A trio of elderly cardinals prepared a report on the scandal for Benedict, who later pardoned Gabriele, and a number of cardinals attending the preliminary meetings said they wanted to be briefed on the report. Before: An aerial shot of the floral decorations in front of the Vatican Governors Palace pictured on Tuesday complete with Benedict XVI's coat of arms . After: The same floral decoration is pictured today, minus the Pope Emeritus's coat of arms, ready for it to be replaced with that of the new Pope . Thousands gathered in St Peter's Square to hear Benedict's retirement speech last Thursday. After the end of Benedict's papacy on . Thursday, every department head in the Vatican vacated their job - . except for those who are considered crucial for the smooth running of . the transition period. Before . leaving, Benedict XVI said goodbye to the monsignors, nuns, Vatican . staff and Swiss Guards who make up the papal household. The 85-year-old’s Italian air force helicopter circled Rome, passing over the Colosseum to give him a last view of the city. Bells rang out from St Peter’s Basilica and churches all over Rome as he flew overhead. He also sent a final tweet, saying: ‘Thank you for your love and support. 'May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.’ Yesterday . the Vatican gave the clearest signal yet that it is preparing to elect a . new Pontiff by closing off the Sistine Chapel to the public. Michelangelo's frescoed masterpiece will be closed to tourists while preparations are made for the Conclave. When . the time comes it will be Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran's job as . proto-deacon to announce 'Habemus Papam!' ('We have a pope!') from the . balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square after the smoke has snaked up . from the Sistine Chapel chimney. | Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was pictured at Castel Gandolfo near Rome . He was wearing his trademark white cassock but with a baseball cap . Preparations are currently being made to the Sistine Chapel for Conclave . Workers were pictured installing stoves in the chapel earlier today . | 16f9d9ee1273cc76adceb416d2430e8178db9762 |
By . Mark Prigg . They are responsible for the formation of continents, and are still active - as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions show. However, researchers have never been able to work out why the Earth developed tectonic plates, but other planets did not. Now they have solved the mystery - and say the key is tiny minerals within rocks. Researchers say weak zones caused the Earth's mantle to crack, causing tectonic plates to form . Earth has a unique network of shifting plates embedded in its cold and rocky outermost layer, the lithosphere. The motion of these plates drives many Earth processes, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, while also stabilizing the planet’s climate and enabling life. The division of the Earth’s surface into rigid plates, separated by linear zones of concentrated deformation, is a defining characteristic of our planet, and unique among known terrestrial bodies. New Yale-led research suggests how and when Earth came to develop one of its most distinct features — rigid tectonic plates — and why Venus, Earth’s twin-like neighbor, never has. 'We think it all comes down to the behavior of tiny grains of minerals within rocks,' said Yale geophysicist David Bercovici, lead author of research published online April 6 in the journal Nature. Earth has a unique network of shifting plates embedded in its cold and rocky outermost layer, the lithosphere. The motion of these plates drives many Earth processes, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, while also stabilizing the planet’s climate and enabling life. Despite evidence that Earth’s solid surface was already in motion more than 4 billion years ago, global plate tectonics — replete with rigid plates and a variety of plate boundary types — appears not to have developed for a billion years more. And it never has on Venus, although the planet is so similar to Earth in size, composition, and gravity that it’s sometimes called 'Earth’s twin sister.' Bercovici and co-author Yanick Ricard of the Université de Lyon in France argue that in Earth’s early days, mantle convection caused weak zones in the lithosphere. These zones persisted, developed into plate boundaries, and ultimately connected to form a global network of tectonic plates. The weak zones, they argue, resulted from the tendency of mineral grains in rocks to shrink as the rock deforms. The weak zones, they argue, resulted from the tendency of mineral grains in rocks to shrink as the rock deforms. 'If the rock gets weaker where it deforms, then deformation focuses there, making the grains shrink faster, in turn making the rock weaker,' Bercovici said. 'The weak zone narrows and intensifies until you get a distinct boundary. These are the plate boundaries.' This process does not happen on Venus, which has no plate visage, because its extremely high surface temperatures cause the grains to grow and weak zones to heal, he said. To illustrate their hypothesis, the scientists developed a theoretical model that explains how rock grains control the strength and weakness in the lithosphere. 'The model uses physics at the 1-millimeter rock grain scale to explain how the whole planet behaves, and how plate tectonics emerged on Earth, but not on her twin,' he said. | Weak zones in the earth's surface led to the eventaul creation of giant tectonic plates . Discovery explains why Venus, Earth’s twin-like neighbor, has no plates . Back to Mail Online home . Back to the page you came from . | 598f6f508905c44b020b873ddd7e9b2659a5b59b |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 04:09 EST, 4 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:04 EST, 4 June 2013 . Royal Bank of Scotland would be broken up into a good bank and a bad bank under radical plans to be considered by George Osborne. Toxic loans which might never be repaid would be placed in the ‘bad’ arm while the profitable business could be sold off under proposals expected to be set out by a powerful commission of MPs and peers. However, the Chancellor is understood to be ready to resist the idea, preferring to sell off the taxpayer-backed bank even if it means making a loss. Split: A powerful commission of MPs and peers is reportedly planning to call for Royal Bank of Scotland to broken up into a good and bad bank . The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards is set to back the idea of splitting RBS, according to the BBC. The UK government owns 82 per cent of RBS, after the £66billion bailout in 2008 which also took a 39 per cent stake in Lloyds. Mr Osborne is prepared to sell the Government’s at a loss in order to bring about the biggest privatisation in British history. Allies hope the sell-off could come before the 2015 general election to give the public a chance to take a stake in the lenders. A long-awaited report from the Commission was sent to its members in the last week and they have until Monday to read it through, with a final report due by the end of the month. George Osborne has warned of 'very considerable obstacles' to the idea of splitting RBS . However, Mr Osborne has warned of ‘very considerable obstacles’ to the idea, which would involve spending up to £9billion in taxpayers’ money to buy up shares the government does not yet own. However outgoing Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has supported the idea of a break-up. Former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson, who sits on the Commission, argued that nationalisation followed by a split would enable the Government to boost lending and re-privatise the ‘good’ bank more quickly. And Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has asked whether the Government’s ‘lack of will to break up the banks’ was a ‘recipe for a repetition of the disasters of the last few years’. RBS itself has claimed it is well on the road to recovery, despite reporting losses of £5.2 billion for 2012, driven by a £390 million settlement for rate-fixing, £1.1 billion provision for mis-selling and IT glitches. Yesterday it emerged RBS shrunk its net lending by £1.6 billion from January to March this year, but has borrowed £750 million from the Funding for Lending scheme designed to boost loans to businesses. RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton said on presenting full-year results that the institution’s recovery would be ‘substantially complete’ by the middle of 2014, paving the way for its return to the private sector. Supporters of a break-up see it as a way of freeing the bank from long-standing bad debts, which could help it to lend more to businesses and boost the economy. The move is also said to be favoured by the commission as a way of increasing potential investor confidence in the ‘good’ part of the bank and increasing the chance of a successful reprivatisation. Backers: The idea of breaking up RBS is backed by former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson (left) and outgoing Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King . The so-called ‘bad’ bank would be held on to by the Government, avoiding the need for a fire sale of the more toxic assets and allowing them to recover in value. But the Treasury is reportedly considering the alternative of transferring the group’s troubled Ulster Bank operations to the Irish government in an effort to shore up RBS’s balance sheet. The commission’s recommendation could potentially be watered down by the time of its final report, but if not, the Chancellor would face a difficult dilemma. There has also been mounting speculation over the Government’s plans for Lloyds Banking Group after shares have recently risen above the 61.2p level at which the Government said it would break even on its 2008 bailout. A Treasury spokesman said: 'The Government’s policy remains that RBS continues to become a stronger and safer bank that supports the British economy, which in time can be returned to full private ownership when it’s in the interests of the taxpayer to do so. 'As the Chancellor has said, we need functioning banks supporting the real economy instead of nursing their wounds, and we will set out the way ahead once the Parliamentary Banking Commission has completed its work.' | Taxpayer owns 81% of troubled bank after 2008 bailout . Chancellor wants to privatise it ahead of 2015 election - even if it means making a loss . Parliamentary Commission expected to recommend break up . | c78317e6b6e2f421925d37e5947c347bef8473be |
Christmas lunch is the meal many people most look forward to all year: turkey with all the trimmings on the 25th, then turkey sandwiches on Boxing Day. But why confine it to just two days? The three-course Christmas feast, courtesy of Marks & Spencer . In answer to that very question, Marks & Spencer have created a three-course Christmas dinner sandwich - helpfully named the 3-course Christmas Feast - to satisfy cravings from now until the New Year. The first 'course' is smoked salmon with cucumber and dill; the second is turkey with pork and chestnut stuffing and smoked bacon; and to finish there is a sandwich filled with brie, grapes and chutney. At 785 calories, it's certainly not the pre-Christmas diet option, but an M&S spokesman notes that it's relatively abstemious next to the average 1,000-calorie Christmas lunch. Think of it as a warm-up. | Festive triple pack contains three quarters of the average 1,000 calorie Christmas lunch . | a322d524c982fc5eec9f65cf9de0923b2b694c3b |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:44 EST, 29 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:44 EST, 29 September 2012 . They are not natural bedfellows. But publishing firm Haynes has blamed hit erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey for the recent poor sales performance of its car manuals - a DIY bible for aspiring mechanics. Haynes claims that its readers are turning their backs on its own books in favour of the racy book by author E L James, a former TV executive, wife and mother of two from west London. Haynes has blamed raunchy novel Fifty Shades of Grey, pictured, for hitting the sales of its car manuals . Haynes car manuals, pictured, are not Fifty Shades of Grey's only victim. Sales of Stieg Larrson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have also been hit . Haynes said in its financial results: 'There is little doubt that during the period, retail purchasing budgets were tight and that much of those available budgets went towards the phenomenally successful Fifty Shades series. 'Our books, in the most part, appeal to automobile and motorcycle enthusiasts. 'They are probably oriented to a male audience and I am not sure that Fifty Shades is the kind of thing they would enjoy, but that phenomenon is impacting general publishing budget.' Haynes was established in 1960 and its first manual, Haynes Owners Workshop Manual, for the Austin-Healey Sprite, was published in 1965. Books by Haynes have been regarded as a bible for amateur mechanics ever since they were first published in 1965 . Meanwhile, Fifty Shades of Grey, first . published in May 2011, has become the fastest-selling book of all time, . shifting more than five million copies in the UK. It's success has been attributed to the soaring use of e-book readers, such as the Amazon Kindle. They have allowed people to read the saucy novel without being embarrassed by its contents. Fifty Shades of Grey, written by former TV executive E L James, pictured, has boosted the sex toy market . Haynes is not Fifty Shades of Grey's only victim. The publisher of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, Quercus, has admitted that the raunchy book has dented its sales too. Quercus chief executive Mark Smith said the 'unprecedented success' of Fifty Shades of Grey had contributed to the decline of the Swedish novels. Fifty Shades of Grey has helped one corner of the retail market though. Adult retail chain Ann Summers has reported rocketing sales of its sex toys since the novel hit bookshelves across the country last year. It has seen a phenomenal 200 per cent increase for jiggle balls, a 60 per cent rise in sales of blindfolds and a 35 per cent increase in the number of rope ties it was selling. Online sex toy retailer LoveHoney has . also enjoyed a boost. It has witnessed a 109 per cent increase in . revenue from bondage items. | Car mechanics manual blames the erotic novel by E L James for its fall in sales . Fifty Shades of Grey has also taken its toll on Stieg Larsson's series The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . | eccea5862e4cb42b36f11d5269669e69409fdd3c |
By . Chris Pleasance . This waxwork museum in China offers people the chance to get closer to their idols, but any fans visiting the exhibition may struggle to recognise who they're looking at. The collection in Guangzhou claims to be China's answer to Madam Tussauds, but may leave visitors feeling a bit baffled, and more than a little creeped out. The museum boasts models of Lady Gaga, who looks like she may be having problems with her slightly bendy arms, alongside a distinctly Asian-looking Steve Jobs. Scroll down for video . A waxwork museum is putting on an exhibition in Guangzhou which it claims will rival Madame Tussauds. However visitor may struggle to know who they're looking at (pictured Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean) iFlop: Without the iPhone in his hand, tech fans may not have recognised this as former Apple CEO Steve Jobs . A very surprised Rowan Atkinson also appears wearing his Mr Bean attire, while another British actor to make the collection is Daniel Radcliffe, in full Harry Potter robes. Audrey Hepburn also takes a star turn in the collection, complete with the little black dress and gloves she wore in Breakfast At Tiffany's, though looking slightly less-than glamorous with a slanted tiara and join-line where her head meets her torso. Another figurine looks vaguely like Leonardo Di Caprio, with his signature swept-back hair and goatee. Wolf in sheep's clothing: This model is supposed to be of Wolf of Wall Street actor Leonardo Di Caprio . Model Lady Gaga appears to be having some problem with her arms as they stick out at an impossible angle . Aside from celebrities, world leaders Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin are also on show. While the former appears relaxed, with his arms sort-of crossed, the latter wears a mildly-confused expression, appears to be pouring sweat and has a thinning hairline. Both political heavyweights also appear to have developed a slightly cross-eyed stare. Glamourless: This unconvincing waxwork of Audrey Hepburn is let down even further by the join-line between her neck and torso and is nothing compared to the original . You're not a wizard: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter would be almost unrecognisable if not for the clothes . Completing the collection is an Eighties-inspired Arnold Schwarzenegger dressed up in a terminator-style leather jacket, though his frizzy locks are pretty unconvincing. The Guangzhou waxworks will thankfully be open free of charge throughout May. However, it may struggle to take the title of World's Worst Waxworks away from the UK's Louis Tussauds House of Wax Museum in Great Yarmouth, which was bought earlier this year by an anonymous bidder in the Czech Republic. Not-so-heavyweight: Political bigwig Barack Obama is slightly cross-eyed as a mannequin, as is his counterpart Vladimir Putin, who is also sporting a thinning hairline . | Waxwork exhibition is being put on in museum in Guangzhou, China . Collection features likes of Rowan Atkinson and Leonardo Di Caprio . However fans may struggle to recognise their celebrity idols . | 1205a98b47841aa127b7319bcfdb846e10230529 |
By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 08:27 EST, 20 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:42 EST, 20 November 2012 . Patricia Burland, a benefits cheat who was caught building a swimming pool in her back garden, has been forced to sell her house to repay the £50,000 she swindled . A benefits cheat caught building a swimming pool in her back garden has been forced to sell her house to repay the £50,000 she swindled. Mother-of-four Patricia Burland told fraud investigators she was paying for the pool with contributions from her sons. But a judge today ordered the 53-year-old to sell her house so she could repay the taxpayer. Burland made a valid application for income support on the basis she was a single parent, Southampton Crown Court heard. But she failed to tell the authorities that from March 2005 her husband Adrian was again living with her full time. She was caught after the Department for Works and Pensions launched an investigation and carried out surveillance on her home. Surveillance confirmed her husband’s works van was parked outside early in the morning and late at night, in Southampton, Hampshire. Initially she admitted he had been staying with her for a few nights a week but later confirmed they had been living together again. Burland explained she was 'scared' her benefit would stop and her husband would leave her. She was also in arrears with her mortgage. Burland admitted two breaches of failing to declare a change of circumstance and received a 24 week suspended sentence with 12 months supervision. Prosecutor Patrick Moran told the court the fraud amounted to £47,914.28 and her realisable assets stood at £76.569.32. Andy Houston, defending, said Burland . lacked self confidence to stand up to her husband and was clearly . concerned about threats he would leave her. He confirmed Burland would have to sell her home to pay the cash back. An earlier hearing heard she had been . paying £100 a month to clear the debt, which Mr Houston accepted was . clearly 'a drop in the ocean'. But she now has just six months to pay with up to 18 months in default of payment. Judge Susan Evans told the earlier hearing the money had been taken from the public over a 'substantial period'. Southampton Crown Court, where the court heard Burland would have to sell her home to pay the money back . | Patricia Burland received a 24 week suspended sentence for fraud . Mother-of-four was receiving income support on basis she was single parent but her husband was living with her full time, a court has heard . | 26217a6205c26feb79e7f8e26a405f42bddbb53b |
By . Jennifer Smith . PUBLISHED: . 13:01 EST, 21 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:36 EST, 23 December 2013 . The body of a British surgeon who was killed while volunteering in Syria was today handed over to officials in front of his grieving mother. The International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in Beirut to pass Abbas Khan's body on to British officials, as the circumstances surrounding the young orthopedic surgeon's death remain in dispute. The 32-year-old's mother, Fatima Khan, broke down in tears at the sight of the wooden coffin at the city's Hotel-Dieu de France hospital. Transfer: The body of Dr Abbas Khan, who was killed while volunteering in Syria, has been returned to Britain . Heading home: The orthopaedic surgeon's body was handed over to UK officials in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday . Dr Khan was imprisoned in November last year after flying to Aleppo to treat civilians in a field hospital. He was captured 48 hours after crossing the Turkish border, but was due to be freed last week after an unrelenting campaign for his release. Syrian regime officials claim the father-of-two hanged himself while in captivity, a suggestion that has been refuted by his family who say he was looking forward to spending Christmas at home. Upon seeing her tragic son's coffin Mrs Khan, who was accompanied by her son, Shah Nawaz, screamed: 'The national security intelligence of Syria, they killed him! 'They're murderers'. His body was brought to the Lebanese capital from Damascus in a convoy, a Red Cross statement said. Distraught: The 32-year-old's mother Fatima Khan broke down in tears at the sight of her son's coffin yesterday . Anguish: Ms Khan was in the Lebanese capital to meet the coffin which was today transported back to Britain . Foreign Office minister Hugh Robertson . has accused Syrian president Bashar Assad's government of effectively . murdering Khan, while MP George Galloway claimed Assad himself . authorised the surgeon's release. Syria's . deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad claimed Khan hanged himself, and . that an examination of his body revealed no sign of violence or struggle. The man's brother, Shah Nawaz, dismissed the claim as 'utter nonsense'. The surgeon had written to his family since being captured last year, describing how he was repeatedly beaten and forced to abuse other prisoners. Fatima Khan pictured with her other son, Shah Nawaz, in Beirut today. The deceased's brother dismissed claims he had killed himself as 'utter nonsense' Tragic: Dr Khan, a married father-of-two, was captured in November last year - just 48 hours after flying from Turkey to Aleppo to help victims of hospital bombings . Abbas Khan was allegedly due to be released from captivity last week after being imprisoned in Aleppo in November last year . In a letter dated December 7, he wrote: ‘To everyone! Good work guys, seems they are now responding to the threat of a foreign delegation. ‘But keep up the pressure. We don’t want to lose the Christmas period “window”. Till I’m not released – I’m not free! They can release me immediately if they want.’ | The body of Abbas Khan was handed over to British officials in Beirut . The 32-year-old doctor was allegedly due to be released last week . Khan was taken into captivity by the Syrian regime in November 2012 . The orthopedic surgeon had flown to Aleppo to work in a field hospital . Syria's deputy foreign minister claims the man killed himself in captivity . The circumstances of his death remain in dispute . | c38c4fcc12fa16051f33c2b25fa52009e63f4f3c |
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 Tottenham's home clash with Stoke... Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City (White Hart Lane) Kick-off: Sunday 1.30pm . Odds (subject to change): . Tottenham 4/6 . Draw 11/4 . Stoke 4/1 . Referee: Mike Jones . Managers: Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham), Mark Hughes (Stoke) Head-to-head league record: Tottenham wins 42, draws 17, Stoke wins 19 . Team news . Tottenham . Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor are to be assessed before Tottenham's return to Premier League action against Stoke. The pair were rested for the midweek Europa League trip to Asteras Tripoli due to slight hamstring complaints. Kyle Walker continues to miss out following abdominal surgery, while Nabil Bentaleb is absent due to an ankle complaint. Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Friedel, Naughton, Dier, Rose, Davies, Kaboul, Chiriches, Fazio, Vertonghen, Dembele, Capoue, Stambouli, Mason, Paulinho, Lamela, Lennon, Chadli, Townsend, Eriksen, Kane, Soldado, Adebayor. Emmanuel Adebayor could return for Spurs after missing their midweek Europa League tie with a slight injury . Stoke . Peter Crouch, Phil Bardsley and Marc Muniesa are back available for Sunday's away clash with Tottenham, while Marko Arnautovic remains in line to feature despite breaking his hand. Ex-Spurs man Crouch and Bardsley sat out the 2-2 home draw with West Ham last Saturday due to suspensions, while Muniesa was nursing an ankle problem. Although Arnautovic is not expected to be kept out by the injury he suffered in training earlier this week, the same cannot be said of Dionatan Teixeira, who broke his foot on the same day and has joined Robert Huth (calf), Glenn Whelan (broken leg) and and Peter Odemwingie (knee) on the sidelines. Provisional squad: Begovic, Sorensen, Wilson, Shawcross, Pieters, Cameron, Muniesa, Bardsley, Nzonzi, Adam, Sidwell, Ireland, Walters, Arnautovic, Bojan, Assaidi, Moses, Diouf, Crouch. Peter Crouch is back available for Stoke after returning from a one-game ban for being sent off . Key match stats (supplied by Opta) Tottenham have won six and lost just one of the last nine Premier League games against Stoke City. The Potters have only won one of six trips to White Hart Lane in the Premier League (D2 L3). Spurs have lost three of their last four Premier League matches at White Hart Lane (W1). Stoke have won none of their last six Premier League away trips to London (D1 L5). Tottenham have kept only one clean sheet in their last eight Premier League outings. Stoke City goalkeeper Steve Simonsen saves from Robbie Keane during the Potters' last win at Tottenham, as they went on to triumph 1-0 at White Hart Lane in October 2009 . Stoke have lost only one of their last nine Premier League games in November (W4 D4). The Potters have scored only two goals in the last 30 minutes of games all season. Only four players (Fabregas, Sigurdsson, Tadic and Baines) have assisted more Premier League goals than Erik Lamela (4) this season. Heading into MD11, no player has been caught offside more times than Emmanuel Adebayor this season (10 times, level with Berahino). Hugo Lloris has parried more saves back into a dangerous scenario than any other goalkeeper this season (12). | Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor may return after midweek rest . Kyle Walker remains a long-term absentee for Tottenham Hotspur . Peter Crouch available for Stoke after returning from suspension . Tottenham have won six of last nine Premier League games against Stoke . Harry Kane has praised his side's resilience after 10-man Spurs beat Asteras Tripolis 2-1 in the Europa League . | 9b7c2fcd799d91622e4632c23d5063bbf4693c15 |
Clutching a walking stick for support, Andrew Marr returned to front his BBC politics show today- nine months after a massive stroke almost ended his life. His return today was welcomed with the support of viewers and guests including Chancellor George Osborne, shadow defence secretary Douglas Alexander and Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. Marr was left with seriously impaired mobility down his left side after suffering a serious stroke overnight in January. Andrew Marr returned to his BBC television programme today to the delight of guests and viewers . The broadcaster received a touching gesture of support from one of his guests, . Dr Sentamu who grasped his impaired left arm, and he . would pray for his recovery. The tender moment came at the end of . their interview when Marr, 53, referred to the Archbishop’s own recent . battle with prostate cancer and said: ‘You’ve also been ill so it’s very . wonderful to see you back as well, may I say?’ The . Archbishop replied: ‘I just want to say what happened to me when I had . this terrible illness, friends prayed for me, prayers encouraged me and I . just hope the same thing will happen to you.' Dr Sentamu then . held Marr’s left arm and in a reference to the biblical story of a man . with a ‘withered’ hand who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath. Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York touches Andrew Marr's weakened hand in a gesture of support. The Archbishop said he would pray for Mr Marr's recovery . Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne appeared on The Andrew Marr Show today to review the parliamentary vote on Syria . He said: . ‘Like in Luke Chapter 6, we had the man with a hand like yours. Jesus . you know raises it up. And I’m going to... and I’m going to work hard, . I’m going to work there that your hand begins to work. And nice to see . you back.' Mr Marr replied: ‘Needs some work on it, needs some work on it. Thank you so much, Archbishop.’ The day before suffering the near fatal stroke, Mr Marr said he had been struck by a ‘blinding headache and flashes of light’ as he finished a vigorous workout on a rowing machine at home in East Sheen, south-west London. Doctors later discovered he had torn the carotid artery. Mercifully, the area of the brain that controls speech and memory was unaffected. The presenter spent two months in hospital and has undergone intense physiotherapy to regain movement in his left arm and leg, the latter of which has recovered more quickly. The Chancellor of the Exchequer appeared on the show as well as shadow defence secretary, Douglas Alexander . Marr, a father-of-three, had planned to return full-time to his show this month so as to coincide with the ‘natural beginning of the political year’. Today's comeback followed a brief appearance on the show in early July, when he pre-recorded a ten-minute interview with David Milliband, the former Labour Foreign Secretary. Guest presenters such as Jeremy Vine, Sophie Raworth and Eddie Mair had been standing in for the former BBC political editor and newspaper editor. Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and gold tie, Marr stood with the walking stick in his right hand to introduce the show today. He told viewers: ‘Well, here we are again. I have to start this morning with a few ‘thank yous’, to all my excellent colleagues who have been keeping the show on the road. Daily Mail columnist Amanda Platell and historian Simon Schama reviewed the sunday newspapers with Andrew Marr on today's programme . ‘Thanks also to all the many viewers who’ve sent so many kind and wise messages. And thanks, last but not least, to all of you who were frankly pleased to see the back of me but never quite got round to writing to say so. Thank you for that as well.’ In a newspaper interview published ahead of his return on Friday, the veteran journalist said he was ‘slightly nervous’ about returning to the politics, current affairs and culture show, but added: ‘I’m physically fine - my left arm is still quite weak, I walk with a bit of a hobble - but mentally I am fine and that’s hopefully all that matters.’ Other guests on the hour-long programme included Chancellor George Osborne and shadow defence secretary Douglas Alexander. In an interview with the Daily Mail in June, Mr Marr said he had been told by doctors that he almost died twice, and that his wife, Guardian columnist Jackie Ashley, had been told to expect the worst. He said he had been working too hard in the run-up to the stroke. Viewers hailed the broadcaster’s comeback on social networking site Twitter today. Dan McGrady from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, said: ‘Good to see a very healthy-looking Andrew #Marr where he belongs. #MarrShow.' A BBC spokesman today said the broadcaster would continue to present the show each week, and would also return to Radio 4’s Start the Week ‘in due course’. | Presenter thanked guests and viewers for their well wishes and support following ordeal . Archbishop of York said he 'would pray for his recovery' in touching gesture of support . Other guests included Chancellor George Osborne and shadow defence secretary Douglas Alexander . | 459fcba61175da66349fc7feac29559340a86de7 |
By . Associated Press . The family of a 4-year-old Massachusetts boy killed in an escalator accident at a mall has reached a settlement in a negligence lawsuit. Mark DiBona of Dudley fell from a second-floor escalator about 18 feet onto a display case below inside a department store at the Auburn Mall in March 2011 while shopping with family. He suffered head injuries and died the next day. His parents sued the mall's owner, the store, the escalator's manufacture and the contractor that installed it, alleging the escalator was in 'dangerous and defective' condition. Tragedy: The family of 4-year-old Mark DiBona have reached an $11.5 million settlement in a lawsuit after their son died after falling from a Massachusetts department store escalator . Laura and Mark: The lawsuit was settled earlier this year and although the terms are confidential, a lawyer magazine has revealed the settlement was for $11.5 million . Public Safety Commissioner Thomas E. Gatzunis said the state officials 'failed to properly inspect the unit' and left it in an unsafe condition. A . barricade that should have been between the side of the escalator and . the wall was missing creating a gap 'larger than allowed by code.' The tragic boy was shopping with his . family and a friend when he rushed towards the escalators on the second . floor of the Sears department store. He grabbed the moving rail with both hands but was dragged through the small gap between the escalator and Plexiglas barrier. Happier times: The boy's parents, Eric (pictured) and Laura DiBona, filed a negligence lawsuit in June 2011 . Fateful: Little Mark DiBona grabbed the moving rail of an escalator in the Sears department store before being dragged through a gap and falling onto a jewellery display case below . Gone too soon: Little Mark DiBona of Dudley fell from a second-floor escalator about 18 feet onto a display case below inside a department store at the Auburn Mall in March 2011 while shopping with family. He suffered head injuries and died the next day . Mr Gatzunis added: 'The code requires a barricade for openings over five inches. This opening was six and a quarter inches.’ A lawyer for the boy's parents, Laura and Eric DiBona, tells The Telegram & Gazette that the lawsuit was settled earlier this year but said terms were confidential. 'The family can never get over this, but it does end this chapter,' said the family's lawyer, W. Thomas Smith of the Boston law firm Sugarman and Sugarman. 'It resolves the legal matter, which was important to the family.' Massachusetts Lawyer's Weekly reported in Monday's edition that Mr. Smith and his associate, Stacey L. Pietrowicz, who also worked on the suit, were the lawyers in an $11.5 million settlement involving a boy who suffered a fatal head injury in a fall from a mall escalator. Mr. Smith said the out-of-court settlement was agreed on within the last two months. He declined to reveal the terms of the confidential agreement. The death led to a crackdown on escalator safety across the state. Lawsuit: Little Marks parents sued the mall¿s owner, the store, the escalator¿s manufacture and the contractor that installed it, alleging the escalator was in 'dangerous and defectiven condition . Scene: The horrific incident happened at Auburn Mall in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the child's family and a friend had been shopping . Lessons learned:After the accident, the state also re-inspected the state's 927 escalators and found that 69 lacked barricades and others were missing top or bottom barricades . A spokesman for Sears, Howard Riefs, said in an email: 'Sears is pleased that Schindler Elevator Company, one of the largest and most highly respected escalator companies in the United States, which was responsible for installing and maintaining the escalators at its Auburn store, has now reached a settlement with the DiBona family.' 'We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the DiBona family and are pleased that this matter has been resolved,' the statement added. The boy's death sparked a crackdown by state public safety officials, including the firing of two escalator inspectors and the disciplining of nearly two-thirds of the state's escalator inspectors for failing to catch similar code violations. After the accident, the state also re-inspected the state's 927 escalators and found that 69 lacked barricades and others were missing top or bottom barricades. | 4-year-old boy went to a department store with his mother . Mark DiBona fell 18-feet through a gap between the escalator and the plexiglass barrier . He died the following day in hospital from serious head injuries . Parents filed lawsuit against store and escalator company . They have now settled out of court . | 508da19dca1f43f97a2f83f2b573ecf9c2fef5d8 |
We hear between 10 and 200 lies every day, from ‘sorry, my phone’s died,’ to ‘I’m fine’. And just by listening to simple linguistic clues, we could easily weed them out, claims scientist and linguistics expert. Minimal self-references, negative language, simple explanations and convoluted phrasing are all hallmarks of a lie. Scroll down for video . We hear between 10 and 200 lies every day (examples are shown) and a technique called linguistic text analysis could help us spot them. People can spot liars because they use more convoluted language but refer to themselves less in a made-up story, according to the research . In a Ted talk, Noah Zandan a science communicator and chief executive of Quantified Communications based in Austin, Texas, explained how ‘linguistic text analysis’ - which is based on the difference between how we structure the truth, and lies – can help people spot untruths. Studies have shown that stories based on imagined experiences are qualitatively different from those based on real experiences, suggesting that coming up with a lie takes work and results in a different pattern of language use. Linguistic text analysis helps people spot four common patterns in the subconscious language of lying. Noah Zandan, a science communicator, explained that liars tend to refer to themselves less in a story. When Lance Armstrong (pictured) denied using performance-enhancing drugs, he used a hypothetical scenario to distance himself from his lie, while when he later admitted to using them, he used 75 per cent more pronouns . Liars tend to refer to themselves less in a story that isn't true, and sometimes use hypothetical situations or mention others more than usual. They often use negative terms, because they are subconsciously feeling guilty. Untrue stories tend to be overly-simplified because humans find it hard to construct and keep track of complex lies. While their story may be simple, liars tend to use longer, convoluted sentences, adding in irrelevant but factual-sounding details in a bid to make a story sound more convincing. Mr Zanden explained that liars typically mention themselves less and talk more about others in a lie. They sometimes use the third person to disassociate themselves from their lie, because they feel subconsciously guilty. ‘Liars tend to be more negative because on a subconscious level they feel guilty about lying. 'For example, a liar might say: “Sorry, my stupid phone battery died. I hate that thing,” Mr Zanden said. People can also spot a lie when someone explains events in very simple terms. Our brains struggle to build a complex false story, which means that explanations about events that didn’t happen, seem unrealistically straightforward. But while liars may keep their story simple, they tend to use longer and more convoluted sentences, inserting irrelevant but factual sounding details to pad out the lie, he said. People can spot a lie when someone explains events in very simple terms (illustrated left). Our brains struggle to build a complex false story, which means that explanations about events that didn’t happen, seem unrealistically straightforward, compared to a real-life story (illustrated lightheartedly right) Mr Zanden said that the devices can be seen in famous lies. For example, when seven times winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong denied using performance-enhancing drugs in 2005, he described a hypothetical situation focused on someone else, to distance himself from his lie. Conversely, when he admitted to using them in 2013, his use of personal pronouns increased by nearly three quarters, indicating that he was telling the truth. He talked about his focus on personal emotions and motivations. | Minimal self-references and convoluted phrases are hallmarks of a lie . Simple explanations and negative language are also giveaways . A technique called linguistic text analysis allows people to spot them . Science communicator applies technique to famous lies in a video . He showed that Lance Armstrong avoided mentioning himself when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs in a 2005 interview . Cyclist increased use of personal pronouns by 75% when admitting crime . | 90446e51860992e93326f2a8375af5e4c6303eb9 |
(CNN) -- The severity of the numerous injuries I sustained could have been fatal. The most severe: getting the back of my skull crushed by the impact of the truck. I needed emergency brain surgery. My neurosurgeon had to remove part of my cerebellum because fragments of my skull had pierced it. After the surgery, he said to my parents, "I operated on him as if he had a chance." But my parents never doubted I had a chance. After a two-month coma, I slowly came out of it, putting many doctors and the general medical profession in disbelief. My next step: a seven-month stay in a rehabilitation hospital. When a neurologist saw me for the first time, all I could do was move one finger on my right hand. He told my parents: "I am optimistic that Ryan will gain enough strength in his right hand to type." This statement stuck with me throughout the years. When I took my first steps after the accident, it was so sweet and gave me a sense of accomplishment. It was possibly the biggest event that made me realize just how wrong that doctor's diagnosis of me had been. It's been nine years since the accident and I still remember that statement every day. It helps me remember how wrong that neurologist was; how I've proved him wrong and how it motivates me to never let someone tell me what I can or cannot do. Healing wounds -- and souls -- a tattoo at a time . When people ask me about my story, I never get to fully say what I want to because there is just so much to it. I often leave out the incredible impact of family, faith and friends. Every day I was in a coma, my parents prayed for me and for it not to be my time, and to come back to them. They were so supportive throughout all of my recovery, as was the power of prayer and help from loving friends and the community. When the accident first happened, my local church held a prayer service for me. The church normally holds 500 people. But that night, there was standing room only -- all for a 9-year-old boy. My mom lived with me in the rehabilitation hospital, making huge sacrifices every day to be there with me. My brother and my dad would frequently make the drive up to the hospital to see me and we would spend the day together; it meant so much to me and made the rehab part a lot easier. When I was discharged from the hospital, friends and family from all over came together to help me by making giant get-well cards from various schools or having friends make dinner for us on a weekly basis. People that I did not even know expressed their concern for my well being from all around the country. Now I'm on my own bike team, the first paracycle team in the country. I'm training six days a week for two hours or more, so I'm doing all I can (to get to the 2016 Paralympics) and my heart's there. Just like in my recovery and how my parents knew all along my heart was so strong, I would overcome (my accident), I have high hopes for 2016. 'I will continue to fight until cancer gives up' | Ryan Boyle was critically injured after being hit by a truck as a 9-year-old . A neurologist predicted he would gain enough strength in one hand to type . Boyle is now training for the 2016 Paralympics . | 3916a93da007d3cf6fc0fdd5b585927f084c6475 |
London (CNN) -- With his fate at home hanging in the balance, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani repudiated U.S. claims that Pakistan was falling short on fighting the war on terrorism and said instead that his nation was operating on a trust deficit with Washington. "There's a trust deficit between both the countries, between both the governments," Gilani said in an interview with CNN in London. "That is the reason we are wanting to work for new terms of engagement and cooperation with the United States." Pakistan has been a key U.S. ally, but relations between the two nations have been strained in recent months, especially after last year's killing of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil and a NATO airstrike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Amid a lack of harmony, the Obama administration has said it is not convinced Pakistan is pulling its weight. At the end of an Asia tour Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan ought to do more in fighting extremism. Gilani countered that his country was doing all it could in partnership with the United States. "If there is any credible, actionable information, please share with us, because are already working with you," he said. "My ISI is working with the CIA. What else do you want?" The ISI, or Inter-Services Intelligence, is Pakistan's powerful spy agency, which some U.S. officials have charged is protecting militant groups. How can relations between the two nations, strained in recent months, improve? "One point," Gilani said. "That is mutual respect and mutual interest." A lack of trust is not the only stain marring a critical relationship. Pakistan has said it wants an end to U.S. drone strikes on its territory, and Gilani made the point again Tuesday. "We always take drones as counterproductive, and it's not lawful," Gilani said. Back at home, Gilani faces myriad national woes: a faltering economy, widespread poverty and corruption. And now, his own future. He was convicted last month of contempt for his refusal to revive old corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari. Some analysts predicted the conviction would plunge Pakistan into crisis, perhaps even spark another military coup. But on a five-day visit to the United Kingdom, Gilani remained confidant and defiant as ever about stepping down, saying that only parliament had the right to force him from office. "If I'm disqualified, notified by the speaker, then yes I have to," he said about leaving his job. Pakistan's Supreme Court issued a detailed verdict Tuesday that made it clear it held Gilani in contempt of court for defying the highest judiciary in the land. Gilani defended himself just as strongly as he defended Pakistan and the course it has taken in battling terrorism. "Whatever I have done is according to the constitution," he said. "It is not on any moral turpitude or financial corruption." He said information about the most wanted terror suspects is shared with Washington. In the case of bin Laden, Gillani said Pakistan was not aware of the al Qaeda mastermind's residence in Abbottabad. "That was intelligence failure of the whole world. It was not just an intelligence failure of Pakistan," he said. Pakistanis, of all people, know the consequences of terrorists on their soil, he said. However, Clinton said this week that the United States believed Ayman al-Zawahiri was hiding in Pakistan. Al-Zawahiri inherited the al Qaeda leadership after the death of bin Laden, who spent years on the lam in Pakistan, fleeing from safe house to safe house, according to one of his widows. Clinton also touted the Rewards for Justice program, aimed at obtaining information that could help convict suspected terrorists. Rewards go as high as $25 million for information on al-Zawahiri and $10 million for information about Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a Pakistani man wanted by Indian authorities in connection with the 2008 assault on Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people. Asked why Saeed remains a free man, Gilani said Pakistan was still "waiting for some concrete sort of information and evidence" that could be used against him in court. CNN's Jo Shelley contributed to this report. | Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan wants "new terms of engagement" with U.S. The U.S. claims Pakistan needs to do more to combat terrorism . Pakistan is a key U.S. ally, but relations have been strained recently . Gilani's own future is uncertain after he was found guilty of contempt . | c82136a57e4140a76f04540a80763d4a72dd47d9 |
By . Kieran Gill . Follow @@kie1410 . The National Basketball Players Association - the union for NBA players - has made Michele Roberts its first female executive director. Roberts became the first woman to lead a major sports union on Tuesday after the NBA took to Twitter and announced the appointment. 'On behalf of the NBA, I would like to congratulate Michele Roberts on her appointment as the NBPA's new Executive Director and look forward to working with her and the NBPA Executive Committee to ensure the continued health and growth of our game,' a statement from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver read. Michele Roberts became the National Basketball Players Association's first female executive director . Announcement: The NBA tweeted this statement from commissioner Adam Silver about the appointment . 'The partnership between our players and teams is the backbone of the league, and we are eager to continue working with the Players Association to build this relationship. 'I also want to thank Ron Klempner for his service as interim Executive Director over the past 18 months.' Forward strides: Portland Trail Blazers guard Mo Williams (right) skips past LA Lakers guard Steve Nash . | Michele Roberts announced as first women to become National Basketball Players Association executive director . NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says she will help 'ensure the continued health and growth of our game' | b0e8910e68526aa76ef0c9ec05f6c4261bbf28fc |
For the last two years, Dale Decker has suffered 100 orgasms a day - but has not enjoyed one. The 37-year-old is the first man to speak out about suffering persistent genital arousal syndrome. He developed the condition in September 2012 after slipping a disc in his back while getting out of a chair. Scroll down for video . Dale Decker, 37, from Wisconsin, pictured with his wife April is the first man to speak out publicly about suffering persistent genital arousal syndrome . While he was en route to the hospital, he suffered five orgasms. Since that moment he has been plagued by the condition, he describes as 'disgusting and horrendous'. According to medical literature, trauma to the pelvic nerves can trigger hypersensitivity in this area. The painful pelvic condition has left him housebound and isolated, through fear of suffering a public orgasm. The condition that causes him to suffer more than 100 orgasms each day after he slipped a disc in his back two years ago. Since that moment he has been plagued by the condition, he describes as 'disgusting' He said: 'Imagine being on your knees at your father's funeral beside his casket - saying goodbye to him and then you have nine orgasms right there. 'While your whole family is standing behind you. It makes you never want to have another orgasm for as long as you live. 'There's nothing pleasurable about it because even though it might feel physically good - you're completely disgusted by what's going on.' He added: 'If you're in public, if you're in front of kids - it's disgusting and it can break you real fast. 'It happened to me at the grocery store and when it was over there were around 150 people looking straight at me - why would I leave the house when something like this can happen.' The painful pelvic condition has left him housebound and isolated, through fear of suffering a public orgasm. He is pictured experiencing orgasms while out playing frisbee golf at his home in Two Rivers, Wisconsin . April and Dale Decker pictured today (left) and in happier times on their wedding day in August 2002 (right) Mr Decker lives in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, with his wife April and two sons Christian, 12, and Tayten, 11. While doing all she can to support her husband, Mrs Decker said his condition is 'hard to live with'. She said: 'We really struggle right now as he is unable to work and supply for his family and I feel like all the strain is on me. 'It's really upsetting, we don't do things that man and wife should do and we argue over things that should not be affecting us. 'Because he sometimes has episodes at night we took the decision to sleep in separate beds. Dale Decker pictured as a young man, left, before he developed the condition and right as a child . 'That can be very frustrating. You want the comfort from another person, particularly your husband, but we don't have that. 'I really miss the old Dale, we used to have a lot of fun and one day I pray that he will come back to me. 'Maybe the doctors will find a cure for this - I don't know - I just really hope that they do.' The horrific condition has cost Mr Decker many of his friends and the relationship he shares with his sons has also been affected. Dr David Goldmeier, an expert on sexual medicine at Imperial College in London said: 'Persistent genital arousal disorder is a condition, where the sufferer complains of long periods of genital arousal that are not associated with sexual desire. 'PGAD sufferers experience intrusive, unsolicited and spontaneous genital arousal that can be unrelenting. This arousal can persist for hours, days or even longer. 'This can be highly distressing for a woman and despite attempts to relieve it with sexual activity or orgasm, this often doesn't help or can worsen the symptoms. 'Spontaneous genital arousal is quite common but it's those women who can't control the arousal which is uncommon. 'I see around 20 women a year with this condition, it may be as common as one in 100 we just don't know. 'Sometimes it may resolve on its own, there is no cure but there are a number of ways to manage the symptoms such as meditation and pelvic floor exercises along with pain medication for the patient.' 'He struggles to be a good father to the children because they obviously don't understand what is happening,' his wife added. 'He can't take them to practice - can't play ball with them, it's really hard.' Despite suffering from a near constant erection Mr and Mrs Decker rarely have sex. 'Occasionally we will but it's very frustrating for both of us,' Mr Decker said. 'I've tried reading about it, tried going to doctors but nobody can help me - I don't know what I'm going to do. 'I just want to get my old life back - I just want to get back what this condition has taken from me.' Despite many medical professionals being unable to even diagnose the condition, there are some specialists in the field. Dr Dena Harris is a gynecologist who has mainly worked with women who suffer with PGAS. Speaking from her office in New York City, she said: 'It's clear Dale is really suffering and I'm sure there are some people who will say that this is just in his head. 'But it's not - it's a serious medical condition and I just hope he gets the help he so desperately needs. 'Being aroused can be a wonderful thing but this is not like arousal, it's not even sexual. 'It's a horrendous spasm and it can be terribly painful. 'Dale looks like he is in pain - not just emotionally but physically as well. 'I've got to be honest, there is help available but if Dale doesn't get help soon then there could be huge risks in the future. 'Suicide is always a concern when people suffer from this condition - they feel like they have no other way to escape it.' | Dale Decker developed persistent genital arousal syndrome two years ago . The 37-year-old, from Wisconsin, experiences up to 100 orgasms every day . Father-of-two describes the condition as 'horrendous and disgusting' He said: 'You never want another orgasm. There's nothing pleasurable in it' Condition causes long periods of genital arousal not linked to sexual desire . Trauma to the pelvic nerves can trigger hypersensitivity in this area . | 7fb52853ab6389468491ec576c5bdece5baececf |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 04:22 EST, 6 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:54 EST, 6 August 2013 . The taxpayer is being saved millions of pounds by a group of internet geeks in jeans, a long way from the buttoned-up formality of mandarins in Whitehall. Jordan Hatch is the youngest, having walked away from a degree or even A levels to join the Government’s Digital Service aged just 17. Tasked with dragging the civil service into the 21st century, he aims to make government relevant to a generation more used to smartphones than form-filling. Web genius: Jordan Hatch was just 17 when he swapped the classroom for life as a civil servant but he is responsible for some of the most popular features on gov.uk . The team is based in Holborn, halfway between Whitehall and the trendy ‘Silicon Roundabout’ of internet start-ups in East London. Jordan is the youngest member of a team of 250 which by 2015 is expected to have saved the taxpayer £1.2 billion. Most of the savings come from mothballing scores of websites for ministries and quangos, to create a single site – www.gov.uk – which becomes a one-stop site for anyone wanting to find out what the government is doing, or access forms, data or advice. The site has faced criticism for its over-simplified look, but this year beat the Shard and the Olympic cauldron to win Design of the Year. The chance to work on the mega-site, from its early beta stages, proved too much for Jordan. His parents bought their first computer when he was only six and at secondary school he designed websites and taught lessons in IT for other students. He later quit college after completing AS levels in politics, economics and business studies after his freelance computing work took over. He said: ‘It got to the point where I thought: I've got to make a call. ‘Do I want to focus on my studies or do I want to leave college and do other things?,’ he told The Times. As a 17-year-old in a government workplace he was too young to officially go to office parties. ‘It was orange Juice and don't tell anybody I'm here,’ he added. Swapping the classroom for the ultra-informal offices of GDS meant he could quickly put his theory into practice. Now 19, he still lives at home with his parents in North London. But he is responsible for some of the most popular sections of the site, including an updating calendar on when the next bank holiday is and when the clocks change. He has also designed a tool for paying council tax online. Stripped back: The single government website beat the Shard and the Olympics Cauldron to win Design of the Year in April . He could easily get snapped up by internet giants like Apple or Google. But Jordan insists that part of the appeal is making life easier for the Great British public. He said: ‘It's very nice to work for your country in a sense. The Civil Service is the ultimate British institution and it's great to be a part of that." ‘Working for the public sector is great. You can actually making user's lives easier. That's what keeps me coming back to work.’ Cabinet office minister Francis Maude has already met Jordan, and believes the use of the internet can transform the way the government works – and spends money. Launching GDS’s new offices, Mr Maude said: ‘We are determined to offer world class digital products that meet people’s needs and offer better value for taxpayers’ money – and that is why we have set up the Government Digital Service. ‘The GDS will be the centre for digital government in the UK. ‘It will transform the way people access government information by using digital technology to deliver services that put the user first and give them the smartest and most cost-effective service possible.’ | Jordan Hatch is part of a team dragging government into the 21st century . Left college after AS levels to start work aged 17 on gov.uk website . Designed popular features, including a bank holiday checker . | 0c72629ad85afc4efe1a9f673c07dddee6353619 |
By . Leon Watson . Police have been called in after pictures of David Cameron's nanny posing naked were posted online, it was reported today. Snaps showing the trusted aide appear on three internet sex sites, one of which allows users to buy access to videos, pictures and live sex shows on Skype. It is believed to have raised concerns at Downing Street about security surrounding the Prime Minister, his . 43-year-old wife Samantha and their three children. The helper who had naked pictures posted of her online has travelled on holidays with Mr Cameron and is close to Nancy, ten, Arthur, eight, and three-year-old Florence. The Prime Minister and his wife are pictured here . The helper has travelled on foreign holidays with Mr Cameron . and is close to Nancy, ten, Arthur, eight, . and three-year-old Florence. She is described as being . part of David Cameron's 'inner sanctum'. A Downing Street source told MailOnline: 'The Camerons think she has been a lovely carer for their children.' It is unclear how the images came to be posted of the . woman. But the nanny says an ex-boyfriend may have . put the pictures on the adult-only site, The Sun on Sunday reported today. She said she had not posed for nude snaps 'for years'. David Cameron on holiday in Ibiza having lunch with Samantha and their children . The nanny called police on Friday to ask them to investigate a man she believes may be connected to the profiles. A source close to the aide told the paper: 'She's . horrified these profiles have come to light and is mystified at how they . got there. 'She insists it was nothing to do with her and must be down to one of her ex-boyfriends.' The . site features women from the UK, the U.S. and Europe and allows members . to buy access to videos, photos and Skype conversations. The woman's real name is not used on any of the sites. The aide is described as a keep-fit fanatic, who hosts fitness classes and teaches women how to pole-dance as part of their exercise plan. She . is also believed to have cared for tragic son Ivan who died in 2009 and . is regularly contacted by Mrs Cameron on her birthdays and at . Christmas. A spokesman for the unnamed police force told the paper they had received a complaint from her. The PM's spokesman declined to comment. The woman is not believed to be Gita Lima, the family’s long-serving Nepalese nanny, who is on maternity leave or a Scottish nanny hired to fill in for her. | Nanny says an ex-boyfriend may have . put the pictures online . Helper has travelled on foreign holidays with the Prime Minister . She is close to his wife Samantha, 43, and children, aged 10, 8 and 3 . It raises concerns about security surrounding the family . | 58fe40fe23624389986b80a30fc563b8eb20d89c |
By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 12:27 EST, 17 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:38 EST, 18 January 2013 . Maybe there's something about the royal family that makes them hard to paint? It seems Kate Middleton isn't the only one who artists have had trouble recreating on canvas. This portrait of the Queen painted 60 years ago was rejected because critics said it looked nothing like her and her neck was 'too long'. This portrait of the Queen by John Napper was rejected after criticis said it looked nothing like her in 1952 . Much better: Her Majesty the Queen pictured in 1953 in Buckingham Palace. The John Napper portrait was said to look nothing like her . The painting by John Napper was especially commissioned by Liverpool Town Hall for the Queen's Coronation in 1953. But it faced such criticism at the time it was quickly shelved and Napper was sent back to the drawing board to start again. A second version with a shorter neck was eventually accepted. Last . week Kate Middleton's first official portrait faced a barrage of . withering criticism from art lovers who branded it 'rotten', 'ghastly' and 'ordinary'. Paul . Emsley's painting was also subjected to a deluge of Photoshop . alterations by amateur artists who then posted their work on Twitter and . Facebook. The Duchess of Cambridge was more polite, insisting she was 'thrilled' with the oil painting and praising it as 'amazing'. Another royal portrait which was slammed by art critics has gone on display at Liverpool Town Hall . Artist Paul Emsley has faced a slew of criticism for his portrait of Kate Middleton which some of has said makes her look much older . Mr Napper, who died in 2001, famously said of his first effort: 'It's a beautiful painting of a queen, but not this Queen'. He also painted Winston Churchill but his best works were said to be his still lives which attracted the praise of Prince Charles. Trustees at St George's Hall in . Liverpool have announced the portrait will be permanently showcased . there to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation. Liverpool's deputy Lord Mayor Gary . Millar said: "We are very proud that Liverpool . now has the original first painting hanging in St George's Hall, which . has been rehung to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation. 'It . will be the first thing people will see if they come to get married or . have a civil partnership or attend a citizenship ceremony.' Royal row: Portraits of both Kate Middleton, left, and the Queen, right, have been subjected to criticism failing failing to look like them . | John Napper's effort was slammed by critics when it was unveiled in 1953 . Liverpool Town Hall ordered him to start again and shelved the original . Looks even less like subject than portrait of Kate unveiled last week . | d0f13db3809e0a51ea23544f1170ac8e70ffda6f |
Millions of "Downton Abbey" viewers were shocked Sunday night when one of the show's main characters, Lady Sybil Branson, died from eclampsia shortly after delivering a daughter. "Although the fictional TV series represents life in the early 1900s, women in the United States and elsewhere still die or suffer terrible outcomes from the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy," including preeclampsia and eclampsia, the Preeclampsia Foundation said in a statement issued after the show aired Sunday night. Here, five things you should know about preeclampsia and eclampsia: . 1. Eclampsia is a serious complication of preeclampsia. It's characterized by one or more seizures during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. "In the developed world, eclampsia is rare and usually treatable if appropriate intervention is promptly sought," according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. Left untreated, however, the seizures can result in coma, brain damage and potentially in maternal or infant death. Preeclampsia is typically treated with magnesium sulfate, as it has been proven to be extremely effective at preventing eclampsia from occurring, said Dr. Jim Martin, a member of the foundation's medical board and immediate past president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "We see most eclampsia now after delivery (in the United States)," Martin said, "because we use medications to prevent it during labor and delivery." Previously, as seen on "Downton Abbey," "the highest-risk time was at the end of pushing efforts for vaginal delivery," he said. "The way I teach it ... is eclampsia really is preeclampsia affecting the brain," he said. Preeclampsia can also affect the liver -- a condition known as HELLP syndrome -- or the kidneys, Martin said. 2. Preeclampsia typically appears after the 20th week of pregnancy. It most frequently is seen during the third trimester. It's characterized by a large rise in blood pressure and failing kidneys. Doctors monitor an expectant mother's blood pressure as well as check for excessive protein in her urine. "It's considered to be a complication of the second half of pregnancy and after delivery," Martin said. Preeclampsia was initially thought to be a disorder preceding eclampsia, hence its name, according to the foundation. Doctors used to believe eclampsia was a progression of preeclampsia, but seizures can occur all of a sudden in women who previously have not shown signs of preeclampsia, he said. Preeclampsia, along with other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy such as HELLP syndrome, impact about 5 to 8% of births in the United States, according to the foundation. The condition underscores the need for prenatal care, Martin said. "There are supposedly 50,000 deaths in the world due to eclampsia," most of them in developing countries where prenatal care is not widely available, he said. 3. Preeclampsia is more likely to occur during the first pregnancy. Risk factors for preeclampsia include multiple gestation (pregnant with more than one baby); a history of chronic high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease or organ transplant; a family history of preeclampsia; maternal age and obesity, particularly with a body mass index over 30. "It's still correctly described as a disease of the age extremes," most often seen in pregnant teenagers or pregnant women in their late 30s and 40s, Martin said. However, women who did not have preeclampsia in their first pregnancy should not believe they're in the clear, he said. HELLP syndrome, for instance, is more common in later pregnancies. The cause of preeclampsia is unknown. However, there is "general agreement that the placenta plays a key role in preeclampsia, and women with chronic hypertension and certain metabolic diseases like diabetes are more susceptible," according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. "Pregnancy causes it, but beyond that, the specific problem between the fetus and mother, and the genes from the father and so forth ... is not completely clear," Martin said. Women with preeclampsia are more likely to have complications such as low birthweight, premature birth or placental abruption, where the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth, according to the March of Dimes. 4. Preeclampsia can be silent. "Often, women who have preeclampsia do not feel sick," according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Martin said often, he has to convince women to come in and be evaluated as they do not feel ill. "It's such a gradual, insidious onset, they don't realize they're hypertensive or getting sick." Symptoms can include, but aren't limited to: . -- Swelling of the hands and face, or edema. Note some swelling is considered normal during pregnancy, Martin said, but doctors specifically look for swelling in the face and behind the eyes. -- Sudden weight gain over one to two days -- more than 2 pounds a week . In severe cases: . -- Headache that does not go away . -- Abdominal pain on the right side, below the ribs, or also in the right shoulder . -- Nausea and vomiting . -- Vision changes: Temporary blindness, seeing flashing lights or spots, sensitivity to light, blurry vision . 5. The only "cure" for preeclampsia is delivery. If preeclampsia is diagnosed before a baby is considered "term," or 37 weeks, bed rest, medication or even hospitalization may be required, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. Eclampsia cases before delivery can be treated with steroids, Martin said. Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth, but may develop four to six weeks postpartum, according to the Mayo Clinic. Delivery begins the cure, Martin said, as tissue is left behind after the placenta is removed and is shed by a new mother in the days following the birth. "While obviously not dangerous for the baby, postpartum preeclampsia is still critical for the mother," according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. "Nearly 80% of women who die from preeclampsia die postpartum. Sleep deprivation, postpartum depression, more attention on the newborn and a lack of familiarity with normal postpartum experiences all contribute to more easily ignoring or missing indicators of a problem." "They're focused on the baby," Martin said. "They expect to have some headaches and not feel great," but don't realize severe headaches can indicate a problem. | A character on "Downton Abbey" dies from eclampsia after childbirth . Preeclampsia and eclampsia still poses a threat to pregnant women . Both conditions can be treated . The risk doesn't go away after delivery, as postpartum cases are seen . | 883263039f0ebd700fe157dcf3d139b024a66b19 |
Everton have vowed to work with the French police to try to understand why trouble flared in Lille ahead of the Europa League tie. The club say there were two 'serious but isolated' incidents in France before the match. One Everton fan was taken to hospital with a heavy bloodied gash above his left eye, after being hit by a CS Gas Canister fired by police, who also reportedly used pepper spray. Some Toffees supporters were also attacked on Wednesday night in an 'unprovoked' attack on a bar in Lille. An unnamed Everton fan is attended to by other fans after trouble flared in Lille. The unnamed man has a head injury possibly caused by a tear gas canister . Front page of the French newspaper 'La Voix du Nord' featuring a picture of Everton fans in the town centre in Lille where the violence started and the headline 'Carton rouge' which translates as 'red card' French riot police run towards a group of fans in the Grand Place, Lille's main square . An Everton supporter holds a burning blue flare while other fans gather behind him . A group of Everton supporters still found time to play a bit of football, even with riot police all around . A collection of travelling supporters chant ahead of their side's Europa League clash with Lille . The city's riot place charge through the square while hundreds of supporters watch on . Two Everton fans were reportedly arrested on Thursday night. A club statement said: 'Everton will continue to work closely with the French and Merseyside police, in conjunction with the club's own security team, to better understand the two isolated but serious incidents that occurred in Lille ahead of our Europa League fixture this week. 'All available reports suggest that the first incident, on the night before the game, was an unprovoked and planned attack by local youths. 'The second incident, early in the afternoon on matchday, in the city's main square, quickly escalated into unwelcome and unpleasant scenes. 'Events then, equally quickly, returned back to normal with well-mannered and good-natured celebrations that were evident throughout the club's stay in Lille. 'The club will now work with all authorities to find out what happened and why. 'In order to gather as much detail as possible on the incidents and on other issues encountered by fans, the club has provided an online feedback form.' Thousands of people gathered in Lille's main square on Thursday as they prepared for the Europa League . The main square in Lille was largely cleared by riot police following the incidents on Thursday afternoon . Everton fans sang loudly in the squad and showed support for their side ahead of the Europa League clash . 'Everton will continue to work closely with the French and Merseyside police, in conjunction with the club's own security team, to better understand the two isolated but serious incidents that occurred in Lille ahead of our Europa League fixture this week. 'All available reports suggest that the first incident, on the night before the game, was an unprovoked and planned attack by local youths. 'The second incident, early in the afternoon on matchday, in the city's main square, quickly escalated into unwelcome and unpleasant scenes. 'Events then, equally quickly, returned back to normal with well-mannered and good-natured celebrations that were evident throughout the club's stay in Lille. 'The club will now work with all authorities to find out what happened and why. 'In order to gather as much detail as possible on the incidents and on other issues encountered by fans, the club has provided an online feedback form.' Everton say the trouble started when a plainclothes officers went to arrest a supporter who was misbehaving. Visiting fans thought it was local Lille follower giving the man hassle and retaliated. He ran from police and it sparked the confrontation which led to CS gas and pepper spray being used. The supporter, who was taken off to hospital in an ambulance, had a bloodied gash above his left eye that came from a a CS Gas canister that was fired by police. Back in the square, a loud bang rattled through the area as the police let off the first of three tear gas bombs. With shields covering their bodies, the police move aggressively through a group of Everton fans, knocking one to the ground as the second tear gas bomb was released. Fans were left rubbing their eyes and sneezing, and they attempted to flee the scene as bottles flew across the square. Several fans seemed extremely shaken by the events and the majority felt they had been victims of another unprovoked attack. One fan shouted, 'they've got rubber bullets', which the police reportedly used to stem any further aggression from either set of fans, although there were no Lille fans in sight. The away support certainly seemed to be the victims as the mood in the square had been a pleasant one for the majority of the afternoon. Everton boss Roberto Martinez spoke to the media ahead of his side's third Europa League group game . VIDEO Lille will be 'group stage final' - Martinez . | Club investigating two 'serious but isolated incidents' French police used tear gas on visiting Everton fans . One fan left with a gash on head after being hit by a CS Gas Canister . Around 7,000 Everton fans travelled to France to see their side play Lille . Trouble first erupted on Wednesday night at a bar in the city centre . | 2bd08ff8cab57f327007f4f8e1046fb593ea066a |
(CNN) -- A second half goal from Nilmar gave Brazil to a 1-0 victory over an understrength England in a prestige friendly international in Doha on Saturday. The slender margin of defeat flattered England, with Luis Fabiano missing a penalty shortly after the breakthrough goal and Brazil captain Lucio crashing a shot against the post. In uncomfortable heat in the Qatar capital, Brazil always had the edge against and England team missing John Terry, his defensive partners Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole and midfield stars Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Wayne Rooney was handed the captaincy armband by Fabio Capello and gave a wholehearted performance, nearly giving his side the lead in the opening moments as he just failed to get a touch on an inviting cross by Shaun Wright-Phillips. But there were few other attacking moments for England in the first half and their goal was twice threatened as stand-in central defender Matthew Upson twice lost possession in dangerous positions. A shot screwed wide by Felipe Melo and Nilmar's failure to find a teammate with his cross left his mistakes unpunished. England goalkeeper Ben Foster was also forced to make saves from Michel Bastos and the influential Kaka. Capello would have been happy to see his makeshift men go into the break still level but the effort was undone in the 46th minute as Elano's clever cross underlined poor marking and Nilmar stepped in to head past Foster. England should have fallen two behind after Wes Brown's mistake left Fabiano clear and he was brought down by his Manchester United teammate Foster. He was lucky to escape a red card but then watched as Fabiano made a woeful hash of the penalty. James Milner had a half-chance at the far post from another Wright-Phillips before Lucio found space to thump a shot which beat Foster and crashed against the post. England at least pressed in the closing stages but could not forge a clear chance against the five-time World Cup winners. Capello attempted to put a brave face on a lackluster display by his men. "I think we played against a Brazil team who have the best XI in the world," he told ITV Sport. "My first XI will be better than this one. But I found a lot of things positive." European champions Spain beat Diego Maradona's Argentina 2-1 in an action-packed friendly at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso scored two goals -- including an 86th-minute penalty -- to secure a home victory. Spain took the lead in the 16th minute after Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved David Silva's angled shot only for Alonso to capitalize on the rebound. Lionel Messi equalized with a penalty just after the hour mark after Raul Albiol had been fouled. But Martin Demichelis handled in his own penalty area with four minutes left and Alonso netted the winner. Another prestige friendly saw World Cup title holders Italy and the Netherlands draw 0-0 in Pescara in a game of few chances. Home goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon became the fourth player to win 100 caps for Italy as he kept a clean sheet. | Brazil beat England 1-0 in friendly international in Doha on Saturday . Villarreal striker Nilmar scores only goal of the match in 46th minute . Xabi Alonso scores twice as Spain beat Argentina 2-1 in Madrid . Netherlands and Italy play to goalless draw in Pescara . | 3356d58fcec00076354ba6db8cc6e69a1e891f11 |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 08:45 EST, 26 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:45 EST, 26 November 2012 . More working people are living in poverty than families where no one has a job, a new study shows. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has repeatedly claimed he wants to ‘make work pay’ but a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows how a million more working families are in poverty than households where everyone is on the dole. Around 6.1million people are classed as being in poverty despite someone going out to work. By comparison 5.1 million people live in poverty where everyone is unemployed. The report said 6.1million people are in poverty despite someone going out to work compared to 5.1 million people who live in poverty in homes where everyone is unemployed . The government’s welfare bill has continued to balloon, after benefits rose by 5 per cent while earnings for those in work have on average gone up by just 1.8 per cent. Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of JRF, said: ‘The most distinctive characteristic of poverty today is the very high number of working people who are also poor. ‘Many more people have experienced poverty since the downturn, cycling in and out of insecure, short-term and poorly paid jobs. ‘Tackling poverty requires a comprehensive strategy, but overcoming the frail jobs market must be the starting point.’ The amount of money spent by the Government on welfare soared by 7.7 per cent last year. Despite the Coalition’s efforts to crack down on the huge bill, it has risen by far more than the 1.8 per cent rise in average pay for those in work. The Centre for Policy Studies think tank said the spiralling welfare costs do not fit in with the Government’s stated objective of making work pay. The number of people who are working part-time but looking for full-time employment is now 1.4 million, up by 500,000 since 2009. The number of working families who get working tax credits from the state to top up wages is up by 50 per cent since 2003, to 3.3 million. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has insisted his welfare reforms will make sure work always pays . Millions of people are moving in and out of work every year, with the jobs market more insecure than ever. Tom MacInnes, research director of New Policy Institute which wrote the JRF report, said: ‘Low wages are a drag on economic recovery and cause families to struggle with the costs they face, trapping them below the breadline. ‘Changes across five decades demonstrate poverty is not inevitable - reductions in child and pensioner poverty show that. ‘But it is in-work poverty that is becoming the modern face of hardship, and at the same time support for working people is being cut. The high level of in-work poverty undermines any idea that better incentives to enter work, the centrepiece of Universal Credit, is some kind of cure-all.’ The Department for Work and Pensions insisted welfare reforms will improve the lives of some of the poorest families. The new Universal Credit, to be introduce from next year, with simplify the complex myriad of means-tested benefits. A spokesman added: ‘It will make work pay - by allowing people to keep more of their hard-earned money as they move into work - and directly lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty altogether. ‘Furthermore, for people who have been dependent on benefits for years moving into work can seem a big risk, Universal Credit will reward people who choose to go back to work by ensuring that you are better off in work than on benefits for taking that risk.’ | Joseph Rowntree Foundation says 6.1million people live in poverty despite someone in their family going out to work . By comparison only 5.1million of those living entirely off benefits are in poverty . | 3672574edfb6e3febec4d88a104741168e217bab |
(CNN) -- When Sunday Oliseh was a young boy kicking a football around the dusty streets of Lagos, he never dreamed he would one day carry the hopes of 170 million people on the world's biggest sporting stage. "As a child, the World Cup was something that was not for us but for others," says the man who became one of Nigeria's pioneering football exports. "It was something like a mirage for my nation until my generation came around." Indeed, football was not even considered a respectable profession in the Oliseh household. "For my parents growing up, football was taboo and you could understand them because way back then, in Africa, nobody made a living out of playing football," the 39-year-old tells CNN's Human to Hero series. "For my parents, there was no way you could play football because you're going to grow up, become older and be unemployed, so you had to be schooled and I really thanked them because it's made me get that education that has helped me to manage myself as an adult. "In the do-or-die world of football, if you're not really educated and paper smart, you could sign contracts that will hurt you forever, so I thank them immensely." Oliseh quickly won over his parents when he earned a contract at local club Julius Berger. Now known as Bridge Boys, it has provided a stepping stone to bigger things for a long line of international players. "I remember coming home with my first wages and my father called my brothers and said, 'Look, your brother is earning way, way more than I earned as an accountant for his first contract,' " Oliseh recalls. "That's when we were just like, 'Wow, there's something starting here.' " It was a journey that would take him far from home -- to clubs in Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands. Oliseh, a defensive midfielder, would captain his country, win an Olympic gold medal, and star at World Cups in the United States and France. African nations had regularly appeared at the World Cup since the 1970s, but Nigeria had to wait until 1994 for its first appearance. The scene was the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and the opponent was a star-studded Bulgaria team that would go on to reach the semifinals. "We were so nervous," Oliseh says. "The men's room was filled up before the game." The talented Super Eagles (and their bladders) needn't have been so concerned. Oliseh and co. powered to an impressive 3-0 victory and topped the group despite losing to an Argentina team captained by Diego Maradona. "I got the opportunity to rub shoulders with the player whose poster was on my wall at the time," Oliseh says. "He was the best player of our generation. That was when it dawned on me that I was ready for the big league." The Super Eagles lost to eventual runner-up Italy after extra time in the last 16, but their swashbuckling style captured the imagination of fans around the world and set the tone for a golden age of Nigerian football. Next came Olympic success at Atlanta '96, beating Argentina 3-2 in the final with a last-gasp winner. "My parents called me the next day and said, 'Son, you owe us money!' and I said, "How come Papa and Mama?" and they said, 'All the neighbors have been here drinking so when you come back, you have to pay us back!' "Nigeria went crazy. The President gave the whole country two days off. No work, we had to celebrate this -- so that shows you how much it meant to my nation and to Africa." For Oliseh, the 1998 World Cup was even better as he scored one of the goals of the tournament in a 3-2 win against Spain, though Nigeria would lose heavily to Denmark in round two. The goal was not only special for sending Nigeria into the knockout stage, but also because it was predicted by former teammate Dosu Joseph -- a goalkeeper whose career was ended by a serious car crash. "All I could think about was, 'Damn, Dosu Joseph said this!' So he was the one I was running up to in the stands, to my brother to just share the moment with them," Oliseh says. "And my nation was going through a dark period at the time. Our President had just died, and this victory united our nation again." These were halcyon sporting days that the football-mad country has yet to repeat. Oliseh helped Nigeria qualify for the 2002 World Cup, but was not selected for the finals. As would happen again at the team's next appearance -- at Africa's first World Cup in 2010 -- Nigeria exited at the group stage. But now, Africa's most populous nation is daring to dream again. And the omens are strong. Just like in 1994, the Super Eagles will go into the World Cup finals as African champions, and in Brazil they have been handed what is on paper a favorable draw after qualifying undefeated. Once again they will face Argentina, along with Iran and tournament debutant Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group F. But while the makings of a good team are there, Oliseh warns the present squad will have to go a long way to match the vintage sides of the mid-'90s. "The World Cup group of 1994, as far as I see it, was the most solid team Nigeria ever produced," Oliseh says. "Football in Nigeria during our generation hit the highest it could go. It became worldwide, it became a nation of footballers." By comparison, today's Nigerian stars have had a head start in making it in the game -- in many ways they are standing on the shoulders of giants. Victor Moses, Efe Ambrose and Emmanuel Emenike all earn big money plying their trade for Europe's elite teams, having been scouted and groomed from an early age. "My generation was blessed with this burden of being pioneers," Oliseh says. "You didn't have anybody who had done it before that you could ask and say, 'Look, what is it like?'" "When I went to the Italian league I was the first -- I had no other Nigerian to call up and say, 'How did you cope?' " No matter. With a confident and enthusiastic attitude to life, much like his playing style, the position of nomadic footballing trailblazer suited Oliseh. He was one of the first Nigerians to play in Belgium, spending four years at RFC Liege before moving to Reggiana in Italy after the 1994 World Cup. A season in Serie A was followed by a move to FC Cologne in Germany then a sojourn in Holland with Ajax of Amsterdam. While in the Dutch capital Oliseh would endear himself to the Ajax faithful with his dancing goal celebrations, picking up three trophies. Oliseh returned to Italy in 1999 for one season with Juventus before moving back to Germany, this time with Borussia Dortmund -- winning the Bundesliga title and a runner-up medal in the UEFA Cup. Each country provided different lessons in football and in life. "The moment I got to Italy, then I found out football was not a pleasure, it was business," he says. Germany taught him discipline and was "where my way of living as a man was built." Playing for Juventus, meanwhile, enabled Oliseh to live and play alongside legends of the modern game like Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero -- which he describes as "great for my own education as a person." While there have been many Nigerians and thousands of Africans to follow in Oliseh's footsteps in the 20 years since he made the move to Europe, African national teams have not developed in the same rapid manner. Pele famously said an African nation would win the World Cup before the year 2000 -- a prediction that has yet to be met. No African team has ever gone beyond the quarterfinals. Oliseh, who has set up coaching projects in Belgium since retiring in 2006, has strong opinions on why this is the case. "I think an African country will eventually win the World Cup. What is lacking now, it's simple to say ... what is wrong is that we don't plan well. We leave the planning 'til late," he says. On the park, Oliseh also has a radical diagnosis for player development and tactics. "Africans need to learn how to start pressurizing the opponents. Football has changed now. It's no longer football where you pick individuals and expect them to do well," he says. "Now it's more about team work, team dynamics, team schemes, things that are planned out. How to look at the opponent, how to bring about antidotes to the opponent's playing star. "When it comes to physical strength and bursts of speed, you can't beat an African. But what is lacking now is just that technical and tactical know-how. Then we'll get it." Oliseh's World Cup days may be long past, but come June and July he will be watching events in Brazil with avid interest. "If I was to live without football now, I think I would die -- even my kids sometimes are bored because Papa is always watching games." | Sunday Oliseh played for Nigeria at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups . Former midfielder was the first Nigerian to play in Italy's Serie A . Oliseh won an Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games . He believes African nations must change their approach if they are ever to win a World Cup . | 7d69a394fe1a79d02b9f8b9d6bc53234b5269432 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . A Florida man accused of stealing a total of 850 pairs of panties from Victoria’s Secret is behind bars. Daniel Espinosa, 18, allegedly stole more than $15,000 worth of stock from Victoria’s Secret on three occasions. The thefts, which also involved a second suspect, took place at the Victoria’s Secret store at the Sawgrass Mills mall in South Florida. You're nicked! Daniel Espinosa, 18, of Carol City, and a 17-year-old boy from Hialeah Gardens were arrested Wednesday after Sunrise Police say 850 garments worth $11,725 were stolen from the store during three incidents in 2012 . In November of 2013, Espinosa stole . 300 pieces of Dream Angels women’s underwear and allegedly on another . date, stole 175 pairs of women’s underwear, and that was worth over . $2,500. At a circular kiosk . that was stacked with drawers, panties were grabbed by the handful and . stuffed into shopping bags, the videos showed. The . thongs were stashed into a blue and pink bag in a shopping cart, on top . of which they placed another and wheeled it out of the store. On a third occasion, he allegedly stole 375 pairs of women’s underwear worth more than $5,000 but was caught. Quite a haul: 300 Dream Angels-style thongs valued at $3,750 went missing from the store on Nov. 23, police said. On Dec. 13, 175 pairs of women's underwear worth $2,500 were taken and on Dec. 20, 375 panties valued at $5,400 were stolen . How they got away with it: The teenage stashed the pinched panties into a shopping bag before making off with their goods . An . employee, who works loss prevention at the store, watched as they put . more than $5,400 worth of underwear into a bag and left the store. She . went after Espinosa and his accomplice confronting them in a mall . common area. Police said they pushed to her to the ground, dropped the . stolen merchandise and took off. Where the lingerie was going to end up is part of the continuing police investigation, Sunrise Police Sgt. Rodney Hailey said. A spokesperson for the store's parent company, L Brands, said it works closely with law enforcement on theft investigations. Espinosa confessed to committing the three thefts and faces a grand theft charge. Espinosa . made his court appearance remotely via video. A public defender said . Espinosa lives with his parents and is a recent high school graduate. Espinosa said he has no money in the bank and has lived in South Florida his whole life. 'Thank you,' the judge told Espinosa as he concluded the hearing. 'Don’t come back to Victoria’s Secret.' | Daniel Espinosa, 18, allegedly stole more than $15,000 of thongs from the Florida store . Teenager had just left school and claims he has no money in the bank . | 669f7e5fc461ff0bffbef55109c8c1624e157045 |
By . Amanda Williams . Gemma Sheridan, who unwittingly became the centre of an internet sensation after her name was used in a story about a castaway on a desert island . A woman who supposedly survived on a desert island by drinking rainwater from coconut shells and killing a goat with a clam shell for food, has revealed that the whole story was a hoax. Gemma Sheridan's story of rescue went viral when her image was posted online and shared and retweeted hundreds of thousands of times. The accompanying story claimed that she and two friends set sail from Merseyside to Hawaii in 2007 but hit a freak storm in which her friends were blown overboard and died. But the tale was merely a prank, played upon the 26-year-old by her friends, mocking her comparatively simple lifestyle to the internet fantasy they had concocted for her. According to the story, posted on news-hound.org, Miss Sheridan, from Widnes, Cheshire, was eventually rescued when she made a giant SOS sign on the beach and it was spotted by 'a kid from Minnesota on Google Earth'. The article has since been shared thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter. 'The people behind the website are just good friends with a strange sense of humour and busy brain,' she said. 'They posted the story then messaged me saying they were going to make me famous. I thought the story was a good one and it made me laugh.' Referring to the goat-killing story, she said: 'I can't kill a spider never mind smash a goat's head in.' She added: 'I thought it would get a few likes but didn't expect this. 'A surprising amount of people thought it was real. I feel bad disappointing them but it's just a laugh.' The story claimed Miss Sheridan, from Widnes, had been marooned on a desert island near Hawaii for seven years and that her SOS sign was spotted on Google Earth by a 'kid in Minnesota' Miss Sheridan, a saleswoman, said her real life with her boyfriend and dog was far from her internet castaway adventure. 'My . friend at news-hound had been skitting me about how happy I was with my . simple lifestyle, which is probably another reason behind them writing . such a ridiculous story about me. The . original story - 'Google Earth Finds Woman Trapped on Deserted Island' - . claims Miss S makeshift SOS message was finally found thanks to Google . Earth. But the tale was merely a prank played upon the 26-year-old by her friends (who also superimposed this picture of her onto the body of a castaway), mocking her comparatively simple lifestyle to the internet fantasy life they had concocted for her . In reality, the image is from a 2010 Amnesty International report on violence in Kyrgyzstan - the uncropped picture shows buildings in the background. Adding to the hoax, the details of her survival are not only fake but plagiarised - with huge chunks lifted from the survival experience of actual explorer Ed Stafford. For the record, Miss Sheridan has no sailing experience and no imminent plans to recreate her fictional adventure. | Gemma Sheridan's image unwittingly posted online along with survival tale . Claimed she and two friends set sail from Merseyside to Hawaii in 2007 . It also said that their ship but hit freak storm and her friends died . The tale said she was rescued after SOS sign was spotted on Google Earth' But the story was just an internet prank set up by 'imaginative friends' | 896e4d9d29bb6fe352b458dd4989f05a76dda82a |
By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 13:01 EST, 28 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:18 EST, 28 November 2012 . A bed and breakfast owner made a cracking discovery - after one of his hens laid what could be the world's smallest egg. Paul Rae spotted the tiny egg, smaller than a 20p piece, when collecting the eggs for breakfast at his farmhouse in Humshaugh, Northumberland. The 52-year-old said: 'It was so tiny, about the size of a 20p piece. Because it was with the other eggs, I knew it couldn’t be anything else. Record breaker? Paul Rae believes one of his hens could have laid the world's smallest egg . 'We were in with a chance for having the largest egg for the record books last year and now it’s at the complete other end of the spectrum.' Dad-of-three, Paul who runs runs Walwick Farm House Bed and Breakfast with his wife Margaret, 54, is not sure which of their four hens, known as ‘Margaret’s Girls,’ laid the unusual egg. But the couple are hoping that their discovery will be a world first and feature in the Guinness Book of Records. Earlier this year, Harry Evans found an egg he claimed was barely bigger than a 5p piece at his farm near Bakewell, Derbyshire. Paul said: 'His weighed 7.3g but mine was just five grams. It’s certainly not longer than 2.5cms which his was, it’s less than that in length.' Tiny: The mini egg measures just 2.5cm high by 2cm across and weighs only 5g . Mystery: Bed and breakfast owner Paul Rae has no idea which of his hens laid the tiny egg or why . The former catering manager said: 'After I found it I had a quick look online then I took it to the pub. I carried it in my pocket. 'My friends said I should get in touch with the Guinness Book of Records.' Paul, a trained chef who set up the bed and breakfast last year with his wife of 16 years, said: 'There is no category for the world’s smallest chicken egg as far as I know, so I am going to try and get it recorded. 'I have been a chef all my life, doing catering work around the world and I have never seen anything like that in my life. 'You would need pretty small soldiers for that one.' | Paul Rae, 52, found the mini egg at his farmhouse in Northumberland . It is smaller than a 20p piece and weighs just 5g . Hopes to have it registered in the Guinness Book of Records . | eb4eafa763dd4a4f5a6fdcb393c1b8c97a4a9bff |
Pop singer Selena Gomez went to rehab last month, Star Magazine has revealed. The 21-year-old star - who has an on/off relationship with Justin Bieber - was admitted to Dawn at The Meadows recovery centre in Arizona on January 5, and spent two weeks at the facility, which treats people aged 18 to 26 years old who are 'struggling with emotional trauma, addiction or dual diagnosis concerns.' Her representative tells MailOnline: 'Selena voluntarily spent time at Meadows but NOT for substance abuse.' Scroll down for video . Shock revelation: Selena Gomez, 21, was admitted to Dawn at The Meadows recovery centre in Arizona on January 5, and spent two weeks at the facility, her rep has confirmed . Although her reps have denied this, Star claims that the Come And Get It singer was 'heavily into the drug Molly (which contain MDMA)’ and was using prescription drugs like Xanax and Ambien. The former Disney child star was urged to seek help by those close to her amid concerns her partying was getting out of control. Meanwhile, TMZ have claimed that Selena blames her ex Justin for her 'predicament'. Another source has told Radar: 'Her friends and family became increasingly worried that there might be a serious problem with Selena. 'Particularly, her parents. The partying was, at times, wild. They wanted to help her -- and they very much encouraged her to go to rehab. Others very close to her also urged her to seek professional help.' Was her relationship to blame? Selena with her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in happier times . Another added: 'It's important to remember that Selena had worked in Hollywood non-stop for six years. She was exhausted. Selena was smart enough to understand that she needed to take control of her life. 'It just got to a point where she needed to get out of Los Angeles, get away from 'the scene' and the pressures of Hollywood, to also get away from those who had, admittedly, become a bad influence on her. 'Selena needed to take the opportunity to work on herself. She realised she needed help.' Sanctuary: The Meadows Rehabilitation center in Wickenburg, Arizona, where Selena Gomez stayed last month . Confirming the news: A representative for Gomez has revealed that she 'voluntarily spent time at Meadows but not for substance abuse'. Selena - who reportedly 'regularly' smoked marijuana with Justin - had been due to tour Australia this month but cancelled the shows in order to 'spend time on [herself].' And the brunette beauty is now said to be doing well. A source said: 'Selena is now happy and very healthy and already getting back to work.' At the time of her cancelling her tour, it was reported that Selena was suffering from Lupus disease, although this was not confirmed or denied by her reps. In a statement to her fans about cancelling her shows, Selena said she needed to 'spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be.' Adding: 'My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint them,' 'But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be.' Finding inner peace? It is unclear exactly what Selena was treated in rehab for but her rep has ruled out substance abuse . | Selena was admitted to Dawn at the Meadows rehab center on 5 January . A rep for the singer says her visit was 'not for substance abuse' Star Magazine claims Selena was 'heavily into the drug Molly’ and was using prescription drugs like Xanax and Ambien' TMZ claim the singer blames ex Justin Bieber for her 'predicament' | 20402c3754677195306a6aa07d945826d5012409 |
H.R. Giger, the Swiss surrealist artist whose works of sexual-industrial imagery and design of the eponymous creature in the "Alien" movies were known around the world, has died. He was 74. His death was confirmed by a statement from his longtime friend and manager, Leslie Barany. "We are absolutely heartbroken over the loss of this loving husband, selfless friend and supremely talented artist," the statement read. "He truly was one of a kind, committed to his craft, to his friends and to his family. His warm personality, incredible generosity and sharp sense of humor were in stark contrast with the universe he depicted in his art." Giger's art -- often featuring skeletal, tentacled, protomechanical (Giger called them "biomechanical") figures rendered in shades of blue-gray and brown -- was a mainstay of dorm-room bookshelves and science-fiction hallucinations. Among his most widely known works was the cover for Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1973 album "Brain Salad Surgery." But he's probably best known for his design of the Alien, the extraterrestrial species in Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror film "Alien" and its sequels. With its oblong, skull-like head, dozens of teeth, narrow torso and spiny, whip-quick tail, it was a fearsome creature that salivated acid and appeared to come and go at will. Indeed, the being that terrorizes the spaceship in the first film literally explodes out of actor John Hurt's chest before skittering away. Encouraged by "Alien" screenwriter Dan O'Bannon, Scott turned to Giger after seeing similar creatures in the artist's 1977 book, "Necronomicon." Giger and the special effects team won an Oscar for their work. The Alien, also known as the Xenomorph, later appeared in "Aliens" (1986), "Alien 3" (1992), "Alien: Resurrection" (1997), "Alien vs. Predator" (2004) and its 2007 sequel, and -- in somewhat different form -- "Prometheus" (2012). Giger, who called the creatures "my monsters," told CNN in 2011 that his work was, indeed, shaped by nightmares. "I feel very, very safe and happy and I have no more nightmares, but at the time, in earlier days, I could heal myself through doing my work," he said. Barany's statement addressed Giger's fondness for the Xenomorph. "It was certainly a design which Giger prized, much as he took great pride in his collaboration with myriads of music industry and film artists, since he began his glorious journey as a world-class painter, sculptor and designer," read the statement. Hans Rudolf Giger was born on February 5, 1940, in Chur, Switzerland. The son of a pharmacist, he showed a talent for drawing at an early age and originally trained to be an architect. But he maintained a separate life as an artist, turning to the field fulltime in the 1960s. He had a longterm relationship with actress Li Tobler, who served as the model for several of his works. Tobler committed suicide in 1975. Giger was married twice; he is survived by his wife, Carmen Maria Scheifele Giger. In the late '60s, a friend published a number of Giger's works as posters. Within a couple years, he was in demand by galleries and curators. In 1974, Giger was asked to do the design for Alejandro Jodorowsky's doomed version of "Dune," now the subject of a documentary, "Jodorowsky's Dune." Among the other participants in "Dune" was one of Giger's heroes, the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali. Giger also created the cover for Debbie Harry's 1981 album "Koo Koo," which featured the Blondie singer with long needles impaling her face, and was a designer on the 1996 film "Species." His work was much praised. "I think his ideas are very existential," Norwegian curator Stina Hogkvist told CNN in 2011. "What makes up a human being; when does a life start, when does it end; what is natural and what is unnatural. It's always interesting and always relevant." In later years, Giger had his own museum in Gruyeres, Switzerland. It included his own work, as well as pieces by Dali and Ernst Fuchs. His life, Giger said in 2011, had grown much calmer. "I have not to work absolutely now. I like to be free to dream," he said. People we've lost in 2014 . | H.R. Giger created "Alien's" Xenomorph along with album covers . His work was distinguished by eerie, erotic combinations of human and machine . Giger said he was inspired by his dreams and nightmares . | ad79714a2613cf185b52fd428d1ce8b90971bfd9 |
Oscar's Brazil, by Chelsea’s young Brazilian star and author Tom Watt, will be published next month to celebrate Brazil’s hosting of the World Cup. The book offers an insight into both the country and Oscar’s development from humble beginnings into one of Brazil’s shining lights as they try to win football’s greatest prize on home soil. Sales of the book will help Casa de Zezino, a project in Sao Paulo helping homeless children and teenagers in the city’s favelas. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Oscar star in brilliant new Chelsea kit advert . Proud: Chelsea's Oscar celebrates Brazil's hosting of the World Cup in a book published next month . I grew up in a suburb of Sao Paulo called Americana. Life was very different there compared to the centre of the city. There are drugs, crime and the threat of violence everywhere but Americana was a calmer, more relaxed place and the problems weren’t anything like the poorer neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo. It was a good place to be a boy who liked football. Americana was safe enough to go off and play on my own in the park. I could be out there all day, every day. Perfect! I learned how to play football as a kid through trial and error, playing every day in the street or in the park. When you start kicking a ball about in Brazil, there are no tactics. Whoever can dribble the ball and score just does it. And that’s what I learned to do. I played futsal (small-sided indoor . football) right up until I turned professional at 16. I think Brazilian . football has reached the level it has because of futsal. The pitches are . smaller. The goals are smaller. You have to be faster in everything you . do; particularly, you have to make quick decisions. Blue boy: Chelsea's Oscar is looking forward to the prospect of playing in the World Cup in his home country . Samba success: Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Gilberto Silva celebrate lifting the 2002 World Cup after beating Germany . If you’re dribbling, you have to do it by controlling the ball in a much smaller area. If you’re shooting, you must be much more accurate because the goal - the target - is smaller. A lot of Brazilian players are self-taught like me. My first coaching didn’t come from a club but a local escolinha, a soccer school run by the municipality so you didn’t have to pay. There was one near to where I lived next to a little local pitch. By the time I joined my first club, Sao Paulo, I had already developed my style of play. Sao Paulo was an hour away from where I grew up. It is a fantastic city, with everything you could want; restaurants, shops, things to see and do. It’s a very busy city. Everyone else in Brazil says people from Rio are just on the beach all day, every day. Paulistanos, they say, just work all the time; people from the south are bad-tempered. We all get stereotyped! At Sao Paulo they said I was going to be like a new Kaka. I was supposed to do all the things Kaka had done with the club. I wanted to say: ‘No, I’m just me.’ When I joined Internacional in 2010, I moved to Porto Alegre. Because it’s down in the south, Porto Alegre has a very different culture. The people, the gauchos, have their own way of doing things, their own way of life. There’s a calmer attitude and I enjoyed that; it’s a more tranquil place than Sao Paulo. Comparisons: At Sao Paolo, Oscar was expected to be the new Kaka when first coming through the ranks . They don’t even drink coffee like everywhere else in Brazil, but something called chimarrao, a tea made with the mate herb. They also take football very seriously down there, and maybe that’s why the city has produced so many coaches and managers, including Dunga (the 1994 World Cup-winning captain) and Felipe Scolari (the current Brazil manager who guided the country to their 2002 World Cup triumph). I’ve been . playing in London, with Chelsea, for two years now. For the many . overseas Brazilian players like me, it will make a World Cup back home . even more special. I . know what it feels like to play in front of a Brazilian crowd. It’s . important to recognise our responsibilities and take them seriously as . players - but not to let the pressure inhibit us. Special way of life: The south of Brazil have produced coaches like Dunga (left) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (right) When the whistle blows for kick-off, we have to make sure we let the joy in our football come through. We have to be true to our ideals and not let the scale of the event stop us playing the way we all want. If we do that, we know we’ll have 200million Brazilians on our side, cheering us on. It’s an incredible thing that Brazil have won World Cups everywhere but never at home because of the game they call Maracanazo, the 1950 defeat (in the final) against Uruguay. I understand the effect it had on the Brazilian people. It just makes this year that much more important. My first strong memory of watching football was Brazil at the World Cup in 1998. I remember us getting to the final and losing to France. We were all watching together with family and friends, because I was young I was right at the front near the screen and burst into tears at the end. With lots of other people all over the country, I guess. The most famous Brazil team were the 1970 side. It had great players - Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Tostao - but also a kind of togetherness. Look at the fourth goal in the final against Italy (regarded by many as the best goal ever scored). From one end of the field to the other; pass after pass after pass. And Carlos Alberto, the right-back, is the one who scores. That kind of goal is only possible where there’s a very special bond in the team. Brazil legends: Jairzinho (left) was a member of Brazil's iconic 1970 side with Pele . Icons: Carlos Alberto poses with England captain Bobby Moore prior to Brazil's 1-0 group stage win in 1970 . We realise that we’ll only be as good as past generations of Brazil teams if we are able to win as past generations did; from Pele to Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Brazil is known for carnival. Anywhere you go during a World Cup, wherever there is a space and a big screen showing the game, people will flock together for it. Everyone in Brazil has a mix of blood in their background. I’m mixed up all the way back through my family - I’m a mongrel! In that way, I’m just a typical ‘Brazilian’ and my family have been Brazilians as far back as we can go, back to the Indians, probably. People have come from all over the world to live in Brazil and they have brought their own religions with them. Most people are Catholics or Evangelical but we also have African religions, Islam, Lutheranism, Hinduism, Jewish people, Italian Catholics - everybody has brought their own faith. Together: Oscar is unsure whether the players or the supporters will be more excited hosting the World Cup . That diversity is important in Brazilian football, too. Look at the teams who have won the World Cup since 1958; there is the same mix of people from every ancestry as you see on the street. We’re proud that you can walk down the road and see people who are blond-haired, blue-eyed, olive-skinned, Indian or Japanese. Maybe it is why Brazilians have this reputation for being happy; everyone is welcome here. We do have big divisions in Brazil but those are to do with social background. I understand those divisions because I come from a humble family although now I’m more comfortable. I’ve experienced it from both sides; our divisions are about rich and poor. There is no stigma attached to the colour of anyone’s skin in Brazil. As you grow up as a young footballer, you dream about playing for a big club or maybe in Europe. But the first dream and the one that lasts is to play for Brazil. Our first game is against Croatia with the whole country looking on. I don’t know who is going to be the most excited: the players or the fans. Everyone will be together, feeling the same; big emotions, excitement, euphoria, pride and, we hope, joy. Brazil have won the World Cup more times than any other nation. Here’s how they did it... 1958 - Brazil 5-2 SwedenRasunda Stadium (Solna, Sweden) Pele arrived on the world stage at the age of 17, rewriting history by becoming the youngest player to score in a World Cup final and win a World Cup winner’s medal. 1962 - Brazil 3–1 CzechEstadio Nacional (Santiago, Chile) Garrincha (‘The Little Bird’) showcased his magical dribbling skills to become the star of the tournament after Pele was injured in the second group match. 1970 - Brazil 4–1 Italy Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico) Two former world champions met in a final for the first time and Brazilian captain Carlos Alberto scored arguably the greatest goal ever, bursting through from defence to finish off an attack of sheer brilliance orchestrated by Pele. 1994 - Brazil 0–0 Italy (Brazil won 3–2 on penalties)Rose Bowl (Pasadena, United States) The first World Cup final to be decided by a penalty shoot-out and Brazil dedicated their win to the late Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, who had died in an accident at that year’s San Marino Grand Prix. 2002 - Brazil 2–0 GermanyInternational Stadium (Yokohama, Japan) Ronaldo scored both goals to exorcise the ghosts of 1998, when Brazil lost 3-0 to hosts France. | Chelsea star Oscar and author Tom Watt have produced a book that offers an insight into Brazil and the playmaker's development . Sales of the book will help a project in Sao Paulo helping homeless children . | 97151b62b38f12506e157b1c4d6c37ea86e00ab5 |
Boca Juniors want Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo. The 28-year-old is on loan at Inter Milan and has scored six goals in 13 games. He joined Southampton for £12.6million but spent part of last season on loan at Juventus while Inter have an option to make the deal permanent after this loan. Boca Juniors want Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo, who is on loan at Inter Milan and has scored six goals . Osvaldo of Inter reacts during Italian Serie A defeat against Roma where he and his team-mates lost 4-2 . Boca have been watching Osvaldo though and that will suit Southampton as they look to instigate an auction for the striker. Osvaldo's last goal came in Inter's 4-2 defeat against Roma as Roberto Mancini's side sit 11th in Serie A. Sportsmail reported in September that Osvaldo has no intention of returning to Southampton with the club-record signing keen to complete a move elsewhere. Boca have been watching Osvaldo and that will suit Southampton as they look to instigate an auction . | Dani Osvaldo wanted by Boca Juniors, who have been watching the striker . Inter Milan have an option to make the deal permanent after his loan . Southampton paid £12.6million for Osvaldo but he will not return there . | f2d785496246b4e08d7f4ac088ad475f3f572961 |
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Thousands of people who filled the streets of Cairo Tuesday hope their demonstrations against corruption and failing economic policies will cause upheaval in the government, like the similar protests in Tunisia that inspired them. But analysts caution that in Egypt, the protesters are up against a different set of challenges. Juan Cole, a Middle East historian at the University of Michigan and blogger, describes Tunisia as "a little bit unique." "There have been lots of civil wars. There's been lots of societies in turmoil. But this kind of phenomenon where you had crowds peacefully coming into the streets to demand a change in their own contract with their government -- in the Arab world proper, this is the first time it's happened and it's the first time since 1979 in the Middle East," Cole told CNN last week. He noted that Tunisia is the "most secular country in the Arab world." Its traditions have favored women's rights and its Islamist influence is negligible. Tunisia also lacked the oil resources of other Arab states and the ethnic divisions seen in other Middle Eastern countries, which make it harder for opposition movements to unite, he noted. Looking at the protests Tuesday in Cairo, Mamoun Fandy of the International Institute for Strategic Studies told CNN he was not seeing a "turning point or tipping point yet." Noting the strength of the army, he said, "The Egyptian system is too strong and too resilient." A key question that will show the potential strength of the demonstrations Tuesday is whether hardcore protesters will stay through the night, or whether the rallies will fizzle down, he said. Eric Trager, a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of Pennsylvania and a former Fulbright fellow in Egypt, wrote in The Atlantic, "Egypt's liberal activists overwhelmingly come from the wired generation of Twitter and Facebook, and this makes them optimistic that pro-democratic movements can go viral, even in a political environment as traditionally illiberal as the Middle East... Yet Egyptian activists face tremendous odds -- in particular, an entrenched dictatorship that is determined to discredit the very idea of domino-effect democratization." Time.com published a story Thursday from writer Abigail Hauslohner in Cairo headlined, "After Tunisia: Why Egypt Isn't Ready to Have Its Own Revolution." Some Egyptians "believe the time is now" for protests to bring about change like in Tunisia, and several people in Egypt have set themselves on fire or attempted to in recent days -- much like the self-immolation of a young unemployed man in Tunisia that sparked protests in that country, she writes. "But in Egypt, it doesn't go much deeper than that." A greater percentage of Egypt's population than Tunisia's lives below the poverty line, she writes. "The citizens of Egypt regularly complain of a neglectful regime that knows more about torture than it does about public service, and they're furious with a regime that seems to swallow any domestic profits before they can reach the lower classes. And yet no one predicts a revolutionary reset anytime soon." Two factors distinguish Egypt from Tunisia in this respect, Hauslohner writes: Tunisia's government spent generously on education, creating a frustrated educated but unemployed population. And in Egypt, "the military stands with" Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Time.com is a partner of CNN.com. Writing in Newsweek, journalist Mike Giglio suggested the "upcoming protest in Cairo could mark the beginning of another upheaval." "Tuesday will be the first real test of whether the revolution is contagious," he wrote in a story published Monday. Many protesters believe their demonstrations will prove to have far more power than naysayers suggest. A Facebook page that has served to help organize Tuesday's protests in Cairo says, "Many young Egyptians are now fed up with the inhuman treatment they face on a daily basis in streets, police stations and everywhere... Egyptians are aspiring to the day when Egypt has its freedom and dignity back, the day when the current 30 years long emergency martial law ends and when Egyptians can freely elect their true representatives." | Analysts: Egypt is a different story from Tunisia . Analyst: Tunisia 'a little bit unique' Time writer says Egypt "not ready" for revolution . Protesters believe Cairo demonstrations can help trigger change . | 30bf501b428f081cba3ab6b00250f77761a31ea0 |
(CNN) -- David Thompson's Bangkok restaurant nahm is now officially Asia's best restaurant, but the understated Australian-born chef says he's cross. "I've lost money. I bet against myself," says Thompson. "I had several bets and it's ranged from two bottles of sauce of Sriracha, a bottle of fish sauce, to quite a few hundred dollars. Damn," he says. With dishes ranging from smoked fish, peanut and tapioca dumplings, to salted threadfin perch with ginger, chili and green mango on betel leaves, nahm's fiery menu is hailed as a shining example of fine Thai cuisine. Moving up from third place at last year's inaugural S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards, Thompson says he hopes the honor awarded at last night's glittering ceremony at Capella on Singapore's Sentosa Island, will provide a positive boost during what has been a troubled few months in Thailand. "Bangkok, as you know, is going through a little bit of a fractious time," he says. "Hopefully this will help to sustain us, but also show that Thai culture still continues on despite the political disturbances that are occurring at the moment." Celebrating excellent food and the top chefs of the region, the list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants is an off-shoot of the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, one of the highest accolades in the industry. "That might sound obvious because we're in Asia, but there's been a lot of Western influence especially at the fine dining end of the market, a lot of European influence," says William Drew, awards organizer and editor of the UK's Restaurant magazine. "But I think that perhaps is waning and Asian cuisine is forging a stronger identity in international terms." Back to our roots . Drew says the best chefs are embracing their unique histories and using them as a basis for creating contemporary, innovative dishes. One example is the recipient of The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award which went to Ivan Li, executive chef and co-owner of Family Li Imperial Cuisine, in Beijing's Shunyi district. Following in the footsteps of his great grandfather who oversaw the imperial kitchen in the Forbidden City during the Qing dynasty, Li delicately reproduces the recipes passed down through his family for four generations over an oven fire. "Asian food is very unique," says Li. "But we have also lost a lot of the traditions of the food culture. Now we're trying to rediscover and recreate some of the traditions." More than 900 global food experts including chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, food critics and other well traveled gourmands have judged the awards, each choosing their top seven restaurants. "We don't give them any criteria. It's entirely up to them," says Drew. "So one judge might be looking for the perfect plate of food, another judge might be more influenced by the atmosphere and the vibe and the whole experience. "We don't say it has to be about anything except the overall enjoyment of the restaurant," he says. This year Japan leads Asia's 50 Best Restaurants with 10 of its dining establishments making it onto the list. Singapore and Hong Kong both have eight restaurants in the top 50 and Mainland China has seven, including Robuchon au Dome in Macau. Taiwan is represented on the list for the first time with Taichung City's Le Moût taking spot 24, and chef Lanshu Chen named Veuve Clicquot Asia's Best Female Chef. Lanshu blends the local influences and ingredients she grew up with, with the French culinary traditions she later studied abroad. Korea is also represented for the first time on the list, with Jungsik in Seoul named No.20. Top 10 restaurants in Asia 2014 . 1. nahm, Bangkok . David Thompson's fiery and feisty menu is based on the century old cookbooks of Thai matriarchs. nahm, Ground floor, Metropolitan Hotel, 27 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok; +66 2 625 3388 . 2. Narisawa, Tokyo . Named last year's top Asian restaurant, Yoshihiro Narisawa treats diners to dishes inspired by seasonal ingredients. One dish served in late autumn consists of burdock root sautéed with the soil still clinging to it, pureed with spring water. Narisawa, Minami Aoyma 2-6-15, Minato-ku, Tokyo; +81 3 5785 0799 . 3. Gaggan, Bangkok . Indian food redefined with modernist techniques -- experimental, adventurous and fun. Gaggan Anand's inventively named dishes include "Green with Envy," in which green peppercorn chicken kebabs are combined with coriander foam. Gaggan, 68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Bangkok; +66 2 652 1700 . 4. Amber, Hong Kong . Modern, imaginative and fundamentally French food. Sea urchin in lobster jelly, with cauliflower, caviar and crispy seafood waffle is one of executive chef Richard Ekkebus' signature dishes. Amber, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 15 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2132 0066 . 5. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo . Chef Seiji Yamamoto combines indigenous ingredients with the precise techniques Japanese chefs have honed over centuries. The menu at this fabled Roppongi destination changes daily. Nihonryori RyuGin, 1st Floor, 7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo; +81 3 3423 8006 . 6. Restaurant André, Singapore . Chef André Chiang is guided by art and philosophy when conceiving his dishes. He was also voted the winner of this year's Chefs' Choice Award by his peers. Restaurant André, 41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore; +65 6534 8880 . 7. Waku Ghin, Singapore . Tetsuya Wakuda's plush Marina Bay Sands restaurant is private, personal and offers delights including whole abalone with aonori (seaweed) and fillet of Tasmanian grass-fed beef with wasabi mustard . Waku Ghin, Atrium 2, Level 2, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore; +65 6688 8507 . 8. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai . In an old Shanghai neighborhood, Ultraviolet is billed as the first restaurant of its kind attempting to unite food with multi-sensory technologies. Just 10 diners a night graze from a 20-course menu including dishes as unusual as a savory chocolate foie gras tartine. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, c/o Bund 18, 6/F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, Shanghai; +86 021 6323 9898 . 9. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong . Hong Kong's most revered Cantonese restaurant is helmed by Chan Yan Tak, the first Chinese chef to earn three Michelin stars, and renowned for valuing texture as much as flavour. Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3196 8880 . 10. 8½ Otto E Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong . Haute dining experience specializing in homemade pasta and other Italian dishes. Starters include lobster salad and oscietra caviar with celery jelly. 8½ Otto E Mezzo Bombana, Shop 202, Landmark Alexandra, 18 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2537 8859 . Full list of Asia's top 50 Best Restaurants here . The other 40 . 11. Mr and Mrs Bund, Shanghai . 12. Iggy's, Singapore . 13. Caprice, Hong Kong . 14. Les Amis, Singapore . 15. Bo Innovation, Hong Kong . 16. Ishikawa, Tokyo . 17. Jaan, Singapore . 18. L'atelier De Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong . 19. Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong . 20. Jungsik, Seoul, Korea . 21. Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin, Bangkok, Thailand . 22. Quintessence, Tokyo . 23. Tippling Club, Singapore . 24. Le Moût Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan . 25. L'Effervescence, Tokyo . 26. Fu1015, Shanghai, China . 27. Bukhara, New Delhi . 28. Bo.Lan, Bangkok . 29. Indian Accent, New Delhi . 30. Dum Pukht, New Delhi . 31. Issaya Siamese Club, Bangkok, Thailand . 32. Varq, New Delhi . 33. 28 Hubin Road, Hangzhou, China . 34. Takazawa, Tokyo . 35. Shinji By Kanesaka, Singapore . 36. Wasabi, Mumbai, India . 37. Eat Me, Bangkok, Thailand . 38. Sukiyabashi Jiro, Tokyo . 39. Robuchon Au Dôme, Macau, China . 40. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Singapore . 41. Sawada, Tokyo . 42. Hajime, Osaka, Japan . 43. Sushi Saito, Tokyo . 44. Nihonbashi, Colombo, Sri Lanka . 45. Yardbird, Hong Kong . 46. Family Li Imperial Cuisine, Shanghai, China . 47. Sarong, Bali, Indonesia . 48. Franck Bistro, Shanghai, China . 49. Karavalli, Bangalore, India . 50. Tenku Ryugin, Hong Kong . | Bangkok's nahm restaurant wins second edition of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards . Bangkok, Japan and Singapore all have two entries in top 10, Hong Kong has three . Korea's first entry on the list comes in at no 20 -- Jungsik in Seoul . | 55bc68cbf15bc1e3c8a7edbcd9304f8f3078155a |
Suspended CBS Sports basketball analyst Greg Anthony reached a plea agreement with authorities on Wednesday to a charge of soliciting prostitution. Anthony will have the misdemeanor charge dropped if he does 32 hours of community service, according to the spokeswoman for the District of Columbia Superior Court. Anthony will perform the community service in Florida as part of the deferred prosecution agreement. Greg Anthony's (above) has reached a plea in his prostitution charge and will serve 32 hours of community service . Anthony is married to Dr. Chere Lucas Anthony (above), a dermatologist, and the couple have a 10-month-old daughter . Details of former New York Knicks stars and sports commentator Greg Anthony's recent arrest for soliciting an undercover cop were recently released and revealed the events of the evening. A police report showed that Anthony reached out to the officer through the website Backpage.com on January 16, and had them meet him at the Doubletree Hotel in Washington, DC where he was staying. Then, after agreeing on a cost of $80 for sex, Anthony told the officer he wanted them to dress up. The officer arrived a little after 5:45pm, and almost immediately says to Anthony; 'So $80 for intercourse?' Anthony is caught off guard, saying he does not want to talk about that, to which the officer responds; 'I just need to know so I don’t have any surprises.' They then ask of Antony would like to have intercourse or oral sex, to which he says; 'Ummm yeah that's fine.' Finally, just before backup is called in, the officer asks; 'You want me to dress up?' 'Oh yeah,' says Anthony. He is now scheduled to appear in court on February 2 and faces a misdemeanor charge of solicitation. Anthony was in town that weekend to announce an NCAA game between Michigan State and Maryland for CBS. The network, and Turner Sports, quickly announced they would be suspending Anthony. 'Greg Anthony will not be working again for CBS this season,' said a spokesperson. 'I made a mistake,' Anthony said in a statement. 'With this lapse of judgment, I embarrassed many, including myself. I will work to regain the trust that I have lost, and the first step is saying that I am sorry.' Anthony (43 above) when he played for the Detroit Pistons . Anthony, 47, started his NBA career with the Knicks and played in New York for four years before being picked up by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 NBA expansion draft. He finished with the Milwaukee Bucks after 11 seasons in the NBA, averaging 7.3 points per game over his entire career. Anthony has also been politically involved, appearing in a Nevada campaign ad for Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential bid, calling the Republican Party nominee a 'no excuse kind of guy.' He is married to Dr. Chere Lucas Anthony, a dermatologist, and the couple have a 10-month-old daughter. Anthony also has three other children from previous relationships. | Greg Anthony has reached a plea deal after being arrested for soliciting an undercover cop in Washington DC on January 16 . The former New York Knicks star will will have the misdemeanor charge dropped if he does 32 hours of community service . Anthony met the officer after answering an ad for an escort on Backpage.com . The police report reveals that Anthony agreed to pay $80 for sex and urged the officer to 'dress up' He is married to Dr. Chere Lucas Anthony, a dermatologist, and the couple have a 10-month-old daughter . | ea5f5ab88cf6a1aae32ac54db34b110e612987ec |
By . Jenny Hope . PUBLISHED: . 20:08 EST, 12 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:32 EST, 12 February 2013 . Worrying: Lung cancer deaths in British women outnumber those from breast cancer and will continue rising for the rest of the decade, warn researchers. Smoking has been blamed for the predicted increase . Lung cancer deaths in British women outnumber those from breast cancer and will continue rising for the rest of the decade, warn researchers. At a time when death rates from other cancers are falling, an international survey shows lung cancer is the biggest killer in the UK, which has the highest rate in Europe. Figures published today predict a rising number of cancer deaths across 27 countries in Europe, reaching 1.3million in 2013, although the rate of deaths per head of population is actually declining. A group of researchers from Italy and Switzerland estimate that, compared with 2009, the overall level of cancer deaths has fallen 6 per cent among men and 4 per cent in women. Experts say advances in treatment and management are responsible for falling death rates in almost every form of the disease, except for lung cancer in women. It will continue rising because women took up smoking later in the 20th century than men, which means cancer develops later. In the UK, lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer death in women claiming almost 16,000 lives a year compared with 12,000 from breast cancer, and the rest of Europe is catching up. Lung cancer deaths have risen by 7 per cent among women in Europe since 2009, says the study published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology. One of the study’s authors, Professor Carlo La Vecchia, head of the Department of Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Institute and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan, said: ‘If these opposite trends in breast and lung cancer rates continue, then in 2015 lung cancer is going to become the first cause of cancer mortality in Europe. ‘This is already true in the UK and Poland, the two countries with the highest rates: 21.2 and 17.5 per 100,000 women respectively. 'This predicted rise of female lung cancer in the UK may reflect the increased prevalence of young women starting smoking in the late 1960s and 1970s, possibly due to changing socio-cultural attitudes at that time. ‘However, fewer young women nowadays in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are smoking and, therefore, deaths from lung cancer may start to level off after 2020 at around 15 per 100,000 women.’ Deaths from breast cancer have been declining steadily, with a 7 per cent fall in rates since 2009 in the EU. Killer: In the UK, lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer death in women claiming almost 16,000 lives a year. This is a file picture . Although lung cancer is still the main cause of cancer death among men, with 187,000 deaths predicted for 2013, giving a death rate of 37.2 per 100,000 men, this represents a 6 per cent fall since 2009. Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: ‘The prediction that lung cancer will overtake breast cancer as the main cause of death among European women is a real concern. ‘If we are to avoid such statistics remaining with us well into the 21st century, we will need to continue pushing for tobacco control measures such as standardised packaging for cigarettes and a ban on point of sale.’ Sally Greenbrook, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘It’s encouraging that breast cancer mortality rates in the UK and across Europe are falling. ‘However, we must not become complacent as there is still more vital work to be done. ‘We need to dedicate more research into the prevention and treatment of these diseases to save more lives in the future.’ | An international survey shows lung cancer is the biggest killer in the UK . Disease will continue rising because women took up smoking later than men . | 051c501a0ffb55b82970e3468b9fd5499e28429b |
Film shows three men tying up blood-spattered man before whipping him with cables and . touching him on his skin with electric wires . A terrified Libyan man is beaten and tortured with electric shocks by youths who appear to be former revolutionary fighters. The images, taken from a video handed to The Mail on Sunday in a Tripoli refugee camp, will be seen as fresh evidence that those who deposed Colonel Gaddafi with the help of the West are adopting methods as brutal as the dead tyrant’s. The film shows three men tying up the blood-spattered man before whipping him repeatedly with cables, touching him on his skin with electric wires and taunting him as he pleads for mercy. The man being whipped with cables on the video was Saleh Barhoun Gersh, who had run a general store in Towerga - which was loyal to Gaddafi during the conflict until the town was ransacked by fighters from nearby Misrata. When the rebels arrived, Mr Gersh was so frightened he wore women's clothes to disguise himself . The film shows three men tying up the blood-spattered man before whipping him repeatedly with cables, touching him on his skin with electric wires and taunting him as he pleads for mercy . The men, one of whom is wearing combat trousers and is armed with a knife, tell the man that 'blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done' The men, one of whom is wearing combat trousers and is armed with a knife, tell the man that ‘blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done’. The new video images follow growing protests about abuse and torture in parts of the country. Doctors from the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have pulled out after refusing to deal with the results of such brutality in their clinics. According to sources, the youths in the video were former rebels who refused to surrender their weapons at the end of the civil war in October – and are intent on revenge on those they suspect of having supported Gaddafi. They are said to have driven in armed trucks into the al-Fellah ‘internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camp in a suburb of Tripoli, firing at crowds and searching homes until they found men on their list of ‘suspects’. Fury: Women in the refugee camp, in a suburb of Tripoli, scream at the militia . Their victim, seen on the video, was Saleh Barhoun Gersh, who had run a general store in Towerga – which was loyal to Gaddafi during the conflict until the town was ransacked by fighters from nearby Misrata city. Before Gaddafi was killed, the rebels had been under siege from his forces for weeks in Misrata – a port 150 miles east of Tripoli. Commander Mohamed al-Deaka said of the men carrying out the abuse: 'Yes, it happens here, but it's everywhere in Libya. We have to use force to make prisoners give answers. Our city was destroyed in the fighting. Now we want to know who carried out the destruction, who raped our women and stole our property' When some of the Misrata rebels arrived at the camp, Mr Gersh was so frightened he wore women’s clothes to disguise himself. In the film he cries out as he is whipped and is told: ‘You are from Towerga, you dog. You say you did nothing in Misrata, so why are you in disguise? We found weapons in every house in Towerga. Your hand is bleeding and we hope it is paralysed.’ The men chant as they reach for live electric wires: ‘Everyone we catch is innocent, they say. ‘Well, blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done. We’ve caught 60 of you so far and none of you did anything.’ It is not clear when the footage was taken or what happened to Mr Gersh. Camp manager Mohamed al-Mabruk, who handed over the footage, said: ‘The fighters from Misrata have kept their weapons and vowed to capture everyone who supported Gaddafi. ‘They come on regular raids to our three camps in Tripoli and take anyone they want. They beat them and torture them to get them to confess to rape and murder.’ Locals said Towerga residents were known supporters of Gaddafi and are among 8,500 people believed to be held in secret camps all over the country. Mr al-Mabruk is helpless to stop the raids. He said: ‘You can do nothing against the Misrata militias. 'We are all terrified of them. The government, the police and the army cannot stop them.’ Attacks are often filmed by the fighters for amusement to post on YouTube. The abuse of Mr Gersh was captured on a mobile phone left behind in the chaos of a raid. Libya’s interim government has admitted it is largely powerless to prevent this collapse of law and order. It comes at a time when doubts are being raised about Nato’s support for the uprising. Britain spent about £300million on bombing raids to help secure the victory that ousted the Gaddafi regime four months ago. But local militias are hell-bent on revenge against their former enemies. They also frequently clash with rival militias. Rebel fighters in Towerga, south of Misrata, which has been systematically looted and destroyed since Gaddafi's downfall . Thousands of fighters have commandeered schools, halls and sports centres as detention facilities for ‘suspects’ they capture from their homes or the street. The Misrata brigades are considered the most hostile, with thousands of untrained youths carrying out the aggressive interrogation. In other footage collected by the camp manager, more than 30 armed trucks are shown on an early morning raid into the camp. Women scream that they are being attacked in their beds and that some family members are sick. ‘Is this the new revolution. Is this the justice we all fought for?’ they shout. Last month, 14 badly injured detainees were sent to Medecins Sans Frontieres doctors, three of them needing hospitalisation. Claudia Evers, Misrata co-ordinator for MSF, said: ‘The militia refused to let us take them to hospital. We’ve reported two deaths. No action has been taken and our doctors refuse to continue.’ Amnesty International has documented thousands of cases of abuse and torture, and handed photographs to The Mail on Sunday. Senior crisis response adviser Donatella Rovera has protested to the National Transitional Council (NTC) without success. ‘I have seen people who have been beaten with iron bars and rubber pipes, some hardly able to walk,’ she said. ‘Men are hung by handcuffs from a door frame and attacked with electric wires. Tasers are applied to their ears and genitals, and finger and toenails are torn out.’ She has evidence of 12 deaths. No investigations have been carried out by the authorities. ‘There is not a single case where anyone has been brought to justice,’ she said. ‘There is a total lack of accountability.’ End of a tyrant... but not the end of the bloodshed: A grab from a video taken from the mobile phone of a National Transitional Council fighter showing the demise of Gaddafi last October . At al-Huda prison centre in Misrata, Sheikh Fathy Daraz heads an Islamic charity for inmates’ welfare. But he is at the mercy of the militia, who regularly take men away for questioning. ‘We see their bruises and their broken limbs when they return but we can do nothing,’ he said. ‘There is no effective police force or national army yet.’ Nearby at the city’s al-Head sports centre, the tennis courts and gym were deserted. A group of 25 brigades have taken over. Commander Mohamed al-Deaka is a former construction engineer. He was defensive about abuse by his men. ‘Yes it happens here, but it’s everywhere in Libya,’ he said. ‘We have to use force to make prisoners give answers. Our city was destroyed in the fighting. Now we want to know who carried out the destruction, who raped our women and stole our property.’ Khaled Ben Ali, head of LibAid, an umbrella organisation for humanitarian agencies, said that NTC ministers told him they were powerless: ‘The Prime Minister told me he had issued written orders for the surrender of weapons and the militias tore them up. ‘They fought for freedom and now they think they are free to do what they like. What they like is revenge. There is no effective judicial system. Maybe we need the UN Security Council to find new ways of protecting our civilians.’ A government source said: ‘This is the result of our legacy from Gaddafi – brutalised people enacting revenge. But it must stop.’ | Film shows three men tying up blood-spattered man before whipping him with cables and . touching him on his skin with electric wires . Man, suspected by rebels of having supported Gaddafi, told: ‘Blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done’ Video handed to Mail on Sunday in Tripoli refugee camp . | feca449c9b1d9c7726a88df931d59472c73ac203 |
A teenage boy claims he has managed to capture a ‘guardian ghost’ on his phone at a Great War cemetery in France. Mitch Glover, 14, from Leamington Spa, was visiting the Neuville-St Vaast German war cemetery near Arras, in northern France, during a school trip when he took a photograph of the ‘ghost’. Not until after the school boy came home, did he notice the eerie figure in one of his pictures, which he says looks like a man wearing the uniform of a Scottish regiment. Can you spot the ghost? MItch Glover, 14, took this image of the Neuville-St Vaast German war cemetery near Arras, in northern France . Mitch was visiting France on a school . trip when he snapped several iPhone pictures in quick succession of the . war cemetery near Arras, scene of bloody battles of World War I, nearly a . hundred years ago. Number . three in the series of black-and-white images sees a ghostly white . figure watching over the grave markers in the left of the frame. After . looking into the history of the region, Mitch's family discovered that . the shape of the apparition could resemble that of the kilt and Tam . o'Shanter uniform of the historic Seaforth Highlander regiment. Neuville-St . Vaast is the largest German cemetery in France, containing 44,833 . burials, and is located a few hundred metres away from Nine Elms . military cemetery. Buried at Nine Elms are twelve N.C.O'S. and men of the 114th Seaforth Highlanders who fell on the 9th April, 1917. Eerie figure: It was not until he came home and flicked through his phone photos that Mitch spotted the 'ghost' in the frame . Scottish soldier: Mitch says the 'ghost' in the picture appears to be wearing the the kilt and Tam o'Shanter uniform of the historic Seaforth Highlander regiment . ‘Our . school tour was to look at war graves as we are studying poetry of the . First World War in literature and I am doing history,’ Mitch said. ‘I . didn't feel anything at the time, I just took it. I took it in a rush. I . snapped four as I knew I could just choose the best afterwards. ‘It . was when I got home, I was sat on the sofa flicking through pictures . when I saw it and immediately ran upstairs to show my mum. She was kinda . freaked out. It caught my eye and I saw it and went “wow”. ‘It looks like there is someone stood there, I thought it was like a ghost from World War One. A soldier.’ Mitch's . mother Sue, 50, an antiques dealer, says: ‘He came upstairs, he said “I . got something on my picture, I think I got a ghost” and I didn't . believe him at first and asked him to show me. 'My reaction was "oh my". It was immediate to me, you could see there was something in that one . place. Mystery shadow: Mitch is pictured holding a close-up of his ghostly picture taken during his school trip to France . In colour: Neuville-St Vaast is the largest German cemetery in France, containing 44,833 burials, and is located a few hundred metres away from Nine Elms military cemetery . ‘We checked his other . pictures, and it was just on that one, just one. It's stood at ground . level. Because it is the middle one of the sequence, it takes away the . idea that there must have been a splodge on there. ‘It . didn't look like a German soldier. I thought it just looked out of . place. And then a friend of mine said, do you realise that looks a bit . Scottish, like World War outfits from the Seaforth Highlanders. 'I . could see what they meant. It looks like they are holding something in . one arm. Whether it's a rifle or something one friend said it looks like . he's stood on guard over them. ‘ . The . Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army . associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. During . the Great War they took part in the retreat from Le Cateau, the Battle . of the Marne and the subsequent chase of the German forces to the River . Aisne. In mid-September 1914, the battalion was heavily involved in the . Battle of the Aisne, suffering heavy casualties including the CO. | Mitch Glover, 14, 'photographed a ghost' on a school trip to france . Image shows the Neuville-St Vaast war cemetery near Arras . When he got home he spotted a ghostly white figure in one shot . The 'ghost' appears to be in Seaforth Highlander regiment uniform . | 71293cd957dc084f6a2095d19e9d3df41a49a0f0 |
By . Ted Thornhill . PUBLISHED: . 04:07 EST, 16 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:15 EST, 16 January 2014 . Two of the arrested suspects accused of gang-raping a 51-year-old Danish tourist in New Delhi have appeared in court with their faces covered. Police and officials had to hold back an angry crowd that had gathered outside as they were led in. The suspects were ordered to . be held in police custody for three days for further investigation. Police officials escort an accused in the gang rape of a 51-year-old Danish tourist to produce him in court in New Delhi, India, on Thursday . The suspects were ordered to be held in police custody for three days for further investigation . Two other suspects were picked up . Wednesday night and accused of taking part in Tuesday's attack, which . lasted nearly three hours and involved six men. It happened near Connaught Place, a popular . shopping area in the heart of New Delhi, police spokesman Rajan Bhagat . said. ‘We have identified the culprits. All of . them are vagabonds,’ a police official said, according to the Press . Trust of India news agency. The two men brought before the court in New Delhi were part of a gang of six that allegedly raped a Danish tourist . Police officials escort one of the accused out of court . It's a case that highlights the plague of sexual violence in the country and threatens to tarnish its tourism industry. Violence . against women in India has caused increasing alarm since the fatal gang . rape of a 23-year-old Indian physiotherapy student in New Delhi in . December 2012. Several foreign tourists also have been targeted in . attacks that often get international attention, although Indian women . are assaulted far more frequently. Tourism . figures fell significantly in the three months following the 2012 gang . rape, with visits by women dropping 35 percent, according to the . Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. Although the . industry appears to have bounced back, recent attacks on foreign women . could have another chilling effect. Indian policemen sit inside the police station which is investigating the gang-rape of a Danish tourist in Delhi . Tourism accounted for 6.6 percent of India's GDP in 2012, the latest year for which figures are available. Last . week, an 18-year-old German charity worker said she was assaulted on a . train in southern India by a fellow passenger. She said she was too . scared to shout for help from the other passengers asleep in her . compartment, police said. The teen was attacked during a . train journey from Mangalore to Chennai, according to police. She was . travelling there to carry out volunteer work. A man from Bihar has been arrested for the attack. In . March, a Swiss woman reported being gang-raped in central India as she . and her husband camped out in a forest after bicycling from the temple . town of Orchha. And in June, a 30-year-old American woman was gang-raped . in the northern resort town of Manali as she was hitchhiking to her . guest house after visiting a friend. Police . said the Danish tourist was raped at knifepoint Tuesday after she . approached a group of men for directions back to her hotel. Instead of . helping her, the men lured her to a secluded spot and raped her . repeatedly, according to police. One . of the suspects in custody was found with the victim's glasses case and . 1,000 rupees ($16) in cash, a police statement said. Last . year, the Tourism Ministry launched an ‘I Respect Women’ campaign to . reassure travelers. Some hotels also have introduced new programs . focused on safety. Anasuya Basu, director of marketing at Le Meridien . Hotel in New Delhi, said the hotel has designated rooms for single women . and recommends that women only take hotel taxis. Public . fury over the 2012 rape case has led to more stringent laws that . doubled prison terms for rape to 20 years and criminalized voyeurism and . stalking. But many women say daily indignities and abuse continue . unabated and that the new laws have not made the streets any safer. Still, . there has been a surge in the number of rapes being reported recently, . suggesting women are emboldened to speak up. Between January and October . last year, 1,330 rapes were reported in Delhi and its suburbs, compared . with 706 for all of 2012, according to government figures. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Six homeless men allegedly attacked a 51-year-old from Denmark . Four men have been arrested in connection with the case so far . Several foreign tourists have been targeted recently . An 18-year-old German teenager claims that she was raped on a train . | 757a8b75089f69fdc33f096e575f35bef7b36ea4 |
Manchester United's all-star squad have taken time out from their pursuit of Champions League qualification in the Premier League to attend a host of events for the club's foundation as part of their 'schools united' campaign. Despite a disastrous 2-1 defeat at Swansea on Saturday, Louis van Gaal's side headed to ten schools within the Foundation's partnership for numerous causes, aiming at using sport to inspire the younger generations. At each venue the players got involved in activities showcasing the Foundation's core delivery, including sports coaching, leadership workshops and even language lessons. Manchester United' Radamel Falcao controls the ball during an event to promote Girls Football Development . Captain Wayne Rooney was back in the classroom with defender paddy McNair to help out in lessons at Stretford High School on their 'Leading the United Way' programme on display. Touching on his own captaincy experience to advise the young leaders he said, 'You need to be confident – that's a big part of it, as well as being able to communicate well and clearly, which a lot of them did in the classroom. As a Manchester United player we're in a privileged position and it's great to come and down, see the kids and try to give them some advice.' Meanwhile Radamel Falcao and Ander Herrera took part in a training session run by the club's foundation to promote Girls Football Development, with the lucky participants from Astley Sports College had a kick around just outside Old Trafford. Burnage Academy hosted duo Angel di Maria ad David de Gea for a selection of sporting activities in a Manchester United Foundation event in aid of Premier League 4 Sport, which focuses on alternative sports, without a football in sight. Di Maria and de Gea appeared to be all-rounders, showing off sporting prowess in basketball, table tennis and even badminton. Keeper de Gea, who impressed with his shooting skills, commented: 'Not everyone likes football, this way at least the kids have different choices of sports. I believe it's a great incentive that they have the opportunity to participate in different activities. It was very gratifying for us to be here today and to be able to play some activities with the kids.' United captain Wayne Rooney attended Stretford High School for the 'Leading the United Way' programme . Falcao signs autographs with Ander Herrera having taken part in an event for the club's foundation . Colombian striker Falcao set off during a training challenge just outside Old Trafford on Monday . At Swinton, Juan Mata and Marcos Rojo took part in a Spanish Q&A after surprising students taking part in an 'FA Junior Football Leaders' refereeing session. 'The Foundation does great work with kids and I think it's great of the club,' said Juan. 'It makes us realise what football means to the kids and we just try to help in any way we can. It costs nothing for us to come here and make the kids happy and it can be very important for them.' The ten schools involved in the Back to School event are partnered with Manchester United Foundation through its Hub of the Community programme. A dedicated coach is based full-time in the high school to work with students, children from feeder primary schools, teachers, parents and partnership organisations to build lasting relationships in the local community. Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will hope the change of scenery and positive atmospheres will help his star studded squad recover from the Swansea defeat to get back to winning ways against Sunderland on Saturday in the Premier League. Angel di Maria and David de Gea try to put their skills to table tennis on a visit to Burnage Academy . Despite the dismal result at Swansea, di Maria and de Gea appeared in high spirits at Burnage Academy . Di Maria and de Gea keep their eye on the ball, but this time it wasn't a football for the United stars . Herrera and Falcao look try some keep ups during a demonstration to promote Girls Football Development . Di Maria and keeper de Gea share a joke before attempting to show off their skills on the basketball court . Argentine di Maria gets ready to hit a forehand in badminton with United team-mate de Gea watching on . De Gea, shooting some hoops, has been in sublime form for Manchester United so far this season . Burnage Academy hosted duo Angel di Maria ad David de Gea for a selection of sporting activities . | Manchester United's Foundation hosted numerous local events . First team took part in activities for their 'schools united' campaign . Louis van Gaal's side fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Swansea on Saturday . | b079deb2e5a4375d97c7cd4552c9470cad9ee479 |
By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 07:22 EST, 10 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:20 EST, 11 May 2013 . A female jogger who died after being attacked by eight dogs - including six pit bulls - in Los Angeles has been identified today. Pamela Devitt, 62, died from her wounds on the way to hospital. Authorities are warning the people of Littlerock, about 40 miles (65km) northeast of the city of Los Angeles, to be wary following the horrendous attack which took place at 9.30am on Thursday. Attacked: Pamela Devitt was killed by the pack of dogs while jogging near her home in Littlerock . Impounded: Eight dogs in total have been impounded from a nearby home. A man was also arrested at the property . They have now impounded six pit bulls and two mixed breed dogs believed to have carried out the attack. Tony Bell, spokesman for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, told NBC4 that the pit bulls are a dangerous breed. 'These pit bulls are a killing machines. They're different than other animals. They need to have enhanced enforcement on these particular animals,' he said. The incident comes days after Brandy Bookamer, a 27-year-old Florida mother was found critically injured after being mauled by a pack of dogs Sunday night, while shielding her young daughter from attack. Sheriff's Lt. John Corina told reporters that a woman in a car saw the dogs attacking Ms Devitt. The witness called 911 and honked her horn to try to get the dogs to stop. 'When the first deputy on scene saw one dog still attacking the woman, he tried to chase the dog away,' Corina said. 'The dog ran off into the desert, then turned around and attacked the deputy, the deputy fired a round at the dog and tried to kill the dog, and the dog took off into the desert.' The woman died while she was in an ambulance on the way to a hospital near the high desert community of Littlerock said Evelina Villa, county animal control spokeswoman. Sheriff's . officials used a helicopter to search for the dogs. Later they served a search warrant . on a home near the site of the attack and took away eight dogs. A 29-year-old man from the house was also arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana. Vicious: The dogs are suspected of carrying out the violent attack . Horrifying: Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control and Sheriff personnel congregate near the area where a 63-year-old female jogger was attacked and killed by four pit bulls in Palmdale, California . Terrifying: The attack comes days after Brandy Bookamer, a 27-year-old Florida mother was found critically injured after being mauled by a pack of dogs Sunday night, while shielding her young daughter from attack . 'In these areas, you might have a situation where people dump animals out in rural areas,' said John Mlynar, a spokesman for the nearby city of Palmdale. He added that he'd never heard of an attack like Thursday's. Residents who live near the site of the attack said stray dogs are constantly roaming the area and have attacked people before. 'It's really scary,' Diane Huffman, of Littlerock, told KABC-TV. 'I don't know what to think. I really think I'm going to be getting a gun to protect myself.' | Pamela Devitt, 62, of Littlerock, died on way to hospital . The eight dogs have now been impounded after Thursday's attack . The witness called 911 and honked her horn to try to get the dogs to stop . | 8fd9ee1c745a89480bfa96cd0f29d84ac81e3188 |
By . Becky Barrow . PUBLISHED: . 09:36 EST, 14 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:44 EST, 14 May 2013 . Britain has plunged down a league table measuring international standards of living. In a sign of the hard times facing families, the Office for National Statistics said the UK has dropped from fifth in 2005 to 12th in 2011. The league table of the world’s wealthiest nations, using the latest available official figures, is based on how much money households have after paying their taxes and what they can afford to buy with their spare cash. Fall: Britain has fallen down the household league table from fifth in 2005 to 12th in the new 2011 table . While Britain used to be beaten only by America, Luxembourg, Norway and Germany, it is now trumped by a much longer list of countries including Switzerland, Australia, France, Belgium, Sweden and Canada. While average incomes have risen in Britain, they have increased by more in rival nations. At the same time, the price of goods has risen by a higher margin in Britain – meaning we can buy less with our salaries compared with people in other countries. The ONS’s research is based on what it calls each person’s ‘actual household disposable income’. This is defined as their total income – not only their salary but also other items such as interest on their savings – minus their tax bill. It also includes the value of any free ‘benefits’ received from the Government, such as NHS treatment and education. But the total figure is then adjusted to take account of the prices of goods and services in each country. Plunging economic fortunes: David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne were today hit by the news that Britain has slipped down the global family income league table, caused by the economic crisis . In Britain, the average disposable . income for 2011 is given as £18,291, which has risen slightly from 2005, . when it was £17,069. But in other countries it has risen much faster, pushing the UK down the league table as it has been rapidly overtaken. Based on research by the Organisation . for Economic Co-operation and Development, which measures economic and . social well-being around the world, the ONS report said the UK’s . downfall was primarily fuelled by the collapse in the ‘purchasing power’ of households. The ONS said: ‘Between 2005 and 2011, the price of goods and services in the UK has increased relative to other countries. ‘As a result, although household . income in the UK has grown, when compared to other countries that income . doesn’t stretch so far. This goes some way in explaining why the UK . ranks relatively lower than it did in 2005.’ It comes as a separate report, from . the Halifax bank, warned that millions of families are ‘at full stretch . financially’ and are being hit by a ‘squeeze’ forcing many to ‘cut back . where they can’. Around one in two ‘admitted they would find it difficult to cope if their monthly outgoings increased by up to £99’. Others are even more hard-pressed, . with their finances so finely balanced they would be tipped over the . edge with just a £24 increase in monthly bills. Anthony Warrington, director of . personal current accounts at Halifax, said: ‘Rising prices are putting . disposable income under increasing pressure. Jobless: This table shows unemployment rates in the OECD states in 2011. The UK went from 12th place in 2005 to 21st in 2011 . Comparison: This table shows GDP per head in all the major economies. The UK is ranked 14th in the table of 30 states . ‘With essentials such as mortgages and . rental payments, food and energy bills taking up the largest chunk of . household spending, it leaves some households with little room for . manoeuvre.’ Frances O’Grady, general secretary of . the Trades Union Congress, said: ‘The combination of recession and . austerity has taken its toll on household finances, with income levels . in the UK falling behind many of its European neighbours. ‘Even before the recession, household spending in the UK was far more reliant on debt than in other advanced economies. ‘In order to address this as a country . we need to obsess less about housing bubbles and focus instead on . securing decent pay rises and creating better-paid jobs.’ | British family incomes fell relative to other leading economies . UK public sector debt rocketed from 41.1% of GDP in 2000 to 85% in 2011 . Inflation in the UK was high compared with the US, France and Germany . | 84e8f14921910c339152875d9a7c26cacad07172 |
(CNN) -- Israel is taking steps to defend itself against threatened retaliation from Syria after claims it launched a night assault on a suburb of the capital Damascus on Sunday. This was believed to be the second Israeli attack in three days. The country positioned rocket interception batteries along its northern border and closed northern airspace to civil aviation after Syria vowed it would "suffer" for the alleged airstrikes on what it called a "scientific research facility." Israel declined to comment on reported attacks. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Frederick Pleitgen, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad called the alleged assault a "declaration of war." Meanwhile, condemnation flowed from its allies, including Iran, which said the "vicious acts" could "jeopardize (the) security of the entire region." What do we know about the extent of Israel's intervention? We know what's being claimed by Syria, and that is that several explosions hit the scientific research center in Jamraya early Sunday, killing 42 Syrian soldiers, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday, citing medical sources. It said 100 people remained missing. Syria's state news agency, Sana, said early information indicated the explosions were caused by Israeli rockets, though Israel has a policy or refusing to comment on attacks attributed to its military. It's not the first time Israel has targeted the site, Sana reported, pointing to an attack on January 30. At the time, a U.S. official told CNN the claim was false, saying that Israeli fighter jets targeted a Syrian government convoy carrying surface-to-air missiles bound for the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Syria denied there were such shipments. Last week, two U.S. officials backed up Syrian claims that Israel had launched airstrikes in the country on Thursday or Friday, taking the total number of potential strikes within Syrian territory to three, including Sunday's alleged attack. On Sunday, the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL -- the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon -- intensified their patrols along Lebanon's border with Israel, according to Lebanon's national news agency. It said the move followed the alleged blasts and "intensified Israeli Army patrols" along the "'Blue Line' within the occupied territories." United Nations Security-General Ban Ki-Moon has urged all sides to exercise "maximum calm and restraint." However, Ban's spokesman said in a statement issued on Sunday that the United Nations could not "independently verify what has occurred." Is Israel saying anything? Israel's long-standing policy has been to deny comment on claims of attacks. However, it has previously said that it would target any transfer of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups, as well as any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel. Shaul Mofaz, a lawmaker in Israel's Knesset or parliament, told Israeli Army Radio on Sunday that Israel wasn't meddling in Syria's civil war. But he insisted that Israel must protect itself from Lebanese militants. "For Israel, it is very important that the front group for Iran, which is in Lebanon, needs to be stopped," Mofaz said. "Hezbollah is deeply involved up to its neck in what is happening in Syria," Mofaz said, before adding "Hezbollah helps the Iranians navigate against the rebels." How is Hezbollah involved, and what is its connection to Iran? The supply of weapons by Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon is thought to be at the heart of the issue. Iran has long supported Hezbollah with funding and weapons, which it's alleged are smuggled via Syria to the organization's Lebanese base. After Sunday's strike, Iran's foreign minister phoned his counterpart in Syria and "praised the resistance by the Syrian government against the enemies' plots." Hezbollah is a Shiite militant group regarded by Israel and the United States as a terrorist organization, although its political wing is a key player in Lebanon's government. It has been linked to a number of attacks against Israeli, U.S. and other Western targets. In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Golan Heights which ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. At the time, Israel was said to be surprised by the intensity and weaponry displayed by the Hezbollah forces. Israel says it has intelligence that Hezbollah has long been supported by the Syrian government and Hezbollah has in turn been supporting the Syrian regime throughout the country's civil war. Hezbollah has been accused of sending fighters into Syria to support the Assad regime in the south and south west, but has denied these claims, saying its militants have, only recently, begun defending Lebanese border villages from attack by Syrian rebels. In 2009, the top U.S. diplomat in Damascus disclosed that Syria had begun delivery of ballistic missiles to Hezbollah, according to official cables leaked to and published by WikiLeaks. How real are fears that this could lead to a regional Middle East war? Few sides at this point would logically appreciate a widening of the conflict -- but hopes of resolving it seem as distant as ever. "The Syrian struggle has not only spread into Syria's neighbors, like Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey -- but has also become a battlefield wherein Israel and Iran are challenging each other," Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, wrote in an opinion piece for CNN. "There is also a fierce geostrategic rivalry unfolding in Syria between Sunni-dominant Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, a rivalry invested and fuelled with sectarianism. A real danger exists that this complex conflict in Syria could escalate into a region-wide battle involving Syria's major allies -- Iran and Hezbollah, and Israel, other regional powers, and the Western states." Analysts say that as part of the Lebanese government the group would be risking a great deal if it responded to Israeli aggression with force. Israeli officials are betting that al-Assad will not retaliate, both because his forces have their hands full already and because any strike against Israel would risk Israeli counterstrikes that might seriously degrade his advantages in the civil war, like airpower. "They don't want to open a new front that might be the last one they open," says one Israeli military official on condition of anonymity. "They would suffer a knockout punch." Syria's military is exhausted by the civil war and it would make little sense to open a new front against the best equipped military in the region, unless it was in a last-ditch attempt to garner flagging support as its internal morale vanished. But two years into the Syrian civil war there does not seem to be a military solution. "It is a long war of attrition with no end in sight," wrote Gerges. "Neither internal camp seems to have the means to deliver a decisive blow. "Only a political solution will put an end to the shedding of Syrian blood and prevent the unthinkable: a region-wide conflict that would have catastrophic consequences." Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report . | Israel takes steps to defend itself after claims it launched an assault on Damascus . In exclusive interview with CNN, Syrian official called alleged assault "declaration of war" Few would logically appreciate widening of conflict, but hopes of resolving it seem distant . | cb729e123107c3f51b3d28537c2910d74658b234 |
An Illinois man who was the bodyguard for high-profile televangelist Joyce Meyer has lost a bid in an appellate court this week after being convicted and sentenced to life in prison for strangling his wife and two sons to death. Christopher Coleman was 32 when he killed his wife, Sheri, 31, and their two boys Garett, 11, and Gavin, nine, in 2009, in order to start a new life with his mistress, a jury found. Prosecutors argued at his 2011 trial that Coleman feared he would lose his $100,000-a-year job as part of the personal security detail for multi-millionaire Pentecostal preacher Meyer - who travels the world delivering evangelical lectures - if his affair were to become public. The year before the murders he started a relationship with Tara Lintz, a childhood friend of Coleman's wife, who testified that Coleman had promised he would serve divorce papers on May 5, 2009 - the same day his family were found murdered in their beds inside their Waterloo home. Wicked: Father-of-two Christopher Coleman - seen here wearing a bulletproof vest to his 2011 trial - was found guilty of killing his wife and his two sons and will spend the rest of his life in prison . Secrets: Christopher Coleman murdered his wife, Sheri, and sons Garett, left, and Gavin so he would be free to marry his mistress, a Florida cocktail waitress and a childhood friend of his wife . Picture perfect: The white suburban home that became the scene of a nightmare when the Colemans were found killed in their bedrooms in May, 2009 . Coleman allegedly spent six months plotting the brutal murder, shortly after beginning an affair with Miss Lintz, a Florida cocktail waitress. The jury was shown explicit photos and messages exchanged between the pair, including a video of Coleman masturbating. They had also filmed a sex tape in Hawaii. According to the prosecution, Coleman started sending his family threatening, expletive-filled messages from a gmail account he set up himself. The first read simply: 'Your family is done'. They continued with 'tell Joyce to stop preaching [expletive] or your Chris's family will die' and 'I will kill them all as they sleep.' But prosecutors say the threats were in fact a ploy to set up a mystery stalker as the murderer, the St Louis Post-Despatch reported at the time of the trial. The mistress: Florida cocktail waitress Tina Lintz admitted in court to having an affair with Coleman . High-profile employer: Multi-millionaire televangelist Joyce Meyer told the court 'it could definitely have affected his job' if Mr Coleman was found to have had an affair . They claim he decided to kill his wife rather than reveal his affair and go through a divorce . Charismatic Christian Meyer - who Coleman had known since he was a child - gave a pre-recorded testimony saying that Coleman most likely would have lost his job had he been revealed as having an affair. The day before killings, Coleman said he wasn't feeling well and was given the day off by Meyer, who said was unusual behavior for her employee. The next day, May 5, 2009, Coleman left his comfortable suburban house in Waterloo to go to the gym at 5.43am. After his workout he said he called home and was worried when no-one answered, so he rang a neighbor, police officer Justin Barlow, to check on his family. Double life: Christopher Coleman was having an affair with a friend of his wife, Sheri, for six months before his family were killed . Officer Jason Donjon, who entered the house with Mr Barlow, testified last week they found the house was covered in threatening messages daubed in red paint. The graffiti read: 'I am watching', 'punished' and 'u have paid'. Then they discovered the bodies of Mrs Coleman and her two sons, killed in separate bedrooms. Mrs Coleman was left naked in bed, strangled with a ligature. Her eldest son, Garett, was curled up in bed with spray paint on his sheets. Finally the youngest, Gavin, was seen lying face down with his limbs dangling either side of the bed and swear words daubed on his covers. Later, pathologist Dr Raj Nanduri, who performed the autopsy, said it was likely the victims were strangled between 3am and 5am - before Coleman left for the gym. Police also said they found a Word document on Coleman's computer that had details about Lintz, including her ring size, and even a name for their future child, Zoe. Coleman pleaded not guilty to all charges. Tragic: The Colemans lived in a comfortable suburban home, funded by Mr Coleman's $100,000-a-year job as Joyce Meyer's bodyguard. Mrs Coleman was 31 when she was strangled in her own bed . He has never admitted having anything to do with the murders. He was found guilty of three charges of first-degree murder in 2011. However his defense argued that a judge wrongly allowed hearsay testimony about his failing marriage. Coleman also questioned testimony about the victims’ time of death and prosecutors’ use of a forensic linguist and of sexually provocative photos and videos of Coleman’s mistress. The Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court issued a ruling Wednesday that found circumstantial evidence presented at Christopher Coleman’s Monroe County trial was 'overwhelming'. He will spend the rest of his life in prison. | Christopher Coleman was found guilty of murdering his wife and their two sons - aged 11 and nine - at their Waterloo home in 2009 . All three were found strangled in their beds . Prosecutors said he was having an affair and wanted to start a new life . Coleman was the bodyguard for high-profile televangelist Joyce Meyer . He feared knowledge of the affair would cost him his $100K job . Pleaded not guilty but sentenced to life in prison in 2011 . Coleman this week lost an appeal due to 'overwhelming evidence' | 7b0c4d06cf1ed06a18b90d47ee13d3b6a6ca9d79 |
(CNN) -- The 22nd Winter Olympic Games are halfway done in Sochi, Russia. Here's a look at some key facts and figures related to what appears to be among the most expensive Olympics ever: . Cost: At least $50 billion, including infrastructure work in and around Sochi . Russia's original cost estimate for infrastructure: $12 billion . How much of the cost that is sports-related, not infrastructure: $6.4 billion . Athletes: About 2,850 from 89 countries -- with India being let back into the Games on February 11 -- plus 1,650 Paralympians from 45 countries . Sports: 15 . Number of events: 98, of which 12 are new . Number of security officers deployed for the Games: 37,000 . Number of U.S. athletes, coaches, staff and guests who have booked the services of crisis response company Global Rescue in case of emergency: 375 . Days of competition: 17, plus the opening ceremony . Number of countries from which fans have come: 124 . Number of media staff in Sochi: 13,477 . Number of signatures on a petition by gay rights group All Out calling on Russia to eliminate "anti-gay laws," violence and discrimination against gay people: 406,767, as of two days before the Games opened . Amount of borscht (beet soup) expected to be prepared and served during the Games: 265,000 liters (70,000 U.S. gallons) Average price of lunch for one at the Olympic Park: $15 . Number of chefs, sous-chefs, cooks, waiters, bartenders and cashiers working the Games: 7,000 . Average temperature in Sochi in February: 8.3 Celsius (47 Fahrenheit), the warmest ever at the Winter Olympics . Number of people the Olympic Park holds: 75,000 . Number of volunteers helping with the Games: 25,000 . Distance the Olympic torch traveled to the Games: 40,000 kilometers (nearly 25,000 miles), including into space, over 123 days . Expected television audience: 3 billion . Sources: CNN, Sochi Winter Olympic Games Organizing Committee, Russian Interior Ministry, Reuters . CNN's Chris Eldergill, Tom Bouchier Hayes, Alla Eshchenko and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report. | NEW: Fans have come from 124 countries, organizers say . NEW: 13,477 media personnel are covering the Games . The Sochi Winter Olympics are expected to cost at least $50 billion . The Games are guarded by about 37,000 security officers . | 2e0d600ea2145b336bccd9977ddd7a348acbc35a |
(CNN) -- While the world's attention has been focused on tumult in the Arab world, Iran has cracked down with impunity on dissent and is feared to come down even harder as elections approach, Amnesty International said in a sweeping report. The global human rights monitor documented "widespread and persistent human rights violations in Iran." "It is essential if further mass human rights violations are to be avoided that the international community act on behalf of the hundreds, if not thousands, of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners imprisoned after unfair trials in Iran," Amnesty International said in the report. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini celebrated the popular revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain, saying that they reflected an "Islamic awakening" based on Iran's 1979 revolution. But since the 2009 election, the Islamic republic has repressed similar voices within its own borders, Amnesty International said. "Since the 2009 crackdown, the authorities have steadily cranked up repression in law and practice, and tightened their grip on the media," according to the Amnesty International report, which came out just hours after the United Nations Human Rights Council convened for its latest session in Geneva. "In Iran today, you put yourself at risk if you do anything that might fall outside the increasingly narrow confines of what the authorities deem socially or politically acceptable," said Ann Harrison, of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program. "Anything from setting up a social group on the Internet, forming or joining an NGO or expressing your opposition to the status quo can land you in prison," she said. Iran has defended its record before the United Nations Human Rights Council and charged that Western critics are politicizing the issue of human rights for their own gain. Yet Amnesty International said Iran has deemed demonstrations, public debate and the formation of groups and associations a threat to "national security" punishable by long prison sentences or even death. "Lawyers have been jailed along with their clients. Foreign satellite television channels have been jammed. Newspapers have been banned," the advocacy group said. Mahdieh Mohammadi Gorgani, wife of detained journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi, describes in the report how an interrogator told her husband, "We are ordered to crush you. And if you do not cooperate, we can do anything we want with you. And if you do not write the interrogation papers, we will force you to eat them." Amnesty International said blogger Mehdi Khazali was this month sentenced to four and a half years in prison followed by 10 years in "internal exile," plus sentenced to pay a fine on charges believed to include "spreading propaganda against the system," "gathering and colluding against national security" and "insulting officials." Amnesty International called on the world to pressure Iran to amend laws that restrict rights of expression and assembly, as well as to allow for public debate before Iranians cast their votes in March. It also called for an end to jail time for people who protest peacefully and independent investigations of alleged human rights violations. The issue of human rights, said Amnesty International, can get lost as the international community scrutinizes Iran's nuclear program. "For Iranians facing this level of repression, it can be dispiriting that discussions about their country in diplomatic circles can seem to focus mainly on the nuclear program at the expense of human rights," Harrison said. | A new Amnesty International report documents what is described as repression in Iran . The human rights advocacy group urges the international community to take action . "We are ordered to crush you," one interrogator told a detainee, according to the report . Things may get worse with elections around the corner, Amnesty says . | a1128a3112bd7358448c4a84ad82fe7726b26ba4 |
By . Tim Shipman . PUBLISHED: . 06:36 EST, 11 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:02 EST, 12 October 2012 . Police last night demanded the resignation of Andrew Mitchell after a make-or-break meeting with officers from his local forces backfired. The attempt by the Tory Chief Whip to clear the air failed when he refused to say exactly how he abused officers in Downing Street. Police responded by saying that Mr Mitchell was accusing members of the diplomatic protection squad of lying. Under fire Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell visited a Tesco store in his Sutton Coldfield constituency today, before a showdown with police later over his 'plebgate' outburst at Downing Street officers . Mr Mitchell also opened The Holistic Practice in his constituency before meeting Police Federation leaders who say they want a full explanation or will demand his resignation . Ken Mackaill, of West Mercia Police . Federation, emerged from the meeting to say: ‘I think Mr Mitchell’s . position is untenable and if he won’t resign I don’t think Mr Cameron . has any option but to sack him.’ Police protecting No 10 claim Mr . Mitchell called them ‘f****** plebs’ and told them they should ‘know . their place’ when they refused to let him through the main gates of . Downing Street on his bicycle. But apart from admitting to swearing he has flatly refused to reveal what he did say. Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell arrived for work by car yesterday and made his way into No10 by a side door . ‘He said he did not want to get into a . firefight with the police or impugn the integrity of police officers . but unfortunately we’re left in the position where his continued denial . of facts recorded in police records does exactly that,’ Mr Mackaill . said. Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called on David Cameron to sack Mr Mitchell . ‘I think Mr Mitchell has no option . but to resign. He’s continuing to refuse to elaborate on what happened. I . think his position is untenable.’ The Metropolitan Police officers who . were abused have accepted Mr Mitchell’s apology but Mr Mackaill said . officers in his force have a ‘massive issue’ with their colleagues’ truthfulness being questioned. The Chief Whip’s future is now . hanging by a thread after senior Tories continue to express the view he . is a ‘dead man walking’ because he has lost authority with Conservative . MPs. At least six members of the Cabinet . believe he will be unable to do his job effectively and he has become an . open object of ridicule among Tory MPs. The confrontation came as . Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he thought Mr Mitchell should come . clean and warned that police throughout the country are angry with him. ‘I have no idea what he said. There seems to be competing claims about what was and wasn’t said,’ he said. ‘There is a dispute about words. He has got to explain himself to the Police Federation. 'There is a very strong feeling amongst all officers, not just in the Met.’ Mr Clegg said what Mr Mitchell did . ‘was very, very wrong’ and refused to say that he enjoys his confidence. He added: ‘It is bad enough to be rude to a police officer at the best . of times, but doing it at the time when those two police officers had . just been gunned down in Manchester made it all the worse.’ A friend of Mr Mitchell said he would not quit, insisting: ‘Andrew’s position hasn’t changed. He is carrying on with his work.’ A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The . Prime Minister has said that what Andrew did was completely . unacceptable but he has apologised to the officers concerned and it is . time to draw a line under it.’ London Mayor Boris Johnson has said it would have been 'commonsensical' for police to arrest Mr Mitchell . David Cameron, Prime Minister, September 26: ‘What happened was very regrettable. It must never happen again.’ Boris Johnson, London Mayor, September 25: ‘There was a proposal to arrest Mr Mitchell... That seems to be wholly commonsensical.’ Theresa May, Home Secretary, October 7: 'I have had a conversation with Andrew Mitchell... I was not happy.’ Philip Hammond, Defence Secretary, October 7: ‘This has been a very damaging affair.’ Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, September 23 : ‘I am not defending in any way the fact that Mr Andrew Mitchell lost his temper with police officers. I’m not a public schoolboy, I’m not a millionaire... Now whether this guy was a millionaire or not a millionaire, he shouldn’t have lost his rag.” Patrick McLoughlin, Transport Secretary, September 27: ‘Andrew Mitchell should not have done what he did.’ Grant Shapps, Tory party chairman, October 10: ‘Look that rudeness was unforgivable.’ Lord Tebbit, ex-Tory party chairman, October 10: 'I don’t think anybody would shed buckets of tears if he were to fall on his sword.' David Davis, former shadow home secretary, October 4: ‘He will have a difficult time. What does a Chief Whip have at his fingertips to deploy normally? Well, a mixture of charm, rewards, appeals to loyalty – all of those are diluted at the moment.’ | Government . enforcer holds 'clear the air' talks with police who say unless he . reveals everything he said during Downing Street rant he should quit . Labour says the time for explanations has passed and David Cameron should sack him . Nick Clegg says Mr Mitchell must 'explain himself' to police . New poll reveals half of people believe the row shows Tory MPs think they are better than ordinary people . Condemned and ridiculed by Cabinet . colleagues, friends say Mr Mitchell is forced to resign it will spell . the end of his political career . Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit says nobody will shed tears if the minister 'were to fall on his sword' | 525c9d52a4cb8c1b72bead0730f099117ece1770 |
She likes Target, the Food Network and sun-dried tomatoes. She loves taking pictures of her dog Beast, and admits to checking her phone "every five seconds." Priscilla Chan vaulted into the spotlight on Saturday when it was revealed she had married longtime boyfriend Mark Zuckerberg -- billionaire and Facebook founder. The wedding, according to media reports, came within days of Chan's graduation from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. The two met more than nine years ago while both were studying at Harvard. In a 2005 Harvard Crimson story about Zuckerberg leaving the university, he is quoted as asking Chan, identified as a "passing friend," "Hey, Priscilla, do you want a job at the Facebook?" "I'd love a job at Facebook," she responds while "offering him a Twizzler." But Chan, who graduated from Harvard as a biology major in 2007, never worked for Facebook. Instead, the Braintree, Massachusetts, native worked as a fourth- and fifth-grade science teacher at The Harker School in San Jose, California, following her graduation. On Facebook, she described her job as "hanging out with the little ones and trying to explain how the world works." She left the school in June 2008 and entered medical school, according to Facebook. "Learning to be a doctor," she noted on her page. On the UCSF web site, Chan is quoted along with other students on the school. "I was attracted by the faculty's honesty and warmth and the curriculum's inter-disciplinary approach," she said. "San Francisco's quirkiness and diversity sealed the deal." Chan graduated from Harvard in 2007. A picture posted on another of her Facebook pages shows her in a cap and gown next to Zuckerberg, who was wearing his trademark hoodie. In another picture from 2007, Chan writes she is with Zuckerberg at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, noting, "My date was wearing shoes!" In March 2011, the couple adopted Beast -- and, of course, set up a Facebook page for him. "I am a Puli, which is a type of Hungarian sheepdog," according to Beast's page. "I live in Palo Alto with Mark and Cilla. I like cuddling and herding things." On his page, Beast is shown lying on Chan's computer keyboard as she looks at the screen; peering into the fridge for a snack; and describing his "favorite thing in the world ... pooping on Mark's white rug." Beast is also shown on Chan's page, which had been updated as of Sunday to show her married to Zuckerberg. However, her pages also show a keen sense of humor. She writes that she "loves cooking and soft things" and enjoys diet A&W. "I am a simple creature," she writes. One with the power to help change the world: Zuckerberg told ABC News this month that dinner table conversations with Chan helped him formulate an organ-donation initiative on Facebook. "She's going to be a pediatrician, so our dinner conversations are often about Facebook and the kids that she's meeting," he said. Chan told him, he added, of patients "getting sicker as they don't have the organ that they need." According to her Facebook page, Chan speaks English, Spanish and Cantonese. Zuckerberg told ABC that Chan inspired him to try to learn Mandarin Chinese in one year. The venture wasn't very successful, he said, but he picked up enough to talk with Chan's elderly grandmother. | Priscilla Chan marries longtime boyfriend Mark Zuckerberg . Chan reportedly has just graduated from medical school . The two met at Harvard more than nine years ago . | 4a0b12b0be01248d390e00159fa0d14a396a9e9a |
By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 03:45 EST, 23 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:08 EST, 23 July 2012 . Information: Police were desperately looking for missing girl Liana Boyd, pictured, and her younger sister Teigan, who have been found . Two young sisters who went missing overnight, sparking a huge police manhunt, were found when a police officer recognised and stopped another missing teenage girl in the street. Liana Boyd, 11, and her little sister Teigan, eight, vanished without a trace from Whitworth Park, Rusholme, just a few hundred yards away from their parents' home in Manchester. The alarm was raised when the girls' mother Annette Boyd went out to tell them it was bedtime only to find the youngsters - on the first week of their school holidays - were missing. The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) helicopter joined the hunt for the sisters as officers conducted door-to-door inquiries in the area around the park. They were eventually found 'safe and well' around 11.30am today after the missing teenage girl, aged 14, who had befriended the younger girls, led police to a nearby derelict house where the three of them were having a secret sleepover. The sisters are now being interviewed about their movements in the 15 hours they were unaccounted for. The 14-year-old missing girl is also being questioned but is not under arrest. The sisters are believed to have been playing hide and seek at Whitworth Park near their two up two down Victorian terrace when Ms Boyd called them for for bed. When she couldn’t find them she searched the immediate neighbourhood before reporting the girls missing at about 10pm. Police scrambled the force helicopter during the manhunt whilst officers carried out door to door inquiries and issued public appeals for help including through the social networking site Twitter. Police said at 11.20am a constable came across a 14-year-old girl, who was also reported missing and believed to have been with the sisters. She then led officers to a house nearby where the girls were inside. Worry: Annette Boyd, mother of 11-year-old Liana Boyd and eight-year-old Teigan Boyd, the two sisters who went missing last night after playing on Whitworth Park, speaking outside her home in Rusholme, Manchester . Missing: Liana Boyd, 11, and eight-year-old Teigan Boyd disappeared in Whitworth Park, pictured, in Manchester, at around 8pm on Sunday . Ms Boyd could not be contacted for . comment. Chief Superintendent Rob Potts said: 'The most important thing is that the girls have been found safe and well. 'We understood that the sisters were with another missing girl, and officers were given descriptions of all three. 'I . would like to praise the actions of the police officer involved, who . acted quickly and noticed the girl matching the description. 'I would also like to thank the media for their assistance in publicising this appeal. 'Liana and Teigan are safe and well, along with the 14-year-old girl who was also missing. 'We are speaking to all three to fully establish what happened and will be continuing to work with partner agencies.' Found: The sisters had gone to the popular park to play, but disappeared later yesterday evening . Search: Police started a huge manhunt including officers on bikes who scoured the area for the girls . Play area: Park: Liana Boyd and her little sister Teigan went to have fun in the park like dozens of children but they appear to have had a secret sleepover in a derelict building . One neighbour said: 'It's such a . relief they have been found safe and well. When they hadn't turned up in . the morning many of us feared the worst. The police had the helicopter . out and they were a lot of police on the ground searching the area. 'It just looks as if they have wandered off with an older girl without telling their mum.' Officers . had said they were 'extremely concerned' for their safety as the pair . were missing for more than 12 hours. The sisters left their home to play . in Whitworth Park, which is close to Manchester Royal Infirmary, south . of the city centre. It is understood they were playing near the park gates where they could be seen by adults at the house. A short time later their mother went out to the park but was unable to find them and called 999. Neighbours in the road, mainly occupied by students, described them as happy little girls who loved to play. Lisa Murgatroyd, 23, who is reading Middle Eastern Studies at Manchester University, said: 'I saw them only yesterday playing across the road. Lost: The two sisters went missing from this house in Moss Side Manchester last night . 'They seem confident little girls and always cheerful.' Another student, who gave her name only as Debbie, said: 'They gave me a wave so I waved back.' Nikolay Poyukov, 22, a business student at Salford University, said: 'They often play together in the street quite happily. 'I didn't realise they were missing but I could hear the police helicopter over the park all night. 'Their parents must have been very worried.' | Liana and Teigan Boyd were last seen in Whitworth Park, Manchester on Sunday evening . When their mother went to collect them at 8pm they were gone . Greater Manchester Police tell MailOnline they were found at a house near their Moss Side home this morning . Officers stopped a 14-year-old who had also been reported missing in the street, who led them to a derelict home where the children had slept . Sources say that the girls had a 'secret sleepover' | 74e86303e54f97a70554dd7d2f9cdea77558fb7a |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- This year is the 50th birthday of the Copa Libertadores, South American football's equivalent of Europe's Champions League. Argentina's Boca Juniors salute their fans before a Copa Libertadores match against Uruguay's Defensor Sporting. The Libertadores is the most prestigious tournament in South American club football, seeing the best 32 teams in the continent battle for supremacy. It may not get as much attention as the Champions League, but for South American teams there is no bigger trophy. The tournament has reached semifinal stage, where Gremio and Cruzeiro from Brazil will clash with Argentina's Estudiantes and Uruguay's Nacional - a team captained by former Inter Milan star Juan Sebastian Veron. So with the action reaching a crescendo, it's high-time Fanzone explored what makes the compeition so great. History . The competition was first held in 1960, its name referring to the "liberators" who led South American countries in their wars of independence. For years it was dominated by Argentina, with a team from the country making it to every final between 1963 to 1979, and Buenos Aires team Independiente winning six times in that period. Since the early '90s, it's been the Brazilian clubs that have excelled. Brazil has provided 10 Libertadores finalists in the last 10 years, but since the tournament's inception, every country except Peru and Mexico has supplied a winner. Qualification . Under current quotas Brazil and Argentina both supply five teams for the tournament, while Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela are each represented by three teams, with the previous year's winner also qualifying. Each country has different qualifying criteria for its clubs but essentially, the winners of South America's top domestic leagues, as well as some runners up, qualify for the Libertadores. They are joined by three teams invited from Mexico (which is not a member of CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation). Better than Europe? In terms of football quality, most would agree that the Libertadores struggles to match the Champions League and the reason is simple -- South American clubs simply don't have the money to hold onto their best players. Despite this, the Libertadores is still the place where some of the world's best players cut their footballing teeth. The likes of Ronaldinho and Carlos Tevez once shone in the Libertadores, as did past masters like Pele and Zico. Which do you think is better, the Copa Libertadores or the Champions League? Sound Off below. While the tournament may lack big-name players, in other ways the Libertadores is as every bit as tough as the Champions League. Alexander Bellos is the author of "Futebol: the Brazilian Way of Life." He told CNN that in the Libertadores, teams often have to travel huge distances for away matches. It can take a Brazilian club 24 hours to get to a match in Mexico, leaving little time for pre-match preparation or training. Some teams play their matches at high altitude, which can be a grueling experience for visiting teams not used to the thin air. Bellos says these factors can combine to make the Libertadores less predictable than the Champions League, as can the fact that clubs regularly lose their best players to Europe, meaning their squads can change drastically from one season to the next. As in the Champions League, big clubs, like Argentina's Boca Juniors and Brazil's Sao Paolo, usually make the final stages, but last year's winners were unheralded Ecuadorian club LBS Quito. | This year is the 50th birthday of South American football's Copa Libertadores . The competition has been dominated by Argentine and Brazilian teams . Liberdatores tends to be less predictable than Europe's Champions League . This year's semi finals include teams from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay . | 7a3fa1a23eb9553df939bd6b3aa69000e7a8525d |
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