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By . George Stark and Emily Sheridan . PUBLISHED: . 00:54 EST, 14 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:19 EST, 15 July 2013 . Tragic: Cory Monteith, pictured in Los Angeles on June 8, has died aged 31 . Glee actor Cory Monteith has died at the age 31, it has been confirmed. The Canadian actor - who played Finn Hudson on the hit FOX series - was found on Saturday in his hotel room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver. Cory - who completed a stint of rehab in April for substance addiction - was last pictured with his girlfriend Lea Michele just last month. The news was confirmed by Vancouver Police at a press conference on Saturday night. No cause of death has been confirmed at this point, but there were said to be no implications of foul play. Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy on Monday. Acting Chief Doug LePard read in a statement: 'Shortly after noon today, the Vancouver Police received a call from the BC Ambulance Service regarding a sudden death in a room on the 21st floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel at 1038 Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.' Confirming: 'The deceased has been identified as 31-year-old actor Cory Monteith, who achieved great fame on the popular TV series Glee.' Before giving out further information, LePard said: 'I want to pass on our condolences to the family, friends, castmates and millions of fans of Mr. Monteith.' Cory had checked into the hotel on July 6 and had been due to check out on Saturday. However, video footage had shown the actor returning to his room by himself after an evening out with friends on Friday. News channel CTV British Columbia tweeted . the news shortly before it was confirmed saying: 'Sources tell CTV Glee . star Cory #Monteith found dead today in Vancouver. Police expected to . confirm at 10:30.' Scroll down for video... Recovery: Cory, pictured here on June 28, had left rehab in April after a one-month stint for substance addiction . Location: Outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver on Saturday night - hours after Cory's death . Room: One of the suites at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver where Cory had been staying (stock image) Word had begun to spread on Twitter of the news late on Saturday night although there was no official comment made at that point. Many believed it to be hoax, as it is not the first time news of his death had spread over the internet. Tragically, this time the rumours turned out to be true. In a short statement, Cory's publicist Melissa Kates said: 'We are in shock and mourning this tragic loss.' Real life couple: Cory and Lea attended the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 8 in Los Angeles . A statement from Fox - who produced Glee - went out on Twitter shortly after the death was announced: ''We are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Cory was an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person. 'He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.' Cory last tweeted on Friday, joking about the new sci-fi film Sharknado. He wrote: 'What the c**p is Sharknado... Oh. IT'S A SHARK TORNADO.' Social networker: Cory last took to his Twitter page on Friday, joking about the film Sharknado . Loved up: Corey and Lea at Los Angeles's LAX airport on June 20 - the last time they were pictured together . Just last month, the actor appeared to have put his troubles behind him after a brief spell in rehab as he attended the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball . on June 8 in Los Angeles - their last public event together and his first post-rehab. Cory was seen with his girlfriend Lea, 26, at LAX airport on June 20th, both smiling at cameras. Lea appeared to be particularly proud . of Cory, who successfully completed a rehab stint in April for what his . rep described at the time to be a substance addiction. It was Cory's second trip to a treatment facility - his first stint occurred when he was 19. 'An exceptional person': Glee producers and Fox Television expressed their sorrow in a short statement . 'I . love and support Cory and will stand by him through this,' Michele told . People at the time. 'I am grateful and proud he made this decision.' When he left treatment, he tweeted: 'Sending out big love to everyone. thank you for the continued support! It means the world to me! :).' The pair were pictured in late April after the actor had left rehab, going on holiday to Mexico together. Lea also accompanied Cory on a trip to home to Vancouver to visit his mother Ann. In 2011, the actor sensationally . admitted that he was 'lucky to be alive' after he went to rehab as a . teenager for alcohol addiction. RIP: Celebrities take to Twitter to tweet their condolences including stars of Glee . Announcement: Vancouver's Acting police chief Doug LePard British Columbia Coroners Service Barb McLintock briefing the media at a press conference on Saturday night . Cory . admitted he skipped school to get drunk and smoke pot when he was just . 13-years-old and quit his education at the age of 16. By the time he was 19, the TV singing sensation was undergoing a stint in rehab to battle his demons. Speaking about his former drug habit, the actor said he did 'anything and everything - as much as possible. I had a serious problem. I was out of control. I am lucky to be alive.' In . a 2011 interview, he said: 'I don't want kids to think it's okay to . drop out of school and get high, and they'll be famous actors, too. But . for those people who might give up: Get real about what you want and go . after it.' Close: Lea posted a photo of herself with Cory and her best friend Jonathan Groff on Instagram on June 18, writing 'my two favourite boys' Gone too soon: Cory was known for his role as Finn Hudson on the hugely popular series Glee . Cory was born in Calgary to Joe Monteith and Ann McGregor in 1982, joining big brother Shaun. After his parents divorced when he was seven, he and his brother moved with their mother to Victoria, British Columbia. Although a promising student, Cory grew up to be a troubled teenager, experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Following . his original rehab stint at 19, Cory worked several jobs, including a . Wal-Mart people greeter, taxi driver, school bus driver and roofer. After . turning to acting, he made his first TV appearance in Stargate Atlantis . in 2004, going on to make his film debut in horror film Killer Mary two . years later. Love story: Cory and actress Lea Michele developed a relationship off screen too . Singing their hearts out: Cory with his Glee co-stars Chris Colfer, Heather Morris, Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Mark Salling performing in LA in May 2010 . TV star: Cory in a scene from the first series of Glee with co-star Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn . Before finding fame on Glee as Finn in 2009, he also had small roles in Final Destination 3 and Deck The Halls. He was cast in Glee after his agent sent creator Ryan Murphy a video of Cory drumming with pencils and plastic containers. After a second video was submitted featuring Cory singing 'a cheesy, '80s music-video-style version' of REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling, he was invited to a mass audition in Los Angeles, where won over producers and was given the role of Finn. In the original series, Finn was the star quarterback of the William McKinley High School football team, who was blackmailed into joining the glee club New Directions by Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). Fans of the show have been captivated by Finn and Rachel Berry (Lea's character) on/off romance. Co-star: Fellow Glee actor Chord Overstreet was pictured in NYC on the day of the tragic news . Cast members: Jane Lynch was also spotted in NYC on the day of the news . | Found in his room on Saturday lunchtime, having returned in the early hours of Saturday morning . Left rehab in April after completing treatment for substance addiction . Survived by his parents, brother and girlfriend, Glee actress Lea Michele . Statement from Glee's production company Fox paid tribute to 'an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person' | 2832448d991f9b12150684d063f51bfe9540480e |
A fanatical terrorist has escaped being thrown out of the UK because it would breach his human rights. Hate-filled Siraj Yassin Abdullah . Ali, graded the highest possible risk to the public, was released after . serving just half of his nine-year sentence for helping the July 21 . bombers. He now mingles freely among the Londoners his co-plotters tried to kill six years ago. Threat: Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali has been using public transport . Government officials are desperate to . deport the Islamic fundamentalist back to his native Eritrea but have . been told they cannot because he could face ‘inhumane treatment or . punishment’. Ali was convicted of helping a gang . of five Al Qaeda suicide bombers in their bid to repeat the carnage of . the attacks of July 7, 2005, two weeks later. Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was killed on July 7, said he was ‘filled with despair’. He said: ‘These people were plotting to commit mass murder - what about the human rights of victims and families? ‘These people had no consideration . for the women and children they were trying to kill. How can they claim . we should look after and support them?’ Accomplice: Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali knew about the terrorist plot and failed to tell the authorities . The case is the latest to highlight . how human rights laws have left the authorities powerless to remove some . terrorists and convicted criminals. Imposed human rights laws have left . the authorities powerless to remove some terrorists and convicted . criminals. Imposed by unaccountable European judges, they place the . rights of the most dangerous wrongdoers above the risks faced by . ordinary people. The five would-be suicide bombers . were jailed for life after trying to detonate bombs at Shepherd’s Bush, . Warren Street and Oval Tube stations and on a bus in Shoreditch. Thwarted: Terrorist Ramzi Mohammed is chased by passengers at Oval Station after he had attempted to detonate a bomb during the failed attack on July 21, 2005 . Ali, 35, knew about the potentially murderous July 21 conspiracy and helped the fanatics clear up their explosives factory. He was jailed for 12 years in February 2008 for aiding and abetting the Al Qaeda cell. Judge Paul Worsley QC said he must have ‘harboured the hope’ the bombers would ‘destroy society as we know it’. The sentence was reduced to nine years on appeal and after time Ali spent in jail while awaiting trial was taken into account, he was automatically released on licence several weeks ago. He is now living at a bail hostel on a leafy residential street in north-west London. He has been seen travelling on the Tube and catching buses. With music headphones plugged into his ears and a bag slung casually across his shoulder, he appeared to be caught on camera chatting on a mobile phone. It is understood that Ali is being monitored around the clock and must obey a curfew and other conditions, including a ban on using the internet. He is the second high-risk terrorist linked to the July 21 attacks to win the right to remain in the UK on human rights grounds in recent weeks. Still here: Ismail Abdurahman also helped the July 21 plotters and has since escaped deportation . Ismail Abdurahman, 28, who hid would-be bomber Hussain Osman for three days, escaped being deported to his native Somalia after judges feared for his safety. Abdurahman is also living at a bail hostel in London despite the protests of police and Home Office officials. The release of Ali and Abdurahman underlines the challenges faced by police, probation and MI5. There are fears that they will be stretched to the limit as they try to monitor dozens of freed fanatics in the run-up to the Olympics next year. Research by one think-tank found that more than 230 people have been convicted of terrorist offences since 2001, but only around 100 remain in prison. Under Article 3 of both the European Convention on Human Rights, and Labour’s Human Rights Act, individuals are protected against torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. The clause allows foreign terror suspects to fight deportation on the grounds that they would be tortured in their home countries if returned. In February, Lord Carlile warned that European judges have turned Britain into a ‘safe haven’ for foreign terrorists. Appalling legislation: Tory MP Pritti Patel says the law needs to be changed . Tory MP Priti Patel said: ‘This is yet another example of how we have got to abolish this appalling human rights legislation that allows terrorists and violent criminals to waltz out of prison and stay in our country. ‘They should be deported instantly back to where they came from.’ Solicitor Cliff Tibber, who represents the families of several July 7 victims, said: ‘There is no doubt it is uncomfortable for the families to see someone like this back on the streets after what feels like an extremely short period of time.’ A UK Border Agency spokesman said: ‘We will do everything we can to remove this individual from the UK and are extremely disappointed by the court’s decision to grant bail, which we vigorously opposed. ‘In the meantime, we are working closely with public protection agencies to ensure that appropriate monitoring is in place.’ A Ministry of Justice spokesman insisted that public protection remains ‘top priority’ and that serious offenders face ‘strict’ controls and conditions. ANALYSIS by JAMES SLACK . Such is the perversity of human rights law that the worse the crime, the easier it is for the culprit to dodge deportation. This is particularly true when countries with a history of ill-treatment and torture, such as Eritrea and Somalia, are involved. The British government will at least try to persuade the courts to send the convict back home. Flashback: A London double-decker bus targeted by bombers during the 7/7 attack. A judge said the failed 21/7 bomb plot could have caused even more carnage . But, when the foreign prisoner appeals, he will say that the gravity of his offence means he now has notoriety back home, and that he therefore will be a marked man to his homeland’s security services. Routinely, prisoners claim they will be met from the plane and immediately tortured. The British courts normally agree not to deport them – creating the bizarre situation where a terrorist or a killer has more chance of being allowed to stay in the UK than a foreign shoplifter or a simple failed asylum seeker. Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali certainly falls into the category of being an evil man, given that he knew of the July 21 bomb plot, but did nothing to alert the authorities. Chilling evidence: A handwritten note detailing the make-up of devices used during the 21/7 bomb attack found in Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali's flat . He was brought up in the same foster family as July 21 conspirator Yassin Omar, and lived in the flat directly above Omar’s eighth-floor bomb factory. He was also a close friend of ringleader Muktar Said Ibrahim, who had a key to his flat and often stayed there. Ali housed the members of the plot when the fumes in Omar’s bomb factory became overwhelming, and helped with the clear-up afterwards. At Ali’s home, police found handwritten documents relating to the construction of the bombs ripped up in his waste paper bin. On one piece of paper were the words ‘detonator, charge and Allah’ in Arabic. The second man linked to July 21 who is using human rights law to dodge deportation, Ismail Abdurahman, showed a similar hatred for the British public. The Somalian provided a safe house for Shepherd’s Bush bomber Hussain Osman before he fled the country on July 26, 2005. He also acted as a ‘runner’, retrieving a video camera and passport for Osman. The camera was apparently used to record suicide messages. The judge who jailed five men convicted of helping the bombers, including Ali and Abdurahman, said they had shown no remorse. Paul Worsley, QC, said: ‘You concealed your knowledge of the would-be bombers who were set to inflict even greater devastation than that of 7/7 which claimed the lives of 52 innocents. ‘You then helped them escape justice, leaving them free to strike again.’ It is a bitter irony that human rights judges have now decided that – regardless of the enormity of their crimes – they should be free to stay in Britain for good. | Eritrean-born Ali will not face deportation because judges rule he could face 'inhumane treatment' The Home Office is appealing the decision and pledges to try to have him removed from the UK . | 67532995d592df6041474d6496613f42f7746543 |
By . Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 19:20 EST, 22 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:44 EST, 23 August 2012 . Ministers should do more to ensure that recipients of British aid money do more to collect their own taxes properly, MPs said last night. The Commons International Development Committee said that if poorer nations collected their own taxes effectively, they would not have to rely on British taxpayers quite so much. They said a reliable flow of tax revenues offered countries a far better route out of poverty than reliance on foreign aid donations. Afghanistan war widows line up to receive monthly ration in Kabul. The Commons International Development Committee said that if poorer nations collected their own taxes effectively, they would not have to rely on foreign aid . The MPs urged the Department for International Development to support the revenue authorities in developing nations to improve the collection rates of income tax, VAT and local property taxes. While most government departments have had to endure severe cuts, but DfID is enjoying increases to take its budget up to 0.7 per cent of GDP. Committee chairman Sir Malcolm Bruce said: 'The aim of development work is to enable developing countries to escape from over-reliance on aid. 'Supporting revenue authorities is one of the best ways of doing this: it represents excellent value for money, both for the countries concerned and for UK taxpayers.' The committee said it was essential that the governing 'elites' within developing countries paid - and, critically, were seen to pay - the correct amounts in personal taxation. 'Tax is an issue of fundamental importance for development,' its report said. 'If developing countries are to escape from aid dependency, and from poverty more broadly, it is imperative that their revenue authorities are able to collect taxes effectively.' But the MPs said efforts to improve . tax collection were hampered by new Treasury rules for multinational . companies which give them an incentive to shift profits into tax havens. Recent . changes to so-called 'controlled foreign companies' rules mean that . less tax money will flow into the coffers of developing countries. One . aid agency, ActionAid, has estimated that it could cost developing . countries up to £4billion in lost tax revenues, and the committee said . the Government should consider reversing the changes 'as a matter of . urgency'. Recent . changes to so-called 'controlled foreign companies' rules mean that . less tax money will flow into the coffers of developing countries . Sir Malcolm said: 'The Government is committed to supporting economic growth in developing countries to reduce their dependency on aid. While this is clearly the right thing to do, it would be deeply unfortunate if the Government's efforts were undermined by its own tax rules.' The report said that ministers should introduce rules requiring companies to publish financial information on a country-by-country basis to discourage cross-border tax evasion. So far the Government has been reluctant to act unless other EU countries are prepared to follow suit, but the MPs said Britain should now be prepared to go it alone. Lucia Fry, ActionAid's head of policy, said: 'Tax avoidance is now a major global concern, and the UK needs to take into account the impact of its own tax regime on the world's poorest countries. 'This lost revenue could enable poor countries to put more teachers in schools and nurses in hospitals, as well as ultimately helping end aid dependency.' A spokesman for the Treasury said the controlled foreign company rules were there to protect UK tax revenues and were not designed to protect those of other countries. The changes were designed to encourage investment and drive growth in the UK. 'It is not sustainable for developing countries to protect their revenue using our tax rules, a much better way is to build their capacity and capability to collect the tax that they are due,' he said. | Department for . International Development is . enjoying increases to take its budget up to 0.7% of GDP . | bca3d872fb0ff36ba5d90df3b39d1960fe6c4721 |
By . Lydia Warren for MailOnline . New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has revealed she has 'high risk HPV', a sexually-transmitted disease that can cause cancer. She made the announcement on Twitter on Sunday, explaining that she learned about her human papillomavirus diagnosis on Friday following a long overdue gynecologist's appointment. 'At recent #GYN visit alarmed to find out last one, 2yrs ago,' she wrote on Sunday evening. 'Friday got call re: results. Told have "high risk HPV." #Biopsy needed #ASAP.' Diagnosis: Melissa Mark-Viverito, pictured last week, revealed on Twitter on Sunday that she has human papillomavirus, a sexually-transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancers . The 45-year-old went on: 'To say . I'm not wee bit worried = lie. "High risk HPV" can POTENTIALLY but NOT definitively lead to cervical #cancer.' An aide to Mark-Viverito, who is not married, explained to the New York Daily News that she went public with the news in an attempt to help de-stigmatize the condition, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection. 'Yes, I’m an extremely private person,' her first tweet read. 'But this position has led me to understand I now have a bigger responsibility.' She added she had 'struggled & came to conclusion it would be best to disclose & share process I’m going thru hoping it can be helpful to others. Speaking out: She said she revealed her diagnosis on Twitter to de-stygmatize the infection . Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. Around 79 million Americans are infected, according to the CDC. Although in many cases the virus may cause no symptoms, in other people, it can cause genital warts or cervical cancer. The infection occurs primarily through skin-to-skin contact, and can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, anal sex or oral sex. Rarely, a mother can transmit the virus to her baby during delivery. Two vaccines have been introduced in the U.S. to be given to schoolchildren aged 11 to 12. The vaccine is given at a young age because it offers the best protection before a person has become sexually active. 'Our . health should never be compromised. Annual physicals have . to be sacred. Yet our health care system doesn't lend itself to this . for many.' After she shared the diagnosis online, she received numerous messages of support. 'Madam Speaker, we pray for positive results!' Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsch tweeted. Another Twitter user, Kara A Mergl, wrote: 'Recently went through same issue. Biopsy and surgery. Thanks for being a voice for women's health.' HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. and around 79 million Americans are infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 10,000 U.S. women diagnosed with HPV contract cervical cancer, and the infection can also cause other cancers, often years after the infection is contracted. There is no treatment for HPV but there are vaccines and tests can allow for higher survival rates. | Melissa Mark-Viverito, 45, shared her diagnosis on Twitter on Sunday . She learned she had the infection after her first appointment with a gynecologist in two years - and encouraged women to get checked . HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection and can lead to cervical cancer, as well as other cancers . | 4e9ddfcaf578e554dbafae52582ec1f27dda3cf5 |
London (CNN) -- Two iconic teams, each boasting a history and tradition that spans generations, will go head-to-head for club football's biggest prize on Saturday. Manchester United, the champions of England, face Barcelona, the champions of Spain, at London's famous Wembley Stadium for the right to be crowned Europe's best. These are teams whose exploits inspire emotions and evoke memories that are embedded in the psyche of fans all over the globe. But who will triumph in the UEFA Champions League final -- the culmination of a competition that began with qualifying rounds in June last year -- when the two titans clash in front of 86,000 avid supporters and millions more watching around the world? Will it be United, the home of the Busby Babes, George Best and David Beckham -- or Barca, where football legends Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi are revered? Pinto's picks: The European season in hindsight . CNN gives you the lowdown on why this match is so special, and why so many neutrals will be tuning in to watch the outcome. UEFA's dream final . Spain's Primera Liga and England's Premier League are regarded as the two best leagues in European football. However, only once in 55 previous finals have both countries' respective champions faced each other. Manchester United and Barcelona were also the finalists on that occasion two years ago in Rome, with the Spanish side running out 2-0 winners. And with only German champions Borussia Dortmund sandwiched between Barcelona (79,000) and Manchester United (75,000) in Europe's average home attendance table, it means demand for final tickets is almost unprecedented. With each club receiving just 25,000 tickets apiece, at prices ranging from $490 for the most expensive to $245 for the cheapest, never before will so many fans be watching from the comfort of their TV screens. UEFA spokesman Kimmo Bellmann told CNN: "We expect viewing figures to be in excess of 300 million, which will make it the biggest final in the history of the European Champions League. "The match will be aired in 220 territories by 113 broadcasters, while there will be 180 cameras covering the action, of which 38 will be in high definition." UEFA has been accused of pricing fans out of attending the match, but the reality is that the ruling body could fill Wembley three times over because of the support that both teams generate. Financial fortune . A report commissioned by sponsors MasterCard predicts that the winners of the final will enjoy a record economic windfall of around $180 million. The figure is based on a combination of official prize money, an increase in squad value, enhanced media rights and greater brand equity. Even the losers will receive in the region of $105 million for their efforts. Professor Simon Chadwick, author of the report, said: "Manchester United versus Barcelona is the dream final as far as most football fans are concerned. "But the English and Spanish champions are two of the most successful teams off the pitch too. They will collectively scoop $285 million, making this the most lucrative final in European club football's history." Chadwick added: "Forbes magazine last year listed Manchester United as the most valuable sports brand on the planet, while Barcelona claimed eighth spot in the league table. "While the Champions League is a strong brand in its own right, the nature and strength of the brand is clearly heavily influenced by its constituent parts -- the participating clubs." Battle of the giants . Alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United are the two biggest clubs in European soccer -- with a tradition for playing the game with style and panache. Such is their popularity, they attract fans from all over the world, not just the Catalan region of Spain or the north-west of England. Barcelona have more than 1,300 officially registered supporters' clubs globally, with estimates that 25% of the Spanish population follows Barca. Meanwhile, United have long been recognized as the most supported football team in the world. The club's official Facebook page became the fastest growing of any sports side in the world, registering almost 2.4 million followers within two months of being set up in July 2010. Accountancy firm Deloitte recently estimated United had 75 million fans worldwide, although other estimates have the figure at a mind-blowing 300 million -- largely based on huge income streams from Asia, where the club has a massive following. United officially recognize over 200 supporters clubs in 24 countries, with huge swathes of support coming from the south of England, many miles from the club's Lancashire roots. The 22 players . Not every soccer fan supports Barcelona or Manchester United, but nearly every follower will be monitoring proceedings on television, radio or the Internet. As well as attracting worldwide support, there will be millions of fans willing either of the teams to lose -- especially in Madrid and Liverpool, where the bitter rivals of both clubs are based. For those neutrals just wanting to watch a game of soccer, a treat could well be in store. Busquets free for Champions League final . This current Barcelona side is being widely touted as the greatest to ever grace club football. Packed to the brim with players who helped Spain win the 2008 European Championship and 2010 World Cup final, they also have the best player in the world among their ranks. Argentina forward Messi is blessed with remarkable skill, balance and control and the 23-year-old is following in the footsteps of both Dutchman Cruyff and compatriot Maradona in starring for Barca while being universally recognized as the number one player on the planet. Add to the list the attacking talents of David Villa, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves, as well as the defensive steel of Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique -- the only player on view who has played for both teams after starting his senior career at United before returning to the Camp Nou -- then it's easy to see why the Spanish side are favored to win the match. Under coach Pep Guardiola, already a Catalan hero for his time as player with the club, Barca have won three Spanish league titles in a row and are on the verge of a second Champions League title in that period -- a remarkable record. United come into the game on the back of sealing a record 19th domestic league title, a significant achievement as it moved them clear of rivals Liverpool. They boast the greatest English player of his generation, striker Wayne Rooney, and golden oldies Ryan Giggs (37) and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (40) -- the latter will be retiring at the end of the match. Why Scottish coaches rule English football . But perhaps United's main hope of halting Barca lies with manager Alex Ferguson, who can lay claim to being the greatest coach in soccer history. In his 25 years in charge of the club, Ferguson has won 12 league titles and countless other domestic trophies. If he leads United to victory on Saturday, he will become the first manager to win three Champions League titles. Battle for supremacy . The original European Cup was initiated in 1955 by French newspaper L'Equipe, under the jurisdiction of UEFA. Although the eventual premise was to involve only teams who had won their domestic league titles, in the early days L'Equipe actually invited those teams it considered to have the most fan appeal to participate. Barcelona's Spanish rivals Real Madrid dominated in its formative years, taking the trophy in the first five years, while English clubs dominated from 1976 to 1982, winning six times in a row courtesy of Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. The format remained the same until 1992, when UEFA created the Champions League, involving not only domestic champions but also teams who finished second, third and fourth in their respective leagues. United and Barca both won the competition once under the old format (United in 1968 and Barca in 1992 -- ironically both times also at Wembley). And, since the introduction of the Champions League, the two teams have maintained identical records, both winning the cup twice and losing in the final once. Saturday's match will see one of the teams claim their fourth European title, overtaking the beaten finalist in the all-time winners' table. The wonder of Wembley . To much national debate, Wembley Stadium, the recognized home of soccer in England -- the country where the sport originated -- was closed in 2000, ahead of a controversial proposal to raze it to the ground before building a new arena on the same site. Football cathedral prepares for final . The stadium's dramatic opening in 1923 set the trend for 77 years of iconic images. That year, an estimated crowd of over 200,000 piled in to the newly-built arena to watch the FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham, spilling onto the pitch numerous times only to be dispersed by a policeman on a white horse. That initial "White Horse Final" proved the prelude for a lifetime of sporting and non-sporting memories that gives Wembley its legendary status. From local hero Henry Cooper knocking down the greatest heavyweight boxer of them all (Cassius Clay in 1963 before he changed his name to Muhammad Ali) to England captain Bobby Moore wiping his muddy hands before accepting the 1966 World Cup trophy from Queen Elizabeth II, Wembley Stadium has been at the forefront of English folklore. But perhaps the most famous date in the stadium's history fell on July 13, 1985, when 72,000 music fans attended Live Aid, a 10-hour concert to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia which featured some of the biggest names in British music history coming together on an emotional and unforgettable balmy evening. When the new $1.3 billion Wembley Stadium finally opened its doors in 2007, following various legal disputes between its constructors and the English Football Association, seven long years had passed. Now, four years later, the famous stadium will stage its biggest match since being rebuilt. | Manchester United will face Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley . Both teams are aiming to become European champions for the fourth time . The final is a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome, when Barcelona triumphed 2-0 . UEFA expects viewing figures of over 300 million people worldwide . | 7e5db27742008942b2f9cfd6ac41826f86148d1f |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:24 EST, 11 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 18:24 EST, 11 March 2014 . Google is close to signing a lease in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood for their first flagship U.S. storefront, according to reports. Crain's New York reported the tech giant is interested in a 4,100 square-foot space at 131 Greene St next to high-end fashion retailers such as Stella McCartney and Tiffany, and about a block away from Apple's store. Until now, Google has sold some products directly to customers inside retailers such as Best Buy, and briefly at some American airports. Site: Google is reportedly close to signing a lease for a 4,100 square-foot space at 131 Greene St in Manhattan, New York City (pictured) 9TO5GOOGLE reported Google hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays in major metropolitan areas, with the aim of getting new Google Nexus, Chrome and upcoming products into the hands of prospective customers. The company will be following the lead of competitors Apple and Microsoft which have retail stores allowing customers to experience products before they buy them. 9TO5GOOGLE reported that Google has Chrome Store-within-a-store models in hundreds of Best Buys in the U.S. and 50 PCWorld/Dixon’s in the U.K., in which Google-trained employees specifically promote Chromebooks. Google also ran a limited test run of Kiosks in five major American airports, including in San Francisco. Sources told 9TO5GOOGLE that the decision to open stores came when drawing up plans to take the Google Glass to the public. Executives believed consumers would want to try the product before buying. It is not clear if Google will sell any products at its floating barge that was built in San Francisco Bay. Test site: Google ran a limited test run of kiosks in five major U.S. airports, including this one at SFO . Mystery: It is not known if Google has plans to sell products at its floating barge . While the asking rent has not been disclosed, brokers say Greene St's rising popularity with well-heeled shoppers has pushed up rents and property prices. In the last two years, average rents have doubled to more than $300 per square foot, Crain's New York reported. And rents are expected to rise again when Google sign on the dotted line. 'This . could do for cobblestone Greene Street what the Apple store did for . Prince St,' Richard Hodos, a retail leasing broker at CBRE, said. 'This is going to be an attraction that will generate excitement for Greene Street, that people will want to come and see.' Faith Hope Consolo, chairwoman of Douglas Elliman's retail group, said Greene St has 'become the little Madison Avenue of SoHo'. | Google is reportedly close to signing a lease at 131 Greene St in SoHo for its first brick-and-mortar store in the U.S. Greene St has been described as the 'Madison Ave of SoHo' The 4,100 square-foot space is close to Apple and dozens of designer boutiques such as Stella McCartney and Tiffany & Co . Sources say the decision to open stores was to promote Google Glass . The tech giant is continuing work on barges that are expected to act as floating showrooms . | 02ae61889d9718a2ef7d4653bd9b4dc1fe27b362 |
Britain's Prince Harry made no mention of his recent Las Vegas shenanigans when he spoke at a charity awards dinner in London on Monday. At least, not directly. The 27-year-old prince spoke at the annual awards gala of the British charity WellChild, which helps seriously ill children and their families throughout the United Kingdom. Harry, who is patron of the charity, said he is always humbled by the inspirational stories of the winners and finds it difficult to describe how remarkable they are. "But never one to be shy in coming forward, I give it a go," Harry said. After a few nervous giggles in the audience, Harry laughed, and the whole room then laughed with him. UK tabloid prints naked Prince Harry pictures . It was nearly two weeks ago that pictures emerged of the prince partying naked in a Las Vegas hotel suite. First published on celebrity gossip website TMZ, the pictures soon made their way to newspapers and news sites around the world. Buckingham Palace confirmed the photos were of the prince and said they were taken while he was on a private holiday before resuming his military duties. He is a captain in the British Army. Harry knows he is no stranger to controversy, having landed in hot water with scandals in the past. But Monday night he was back to the business of being a royal, wearing a crisp blue suit, listening intently to the speeches on stage and being gracious to the hosts and honorees. There was one joke at Harry's expense that appeared to go unnoticed, however: As Harry presented awards to two of the charity's "Most Inspirational" children, the loudspeakers played the song "The Bare Necessities" from Disney's "The Jungle Book." A tale of two brothers: Harry vs. William . | Prince speaks at the annual awards gala of the British charity WellChild . Recently, pictures emerged of the prince partying naked in a Las Vegas hotel . Harry's speech makes indirect reference to the pictures . | b42da456cf8f78840314487dc83c6f42ea756d01 |
(CNN) -- Mark Hasse "had an absolute passion for putting away bad guys, and he enjoyed nothing better," his boss said. Now investigators are looking into whether that passion led to Hasse being gunned down outside his office in Kaufman, Texas, where he was an assistant district attorney. Hasse was killed in the parking lot of the Kaufman County courthouse Thursday morning, shot several times after "a very small, very short confrontation," Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said. "It was apparent that he was not expecting to have anything happen," Aulbaugh said. "He was on his way to his office." Investigators are looking into whether Hasse's killing was retribution for any of the prosecutions he led, Aulbaugh said, "but we can't say we're confident that that's where it came from." District Attorney Mike McLelland called Hasse "a stellar prosecutor" who knew that threats were part of the job, and he vowed to put away the "scum" who killed his assistant. "I hope that the people that did this are watching, because we're very confident that we're going to find you," McLelland said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "We're going to pull you out of whatever hole you're in, we're going to bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law." Hasse was one of 13 prosecuting attorneys in Kaufman County, each of whom handled between 380 and 390 cases, McLelland said. "He was a lot of fun. He was the premier storyteller of the office. He had lots of stories to tell," including surviving the crash of a World War II aircraft that left him in a coma, "caved in half his skull" and cost him his sense of smell. "It was five kinds of miracles he survived that," McLelland said. There have been no arrests, and Aulbaugh and other officials who addressed reporters Thursday afternoon appealed to the public for help. The local CrimeStoppers group and a Kaufman businessman have put up a total of $20,000 in reward money for information leading to a conviction, Aulbaugh said. The Texas Rangers, the FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have joined the manhunt, and "we are in the process of running down many leads right now," he said. Kaufman County sheriff's spokeswoman Pat Laney said investigators are looking for an older-model, four-door sedan, either brown or silver, but it wasn't clear whether there were one or two suspects Thursday afternoon, Laney said. "We have officers going over all of this case," she said. "Nothing has been identified yet that could have prompted this assault." CNN's Michael Martinez, Rich Phillips, Marlena Baldacci, Nick Valencia and John Branch contributed to this report. | NEW: A "very short confrontation" came before the shooting, police chief says . "We're going to pull you out of whatever hole you're in," district attorney vows . Mark Hasse was an assistant district attorney in Kaufman County, east of Dallas . He was shot and killed while getting out of his car . | 9cfa192141cba668a68e853f36227c70d738de12 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:52 EST, 28 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:40 EST, 29 August 2013 . 'Catastophic' collapse: Sam Harper Brighouse, 23, who died after collapsing during the Brighton Marathon . A fit and healthy young man died following a 'catastrophic and unsurvivable' collapse as he ran a marathon, an inquest has heard. Sam Harper Brighouse, 23, from south-east London died, fell ill around 16 miles into the race as he competed in the Brighton Marathon in East Sussex on April 14 this year. The biology graduate had embarked on the 26-mile running challenge to raise money for the Arms Around The Child charity which supports Aids orphans. Although he had asthma, he was . considered fit and his respiratory problems had not contributed to his . sudden collapse, an inquest at Brighton County Court heard. Instead, . Mr Harper Brighouse, of Forrest Hill, died after suffering from . ischemic bowel disease, which can cause up to 75 per cent of blood flow . to be removed from the bowel. Dr . Mark Taylor, consultant pathologist at Brighton's Royal Sussex County . Hospital, said the condition is initially reversible but can progress, . leading to fatal circumstances. Dr . Taylor told the hearing: 'We know that up to half of people who run . marathons develop symptoms relating to their gastro-intestines. 'They . can be minor stomach cramps, diahorrea, but on the other end of the . scale, ischemic bowel can be exhibited in endurance exercise.' He . added: 'When it gets to that critical stage, depending on how much of . the bowel has died, depends on whether the person can survive. 'Unfortunately in Sam, it was catastrophic and unsurvivable.' It . was initially thought that Mr Harper Brighouse had suffered a heart . attack, and attempts were made at CPR as he laid in the road. But . Mr Harper Brighouse went into cardiac arrest and his death from . ischemic bowel, described by Brighton and Hove coroner Veronica . Hamilton-Deeley as 'extraordinarily rare and unusual', was confirmed at . 2.30pm. Event: Runners compete during this year's Brighton Marathon. Mr Harper Brighouse, 23, fell ill around 16 miles into the race . Dr . Taylor said: 'I think when someone collapses in a marathon, the most . common thing to think is that they have had a heart attack. 'The . initial reaction would have been to do CPR and that was started . rapidly. If he had been taken to hospital immediately, might it have . made a difference? I don't think so. 'I . believe all his bowel was dead at that stage and even if (medical . staff) thought of ischemic bowel, it wouldn't have been any help at all . at that stage.' Mr . Harper Brighouse probably did not notice he had ischemic bowel as its . 'non-specific' symptoms, such as pain and discomfort, may have led him . to believe they were linked to his running. Gastro-intestinal . problems suffered by people associated with endurance sport were being . increasingly examined in studies, Dr Taylor added. Attempting . to reach Mr Harper Brighouse amid the crowds of marathon runners and . spectators was difficult, a senior South East Coast Ambulance Service . (Secamb) staff member said. Although Mr Harper Brighouse had asthma, he was considered fit and his respiratory problems had not contributed to his sudden collapse . The . marathon had its own medical team but Andrew Parker, Secamb's medicines . management lead and paramedic practitioner, said clearer identification . would have helped to distinguish who was who on site. He . also told the inquest of a 'communication confusion', with marshals . unable to tell him where Mr Harper Brighouse was as he ran for about 500 . yards through the large crowds carrying equipment. 'When I asked a couple of the marshals 'Where's the incident?', they said 'I don't know'.' As Mr Parker went on to the race track, he could see people waving at him, alerting him to Mr Harper Brighouse's position. Mr . Parker said: 'In reality, it only took me minutes, as I did run as fast . as I could, but obviously minutes in any cardiac incident is crucial.' He . said the problems could have been helped by having more markers along . the race route, rather than ones that marked every mile. Ms . Hamilton-Deeley suggested a possible solution: equipping runners with a . gas canister-activated buoy which would rise above the crowds in an . emergency. She said: 'This could mean that you are looking up rather through a sea of people.' Despite the difficulties, Mr Parker praised the level of care Mr Harper Brighouse received from the medical team, saying it was to a 'high standard'. And he did not think the access problems he encountered ultimately affected the patient. Speaking about Mr Harper Brighouse, he said: 'He had no heartbeat, no pulse and no breathing. 'From the small amount of history at the event, it was a sudden collapse. I don't think he would have known anything about it.' The inquest is due to last until Friday. | Sam Harper Brighouse fell ill around 16 miles into the Brighton Marathon . Although he had asthma, he was . considered fit and healthy . Paramedic had to run 500 yards through large crowds to reach him . | 847e92229df8a87905d80d155195034a139e8b9b |
(CNN Student News) -- October 14, 2011 . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . South Korea . Colombia . Panama . Cuba . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. | The daily transcript is a written version of each day's CNN Student News program . Use this transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary . Use the weekly Newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on CNN Student News . | 8f13aeb672d961d247ffeb1b9efd8c3cc8785a25 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 20:08 EST, 10 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:20 EST, 11 July 2013 . Survivors of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 have made an emotional pilgrimage to the site of the crash, which killed two Chinese schoolgirls on Saturday. A group of passengers from the flight, which lost its tail in the fatal landing in San Francisco, were taken to the runway to see the wreckage on Wednesday. Three buses carried survivors to the Boeing 777, which is still in the spot where it came to rest after hitting the seawall and catching fire as it skidded across the runway. Scroll down for video . Survivors: Passengers of Flight 214 are shown the wreckage of the Boeing 777 . Crash tour: The survivors were escorted on to the runway where the burnt out plane has remained since Saturday . They were seen touring the outside of the wrecked plane that they had fled from only a few days before. In the moments after Flight 214 crash landed in San Francisco on Saturday, passengers were told to remain in their seats while the crew contacted the control tower. It was not until 90 seconds later that the plane was evacuated after a fire was spotted, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. At that point, the doors were opened and . the escape slides were inflated as passengers fled the plane, which clipped a seawall and snapped off its tail as it landed on Saturday. Site visit: The Asiana passengers are taken away from the airport on a bus after visiting the crash scene . Evacuation: Passengers flee from the burning wreckage of Flight 214 after it crash landed in San Francisco . Two flight attendants were trapped by . slides, which had inflated inside the aircraft during the crash. As more details about the aftermath of the crash emerge, the NTSB has said that the pilot who was making his first landing in a Boeing 777 at that airport reported being blinded by a light at about 500ft. which was 34 seconds before the impact. It was also the first time that Lee Gang-kuk, a 46-year-old pilot with 35 hours' experience flying a Boeing 777, had been paired with his trainer Lee Jeong-Min. Although the men had years of aviation experience, the flight on Saturday involved unfamiliar duties, and it was the first time they had flown together. NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said the pilot told investigators he was blinded by a light at the point when the aircraft began to slow and drop. She said lasers have not been ruled out, and it was unclear if the flash might have played a role in the crash. Injured: A member of the cabin crew is pushed through San Francisco airport. Three flight attendants are still in hospital . Crew: Cabin manager Lee Yoon-hye and other flight attendants from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at a press conference today . Experts say investigators trying to piece together what went wrong will consider the report about the light and many other factors, including the pairing of the pilots, who were assigned to work together through a tightly regulated system developed after several deadly crashes in the 1980s. The NTSB 'is definitely going to focus on what type of policy Asiana had in terms of crew pairing,' former NTSB chairman James Hall said. 'That's what the airline needs to do, be responsible so that in the cockpit you're matching the best people, especially when you're introducing someone to a new aircraft.' Pilots are typically paired by management and are not allowed to choose their partners in the cockpit. Massachusetts Institute of Technology aeronautics professor Mary Cummings said it was common for two commercial pilots to be assigned to the same flight without working together before. Airlines have standardized, formal procedures to help teams who have not worked together before. 'Research would tell you that crew pairing with the same people over longer periods of time is safer,' she said. 'When two people fly together all the time, you get into a routine that's more efficient. You have experience communicating.' Jeff Skiles, a US Airways first officer, said that with the right training it should not matter if a pilot new to a plane is paired with a pilot making his first trip as a training captain. Wreckage: A fire that started near the front of the plane quickly spread . 'Everybody had to have their first time,' Mr Skiles said. 'You can't show up and have 500 hours experience in aircraft.' Mr Skiles was the co-pilot of the jet that was landed on the Hudson by Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, after it lost thrust in both engines after colliding with geese. The skillful flying of Captain Sullenberger and teamwork between him and Mr Skiles was credited for a near-perfect water landing on the Hudson in New York that saved the lives of everyone on board. The January 2009 accident happened after the pilots had been paired together only four days before. Details emerging from pilot interviews, cockpit recorders and control-tower communications indicate that Lee Gang-kuk, who was halfway through his certification training for the Boeing 777, and his co-pilot and instructor, Lee Jeong-Min, thought the aircraft's speed was being controlled by an autothrottle. Teamwork: Captain Chesley Sullenberger and copilot Jeffrey Skiles had only been flying together for a short time when they successfully crash landed on the Hudson . Fortunate: Captain Sullenberger stands next to the passenger plane he landed on the Hudson without killing anyone on board . Inspectors found that the autothrottle had been 'armed', or made ready for activation, Ms Hersman said. However, it has not yet been determined if it had been engaged. When the pilots realized the plane was approaching the waterfront runway too low and slow, they both reached for the throttle. Passengers heard a roar as the plane revved in a last-minute attempt to abort the landing. The two pilots at the controls during the accident had also been in the cockpit for takeoff. They then rested during the flight while a second pair of pilots took over. The two pairs swapped again about 90 minutes before landing, giving the trainee a chance to fly during the more challenging approach phase. The investigation is ongoing, and Ms Hersman cautioned against speculating about the cause of the crash. She stressed that even if the autothrottle malfunctioned, the pilots were ultimately responsible for control of the airliner. Investigation: NTSB crash experts examine the wreckage of Flight 214 which crashed on Saturday . 'Let me be very clear: The crew is required to maintain a safe aircraft,' she said on Tuesday. Airspeed is 'one of the very critical things that needs to be monitored on the approach to landing', she added. 'So we need to understand what was going on in the cockpit and on the aircraft.' A third pilot who was in the cockpit jumpseat to monitor the landing told investigators he could not see the approach because the tail was so low the aircraft's angle had blocked his view of the ground. The tail ultimately smashed into a seawall and broke off before the rest of the fuselage hit and ground and spun across the tarmac. Survivor Brian Thomson, who was returning from a martial arts competition in South Korea and walked away without injury, said he was not concerned about lack of experience in the cockpit. 'Everyone starts a career someway, somehow. Starts a new plane someway, somehow. They have to have training,' he said. The Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing more than 50,000 pilots at 33 American and Canadian airlines, has complained that the NTSB is releasing incomplete, out-of-context information that could lead to unfair characterizations of Asiana's pilots. 'Without the full body of facts surrounding a catastrophic event, partial or incomplete information can lead to erroneous conclusions and, in turn, skew the perception of individuals' behavior. This could then lead to misguided assessments of the crew's intentions and actions,' the union said in a statement. Progress: NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman is giving regular updates on the investigation . However, Ms Hersman said the NTSB was representing passengers and trying to be transparent. Nearly 20 survivors remained in hospital on Wednesday, and families have started arriving to be at their bed sides. Three flight attendants who were thrown from the aircraft during the accident were among those hurt. One of them has been identified as 25-year-old Maneenat Tinnakul, whose father has been given a visa so he can visit her. Another flight attendant, identified as Sirithip Singhakarn, was reportedly in intensive care. Fire officials have also continued their investigation into whether a fire truck may have run over one of the two teenagers killed in the crash. Wang Linjia and Ye Mengyuan were part of a larger group of students due to attend a Christian summer camp. | Details of escape comes as NTSB examines pairing of pilots . Three flight attendants among 20 people still in hospital after crash landing . | fbeb39fdb55d24b827bdd578cd6a471a0a1063b4 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:37 EST, 20 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 23:37 EST, 20 October 2013 . A 52-year-old former deputy sheriff ran his wife and her male companion off an Alabama road, killing them both, before shooting himself in the head following a domestic dispute early Sunday morning. Police are investigating the double murder/suicide after officers found the body of the ex-Tuscaloosa County Deputy Sheriff in a ditch off the 15282 Sylvan Loop Road in Fosters about 12.45am. He had shot himself in the head. The bodies of a 51-year-old woman and 52-year-old man were discovered in a smashed pick-up truck nearby. Double murder/suicide: A former Tuscaloosa County Deputy Sheriff . killed his wife and her male companion after running them off the road in Alabama on Sunday morning, before killing himself . Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide Unit commander, Sergeant Dale Phillips, claimed the former deputy sheriff had confronted his wife and the man who was with her at . the other man's residence. When the pair took off in a white Ford F-150 pick-up truck, the man chased . them in his vehicle. AL.com reported the suspect may have fired shots at fleeing pair as he chased them down the road before ramming their truck into off the road and into a ditch. Phillips said the man got out of his vehicle, walked to the edge of the grassy embankment and shot himself once in the head, perhaps after seeing his wife and friend had died. Officers found the bodies of a woman, 51, and her male companion, 52, in an Alabama ditch in a white Ford F-150 pick-up truck like this one . Investigators believe the incident was a domestic dispute. Phillips said the identities of the deceased would be released after their families were notified. The former deputy sheriff left his job at the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office in 1997 seeking work outside law enforcement. | An ex-deputy sheriff, 52, ran his wife, 51, and her male companion, 52, off the road, killing them both, before shooting himself in the head . Police in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are investigating Sunday morning's double murder/suicide . The suspect's body was found in a ditch, while his victims were discovered dead in a truck nearby . Police will release their identities once their families have been notified . | 0cd50f8b773c3d3c174cf87e749cfc59e92bff6e |
(CNN) -- Dozens of soldiers loyal to Yemen's former president face charges of trying to take over the Ministry of Defense in an attack that left five people dead and 16 wounded, a military official said Thursday. Sixty-two members of the Republican Guard will stand trial for their alleged roles in Tuesday's assault on the ministry in the capital city of Sanaa, said Gen. Ali al-Obaidi of the High Security Committee. "Political motives of certain factions in Yemen are behind the attack," he said. It was the latest attack in recent months by forces loyal Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in February after protesters took to the streets in mass demonstrations calling for his ouster. Officials accused the former commander of Yemen's air force -- a relative of Saleh who was ousted in a military shakeup -- of leading an assault in April on the country's main airport. That was followed weeks later by an attack on the Ministry of Interior. The soldiers arrested this week were among roughly 200 loyal to Saleh's son, who was head of the Republican Guard, according to al-Obaidi. Dozens more soldiers believed to have participated in the attack were under investigation, he said. The Republican Guard, meanwhile, denied its soldiers were involved, saying the attack was conducted by troops not under its command. The attack follows a restructuring of Yemen's security forces, which was insisted upon by the new president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as part of the negotiated deal that saw Saleh given immunity from prosecution in exchange for stepping down from office. In the wake of the attack on the ministry, a weapons ban was implemented across the city with only those participating in government missions allowed to carry guns. The unrest in Yemen began in 2011 as the population got caught up in the Arab Spring uprisings that swept North Africa and the Middle East. Protesters called for an end to Saleh's 33-year rule. | Yemen has charged 62 soldiers in the attack on the defense ministry, an official says . The attack on the ministry Tuesday left five people dead and 16 wounded . 'Political motives of certain factions are behind the attack' on the ministry, an official says . | 99f6348db0d4efe916b50c4377eb2b48832e6013 |
A man with Down's syndrome was moved to tears after receiving 30,000 birthday cards from strangers around the globe after his mother's touching appeal on Facebook went viral. Manuel Parriseaux, from Calais, France, was overwhelmed by well-wishers when he turned 30 on Saturday, following his mother Jacqueline's post. The doting mother, 61, wrote the message in French on her husband Lucien's page, but had no idea it would reach so many people. Manuel Parriseaux, from Calais, France, with his mother Jacqueline, who posted the Facebook request for birthday cards . 'I would like to make a request to all my Facebook friends - my son Manuel is turning 30 years old on 22 November and he loves to receive cards in the post,' said the message. 'He has Down's syndrome. I'm writing to ask you to take a couple minutes to send him a little card and to pass this information on to your friends so the chain doesn't get broken. 'I thank you all in advance for your gesture, which will make my Manu so happy.' The message struck a chord with Jacqueline and Lucien's friends and many more. Eventually the post was shared 120,00 times resulting in 300 birthday cards flooding in for Manuel. But the post was mistaken for spam by Facebook and the page was blocked. Not easily deterred, Jacqueline then took to her own Facebook page to continue her appeal. Manuel was moved to tears after his mother's appeal inspired 30,000 people to write to him . 'Some people think it's not true, that the message was a scam,' she wrote. 'But I can confirm that, no, this is a real chain of solidarity. I am his mother and I'd like to renew my appeal. 'I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who participated. To date we have already received over 300 postcards.' The second post took the campaign to a new level and to date Manuel has received 30,000 cards. The proud mother told Newsbeat on BBC Radio 1, 'We got cards from everywhere: Sri Lanka, Chicago, Hong Kong and sometimes with child's drawings.' 'I don't understand why it got so big. Manuel is like us, he is moved to tears.' To join the campaign to make Manu's 30th birthday special, send your cards to: Manuel Parisseaux, Pablo Neruda Street 36, 62100, Calais, France . | Manuel Parriseaux, from Calais, France, was overwhelmed by well-wishers . His mother, Jacqueline, 61, posted the request on Facebook . Manuel received cards from as far as Sri Lanka, Chicago and Hong Kong . | be4e75a5a39f00c3b5d93a57908c0644c6e573ae |
As mystery surrounds the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370, which was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing early Saturday, CNN's aviation expert Richard Quest said the airliner would have been at the safest point in the flight. "It was two hours into the flight -- this would have been classed as the 'cruise portion of the flight,'" he said. "You break down the flight into taxi, take-off, climb out and then cruise. "So in that particular point of the flight, this is the safest part, nothing is supposed to go wrong. The aircraft is at altitude on auto-pilot, the pilots are making minor corrections and changes for height as the plane burns off fuel -- the plane will be going higher and higher -- so this is extremely serious that something happened at this point in the flight." READ MORE: Still no contact, stolen passports mystery . Quest, who coincidentally had been working on a story with the carrier recently, said the aircraft -- a Boeing 777-200 -- would have been around 11 years old, powered by two British-made Rolls-Royce Trent engines. "So it's not a particularly old aircraft. Malaysia has 15 777-200s in its fleet, it's an extremely experienced operator of this type of aircraft. It's a very reputable airline with a very good safety record." READ MORE: First officer's 'textbook-perfect' flying . It takes three or four minutes for an airliner to fall out of the sky when it is at cruising altitude, Quest said. He added, "we don't know and won't know for some time whether the plane broke up in the air or entered the water in one piece." Once that is discovered, investigators can analyze if a crash was due to mechanical or structural failure, a fire, or terrorism, he noted. Back-up power . Greg Feith, a former investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, suggested the pilots should have been able to report in, even if power on the aircraft had failed. "The airplane by certification has to have battery back-up power -- they still have to be able to utilize certain flight instruments and communication tools to complete the flight safely. "So you could lose all the generators, you could have both engines out, but the battery back-up -- which will only work for a certain time -- is intended for emergency situations." Feith also pointed to the possibility of an issue with the pressurization of the aircraft. "If you have a high-altitude pressurization problem, catastrophic decompression, the time of useful consciousness (the time a pilot can operate with an insufficient oxygen supply) in the 30,000-40,000-feet range is a matter of seconds." READ MORE: How does a jet disappear? Asked whether it was likely the airliner could have made an emergency landing, Quest said it was possible but unlikely. "You're not talking about a Cessna here. You're talking about a long-haul, wide-bodied aircraft and that puts it into a completely different league." Search for aircraft . But with speculation mounting over whether Flight MH 370, which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, went down on land -- perhaps in Vietnam -- or in the South China Sea, one aviation expert says it's essential to find the plane as soon as possible in case there are survivors. "Given the modern communications and the truly modern equipped (Boeing) 777, it's highly unlikely this plane would have landed somewhere not contactable," Mary Schiavo, the former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, told CNN. "Depending on how the plane has gone down, there could be many survivors in need of aid. "That plane has many different ways to locate it: Automatic beacons that tell you where it is; there are several ways to contact it both with radios and GPS, as well as computer communications within the cockpit. "But the lack of communication suggests that something most unfortunate has happened -- though that does not suggest there are not any persons that need to be rescued and secured." Schiavo warned that if for some reason the transmitters on the airliner are not operating, then the search will obviously become far more complex and time-consuming. "If they are not working then sadly there are similarities with the Air France plane, which was traveling from Brazil to Paris, France and was lost in the ocean. That was very difficult to locate because of the depth of the ocean," she said. Air France Flight 447 -- an Airbus A330-203 -- plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. It took four searches over the course of nearly two years to locate the bulk of the wreckage and the majority of the bodies in a mountain range deep under the ocean. The incident report detailed how the pilots failed to respond effectively to problems with the plane's speed sensors or to correct its trajectory when things first started to go wrong. Aviation expert Jim Tilmon said the Boeing 777-200 was as sophisticated an aircraft as they come with an excellent safety record. "The only fatality has been from the Asiana crash in San Francisco (last year)," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "There's been one other 777 that had some problems but no-one was hurt. This is really a shock in lots of ways." | Quest: Airliner would have been classed as in the "cruise portion of the flight" "This is the safest part, nothing is supposed to go wrong," says Quest . Malaysia Airlines operates fleet of 15 Boeing 777-200 aircraft . Quest: Reputable, experienced operators with good safety record . | 1906d34e9a57bb99be2133c3cde2f9d5b012b47a |
(CNN)It is a message of defiance, but also forgiveness -- and many Muslims responded with similarly mixed emotions. It is a magazine cover depicting the Prophet Mohammed with a tear falling from his cheek, holding a sign that says, "Je suis Charlie," the slogan that became a worldwide meme. Above Mohammed are the words "All Is Forgiven." On Wednesday, two Muslim extremists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French magazine with a history of mocking Mohammed. Twelve were killed, including several top editors, by two men with terrorist connections who said they were avenging the prophet. Many Muslims object to any depictions of Mohammed -- respectful or not -- saying that such images defy his teachings and lead to idolatry. For the secular satirists at Charlie Hebdo, neither of those concerns seemed to matter much. They often lampooned Mohammed, crudely caricaturing him as a backward, foolish figure. It's not surprising that, in its first issue since the attack, Charlie Hebdo again put Mohammed on the cover. But this time, instead of showing the prophet in an unflattering light, the magazine struck a far different tone -- and was received by some Muslims in a far different way. "My initial thought is that the cover is a near perfect response to the tragedy," said Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic thought at Hofstra University in New York. "They are not backing down from the depiction of Mohammed, exercising their free speech rights. At the same time, the message is conciliatory, humble, and will hopefully reduce the anger directed to the Muslim communities of France." Zineb El Rhazoui, a columnist at Charlie Hebdo magazine who worked on the new issue, told the BBC that the staff didn't want to express hatred toward the terrorists who killed her colleagues. "The (mobilization) that happened in France after this horrible crime must open the door to forgiveness. Everyone must think about this forgiveness." Chosen by Charlie Hebdo's editors on Monday night, the cover was released by Liberation, the French newspaper that is sharing its office space with staffers from the satirical magazine. Many media outlets have republished the cover in a show of solidarity. The issue will hit newsstands this Wednesday in a flood of 3 million copies translated into multiple languages. As the new cover spreads across social media, Muslims responded with a mix of emotions, from wariness to appreciation, from miffed to dismissive. Yahya Adel Ibrahim, an imam in Australia, counseled his 100,000 Facebook followers to follow the example of Mohammed, even if they encounter images that they believe are blasphemous. "As it is clear that the cartoons are to be published again, Muslims will inevitably be hurt and angered, but our reaction must be a reflection of the teachings of the one we love & are angered for," Ibrahim said. "Enduring patience, tolerance, gentleness and mercy was the character of our beloved Prophet." On Twitter, some Muslims were skeptical that publishing an image that many consider offensive should be construed as an act of solidarity. Other Muslims said they appreciate the magazine's sentiments. Rashid noted that the cover's central message -- forgiveness -- resonates not only throughout Islam but through other faiths as well. "The cover is a call to our better angels, and an acknowledgment that religion also offers good to the world." Other Muslim leaders criticized the cover. "That the depiction appears benign is of little consequence because it will be seen as offensive and deliberately provocative," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. There's nothing in the Quran, Islam's primary text, about depicting the prophet. But according to the hadith -- stories and sayings attributed to Mohammed and his companions -- he discouraged Muslims from making images of him. Walid said that Charlie Hebdo's new cover "will offend many" but noted that "over 99.999% of France's 5 million Muslims acted peacefully when the previous depiction was released." Yasir Qadhi, an American cleric with a wide following, said he's not pleased by any depictions of Mohammed, but it's clear that this Hebdo cover, unlike others, is not meant to make fun of Muslims. Qadhi also said that while he respects the right to free speech, there appears to be a double standard when it comes to what Western society -- and Hebdo -- find suitable for mocking. "Did you happen to notice any cartoons mocking the death of the cartoonists themselves, and lampooning their work and efforts?" Qadhi asked. Satire of the type attempted by Charlie Hebdo often serves a valuable end, said Omid Safi, director of Islamic studies at Duke University. But Safi faulted the French magazine for misfiring in its choice of targets. "I see satire as always having a purpose of mocking the powers that be, hierarchy, power, unearned privileged. So who are we speaking power to today?" Safi said. "Sure, violent terrorists. But what about all the other agents of violence, including the state-sponsored ones? That's why I don't find Charlie Hebdo particularly good satire." Many Muslims seemed content not to comment on Hebdo's latest depiction of their prophet, or to pay it no mind. "Let us ignore the provocations and defamation and get about the work of being a source of good and mercy to all we may come into contact with," Imam Zaid Shakir, a popular cleric and scholar from California, posted on Facebook this week. "May Allah bless you all and make things easy for you and your families during these trying times." CNN's Brian Stelter contributed to this report. | Some Muslims appreciate new Charlie Hebdo cover, while others are dismissive . Professor: "My initial thought is that the cover is a near perfect response to the tragedy" Other Muslim leaders say French magazine misfires in choice of satiric targets . | 4bfd51575cb4689a18da44518829b978a0054358 |
Washington (CNN) -- About 250 veterans gathered today at the World War II Memorial in Washington. They were joined by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to mark the premiere of their 10-part HBO series, "The Pacific." It was a high-profile public media event, but for me it was personal. For me, it brought back memories of my dad, who fought the Nazis in Europe. When I was 9 or 10 years old, my father took me to a college basketball game. As the clock ran out, a trumpeter in the pep band thought it would be cute to mark the demise of the rival team by playing Taps. Dad was not amused. "Shut up!" he roared. The trumpeter played on, oblivious. Dad got to his feet, fists clenched. "I said, 'Shut up!'" Embarrassed, I cringed in my seat. I'd never seen Dad this upset. But most people in the noisy auditorium were unaware of his wrath. He was drowned out by cheers, and by amused laughter at the cleverness of the trumpeter. Later, Dad explained to me that his strong emotions went back nearly 15 years when he was an officer on Gen. William Woodward's staff during the 104th Infantry Division's assault on Nazi Germany. Under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, the "Timberwolves" fought through Holland, Belgium, and into Germany, seeing unbelievable carnage. Some men became numb to it. Dad told me about seeing a couple of soldiers carelessly tossing bodies into the back of a truck to be hauled away from the battlefield. As Dad watched, a passing officer angrily chewed out the men: . "These are soldiers of the United States Army," the officer yelled, "and they will be treated with respect!" Whenever Dad told that story, his voice would catch. Fast forward. Spring 1995 -- 50 years after the Nazis surrendered and some 35 years after that basketball game. His emotions were still raw as we sat together on the back porch of my home in suburban Atlanta. Over the course of three days, I held a small tape recorder between us as he talked about his life. Not surprisingly, his days in combat with the 104th took up most of the eight hours I captured on tape. Dad was a shy man, placid, slow to anger. Rarely did he show much emotion of any kind, except laughter -- he loved to laugh. So, it was unexpected when, during a taping session, he suddenly broke down and wept. He'd been describing the day he came across a group of Timberwolf infantrymen who'd been caught in a crossfire and slaughtered. "If it hadn't been for those guys in the infantry," he said, swiping at his tears, "I never would have survived the war." My dad, N. George DeDakis, remained in the Army Reserves after WWII, retiring as a colonel in 1960. He practiced law in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and died May 29, 1996, at the age of 88. I went in his place to the 56th Timberwolves reunion in Atlanta August 28 to September 3, 2001. (The unit's final reunion will be September 1 in Chicago.) At the Atlanta reunion, I had a chance to relay Dad's appreciation of the infantry to several of the veterans I met -- and I listened as many of them talked about their experiences. The memories were old, but the tears were fresh. One told me, "Think of the worst you could go through -- then double it." Another said he wrote down his story but hid the manuscript in a safe deposit box for his children to read after his death. "It's too awful to talk about," he explained, "plus, none of them seem very interested in what I did during the war." One infantryman recounted the shock and horror of finding the bodies of some of his closest foxhole buddies "dead in the street." "I just shut down completely," he said. "My emotions turned to ice. Suddenly, I had no one I could talk to." "Could you pray?" I asked. "I could until [the] Nordhausen [concentration camp]," he replied. (On April 11, 1945, the 104th liberated the Mittelbau-Dora camp in Nordhausen, Germany. The bodies of 5,000 starved prisoners were stacked like cordwood and the few hundred survivors were like walking skeletons.) He told me it took years, and the help of several understanding people, to restore in him a semblance of faith. "How did the war change you?" I asked several of the men. "It made me mean," one man confessed. Some said it took years, and the patience of long-suffering spouses, before they were able to overcome their anger -- anger they didn't even know they had until others pointed it out to them. During my time with these men, I tried to resist my journalistic instinct to probe. Mostly, I listened. It was a rich experience. An experience, I fear, that will be lost forever if more of us don't encourage these men and women to tell their stories for history. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John DeDakis . | Vets in D.C. today for kickoff of HBO series "The Pacific" made John DeDakis think of his dad . His father saw carnage during WWII stint as an officer serving in Europe, he says . As DeDakis taped his father's war recollections, his normally placid dad became emotional . At a reunion DeDakis talked with his dad's fellow soldiers about how the war changed them . | 128c866b80accb95037a5da3e0a947bd677d8779 |
A Cocoa buyer examines beans in Guiglo, Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of global supply is harvested . The price of chocolate could soar over the next few years as surging demand puts further pressure on the global cocoa crisis – and experts predict the demand could become unsustainable by 2020. Experts are warning that a growing taste for chocolate in Asia – particularly in China – means cocoa farmers will need more help to provide a greater amount to export or manufacturers will be forced to use less cocoa in their products. It is predicted chocolate prices will soar to keep up with the rising demand – otherwise consumers will increasingly be offered products filled with substitutes, such as nuts and fruits, to ‘pack out’ chocolate bars. The news comes as millions of people across Britain are set to indulge in Easter eggs and chocolate treats this weekend. It is estimated that the growing demand for cocoa will be unsustainable by 2020, unless more is done to help cocoa growing communities. Most cocoa farms are situated along the west coast of Africa – where many farmers are said to be living off less than $2 a day. In December, the International Cocoa Organisation said there could be a 150,000 tonne deficit of the amount of cocoa beans produced in 2014. The organisation said global cocoa supplies were heading towards the longest production shortfall in more than five decades. The rising demand for cocoa has already seen prices soar – and its feared prices could continue to rise. The chocolate market in Asia is already worth more than $12billion and demand is continuing to increase. In March, cocoa prices reached a two and a half year high at £1,896 per tonne in London and US$3,031 per tonne in New York. However, unless more is done to help cocoa production, the crisis will continue until it becomes unsustainable. The chocolate market in Asia is already worth more than $12billion and demand is continuing to increase . Mondelez International – a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate – said it had pledged to invest more than $400 million to help ease the crisis. Over the next ten years, it is set to pump millions into Ghana, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, India and the Dominican Republic to help improve the productivity and life of cocoa farmers. Chris McGrath, head of the Cocoa Life programme at Mondelez, told The Times: ‘We realised that there was a long-term supply shortage. ‘Farmers are ageing and I don’t see the next generation behind them. We have to help transform the chain.’ The International Cocoa Organisation also said plans were in place to help cultivation in Indonesia. With investment in cocoa processing industries growing at a fast rate in the country, the Government is considering cancelling tax on cocoa bean imports as production levels have fallen short in fuelling the country’s domestic grinding requirements. | Price of chocolate could soar as demand puts pressure on cocoa crisis . Experts warn more needs to be done to help cocoa growing communities . Increasing demand in Asia where chocolate market is worth over $12billion . | 2fb125684b77e844ccf8940673d5a923c4e62728 |
By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 06:53 EST, 29 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 03:41 EST, 30 October 2012 . Concern is growing over a 'creepy' new iPhone app which scours pictures posted by users' Facebook friends to pull out all the photos showing them wearing revealing outfits. On sale on the iTunes store for £1.49 ($1.99), the Badabing! app uses some sort of image-recognition technology to work out which of your friends pictures show the most skin. Once the pictures have been discovered, users can then browse them all before bookmarking their favourites and sharing them with others. 'Find your friend's sexy pics instantly': A screengrab of the Badabing! app's homepage . The service is particular disturbing . in light of recent claims by the Internet Watch Foundation that it had found more . than 12,000 instances of girls who had posted seductive pictures of . themselves that had ended up on pornographic sites. Only weeks ago, Reddit troll . Violentacrez was unmasked by Gawker. He had posed many pictures . harvested from Facebook onto forums entitled ‘Rapebait’ and . ‘Creepshots’, sparking outrage on the internet. On the website, he was also one of the driving forces behind the sickening 'Jailbait' forum, where users submitted sexualised images of scantily-clad underage girls - many of which also originated from Facebook. The users deleted photos of girls older than 16. That forum was also taken down after a backlash by users. The Badabing! app has the potential to . allow paedophiles to accelerate the process of looking for pictures of . under-dressed youngsters, a spokesman for the Child Exploitation and . Online Protection agency warned. 'There will always be a new technology or device or platform that can potentially be exploited,' the spokesman said. 'For CEOP that means two things, educating young people about staying safe online, including not posting inappropriate images which can send out the wrong message; and staying on top of the different technologies that offenders can use to network with other paedophiles or to contact children directly.' iPhone app: Badabing! trawls galleries posted by users' Facebook friends, highlighting all the pictures showing people in revealing outfits and allowing users to bookmark and share their favourites . Civil liberties campaign group Big . Brother Watch said it provided a 'stark warning' about how users of . Facebook and other social networks can lose control over data once it is . uploaded to the internet. 'Privacy is clearly at the very back . of the designers mind when creating an application that enables this . kind of search to be easier when it, in fact, it should be made more . difficult,' said Emma Carr, the group's deputy director. 'All too often there appears to be . the attitude online that services can ignore directives on the "minimum . collection of data" and "privacy by design" which should no longer be . tolerated by internet users or the data protection regulators. A shocking page called ‘Bikini Jailbait’ has been removed from Facebook after it caused outrage among users of the social network. The site pictured many graphic pictures of seemingly under-aged young women in various states of dress. Some are bending over suggestively. One person wrote on the page’s wall that the site was ‘wrong on so many levels,’ and begged other like-minded users to report the site. It is unclear who created the page. A representative for Facebook told MailOnline that the page had been removed although he would not comment on individual cases. 'Such practices are quite simple . intrusive and unnecessary and, as such, consumers need protection from . contracts that are either too intrusive or too unclear to understand.' So . far available only for the iPhone, its creators also plan a web-based . app which would allow users to login via a website to search their . Facebook contacts' picture albums. A reporter for TechCrunch downloaded the app and tested it out on his Facebook profile. 'It actually kind of works and it's really creepy,' Drew Orlanoff reported. The Badabing! homepage boasts that the service can help users to 'find your friend's (sic) sexy pics instantly.' It includes testimonials from friends of the app's creator, Erick Barto. Mr Barto's roommate, John Moses, said: 'This is going to save me so much time diggin' through pics.' However, the app developers admitted they were struggling to cope with demand, and some users complained they were unable to connect. 'it is the sheer traffic, and image processing is very resource consuming,' said Mr Barto. 'We are working on it and trying to get it back up as soon as possible, we had requests for millions of images within hours and our db couldn't handle it.' Those commenting on the TechCrunch report on the app were less enthusiastic about the service. Bob Walker wrote: 'Creating apps like this is just plain wrong. 'If people put these pictures online then it is their choice... but it is just very weird.' Suzanne Lenhart said: 'Even without Badabing (bad app) I'm sure some pretty creepy people get online & cruise around hunting for just exactly what this app is now doing for him, and making it far too easy. 'Evidently all the porn that is flying all over on the web isn't enough to keep them happy.' MailOnline put some of the concerns raised to Mr Barto. He said: 'We are the only social image recognition app and "beach and pool pics" is our first search option, which we knew would be popular. 'People have thousands of pictures on a myriad of social networking sites, the purpose of Badabing! is to help friends find specific type of content quickly.'. | Badabing! image-recognition app is on sale on the iTunes store for £1.49 ($1.99) Ceop warns it could help paedophiles locate risqué images of youngsters . | f8c42472e042a6680927f3626993bda5e17f820d |
By . Andy Sims, Press Association . Shooter Michael Gault's bid to become the outright most successful Commonwealth athlete of all time is over after he missed out on a place in the final of the 50m air pistol. The 60-year-old grandfather from Norfolk, competing at his sixth Games, had drawn level with fellow shooter Phillip Adams on Saturday when he won his 18th medal, taking bronze in the 10m discipline. Blow: Michael Gault has missed out on the chance to become the most successful Commonwealth athlete of all time . Gault said afterwards that he had achieved what he came out of retirement for, and that he would be 'chillaxing' when he stepped back on to the range for Monday's event. And, despite shooting a competitive total of 529 from his six rounds, he bowed out of the competition in 13th place. Afterwards Gault confirmed he would be hanging up his gun competitively, ruling out another tilt at a 19th medal in Australia in four years. 'I wanted to give it a little bash and try to get the all-time record,' he said. 'But unfortunately the bullets I used wouldn't go into the middle of the target. They kept flying into the nine ring, or sometimes the eight! 'It was a case of not enough 10s today. It's a shame. I was trying - I wasn't too chillaxed. I gave it my best shot but my body was telling me it's time to pack up. My legs are burning and I've got a trapped nerve in my back, so it's time to call it a day.' Gault does want to stay involved in shooting, however, and hopes to take up a coaching role.He also revealed he would dedicate Saturday's record-equalling bronze to Parkinson's UK, with his wife Janet suffering from the disease. 'I've sacrificed the family a bit, going away from home twice a week to train, leaving my wife on her own,' he added. 'The last year has been pretty bad. My mum got cancer and then Janet got pneumonia. That will do: Gault celebrates winning the Bronze medal in the Men's 10m Air Pistol Shooting . Gold: 25m standard pistol, Melbourne 2006Gold: 10m air pistol, Manchester 2002Gold: 10m air pistol pairs, Manchester 2002Gold: 50m pistol, Manchester 2002Gold: 10m air pistol, Kuala Lumpur 1998Gold: 10m air pistol pairs, Kuala Lumpur 1998Gold: 50m pistol, Kuala Lumpur 1998Gold: 50m pistol pairs, Kuala Lumpur 1998Gold: 50m pistol, Victoria 1994Silver: 10m air pistol pairs, Delhi 2010Silver: 10m air pistol pairs, Melbourne 2006Silver: 50m pistol, Melbourne 2006Silver: 25m centre fire pistol, Victoria 1994Bronze: 10m air pistol, Glasgow 2014Bronze: 25m standard pistol pairs, Delhi 2010Bronze: 50m pistol pairs, Melbourne 2006Bronze: 25m standard pistol, Manchester 2002Bronze: 50m pistol pairs, Victoria 1994 . 'The amount of effort I've put in - I've got 40 years of experience behind me, I've shot millions of rounds and hit millions of 10s. The actual sacrifices have been tremendous - we haven't had a holiday in 20 years, so we'll have one now. 'The wife has told me this is definitely the last one. I've put myself through an awful lot and Janet's frightened I might have a heart attack. 'But it was worth it. I'm the most successful Commonwealth athlete in the history of the Games - well, joint with that Australian chap, but we won't be speaking about him. 'I might come back as a coach. We'll wait and see. I've got a hell of a lot of experience to pass on. 'The medal I won, I'm dedicating to the Parkinson's society as my wife has had Parkinson's for 10 or 15 years so we need to do something about that. 'Now I'm going to put my gun away, watch the final, then get in the car and drive home. I signed off with a couple of 10s, which was nice, and that's it.' There will be English interest in Monday afternoon's final after 21-year-old Kristian Callaghan shot a personal best to qualify in second place. Out with a bang: Gault confirmed he would be hanging up his gun competitively . | Mick Gault fails to qualify to 50m air pistol final . 60-year-old had chance to become most successful Commonwealth athlete of all time . Shooter has decided to hang up his gun competitively . | 89c4f270345d2e837b0b37f18e537aae49a27982 |
By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 08:06 EST, 13 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:25 EST, 14 December 2012 . A 250 mile-long river valley flowing . with liquid hydrocarbons has been spotted on Titan by scientists using . Nasa's Cassini space probe. It is the first time a river system . this vast has been seen anywhere other than Earth, and Nasa are saying . it appears like a miniature, extraterrestrial likeness of the our own . planet's Nile River. The river valley crosses Titan's north . polar region and runs north into Ligeia Mare, one of the three great . seas in the moon's high northern latitudes. Titan's Nile: The radar image on the left taken by the Cassini space probe shows the vast river system as it flows north into the moon's Ligeia Mare sea. The right is a satellite image of the real Nile in Egypt . There are some short, local meanders, . but the its relative straightness suggests it follows the trace of at . least one fault, similar to other rivers running into the southern . margin of Ligeia Mare. Such faults may lead to the opening of basins and perhaps to the formation of the giant seas themselves. Scientists believe the river is filled . with liquid hydrocarbons as it looks dark along its entire length in . the radar image, indicating a smooth surface. Titan is Saturn's largest moon, . roughly 80 per cent more massive than our own Moon, and the only . satellite known to have a dense atmosphere. It is the only other world we know of . that has stable liquid on its surface, but while Earth's hydrologic . cycle relies on water, Titan's equivalent cycle involves hydrocarbons . such as ethane and methane. In Titan's equatorial regions, photos . taken in late 2010 by Cassini's visible-light cameras revealed regions . that darkened due to recent rainfall. Cassini's visual and infrared mapping . spectrometer confirmed liquid ethane at a lake in Titan's southern . hemisphere known as Ontario Lacus in 2008. Titan, pictured in ultraviolet and infrared: Saturn's moon is the only other world known to have stable liquid on its surface, but while Earth's hydrologic . cycle relies on water, Titan's equivalent cycle involves hydrocarbons . Cassini is a Flagship-class robotic spacecraft sent to explore Saturn and its moons as part of a joint mission between Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. It launched in 1997 and finally arrived at the system in 2004 after an interplanetary voyage which included flybys of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter. It also included an atmospheric probe called Huygens which landed on Titan on 2005 to investigate its clouds, atmosphere and surface. It successfully returned data to Earth, using the orbiter as a relay, after what was was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System. On April 16, 2008, Nasa announced a two-year extension of the funding for ground operations of this mission, at which point it was renamed to the Cassini Equinox Mission. This was again extended in February 2010 with the Cassini Solstice Mission continuing until 2017. The current end of mission plan is a 2017 controlled fall into Saturn's atmosphere. 'Titan is the only place we've found . besides Earth that has a liquid in continuous movement on its surface,' said Steve Wall, the radar deputy team lead, based at NASA's Jet . Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. 'This picture gives us a snapshot of a . world in motion. Rain falls, and rivers move that rain to lakes and . seas, where evaporation starts the cycle all over again. 'On Earth, the liquid is water; on Titan, it's methane; but on both it affects most everything that happens.' The radar image taken on September 26 . and published by Nasa yesterday shows where the river valley flows into . Kraken Mare, a sea that is, in terms of size, between the Caspian Sea . and the Mediterranean Sea. 'Though there are some short, local . meanders, the relative straightness of the river valley suggests it . follows the trace of at least one fault,'said Jani Radebaugh, a Cassini . radar team associate at Brigham Young University, Utah. She added: 'Such faults - fractures in . Titan's bedrock - may not imply plate tectonics, like on Earth, but . still lead to the opening of basins and perhaps to the formation of the . giant seas themselves.' The real Nile River stretches about . 4,100 miles. The processes that led to the formation of Earth's Nile are . complex, but involve faulting in some regions. | The valley crosses Titan's north polar region, running into the Ligeia Mare . It is the first time a river system this big has been seen on another world . Titan is the only world known to have stable liquid on its surface . | 43577c0f4a0457c6e546e55049591be389b4408a |
Tesco has removed sweets and chocolate from all of its checkouts to reduce pester power and help families choose healthier food. The supermarket removed confectionery from larger stores 20 years ago but the changes that take effect today will apply to all stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland including around 2,000 smaller Metro and Express outlets. A spokesman said confectionery would also be removed from areas adjacent to the tills - for example, racks of sweets at children's eye level next to checkout queues. Tesco has announced that it would remove all confectionery from its checkouts across the UK and Ireland . It follows research based on Tesco Club Card data that found families with young children have, on average, the least healthy shopping baskets, while pensioners and older adults are the healthiest shoppers. An earlier study by the grocer found nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of customers said removing confectionery from checkouts would help them make healthier choices. Just over two-thirds of parents (67 per cent) said confectionery-free checkouts would help them make healthier choices for their children. Tesco's managing director of health and wellness, David Wood, said: 'Our customers told us that removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts would help them make healthier choices, so from today our checkouts will be sweet and chocolate-free zones. 'We hope this will make our customer's lives easier, as taking sweets and chocolates off the checkouts will really help parents with young children. 'As a parent of two young children myself, I know how challenging it can be to navigate the checkouts with children in tow. 'The response we've had from parents has been overwhelmingly positive, so it'll be interesting to see if other supermarkets follow our lead and do the same thing.' The retailer said it had replaced the confectionery with healthier snacks including dried fruit, nuts and cereal bars, and every food item on the checkout would be one of the 'five a day', have no red traffic light ratings, be in calorie-controlled snack packs or be deemed by the Department of Health to be a 'healthier snack'. The retailer said there would only be healthy snacks near the checkouts as a result of their policy decision . Justine Roberts, the chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said: 'Popping into a shop with a small child in tow can sometimes feel like navigating an assault course. 'If you've made it to the checkout in one piece it can be really frustrating to then be faced with an unhealthy array of sweets designed to tempt your child. 'It's really positive to see a supermarket responding to the views of their customers and trying to make life that little bit easier.' Public health minister Jane Ellison said: 'This is a very welcome move by Tesco, responding to the clear demands of their customers, and raising the bar in the roll out of healthy checkouts. 'This initiative will help people make healthier choices, which all contributes to reducing the long-term cost to our nation of obesity and ill-health.' | Tesco will remove all sweets from the checkouts of 2,000 stores . The move is to help fight the childhood obesity epidemic . The retailer will only have healthy snacks near checkouts . Tesco said clubcard data found young families had the least healthy basket . | bf080266cafd218b121fcfad03b748e24133ac7b |
She's been in the industry for more than 20 years, runs her own blog and was handpicked to style TU at Sainsbury's tenth anniversary collection, so it's safe to say that Louise Redknapp knows a thing or two about fashion. FEMAIL wanted to tap into Louise's magic so we've snapped her (and her best friend and business partner Emma Thatcher) up to serve as MailOnline's resident style gurus. The duo, who run A Style Album with their friends, will be sharing their top tips on fashion, beauty, interior and all things style. Scroll down for video . Meet FEMAIL's new resident style gurus: Louise Redknapp, right, and her best friend and business partner Emma Thatcher, left, will be blogging for MailOnline about all things fashion, beauty, interior and style . When Louise met Emma through their husbands they quickly bonded over their love of fashion. 'Emma and I got to the stage where we would constantly text each other pictures of what we were wearing or what we wanted to buy,' explained 40-year-old Louise. And now they want to share their passion with MailOnline readers. 'For me, knowing that you could show one of your friends something and get an honest opinion - especially when I was working or doing a red carpet without a stylist - was great. 'Em and our circle of friends would offer me advice and it made me feel so much more confident. 'That's what we want our blog to be: like an online mate.' Louise has launched trend blog, A Style Album, with former Matches Fashion stylist Emma Thatcher . Louise and Emma want their blog to be an 'online mate' for women who work and lead busy lives but still want to be stylish. They also want to appeal to a wide audience, including older women who love fashion . Louise, who is married to football legend Jamie Redknapp, and Emma, who worked as a stylist for Matches Fashion and works as a Fashion Buyer for a boutique called Club, added: 'We're not saying we're fashion experts. 'We're saying that we're interested in it and bringing it to the masses who, like us, do have busy lives, have work, have children and still want to be in style.' The pair, whose personal blog is loved by the likes of Cat Deeley, say they want to help give women that 'little bit of morning inspiration' when it comes to dressing. 'We can all lose confidence and I definitely think that when you've had children you lose your way for a little while afterwards,' admitted Louise, who is mother to two boys Charley, 10, and Beau, 4. Louise and Emma also want to appeal to a wide audience, including older women who love fashion. 'It's just about wearing your clothes in a way that suits you,' said Louise. 'My mum loves my wardrobe and nine times out of 10 she can be spotted in my clothes. 'She's in her 60s and she looks great, a lot of times better than me!' 'We can all lose confidence and I definitely think that when you've had children you lose your way for a little while afterwards,' admits Louise, who is mother to two young boys, and wants to help give women a little 'morning inspiration' The pair emphasise that you can wear whatever you want; it's all in the styling. If you're 19 and you want to wear leather trousers, the stylish duo recommend wearing them with a crop top and stilettos. If you're 60, wear them with a cute court shoe and a blazer. 'You'd have to be a multi-millionaire to always be fashionable but to be stylish, it's just about accessorising to suit your figure and your age,' Louise said. So what should we all be channelling come spring? Bright, bold colours and playful prints, Louise and Emma advise. They also loved the romantic elements on the Chloe catwalk and think Victoria Beckham has done 'brilliantly'. Louise said: 'Her shop is incredible and she's completely respected. I take my hat off to her because she was really up against it and a lot of people wanted her to fail and I know how much hard work goes into being successful. 'She's got a great eye and is quite particular and has definitely grown into herself.' As well as offering fashion tips, the blog will delve into beauty, too. After launching and running her own organic make-up brand, Wild About Beauty, which is loved by the likes of Princess Beatrice, Louise is extremely well-placed to share her advice. Louise said: 'I've loved working on Wild About Beauty and I've learnt a lot, which has really helped with blogging because you have to be aware of what's going on around you and trends.' Don't miss Louise and Emma's blog here for stylish updates. Louise and Emma, far right, run A Style Album with their closest female friends who, like them, have an interest in fashion, beauty, food, interior and travel and want to share their tips with other women . | Louise, 40, and her business partner Emma Thatcher will be new bloggers . The best friends run fashion and trends site A Style Album with pals . Will be sharing their top tips on fashion, beauty, interior and all things style . Mum-of-two Louise thinks Victoria Beckham's new store is 'incredible' | f57c3ae56044802dcb9091cdc74657c41504ae84 |
(CNN) -- Actress Sheila MacRae, who portrayed Alice Kramden in a 1960s revival of "The Honeymoooners," has died. She was 92. MacRae played the iconic character on a Honeymooners segment that ran from 1966 to 1970 on "The Jackie Gleason Show." She often referred to herself as "the last Mrs. Kramden," her daughter, Heather MacRae, told CNN. MacRae also portrayed Miss Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" on Broadway in 1965, in addition to TV roles in shows like "I Love Lucy," "General Hospital" and "Murder, She Wrote," according to the Internet Movie Database. MacRae was born outside London and immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1939. She attended the American Academy of Arts in New York City. She died Thursday at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, where she had lived since 2009, Heather MacRae said. Off stage and screen, famed New York restaurants Sardi's and 21 were her favorite places, and she also loved watching late night host David Letterman and New York Yankee Derek Jeter, her daughter said. She is survived by two children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Her 26-year marriage to actor Gordon MacRae ended in divorce in 1967. People we've lost in 2014 . | Actress Sheila MacRae dies at 92 . She played Alice Kramden in a 1960s revival of "The Honeymooners" The actress also performed on Broadway . | 8cef5dc98a71db2ae2435bf123855eff97245fd8 |
New York (CNN) -- Federal agents say a missing New Jersey woman may be one of 11 victims believed to have been slain by admitted serial killer Israel Keyes. Investigators believe the woman Debra Feldman, 49, was last seen at her Hackensack home on April 8, 2009. She has not been heard from since. The FBI said Keyes admitted that on April 9, 2009, he abducted a female from a state on the East Coast and transported her over multiple state lines into New York. Keyes said he killed the victim and buried her in upstate New York. FBI Special Agent Barbara Woodruff told CNN Thursday that Keyes -- before he committed suicide last year -- was shown pictures of unsolved murder victims and people who had gone missing to see whether he would admit to being involved in any of those cases. When Keyes was shown a picture of Feldman, he paused, looking at it a long time, before saying, "I'm not ready to talk about that one," according to Woodruff. Footage on the FBI website shows Keyes during the interviews with federal agents, telling them he would release certain information or details about his victims, and then changing his mind. Detailed interactive map of Keyes' travels . "He did enjoy the cat and mouse game," Woodruff said. Keyes committed suicide in his Alaska jail cell last December by slitting his wrist and strangling himself with bedding. Investigators described Keyes as a kind of a murder addict who hunted victims in remote locations such as parks, campgrounds or hiking trails. An Army veteran and traveling contractor, Keyes studied other serial killers, but liked to say that he had not patterned himself after any other killer. Serial killer a murder addict . A multi-agency effort by the Anchorage police, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies in Lufkin, Texas, arrested Keyes in March 2012 for the abduction of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old barista. Her body was found in a lake in April 2012. Keyes left many unanswered questions and a four-page note that expressed no remorse or clues to other slayings when he took his life. Authorities are asking that anyone who may have information about Keyes or Feldman, or information about her around the time of her disappearance to contact the Hackensack Police Department or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. CNN's Matt Smith, Mayra Cuevas and Brad Lendon contributed to this report . | Serial killer Israel Keyes may have killed missing New Jersey woman . Debra Feldman was last seen at her Hackensack home in 2009 . Killer committed suicide in his Alaska jail cell . | fbe2a714f7045038e0119f183c89d34530529bdc |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:42 EST, 6 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:37 EST, 7 August 2012 . A heroic police officer who was shot as many as nine times as he responded to a horrific shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin waved off fellow officers and told them to help other victims first. Lt. Brian Murphy, 51, was repeatedly shot at close range by gunman Wade Michael Page outside the temple in Oak Creek after responding to a 911 call and going to help a victim. Murphy then tried to disarm Page but suffered multiple gun shots to the neck and his extremities. Despite these injuries, he waved off help so his fellow officers could save others. Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said that Murphy, along with another police officer who eventually shot the gunman dead, 'stopped a tragedy that could have been a lot worse'. Scroll down for video . Hero: Lieutenant Brian Murphy was shot eight or nine times at close range but told his colleagues to help other victims gunned down at a Sikh temple on Sunday. He is in critical condition . Murphy, a 21-year veteran of the police . force, underwent surgery and is now recovering in hospital with family . members at his bedside. He is in critical condition but is expected to survive. The Sikh Human Rights Group has reportedly pledged a $10,000 award to Murphy, who was a finalist for city's police chief post in 2010, for his actions, TMJ4 reported. 'Murphy came upon a victim in the parking lot and exited his vehicle, and went to assist that individual,' Chief John Edwards during a Monday morning news conference. 'It . was at that point he was met by the suspect, who basically ambushed . him. He was shot eight to nine times in very close range with a . handgun. He was in very close proximity to the shooter. 'He waved [other . people] off, He told them to get to temple and assist in there. One of . the officers returned fire with a rife, putting the individual down.' Officers . had heard gunfire on arriving but only realised Murphy had been shot . when he the gunman was killed and the officer failed to answer his call. Killer: Wade Michael Page, 40, shot dead six people and wounded three others on Sunday morning. He has been described as a 'frustrated neo-Nazi' and led a white supremacist band, right . Tragedy: Police watch over the Sikh temple, where a white supremacist shot dead six people on Sunday. A police officer, Lt. Brian Murphy, was shot multiple times as he responded to the scene . He was the first officer on the scene to confront 40-year-old Page who killed six people, aged between 39 and 84, at the temple. Murphy, who has been a member of Oak Creek police department's tactical team for years, was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to the Midwest to be closer to his wife's family, ABC reported. He has a daughter who lives in South Korea and two stepchildren from his second wife, it added. Page allegedly walked into the Sikh . Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee around 10.30 a.m. on Sunday . and opened fire as several dozen people prepared for Sunday services. It sent worshippers fleeing to escape . the barrage - with many hiding in cupboards and texting the outside . world begging for help. When . the shooting ended, seven people . lay dead, including Page at the hands of a police officer. Three others . were critically wounded in what officers branded an act of domestic . terrorism. He used a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which was recovered at the scene, police said. Heartbreak: A woman struggles to contain her tears after the shooting spree on Sunday at the temple . Struggle: Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin comforts members of the temple. His father Satwant Kaleka, 65, died in the shooting with four other priests . Victim: Satwant Kaleka, the temple's founder, died after trying to tackle the gunman . Page, who was discharged from the Army after six years in 1998, was described by officials at the Southern Poverty Law Center as a 'frustrated neo-Nazi' who led a racist white supremacist band. Page told a white supremacist website in . 2010 that he had been part of the white-power music . scene since 2000 when he left his native Colorado and started the band, . End Apathy, in 2005. He . told the website his 'inspiration was based on frustration that we have . the potential to accomplish so much more as individuals and a society . in whole,' according to the SPLC. He added that End Apathy was all his own . idea and that topics included sociological issues, religion, and how . the value of human life has been degraded by being submissive to . tyranny. End Apathy's biography on the band's MySpace page said their music 'is a sad commentary on our sick society and the problems that prevent true progress'. His neighbours in Cudahy, where he moved just two weeks ago, noted that the man was covered in tattoos and 'kind of kept to himself'. 'I just remember seeing (a tattoo that said) 9-11. I just remember thinking it was weird, thinking "Why would you have that tattooed on you?"' April Reyna told TMJ4. Page is said to have had the tattoo to mark September 11, 2001 - attacks by Islamic militants. Vigil: Mourners take part in a candle light vigil for the victims on Sunday night . Painful memories: Temple members had hidden in closets in fear for their lives when gunfire broke out . Dr Lee Biblo, the chief medical . officer at the hospital said they were well prepared to treat the three . seriously wounded as it is a level one trauma center. He . said one victim had suffered a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. Another had been shot multiple times in the face and extremities while . the third man had been shot in the neck. One victim was the temple's . president, 65-year-old Satwant Kaleka who died as he tried to 'knife and . tackle' the shooter. Another was 39-year-old Parkash Singh, a priest in . his thirties. Manminder Sethi, who worships at the temple, told the Journal-Sentinel: 'He was a good guy, a noble soul.' Mr . Singh had lived in Oak Creek for several years and recently brought his . wife, daughter and son from India to live with him in the U.S. Scene: A police k-9 unit, left, and a robot, center, outside the temple after Page attacked . Fears: People watch police personnel outside the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek after the shooting . The other victims were named as Seeta Singh, 41, Ranjit Singh, 49, Subegh Singh, 84, and the only woman killed in the attack, 41-year-old Parmjit Kaur, 41. Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi paid tribute to the victims and police officers on Monday. 'Sunday was a tragic day for our city, especially as it occurred at a place of worship,' he said. 'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victims, our wounded officer, and a community which is still in shock. There is no doubt in my mind that the heroic actions of our police officers prevented a greater tragedy.' AUDIO: Officer shot! Audio from 911 calls released from Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting . video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player . | Brian Murphy shot as he responded to 911 call in Oak Creek, Wisconsin . Shot at 'short range' as he tried to disarm gunman Wade Michael Page . Waved off his colleagues so they could help other victims . Veteran cop is now in critical condition but is expected to survive . Gunman killed six and wounded three before he was shot dead on Sunday . Described as 'frustrated neo-Nazi' and white supremacist . | 338a3068c9ed9c06c4f641353f5cd6e96de18f5f |
A US Customs and Border Protection helicopter stopped a boat believed to have been smuggling marijuana into the country by firing at a vessel that refused to yield. The Blackhawk fired the rare warning shots near Catalina Island, 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles, after the suspicious boat was spotted by the Coast Guard after 10pm on Saturday. The incident was the first time that shots had been fired at a boat from the air on the West Coast, Mitch Pribble, Director of Air Operations for CBP in San Diego, said. A US Customs and Border Protection helicopter has fired warning shots at a suspected drug smuggling boat off the California coast for the first time (file picture) A Coast Guard aircraft, two Border Patrol boats and the helicopter all followed the panga boat - a small fishing vessel about 22ft long - where crew could be seen throwing bales believed to be marijuana overboard. The boat refused to yield, but 'stopped immediately' after the Blackhawk shot across its bow around 11pm. US Customs and Border Protection said that protocol was followed to make sure the shots would not hurt the boating public. 'You always want a vessel to stop when they are first directed to do so. However, when a suspected criminal chooses to flee, the ability to fire those warning shots gives us another option,' Pribble said. Marine interceptor boats were used to catch up to the suspicious panga boat and arrest its crew, who were seen dumping bales believed to be marijuana overboard (file picture) Marijuana smuggling gives billions of dollars to violent drug trafficking organizations, largely based in Mexico . The patrol boats caught up to the suspicious vessel after it stopped and took the three men on board into custody. The agency also seized the panga boat and the Coast Guard helped look for the dumped goods. The boat's seizure is part of an ongoing struggle to stop drug trafficking from Mexico into the United States, a business that makes billions of dollars and has caused gang violence near the southern US border. Smugglers have used the waters near Catalina Island for their operations before. It is thought some smugglers transfer drugs from the panga boats to recreational vessels common at the popular sailing destination so that they can more easily ship the contraband onto the mainland. One ton of marijuana worth $1million was confiscated from smugglers in 2012 after seven people were arrested trying to move the drugs onto a small sailboat near Catalina. US border agents seized 23,335lb of marijuana at border crossings with Mexico in the fiscal year 2014. The illegal Mexican drug trade is thought to receive between $19billion and $29billion each year from US demand. | Fishing boat near Catalina Island had refused to stop . Three men believed to smuggling marijuana bales were taken into custody . Shots were first on the West Coast fired from the air at a boat . | d3ee8fac0b4ab5e5e1fc410a25f0787e30a07afb |
By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 08:23 EST, 16 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:11 EST, 16 January 2014 . Twenty years of bungled dentistry have left a man with crowns held in place by superglue, rotting teeth and a lifelong fear of having his mouth touched by medics. Botched: Jonathan Anderson was left with a mouth of infected teeth and shoddy implants . So bad was the damage, a dentist who examined marketing manager Jonathan Anderson's mouth described it as looking as if 'a bomb had gone off.' Mr Anderson, 38, from Dorset, first had surgery at the age of 18 to remove his wisdom teeth but was left with infected gums after a dentist snapped his teeth off at the root instead of extracting them. Five years later, his front teeth were knocked out after a windsurfing accident but surgeons botched the repairs leaving him with 'tombstone-like' front teeth in a different shade from his remaining molars. Mr Anderson, a marketing manager, chose to have his operations done privately in an attempt to ensure a perfect result but was left horrified by the damage. 'When you go to someone who's a professional dentist, private, and they're charging an awful lot of money for it, you don't doubt them,' he confessed. 'I looked in the mirror [after the operation], expecting you . wouldn't be able to tell it was implanted teeth, and I was like: "you . got the colour completely wrong!"' But Mr Anderson's problems didn't end . there. Thanks to the infection caused by the botched wisdom tooth . operation, more teeth were rotting and dentists told him that the only . way to repair the damage was by giving him crowns. Miserable: Despite paying £8,000, he was given crowns so shoddy he had to use glue to keep them in . Infection: An operation to remove wisdom teeth left him with infected molars and gums . Once again the procedure was bungled and his crowns fell out less than 24 hours after they were inserted. Shockingly, when he complained to the dentist, Mr Anderson was told to stick them back in himself using superglue. Thanks to years of shoddy treatments, the marketing manager was left low on confidence and embarrassed by his gappy smile. Even his wedding day in 2012 was marred by his lack of teeth with Mr Anderson forced to keep his mouth closed all day in case one of the crowns fell out. Fearful: Thanks to his experiences, Mr Anderson has been left terrified of visiting the dentist . Improved: Mr Anderson has since had all of his teeth removed and replaced with correctly fitted implants . 'I had the tooth super-glued in for the wedding but it meant I could only manage a close-mouthed smile,' he reveals. Wife Leanne adds: 'When I first met him, he had a bright, . beaming smile, but now, even when he is happy, he doesn't show it. 'In . his mind, he feels he's grotesque, and I'd like him to be back how he was . when he first met him.' But restoring his old smile means facing up to the prospect of 12 hours in the dentists' chair - not something Mr Anderson is entirely comfortable with. During an appearance on Channel 5 documentary, Botched Up Bodies, he said: 'It's a scary thought having more dental . work done but it's a worse thought to have teeth like this and suppressing my smile for the rest of my life.' Since then, Mr Anderson has faced his fears and had all of his teeth removed and replaced with correctly fitted implants, but says he remains angry that despite spending £8,000 on dentistry, he was left disfigured. He is, however, relieved and happy to finally have his smile back. 'The confidence is back,' he reveals. 'Leanne loves how much I can now smile at her. It's awesome, absolutely awesome!' Botched Up Bodies, tonight at 10pm on Channel 5 . | Jonathan Anderson, 38, from Dorset was left almost toothless . Dentist told him to use superglue to keep shoddy crowns in . Had paid £8,000 for private treatment in a bid to avoid disaster . Confidence was left severely dented and was afraid to smile . | a5905e5e12e59e7ec280fc920a62a0e699cc6642 |
Los Angeles (CNN) -- The mother of Michael Jackson's two oldest children broke down in tears when she was asked to describe the impact of the singer's death on his daughter Paris. "Their father is dead," Debbie Rowe responded. "I almost lost my daughter! She is devastated. She tried to kill herself. She is devastated. She has no life. She doesn't feel she has a life anymore." Paris, 15, attempted suicide in early June and is still being treated in a facility for her emotional problems. Jurors sitting for a 70th day of testimony in the wrongful death trial of Jackson's last concert promoter have laughed loudly at times during the colorful testimony of Rowe, who alternated between tears and jokes. When she and Jackson divorced after their three-year marriage in 1999, the singer "got custody of the doctors," she joked Wednesday. Rowe returned to the witness stand Thursday for a second day of testimony in the small Los Angeles courtroom. She was ordered to testify about the singer's drug use by lawyers for AEG Live, the concert promoter being sued by Jackson's mother and three children. Wednesday's questioning by AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam centered on Jackson's use of prescription drugs -- to deal with pain from scalp surgery, and two times in Germany, where doctors used the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia. Thursday's testimony, however, began with Rowe's description of Jackson's skin problems, which included vitiligo -- a condition in which his pigment disappeared, leaving large white spots on his face, hands and body. "Everyone says he bleached himself, but he didn't," Rowe said. Many of his visits to Dr. Arnold Klein, the Beverly Hills dermatologist where she worked for 18 years as a medical assistant, were to treat the condition, she testified. Jackson compared himself to the "Elephant Man," a 19th-century Englishman who became a circus sideshow curiosity because of severe disfigurements, she said. "He was worried that people would see the disease or the disfigurement before they would see him working sometimes," Rowe testified. He also suffered from discoid lupus, which made his skin tissue "mushy," especially on his scalp, she said. Jackson's scalp was severely burned during a pyrotechnics accident while he was filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. MJ's insomnia struggle . Two German doctors treated Jackson's insomnia with propofol 12 years before he died from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic, Rowe testified Wednesday. Dr. Allen Metzger -- Jackson's general practitioner in the United States -- arranged for the German anesthesiologists to infuse the singer with propofol in a Munich hotel in July 1997 after sedatives failed to help him sleep between concerts, Rowe testified. "I think they tried it and it hadn't worked, and if he couldn't sleep, he couldn't perform," she testified. Jackson "was at the end of his rope; he didn't know what else to do." He "felt better" after eight hours of propofol-induced sleep and decided to get a second treatment after his second Munich show, she said. Metzger testified at the criminal trial of Dr. Conrad Murray that he was never involved in propofol treatments for Jackson and was not aware of the drug until much later. Rowe backed away from her previous statement during a deposition, in which she said doctors also gave Jackson propofol infusions in hotels in France during the HIStory tour, in the late 1990s. AEG Live contends that Jackson used propofol for years to treat his insomnia, including when Rowe was traveling with him in Europe in the 1990s. The coroner ruled Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from a propofol overdose administered by Murray, who is serving a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. AEG Live executives, who were promoting and producing Jackson's comeback concerts, had no way of knowing that Murray was infusing him with propofol each night for two months in the spring of 2009, AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said in his opening statements 16 weeks ago. "Almost no one knew until after his death," Putnam said. "AEG Live certainly didn't know about it." The Jackson family's lawyers contend that the promoters ignored warning signs that Jackson's health was deteriorating in the two months before his death. Instead of getting him to another doctor who might have saved his life, they gave Murray the responsibility of getting Jackson to rehearsals, they argue. Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and three of her children contend AEG Live is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray. The company's agreement to pay Murray $150,000 a month put the doctor in a conflict of interest because he was in deep debt and could not risk losing the job by refusing Jackson's demands for propofol, their lawyers contend. AEG Live argues that while its executives negotiated with Murray to serve as Jackson's physician for the "This Is It" tour, it was Jackson who chose and controlled the doctor. "Getting a grip' on MJ's pain . Jackson underwent surgery in 1993 to repair burns suffered in the 1984 accident, including placement of a balloon under his scalp to stretch it over several months, Rowe testified. His doctors "couldn't get a grip of the pain" the procedure caused and two doctors "were having a pissing contest over who gave him the better drug," she said. "Michael had a very low pain tolerance, and his fear of pain was incredible," Rowe testified. "And I think that doctors took advantage of him that way." Rowe said many of the doctors who treated Jackson were "idiots," including the dermatologist she worked for from 1979 until she quit in 1996 before she married Jackson. "Michael respected doctors immensely, that they went to school, that they studied ... to do no harm," Rowe said. "Unfortunately, some of the doctors decided that when Michael was in pain or something that they would try to outbid on who could give him the better drug, and so he listened to those doctors." Metzger tailored a plan to help Jackson withdraw from dependence on demerol, a powerful painkiller given him because of the scalp pain, she said. That plan, however, was derailed when Jackson resumed traveling on his "Dangerous" tour, she said. After six weeks, when the tour reached Mexico City (in autumn 1993), Jackson was "a hot mess," she said. "He was depressed," she said. "He had taken something. I don't know what he had taken or who he had got it from." After a three-day argument with Jackson, Rowe said, she convinced him to end his tour early and enter a drug rehabilitation program. "You need to straighten up," she said she told Jackson. "You need to face whatever it is that is going on and we'll get through this." Jackson eventually announced publicly that he was entering a rehab program to deal with an addiction to prescription drugs. Rowe said Jackson's drug use was not a secret among people in the "Dangerous" tour production. AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware, who was the over the "This Is It" production when Jackson died, was also tour manager for the "Dangerous" tour. One revelation from Rowe was that a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon faked doing a procedure on Jackson on two occasions, although he told the singer he had done it. Jackson complained about painful scars in his nose and went to Dr. Steven Hoefflin to inject them with collagen, she said. "He put Michael out and didn't do anything but put tape on him as if he had treated him," Rowe testified. The doctor told her he did that because he could not find the scars Jackson thought were there. Thursday is the 70th day of testimony in the trial, which the judge told jurors would likely be given to them for deliberations in late September. | NEW: "I almost lost my daughter!" Debbie Rowe testifies . Ex-wife describes Michael Jackson's skin problems, pains and drug use . "Everyone says he bleached himself, but he didn't," Debbie Rowe says . Doctors had "a pissing contest" over who could give Jackson "the better drug," she says . | 5e976cea6c7a0f9b0d8553c985d88da76cf34401 |
By . Mark Prigg . It could mean the end of the washing machine - and a lot less hassle. A Colombian student has revealed his concept for a 'washing ball'. It can be placed directly into a laundry basket, and clean clothes without ever having to remove them. The Luna concept is a metallic sphere with a small amount of water. It creates a cloud of fine particles of steam electrostatically charged, which comes out through pores of the metal surface, vibrations and pulses then scrub and shake farbic, removing dirt. The Luna concept is a metallic sphere with a small amount of water in it. It creates a cloud of fine particles of steam electrostatically charged, which comes out through pores of the metal surface. It then rotates and moves between clothes through vibrations and pulses designed to scrub and shake tissues, loosening dirt. The metallic surface of the sphere acts as a magnet: electrostatically charged, it attracts dirt particles impregnated with steam and sucks these towards the core of the sphere. Finally, Luna dries with hot air the residual damp in the tissues. The idea has already been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Electrolux Design Lab contest. Luna is an electrostatic spherical washing machine. 'The idea is not to put the clothes into a washing machine, but rather, the washing machine between the dirty clothes,' says Juan Camilo Restrepo Villamizar of Colombia Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, who developed the design. He claims consumers will be won over by its ease of use, but also the environmental advantages. 'Users are increasingly aware of the care of the planet. 'Luna renews the fabric care experience, in a simple, elegant and sustainable way, he said. 'The sphere reduces the consumption of water and energy, optimizes time and reduces the effort required in washing and fabric care. 'These are the reasons why Luna will be part of the lives of the users of the future and of the transformation of the homes, in healthy homes.' The luna design turns the laundry basket into a washing machine - all owners have to do is drop the metallic ball in to get their clothes cleaned . The competition is conducted in stages, allowing the applicants to develop their concept throughout the process. After the voting ends May 16, the decision for the Top 70+ will be announced May 19. Ten of the ideas receiving the most votes will have direct access to the next stage and the rest are chosen by the team of Electrolux experts. Once the finalists have been selected, the student whose concept receives the most public votes will be named the winner of the People’s Choice Award and will receive a prize of 1,000 Euros. First prize will be awarded to a student that the judging panel considers has created a ground-breaking design solution for the future. This student will receive 5,000 Euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Second prize is 3,000 Euros and third prize is 2,000 Euros. The Luna concept is a metallic sphere with a small amount of water in it. It creates a cloud of fine particles of steam electrostatically charged, which comes out through pores of the metal surface. It then rotates and moves between clothes through vibrations and pulses designed to scrub and shake tissues, loosening dirt. The metallic surface of the sphere acts as a magnet: electrostatically charged, it attracts dirt particles impregnated with steam and sucks these towards the core of the sphere. Finally, Luna dries with hot air the residual damp in the tissues. The idea is one of 100 out of more than 1,700 submissions have been selected by experts from Electrolux to compete for participation in the next stage in the global design competition. The main prize is 5,000 Euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. The theme for 2014 is Creating Healthy Homes with three focus areas, Culinary Enjoyment, Fabric Care and Air Purification. 'We are excited to open up the voting to the public and our employees around the world,' said Lars Erikson, Electrolux Head of Group Design. 'We received some really innovative, visually inspiring concepts based on this year’s theme. 'They range from appliances to smart accessories to holistic concepts, and support consumers in living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.' | Luna concept uses steam and electromagnetic charge to remove dirt from clothes . Can be placed into any container with clothes in and clean them . | 4a2c304d1b79a797dee40df5599c631f088b9561 |
(CNN) -- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This is the first line of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Apparently, this now only applies to the certain instances for which President Barack Obama sees fit. In recent months, a far-reaching regulation emanating from "Obamacare" and imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services requires church-affiliated hospitals, agencies and universities to pay for services that violate their faith (such as contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs) in the health insurance they provide employees. For the first time in our nation's history, the government has launched a full-fledged assault on our religious institutions to force them to pay for services that go against their religious convictions. The compromise offered by the administration allowing religious institutions a year to transition to the new system is no compromise. They are still forced to pay for services in direct conflict with their faith or incur severe penalties that could effectively drive them out of business. This is the most despicable violation of religious liberty that this nation has ever seen. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, outlined it best when he said, "In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences." A year is a pitiful concession to make when they are essentially telling people that if they do not violate their conscience, the government will put them out of business. Catholic institutions, however, are not taking this assault lying down. This week, 43 of them have filed lawsuits across the nation challenging the mandate's intrusion on religious liberty. This sentiment is felt not only among Catholics but also among Jewish, Protestant and other religious groups. Though these groups do not necessarily have a uniform religious teaching against some of the mandate's provisions, they do have a uniform agreement that a coercive government does not have the right to say that these religious institutions must violate their consciences. These religious leaders realize that if government can impose these mandates against conscience rights on Catholics, what other mandates will they impose them on next? The Obama administration and some of its allies in the press have attempted to make this a debate over contraception and tried to position opponents of the mandate as waging "war on women." Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no effort to limit access to contraceptives. Contraceptives are widely available to women -- and men. For $9 a month, birth control pills can be purchased at major national retail chains. This is all typical Washington-speak to create a rhetorical diversion from the real issue at stake. This debate is about whether the full force of government can be used to force religious institutions to violate their own faith and pay for services and products that violate the tenets of their teaching. It is also a debate over how government defines a religious institution. Until this mandate, the government recognized, through tax law and other means, faith-based schools, hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and hospice services as religious institutions. They kept a wall of separation between these institutions and the federal government. Now, under this mandate, unless a Catholic hospital only employs Catholic staff or cares for only sick Catholics it will no longer be regarded as a religious institution and will be forced to fund products and services contrary to the institution's religious and moral beliefs. This is an unprecedented hit on the First Amendment and our nation's long-standing practice of religious liberty. Religious leaders and people of faith from across the spectrum are speaking out to let the administration and Congress know that we cannot let this assault on religious liberty stand and that we will not allow our religious institutions to be bullied into violating their own faith or be forced to limit their good work or worse yet, be forced to shut down these services that help so many people and promote the common good. This mandate presents a challenge to the American people. Our nation has had a long-held tradition backed by legal foundations and precedents that religious groups are allowed "the free exercise" of their beliefs. Will we allow our religious freedom to be jeopardized? Will we open the door to other freedoms being regulated, or worse, taken away entirely by the government? The answer to our president should be simple. We cannot -- and will not -- allow this to stand. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mary Matalin. | Mary Matalin: Obama administration rule infringes on rights of religious organizations . She says Catholic groups were right to file lawsuits against the government rule . Matalin says requiring religious groups to offer contraceptive coverage is wrong . She says government can't force groups to violate their tenets . | ee5227cd09ac6a41356efc2f3a0da407560220b1 |
(CNN) -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year at a star-studded ceremony in London. The Serbian tennis star clinched three grand slam titles in 2011 and won an astonishing 41 games in a row during the season, tasting defeat only six times. He claimed the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open crowns and has started 2012 in equally impressive fashion, retaining his Melbourne title in an epic final against Rafael Nadal last month. Djokovic's victory saw him become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win three grand slam titles in a row, and convinced the 47 sportsmen and women that make up the Laureus World Sports Academy to hand him the prestigious gong. "What stands out most for me is meeting all these legends of the sport, to exchange experiences and life stories," he told CNN World Sport's Pedro Pinto. "It's an amazing experience I will never forget. Everybody is special and I respect them all for what they have done." Djokovic said his sights were now set on matching Australian Rod Laver, who completed two calendar-year grand slams in his illustrious career. "It's a hard task but it excites me, it gives me goose bumps," he said. "I think that's the right way to embrace the challenge that is in front of you. "Nowadays it's very physical, you have to be consistently successful in order to be one of the top tennis players but everything is possible in life. "I believe I'm an all-round player, that I have a game that is good enough for all different surfaces. I have had a couple of great wins against Rafa (Nadal) on clay which has given me good confidence ahead of the French Open." Kenyan distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot took the Sportswoman of the Year crown after she claimed gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters finals at the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu. Barcelona won Team of the Year after claiming the Spanish league title and the European Champions League. Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy won the Breakthrough of the Year category after the 22-year-old earned his maiden major title at the 2011 U.S. Open in June. McIlroy's compatriot Darren Clarke won Comeback of the Year after the 43-year-old secured the first major of his career at the British Open in July. Sprinter Oscar Pistorius was named Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. The South African double amputee is known as "Blade Runner" due to his prosthetic legs. Surfer Kelly Slater claimed his fourth Laureus award after taking the Action Sportsperson of the Year title, while former Manchester United and England footballer Bobby Charlton was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. | Tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year . Serbian has won three grand slam titles in a row including recent Australian Open . Kenya's distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot is named Sportswoman of the Year . European soccer champions Barcelona named Team of the Year . | 407c933fef0d312c109e805883981a9cbb6bc4f7 |
Europe faces being crippled by debt until 2021, with devastating consequences for its population of 500million people, including those in Britain, Angela Merkel warned yesterday. The German Chancellor’s gloomy forecast of ten years of economic misery followed the failure at the G20 summit in Cannes to agree how to bail out bankrupt Greece. ‘This debt crisis will not simply go away,’ Mrs Merkel said. ‘It will certainly be a decade before we are in a better position.’ Warning: Angela Merkel has predicted that Europe's debt crisis is unlikely to be resolved any time soon . In her weekly podcast to the German people, she added that to have any chance of solving the crisis, everyone in Europe had to ‘make an effort and do their homework’. The grim message came as economic forecasters warned that the eurozone crisis could knock back Britain's economy by six years. The Ernst & Young Item Club predicted that Britain's gross domestic product could fall by 4 per cent to below its levels during the 2008-09 recession, reported The Sunday Times. Marie Delon, senior economic adviser at the firm, said: 'We could see a contraction of 5 or 6 per cent in the eurozone. Share prices could fall by 30 or 40 per cent and credit conditions would tighten as they did after the collapse of the Lehman Brothers.' David Cameron, meanwhile, has stepped up the pressure on Mrs Merkel to use her clout as the eurozone’s most powerful leader to sort out the financial crisis. The summit resulted in a poker-like stand-off that saw the British Prime Minister form a powerful new alliance with Barack Obama and the Chinese, with Mrs Merkel, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and the rest of the EU on the other side. Britain, the U.S. and China angered the German and French by vetoing a multi-billion rescue package for Greece by the International Monetary Fund. They said Germany, France and other eurozone countries must reach deeper into their own pockets first. It led to angry exchanges, including another attack on Mr Cameron by Mr Sarkozy, who said the English ‘don’t understand Europe because you come from an island’. Demonstrators protest against job cuts in central London yesterday. Leading economic forecasters have warned that the eurozone crisis could push back Britain's economy by six years . Meeting: Last week's G20 summit failed to find a resolution for the eurozone's problems . The row came as the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is clinging to power a day after narrowly winning a confidence vote from MPs, admitted his country was facing ‘critical times’ ahead of his attempt to push the EU’s bailout deal through parliament. Without the money - contained in an agreement hammered out by EU leaders on October 27 - Greece would go bankrupt by Christmas, leaving the country unable to pay the wages of public workers such as doctors, nurses and police officers. Mr Papandreou held talks with Greek president Karolos Papoulias in which he signalled his intention to form a ‘government of national unity’ focused on ratifying the deal, which offers loans and a write-off of Greece’s international debts in exchange for drastic spending cuts and other austerity measures. The prospect of further cuts to their living standards has led to strikes and protests on the streets of Athens. ‘Co-operation is necessary to guarantee for Greece and for our partners that we can honour our commitments,’ Mr Papandreou said. Under fire: George Papandreou's position as Greek prime minister hangs by a thread . Potential successor: Finance minister Evangelos Venizelos could take over from Mr Papandreou . Reports from Athens last night . suggested that despite Mr Papandreou surviving the no-confidence vote, . he could be soon replaced by his finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos. Mr . Venizelos was at the centre of farcical scenes last week when Mr . Papandreou shocked his EU partners, and sent the financial markets into . turmoil, by calling for a national referendum on the deal that they . thought had already been agreed. Mr . Venizelos complained that he had not been consulted ahead of the . announcement, and was then admitted to hospital with stomach pains. He publicly criticised the referendum decision, cranking up the pressure that led Mr Papandreou to later abandon the plan. Mr Papandreou won Friday’s late-night, knife-edge confidence vote by 153 votes to 145. The markets will be watched nervously for their reaction when they open tomorrow after another weekend of economic turmoil. The bond market – which determines . the interest charged to governments – has been particularly influential . in determining the pace of the crisis. Italian borrowing costs have soared in particular, with the interest on ten-year loans now priced at more than 6.3 per cent. Defiant: David Cameron opposes an IMF bailout for the troubled eurozone . Anything . over six per cent is said to signal that a government is heading for a . default on its debts and tends to lead to a knock-on rise in the . interest rates charged to other vulnerable economies, such as Spain and . Portugal. Italian and . French banks are heavily exposed to the sovereign debt problems in . Athens and Rome, and have seen their share prices slide steeply . throughout the year. If major institutions collapsed it could have a domino effect on dozens of other banks, including those in the UK. Mr . Cameron is determined to stand by his refusal to approve an IMF rescue . for Greece until the EU finalises plans for its own bailout. ‘How can the world economy do this kind of thing when Europe cannot sort out its problems?’ said a senior Government source. ‘We were ready to back the IMF deal but the Germans must do more to push the EU deal. Something has got to give.’ Another British source said the Germans’ reluctance to go further in helping out Greece stemmed partly from their fear that it might trigger a repeat of Thirties-style hyper-inflation in Germany that fuelled the rise of Adolf Hitler. And it is believed that Mrs Merkel fears a backlash from German voters if they are asked to give more money to prop up countries such as Greece. If a UK-backed multi-billion IMF rescue goes ahead, Mr Cameron is ready to resist moves to block it by Eurosceptic Tory MPs. ‘Countries which give money to the IMF always get it back,’ said a senior Whitehall aide. ‘If we gave £10 billion to the IMF it does not mean £10 billion less for schools and hospitals here. We would get it back.’ And Tory officials say there is no need for a Commons vote to approve any such deal, removing the threat of Conservative rebels teaming up with Labour to defeat Mr Cameron. The turmoil in Greece has increased expectations that the country will crash out of the eurozone, with chaotic knock-on effects for economies across the continent. Chancellor George Osborne has admitted that the return of the drachma would be ‘pretty traumatic’ for the UK. Treasury officials have been ‘war gaming’ about how to best protect the British economy if that happens. ‘The British Government prepares for all contingencies. You would expect us to do that. It is our responsibility to the British people,’ Mr Osborne said. ‘We are dealing with our debts, dealing with our situation, but we are also planning and prepared for whatever the world and whatever the eurozone throws at us.’ | German Chancellor warns 500million population will suffer for years to come . Gloomy outlook follows failure of G20 summit to bail out bankrupt Greece . Economic forecasters predict Britain's economy could be set back six years . | 9ae1f8b23e115abc46eec3c24d36ca7547c4c7a0 |
The shoes that former Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was wearing when he allegedly murdered Odin Lloyd have mysteriously disappeared, it has been claimed. Investigators seized four pairs of white, size-13 Nike sneakers from the master bedroom of Hernandez's North Attleboro, Massachusetts mansion on June 18, 2013 - a day after Lloyd was found with six gunshot wounds on wasteland a mile away. Police also later returned to search the home on June 22. Three other pairs of shoes, including a set of Nike Air Jordan XI Retro Lows, were photographed in Hernandez's basement 'man cave' but were not taken into evidence. Prosecutors claim that the sole of the Nike Air Jordan XI Retro Low brand sneaker is similar to an unidentified shoe impression found near Lloyd's body. The Retro Lows had gone on sale just three weeks before the murder. Aaron Hernandez, 25, (pictured right in court on Thursday) had a $41 million contract with the New England Patriots when he was arrested on murder and firearms charges in 2013 after the death of Odin Lloyd (left). The Pats cut him hours later . According to a search warrant affidavit, it wasn't until almost 18 months later that investigators noticed the three pairs of shoes in photographs as they prepared to go to trial. However when they returned to the mansion to look for them, they had disappeared. Jurors have not yet been told that the three other pairs of shoes found in the basement were overlooked. University of New Hampshire law professor Michael McMann, who has been following the trial, told CNN: 'Jurors will wonder why didn't investigators seize the shoes at the same time they seized many other pieces of evidence from Hernandez's home.' Jurors were this week shown evidence photographs from Hernandez's home in June 2013 - including pairs of sneakers neatly lined up against a wall. However these shoes were not taken into evidence . He added: 'If jurors determine investigators and prosecutors simply made a mistake in not seizing the shoes, it could damage the jurors' confidence in the case. Odin Lloyd's body was found at the industrial park around a mile from Hernandez's home in North Attleboro. Lloyd had been dating Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna. The medical examiner found 27-year-old Lloyd had been shot once in the back and six times in the front with the final two bullets fired as he lay face up. Prosecutors claim Hernandez and two friends, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, picked up Lloyd at his Boston home in the early hours of June 17, 2013, before driving him to the industrial park where his body was found later that day. Wallace and Ortiz have also been charged with murder and will be tried separately. All three men have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said security video from the cameras in Hernandez's home show him arriving with a gun hours before going to pick up Lloyd, and later revealed the Pats star, Ortiz and Wallace carrying items from the basement to the trunk of a rental car. Hernandez's basement 'man cave' features a bar, screening room, trophy room and pool table complete with a New England Patriot's logo. Earlier in the trial, Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Hernandez's fiancée Shayanna, told how Lloyd and Hernandez would sometimes hole up there and smoke marijuana. A set of Nike Air Jordan XI Retro Lows (stock image) were found at Hernandez's home and photographed by investigators but not taken into evidence. They later disappeared . Bolt hole: A court photograph shows the bar area of Hernandez's man cave in the basement of his North Attleboro mansion in Massachusetts . On Wednesday, Massachusetts State Troopers testified that a safe found in the closet of Hernandez's master bedroom contained a digital scale and a dish with marijuana residue. A marijuana cigarette found near Lloyd's body contained traces of both his DNA and that of Hernandez, potentially placing both at the scene, Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg has said. Hernandez, 25, had a $41 million contract with the New England Patriots when he was arrested on murder and firearms charges. The team cut him hours later. If convicted, Hernandez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The former NFL star will face a second trial later this year on charges he killed two Cape Verdean men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012. On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh ruled that prosecutors may not call to the stand Hernandez's high school friend Robert Paradis. Paradis testified when the jury was out of the courtroom that he had visited Hernandez in April 2013 at his condo in Los Angeles. He said Hernandez told him he kept 'fire' or 'heat' under the seat of his car and indicated it was a .45-caliber weapon, the same as the murder weapon, which has never been found. Paradis said that after Hernandez left the condo, Hernandez called back to ask him to check whether he had left 'it' in his bedroom. Paradis opened a drawer, saw a black shirt wrapped around an object and lifted it up but never opened it. He said it felt like a gun. Missed: Investigators failed to retrieve three pairs of shoes from the 'man cave' of Hernandez's North Attleboro, Massachusetts mansion during searches on June 18 and June 22, 2013 . . | Investigators search NFL star's mansion in North Attleboro, Massachusetts a day after Odin Lloyd was found murdered a mile away . Three pairs of shoes, including a set of Nike Air Jordan XI Retro Lows, were photographed in the 'man cave' but were not taken into evidence . Prosecutors claim the sole of the Retro Low is similar to an unidentified shoe impression found near Lloyd's body . When investigators returned to retrieve the shoes, they had disappeared . The gun used to murder Lloyd also has never been found . | 47c73ab06ecfa2ec00c77defcc3c634ca6a64bf6 |
By . Nick Enoch . PUBLISHED: . 15:50 EST, 6 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:05 EST, 6 December 2013 . The ex-wife of Austrian gun maker Gaston Glock has lost a battle to claim a share of her husband's company, Austria’s highest court has ruled. Helga Glock had launched various legal actions demanding that a 15 per cent share in the company Glock GmbH that she had transferred over to the Glock Privatstiftung, a private family trust, be returned. The verdict is the latest instance in a bitter feud between 84-year-old Gaston Glock - the Austrian inventor of the handgun used by two-thirds of U.S. police departments - and his wife of 49 years until they divorced in 2011. Helga Glock (right), the ex-wife of Austrian gun maker Gaston Glock (left), has lost a battle to claim a share of her husband's company, Austria's highest court has ruled . Gaston subsequently married Kathrin Tschikof, a woman more than 50 years his junior (pictured) The former radiator engineer subsequently married Kathrin Tschikof, a woman more than 50 years his junior. Helga Glock also provided a sworn affidavit in support of her motion in which she detailed the circumstances of her break-up with her ex-husband. According to her testimony, their separation began when Gaston Glock had a stroke in October 2008. According to Helga's (above) testimony, their separation began when Gaston Glock had a stroke in October 2008 . 'As he was recovering in the hospital, weak and frail, Mr Glock was being "looked after" by Katrin Tschikof, his 50-year-old younger girlfriend who was downright engrossed with him,' Helga said. 'She totally denied me and other family members any access to Glock Sr. warning us that such contact would threaten another stroke or possibly cause death.' Soon after, Helga said her former husband began 'breaking off the contact' with her and their children. She also said Gaston began 'pushing his family out' of the trust which the erstwhile couple had established for their wealth and stake in his company. She argued she played an integral role in the growth of the company and said he relieved her and their children of their roles at the firm. Helga Glock’s law firm, Willheim Mueller Rechtsanwaelte, did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment. Above, a Royal Marine tests a Glock 17 9mm pistol. More than 25,000 are being purchased for Britain's Armed Forces under a £9m contract . | Helga Glock demanded that a 15% share in company Glock GmbH . that she had transferred over to a private . family trust be returned . Gaston Glock, 84, subsequently married Kathrin Tschikof . | af2b947c5f1ff8e0138fa72f08b83423ea266c0b |
James and Hoa Titcombe launched a campaign after their son Joshua died at Furness General Hospital . Investigators probing failings at a scandal-hit hospital are looking into the deaths of more than 50 mothers and babies. An inquiry into the NHS trust running Furness General Hospital in Cumbria was first ordered last year by ministers following fears over the deaths of at least eight mothers and babies. But having reviewed more than 200 deaths between 2004 and 2013, some 50 cases have now been identified for a more detailed investigation before a full report is released before the end of the year. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered the inquiry in September last year following a campaign by James Titcombe, whose baby son Joshua died at Furness General in 2008 following an infection. Mr Titcombe, a former nuclear engineer who now works as a national safety adviser for the Care Quality Commission (CQC), told the Nursing Times: ‘It is really worrying that there are about 50 cases where they have sufficient concerns to examine cases further. ‘I am pleased with the way the inquiry is operating. They are interviewing the right people and it seems to be a very thorough process with no stone left unturned.’ The inquiry was also set up to address concerns that health regulators at the CQC covered up their failure to act on concerns about maternity care at the University Hospitals of Morecombe Bay Foundation Trust. Each case involves the deaths of mothers in or after labour, still births or the deaths of newborns which are now being examined. The inquiry is due to resume interviews next week following a break during the summer. It is being led by Dr Bill Kirkup, a former deputy chief medical officer, part of the Hillsborough and Savile inquiries. He has asked former health secretaries to give evidence, having already heard from Sir David Nicholson, a former chief executive of the NHS and Cynthia Bower, a former chief executive of the CQC. The inquiry is holding its hearings in private but is due to publish its findings in November. Morecombe Bay Trust is already facing at least 30 negligence claims brought by bereaved parents and family members claiming sub-standard care. Baby Joshua died at Furness General Hospital in 2008 following an infection. After his death his parents called for an investigation, prompting Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to order an inquiry in September last year . An internal review by the trust uncovered concerns about the maternity unit in March 2010. It highlighted poor training of midwives, and a 'dysfunctional' relationship between staff. However, CQC inspectors failed to read the report and later that year visited the hospital, ruling it was 'safe'. In October 2011 leaked figures revealed the trust had the highest mortality rate in the UK, with 600 'excess deaths' in the previous four years. Three grieving families contacted the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in 2011 fearing that more lives would be lost unless the hospital was investigated. The deaths of Nittaya Hendrickson, 35, her son Chester, Alex Brady and Joshua Titcombe all occurred within three months at the hospital. In December the ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor published her findings which concluded there was a series of major failings by midwives may have contributed to the deaths. In the case of baby Joshua Titcombe, who died in November 2008 when he was nine days old, the report highlighted he would have had a 90 per cent chance of survival had he been given antibiotics. In October 2011, leaked figures revealed Morecambe Bay Trust, which operates the Furness General Hospital, pictured, had the highest mortality rate in the UK, with 600 'excess deaths' in the previous four years . Midwives assumed his temperature was low because the room was cold - when he was actually suffering a serious chest infection. He was left in the hands of a junior maternity assistant whose other tasks included serving up patients’ food. The report also found that Nittaya Hendrickson and baby Chester died in July 2008 after midwives failed to carry out crucial checks despite knowing the birth would be high risk. Mrs Hendrickson was diabetic and midwives should have checked the baby’s heart every five minutes but they didn’t even do this every 15 minutes as would happen in a normal labour. And it found that Alex Brady was stillborn in September 2008 after midwives failed to intervene quickly when his mother got into difficulties and did not monitor the baby’s heart. One, referred only as ‘midwife C’, was involved in another baby’s death in 2004 in which she was found to have again failed to checked the heart rate. | More than 50 deaths of mothers and babies at Furness General Hospital are under investigation, it has emerged . Independent inquiry was launched last year following fears over the deaths of at least eight mothers and babies . Review of more than 200 deaths between 2004 and 2013 highlighted 50 cases in need of further examination and investigation . Jeremy Hunt ordered the inquiry following a campaign by James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died at the hospital in 2008 following an infection . | ca8a09c90ac2569f319180c33d9365dcc78c3aab |
By . Anna Sanders . PUBLISHED: . 09:49 EST, 10 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:13 EST, 10 June 2013 . After escaping media attention when her husband died in a tragic 2005 blaze, the widow of a Bronx firefighter said she moved into a haunted home in Long Island. Jeanette Meyran, 53, moved her two daughters to a secluded bungalow in St. James, N.Y., the year after her husband, Lt. Curtis Meyran, leaped to his death instead of burning alive in the 'Black Sunday' fire. Though she hoped for a fresh start in the two-story house, Meyran said she and her kids were terrorized by a demon after they made renovations in the 'Paranormal Witness' season three premiere on SyFy. 'In your wildest dreams, did you ever think rebuilding a home would cause such devastation?' Meyran said in the 'Paranormal Witness' episode 'The Long Island Terror'. Haunted: After her husband died in a tragic 2005 fire, Jeanette Meyran, 53, moved to a secluded home on Long Island she said was haunted . Long Island terror: The family's new home in St. James, New York, was not the retreat they hoped it would be . Meyran and her family believe the haunting is linked to the house's first owners. During renovations, her husband's friends found an 86-year-old diary describing satanic rituals with animal sacrifices. 'The pages seemed to be written by the young girl that was the daughter of someone who lived in the house,' described Meyran. 'I saw the name Christina. I realized that she was only a few years older than my own daughters.' Meyran said the diary was 'an incredibly dark story'. 'She would talk about her father. There were sacrifices. "He hurt me again" or "He hurts the animals. They're bleeding and I bleed like they bleed",' Meyran said. 'These people were sick. This is what went on in this house.' But Meyran and her daughters came to the house to escape other demons. After her husband died, Meyran said New York City media were relentless in trying to get interviews from her and her kids. 'I said maybe we should find some small place where we could maybe escape from this, away from the city, away from the cameras, and hopefully they'll find some peace,' said Meyran.'We just wanted to be left alone,' Danine Meyran, now 15, said on the show. 'I began to see this was a new way to give them a new life,' she said. Devastated: After her husband Lt. Curtis Meyran, left, died in a 2005 apartment building fire, Jeanette Meyran, shown at his funeral right, moved her kids to a new home in Long Island, but she said it was haunted . They moved from their home in Malverne, N.Y., to a small house in on an acre of Suffolk County forest that needed some work and her husband's firefighter friends were happy to help out. Afraid of looters during construction, they installed cameras. Watching one of the camera feeds in 2006, Meyran saw a man in the woods surrounded her house. 'Right in the middle of the frame I saw what appeared to be a man,' Meyran said. 'It made no sense.' The paranormal occurrences continued. Starting in 2007, her daughters heard thumps and knocking that appeared to be coming from the walls in the middle of the night. 'It's new to us, we have to learn the sounds of the house,' Meyran remembered thinking of her daughters' experience. Danine and Angela Meyran, now 18, found a pentagram—as well as bones and teeth—in the woods. While fixing up the basement, Meyran's husband's friends also found a pentagram etched into the concrete floor. Solution: Jeanette Meyran and her two daughters, Danine, left, and Angela, right, tried using holy water to get rid of the spirits, but to no avail . Terrified: Danine Meyran, 15, said she and her sister found a pentagram in the backyard of their 'haunted' house. She also describes being trapped by a paranormal being in her house . When Angela was home alone one night, she became terrified when the kitchen was apparently ransacked by a ghost or spirit. 'My mom had left me alone in the house. She had given me instructions when she left that she wanted to clean up,' Angela explained on the show. 'And I just remember feeling like I wasn't alone. I looked back behind me a couple of times and there was nobody there.I couldn't shake this feeling of having somebody watching me and it was really starting to bother me.' When Meyran came home, she said she saw every cabinet and every drawer out. 'The place looked like it had been ransacked,' Meyran said. 'Was someone trying to hurt us? Was someone physically here?' The family heard whispers in the walls, some calling out their names. Meyran and her daughters also described how Danine was trapped by something in the house. 'It looked like she was having a seizure she was so frightened,' Meyran said, adding that she heard noises that 'sounded like someone was performing a ritual'. Trapped: Angela Meyran, 18, said she was trapped underneath her bed by a demon after her family moved to a new home in Long Island . Meyran and her daughters called out for their dead husband and father. 'This is the time more than anything . that I needed my dad, that I needed him to be there,' Danine said. 'I knew that if he . was there, everything would just be fine.' 'How do you protect you children? How can you fight what you can't see?' Meyran said. 'I felt something evil. I was so frightened,' Meyran said, describing another encounter. In 2008, they hired a priest to get rid of any paranormal activity, but the holy water he gave the family didn't help. The next year Angela went outside to go on the swings. She and Meyran said something pushed her off the swing, causing her to break her ankle. Angela also saw something in her bedroom mirror. 'I saw a black figure that kind of stepped out of my mirror. What could I do? I couldn't run,' said Angela, who added she hid under her bed. 'It smelled like death.' Satanic: In this SyFy reenactment, Angela and Danine Meyran find a pentagram in the backyard of their new home, which they said was haunted . Caught on camera: While trying out her new phone's camera, Jeanette captured what she believes to be the silhouette of her dead husband - another of the mysterious occurrences at the home . Strange magic: Meyran shares a still of a video she took when a pizza box mysteriously combusted in the home's fireplace . Following this incident, Meyran took her daughters to her mother's house and called a paranormal investigator, Liz Milano, early in the morning. 'They had so much tragedy in their life with their dad and her husband and then this thing creeps in and takes over,' said Milano on the show. Along with a psychic medium, Milano said she cleansed the house with kosher salt,sage and a blessing in 2011. 'It was like a battle. I heard chanting, I heard screaming,' Meyran said. Meyran and her family said the blessing worked. They still live in the house and cleanse it every three months, Meyran told The New York Post. Sometimes they still see ghosts. 'I see my dad in this house walking through the hallways checking on us. It’s nice to know he’s watching,' Angela told the Post. | Jeanette Meyran, 53, moved for a fresh start after her husband leaped to his death from a burning apartment . Meyran and her two daughters say their . new home was haunted by a demon after making renovations in an episode . of 'Paranormal Witness' Found an 86-year-old diary describing rituals and animal sacrifices by girl's father . 'He hurts the animals. They're bleeding and I bleed like they bleed' read diary found by Meyran . | 703df35d6c681674479fb1c08355cc32e1e6168e |
(CNN) -- Four British soldiers have been killed in one day in separate attacks in Afghanistan, the British Ministry of Defense announced Friday. A British marine with an opium haul in Helmand province, where the four soldiers were killed. The deaths happened in three incidents in the southern Helmand province, the ministry said. Two soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing that happened Thursday afternoon during a patrol in Gereshk, the ministry said. One was a member of the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the other served with the Royal Military Police. "With heavy heart we report another extremely sad situation, where lives of our courageous soldiers have been sacrificed for the greater good of the Afghan people," said Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand. "Our deepest and heartfelt sympathies go to their families and loved ones and we offer our thoughts and prayers to them all at this most painful and distressing time." Thursday evening, another soldier was killed by an explosion as he traveled in a Jackal 4x4 patrol vehicle, the ministry said. He served in the 2nd Battalion The Rifles. Watch Afghanistan's president talk on U.S. troops withdrawals » . Earlier in the day, a soldier from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland was killed by a gunshot wound, the ministry said. He had been on patrol with the Afghan National Army in the vicinity of Woqab, close to Musa Qala. | 4 British soldiers die in one day in separate attacks in Afghanistan . Deaths happened in three incidents in the southern Helmand province . Two soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing during a patrol in Gereshk . | 7aa1476ab29f4a45ed1090f84d1bd4e1b9dbbc8d |
Thousands of British workers now spend an average of 75 minutes each day commuting, a new study revealed today. On average commuters spend more than five weeks a year just to get to work and back, with Londoners facing he the longest journey each day. Men in in the capital spend an average of 77 minutes getting to work, while women spend 72.8 minutes - up by three minutes since 2006. Scroll down for video . This graphic shows the average commuting times for men and women across Britain. A TUC study published today showed that on average, commuters spend more than five weeks a year travelling to work . The study by the TUC showed that most ordinary commuters in the UK spends . 52.8 minutes every day on the train, bus or car. While men might spend longer getting to work than women, they have . seen their commute fall by 0.2 minutes since 2006. TUC General Secretary . Brendan Barber: 'With rising transport costs far . outstripping pay rises, reducing the number of peak-time commutes would . save both time and money for hard-pressed workers. 'Recent . trends suggest there is a link between long commute times and longer . hours in the office, with the growing number of men in part-time work . having shorter journeys to work.' The TUC study showed that commuting times have fallen nationally over the last six years for men, but commuting time for women across the country has increased . Women in London now take longer to get to work than men working anywhere other than the capital . While commuting times have fallen nationally . over the last six years for men, the spent time travelling by women across . the country has increased by 0.6 minutes to 47.4 minutes a day. Commuting times for women also increased . sharply in Scotland, up 3.2 minutes to 46.8 minutes, while men in Wales . have seen their commute time drop by 4.6 minutes since 2006. Workers in Wales have the shortest commute, at an average of just 41.4 minutes. Welsh workers had the shortest commuting time, and men in Wales have seen their commute time drop by 4.6 minutes since 2006. The TUC study, an analysis of official figures from the government's Labour Force survey, was published today to mark the start of Work Wise UK's Commute Smart week. Commuting is also set to get more expensive next year, as rail passengers will face fare hikes of up to 11 per cent, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of annual season tickets. Season ticket fares to London will cost some commuters in excess of £6,000. From January 1, train firms can increase their ‘regulated’ fares, including rush-hour commuter tickets and off-peak fares, by three percentage points more than the retail price index inflation figure of 3.2 per cent for last July. The train companies also have the flexibility to add another 5 per cent to respond to changes in demand for particular services – meaning some fares could rise by as much as 11.2 per cent. Rail fares have risen by more than inflation every year for the past decade.5.8 for women . In London, fares for the bus and Tube are set to rise by an average of 4.2% from January 2, and even cycling commuters who make use of Boris Bikes could feel the pinch. A yearly membership for the capital's cycle hire scheme is set to double, from £45 to £90. In a speech to working parents in . London today, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg emphasised the importance . of flexible working hours and announced that from 2015, the UK will . shift to an entirely new system of flexible parental leave. 'Under the new rules, a mother will be able to trigger flexible leave at any point, if and when she feels ready,' he said. 'That means that whatever time is left to run on her original year can be taken by her partner instead.' The Lib Dem leader also confirmed a new legal right for men to take unpaid leave in order to attend two antenatal appointments. 'Lots of fathers will tell you that these moments are when it can start to feel real for them,' the Deputy Prime Minister said. 'Whether . that’s at the 12 week scan – the first time they see their child on a . screen – or a bit further down the track, when they can find out if . they’re having a girl or a boy. 'This new right means no father will ever . need to miss out.' How fares will rise from January 2013 . | Average commuter spends five weeks a year travelling to work and back . Women are spending slightly longer on the train than men, study claims . Workers in Wales have shortest commuting time, according to TUC . | f012268c863ae6766e75ce08676b5c84c1b24b01 |
Every explosion in Gaza seems personal to Said Durrah. The Washington-area resident has so many relatives in Gaza that he can't count them all: uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins, and so on, in Zaytoon, Rimal and other Gaza communities. His mother is one of nine children, many of whom still live in the Palestinian territory. "Every missile hits close to home, pardon the pun," he said. "It's the worst reality television you'd ever want to watch." For example, when the past week's violence between Israel and Hamas' military wing in Gaza killed a family of 10 in Gaza, Durrah learned that he was distantly related to them. The family was an in-law of a cousin, he said. Will cease-fire last? "Gaza is very much the type of place where everybody is connected," said Durrah, 30. Wednesday's cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has provided some comfort, until the smoke clears and the wreckage can be assessed in Gaza, Durrah said. "A cease-fire may bring a little bit of relief, but when the cease-fire is done, they return to the status quo -- minus their homes," Durrah said. "They have to rebuild them without any means to do so, so it's going to be tough." How U.S. Jews view the conflict . Arab-Americans, Muslims and the Palestinian diaspora are focusing renewed energy and concern on Gaza, a sliver of land along the Mediterranean coast that is about twice the size of Washington and is populated by 1.6 million people, including 1.1 Palestinian refugees. "Palestine is a central issue for most Arab-Americans," said Laila Mokhiber, spokeswoman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "Overall, Arab-Americans want to see an end to the siege on Gaza. Until that happens and until the Palestinians are able to exercise their basic human rights, we can't expect to see a lasting cease-fire or peace," Mokhiber said. Analysis: Conflict shifts balance of power . Many Arab-Americans say Gaza is under Israeli occupation. Durrah likened Gaza to "a cage," walled-in and cut off to the outside world by Israel. Israel imposed an economic blockade on Gaza shortly after Hamas was elected to run the Gaza government in 2006. That blockade -- as well as Israel's military might, backed by the United States -- has created humanitarian concerns in Gaza, according to the Arab-American group. The West Bank is also part of the historical conflict between Israel and Palestinians. "The occupation of both the West Bank and Gaza and the blockade against Gaza -- as long as that is a reality, you're going to see tensions between Palestinians and Israel," Mokhiber said. "You have civilians against the fourth strongest military in the world. They're killing kids. They're killing civilians. It's not military against military." Durrah owns an event management business that operates fund-raisers for Palestine. He's also a comedian who does stand-up in Las Vegas and Manhattan. But the carnage between Hamas in Gaza and Israel is no laughing matter, and he doesn't engage in the endless arguments so common in the Mideast about who started what in a centuries-long history, he said. Timeline of the conflict . "What do you say about a place that has been occupied for more than 50 years," Durrah said. "This is a situation where people were born in occupation and lived their entire lives in occupation and died in occupation. It's crazy to me. "If you cage an animal long enough, eventually when you get close to that cage, they're going to hiss at you and they may even scratch," Durrah said. Durrah's family received a phone call Tuesday from relatives in Rimal, Gaza. "They were literally telling my mother how glass shakes. They were just afraid. They don't know what tomorrow brings or what the next hour brings," Durrah said. Those perils are difficult for Durrah to imagine. It's hard on him, too. "It's fear of going to sleep and getting a phone call or, worse, not getting any phone call and wondering -- having the feeling of whether no news is good news or not," Durrah said. "Our issues are so small in comparison to what they're going to go through. We may not be able to sleep because of a cricket in the room, but they are trying to sleep through the soundtrack of blasts and missiles." This month's exchange of Hamas rockets and Israeli airstrikes has prompted pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel rallies throughout the United States. On Wednesday evening, the Congress of Arab American Organizations in Michigan, home to a large Arab diaspora, held a vigil in front of the Dearborn City Hall in support of the Palestinians, and more than 500 Palestinian-Americans, other Arab-Americans, Muslims and others attended the event, said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, a weekly bilingual newspaper in Dearborn, Michigan, who also organized the event. Gaza has "been under Israeli siege for many years which makes it a large virtual prison," the group said in a statement. "Just 43 kilometers (about 27 miles) long and 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) wide, most of its residents are Palestinian refugees who have lived in camps since 1948." The violence has prompted an outpouring of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, said Saleem Zaru, a Palestinian-American who is executive director of United Palestinian Appeal in Washington. In the past five days, the nongovernmental organization received between $40,000 and $50,000 in donations, which will help 550 families in Gaza who need food and shelter because of the conflict, Zaru said. Donors include Jewish-Americans and people in Asia, he said. "Some of their houses have been bombed and it's going to be a while before they can get back to them," Zaru said of the Gaza families. "We're dealing with this on a day-by-day basis." | More than 500 people attend vigil Wednesday evening in Dearborn, Michigan, for Palestinians . Arab-Americans anguish over violence between Hamas in Gaza and Israel . 'It's the worst reality television you'd ever want to watch,' says Palestinian-American with relatives in Gaza . Cease-fire brings relief, but many relatives in Gaza are now without homes . | 2d32d0e1d9a2ba4214480821584ff96921722728 |
Two BBC executives could face the sack over the botched Newsnight investigation that falsely linked Lord McAlpine to child abuse allegations. The reputation of Newsnight hit a new low last night after a damning report accused the flagship BBC2 programme of failing to carry out ‘basic checks’ on its report. Disciplinary proceedings began as soon . the report was delivered to the new BBC management and the BBC Trust, which could result in a decision to sack those responsible. Adrian van Klaveren, right, could be in the firing line along with Newsnight's acting editor Liz Gibbons, left, following their involvement in the show . Both Liz Gibbons, Newsnight's acting . editor, and Adrian Van Klaveren, the supervising executive seconded from . his job running Radio 5 Live, were involved with the broadcast and . could be in the firing line. BBC Scotland director, Ken . MacQuarrie, was given the job of heading the investigation and ruled . there had been an ‘unacceptable’ failure to properly establish the . veracity of the allegations. In addition, a ‘highly complex’ investigation had been commissioned and screened in a matter of five . days but no one appeared to know who was in overall charge , the . internal inquiry found. The November 2 report had focused on . historical allegations of abuse at a children’s home and featured two . victims alleging a leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher era . had been among the abusers. Catalyst: The crisis for Lord McAlpine was all started by Newsnight's 'shabby' investigation into abuse at a Welsh children's home . Falsely implicated: Pictured left, Lord McAlpine, whose name was smeared because of errors in the programme and right, Ken MacQuarrie, whose investigation shows basic checks were neglected . The politician was not named in the . programme but the coverage prompted a storm on Twitter, with many . inaccurately naming Lord McAlpine as the perpetrator. The peer was forced to issue a . statement denying his involvement, and one of the victims later said the . person who abused him was not the person he had identified as Lord . McAlpine. MacQuarrie’s report said editorial . failings on that Newsnight included the fact that: ‘Identification of . the alleged perpetrator was not confirmed by photograph with the first . victim. The second victim could not be traced in order to provide up to date corroboration.’ It added that no ‘right of reply’ was offered to the unnamed individual at the centre of the investigation. MacQuarrie outlined a serious of issues that contributed to the broadcast of the inaccurate edition of Newsnight. He stated a ‘highly complex’ story went to air very quickly, suggesting not enough time was set aside to properly research it. It was commissioned on October 28 and was then aired on November 2. The BBC worked with the Bureau of . Investigative Journalism on the story, but took ultimate editorial . responsibility once it was commissioned. MacQuarrie said the programme’s . management structure had been ‘seriously weakened’ because editor Peter . Rippon had stood aside pending an investigation into the shelving of the . Newsnight investigation into allegations of child abuse against Jimmy . Savile. Paying the price: Steve Messham's evidence formed part of the botched programme which resulted in George Entwistle's resignation . A deputy editor had also left the programme – and so the remainder of the team were under ‘very considerable pressure’. He also found that because it was . not clear if this programme was ‘regarded as Savile-related’, there was . confusion over who took ultimate responsibility for the report. This is because the BBC had been . operating a two-tier system with one set of executives in charge of . output relating to Savile, and another set in charge of day-to-day . programming. He said: ‘There was a different . understanding by the key parties about where the responsibility lay for . the final editorial sign-off for the story on the day.’ A BBC Trust spokesman said: ‘It is . clear from the MacQuarrie report on the November 2 Newsnight that there . were serious failures in the normal checks and balances that the Trust . expects from BBC journalism.’ The corporation said it was now . reverting to a ‘single chain of command’ on all output – Savile related . or otherwise – and was installing Karen O’Connor as acting editor of . Newsnight. Initial debacle: Peter Rippon stood down after the BBC ran a tribute to Jimmy Savile (right) rather than the investigation into his crimes . | Ken MacQuarrie's report shows depth of confusion in BBC after Peter Rippon resigned over Savile scandal . Liz Gibbons, Newsnight's acting director, and Adrian Van Klaveren, supervising executive, could be in the firing line after involvement . | 47eb2f3859d3201cf011d43d47a392a6126a7df4 |
Another actor has come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of attempted sexual assault. Michelle Hurd, the actress best known for her roles on Low & Order: SVU and Gossip Girl, says she was a stand-in on the set of The Cosby Show when Cosby started acting increasingly inappropriate around her, saying, 'NEVER tell anyone what we [do] together.' What's more, she states that at least one person on set woke up at his apartment drugged on one occasion. Scroll down for video . Coming forward: Michelle Hurd (above) is the latest actress to come forward detailing her experience with Bill Cosby . Not right: Hurd, who starred on Law & Order: SVU (above) says that Cosby touch her inappropriately on the set of The Cosby Show, but she turned him down when he asked her to shower . Same story again: Ten women have come forward in the past month claiming they were at some point assaulted by Cosby (above) Hurd bravely decided to share her story on Facebook. 'LOOK, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I can’t believe some of the things i’ve been reading, SO here is MY personal experience,' she begins. 'I did stand-in work on The Cosby show back in the day and YES, Bill Cosby was VERY inappropriate with me.' She goes on to discuss being touched in ways she did not like and being asked to eat lunch with him in his dressing room. Then, things got to be too much for Hurd. 'I dodged the ultimate bullet with him when he asked me to come to his house, take a shower so we could blow dry my hair and see what it looked like straightened,' she says. 'At that point my own red flags went off and I told him, "No, I’ll just come to work tomorrow with my hair straightened”.' Unacceptable: Hurd shared that another stand-in who worked on The Cosby Show (above) did wake up at Cosby's apartment drugged . Private person with no reason to lie: Hurd is a notoriously private actor, keeping even the date of her marriage to fellow actor Garret Dillahunt (above) out of the press . That unfortunately was not the case for another actress who Hurd began trading stories with on set. 'Turns out he was doing the same thing to her, almost by the numbers, BUT, she did go to his house and because I will not name her, and it is her story to tell, all I’ll say is she awoke, after being drugged, vomited, and then Cosby told her there’s a cab waiting for you outside.' Hurd, who is married to fellow actor Garret Dillahunt and so private that no one even knows their wedding date, then stresses that she has no reason whatsoever to lie about what happened. Andrea Constand - A Temple University employee, she claimed in 2006 that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia-area mansion two years earlier. Cosby eventually settled this suit out of court as the prosecution said they had 13 Jane Does who would testify Cosby did the same to them in the past. Barbara Bowman - Bowman told MailOnline that Cosby raped and drugged her back in 1985 when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. Bowman was one of the 13 Jane Does in the 2006 trial against Cosby. Joan Tarshis - Tarshis claimed that she was just 19-years-old when Cosby drugged and raped her twice in Hollywood back in 1969 while she was working as a writer for him. Janice Dickinson - The supermodel said in an interview that Cosby asked her to come to Lake Tahoe and talk about a television role in 1982, but ended up drugging and raping her. Tamara Green - Green, who first came forward in 2005 told MailOnline that she was an aspiring actress in the 1970s when Cosby gave her pills and pretended to care for her while she had the flu, but instead sexually assaulted her. Therese Serignese - Also one of the 13 Jane Does, she says she was 19 when Cosby drugged and raped her in Las Vegas after one of his shows. Louisa Moritz - She accused Cosby of sexual assault, saying he once forced her into oral sex, backstage at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1971, and implied he would further her career if she went through with it. Linda Joy Traitz - She said earlier this week that she was just 19 when Cosby drove her out to a beach and tried to get her to take pills to relax, before becoming 'sexually aggressive'. Traitz, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, has been charged in the past with trafficking pills. Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, is trying to use Traitz's past to discredit her claims against his client. Beth Ferrier - Beth Ferrier claims she had relationship with Cosby in the mid-1980s. She claims that she awoke in her car with her clothes in disarray and not remembering what had happened. Ferrier has claimed that he drugged her coffee. Carla Ferrigno - The wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, claims Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967. What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room. Andrea Leslie - The former model-actress claims that Cosby forced her to masturbate him in his Vegas hotel suite after giving her a strong drink in 1992. Meanwhile, Cosby's laywer, Martin Singer, has released a statement calling recent rape allegations 'increasingly ridiculous' and 'completely illogical.' 'This situation is an unprecedented example of the media's breakneck rush to run stories without any corroboration or adherence to traditional journalistic standards,' says Singer. 'Over and over again, we have refuted these new unsubstantiated stories with documentary evidence, only to have a new uncorroborated story crop up out of the woodwork. When will it end?' He then closes by saying, 'It is long past time for this media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop.' Ten women have come forward in the last month saying they were attacked by Cosby, with Renita Chaney Hill, Louisa Moritz and Andrea Leslie the latest additions. Four of the women claim they were teenagers at the time. One of the accusers is supermodel Janice Dickinson, who claims that during a dinner in 1982 the actor gave her a pill and when she woke up he was on top of her. Another four ladies; Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Tamara Green and Therese Serignese have all shared remarkably similar stories in which they claim to have shared a drink or a pill with Cosby and then woken up after or while they say he was sexually assaulting them. Also coming forward recently is Carla Ferrigno, wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, who says Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967. What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room. When asked to speak about these claims in an AP interview, Cosby said he had 'no response' and 'no comment.' The new, never-before-heard claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40, or even 50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity. These brand new claims about alleged decades-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous, and it is completely illogical that so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years. Lawsuits are filed against people in the public eye every day. There has never been a shortage of lawyers willing to represent people with claims against rich, powerful men, so it makes no sense that not one of these new women who just came forward for the first time now ever asserted a legal claim back at the time they allege they had been sexually assaulted. This situation is an unprecedented example of the media's breakneck rush to run stories without any corroboration or adherence to traditional journalistic standards. Over and over again, we have refuted these new unsubstantiated stories with documentary evidence, only to have a new uncorroborated story crop up out of the woodwork. When will it end? It is long past time for this media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop. These allegations are already having a major impact on his work however, with Netflix postponing the airing of his new comedy special, Bill Cosby 77, which was due to air the day after Thanksgiving, and NBC pulling the plug on a comedy project they were developing with the Cosby Show star. TV Land has also announced they will no longer air reruns of The Cosby Show on the network. Despite all this, Cosby did perform in the Bahamas on Thursday and in Florida on Friday. His upcoming standup shows in Las Vegas and Arizona have however been cancelled. | Michelle Hurd, the actor known for her work on Law & Order: SVU and Gossip Girl has come forward to share her story about Bill Cosby . Hurd says Cosby touched her inappropriately and asked that she eat lunch with him in his dressing room when she worked on The Cosby Show . She says Cosby told her to 'NEVER tell anyone what they did together' Then, one night he asked her to shower at his apartment, but she declined . Hurd eventually spoke with another woman who said she woke up at Cosby's apartment drugged one morning . This as Cosby's lawyer is calling the growing number of allegations against the actor 'increasingly ridiculous' and 'completely illogical' | 33a2df0fbe8cc9b5b02ca21aa03f70c067676cfe |
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The mayor of the capital of Russia's North Ossetia region was killed Wednesday when his car came under gunfire, officials said. Russian police stand near the car of assassinated Vladikavkaz Mayor Vitaly Karayev. Vitaly Karayev, the mayor of Vladikavkaz, was seriously hurt when his car was fired upon Wednesday morning, and he later died from gunshot wounds, the North Ossetian internal ministry told CNN. Authorities do not have a motive for the attack, North Ossetian President Taimuraz Mamsurov said. "I don't even have any theories concerning the incident," the president told the Interfax news agency. "The man had just started working in this office." North Ossetia and the rest of the Caucasus region have been plagued with violence and political instability over the years. North Ossetia borders Georgia's South Ossetia region, where a conflict erupted between Georgia and Russia in August. The area also borders the long-turbulent breakaway region of Chechnya. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber targeted a minibus unloading passengers at a market in Vladikavkaz, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 40 others. Last month, the deputy mayor of Vladikavkaz was injured when a bomb exploded in his car. -- CNN's Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva contributed to this report . | The mayor, Vitaly Karayev, died from gunshot wounds . North Ossetia and the rest of the Caucasus have been plagued with violence . Area is near where a conflict erupted between Georgia and Russia in August . North Ossetia also borders the long-turbulent breakaway region of Chechnya . | 7dc82a0693fd29b6e3d8f706c4ae8b0c5bdddc51 |
Montevista, Philippines (CNN) -- Bent over amid the wreckage of her family's home, Jane Bucani, 17, leafs through the sodden remnants of her school yearbook, trying to see what memories she can salvage. Her mother, Rosal, picks among the jumble of debris where her kitchen used to be. The broken appliances strewn across the floor are the only indication that this was where she would cook for her five children. And they are some of the more fortunate ones. Up and down the poor, remote Compostela Valley region on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, families like the Bucanis are trying to come to terms with what hit them. Thousands of flimsy houses have been ripped to shreds. Scores of people are dead. Hundreds more are still missing, swept away in flash floods that roared down from the hills. In some places, mudcaked corpses line the streets, covered with cloths and palm leaves. Distraught relatives wail and tug at one another's clothes. Rescuers struggle to aid Philippines storm victims . The merciless force that tore apart lives in the valley and elsewhere in eastern Mindanao was Typhoon Bopha, known locally as "Pablo," the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the island in decades. Rosal Bucani, 48, who lives in the town of Montevista, said she had never experienced anything like it. She didn't hear the warnings to take refuge in evacuation centers. Many of those who did failed to heed them. The area is sheltered from the worst of the weather by mountains, they figured. And besides, the big typhoons that slam into the Philippines every year never come this far south, especially not this late in the year. But Bopha did. And it brought savage winds that uprooted entire banana plantations in low-lying areas, and relentless rain that unleashed torrents of rocks and mud down the mountainsides where shanty-dwelling miners dig for gold. The epicenter of the devastation appears to have been in New Bataan, a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Montevista and close to the steep mountains. The flash floods hit it head-on Tuesday, washing away families huddled in their homes and soldiers stationed in a compound in the town. Large parts of New Bataan and many of the people who lived there are now buried under mud, fallen trees and rubble, said Arnaldo Arcadio, an emergency response program manager for Catholic Relief Services, a humanitarian group. "The mood is really gloomy," he said Thursday after visiting the town, where 90% to 95% of the houses are believed to have been destroyed or damaged. At least 142 people from New Bataan have died -- 110 of whom hadn't been identified as of Friday morning -- Philippine authorities say. And with more than 340 others still unaccounted for in the town, the grim math of natural disasters suggests the death toll will rise further. Residents who evaded death now lack food, shelter and, most of all, drinking water, since the nearest source is 5 kilometers away, according to Arcadio. "They are just trying to survive," he said, noting that the knee-deep mud in many places made it difficult to get around, with several areas of the town completely inaccessible. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III will visit New Bataan on Friday to assess the damage and oversee the distribution of relief goods, the official Philippine News Agency reported. "I have Mindanao on my mind, especially the number of people missing," Aquino said Thursday. "I am hoping these people will be found safe and sound." The president said he is saddened that some families will spend the holidays in evacuation centers because their homes were destroyed. Rescue workers have been struggling to reach many of the worst affected areas in Compostela Valley and the neighboring Davao Oriental region. Landslides have blocked roads and knocked out power and communications. Bopha raked across Mindanao and several other Philippine islands before moving off into the South China Sea. It has caused at least 418 deaths in the country, left about a quarter of a million homeless and affected more than 5 million people overall, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Philippines' emergency management agency, reported Friday morning. Some 383 people are missing and 445 are injured, the agency said. The typhoon arrived just ahead of a sinister anniversary on Mindanao. A year ago, Tropical Storm Washi drenched northern areas of the island with heavy rain, setting off flash floods and landslides in the middle of the night that destroyed entire villages. Washi, dubbed "Sendong" in the Philippines, killed more than 1,200 people and left painful memories in the hardest hit areas, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. The approach this week of Bopha, a far more powerful storm than Washi, had residents fearing fresh devastation. Local authorities took preemptive action, relocating thousands of people to evacuation centers and setting up emergency supplies. But in the end, northern Mindanao was spared the worst of Bopha's fury. It was the less prepared communities of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, further south and east, that bore the brunt. An ethnically mixed area, the Compostela Valley was inhabited by a multitude of tribes until the 20th century, when a logging boom brought waves of migrants from further north in the Philippines. The timber trade, and later the mining industry, changed the geological and demographic landscape, stripping away the forests and driving many tribes into the hills. The valley is also known for its rich, fertile plain, where rice, corn, bananas and coconuts are grown. But on Thursday, the headline of the Philippine Star, a national newspaper, gave it a new, grim title: "Valley of the dead." If you are there, share your story . CNN's Liz Neisloss reported from Montevista, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. Elizabeth Joseph and Michael Pearson also contributed to this report. | At least 418 people have died as a result of Typhoon Bopha, Filipino officials say . That includes 142 people in the town of New Bataan, the government reports . Some residents in the remote area didn't hear warnings, others ignored them . Survivors are in desperate need of water, food and shelter, a relief worker says . | 2b5c3a3ea4a0f6fc0c41f0a558e20541ce5e3fac |
This is the horrifying moment a shopkeeper is repeatedly stabbed during a raid by ski-mask wearing raiders. Gareth Fawkner, 29, and his younger brother Rocky, 18, wore frightening disguises as they burst into a One Stop in Henley Green, Coventry. The violent raid was captured on CCTV cameras fitted at the store and shows Rocky leaping over the counter and knifing the terrified worker in the back and shoulder. Scroll down for video . Brutal: Rock Fawkner (left) is pictured brandishing a knife while his brother Gareth (centre) leaps over the counter . Rocky Fawkner can then be seen stabbing the shopkeeper in the back and arm (bottom right) while his brother (pictured wearing a ski mask disguise) approaches in the background . The onslaught only comes to an end when Gareth Fawkner hauls his younger brother away . Rocky Fawkner (left) and his brother Gareth (right) were both jailed for six years each when they appeared at Warwick Crown Court after they were found guilty of robbery . The vicious onslaught only comes to an end when his brother, who is also shown brandishing a knife, hauls him away. The pair, who were helped by another raider, then stuffed cigarettes and alcohol into a duvet cover and made off on a moped. But they were captured when detectives analysed the digital CCTV footage and spotted defects on the clothes which eventually led to the Fawkner brothers being identified. They were both jailed for six years each when they appeared at Warwick Crown Court after they were found guilty of robbery. The court heard Gareth Fawkner committed the raid while on licence for an armed robbery in 2010. He was jailed for five years and four months in July 2010 when he attacked staff and stole cigarettes and alcohol from a Co-Op store in Walsgrave, Coventry. Both denied the robbery along with another in Arena Park in Coventry eight days earlier. The shopkeeper is understood to have made a full recovery. Gareth Fawkner, 29, and his younger brother Rocky, 18, wore frightening ski-mask disguises as they burst into a One Stop in Coventry . The pair, who were helped by another raider, then stuffed cigarettes and alcohol into a duvet cover and made off on a moped . The court heard they threatened a store manager and security guard with knives when their request to 'test ride' a mountain bike at the Decathlon store was refused. After threatening the staff they made off with a £430 mountain bike. Police managed to track down the brothers after close examination of the footage of the One Stop raid. A jacket worn by Rocky Fawkner had a small tear on the side and when police later raided their family home in Wood End in the West Midlands, a top with the same defect was found in a kitchen cupboard. Meanwhile Gareth Fawkner wore a distinctive blue and white tracksuit which officers discovered he had worn six weeks earlier when he was arrested on suspicion of assault. Officers searched an address linked to him, also in Wood End, and uncovered a blue hoodie from a bin which featured the same white trim captured on the CCTV footage. They were captured when detectives analysed the digital CCTV footage and spotted defects on the clothes which eventually led to the Fawkner brothers being identified . Chilling: The knifemen were both jailed for six years each when they appeared at Warwick Crown Court after they were found guilty of robbery . Police also found a pair of Nike trainers worn during the robbery hidden in a tumble dryer. Body 'mapping' experts also assessed the robbers caught on camera and concluded they matched the size and build of the Fawkners. Speaking after the case, Detective Inspector Nick Dale, of West Midlands Police, said: 'This case highlights the futility of many crimes and people risking long spells behind bars for very little gain. 'The Fawkner brothers have rightly been handed significant custodial sentences: they used a disproportionate level of violence, far more than was needed to achieve their aims and yet all they got away with was a mountain bike, cigarettes and bottles of alcohol. 'Wearing a face covering does not mean we can't identify offenders and get them sent to jail. 'They targeted amenities in their own neighbourhood and their actions left local people shocked and disgusted. 'Communities should not have to tolerate this sort of crime; anyone with information about people committing this sort of offence, or who is dealing in stolen goods, should tell us so we can take action.' | Gareth Fawkner and younger brother Rocky wore disguises during robbery . At one point, Rocky can be seen knifing a shopkeeper in the back and arm . The violent onslaught only ends when brother Gareth hauls him away . The robbers fled after stuffing cigarettes and alcohol into a duvet cover . Brothers both jailed for six years after a jury found them guilty of robbery . WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT . | 03f1eb3ab4796623752c6477c4582e3e6d547fea |
By . Sadie Whitelocks . UPDATED: . 21:38 EST, 13 January 2012 . A little girl, who underwent life-saving surgery aged nine days old, is today celebrating her first birthday. Weighing just 3lb 5oz, Eleana Hasting, was the smallest baby in Britain to have open heart surgery. She arrived six weeks prematurely with a missing valve, a hole between two chambers of her heart and dilated pulmonary arteries. Eleana Hasting, who underwent life-saving surgery aged nine days old, is today celebrating her first birthday . Doctors detected that something was wrong during a routine scan just 22 weeks into the pregnancy and since birth she has had three operations and spent 130 days in intensive care. But now parents Francesca and Darren, who describe the past year as an 'emotional rollercoaster', have decorated a ward Birmingham Children’s Hospital to celebrate their child's first birthday. Mother Francesca, 36, said: 'This year has been an emotional rollercoaster. Eleana has not left intensive care for 130 days. 'The downs are real lows but the highs are euphoric. It’s wonderful to see Eleana rolling about smiling.' Eleana Hastings with parents Francesca and Darrren . and brothers Jamie, 11, and Alfie, 2, and sister Imogen, 8, . Eleana arrived on January 13, 2011, and was put on a ventilator because her inflamed arteries were compressing her airways. Her tiny body struggled to maintain oxygen levels, and surgery was the only option. After nine days in intensive care, . Eleana was transferred from University Hospital Coventry and . Warwickshire to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where leading cardiac surgeon Mr William Brawn performed a four-hour procedure . to close the hole in her heart and reconstruct her lung arteries. Just ten weeks later, and aged only three months, she had to undergo a second major open heart operation to enlarge the way into her lung arteries and reconstruct the still large lung arteries. Her parents hoped she would be discharged from hospital last July, but she was rushed back into hospital scarcely two weeks later. Since then she has suffered a heart attack, needed a third heart operation and spent Christmas on a life support machine. She has spent just 16 days at home . with her family in Cheylesmore, Coventry and her hospital bedside has . been transformed into a living room to accommodate her two brothers, . Jamie, 11, and Alfie, two, and sister Imogen, eight. Eleana’s . parents have been forced to put their lives on hold and Francesca lives . at Ronald McDonald House, a charity centre next to the hospital, so she . can spend maximum time on the ward. Darren who works as a courier during the week joins the family at the hospital over the weekend. Francesca . added: 'The doctors say by the time Eleana is four or five there is no . reason why she should be any different to the other children running . around the playground. That keeps us going.' Eleana’s . parents are ardent supporters of the hospital’s heart appeal, which . aims to raise £2 million to build the UK’s first hybrid theatre for . critically ill children. To support ‘Please Don’t Stop’, the final stage of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Heart Appeal, visit http://www.bch.org.uk . Eleana was put on a ventilator because her inflamed arteries were compressing her airways . | Weighing just 3lb 5oz, Eleana Hasting, needed life-saving surgery . She has spent 130 days in intensive care during her first 12 months . 'This year has been an emotional rollercoaster', say parents . | 59c1ebcd1a85b858b961e5390becd8ca66d1aef4 |
Pasadena, Maryland (CNN) -- Children point at the glass as a long train rounds the bend and Thomas the Tank Engine passes overhead. Outside, a flashing red signal tells neighbors it's time to hop aboard. Welcome to John and June Sturgeon's indoor train garden, a collection of model trains the couple have been sharing with friends and neighbors every holiday season for nearly 15 years. "We love it, that's why we do it," says June Sturgeon. The collection began with a train John's father gave him as an infant 62 years ago. John still has the train, and many more. The garden has grown to include 11 intertwined train sets, divided into summer and winter scenes. Once the collection outgrew their house, the Sturgeons built a detached building the size of a two-car garage specifically to hold the display year round. "I venture to say, each year I put at least a hundred hours in here," John says. "That's before Christmas and setting everything up and changing this around ... and fine-tuning, fixing anything that's broke." Last year, more than 1,200 people followed the lit path to the backyard garage, including regulars like Jason Gauchier and his two children, who come at least once a week when the display is open. "They've been looking forward to it for about three months now," says Gauchier, who brought his children on opening night as he has for five years. "And then ... when it closes [they're] looking forward to it next year." Besides the regulars, there are first-time guests like Sara Dolan, who came with her granddaughter. "It's absolutely wonderful," Dolan said, "all of the extra things that they've added, it's just fabulous." The collection can be overwhelming at first, with all of the sounds and flashing lights that fill the building. The miniature villages and communities are filled with happy people, living a peaceful life in a different time. With all the wires out of sight, it looks like magic. The Sturgeons have worked consistently to make additions to the train garden. "Basically it is an all year thing, but the final push is from September 'til now" June said. Adds John, "It usually takes us a month or so to get the backyard here all decorated. ... It's quite a bit of work." There's a separate garage for repairs. "There's a train we added this year that has 30 cars on it. Well, it's 29 cars plus the engine makes it 30," John says. "I've tested it a little bit -- I'm hoping we don't have any problems with that, cause that's a pretty long train. So it runs the whole length of a board, approximately 30 feet." This year John, a retired police officer, also added a scene with a doughnut delivery truck being robbed as a police cruiser comes to the rescue. The regular guests enjoy seeing the new details, but they also come to see Santa Claus. "Santa Claus is here every night, every night until Christmas, and most of [the children] bring me their wish list," John says behind the white beard and red suit. The Sturgeons open their collection for 20 nights each year leading up to Christmas. The evening routine begins with setting up the outside lights and inflatable decorations. Visitors know they've reached the right place when they see the brightest house on the street, complete with holiday music. The front window of the house has a replica of the leg-shaped lamp from the classic holiday movie "A Christmas Story". "It does my heart good to see the little sparkle in their eyes when they come around and see Santa or see the trains, and it lights my heart up." | Maryland couple open their indoor train garden to the public each holiday season . Model train collection started with a train given to John Sturgeon as an infant . The collection has grown to 11 intertwined train sets divided into summer and winter scenes . The Sturgeons built a detached garage for the display, which drew 1,200 visitors last year . | 03370cbe41beec9a94ee195cc884dd70ca1de3ba |
How about this for a slice of good fortune? When a woman forgot to pack her dinner she managed to avoid going hungry by dialing out for pizza. While there is nothing unusual in that, what made this takeaway particularly unique was the fact peckish passenger Lucie Mathieson was partway through a four-hour train journey to Manchester when she picked up the phone. And after two knock-backs, she finally managed to track down a pizza firm willing to rise to the challenge. Scroll down for video . Slice of luck: Lucie Mathieson tucks into her tasty pizza, which was delivered to her carriage on Sunday . The 25-year-old, who is originally from Hampton Court in London, was on the 5.50pm from Port Talbot in South Wales to Manchester on Sunday, when she and two friends hatched their plan. She said: 'We never thought it would work, but we needed some dinner. The . train set off at 5.50pm and wasn't getting in until 10.30pm. 'I asked the train conductor when we were getting in at each station, then started calling all the pizza places on the way. 'Two said 'no', but Joe at Pizza Hut . in Newport loved the idea. I said to him "I've got a mission for you" and he got very excited.' There was just a 50 second window for Joe to deliver the piping hot pizza to the BBC set designer when their two-carriage train - which did not have a buffet car or a trolley - pulled in to Newport station. Military precision: Lucie gets ready to make the leap onto the platform at Newport station where her pizzas are waiting for her . That's service: Pizza hut delivery man Jo hands over the goods to Lucie during the 50-second stop . As the train pulled in at 6.54pm, Joe was waiting for her with her dinner - one deep pan pepperoni pizza, one thin-crust chicken and mushroom, plus barbecue chicken wings and a side of garlic and herb dip. She had handed over the 'dough' earlier when she placed the order by telephone. It set the trio back just over £35, and to cap it all was delivered in exactly 30 minutes - normally the average wait for a pizza delivery is 40 minutes. Ms Mathieson jumped onto the platform, grabbed the goodies, and was back in her seat in less than 50 seconds ready to tuck into her teatime treat. She said: 'There were so many ways it could have gone wrong. We paid over the phone so Joe could have taken the money and not come. Timing: Lucie achieves the handover in the 50 second allotted time frame, while Joe waves goodbye . Food on the go: Lucie's food was delivered an hour into her four-and-a-half-hour journey . 'I don't know how he got on the station - we offered to pay for a ticket for him, but he didn't need it. 'But when he was there the whole station was cheering. By the time I got to Manchester all my friends were texting me saying I was on the front page of Reddit. 'I don't even know how I got there but everyone was posting it and commenting on it. I just can't believe we managed it.' After posting pictures of their dinner on Facebook, Ms Mathieson and her friends became an online hit. General manager of Newport Pizza Hut Delivery, Michelle Escott, said: 'When we got a call from a customer to deliver pizza to the Port Talbot to Manchester train we simply couldn't resist the challenge. 'The train was held at Newport station, which is in our delivery area, for less than a minute but our delivery driver got the pizzas to the train hot and bang on time.' Back on board: Lucie proudly shows off the fruits of her labour. Two pizza firms had turned her down before Pizza Hut agreed to her request . | Lucie Mathieson avoids going hungry on the 5.50pm from Port Talbot . The set designer ordered two pizzas to be delivered during a brief stop . She handed over the 'dough' earlier when she placed the order by phone . The delivery man even delivered quicker than the 40-minute average wait . | 205d2eb670a157a22f801f9df9f7e81f9a9d3a48 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Frank Buckles considered it his duty to represent his fellow soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. Frank Buckles, 107 and the last living U.S. WWI veteran, said it was his duty to represent his fallen soldiers. "I have to," he told CNN, "because I'm the last living member of Americans" who fought in what was called The Great War. Buckles, 107, who is the sole living U.S. World War I veteran, attended ceremonies Tuesday at the grave of Gen. John Pershing, the top U.S. commander in that war. He was present for the first Veterans Day in 1918 -- though it was originally called Armistice Day -- that marked the end of WWI. Buckles was warmly greeted with standing applause by those in uniform and others who had gathered for the commemoration, but he said he did not think the fuss was about him. "I can see what they're honoring, the veterans of World War I." "Time has passed very quickly to me," he said after a wreath-laying. "I've had a lot of activity in the last 90 years." Watch interview with Frank Buckles » . According to an autobiography released this year by the Pentagon, Buckles was eager to join the war. Although only 16 in the summer of 1917, he lied about his age to get into the armed services. He said his recruiter told him "the Ambulance Service was the quickest way to get to France," so he took training in trench casualty retrieval. Buckles was an officer's escort in France before joining a detail transporting German prisoners of war. A few decades later, Buckles was in the Philippines as a civilian, on the day in December 1941 that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was taken as a prisoner of war in Manila and held for 39 months. Today Buckles is the symbolic leader of a drive to improve a run-down city-owned memorial on the National Mall for those lost in the World War I. The gazebo-styled structure was built in the 1930s. There is no national memorial in the nation's capital for the troops known as "doughboys" who served in the war that ended 90 years ago. Legislation in Congress would provide federal funding to restore and enhance the city's memorial. A $182 million World War II memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in 2004. | Frank Buckles, 107, is the last living U.S. veteran of WWI . Buckles was present for first Veterans Day in 1918 when it was Armistice Day . Buckles said it was his duty to represent soldiers since he is last WWI vet . There is no national memorial in Washington for WWI veterans . | afb9617cc571fd20670bfaed3c971ebfec1451fe |
Maria Sharapova won her second French Open title on Saturday but it was Romanian Simona Halep who claimed the hearts of the Roland Garros crowd after pushing the 27 year-old Russian to the brink of defeat. Sharapova had to use every grain of her experience and fighting capabilities – plus some highly dubious stalling tactics – to complete a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory that stretched to just over three hours on a steaming afternoon. While lacking much variety it was a fine contest of baseline slugging and retrieving, only marred by the weak officiating of French umpire Kader Nouni, who failed to crack down on the timewasting that continually forced the Romanian to adjust her pace of play. Aloft: Maria Sharapova holds her French Open trophy to show the crowd . Epic: Romanian Halep pushed her all the way in an epic match . Victor: Maria Sharapova wins her second French Open title after beating Romania's Simona Halep . Sharapova, who took an eight minute . break to change her dress after losing the second set tiebreak, went two . hours and 24 minutes before Nouni finally gave her a warning about . taking too much time between points. Nonetheless . you can only admire her remarkable fighting instinct which saw her win . her fourth three set match in succession and none more gruelling than . this. The 27 year-old . Russian returns to Wimbledon in a fortnight ten years after winning the . title there. You could hardly have expected then that she would win two . Roland Garros trophies without adding to hear haul at SW19. 'I . wouldn’t have believed seven or eight years ago that I would win here . more than at any other Slam, it was like a dream for me to win here at . all,' said the champion. Business time: Sharapova and Halep entering the arena ahead of their French Open final . Pre-game: Sharapova and Halep pose for pictures at the net ahead of their showdown . Doubling up: Sharapova was aiming for her second French Open title, after winning there in 2012 . Breakthrough: Halep, meanwhile, was in her first ever Grand Slam final . Reacher: The rangy Russian was too much for her opponent in the first set, winning it 6-4 . She . becomes the twelfth female player to win five or more Grand Slams since . the game became open to both amateurs and professionals in 1968, and is . the first Russian of either gender to win the same Major twice. Halep, . just 22, received the bigger ovation as she went up to collect the . runner-up’s shield from a crowd who had become agitated with the time . her opponent was taking, especially between first and second serve. She . will have learned an enormous amount from this and, after a meteoric . rise in the past twelve months, has emerged as the surprise standard . bearer for a coming generation. “I had an incredible two weeks, I hope . this is the start,” she said. Watching on: US tennis great Chris Evert (left) oversees the action with alongside Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo . Backing: Supporters of Halep in Phillipe Chatrier at the final . View from the top: Philippe Chatrier centre court in Paris on a glorious sunny day . Character: Sharapova made the final last year, but was overwhelmed by regular adversary Serena Williams . Rising star: Halep also made the quarter-final of this year's Australian Open . Huddle: Photographers train their lenses on the players during the final . Seeking shade: Sharapova hides from the sun under her towel during a changeover in the second set . Fightback: Halep clawed her way back into the match, taking the second set on a tie break 7-6 . Sharapova . – whose boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov was in London preparing for the Aegon . Championships - won despite serving twelve double faults against the . player who moves as well as anyone on the women’s tour, and who only . flagged right at the end of an attritional match. The . Russian broke to take the first set, and then twice needed to break . back at the end of the second to take it into the tiebreak. In that she . led 5-3 before Halep reeled off four points to take into a decider. When . Sharapova double faulted in the eighth game it seemed to be wobbling, . but then she won the last eight points to romp home. She remains the . supreme competitor in the game and the hardest player to close out, . someone insistent on defying the up and comers. No hiding place: Halep returning the ball to her opponent during the final set . Victor: Maria Sharapova wins her second French Open title after beating Romania's Simona Halep . Roar: Sharapova emphatically celebrating her titanic three-set win . | Sharapova beats Halep in three sets, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 . Victory was her second French Open title after winning it in 2012 . It was 22-year-old Halep's first ever Grand Slam final . The Russian's fifth success in a Grand Slam overall . | e2929ddb475b033444f85c3cf7e5ca38e84ed7e6 |
Athens, Greece (CNN) -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet Monday with the leader of the country's main opposition party to discuss who will become the nation's next prime minister -- a day after an announcement that Papandreou he will step down amid the country's financial crisis. Papandreou's planned resignation -- announced by President Karolos Papoulias -- is contingent on the approval of the controversial 130 billion euro bailout deal. On Sunday, Papandreou met with Antonis Samaras -- the leader of the New Democracy party, Greece's leading opposition party -- and agreed to form a new government. During Monday's meeting, the two will discuss who will serve in the new government as well as who will be the next prime minister, according to a statement from the president. New national elections will be held sometime after the bailout is implemented, but no more details nor a timeline of future events were disclosed. Earlier Sunday, Samaras told reporters that once Papandreou resigns, everything will "take its course" and "everything else is negotiable." The move appears to close one chapter in Greece's tumultuous political and economic saga, as Papandreou had become a lightning rod for critics for his leadership of the south European nation as it tackles a prolonged financial plight. It also paves the way for passage of an agreement that Papandreou negotiated October 26 with European leaders. The deal would wipe out 100 billion euros in Greek debt, half of what it owes to private creditors, and includes a promise of 30 billion euros to help the public sector pare its debts -- making the whole package worth a total of 130 billion euros ($178 billion). But Greece's turmoil is far from over. The bailout -- the second it has received from the European Union and International Monetary Fund -- would be accompanied by additional austerity measures such as slashing government jobs, privatizing some businesses and reducing pensions. It also comes at a time when Greece's economy -- and to some extent the global economy -- is still staggering. Though Greece ranks 32nd in terms of gross domestic product, experts say it wields a disproportionate influence internationally. Economists worry that a Greek default on its debt could pull down larger European economies -- particularly those of Italy and Spain, as well as struggling Portugal and Ireland. Eurozone finance ministers are scheduled to meet Monday in Brussels, Belgium. Within Greece, the bailout's passage would be a significant victory for Papandreou. He has insisted repeatedly in recent weeks that it needs to be approved -- signaling that he'd be willing to resign as prime minister, a job he has held since 2009, as long as that happens. Earlier Sunday, Greece's president met ahead of a Cabinet meeting with all party leaders -- including Papandreou, who heads the socialist PASOK party, and Samaras. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos is likely to remain in his post as finance minister in a new government, sources told Greek television. Candidates for the prime minister's job include Petros Moliviatis and Loukas Papaimos, according to Greek television. The new government will have a life of four months, according to Greek television, citing sources, and elections will take place in early spring. On Monday -- in addition to a meeting between Papandreou and Samaras -- the Greek president will hold another meeting open to heads of all Greece's political parties. CNN's Diana Magnay, Jim Boulden and Andrew Carey in Athens and Matthew Chance and Hada Messia in Rome contributed to this report. | Eurozone financial leaders will meet Monday in Brussels . Papandreou won't be head of the new government, a statement says . He and opposition leader Samaras will talk Monday to plot details . The deal hinges on Greece approving a 130 billion euro bailout deal . | d5dcdbdabe6f637c14e86efe0112fc039363cd45 |
Washington (CNN) -- A Washington lawyer has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming he is the father of basketball star LeBron James. Leicester Stovell alleges that the athlete and his family have been involved in a cover-up to deny paternity by committing fraud and misrepresentation. He told HLN's "Prime News" on Thursday that he wants "a carefully structured and secure DNA test" to prove he's the NBA all-star's father. Stovell says he has been trying for three years to establish paternity and is seeking $4 million in damages. An earlier test ruled out the possibility, but he said the test could have been tampered with -- "and there are indications that there was a motivation." Stovell said he had sex with James' mother, Gloria James, after meeting at a Washington bar while she was visiting from Ohio in 1984. A few months later, she told him she was pregnant, but did not say whether he was the father. Stovell said his only request was that the child, if a boy, play basketball. He said his memory of the encounter resurfaced more than 20 years later, "after being asked whether I had a son, and I then systematically explored all of my past for that possibility." "I came across this set of recollections and in focusing on them, they amplified," he said. In the complaint, filed June 23, Stovell says, "I recently have concluded that a comprehensive, sophisticated and well-funded effort might well have been underway for quite some time, perhaps beginning in its present form as early as when defendant LeBron James was in high school, to frustrate identification of his real father, and that there is a likelihood that the father in question is me." He stopped short of saying he is certain he is James' father. "I don't want to make such a definitive statement in the absence of corroborative evidence" such as DNA, he said. Stovell said he filed the suit two weeks ago because a statute of limitations was about to expire. "I have some limitation considerations that caused me to want to file the suit before the end of June," he said. He denied the timing had anything to do with the current LeBron mania. James is scheduled to announce Thursday evening the team he has chosen to play for next season, a deal worth perhaps tens of millions of dollars or more. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He says he was informed by Gloria James months later that she was pregnant. He claims she told him the child would be named LeBron, similar to Leicester Bryce, Stovell's first and middle names. The lawsuit states Gloria James was 16 at the time of the alleged encounter, but Stovell said she told him she was in her early 20s. Stovell is a solo legal practitioner in the District of Columbia, and filed the lawsuit on his own behalf. A call to LeBron James' attorney, Frederick Nance of Cleveland, Ohio, was not immediately returned. The lawsuit had been filed without much initial publicity, but was reported by the TMZ celebrity website Wednesday. Public records show Stovell is a former government attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the agency, alleging racial discrimination. Federal court records show the case was settled when the commission paid him $230,000, while not admitting fault. CNN's Jason Kessler contributed to this report . | NEW: Stovell says he wants a "secure" DNA test to prove paternity . NEW: Lawyer says his memories were "amplified" in recent years . James will announce Thursday night with which team he'll sign . Lawsuit says Stovell had one-time tryst with James' mother . | 023efd2b40b245ffca3a19cebc20f7a6da311454 |
(CNN) -- Palestinian Authority leaders renewed calls for unity with their Hamas-led rivals after the latest Israel-Gaza conflict, but the fighting may have left Hamas with the upper hand. The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority announced Thursday that the leadership of Hamas and its allies in the Islamic Jihad movement had decided to support the Palestinian Authority's bid for recognition as an independent state at the United Nations. But that statement was quickly contradicted by leaders of both Gaza-based factions, which have long opposed the gambit that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas launched last year. The Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas' Fatah party, has accepted Israel's right to exist, engaged in peace talks with the Jewish state and plans to renew its quest for the U.N.'s recognition of a Palestinian state this month. But the results of the recent fighting leave Abbas facing a "cruel paradox," Middle East analyst Aaron David Miller told CNN. With conflict stopped, Israeli military touts successes . "It was Hamas' rockets, not Abbas' diplomacy, that has once again put the Palestinian issue on center stage," said Miller, a longtime U.S. State Department adviser and a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington. Abbas may want to reach a negotiated settlement with Israel to end the decades-old conflict, but he's unlikely to do that "if he can't preside over a unified Palestinian national movement." Palestinian Authority spokeswoman Nour Odeh disputed any suggestion that the conflict has left Abbas with a diminished role. Abbas "was in direct contact" with the leaders of the rival factions during the Egyptian-brokered talks that led to Wednesday's cease-fire, she said, "and being consulted on the details of this agreement, which we have to remember affects 1.6 million Palestinians that the president is still responsible for." "The idea of competition right now is really not on the national agenda," Odeh said. Winners and losers in wake of conflict . Hamas, an Islamist movement, does not recognize Israel's right to exist and has been branded a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Israel. It won legislative elections in 2006 and wrested control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007, effectively ruling the territory on its own. "The Palestinian national movement looks like Noah's Ark right now. There are two of everything -- two constitutions, two presidents, two security services, two mini-states," Miller said. But after the most recent battle with Israel, "It is Hamas's stock that is rising," he said. Israel and the United States refuse to deal with Hamas. But Daniel Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister, told CNN late Wednesday that Israel would be "very happy to talk to Hamas" as long as it renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist. But Rashid Khalidi, a Columbia University professor of Middle Eastern history and a one-time adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel's continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank "has made the Palestinian Authority look weak, feeble, unable to advance the Palestinian cause." "Most Palestinians are sick to death of this split," Khalidi told CNN. "They understand that they are the weaker party, and that the split weakens them further." He said the Palestinians need to unite to negotiate with Israel, and both Israel and the United States need to drop the "fiction" that they won't negotiate with Hamas. "The world is dealing with Hamas," he said. "The secretary of state is going to go to Cairo, and she's going to talk to the Egyptians and they will talk to Hamas. Israel is dealing with Hamas. Israel negotiated a deal for the release of Gilad Shalit," the Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for more than five years. Israel treated the PLO the same way until the 1990s, when then-Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin "was able to overcome that taboo," Khalidi said. "It's time to overcome that taboo." Arrest announced in Tel Aviv bus bombing . | Hamas gains credibility after conflict with Israel, analysts say . Palestinian Authority calls for factions to unite behind U.N. statehood bid . Palestinian leadership looks like 'Noah's Ark ... there are two of everything," analyst says . | 9c8f5f18a22608ca82571e2e2299704cd1ce0276 |
(CNN) -- FIFA has launched an investigation into two international friendly matches held in Turkey last week that yielded seven penalties amid claims of heavy betting patterns. Bolivia beat Latvia 2-1 in the resort of Antalya hours before Bulgaria and Estonia played out a 2-2 draw on the same ground. All the goals scored came from the penalty spot. "We can confirm that FIFA has requested the match report from the federations," a FIFA spokesperson told CNN. "At the moment we don't have much more information. We can only say we have started an investigation and we require the reports from all federations." Spokesman Mihkel Uiboleht said last Thursday that his Estonian Football Association had been informed about "possible manipulation" after the matches. "The friendly was organized by an agency with whom we will not work any more," he said in quotes reported by the UK Press Association. "We received information of possible manipulation even before the game as the same agency also organized the match between Latvia and Bolivia and there was the same scenario there." | FIFA to investigate two international friendlies amid claims of heavy betting patterns . The matches, Bolivia versus Latvia and Bulgaria-Estonia, produced seven penalties . Football's world ruling body confirms it has asked for the match reports . Estonian FA revealed it had been informed of possible manipulation before the game . | 12ba975aff21e3622fc31276a98ea17020af65d3 |
By . Beth Stebner . UPDATED: . 06:13 EST, 9 December 2011 . A conservative Jewish university in the heart of New York is in uproar after one of the school’s four student newspapers published a first-hand account of an Orthodox woman’s one-night stand. In reaction to the piece, the student council of Yeshiva University pulled funding from The Beacon after the online paper refused to remove it from its website, sparking a campus-wide debate on censorship. The column, called How Do I Even Begin To Explain This, was written by an anonymous 20-year-old Orthodox modern Jewish woman who writes in detail about her one-time Manhattan dalliance . How do I explain? This image accompanied Yeshiva University's essay on an Orthodox woman's account of a one night stand . In the essay, the woman describes her thoughts and feelings as she transforms herself from a self-described ‘Occasionally-Cute-Modern-Orthodox-Girl’ into a ‘Sexually-Appealing-Secular-Woman.’ ‘Between the fumbling, the pain, the pleasure, I convince myself that I’ve learned to make love,’ the woman wrote. By the end of the column, she expressed regret at the hotel tryst. ‘I made a stupid mistake,’ she wrote. ‘The only thing I learn is how to do the walk of shame the day after.’ According to the Wall Street Journal, The Beacon’s website received more than 41,000 hits by Thursday night, 15,000 of those honing in on the anonymous woman’s story. The Beacon co-editors Simi Lampert and Toviah Moldwin met Wednesday with three Yeshiva administrators, as well as the president and secretary of student affairs. Ms Lampert told Fox News that the administrators asked them to remove the column, or at least ‘change some of the wording in it.’ Controversy: The essay sparked campus-wide debate over censorship; The Beacon lost its funding after refusing to take down the article . Neither option was acceptable to the editor. ‘They were offering compromises and we didn’t want to make those compromises,’ she said. ‘We then said we didn’t want to be an official publication of YU.’ 'Between the fumbling, the pain, the pleasure, I convince myself that I’ve learned to make love.' -Essayist from The Beacon . YU then announced it was removing its funding of the paper. ‘After an amicable discussion between the two sides, The Beacon decided to part ways and become an independent publication,’ associate director of media relations Matt Yaniv said. The paper received $500 in funding last semester. A message on the YU Beacon’s website says: ‘In light of recent developments, YU and The Beacon have agreed to separate. Over the next few days, we will update the site to reflect these changes. The Beacon will continue to publish as always.’ Orthodox Jewish law prohibits premarital sex. Yeshiva University is based on the ideals of Torah U’madda, a branch of modern Orthodox Judaism that acknowledges the merit of both religious and secular studies, a difficult line to walk for some students. Torah U'madda: YU says it prides itself in Orthodox and secular knowledge . The university is split into two separate campuses. Stern College in Midtown Manhattan houses the women of YU, while the men attend class about 150 blocks away. Students took to Facebook to debate the article and the nature of censorship. One student, 21-year-old Elan Kirshenbaum, said the article contributed to ‘a sense of moral degradation. He said it would have been more acceptable if the woman had written about the experience ‘in either a theoretical way or a less graphic way.’ Gavi Brown, 19, told the Journal that the article brought up some interesting points on the boundaries of Orthodox Judaism. 'We've kind of become used to the fact that things are going to be censored. I don’t think that’s okay. The basic notion of inhibiting students’ expression, however used to it we’ve become, I think it’s completely unacceptable.’ -Commentator editor Ben Abramowitz . ‘I personally enjoyed the fact that it brought about a conversation,’ he said, adding that he heard one rabbi on campus call it ‘literally pornography.’ Another student newspaper published a report Thursday saying YU intends to install an Internet filter – primarily in men's dorms in an effort to block pornography. School officials acknowledged a plan was underway after initially denying it. ‘We’ve kind of become used to the fact that things are going to be censored,’ Commentator editor Ben Abramowitz, 22, said. ‘I don’t think that’s okay. The basic notion of inhibiting students’ expression, however used to it we’ve become, I think it’s completely unacceptable.’ Though he called The Beacon’s essay ‘cliché,’ he said the newspaper still had a right to run it. | Essay written by anonymous 20-year-old Orthodox Yeshiva University student; depicts one night stand . Beacon editors met with YU administrators, who pulled $500/semester funding . | a2c3fd381b885186846006401636b850a041e897 |
(CNN) -- At least 17 people have died and dozens more were rescued after their boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean on Wednesday, according to the local government and U.S. officials. The U.S. Coast Guard, assisting the islands' rescue crews, retrieved about 55 Haitians in waters 100 meters from shore, the U.S. agency said. They fell into the water when their overloaded sail freighter tipped over, the guard said. The nationalities of the 17 dead people weren't immediately clear Wednesday, but 12 were males and five were female adults, said Colin Farquhar, commissioner of Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 18. Farquhar added that the search for additional casualties concluded late Wednesday because of darkness and worsening seas. The search will resume Thursday, he said. Although the Coast Guard put the number of rescued at near 55, local authorities used different numbers. A total of 33 people -- 21 men including a child and 12 females -- were detained as suspected illegal Haitian migrants and "will be repatriated to Haiti at the earliest opportunity," Farquhar said. Officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment to explain the discrepancy between the approximate 55 rescues the Coast Guard cited and the 33 detainees Farquhar discussed. The Turks and Caicos Islands government said in a Facebook statement that a sailing vessel believed to be carrying suspected illegal migrants was intercepted by the Marine Branch of the islands' police force after 3 a.m. Wednesday. Two hours later, while the boat was being towed to a dock to unload the suspects, the sloop capsized, the statement said. "The stricken vessel has now been removed from the water and will be central to our ongoing investigations into this matter," Farquhar said. "We must all remain vigilant to combat illegal migration." He thanked police officers and emergency personnel for working under what he called "challenging circumstances." Police were searching Wednesday "for the handful of people who reached shore and fled the scene," the government said. The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British territory. The incident occurred near the country's island of Providenciales, commonly known as "Provo" and described on the official tourism website as its most developed isle where most international flights arrive. The 33 rescued people -- all Haitians -- were in custody of the government's immigration detention-removal center, Farquhar said. Authorities revised that figure from an earlier reported count of 32 rescued people. Haitian migrants seeking to enter the United States have used the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas as way stations to enter the United States. Migrants appear undeterred, even after deadly shipwrecks . CNN's Elwyn Lopez contributed to this report. | NEW: U.S. Coast Guard says it rescues about 55 Haitians . NEW: The British territory revises death toll to 17 -- 12 males and five females . NEW: Victims were on a sailing vessel that capsizes while it being towed by local authorities . | 4a47668d7aff6d2e73410800cb244ba3a91c2940 |
By . Harriet Arkell . Louise Pollard, 28, from Plymouth, admitted defrauding childless couples by telling them she was pregnant and then saying she had miscarried . A surrogate mother pretended she was pregnant and then faked having miscarriages to take thousands of pounds from couples desperate to be parents. Louise Pollard, 28, of Plymouth, took money from two couples in exchange for promising to help them have a baby. But after telling them she was pregnant, and taking their money in exchange for her services, she then claimed she had miscarried. She was caught after one of the couples grew suspicious and went to police, and earlier this month, the serial surrogate pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court to three charges of fraud against two couples. Pollard, a former PA who four years ago said she was carrying Osama Bin Laden's grandchildren before suffering a miscarriage, will be sentenced for defrauding couples Keith and Josephine Barnett and Winston and Debra Kaba next week. Today, one of her victims, who paid Pollard more than £10,000 to carry their baby, said they had had a 'horrendous' experience as their hopes for a baby of their own were dashed. And Pollard's own brother, Shaun McLoughlin, criticised her, telling the Sun's Alex West: 'The parents pinned all their hopes on her. 'They had to go through the agony of believing they were going to have a child and then that the baby had died.' He told The Sun: 'Who would do that to another human being?' Mr McLoughlin, a married double-glazing salesman from Bristol, said his sister found the couples online, before offering to help them. He said they would pay her to travel to their homes where she would impregnate herself with the husband's sperm. It is illegal to pay a surrogate more than reasonable expenses in Britain. Mr McLoughlin said that his sister had tried to drag him into her fraudulent activities, once asking him to fake a doctor's note for her, and also asking for a urine sample from his pregnant wife, Kat, saying she needed it for a drugs test. He said his wife refused to give the sample. Mother of two Pollard, who is now on remand, will be sentenced next Friday at Bristol Crown Court. Pollard, pictured with another baby she gave up, will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court next Friday . She was caught after one of the couples, who paid her more than £10,000 to carry their child, became suspicious about what Pollard said was a doctor's note saying she had suffered a miscarriage. Her brother said he warned her that she would get into trouble when he realised what she was doing. Pollard has worked as a PA and a pole dancer before getting into surrogacy, which she once described as her 'calling'. Her admission of how she tricked the couples casts new light on her dealings with Osama Bin Laden's son, Omar. In 2010, Pollard told how she had been implanted with embryos from Omar and his then 54-year-old British wife, Zaina (formerly known as Jane Felix-Browne). Pollard said she was carrying twins for Zaina Bin Laden, pictured with her, left, and her then husband, Osama Bin Laden's son, Omar, but lost them after she was reportedly attacked while walking in a street in Syria . She posed with Mrs Bin Laden and a positive pregnancy test and defended herself against criticism that she was having a terrorist's grandchildren, saying: 'Just because they have the surname they do, doesn't mean they have done anything wrong.' But ten weeks into the pregnancy Pollard, who said she was carrying twins for the couple, said she had lost the babies after she was attacked in the street while she was in Syria with Mrs Bin Laden. This morning Dean Lomas, the son of Mrs Bin Laden, who has reverted back to her original name, said she was not well enough and would not comment. Bristol Crown Court said Pollard was on remand awaiting pre-sentence review. Surrogacy advice: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, right, with partner Tony, left, and their twins Aspen and Saffron when they were babies . Surrogacy expert Barrie Drewitt-Barlow told MailOnline that cases like Pollard's are increasingly common. Mr Drewitt-Barlow, head of social work at the British Surrogacy Centre, said: 'We hear about cases like this all the time and it is so sad. 'Often the people who turn to surrogacy do so for a very good reason: perhaps they have had cancer, or they have lost a child, and they have often been through so much already. So to have to deal with this as well is heart-breaking.' Mr Drewitt-Barlow, who with his partner, Tony, was the first same sex couple in Britain to use a surrogate mother and be named on the birth certificate as parents, added: 'I heard of one woman who was pregnant with her own child but had four or five childless couples on the go at the same time and told them all it was their baby. 'Other people start talking about their wish for a baby in the pub, and before they know it are in a stranger's house inseminating themselves with a syringe two weeks later. 'I've also heard of people in Nigeria offering to be surrogates in exchange for cash.' He said: 'Surrogacy in the UK isn't illegal but it is illegal to pay someone more than reasonable expenses, which is set at about £15,000. 'People going into surrogacy need to make sure they are doing it with someone who had had the proper checks, and the only place in the UK that carries out these checks, including screening for HIV, is the British Surrogacy Centre.' | Louise Pollard, 28, of Plymouth, took thousands of pounds to carry babies . She told childless couples she was pregnant but then said she miscarried . One couple became suspicious of 'doctor's note' and contacted police . The former PA and one-time pole dancer, admitted three counts of fraud . She is on remand and will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court next Friday . Brother Shaun McLoughlin said she put desperate couples through 'agony' | 0ea5b9205aec0bdf076d7e51036bdb95a17bd22c |
Catching sight of Nigel Pearson up in the stands next to assistants on laptops as his Leicester side dismantled Manchester United, you began to wonder why more managers don’t adopt this high-tech, high-vantage approach. It is a position Pearson came to by circumstance but has adopted to brilliant effect, with the 5-3 comeback victory over Louis van Gaal’s team the latest in a series of matches he has been able to influence from distance. Pearson was sent to the stands last August, receiving a one-game touchline ban for remonstrating with officials following defeat by Charlton. Leicester beat Wigan 2-0 the following game, with Pearson able to observe tactical shifts from his panoramic view and react. So he decided to stay. Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson watches his side beat Manchester United from high up in the stands . Assistant manager Kevin Phillips (left) and assistant first team coach Craig Shakespeare (right) direct operations from pitchside level . Pearson celebrates his side's remarkable 5-3 win against United with star striker Leonardo Ulloa . Ulloa wheels away after making it 5-3 from the penalty spot as United capitulated and Leicester capitalised . ‘I choose to do what I do because it is in the best interest of the team,’ he said recently. ‘There is no gimmick about it.’ He sits alongside assistant manager Steve Walsh, also head of recruitment, with performance analysts Peter Clark and Andy Blake next in line — three Apple MacBooks on the desk in front logging the action, offering replays. Pearson is in contact with the dugout via Kevin Phillips, who became first-team coach after retiring this summer, and the former England striker relays messages to Pearson’s other assistant manager Craig Shakespeare. Leicester right back Ritchie de Laet (left) exploited the space down United's left side on Sunday . He was the man at the edge of the technical area on Sunday. There is no direct link because it suits to have Shakepeare assessing the match from ground level without the Leicester manager constantly in his ear. Pearson heads down for the half time team-talk and is always pitchside at full time to shake the opposing manager’s hand. Much of the tactical work is done in the days leading up to the match, of course, and Leicester’s team are said to be one of the best in the business. Rob MacKenzie, head of technical scouting, ensures each player is sent a personalised video briefing on their direct opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, even on their days off. You can be sure Richie de Laet and Paul Konchesky knew about United full backs Rafael and Marcos Rojo’s preference for bombing forward, leaving space behind to exploit. Former England manager Steve McClaren prefers the vantage point up in the stands . Clive Woodward, who won the 2003 Rugby World Cup managing England, advocates watching from higher up . ‘Generally I think it works pretty well,’ Pearson explained. ‘I can see things in a different way in the stand. Touchline-wise your perspective is limited. ‘I trust my staff implicitly. It is about preparing the team for the game and then helping players manage situations as they arise.’ Other managers have done it, notably Graham Taylor at Watford — where he would then watch the second half in the dugout — and Sam Allardyce at Bolton. He said he would sit in the stands at West Ham once the team was playing the way he wanted, but never has. Steve McClaren does it at Derby, only heading to the touchline in the latter stages of games, but Pearson is a Premier League maverick in this sense. In rugby coaches often watch from on high. Sir Clive Woodward was able to assess the 2003 World Cup final from the stands and make changes accordingly. He believes more football managers should try it. ‘If you’re on the touchline screaming at people, it can be a distraction,’ he says. ‘I used to have messages passed to me from people on all corners of the stadium so I as the head coach could make a proper decision. Sam Allardyce is another gaffer who has spent time in the stands, but he now prefers the being in the dugout . ‘You are far better higher up, in terms of being able to see the game but also being away from the action you have a clearer head. It is good to see Pearson having the foresight and bottle for going against what most people do.’ Woodward also suggests that when he would travel to the Twickenham touchline it carried greater impact for the players. ‘If a team sees you on the touchline then something big is going on.’ Pearson seems to agree and is reluctant to engage in the fashion for English managers to display their involvement to fans. ‘It becomes a theatre at times which I am not interested in,’ he says. ‘But I also feel at times managers should be visible. I’m not saying there is a right way or a wrong way, it just works for us.’ Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel is overjoyed at the astonishing turnaround against Manchester United . VIDEO United gave the game away - Van Gaal . | Nigel Pearson watches matches from the stands for a better vantage point . The Foxes boss has coaches next to him analysing the action on laptops . He relays instructions to assistants Kevin Phillips and Craig Shakespeare . His side beat Manchester United 5-3 at the King Power Stadium on Sunday . Previous managers to have watched games from the stands include Clive Woodward, Steve McClaren and Sam Allardyce . | aad8734c2f4baf9327908570f2b6cf8fa4646473 |
(CNN) -- Although most Swedes would be too modest to say so themselves, Stockholm can stake a decent claim to being the capital of Scandinavia. Built on 14 islands, Stockholm seems to float on water. Built on 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, Stockholm is a soft-hued vision of light and water, the bewitching start to an archipelago of some 24,000 islands and islets. Sweden's neutrality during World War II means Stockholm was spared the bombing inflicted on most European capitals; the result is the unspoiled old town of Gamla Stan, with its winding, cobbled streets. Despite a post-war building blitz that saw the construction of some particularly uninspiring modernist architecture, it is a city where gray concrete facades are largely eschewed in favor of a smorgasbord of pastel colors, rusty reds and glowing ochres. For a capital city it's unusually green -- not just leafy and dotted with verdant parks, but environmentally sound. Stockholm proper has a population of just 800,000, avoiding the congestion and pollution that plague larger cities -- so much so that you can fish from, and swim in, the waters surrounding the city center. Cold and sometimes bleak during its long, dark winters, Stockholm comes alive during the summer, when the Scandinavian sun barely sets. As temperatures rise the city's cafe culture blossoms, only for Stockholm to become a ghost town during July, when the locals make the most of their generous holiday entitlement and slip off to holiday cottages in the archipelago. But beyond its historic heart Stockholm is a progressive, evolving city. Its financial fortunes grew with the mid '90s IT boom and shrank when the dotcom bubble burst, but it remains a hotbed of technology and communications companies. Watch ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus take CNN on a tour of Stockholm » . Around 20 percent of the residents of greater Stockholm are of foreign descent, giving a sense of cultural diversity -- not to mention some welcome variety to the city's thriving restaurant scene. Despite Sweden's largely anti-EU stance, Stockholm is cosmopolitan and outward looking, with a keen eye for the latest international trends. Its shops are filled with the latest in functional, minimalist Swedish design and there are enough boutiques boasting hip New York brands and cool Swedish labels to indulge Stockholmers' obsession with style. It's also the city where Swedish global exports H&M and IKEA have their flagship stores. For all its picture-postcard pleasantness and progressive civic planning, Stockholm can seem a little sterile. It's not the kind of place likely to be described as "edgy." Stockholmers themselves can come across as standoffish, but that's not say that they are unfriendly -- just politely reserved. Small talk is regarded with a certain suspicion meaning the locals can be hard to get to know, but it's amazing what a difference a couple of glasses of akvavit can make. Puritan legal regulations mean that high-alcohol drinks (that's anything with more than 3.5 percent alcohol) are heavily taxed and can only be bought in bars and government-run "Systembolaget" shops. The result is that a night on the town is expensive enough to make anyone teetotal, with Stockholmers often avoiding midweek drinking, saving their krona for weekend partying. But what Stockholm lacks in grit it more than makes up for in style. From its artfully designed coffee shops to the classic contours of its baroque and rococo buildings, this island city is endlessly pleasing to behold, especially when viewed from the water that flows like blood through its veins. | From artfully designed cafes to baroque buildings, Stockholm exudes cool . The island city has dubbed itself the capital city of Scandinavia . City blossoms in the summer when temperatures rise and sun barely sets . Influx of immigrants has added new dimension to city's gastronomic scene . | 411e381be1890cd1660bc6726f23999ec734a661 |
var twitterVia = 'MailOnline'; . DM.later('bundle', function(){ . DM.has('shareLinkTop', 'shareLinks', { . 'id': '2536822', . 'title': 'Most Americans can\'t recognize top news anchor Brian Williams', . 'url': 'http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2536822/Do-know-man-Most-Americans-recognize-news-anchor-Brian-Williams.html', . 'eTwitterStatus': ' http://dailym.ai/1bWAePJ via @' + twitterVia, . 'articleChannelFollowButton': 'MailOnline', . 'isChannel': false, . 'hideEmail': true, . 'placement': 'top', . 'anchor': 'tl'}); . }); . 68 . View comments . DM.later('bundle', function(){ . DMS.Article.init('top'); . }); . It has been revealed that the overwhelming majority of Americans are unable to properly identify the leading television news anchor. Brian Williams has hosted NBC's Nightly News for nearly a decade and the show was the top rated evening broadcast in the 2012-2013 season, but Pew Research Center did a study to see what that meant in terms of recognition. Only 27 per cent of respondents to an online survey identified Williams correctly- and some even thought that he was Vice President Joe Biden. Then and now: Nearly half of respondents in 1985 could identify CBS' Dan Rather (left) but only a quarter could name NBC's Brian Williams (right) News men: While most picked Williams (left) some other respondents confused him with former anchors Dan Rather (center left) and Tom Brokaw (right), though none thought he was Walter Cronkite (center right), seen together in 2004 . These findings mark a dramatic decrease the public's knowledge of news anchors, as a similar survey done in 1985 showed that nearly half of respondents were able to correctly identify Dan Rather, who at the time was the anchor for that year's top rated news program on CBS. The survey effectively quantified the common understanding that television news viewership has dropped over the past two decades. The News Consumption Survey in 2012 reported that viewership across all age groups- including the typically strong demographic of those over 50-years-old- was effectively cut in half between 1992 and 2012. This latest Pew survey had 1,052 participants and revealed that the few that were able to come up with an alternative choices, 2 per cent said Joe Biden and 1 per cent said Mitt Romney. Other guesses were closer to the mark- . maybe not in looks but in field- as other journalists like Williams' predecessor Tom Brokaw, Ted Koppel, Peter Jennings and even Rather were . given as possible answers. Another 3 per cent were unable to think of his name, and were only able to identify him as a news anchor or reporter. Going down: TV news viewership has dropped dramatically since Dan Rather was on the air . Younger fans: Some know Williams because of his daughter Alison (right) who is one of the stars of HBO's Girls . The results are extra shocking because Williams has one of the youngest demographics when it comes to followers as his forays while removed from the news desk have made him popular among younger viewers. He regularly makes guest appearances on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon as part of the ongoing skit where he 'slow jams' the news and has been a host of Saturday Night Live. Most recently, he appeared on the red carpet in support of his daughter, Alison, who is one of the stars of HBO's series Girls. Williams isn't the only news anchor who may be dealing with a bruised ego today, as Fox's Megyn Kelly was featured as a question on Jeopardy but none of the contestants were able to name her. | Only 27 per cent of survey respondents accurately identified the NBC news man . Other guesses included Vice President Joe Biden, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and Williams' predecessor Tom Brokaw . That result is half the amount that identified the top news anchor in 1985- Dan Rather- and is attributed to a dramatic drop in TV news viewership . | 1f73219d4a670e4081adb77c1d381cbcedf57941 |
By . Sean Poulter . Last updated at 1:06 AM on 28th February 2012 . Given that some own an iPhone before they have even left primary school, you would have thought today’s little girls would dismiss dolls as rather old-fashioned. Not so. Doll sales have soared by 23 per cent in the past year – way ahead of the general toy market – and are now worth £120million. Girls aged eight to 11 have fuelled the resurgence, with Barbie in particular enjoying something of a revival after several years of decline. Barbie is back: Doll sales soared 23% in the last 12 months and are now worth £120million as girls aged eight to 11 fuelled the resurgence . Just five years ago Mattel’s classic doll, introduced in 1959, was being hugely outsold by rivals such as the controversial Bratz dolls. But today Barbie’s various incarnations occupy six of the top ten slots in sales of fashion dolls – as opposed to baby dolls, such as Tiny Tears – while Bratz have fallen out altogether. In 2009, Barbie’s makers prompted criticism when they tried to update her by giving her tattoos. But her latest incarnations have been rather more innocent, often with a puppy or fashion theme, and enormously successful. Figures from analysts NPD put sales of fashion dolls at £120million last year, up 23 per cent on the year before. That’s the equivalent of 15million dolls. Their popularity was confirmed by Sainsbury’s, which reported a 36.6 per cent increase in fashion doll sales last year. Through the ages: A Barbie doll from 2009 sports a tattoo on her right arm in an attempt to revive the brand (left). A superstar barbie from 1977 (right) as she celebrated her 50th anniversary . Despite Barbie’s success, the biggest sellers are a range of dolls called Monster High, which are hugely popular in the U.S. They tap into the popularity of vampire books and films, such as the Twilight series, with characters called Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf and Frankie Stein. Frederique Tutt, of NPD, said: ‘The fashion-themed dolls category has always been an all-time favourite for little girls. Some 47 per cent of sales are directly requested by the recipient. ‘Growth came from all age groups in 2011, but even more so from the fickle eight to 11 [age range]. This age group is usually attracted by other categories such as fashion, accessories [and] video games and toys can be perceived as “babyish”.’ She added: ‘Barbie struggled to reinvent herself a few years ago, when Bratz became popular, however she is now seeing a resurgence across all age groups.’ | Five years ago Barbie was being massively outsold by rivals . | dd6efc443408b08530e7e61d13dbd2fe8d2b8361 |
Manchester United are hopeful that Robin van Persie’s ankle injury will only keep him out for one game, which is good news for Louis van Gaal but not for Radamel Falcao. Van Persie limped out of United’s defeat at home to Southampton on Sunday and was forced to cancel plans to travel to Zurich for the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony where he had been nominated for Goal of the Year. However, tests have revealed no serious damage and Van Persie is only expected to be ruled out of this weekend’s game at QPR. Robin van Persie (left) hobbled out of Manchester United's defeat at home to Southampton on Sunday . Ander Herrera replaces van Persie during the second half of the defeat to Southampton at Old Trafford . The 31-year-old should be available for the trip to Cambridge United in the FA Cup a week on Friday, although he was rested for United’s game at Yeovil in the last round when Van Gaal gave James Wilson an opportunity to impress. The news on Van Persie is less positive for Falcao who is desperate for a run in the team to persuade United to make his loan move from Monaco permanent in the summer. The Colombia star was surprisingly axed from the 18-man squad for the Southampton match by Van Gaal, casting further doubt over United’s intentions to go ahead with a £52million deal. Radamel Falcao is given a tough welcome to England by Stoke City defender Marc Wilson at Old Trafford . Falcao has struggled to make an impact for Manchester United this season and would cost up to £52 million . Falcao is expected to regain his place against QPR in Van Persie’s absence on Saturday, but his return to the starting line-up may be shortlived. His agent Jorge Mendes admitted earlier this week that he was unsure if the former FC Porto and Atletico Madrid striker would stay at Old Trafford beyond this season after starting only eight games so far. ‘I don’t know (if he will stay),’ said Mendes. ‘He is a fantastic player and I think it’s very difficult for Manchester United fans. They have an absolutely brilliant player, one of the very best in the world, who would without any doubt play 90 minutes, every time, with any other club. ‘The truth is, now, we don’t know what will happen. What we do know is that he will play for one of the very best clubs in the world next season, whether that is Manchester United or not. I am 100 per cent sure of that. But you know how football works, we’ll see what happens.’ Falcao and Van Gaal walk side-by-side following his arrival on-loan from Ligue One side Monaco in the summer . Van Gaal dropped Colombian striker Falcao from the squad for the defeat against Southampton on Sunday . One striker certain to be leaving United is Angelo Henriquez after the club agreed a transfer fee in the region of £1m with Dinamo Zagreb. Henriquez cost £4m when he moved to Old Trafford in the summer of 2012 from Universidad de Chile but never played a competitive game for United, scoring once in a pre-season friendly against Swedish club AIK a year later. He went out on loan to Wigan and Real Zaragoza before making a season-long move to Zagreb where he has scored 10 goals so far this season. Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic (left) confirms that a deal for Angelo Henriquez (right) has been agreed . The deal included an option for the Croatian side to sign Henriquez permanently in the summer, and coach Zoran Mamic confirmed that terms have now been agreed. With so many star names in Van Gaal’s squad, Henriquez had already indicated that his future would probably lie away from Old Trafford. ‘We have bought him outright,’ said Mamic. ‘Taking Henriquez depends on us, not on Manchester United. We took him with the right of first refusal, which stands at around €1.5m, and we have already signed a contract with him for the summer. There is no longer any doubt – he is ours and the story is resolved.’ Meanwhile, FC Midtjylland of Denmark have failed with a bid for United’s Danish keeper Anders Lindegaard. Lindegaard is for sale after Victor Valdes signed, but the clubs cannot agree a fee and the keeper would prefer to join a bigger team. Henriquez in action for Dinamo Zagreb during the Europa League clash with FC Astra Giurgiu in Croatia . | Robin van Persie went off injured in defeat to Southampton at Old Trafford . Dutchman missed Ballon d'Or ceremony to undergo scans . Tests revealed no serious damage but he will miss game against QPR . News comes as a blow to Radamel Falcao as he hunts for a run of games . | 602562dc6ab01621b4e3fa4e8cb39a6c1fbe2ba1 |
You might expect electronics or toys to be at the top of a nine-year-old's Christmas list, but a boy from Connecticut asked Santa for only one thing: that his grandfather would get the day off work. To the shock of Julian Otero's family, his grandfather's boss at Madison Beach Hotel in Madison granted his wish, so Leo Otero will be able to have Christmas dinner with his loved ones. 'Dear Santa,' Julian's letter read. 'My greatest wish is that you talk to my grandfather's boss, Mr John Mathers, and ask him if he could give my grandfather Christmas Day off. 'I would like it if he could be with his grandkids and family. Thank you Santa and tell Mr Mathers thank you as well.' Scroll down for video . Kindness: Leo Ortero, right, does not have to work Christmas Day after his grandson Julian, left with his mother and brother, wrote a letter to Santa requesting he got the day off from work . Plea: Julian penned this letter to Santa asking if his grandfather's boss would give him the day off . He signed the letter from himself and fellow relatives - and also managed to squeeze in an extra line that read: 'P.S. If you have time and think I earned it, I would also love an Xbox 360.' Julian gave his letter to his mother to mail for him - but she handed it to his grandfather, who took it to the Madison Beach Hotel and showed it to Mathers, the general manager. 'It's real touching and being that he's my older grandson, I had to do something,' Otero told KFOR. Mathers said he agreed something had to be done about the letter. 'We immediately drafted the memo in response,' he told ABC News. 'I received a phone call from the North Pole this morning asking me to contact Santa on his private cell phone,' read the letter written to Leo Otero, Julian's grandfather. Response: The hotel staff sent a letter back to Mr Ortero, saying they had heard from Santa . Happy to help: His boss, John Mathers, said it is the first direct request he has ever had from Santa . 'I called him and he was concerned that you were planning to work on Christmas day... I think it would be best if you planned to take the day off and spend it with your family. Work can wait until after Christmas!' He added: 'P.S. Did you know that Julian wants an Xbox 360? Santa is not sure he's ready for such a fancy toy.' Speaking to KFOR, Mathers added: 'This is the first time I've had a direct intervention from Santa Claus himself.' Mr Otero said he was relieved by the response and is looking forward to spending the day with his grandchildren. See below for video . | Julian Otero wrote a letter to Santa asking him to give his grandfather, Leo Otero, the day off from work at a hotel in Madison, Connecticut . Julian's mother showed Leo the letter, and he showed it to his boss . The boss immediately contacted Santa and they agreed that Mr Otero should have the day off because 'work can wait', he said . | 8ba3b408bece5e6a2b9f275a77b85381eccc6a4a |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:18 EST, 19 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 23:18 EST, 19 June 2013 . A California man who uncannily resembles a caveman has been arrested after he threw a spear at a passing car. Jeffery Allen Jones, 56, was booked into a Sacramento jail on Tuesday night after he was spotted launching the unusual weapon into traffic. A witness called police at around 7:38 p.m. to report that a man standing in the road had thrown a spear at a passing vehicle. Yawn? Jeffery Allen Jones, 56, was booked into a Sacramento jail on Tuesday night after he was spotted launching the unusual weapon into traffic . According to Sacramento police, the spear became lodged in the car after hitting its front fender. It's unclear who was driving the car or whether Jones knew the motorist. Police presume it was a random attack. Officers arrived on the scene and, after a brief search, located the suspect nearby. Jones was booked into jail for assault with a deadly weapon and is being held. The incident took place on Auburn Boulevard and Annadale Lane. There were no reports of any injuries. Scene: The spear was lodged in the front fender of the car along Auburn Boulevard and Annadale Lane, pictured, in Sacramento . Bizarre: Jones was booked into a Sacramento jail on Tuesday night after he was spotted launching a spear, like that pictured, into traffic . The spear is 6-foot long and weighs about 30 pounds. It was put into evidence, according to officers. Police did not say what the spear was made of. Jones has had six previous arrests for evading his Regional Transit fare and another time for trespassing, according to Fox News. In his latest mug shot, Jones has his eyes closed and his mouth wide open. He is sporting long hair and a bushy, greying beard. | Jeffery Allen Jones, 56, was booked into a Sacramento jail on Tuesday night after he was spotted launching the spear into traffic . The unusual weapon became lodged in the car after hitting its front fender . He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon . | 54d8551055d6fe5ad52a100d0acbd396fc70cf94 |
Washington (CNN) -- The FBI said Friday it will respond to questions from Congress on the use of FBI aircraft amid allegations that Attorney General Eric Holder is among officials who "may have used FBI planes for his own travel when aircraft were needed for FBI operations." Both the Justice Department and the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed FBI Director Robert Mueller himself intends to reply to the allegations. A letter to Mueller from key congressional Republicans in the House and Senate said Thursday that in one case, Holder is alleged to have reserved an FBI aircraft, "upgraded to a larger aircraft owned by a different agency and left the FBI plane sitting idle because he failed to notify the FBI in a timely manner." The letter from Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, was also signed by powerful GOP House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Frank Wolf of Virginia. In May, Grassley asked Mueller, who was testifying on Capitol Hill, if the FBI had to lease a plane because the bureau's jet was reserved for top Justice Department officials. Mueller responded: "The Attorney General, the Department of Justice, the FBI, understand that these planes are first for investigative work," Mueller said. "They are used for counterterrorism, criminal cases, and that any travel of the principals is secondary to the use of the plane for the investigative work of the FBI." The answer was not sufficient for Grassley and his colleagues. The lawmakers want to know why the FBI pays for Holder's travel, even when he uses non-FBI planes such as Department of Defense or Federal Aviation Administration aircraft. Among several other demands, the lawmakers want the FBI to list all flights billed to the FBI by the Justice Department, and whether all of those flights were for official or personal travel. The letter, apparently coincidentally, was sent to Mueller on the day The Washington Post highlighted what it called "Eric Holder's world tour." The Post noted that Holder is planning a trip to the Middle East. He has already traveled this summer on official business to Denmark, Germany, Guam, Malaysia and Singapore. The article notes the attorney general appears to have itineraries packed full of official meetings, so he has little time for sightseeing. The expenses associated with the travel of attorneys general and other top government officials is an oft-debated topic in Washington. Frequently, the party out of power or its allies complain about the cost to taxpayers for official travel. Holder's predecessor, Michael Mukasey, who served under President George W. Bush, was also questioned about his travel expenses. One of the major issues is the government's requirement that for security reasons, attorneys general, Homeland Security secretaries, FBI directors, and many defense and civilian intelligence officials must fly in government aircraft. When these officials travel on personal business they must reimburse the government at the rate of a round trip coach fare. The cost of a round trip coach fare between Washington and New York, for example costs about $130, while the actual cost of operating a government plane to and from New York to Washington is more than $4,000. The taxpayers pay the difference. | Holder "may have used FBI planes for his own travel when aircraft were needed for FBI operations" FBI Director Robert Mueller will respond to the allegation by GOP leaders . Lawmakers want to know why FBI pays for Holder's travel when he uses non-FBI aircraft . | abf774e74d4e5d95a05a1669d3433d7e35d2d2f6 |
Just three years ago, this was a run down house worth £575,000. But with a lot of love and devotion, its new owners transformed it into an ultra luxurious property. And now it has gone on the market for a cool £1.395million. This means that in three years it will have earned its owners £800,000 – about £660 a day. Scroll down for video . Unassuming: This house in south west has more than doubled in value over three years after a major revamp . Understated: The whole house is painted in ivory and many features are hidden, including a full rowing machine . The price of the house in Southfields, South-West London - on sale with Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward estate agents - is the latest example of London’s soaring property market. Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics said that house prices in the capital are rising by nearly 19 per cent a year, the second fastest rate since its records began. The average home in the capital now . costs £485,000, which means it will cross the landmark of £500,000 . within weeks if house prices continue to rocket. Laura and Andrew Blake bought the house in January 2011 from an elderly woman. Mr Blake, 42, who works for the project management company Lifestyle Homes, and his wife, a former primary school teacher, took it on as a renovation project. Hot property: The kitchen includes an instant boiling water tap so the couple never have to switch on a kettle . They installed a designer Jacuzzi, a rowing machine hidden under a trap door in the kitchen and a boiling water tap so they never have to switch on a kettle. They also have a double-sized ‘rain shower’ and a laundry chute leading away from each bedroom directly to the laundry room. In the garden they created a golf putting green and planted lemon trees lit by sensor lights to give them lemons all year round. Mrs Blake said: ‘We loved doing the project . and we’ve really enjoyed the space. I must admit we are pleased with the price.’ They now plan to move to another rundown house in the area and work their renovating magic on it. Green shoots of recovery: There is even a small area for putting practice for the two golf enthusiasts . Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show there is more mortgage debt in south-west London than there is in the whole of Wales. Homeowners in the area now owe a total of £29.4billion, compared to £28.6billion in Wales. Yesterday the Bank of England said it would ‘not hesitate’ to take urgent action, if needed, to cool the housing market. The governor Mark Carney said he was ‘fully aware’ that rock-bottom interest rates might encourage families into ‘excessive risk taking’, such as taking out a super-size mortgage which they can only afford when rates are low. | Home in Southfields, London, was run-down and worth £575,000 in 2011 . Laura and Andrew Blake turned it into an ultra-luxury home worth £1.4m . It comes after ONS said house prices in capital are rising 19% a year . | b61ab640dc6744d1ab52c9e391ebf37f3999ca15 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bo the Portuguese water dog made his White House debut under cloudy skies Tuesday afternoon, spending several minutes taking his new family on a lively romp over the South Lawn with frequent stops for hearty sniffs at his new surroundings. Malia Obama practices walking Bo as her parents and sister, Sasha, wait their turn. Bo landed on all four feet at his fourth home in his six short months of life, fulfilling President Obama's campaign promise to get his daughters a dog in return for all the time he spent on the road during the long presidential fight. "He's a star. He's got star quality," the president said of the black curly pup with white front feet and chest and a lion-cut tail. The Obamas ended up with a purebred dog, despite the president's preference for a mutt, largely because of 10-year-old Malia's allergies -- Portuguese water dogs don't shed -- and because of opportunity. Watch Bo frolic on the White House lawn » . Bo didn't fit in well with his first owners and was returned to the breeder in March. That breeder happened to be the breeder of Sen. Ted Kennedy's Portuguese water dogs, and when Kennedy learned the puppy was available, he arranged to offer him to the Obamas. Bo spent a month with Kennedy's trainer before coming to the White House for an initial visit over the weekend and for his official welcome Tuesday. "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan said on Tuesday afternoon that Portuguese water dogs are an active breed and will need long walks and will need to understand quickly who is the "pack leader." "Very important everybody plays the leadership role -- the girls, Ms. Michelle, obviously, the president," he said. "Everybody has to learn to walk the dog, to master the walk." The Obamas, Millan said, have an opportunity to model good behavior for dog owners. "This is definitely the most popular dog in the world right now," he said. "This is why it's very important for everybody -- all the Obama family -- to practice the exercise, the discipline and affection." While out with his family and the dog Tuesday afternoon, Obama said Bo had "a bunch of possibilities" of where to sleep, but his own bed wasn't one of those. Bo will be allowed into the Oval Office, he said, and the family will take turns with walks. The president and his family also shared some of their newfound knowledge about Portuguese water dogs. "The only concern we have is that apparently, Portuguese water dogs like tomatoes. Michelle's garden is in danger," he said. "We don't have tomatoes," the first lady said. "Not yet," Obama reminded. "He doesn't know how to swim," chimed in 7-year-old Sasha. "Apparently they have to be taught how to swim," the president said. "They have webbed feet. And they herd fish for the fishermen in Portugal. That is what we've heard." | Portuguese water dog cavorts on South Lawn with Obama family . 6-month-old pup fulfills president's campaign promise to daughters . Puppy is gift to Obama girls from Sen. Ted Kennedy, who owns several of the dogs . | e2a7996d339be5172ea25638337ccc037dfe7f9b |
By . Paul Revoir and Miles Goslett . PUBLISHED: . 19:04 EST, 16 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:31 EST, 16 March 2012 . Ticket to ride: Gary Lineker, pictured with his wife Danielle, is chauffeured between Manchester and London after his Match of the Day duties at a cost of £15,000 to the BBC . You might expect someone earning a reputed £2million to be able to foot his own commuting bills. But it seems the BBC has other ideas – and is splashing out more than £15,000 a year to cover Gary Lineker’s travel to work. After finishing each Match of the Day show, the presenter has a chauffeur waiting to drive him from the Corporation’s new studios in Salford to his home in London. The BBC also pays for the former England captain’s first-class train ticket from London to Manchester to begin filming each week. This is despite Lineker, 51, taking home one of the highest salaries at the Corporation. The broadcaster’s official policy is not to pay travel expenses for freelance presenters who live in the South-East and work in Salford – meaning other hosts, such as Radio 5 Live’s Victoria Derbyshire, have to meet these costs themselves. But Lineker’s contract was signed before the Corporation’s move to the Greater Manchester site was confirmed. It is understood to have guaranteed to provide his travel to and from the programme. Since the move, however, Lineker’s 200-mile chauffeur-driven trip home from work can take up to four hours and costs around £350. He makes the journey 40 times a year, leaving his employer with an annual bill of about £14,000. His rail tickets are thought to cost a further £1,500 every 12 months. Longer commute: Match of the Day was transferred from London to the MediaCityUK development (above) in Salford last November . Tied in: The former England captain's contract, which was signed before the move to the MediaCityUK development in Salford (above), is understood to have guaranteed travel to and from the programme . The BBC insists the first-class fare . is justified to ensure the presenter’s privacy, and claims the . chauffeur-driven car is necessary because filming finishes after the . last London-bound train has left Manchester. But . John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport . select committee, said: ‘It is very difficult to see how the BBC can . justify this given the amount Gary Lineker is paid, particularly if . people on much lower salaries have to pay transport costs themselves.’ The revelation has also irritated staff members who have uprooted their families and moved to the North-West to keep their jobs. In other work: The MOTD presenter opens Lineker's Lunches in London on March 12 to unveil the answer to Walkers Crisps' three mystery flavours . One said: ‘Why are people who are . being paid such a vast sum of money already not being told that if you . want to work for the BBC, you have to move near your place of work? 'There is a feeling so-called talent get things other members of staff don’t get.’ Two . years ago, the Daily Mail revealed that the BBC was spending thousands . of pounds each year on taxis to take Match of the Day pundits Alan . Shearer, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson from the studios in London to . their homes in the North-East and North-West. Not so privileged: The broadcaster's policy is not to foot the travel expenses of freelance presenters such as Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire (above) Expensive business: The Daily Mail revealed two years ago how the BBC was spending thousands each year on taxis for MOTD pundits Alan Shearer (left), Alan Hansen (second right) and Mark Lawrenson (right) The show was transferred from London to the MediaCityUK development in Salford last November. The BBC declined to comment on current travel arrangements for its pundits, but a spokesman said: ‘The BBC is obliged to honour any existing contract that stipulates that it meet the cost of travel and we always ensure that the costs are kept as low as possible.’ Lineker’s agent said: ‘We have no comment whatsoever.’ | Corporation also pays for his first-class train to Match of the Day studio . MP: ‘Difficult to see how BBC can . justify this given amount he is paid' | 0838102e1b3e3778d148beff2f752b0642f043e4 |
By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 05:24 EST, 23 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:27 EST, 23 August 2012 . A Heathrow worker drove his baggage cart into the side of the plane causing over £1 million of damage after forgetting how big his vehicle was. Terrified passengers had to be evacuated from the stricken airliner after the costly collision which knocked one of the crew off her feet as she stood in the cockpit just minutes before the Airbus 321 was due to take off. Engineers later found the vehicle had 'sliced through' the aircraft's tail - just inches from its fuel line, Uxbridge Magistrates' Court heard. The Scandinavian Airlines plane was out of service for 138 days as extensive repairs were needed after the collision (file picture) The cost of fixing the Scandinavian Airways plane is estimated to have been up to £1.2m - but high loader driver Dennis Jackson, 60, was yesterday fined just £250 over the incident after magistrates heard he had forgotten which vehicle he was driving. The jet's 175 passengers were boarding on the jetway at around 10.15am on June 12 this year when the accident happened at Terminal 3. Amanda McCabe, prosecuting, said the aircraft shook violently during the crash, while another member of ground crew feared the impact 'would cause a fire.' She said: 'The damage was very clear - it had sliced through the rear of the aircraft, causing extensive damage. 'The fuel line was very close to where it had impacted, and there were passengers and crew on the aircraft - it was preparing to move away from the stand. 'This collision was due to the defendant not following instructions contained within the Heathrow Airport Operational Safety Instructions.' After being evacuated, the plane remained out of action for 13 days while repair crews brought it back to working order. The plane's rear access door remained jammed shut and later had to be hammered open because its metal locks had been bent. High loaders are used by ground crew to move luggage around airports, and can be raised to meet the height of a plane's hold. Accident: The collision took place at Heathrow Airport, Britain's largest (file picture) Bethan Charnley, defending, said Jackson was responsible for an 'expensive accident' after forgetting he was driving the largest type of the vehicle. The high loader in question had earlier that day been used to lift a car into an aircraft's hold, she said. 'This wasn't needed any more, and he was asked to take that back,' she said. 'Unfortunately the difference in size led to the accident occurring - Mr Jackson is used to driving the regular-sized one. 'He misjudged the distance and failed to take into account the width and height. 'His misjudgement was something that lasted a matter of moments, he wasn't going fast, wasn't taking any shortcuts or acting in a risky manner. 'He is extremely sorry that this accident occurred. He has been devastated by this. If he could go back and have that moment again he certainly would be careful.' Ms Charnley added Jackson had an 'exemplary record' since being hired by contractor Dnata in January 2006. The lawyer said guidelines issued by airport owner BAA recommended that cones were laid out clearly marking which areas were safe to drive in, but these had not been followed. After the crash, Jackson was fined one week's wages and handed a final written warning, but his employers were said to be awaiting the outcome of today's case before deciding whether to take further action. Handing the driver a £150 fine and ordering him to pay £85 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge, chair of the bench Marilyn Levene said he had made a 'genuine mistake.' His driving licence cannot be endorsed with penalty points because the incident, which breaches Heathrow Airport byelaws, did not take place on a public road. 'We do feel very sorry that this happened to you,' said Mrs Levene. 'We do accept this was a momentary lapse in concentration after, clearly, a very good career.' Jackson, of Ashford, Middlesex, admitted driving without due care and attention in breach of section 5(1)(b) of the Heathrow Airport - London Byelaws 1996. Following his guilty plea, the prosecution offered no evidence on a separate charge under the same byelaws of driving in a way likely to cause danger or nuisance. | Driver ordered to pay £250 in fines and costs for £1.2m accident . Dennis Jackson, 60, had exemplary record before costly collision . | f7c9f133e355bab32968dc4ea4775ad126d70330 |
This is the moment a rare World War Two German float plane was raised from its saltwater grave virtually intact – almost 70 years after it sank. The twin-engined Heinkel He-115 torpedo bomber was hoisted out of the water by engineers and divers in a recovery operation in a fjord near Stavanger, Norway. Now there are hopes the plane will be restored to its former glory and may one day fly again despite it sinking 120ft down to the silty sea floor in 1942 after it was damaged during a botched water landing. Scroll down for video . Emerging from the depths: The tail section of the Heinkel He-115 is pulled from the fjord off Stavanger, Norway after spending almost 70 years under water . Restoration begins: Volunteers and engineers prepare the floatplane for transportation after it was lifted by crane to the shore . Nose section: The remains of the aircraft aircraft are in remarkably good condition, including the perspex around the cockpit and one of the engines, left . The decision to attempt to recover Heinkel 8L+FH was made after its discovery in 2005 during sonar-equipment testing by the Norwegian Mapping Authority. Divers found the aircraft, along with two bombs, which were removed and later destroyed. The condition of the plane is considered to be remarkable, owing to it having lain in low-oxygen silt in a part of the fjord where currents are minimal. Tailplane: The Nazi swastika and identification number is clearly visible next to the plane's rudder . Recovery operation: Years in the planning, last month's raising of the bomber was the result of sponsorship of local companies . Wing section: Although showing some minor damage to the tips, the plane's wings appear strong despite decades in salty water . After a fundraising effort by enthusiasts and sponsorship from local firms, volunteers were last month able to raise it from the depths leaving it suspended below the surface from a barge. It was then transported to the shore in Hafrsfjord by tugs and crane-lifted out of the water. Before the final lift divers spent several hours washing out silt from within the aircraft to reduce the weight and the risk of the plane breaking apart when it was moved. First glimpse: Divers and other volunteers take a peek into the plane's interior through its damaged nose cone . Propellers: Just one BMW engine remains on the plane after German engineers removed the other in 1942 after a botched landing led to the plane sinking . Crowd-pleaser: Local people watched the bomber lifted from the waves by crane . Oliver Scott, 31, a British oil worker who witnessed the recovery, said: ‘It was extraordinary to see plane emerge from the water looking as if it was only lost yesterday. ‘It was in remarkably good condition, you could see the swastika on the tail plane and a machine gun still had a belt of ammunition attached.’ Armament: The plane's protective machine gun is handled by a worker. An ammunition belt can still be seen leading into the weapon . Carried away: A diver in a heavy-duty wetsuit takes a weapon away, left, while workers inspect the engine, right . Rare find: The plane is the only salvaged Heinkel He-115 in existence and there are hopes it can be restored to flying condition . Recovery workers then took the plane to Sola Airport in Stavanger where aircraft museum workers dismantled it into five sections before placing it in a freshwater tank where it will remain for two years. The museum is already restoring a number of rare wartime aircraft, including a Messerschmitt BF-109G, an Italian Caproni bomber and a German Arado trainer, in addition to a BMW engine identical to the ones originally fitted to the Heinkel. Crew: 3Length: 56ft 9inWingspan: 73ft 1inHeight: 21ft 7inEngines: 2 BMW 132K 9-cylinder radialMax speed: 203mphCombat radius 1,305 milesCeiling: 17,100ftGuns: . 1 × fixed 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun and 1 × flexible 7.92 mm . (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in dorsal and nose positionsBombs: Five 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, or two such bombs and one torpedo of 800 kg (1,760 lb)Mines: One 920 kg (2,030 lb) sea mine . Remnants of silt and saltwater will be removed during the process, preparing it for further restoration in the same hanger from which it operated during World War Two. Purchased by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service from Nazi Germany in 1939, the bomber was later used in the ultimately unsuccessful battle against German forces. The occupying Nazis then commandeered the plane, using it to bomb Allied shipping, reconnaissance and to escort its own vessels. The mid-sized, twin-engined float plane was returning from a convoy escort mission off Jæren when it lost a float on landing and overturned on 29 December 1942. None of the aircrew were lost, and the Germans were able to salvage the starboard engine and floats before the bomber sank and came to rest upside-down just off Prestøya island, less than two nautical miles from its base. Of some 300 aircraft made, 8L+FH is the only salvaged He-115 in existence. Restoration begins: A worker gets inside the plane, before it is placed in five fresh water tanks to be washed . Protection: The seaplane was returning from convoy escort duties when it was damaged in a landing accident . Wartime Nazi bomber: The Heinkel He-115 flying boat, pictured during World War Two, was used to attack shipping and in a reconnaissance role . Found: The plane was discovered by the island of Prestoy, and will be restored in a hanger at Stavanger Airport . A further three 'Norwegian' He-115s have been located in the Trondheimsfjord farther north, although these have been said to be in a comparatively poor state. Hafrsfjord was the scene of an epic Viking naval battle in 872 A.D., which according to most history books was a direct precursor to the unification of Norway, and has previously yielded all manner of artefacts from the Viking era. VIDEO: Watch the story of this historical plane as it is salvaged 70 years after crashing... Watch more of the salvage... | Heinkel He-115 sank after botched water landing in 1942 . Spotted by Norwegian mappers using sonar equipment in 2005 . Lifted from its saltwater grave by crane and will now be restored . | d3f28756be54d7328e324f02d1e6168893f8d388 |
(CNN) -- As Tracy Ocasio's 28th birthday came and went last week, her mother remained hopeful that she would soon get answers about the young Florida woman's disappearance nearly three months ago. Tracy Ocasio disappeared after watching a ball game with friends at an Orlando, Florida, sports bar. Police have a person of interest in custody on unrelated charges, but they still don't have the full story, said Detective Mark Olson of the Ocoee Police Department near Orlando. In honor of Ocasio's birthday, her family increased the reward for information on her disappearance to $20,000. Elizabeth Ocasio said she last spoke with her daughter about 8:30 p.m. May 26. Tracy Ocasio said she planned to come home that night after watching a televised basketball game with friends at the Florida Tap Room, a popular sports bar in Orlando. When Ocasio didn't come home that night, her mother said she assumed she'd decided to stay at a friend's house. She often stayed with the friend when she was too tired to drive home. At 6:30 the next morning, Elizabeth Ocasio sent a text message to her daughter: "Where are you?" She did not receive a response, she said, so she called her daughter's cell phone again two hours later. The phone rang a few times and then went to voice mail. She tried calling Ocasio several more times that day, and each time, the call went to voice mail. "I was worried, but I still did not imagine that anything terrible could have happened," Elizabeth Ocasio said. Panic set in when she received a call from police on the afternoon of May 27. They'd found Tracy Ocasio's car in a rundown neighborhood three miles from the Ocasio home. The car was parked on private property, and the residents had called to have it towed. "When I got there, I knew something didn't make sense. Tracy would never go to such a neighborhood by herself," Elizabeth Ocasio told CNN. She found her daughter's purse in the car, but her ID, cell phone and car keys were missing. By 7 p.m., Tracy Ocasio was officially reported missing and a county-wide search was under way. It lasted for weeks. "We searched bodies of water and heavily wooded areas," Olson said, "and we continue to search based on tips we receive." The investigation led detectives to James Hataway, 28, who is considered a person of interest because a Tap Room surveillance video shows him leaving the bar with Tracy Ocasio, Olson said. A spokesman said the Orange County Public Defender's Office would have no comment. Police questioned Hataway for 11 hours over two days. He told investigators that Ocasio had given him a ride home from the bar that night, Olson said. Hataway told police that he didn't see Ocasio after she dropped him off. His home was just 200 yards from where Ocasio's car was found, police said. During questioning, Hataway took a polygraph test, which police said showed some discrepancies, Olson said. Police brought bloodhounds to where Ocasio's car was found, but the dogs didn't hit on her scent, leading police to believe she wasn't the one who parked her car there. Police also say no forensic evidence was found to suggest Ocasio was injured or killed inside her car. Police are holding Hataway on unrelated charges at the Orange County Jail. He is charged with aggravated battery, robbery and false imprisonment stemming from an incident in neighboring Seminole County in August 2008. A young woman said she gave him a ride home one night. She said he attacked her and tried to break her neck, but she fought back. She'd reported the assault when it happened but only later were police able to identify Hataway as the alleged assailant. Hataway remains in custody on those charges with bail set at $250,000. He has not pled. Shortly after his interrogation in the Ocasio case, the public defender's office took Hataway's case, and he stopped talking. Hataway has not been named a suspect and has not been charged in the Ocasio case. Police and family urge anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the person responsible for Ocasio's disappearance to call the tip line at 1-800-423-TIPS. A $20,000 reward is offered. | Tracy Ocasio last spoke with her mother about 8:30 p.m. on May 26 . Her car was found the next day in Ocoee, near Orlando, Florida . Surveillance video shows her leaving a sports bar with a man now in jail . Know something? Call 1-800-423-TIPS; a $20,000 reward is offered . | ef803a18a4f52027ac5034b56ae7a161ab2b228d |
A Scottish church has become the first in the UK to share its premises with Muslim worshippers. St John’s Episcopal Church in Aberdeen now welcomes hundreds of Muslims praying five times a day in their building as the nearby mosque was so small that they were forced to worship outside. The minister of St John's, Rev Isaac Poobalan, has handed over part of the church hall to Chief Imam Ahmed Megharbi and the imam has led prayers in the main chapel. Rev Poobalan said today that he would not be true to his faith if he did not offer to help. Sheikh Ahmed Megharbi, left, and Rev Isaac Poobalan, right, behind the altar at St John's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, which is also being used as a place of worship for Muslims . Rev Poobalan, right, said he would not be true to his faith if he did not offer to help his neighbours with their overcrowding problem . He said: 'Praying is never wrong. My job is to encourage people to pray. 'The mosque was so full at times, there would be people outside in the wind and rain praying. 'I knew I couldn’t just let this happen - because I would be abandoning what the Bible teaches us about how we should treat our neighbours. 'When I spoke to people at the church . about the situation, someone actually said to me this was not our . problem, but I had seen it with my own eyes, so it was a problem. Rev Poobalan said: 'They were out there praying and the snow came on for the first time in winter, it was really hard to watch. 'When they were doing the prayer they had their hands and feet exposed and they were sitting on on the pavement, which is very rough. 'You could even see them breathing because it was so cold and I think when I saw that, the visual impact was such that I just couldn't walk past. 'It felt wrong, mainly because the church is next door, it's a big building and it remains empty on a Friday lunchtime which is when they need the place most as that's when they are at their busiest. 'We had something we could offer and they were just standing out in the cold and I said to my congregation "we need to do something".' Rev Poobalan said he wanted the move to help build bridges between Christians and Muslims after some initial resistance from his congregation about the move. He said: 'It's a move that is so basic and fundamental. It has nothing to do with religion - it's all based on human need. 'The religious divide shouldn't divide us as people. 'But I anticipated there would be some opposition as it's strange and new and there was some natural anxiety in the beginning. 'But once people realised that there is more commonality between us. 'I certainly hope, wish and pray that this will help relations between the two religions. 'When I spoke to the imam there was some hesitation on their part too, because this has never been done before. 'But they took us up on the offer and it has been a positive relationship.' St John's Episcopal Church in Aberdeen is believed to be the first in the UK to share with Muslims . Rev Poobalan, 50, said being . surrounded by Islam while growing up in India helped break down the . divide for worshippers of two religions praying together in Aberdeen. Sheikh . Ahmed Megharbi of the Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid mosque said: 'What . happens here is special and there should be no problem repeating this . across the country. 'The relationship is friendly and respectful.' St . John's is part of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is part of the . Anglican Communion and distinct from the presbyterian Church of . Scotland. The Bishop of . Aberdeen and Orkney, the Right Rev Dr Robert Gillies said that this . relationship could be the start of a change in dynamics between the two . faiths. Dr Gillies said: 'It would be good to think we can change the world. 'Most of us most of the time feel we can’t so don’t bother. 'But sometimes, someone has a vision we can do something of global significance on a local scale. 'This is what is happening between St John’s and the mosque in its grounds. 'Everyone can do something locally and if more were to do so then something big might just begin to happen globally.' Dr . Gillies said that the 'eyes of the world' were now focused on the two . faiths represented in the building on the city’s Crown Terrace. Although the Christian church regards Jesus as the son of God, the Muslim faith views him as a key prophet. Sections of the church hall have been handed over to the mosque and the imam has led prayers in the chapel . Even with differences like these, there can be a mutual respect, said Dr Gillies. The relationship between the mosque and St John’s has developed over the past few years. On Christmas Eve 2010 both opened their doors for prayers, food and socialising. In 2011, the church and mosque teamed up to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA. Verses were read from both the Bible and the Koran to commemorate those who died. There have been cases of Christians allowing Muslims to pray in their churches in parts of America. In 2011, two Florida churches were criticised for opening their doors to Muslim groups. But Church leaders believe the move in Aberdeen is a first for the United Kingdom. | The Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid mosque was too small to fit everyone in . Church minister Rev Isaac Poobalan saw worshippers praying outside . Now he has handed over part of St John's Episcopal Church in Aberdeen . Bishop says: 'It would be good to think we can change the world' | d6ad31e491e39d16d41d4445401b42c500be3c2c |
Northumbria Police chief constable Sue Sim says jibes would not have been made if she was a ‘short fat man' She was compared to Margaret Beckett and to Wallace and Gromit character Lady Tottington . By . Anna Edwards . Last updated at 6:34 PM on 14th September 2011 . Under attack: Sue Sim's hair and makeup were mocked . The police officer who was taunted for looking like Margaret Beckett and a Wallace and Gromit character has hit back at the sexist jokes made at her expense as she led the Raoul Moat manhunt. Northumbria Police chief constable Sue Sim said she found the comments about her hair and makeup hurtful and doubted they would have been made if she was a 'short, fat man'. Speaking yesterday at the North East Women Leaders' conference in Newcastle she said the hurtful jibes had tarnished the most important moment of her career, while she sought to track down the killer. 'It was quite hurtful to read what . the media said about my hair and make-up, and them making comparisons . with Margaret Beckett,' she said. 'I can't imagine that they would have done the same if I was a short fat man.' While Ms Sim was holding public appeals . and interviews during the gunman's rampage, she was showered with cruel . jokes, frequently appearing on the front pages of national newspapers . alongside snide remarks about her appearance. She . was compared to Labour MP and former foreign secretary Margaret . Beckett, and Lady Totting from the Wallace and Gromit film Curse of the . Were-Rabbit. Ms Sim told the audience of local . female sixth-form students how, despite the barrage of sexist comment, she . knew she just had to 'get on with it'. At six foot tall, the chief constable towers over a number of her male colleagues and is used to standing her ground. She . said: 'I work in a male dominated environment, so there have been . obstacles simply because I'm a woman, but it also helps that I'm a six . foot woman, so that makes it easier to stand my ground. 'But I had an important job to and I had to get on with it.' The event at Newcastle Business . School brought together successful women from industry, the arts and the . community to inspire female sixth formers from around the region. Ms Sim said comments that compared her to Lady Tottington (right) and Margaret Beckett were hurtful . While Ms Sim led the manhunt for Raoul Moat, the officer leading the operation was mocked about her make up . The . police chief led the manhunt which ended in violent Moat shooting . himself after a standoff with police officers who tried to negotiate . with him in July last year. During the operation, which began on . July 3 after Moat killed the boyfriend of his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, people went online to mock the chief constable's wavy hair . and features. But Ms Sim told the young women that she had to shake off the ridicule and focus on her job, rather than the hurtful criticism. She said: 'It is your responsibility and your choice to make sure you do what you want to do. 'You have to be able to promote yourself, be confident in your own abilities and you have to be prepared to say "yes".' 500 sixth formers from schools across the North East were invited to attend the event. Lauren Timmins, 16, from Burnside Business and Enterprise College in Wallsend, said: 'I feel more confident about my future after listening to the women speak here. 'It's been really interesting and very inspiring.' | Northumbria Police chief constable Sue Sim says jibes would not have been made if she was a ‘short fat man' She was compared to Margaret Beckett and to Wallace and Gromit character Lady Tottington . | cd2a3244637026285b4fd0d9f054212401532c20 |
By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 04:06 EST, 3 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:11 EST, 3 May 2013 . Bungling workmen painted yellow zig zag lines outside a former school without realising that it had closed and been demolished four years ago. The contractors seemingly didn't notice that they were painting 'school' on the road next to an empty field in Chester. The council closed Woodfield Primary in 2008 because there were too few children, and it was demolished a year later. Blunder: Workman painted yellow zig-zag lines on the road outside this empty field four years after the school was demolished in Chester . Roadworkers were instructed to paint the lines by the local authority and they diligently did the job without realising anything was wrong. It is believed the contractors were given an out of date list of sites that needed painting - and simply did away and did what they were told. They are thought to have painted a number of other lines around the town which weren't needed. Shirley Wingfield, spokeswoman at . Cheshire West and Chester Council, which carried out the work, said: . 'The road markings have been painted by mistake. They will be removed . when our workers are next in the area.' One local resident said: 'We wondered what was going on when the workmen turned up. We couldn't believe it when we came home later on and saw the markings had been redone. Mistake: The council will now send workman back to remove the freshly-painted yellow warning lines . 'That . road can be busy but I don't think there is much chance of any pupils . crossing it to get to the school anytime soon. It's a bit of a joke . really.' The site has been earmarked for an extra care housing scheme for older people, scheduled to open in 2015. Councillor . Adrian Walmsley said: 'I was made aware of the . road markings and I reported it to the council's highways department as . soon as I found out. 'Highways officers admitted it was their error, not the contractors, and have told me they will sort it out.' Empty field: Woodfield Primary, in Chester, was demolished around a year after it closed in 2008 because of low pupil numbers . | School in Chester was shutdown in 2008 and demolished a year later . But that didn't stop workman drawing lines on the road anyway . Council say they will be removed at the next opportunity . | b82cdff9c05e0910ac743dacfbaea4cbea8d76c3 |
By . Mark Duell . Britons woke up this morning to find their homes and cars covered in dust from the Sahara Desert. Unusual atmospheric conditions have blown up a sandstorm from Africa - and a thin layer of dust was seen today in areas of southern England including Cornwall and Greater London. The Met Office has forecast a ten out of ten level of air pollution for London for tomorrow and Wednesday, with warnings that the dust will this week cause one of the worst smogs of the year. Scroll down for video . Moving: The dust, shown in pink within the red circle, is carried within clouds, shown in red, to the UK, where it falls within rain showers . In need of a clean: Sahara dust on the Prime Minister's car outside 10 Downing Street in Westminster . Out of Africa: Andy Gunton's car (left) in Hastings, Sussex, and Steve Nash's vehicle (right) in Highworth, Wiltshire, were covered in Sahara dust today . Spotted: 'Dust rain' from the Sahara desert was seen today in Kensington, west London, among other areas . Up high: BBC Weather posted this photograph on Twitter of dust making it onto their rooftop camera at Broadcasting House in London . With such a high level of pollution . expected tomorrow, people with lung problems and the elderly have been . advised to avoid strenuous exercise - and healthy adults told to reduce . exertion outdoors. Steve Nash of Highworth, Wiltshire, was one of many drivers in the UK shocked when they found the residue on their vehicles today. The . 43-year-old said: ‘I'm quite interested in weather and I follow it all . the time, but I have never seen anything like this before. It happened . this afternoon. 'Most . of the cars in the street are also covered in the thin layer of sand. It's amazing when you think about how far it has come.’ From Africa to Britain: A sandstorm over Algeria last week saw sand launched high into the atmosphere . On the continent: Darren Millar's car covered in sand at his home in Le Dorat, western France, after rainfall which brought dust from the Sahara . Met Office forecaster Emma . Sharples . said: ‘This does happen - it has happened before. A 'coincidence of climatic and meteorological influences', according to experts, has led to Saharan sand being whirled high into the sky and whisked across Africa and mainland Europe before coming down. A sandstorm over Algeria last week saw sand launched high into the atmosphere. The Sahara is one of the largest deserts in the world - almost as big as China - and is often battered by strong winds. With the wind currently arriving here from the South/South-East, the conditions were in place to carry that sand over Cornwall. Then, light persistent rain yesterday brought it down to earth. When that rain dried, it left the sand as a visible residue on cars across Cornwall, London, western Wales and Ireland. This sort of weather event happens several times a year, particularly in the summer, according to forecasters. 'But you need the . combination of elements - the sandstorm in the Saharan region, the wind . from the South/South-East, and the right sort of rain. ‘You need a light rain, not too much - . just enough to bring it down and then when it dries out it leaves that . residue on cars. It's probably because the rain is not that heavy that . it does not get brought down and washed off straight away. Of course it . isn't dangerous. ‘The most it's going to be is an inconvenience to people who have it on their clean cars.’ Paul Hutcheon from the Met Office told . the London Evening Standard that this kind of weather event happens . ‘several times a year, particularly in summer when you get these big . dust storms in the western Sahara and the southerly winds to bring that . dust here’. April will kick off tomorrow with temperatures more than five degrees . warmer than average. The hottest day of the year so far is predicted tomorrow or Wednesday. Tomorrow could see a foggy start in central and southern . areas and dull and wet weather in Scotland. But the fog is soon expected to . clear bringing lots of sunshine and warm weather. Laura Young, of the Met Office, said today: ‘We are . expecting a warm week with temperatures at least five degrees above average. Forecast: Temperatures climbed to 20.9C (69.6F) in the South East yesterday and today is expected to be almost as hot. That is compared to Madrid, where it is set to be 14C (57F) and 18C (64F) in Ibiza . ‘We had the hottest day of the year . yesterday when it hit 20.9C in St James's Park in London and we could . see even higher tomorrow or Wednesday. At the moment the weekend is . looking like a mixture of sun and showers.’ 'Because the rain is not that heavy, it does not get brought down and washed off straight away' Emma Sharples, Met Office forecaster . Temperatures climbed to 20.9C (69.6F) in the South East yesterday and today is expected to be almost as hot. That is compared to Madrid, where it is set to be 14C (57F), and 18C (64F) in Ibiza. The sun is set to last all week, but it is expected to cool down before Saturday. The previous highest temperature so far this year was 20.5C (68.9F) in Gravesend, Kent, on March 9. In late March last year, Britain was shivering in snow and temperatures fell to minus 10C (14F). There were drifts as high as 4ft in the North and 20,000 homes lost power. | Unusual atmospheric conditions have blown up sandstorm from Africa . Thin layer of dust seen today in areas including Cornwall and London . 10/10 air pollution forecast for London for tomorrow and Wednesday . Temperatures hit 20.9C yesterday and today is expected to be as hot . Have you seen Sahara dust on something in Britain today? Email your pictures to: [email protected] . | 1640a4bc087a818c5bc0b0da7b81f29236d0b141 |
By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 01:30 EST, 9 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:33 EST, 9 May 2013 . The First World War's last surviving battleship is on course to be transformed into a floating museum after provisionally securing a £12 million lottery funding boost. The National Museum of the Royal Navy is now confident HMS Caroline will be opened as a 'world class' visitor attraction ahead of the centenary of its most famous wartime engagement - the 1916 Battle of Jutland off the coast of Denmark. The derelict vessel, which is currently docked in the same Belfast shipyards where the Titanic was built, was in danger of rusting away before moves to restore it started to build up steam last year. Leviathan: HMS Caroline is the First World War's last surviving battleship and is on course to be transformed into a floating museum after provisionally securing a £12million lottery funding boost . An historic image of HMS Caroline. It fought in the Battle of Jutland, where 14 British and 11 German ships were sunk, with great loss of life . The Heritage Lottery Fund today gave initial approval to a £12.2 million funding application to finance the restoration - the largest ever commitment made by the HLF in Northern Ireland. It has pledged £845,000 in first stage development funding and, if that work is completed as envisaged, the remainder of the money will then be released. The museum would complement a variety of maritime attractions in Belfast's old shipyards, including the £97million Titanic Belfast visitor attraction. A light cruiser, weighing 3,750 tons and measuring 446 feet, HMS Caroline was part of the screening force that sailed out ahead of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet during the Battle of Jutland to establish the position of the German battleships. Sentinel: During World War Two it was used as an operations HQ for the efforts to protect the Atlantic convoys . History: HMS Caroline is moored at the Alexandra Dock in Belfast, where the Titanic was built . Mess: An original oven on the ship's galley . Tiller flats on HMS Caroline. It was the last WW1 Royal Navy Battleship to manually turn the rudder . Both sides sustained heavy casualties in what was the most significant clash between battleships during WWI. Britain and Germany both claimed victory. Six years after the war ended HMS Caroline was moved from Portsmouth to Belfast to become a training vessel for local Royal Navy Reserves. Most of the rest of the fleet was decommissioned and broken up. The HMS Caroline performed its function as a drill ship up until 2011, apart from during World War Two when it was used as an operations headquarters for the efforts to protect the Atlantic convoys from German U-Boats. Captain John Rees, chief of staff at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), said the significance of the ship could not be overstated. 'She is a one of a kind, an iconic ship," he said. 'The only floating survivor of all the fleets - both German and British - that fought in the First World War and the Battle of Jutland.' Ship-shape: Captain John Rees, Chief of Staff at the National Museum of the Royal Navy inspects a porthole . Inspection: Captain John Rees (left) with Paul Mullan, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund, on the ship . Captain Rees said he was confident the museum would be open ahead of the 100th anniversary in May 2016. 'The National Museum has a view, along with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, that there is the opportunity here to create a world class visitor attraction for Belfast and for Northern Ireland with a number of hugely interesting and important naval and maritime attractions. 'Not only that, it's an opportunity I think to involve all of the community of Northern Ireland in something that is uniquely Belfast and Northern Ireland. 'It's been here for the majority of its life - 80 plus years. It is something that all the community can share in and enjoy - it's something very special for them.' There had been fears in Belfast that the NMRN was going to bring the ship back to Portsmouth, but those were allayed last year when an agreement was struck to keep the vessel in its current home in the Alexandra Dock. The ship will undergo basic repairs and will then receive a £12 million lottery fund . Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Arlene Foster takes a look around the ship . A £1million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund was then secured for urgent repairs. That was seen as the first stage in a two part rescue mission - the second element being the lottery application. Paul Mullan, head of HLF Northern Ireland, said the funding reflected the importance of the ship. 'At £12 million, that's twice the size of the next largest grant that has ever been given to Northern Ireland,' he said. 'It's very timely. We are now in the decade of anniversaries and the First World War is one of those key anniversaries. We've 1916 with the (Battle of the) Somme, the 1916 Easter Rising (in Dublin). The Battle of Jutland is another particular story which is of tremendous importance. 'We see it very much in that context of a number of anniversaries that are going on and this is a great way of showing Belfast's link into the First World War.' Battle: 250 ships were involved in the huge battle, which took place in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark . Northern Ireland Tourism Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the funding boost. 'Over the last year, there has been a significant effort, from myself and others to find a solution to keeping HMS Caroline here," she said. 'We have developed a strong partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy. This partnership will continue as we restore the ship. 'HMS Caroline has become part of the city's rich maritime heritage.' She added: 'Our ultimate aim is to transform the ship into a world-class floating museum in time for the Battle of Jutland centenary in 2016, as I believe HMS Caroline has huge potential as a visitor experience.' | HMS Caroline will undergo massive revamp thanks to cash . The ship fought at the iconic Battle of Jutland in WW1 . The derelict ship is moored where the Titanic was built in Belfast . | b5466ce68fa3b1a4a2862cc79e64b756407527b6 |
Accused: Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, arrives at the Moderno Theatre in Grosseto for the second day of his pre-trial hearing . A device on the Costa Concordia that tracks water depth had been switched off before the cruise liner struck a rock and capsized, killing 32 people, a court heard today. A panel of court experts said that the echo sounder on the vessel was off at the time of the disaster, which happened off the Italian coast in January. The cruise liner's captain, Francesco Schettino, 52, who was nicknamed 'Captain Coward' following the tragedy, is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. He has admitted to making mistakes, but says he should not be the only one blamed. Evidence about the sonar device were given on the second day of a pre-trial hearing, which will decide whether or not the charges against Schettino should be proceeded with. If it is decided that the case against the captain should continue, it will go to a full trial, likely to be held next year. The pre-trial hearing is being held in a theatre in the Italian town of Grosseto. It is being heard behind closed doors because there is not enough room to accomodate all the media interested in the case. More than 4,000 passengers and crew were helped from the vessel during a chaotic night-time evacuation after it capsized close to the Tuscan island of Giglio in January. Thirty bodies have been recovered from the wreck and another two people remain unaccounted for. The ship itself remains on its side, balanced on a rocky shelf in full view of the harbour. Hundreds of divers and salvage engineers have begun the delicate operation of preparing the hulk for removal. Outside court: Francesco Schettino wore a suit and sunglasses as he attended the pre-trial hearing in Grosseto . Scrutiny: Francesco Schettino, pictured outside court (left) and talking to a navy officer (right), has admitted to making mistakes, but says he should not be the only one blamed . Capsized: A device on the Costa Concordia that tracks water depth had been switched off before the disaster, the court heard . The ship's operator, Costa Cruises, has placed the blame for the disaster squarely on Schettino. It told the hearing today that the ship had been equipped with more radar systems than needed, and that enough of them had been in operation to meet legal requirements. Codacons, a consumer rights group that has been closely involved in the case, said more information was needed about the state of the ship's equipment before the disaster. 'All these aspects, had they been functional, may possibly have made up for the negative effects of Captain Schettino's actions and helped avoid the loss of human lives, even if the ship might have sunk nonetheless,' said Giuliano Leuzzi, a lawyer for Codacons. Tragedy: Thirty bodies have been recovered from the wreck and another two people remain unaccounted for . The hearing has already been played black box recordings which reveal the captain saying he 'screwed up' and was 'dying' moments before the stricken vessel capsized. Survivors listening to evidence heard Schettino saying: 'Roberto, I f***** up. Look, I'm dying here.' Officers were also heard shouting contradictory instructions as the disaster unfolded. The black box identified him shouting ‘hard to port!’ just before the liner struck a rock in calm waters. At the same time his second in command yells ‘hard to starboard!’ Moments before the disaster Schettino is also heard saying: ‘Let’s go and do a salute (to Giglio).’ But as the ship goes close to the shore, he shouts at a helmsman to go to starboard to avoid catastrophe. After hitting the rocks, Schettino orders watertight compartments in the ship to be closed. He is heard asking: ‘So are we really going down? I don’t understand.’ Mistakes: The Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, 52, is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship . | Echo sounder, which tracks water depth, had been turned off, court hears . Details emerge during pre-trial hearing of ship's captain Francesco Schettino . Schettino, 52, is accused of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck . Seaman, nicknamed 'Captain Coward', is also accused of abandoning ship . | 7b0b4fa9438331430ea97ff08619afb6d1496906 |
Belgrade, Serbia (CNN) -- Clashes between Serbian police and protesters broke out Sunday in Belgrade after an ultranationalist party demonstrated against the arrest of genocide suspect Ratko Mladic. Nearly 20 people were injured in the violence -- seven police and 12 civilians -- according to police. They said they made more than 100 arrests. Mladic, wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, was captured Thursday after nearly 16 years in hiding. The Serbian Radical Party held its protest Sunday in front of Serbia's parliament building. Despite calls for calm from the event's organizers, demonstrators on the fringes of the rally threw rocks at police. Hundreds of officers, some in riot gear and others on horseback, moved in against the crowd. Some beat and kicked protesters. Police stayed on the streets as the demonstrators scattered. "We are gathered here to peacefully protest the betrayal by (Serbian President) Boris Tadic and his bosses in Brussels," party leaders told the crowd before the clashes erupted. "We have had enough economic humiliation by our enemies, who are destroying our country ... in every way." At the protest -- which was attended by members of Mladic's family and thousands of others -- speakers demanded that Tadic step down and asked that elections be held immediately. Mladic's son, Darko, told the crowd that his father is sick. "He needs medical treatment that he is not getting," the younger Mladic said. He described his father as "a freedom fighter," and said he had "defended his own nation, defended his people, which was his job." The younger Mladic called on protesters to keep their demonstration peaceful. "Tomorrow if I'm able to visit my father, I will tell him of this and he will cry again," he said. Mladic gave himself up without a fight, despite having two handguns, according to Rasim Ljajic, the government minister in charge of searching for fugitive suspected war criminals. Officials located Mladic in a village called Lazarevo, north of the Serbian capital, after culling information from his former comrades, those who supported him financially and his close family members, Ljajic said. It is not clear what source led investigators to the former military commander, accused of ordering the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslims in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica. His arrest clears a major hurdle that once stood between Serbia and its long-awaited entrance into the European Union, but the move could also usher in political backlash from the country's electorate, some of whom consider Mladic a hero. "We're conscious of this danger," Ljajic told CNN Saturday. "We know we did something that didn't bring us joy or applause from the public. But we also know that we took great responsibility and did something that the political elite of any country is supposed to do." He called Mladic's capture "a political investment," noting the government's desire to bring the war crimes suspect to justice "even if citizens punish us in the next elections." The massacre at Srebrenica, which sparked international outcry and preceded a NATO bombing campaign, is now remembered as the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. Mladic allegedly presided over the five-day slaughter in July where Muslim men and boys were systematically executed in what was described at the U.N. war crimes tribunal as "the triumph of evil." Mladic's forces encircled the town, a U.N.-declared "safe area" where thousands of Bosnian Muslims had sought refuge, allegedly conducting wholesale slaughter and rape, despite the presence of a few hundred lightly armed Dutch U.N. peacekeepers charged with protecting the area's residents and its refugees. The former general is considered the last of the fugitive war criminal suspects in the region, following the capture of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in jail in 2006 during his trial at The Hague. At the rally Sunday, a defiant Darko Mladic told the crowd, "We will never accept those who bombed us to write our history. For centuries we have been fighting for our own state, for our own country to give us security. We don't allow illiterate Westerners to write our history." A medical team has determined that Mladic is healthy enough to be extradited to face a war crimes tribunal, a court spokeswoman in Belgrade said Friday. While the war crimes suspect suffers from several chronic conditions, the team said there are no immediate problems barring a move. This comes after five doctors examined Mladic Thursday night, according to the ex-general's lawyer, Milos Saljic. CNN's Ivan Watson contributed to this report. | NEW: Nearly 20 people are injured as protesters, police clash in Belgrade . NEW: Police make more than 100 arrests . Demonstration calls for President Boris Tadic to step down . Ratko Mladic was captured Thursday after 16 years in hiding . | 3bc757ba6f3331401a5c287ba5214d44a79b82d5 |
By . Nola Ojomu . and Shyam Dodge . Justin Bieber is set to settle his Miami DUI case with a plea bargain deal that will allegedly see most of the charges against the troubled singer dropped. The 20-year-old will reportedly plead guilty to the reckless driving charge made during his arrest in January while the rest of his charges with be dismissed according to TMZ. Justin was originally charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest, reckless driving and driving without a valid license when police officers claimed to have caught him and pal Khalil drag racing on Miami streets in the early hours of the morning. Scroll down for video . New deal: Justin Bieber is set to settle his Miami DUI case with a plea bargain deal that will allegedly see most of the charges against the troubled singer dropped . While it has since been reported that the hitmaker was neither drag racing or drunk on the night, he did test positive for marijuana. TMZ reports that the reason the plea deal has taken so long to be sorted is due to the fact the judge allegedly wanted Bieber to star in and pay for an anti-drug PSA.However, Bieber’s lawyers resisted because they felt that the idea was inappropriate. The singer’s camp also felt it was unnecessary for the star with attend a drug and alcohol education curse because he does not have a substance abuse problem and attending classes would indicate that he does. A source told the site: ‘Bieber will plead guilty to reckless driving and the other charges will be dismissed. He'll pay a fine and attend anger management classes. He will NOT be placed on probation. Meanwhile, his rapper friend Khalil will use the same plea but will not have to attend any classes.Once Bieber and Khalil complete the requirements of the settlement, the reckless driving conviction will then be wiped from their record. The deal is expected to be entered in court in coming weeks. In trouble with the law again: The 20-year-old - seen in LA in May - was under investigation for attempted robbery . The news comes after the singer's robbery case was rejected by the Los Angeles District Attorney. Justin . was hit by claims earlier this month that he had allegedly stolen a . woman's phone in Sherman Oaks, California, after she photographed him. But . the prosecutor's office has rejected the case after Los Angeles Police . found no evidence to support the woman's allegations, TMZ reports. Police . interviewed nine eyewitnesses at the scene of the alleged crime, . Sherman Oaks Castle Park, and not a single one could confirm the woman's . claims. Another confrontation: Justin Bieber reportedly called a woman a 'b***h' for filming him at a stable . The District Attorney rejected the case, however they did send it to the City Attorney, which could result in a misdemeanor. Earlier this month The LA Times spoke to Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department, who confirmed: 'He has been accused of attempted robbery.' The pop singer, who wore jeans, a black T-shirt and a maroon coloured beanie, was alleged to have 'wrestled' with the mother to try and obtain her cell phone, to stop her from taking pictures, and eventually 'ripped' it from her hands. She was with her 13-year-old daughter at the time. Before the drama: On Monday, Justin posted this Instagram video of himself enjoying the miniature golf course . TMZ reported that the woman claimed . Justin was unable to delete the pictures when he finally got hold of the . phone, as it was locked. Meanwhile, . Justin is currently scheduled to go on trial for charges of driving . under the influence in Florida following his arrest in January. He is also expected to have a hearing regarding his now infamous egg throwing incident in California. He's a big bot now: Justin Beiber left his mother at home as he dined out at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills on Monday . | Miami cops DROP DUI charges - and troubled teen idol WON'T be put on probation . | a41c5108ff0dc2913a37066dd55f9954581c2980 |
By . Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 06:58 EST, 1 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:20 EST, 2 July 2012 . A former Gulf War pilot was killed when the vintage wooden aircraft he was flying crashed in front of hundreds of spectators at an air show yesterday. Trevor Roche had been in the air for only a few minutes in one of the rarest planes in the world when he lost control and plunged to the ground 300 yards from crowds. The former British Airways pilot had taken to the skies in a 1923 de Havilland Humming Bird which had a history of crashing. Tragic: Trevor Roche in the de-Haviland DH53 Hummingbird which crash-landed in a field yesterday at an air show as 600 people watched on . More than 600 onlookers watched in horror as the aircraft’s engine faltered and it plunged into a field. Emergency vehicles raced to the wreckage but Mr Roche, who was flying solo, was believed to have been killed instantly. The Military Pageant Air Show at the Old Warden Aerodrome near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, was cancelled immediately. The de Havilland DH53 Humming Bird was one of only a handful left in the world and is thought to have been the only one still flying. After the crash it emerged that it had a history of the engine cutting out in mid-air and was deemed unfit to fly in 2000. It had been kept as a static exhibit at an aeronautical museum at the aerodrome which is home to the Shuttleworth Collection. But pilots continued to get behind its controls and it tentatively returned to the skies in 2002, when its engine failed again. Tragedy: The wrecked de Haviland DH53 Hummingbird plane broken on the ground just 300 yards from where spectators were standing . Crash probe: Emergency workers on the scene after former Gulf War pilot Trevor Roche was killed . Wreckage: An Air Accident Investigation Board probe into the crash is underway after pilot Trevor Roche was killed instantly . Investigation: A group of emergency workers begin to examine the wreckage of the aircraft yesterday . At the time Andy Sephton, former chief pilot for the Shuttleworth Collection, revealed: ‘It has a high propensity to turn over. ‘It’s crashed several times, breaking one pilot’s legs and trapping another upside down in a potato field with fuel dribbling over him.’ The de Havilland Humming Bird was decommissioned by the RAF in 1927. The one which crashed yesterday was a prototype. A man who wanted to remain anonymous said only very experienced airmen were allowed to fly planes in the collection. He said: ‘I’m a pilot and they wouldn’t let me out there. It’s very experienced pilots who do this stuff. ‘They fly these aircraft on a voluntary basis and it doesn’t matter which pilot it is that’s flying, you wouldn’t be able to stop them getting into the aircraft.’ Tragedy: Pilot Trevor Roche was killed in the accident at Shuttleworth airfield, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, today . He added: ‘The older a plane is the harder it is to fly and any pilot who takes to the skies knows of the risks.’ One man who saw the crash said Mr Roche had been ‘a very experienced pilot for a long time’. Mr Roche, who was in his 40s, became chief pilot for the Shuttleworth Collection in 1995, but stepped down two years ago. The former RAF Tornado pilot flew in the first Gulf War before becoming a commercial pilot with British Airways, flying Boeing 767s and 777s. Aerodrome bosses said in a statement yesterday: ‘The Shuttleworth Collection can confirm that earlier today an aircraft experienced difficulties and crashed at the airfield. ‘Today’s planned air show has been cancelled to allow accident investigators to assess the scene.’ Officials from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch have launched an inquiry. | Former RAF pilot Trevor Roche killed as rare 1923 de-Haviland DH53 plunges into a field . Rare aircraft had been a showpiece exhibit in aerodrome's museum and has a history of cutting out mid-air . Airshow near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, immediately called of following crash . Mr Roche was a British Airways pilot and Gulf War veteran . | c3ea6e43b51f70fa4f4968a7c68cb4391a9d63bb |
By . Meghan Keneally and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 11:45 EST, 10 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:10 EST, 11 July 2013 . Missing: Terry Dewayne Smith Jr went missing Saturday night while his step-brother was babysitting . Authorities searched for possible human remains on Wednesday at the home of an 11-year-old autistic boy who disappeared over the weekend - but volunteers pledged to continue hunting for him in the scorching desert. The home in Menifee, southern California was being treated as a crime scene and investigators were trying to determine whether remains were on the property, Mayor Scott Mann said in an email today. Riverside County sheriff's detectives were led to the home shortly after 1am on Wednesday based on evidence indicating there might be a body there, Deputy Albert Martinez told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Details were not released but the Sheriff's Department suspended its search for Terry Dewayne Smith Jr. 'Our searchers are on standby. We are waiting to see what investigators find on the property,' Martinez said. Volunteers planned to continue searching the surrounding semi-rural area for the boy who was last seen on Saturday night. 'Until we have absolute confirmation from the sheriff directly, we will continue to do our job, which is to search,' said a posting on a Facebook page where the volunteer search was organized. About 1,000 people, including sheriff's deputies on horseback, emergency workers and volunteers, hunted for him on Tuesday. Authorities were concerned that he wandered away without food, water or his medication in an area 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles where temperatures have topped 100F. The search continues: Crime scene investigators were looking at a property in Menifee, southern California . In danger: Terry, who weighs 76 pounds and is 4'8", most likely did not take his medicine with him which will cause problems because he is a high-functioning autistic . The 4-foot-8 boy with sandy brown hair and brown eyes was last seen wearing blue basketball shorts. Local children were asked to not wear blue, to help avoid confusion. Terry was last seen when he followed his 16-year-old step-brother, who told the boy to go home, the Desert Sun reported. The boy's mother said she didn't realize he was missing until 10.30am the next day as she was out for the evening. Terry's mother shared details of the boy's habits on the searchers' Facebook page. Without his medication, Terry may be 'over sensitive and may be walking on his tiptoes', the page said. Searchers were also instructed to call him by his nickname 'Juju' because hearing his full name called out might cause him to believe he's in trouble and flee. Neither Terry's mother nor his . 16-year-old step brother have spoke out publicly, nor have the police . said why the teenager did not notice that his brother was missing . sooner. Investigators took . quick action sending out the first search party on Sunday morning . shortly after the boy's mother called to report him missing. Sticking together: Hundreds of locals volunteered in Meniffe, California to try to raise awareness . High and low: Police searched on horseback and used bloodhounds to see if he was hiding in the nearby hills . The boy's father lives outside of California and has been ruled out as a suspect. Police sent out hundreds of searching volunteers as well as police mounted on horseback and in helicopters. 'We too have a special needs child and we know how sometimes that they wander off and our hearts are breaking,' said volunteer Danielle Adamson. Family friend Sophia Masih warned that if anyone spots Terry, who goes by the nickname Juju, they should approach him cautiously and try to initiate a conversation so that he begins to trust them. 'He acts and looks like he's seven,' she told The Press-Enterprise. 'Because he hasn't taken any of his medication his personality could be very angry, (so) no sudden movements or anything like that.' Threat: The area has hit 100 degrees in recent days causing fears that he will be dehydrated . WATCH THE VIDEO HERE . | Sheriff's Department in Menifee, California has suspended its search for Terry Dewayne Smith . | a19875242502f20c98cabdff1f8d0118cc95d81e |
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan says it is liaising with the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia before it decides when to deport several of Osama bin Laden's family members of back to their homelands. The detention of the terrorist mastermind's three widows and two daughters ended Tuesday night. But as of late Wednesday, there were no signs that they had left the Islamabad house where they were held. A judge had ordered earlier this month that the five women be deported back to their countries of citizenship after serving their sentence for living illegally in Pakistan. Two of the widows are Saudi while one is Yemeni. The widows -- identified by U.S. and Pakistani officials as Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar -- have been in Pakistani custody since U.S. Navy SEALs raided bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad and killed the al Qaeda leader in May 2011. "We have written to both the embassies and we have also sought the consent of the family members," Rehman Malik, the Pakistani interior minister, said Wednesday. Islamabad will make a decision on when to deport the women "once we have reply from the respective embassies," he said. But the Yemeni foreign minister accused Pakistan of delaying the departure of Fateh, the Yemeni widow. "We are the ones pushing for the release of the family and Pakistani authorities have been stalling," Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, the Yemeni minister, said Wednesday. "The Yemen ambassador in Pakistan has been working around the clock seeking the release of the family, and Yemen is ready to accept them at anytime," he said. The authorities in Saudi Arabia, where the other two widows are from, have repeatedly declined to comment on the matter. Bin Laden spent years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, moving from one safe house to another and fathering four children with Fateh -- at least one of whom was born in a government hospital, she told Pakistani investigators. A deposition taken from Fateh gives the clearest picture yet of bin Laden's life while international forces hunted him. He and his family moved from city to city with the help of Pakistanis who arranged "everything" for them, Fateh said, according to the deposition. She told police she never applied for a visa during her stay in Pakistan. CNN's Shaan Khan and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report. | The detention of the widows and daughters of Osama bin Laden has ended . A Pakistani judge ordered that they be deported once they had served the sentence . Pakistan says it is waiting for responses from Yemen and Saudi Arabia . The Yemeni authorities say Pakistan is "stalling" | b116ecc5327a169ba4edae20cf1df921b857e926 |
This 87-year-old great-grandmother has taken a hot air balloon ride, been in a helicopter flight and travelled to Australia - twice. Now Betty Bicker-Robinson, from Cobham, Kent, has jumped out of a plane from 12,000ft. Betty, who has eight children and 13 great-grandchildren, had such a good time that she's vowed to do it again when she turns 90. Betty Bicker-Robinson completed a tandem skydive last Sunday at Headcorn Airfield in Kent . Up in the air: The brave great-grandmother was the first one out of the plane . Ms Bicker-Robinson completed a tandem skydive last Sunday at Headcorn Airfield in Kent last Sunday to raise funds for EllenorLions Hospices. She told Good Morning Britain she wanted to raise funds for the hospice because they were 'so wonderful' to her when she lost her husband Ted Robinson to cancer earlier this year, saying that she 'can't repay them enough'. 'My grandson said to me, "What can you do next Grandma, jump from a plane?" 'I said, "That's an idea! I'll do it for the hospice",' she explained. She said that 'the plane was very noisy but it was all lovely,' when answering hosts Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard's questions. The daredevil grandmother told Good Morning Britain she 'hoped for the best' when she jumped out of the plane . Back to earth: Ms Bicker-Robinson enjoyed the jump so much, she's planning to do another when she's 90 . She was the first one out of the plane, saying: 'I'd sooner do that than watch other people and think "oh, that's what I've got to do"'. 'I thought "here goes" and hoped for the best,' she told Mr Shephard when he asked her how she felt when she was about to jump. 'That's me, crazy. You have got to be crazy, haven't you?' she said. And the daredevil great-grandmother is not finished yet. 'When I'm 90, I'm going to jump again!' | Betty Bicker-Robinson did the jump to raise funds for EllenorLions Hospices . Says that the whole day was 'lovely' and she wouldn't mind doing it again . Adventurous gran has been in a hot air balloon and ridden on a helicopter . | 53b2b99564f1b840f480d7b07d1acfe83cca2398 |
By . Julian Robinson . A Lidl employee was forced out of his job after he blew the whistle on ‘degenerated and mouldy’ food being sold to customers, an employment tribunal heard. Matthew O’Donnell, 28, alerted senior managers after he spotted defrosted products on sale alongside mouldy fruit and vegetables at a store in Hanham, Gloucestershire, it was said. He claims the stock was compromised after the fridges and freezers were turned off for more than four hours during a heatwave for maintenance. Matthew O'Donnell, pictured outside the Lidl store in Hanham, Gloucestershire, has claimed he reported mouldy fruit at the shop . But the products were still on sale the next day and Mr O’Donnell claimed customers were even directed towards the products to ‘maximise consumption’. When the former employee made a complaint he says his concerns saw him bullied out of his job by bosses and co-workers after they were told he had ‘dropped them in it’, it is claimed. He has now taken the company to an employment tribunal where a judge will decide whether he suffered detriment or dismissal for exercising his rights. But Lidl has accused Mr O’Donnell of ‘grossly misinterpreting the situation’ and claims he left after finding he was not suited to the role. Mr O’Donnell told the tribunal: ‘I stated I felt let down by the procedure, which meant every time I spoke up to alert management to hazards I was always being penalised with harassment and loss of hours. ‘I had simply had enough.’ The tribunal in Bristol heard that Mr O’Donnell took up a job at the city’s Hanham store on June 8 last year after moving from Wales. He described how, during a night shift on July 7, an electrical contractor began upgrading electrics and the power was switched off for ‘over four hours’. He said: ‘The loss of power resulted in store deliveries being unable to be processed safely, chill cabinets not being secured as well as freezers defaulting to defrost mode, which severely compromised the integrity of the food stocked within the store.’ Mr O'Donnell claimed the stock at Lidl, pictured, in Hanham, Gloucestershire was compromised after the fridges and freezers were turned off for more than four hours during a heatwave for maintenance . He said when he returned to work the next day he found mould in the fruit and vegetable section and products ‘seriously degenerated’, four days prior to their use-by date. Mr O’Donnell then sent a report to senior Lidl officials, believing he would be protected from victimisation by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. He said he told managers he felt that he was responsible if anything happened to members of the public. But Mr O’Donnell, from Kingswood, Bristol, claims his initial complaints were dismissed by store manager Krysztof Golanski who said he was told by electricians that power was only down for two hours - the maximum allowed under company policy. He then took his complaints to personnel department at the company’s regional distribution centre in Weston-super-Mare. 'Every time I spoke up I was always being penalised with harassment and loss of house,' Matthew O'Donnell tells tribunal . The tribunal heard that Mr O’Donnell claims when he returned to work he became aware that Mr Golanski had advised all staff that he had ‘dropped them in it’. He said he found himself axed from shifts and ‘ostracised due to malicious rumour-mongering’. He claims he faced extra pressure at work, such as being told to scan faster on the tills or face a disciplinary for poor performance. His situation got so bad that Mr O’Donnell said he was forced to hand in a resignation letter, on September 9, due to the ‘lack of support and ongoing hostility, especially with ongoing food hygiene failures and lack of meaningful resolution of the dispute’. Smair Soor, a barrister representing Lidl, told Mr O’Donnell under cross examination that his version of events was a 'gross misinterpretation' of the facts. He added: ‘It might be that you didn’t find working in retail convivial. You had long queues and felt under pressure by your performance.’ The tribunal also heard that Mr O’Donnell was told he could be sacked after taking complaints about the food to senior company officials. Giving evidence, store manager Mr Golanski said the threats had not been intentional and were instead taken in the wrong way. The tribunal was expected to finish today. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Matthew O'Donnell forced out of his job after blowing whistle, tribunal hears . The 28-year-old claims he spotted 'mouldy' produce at the Hanham store . Later said he was made to 'scan faster' on tills or face disciplinary for poor performance . Lidl has accused him of 'grossly misinterpreting the situation' last year . | 5f8342bedfd3cf2d70eb5b4048f432c1ca1ad515 |
John Quinn believes the best is yet to come from The Wow Signal as his classy colt prepares for his latest big test in Paris next month. The unbeaten son of Starspangledbanner, winner of the Prix Morny at Deauville last time out, came through his latest canter in top shape as he builds up for a first run at seven furlongs in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp. ‘He’s in rude health at the moment, I couldn’t be happier with him,’ said Quinn (below). ‘We are just keeping him ticking over and I think you saw in his last race that another furlong is what he wants now.’ The Wow Signal (15) being ridden by Frankie Dettori breaks away to win the Coventry Stakes at Ascot . John Quinn is confident punters are yet to see the best from The Wow Signal . Meanwhile, John Gosden is likely to give Taghrooda a racecourse gallop as she is readied for a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The Epsom Oaks and King George heroine lost her unbeaten record to Tapestry in the Yorkshire Oaks. But Gosden said: ‘She came screaming into season the day after York. She has put on weight and I need to get it off now.’ Trainer John Gosden is readying Taghrooda for a tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe . Taghrooda (right, blue), winning The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot . | Trainer John Quinn thinks the best is yet to come from The Wow Signal . Classy colt preparing for latest big test in Paris next month . Quinn said: 'He's in rude health, I couldn't be happier with him' John Gosden looks set to give Taghrooda a racehorse gallop as he prepares her for crack at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe . | 479d93792d89e2ea2584b286429ee65e46200b3c |
They were two moments that clearly meant a great deal. After Eljero Elia fired Southampton into a 14th-minute lead at Newcastle United on Saturday night, be made a beeline for Ronald Koeman and gave his new boss a warm embrace. And after scoring the deflected goal that earned the Saints all three points at St James' Park, he leaped joyously into the air, spun and did that Cristiano Ronaldo thing of flexing his muscles. This was the measure of a man grateful for another opportunity to prove his talents, grateful for a change of scenery, a fresh challenge and a little bit of faith shown in his undoubted abilities. Eljero Elia celebrates after his goals helped Southampton to a 2-1 win at Newcastle United on Saturday . Elia made a beeline to his manager Ronald Koeman after opening the scoring in the 14th minute at Newcastle . Elia embraced his compatriot Koeman after giving Southampton the lead . The winger jumps for joy after scoring what proved to be the winning goal on Tyneside . 2004-2007 . ADO Den Haag (59 appearances, 6 goals) 2007-2009 . Twente (73 appearances, 15 goals) 2009-2011 . Hamburg (63 appearances, 8 goals) 2011-2012 . Juventus (5 appearances, 0 goals) 2012- . Werder Bremen (68 appearances, 4 goals) 2014-2015 . Southampton (on loan, 2 appearances, 2 goals) 2009- . Holland (27 appearances, 2 goals) Elia, a 27-year-old Dutch winger, certainly comes with a bit of a chequered past and a bad-boy reputation. Werder Bremen, the Bundesliga club who loaned him to Southampton this month, were glad to see the back of him. But his double at Newcastle, which returned Southampton to third place in the Premier League, suggests that all this trouble could be behind him. Elia was certainly very humble in his post-match interview: 'I want to thank first my team-mates and trainer and chairman. They have trusted me, they gave me the chance to play for Southampton. 'The feeling for the first goal was like a dream come true. The second was like i don't feel nothing in my body. I was so happy.' When asked why he ran straight for Koeman after his firm, low first-half strike found its way under the body of goalkeeper Tim Krul, he replied: 'I wanted to thank him that he gave me the chance to play for Southampton. 'He was the only one that believed in me. The players have helped me from the first moment. The captain (Jose Fonte) speaks a lot with me. I'm so happy.' Elia certainly looked chuffed and a new chapter in his life and career has been started. His story began at local side ADO Den Haag, whom he joined as a nine-year-old and made his professional debut for in 2004 at the age of 17. Elia playing for his first club, ADO Den Haag, as a teenager back in 2006 . Elia in action for Den Haag during an Eredivisie fixture with Sparta Rotterdam back in 2006 . Quickly establishing himself in the first team, Elia scored six times in 59 appearances for them before friction between himself and new coach Lex Schoenmaker pushed him to the exit door. There was talk Ajax wanted to sign him but the Amsterdam side wanted to loan him straight back to Den Haag, by then a second division side, and back into conflict with Schoenmaker. He joined Twente instead and found some of his best from under Steve McClaren, scoring 15 times in 73 outings for the club in his two seasons there. While at Twente, Elia was given his first taste of Champions League and Europa League football and became a fixture in the Holland Under 21 team. Named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year in 2009, there were again suggestions Ajax and PSV Eindhoven were interested in signing him but his next move would take him over the border to Germany. Again, it wasn't without controversy. Amid all the speculation of a move to one of Holland's big clubs, Elia signed a two-year contract extension at Twente. Two months later, he announced he wanted to leave at the end of the season. Elia battles for the ball with Manchester City defender Micah Richards during a 2008 Europa League tie . 2011 - Before his move to Juventus, Elia was fined by Hamburg for complaining that the club hadn't looked after him following an ankle operation. 2013 - Caught speeding at 3am alongside now Stoke midfielder Marko Arnautovic. It was alleged that the pair had insulted and acted agressivley towards the police officer. 2014 - Tweets 'Ready for War' ahead of Werder Bremen vs Hamburg clash before insulting a fan of his own team via Facebook. Hamburg paid Twente £6.5m for his services but very little went to plan. He suffered an ankle injury in late November of his first season and missed the rest of the campaign. In March, a poorly-applied tattoo went septic and the discomfort was so severe, Elia was unable to wear his playing and training kit. His second season at Hamburg saw Elia becoming increasingly allergic to the club - he moaned that the playing style didn't suit him, he was rotated in and out of the team and he claimed Hamburg didn't look after him while he was recuperating from surgery on his injured ankle. It came as little surprise, then, to see Elia sold off to Italian giants Juventus in a £7m deal in August 2011. Despite being a Holland international, he played infrequently and though he collected a Serie A winners' medal he contributed little towards it. One of Elia's few appearances for Juventus came in a commemorative friendly against Notts County . He spent just one season with the Italian giants, appearing in just five matches and failing to score . Elia playing for Holland during a 2010 World Cup warm-up match against Hungary . Being introduced to the media as Werder Bremen's new No 11 after signing from Juventus in 2012 . Inevitably, the restless Elia grew impatient and left Turin for Werder Bremen in an attempt to again revitalise his career. The Bundesliga side, great rivals of his former club Hamburg, paid £4.5m and offered a £2m salary. He was billed as the man to fire Bremen back into European competition. In reality, they spent two and a half years battling relegation while Elia kept putting his foot in it. In April 2013, Elia and team-mate Marko Arnautovic, now at Stoke, were caught speeding at 3am. It was later alleged that the two players had acted aggressively when stopped and insulted a police officer. Their punishment was to spend the rest of the season training in isolation but while Arnautovic moved to Stoke, Elia decided to stay. After failing to find the net during his first season in Bremen, there was an improvement last season, with four goals in 33 appearances. But Elia was still proving a nuisance off the field. Before the Nordderby against former club Hamburg, he tweeeted the words 'Ready for War', a sentiment that unsurprisingly doesn't go down too well in Germany. He later insulted a Bremen fan on Facebook, telling them to 'go f*** youself.' By that time, Bremen were sick of the sight of him and looking to farm him out on loan. Southampton were willing to take the gamble, with the option of signing him permanently at the end of the season. Right now, that is looking like a distinct possibility as Elia strives to put a turbulent past behind him. Reaching for the ball with Borussia Dortmund player Sebastian Kehl in an August 2012 fixture . | Eljero Elia is on loan at Southampton from German side Werder Bremen . Elia has a controversial past and is seeking a fresh start in Premier League . He started at Den Haag before moving to Twente and then Hamburg . But after falling out with the club following injury he joined Juventus . Holland international failed to make an impression on Serie A . Elia joined Werder Bremen after one season but didn't match expectations . Social media spats led to him being ushered out of the club on loan . | b3fcdd35ce9bcc921e41d75062299ec91a3f1cdf |
(CNN) -- Time to pull up the comfy chair. Monty Python's three-week London engagement ends Sunday, and for the final show the world will be allowed to watch. The last performance from the O2 Arena will be screened in more than 2,000 movie theaters and on TV screens around the world. Well, about 100 countries' worth of the world, anyway. (No word on whether the program will be aired on both peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro.) In the United States, the show can be viewed at selected movie theaters. Reviews for the show, called "Monty Python Live (Mostly)," have generally been respectful, if not ecstatic. It's "a nostalgic celebration of the extraordinary contribution these men have made to modern comedy," wrote the Observer's Stephanie Merritt, noting that though the show's greatest-hits pattern isn't thrilling, the rapport between the Pythons -- Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones -- is a joy to watch. "The chemistry between them still fizzes," she wrote. The Telegraph was slightly more upbeat. "The Pythons came, they doddered, but they conquered," wrote Dominic Cavendish. The shows haven't been without their flaws. On opening night, Cleese forgot a line during the famous Dead Parrot sketch. But the group -- all of whom are in their 70s -- knew criticism was coming. They made jokes themselves, letting an equally aged Mick Jagger complain about "wrinkly old men trying to relive their youth" in a promotional video shown at a Python press conference. "The best one died years ago," Jagger added, referring to Graham Chapman, who died in 1989. Mick Jagger: Python are 'wrinkly old men trying to relive their youth' At the press conference, Palin said that the shows were Python's way of "saying goodbye publicly" to fans. Idle added, "Our motto has been 'leave them wanting less.' " The performances have done well though. The first show sold out in 43 seconds. One must always look on the bright side of life. If you miss the live Sunday performance, don't worry: The show will air again later in the week. See more comedy content at CNN Comedy. CNN's Pete Wilkinson contributed to this report. | Monty Python's final London concert airing in theaters, on TV . Python concluding run set for Sunday at London's O2 Arena . Show isn't something completely different but a greatest hits for comedy troupe . | 658d96f972c5c4b9d02dcf5201a21cbacb5de639 |
NHS managers are refusing to let GPs send patients for vital scans to detect cancer. Family doctors are meant to be allowed to refer patients directly for tests and X-rays without having to first go to a hospital specialist, as part of a government drive to speed up diagnosis. But an investigation has found that two-thirds of NHS organisations do not allow GPs to send patients for at least one of four crucial scans to spot cancers with low survival rates. Of these two thirds, 50 per cent do not allow doctors to send patients directly for scans to detect bowel cancer, while 50 per cent do not allow doctors to send patients for scans to detect brain cancer. GP patients face a "postcode lottery" due to restrictions imposed by some clinical commissioning groups, the research found . Some 27 per cent do not give them direct access to checks for ovarian cancer, while 25 per cent do not let them send patients for chest X-rays for lung cancer, which is often diagnosed too late. Britain has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Western Europe and in 2011 the Government pledged to improve this by investing £450million to give GPs better access to scans. These included MRI scans for brain cancer, chest X-rays for lung cancer, flexible sigmoidoscopy tests for bowel cancer and ultrasounds for ovarian cancer. Politicians stated that GPs would be allowed to order these tests to be carried out themselves – rather than having to send patients first to a hospital consultant – in the hope of speeding up diagnosis time by several weeks. However, Freedom of Information requests by GP magazine found that only a third give doctors direct access to all four scans. In fact, a fifth of the 211 GP-run Clinical Commissioning Groups do not let them refer patients for any of these tests. Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, said: ‘It’s frustrating. There’s been an increase in pressure on what should be done within the community, but for GPs to be empowered to be able to do that, we need the support services and particularly access to diagnostics. ‘There’s no real reason other than cost that prohibits access to services. But in many cases, it actually reduces costs overall if you enable GPs to have greater access to these types of services, because they can avoid making potentially unnecessary referrals.’ Earlier this week the NHS watchdog Nice issued detailed guidance to GPs on diagnosing cancer over concerns that failure to spot the disease early enough are costing thousands of lives a year. Family doctors are meant to be allowed to refer patients directly for tests and scans, such as an MRI, without having to first go to a hospital specialist (file picture) It told doctors to refer patients for tests within 48 hours if they had symptoms including persistent tiredness, a cough or unexplained bruising. Last month it emerged that the chances of beating cancer in England still lag behind those elsewhere in Europe. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in 2012 the percentage of patients still alive five years after diagnosis had improved for 19 of the most common cancers, compared to the situation in 2011. But for five types they stalled or got worse, including bladder cancer in women, thyroid cancer in both sexes, testicular cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma in women and mesothelioma in men. There is no explanation as to why – and in all cases it has only been a very small decline. However, waiting times for vital tests to diagnose cancer have gone up recently as the NHS struggles with the rise in patients. Campaigners said that, despite overall improvement, England is well behind France, Germany and Scandinavia in its survival rates. This has been blamed on GPs missing symptoms, and patients not making an appointment when they first experience them. | GPs are meant to be allowed to refer patients directly for crucial scans . Two-thirds not allowed to send patients for at least one of four tests . These include scans to detect brain, bowel, lung and ovarian cancer . British Medical Association describe situation as 'frustrating' | e48b06936c0ba0942e97c084c23b8efdc71af4b4 |
A 20-year-old man threatened patients and nurses with a gun at a Florida hospital Sunday morning before shooting himself in the head. Jonathan Rodriguez-Jeff of Deltona shot a glass door entrance at Halifax Hospital's Professional Building before going to the second floor where he confronted a nurse and a patient inside a room. ‘Do you want to die tonight?’ the suspect reportedly asked them. Hospital shooting: Jonathan Rodriguez-Jeff, 20, of Deltona, shot a glass door entrance at Halifax Hospital's Professional Building Sunday before he went into two rooms threatening to kill patients and nurses . Rodriguez-Jeff left the room and went into a second room, confronting another nurse and patient, according to NBC6. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide inside the room by shooting himself in the head, police said. Two nurses suffered minor injuries . after they were hit with the butt of Rodriguez-Jeff's shotgun during the . ordeal, investigators said. No patients were hurt. The hospital's emergency room and other entrances were placed on lockdown during the shooting. Shortly . before the incident, Daytona Beach Police Department officers had . responded to a report of shots being fired at a moving car Sunday at . 3:52am. Police then received a report of gunfire at the nearby Halifax Hospital. Suicide: Rodriguez-Jeff killed himself on Sunday morning at the Halifax Hospital . Cars destroyed: An unknown number of vehicles were struck by the shotgun blast inside the parking lot of the hospital . An unknown number of vehicles were struck by the shotgun blast inside the parking lot of the hospital, police said. ‘We are thankful no one was seriously injured,’ said John Gutherie, the hospital's director of corporate communications. Daytona Beach Police Department spokesman Jimmie Flynt told The Daytona Beach News-Journal detectives were still investigating a possible motive. | Jonathan Rodriguez-Jeff, 20, of Deltona stormed Halifax Hospital on Sunday early morning . He went into two different rooms where he threatened to kill patients and nurses with a gun . Suspect shot himself in the head in the second room . No one else was killed in the incident . The motive is still unknown and is under investigation . | 4108c1fc9a240e118c2dfcb52e95613c6d77ae8b |
(CNN) -- King Tutankhamun's golden, mummified remains tell only a partial story of an ancient Egyptian boy king who died under mysterious circumstances. But a new "virtual autopsy" of King Tut's body, shown in an upcoming BBC One documentary, has given historians a clearer picture of the young man's life -- and death. Scientists used CT scans to recreate the first life-size image of Tutankhamun, one of the last rulers of the 18th Dynasty. King Tut ruled from 1333 B.C. until about 1323 B.C. Historians put his age at death at about 19. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2010 showed that King Tut may have died of malaria, possibly after suffering an infection in his broken leg. As seen in the new virtual autopsy photo, Tutankhamun's left foot was also severely deformed; the inward angle suggests that he had a clubfoot. Researchers believe the boy king had Kohler disease, a rare bone disorder. More than 100 walking sticks were found in Tut's tomb; historians originally thought they represented his power, but it's more likely Tut used them to get around. Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and Icemen in Italy, told The Independent it would have been impossible for the king to have died while riding a chariot, as has been previously thought. "We concluded it would not be possible for him, especially with his partially clubbed foot, as he was unable to stand unaided." King Tut replica tomb opens to public . Scientists believe genetics and inherited diseases played a role in Tut's bad health because of inbreeding. A genetic analysis of his family's mummies suggests that his parents were siblings. "Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered" will air Sunday on BBC. The Smithsonian will also be showing the documentary on November 2. CNN's Val Willingham contributed to this story. | Virtual autopsy of King Tut shows Egyptian ruler's body . Scientists used CT scans to create King Tut image . Researchers believe King Tut had clubfoot, malaria . | fa27c106b0049cfc665f8a85bf571ef922b50327 |
By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 08:16 EST, 9 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:16 EST, 9 February 2013 . This is the French-owned factory which produced the Findus horse meat lasagnes being sold in UK supermarkets. Frozen food giant Comigel produces 16,000 tonnes of ready meals in aluminium trays a year at its huge Tavola plant in Capellen, Luxembourg. Security is said to be extremely tight with high-barbed wire fences surrounding the factory and guards preventing any non-approved visitors from entering. Scroll down for video . Security: The Tavola plant in Luxembourg where Camigel produces around 16,000 tonnes of frozen ready meals every year . Imposing: Around 200 staff work at the plant which is surrounding by high barbed wire fencing . One told the Daily Mirror: 'Nobody is welcome in. Our job is to make sure that security is maintained at all times.' The site employs around 200 people who mould cuts of meat and vegetables into frozen meals which are then sold on to UK supermarkets including Aldi and Tesco. An insider at the factory told the Daily Mirror: 'There is certainly not a huge amount of difference between the beef lasagne and a chicken pasta bake we produce. 'The factory is all about preparation, freezing and distribution - food can look very similar when it has gone through a professional process like this.' Comigel produced the Fingus beef lasagnes which were found to be contaminated with 100 per cent horse meat. Scrutiny: Television crews wait outside the Comigel offices as the company comes under increasing pressure over the horse meat scandal . Contaminated: Findus beef lasagnes produced at the Comigel factory were found to contain up to 100 per cent horse meat . Comigel has been run from a headquarters in the north-eastern French town of Metz since 1976. The company supplies thousands of frozen meals to the UK, Ireland, and all over mainland Europe every year. A third of the dishes are exported outside France while a quarter go to restaurants in schools, colleges, hospitals, retirement homes and company canteens. In a statement given to the Daily Mirror Comigel insisted nobody's health has been put at risk by the scandal. 'We have informed the authorities in France and in Luxembourg of the results of our investigation' it added. | Comigel produces 16,000 tonnes of ready meals at plant every year . Around 200 staff mould cuts of meat and vegetables into aluminium trays . Supplies companies in UK, Ireland and all over mainland Europe . | 497fda6854cb484b008485852c494b25ea41a904 |
(CNN) -- Jeanne Tripplehorn's movie is about women and breast cancer. And it's airing on Lifetime. Uh oh, this could get weepy. Tripplehorn, who has starred in cable show "Big Love," knows how preachy and awkward cancer movies can get. "This was something different," she said, of the film ,which airs Monday at 9 p.m. "I spoke with Lifetime and they wanted it to be a new approach and a new way of looking at cancer." The actress has seen the disease's toll. "Like all women, I had been affected," she said. "Women in my family dealt with breast cancer. They all survived. It was important for me to do this on a lot of different levels. It wasn't just a paycheck." The movie, "Five" tells stories of different women coping with breast cancer in five vignettes. Tripplehorn's character, an oncologist is the tie that binds the five stories together. Her character loses her mother to breast cancer as a young girl and becomes an oncologist. The project has a bevy of star power. The executive producers are Jennifer Aniston, Marta Kauffman, co-creator of the series "Friends" and Kristin Hahn, who was the executive producer of "The Departed." Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keys each directed one of the vignettes. The ensemble cast includes Patricia Clarkson, Rosario Dawson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Holloway, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tony Shalhoub and Jeffrey Tambor. Tripplehorn answered a few questions for CNN not long ago. CNN: Did you work with an oncologist, or consult a doctor for your role? Tripplehorn: I consulted an oncologist. I read a lot. The thing that I found confusing and frustrating is once you have this diagnosis, there is this maze of doctors. There wasn't one particular way of dealing with a diagnosis. I was just very confused to the journey that one takes after a diagnosis. You have your mammogram, your radiologist, your oncologist. Jen [Aniston] and her producing partner Kristin [Hahn] toured a clinic that hopefully will become a model for clinics across the country. It's almost a one-stop shop with everything a woman needs - the doctors, radiologists. It's all under one roof. And hopefully that will simplify before we get a cure. CNN: What resonated with you about the story? Tripplehorn: Just the way they were telling the story -- the five short films dealing with different women with the diagnoses. I thought it was an interesting way of telling stories. Five directors who are women, for me, personally, it was a great experience to work with each of these directors. Alicia Keys is a first time director. You would never know it when you see her film. CNN: Did having family members who've had breast cancer influence you in taking part in this project? Tripplehorn: I had two women on my mother's side of the family; both went through bouts of breast cancer. Both survived. My grandmother was a two-time survivor of breast cancer. She passed away of something different 15 years after her last diagnosis. It's close to my heart and experience. CNN: Having family members who've had this disease, does it make you concerned about your risk? Tripplehorn: It's a constant reminder. It's always in the news. It's always out there. So, it's just what you live with. It's what you face. You try to watch your diet, you're constantly aware of it. Some people put their head in the sand and I'm not that kind of person. I'm very aware of it. CNN: Your character in the movie gets genetic testing for breast cancer. Have you ever thought about it? Tripplehorn: I think it's a personal thing. It's not something that I'm thinking of doing. It's very personal. CNN: What's your message through this movie? Tripplehorn: No woman should have to go through this. I've seen it up close and personal. The fact that we're airing this during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it's a small part that I could do -- if I could raise awareness, if women see this and get a mammogram. When I started this project, it had been two years since I got a mammogram, because I was so busy. That's what happens with women. They are so busy taking care of other people, they don't put themselves first. You have to go out and do these small things. Getting a mammogram, doing your monthly self-exam, your diet, just taking care of yourself. If this film will remind women out there to do just that, that's a step in the right direction. It's not every project that you can do this -- that can possibly directly impact somebody's life. And that was my hope. | Jeanne Tripplehorn knows how preachy and awkward cancer movies can get . "Five" tells stories of different women coping with breast cancer in five vignettes . Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keys each directed a vignette . | ec85ff070156e76ef37172ef705391d7fc318550 |
Elisabeth Hasselbeck did not show up for her co-hosting duties on Fox & Friends on Wednesday after undergoing surgery on Tuesday. Her co-host Steve Doocy told viewers Hasselbeck, 37, would be M.I.A. for a while, but he failed to disclose what why she required an operation. 'In case you were wondering where Elisabeth is today and this week, well, she had some surgery yesterday and she's going to be out for a couple of weeks,' Doocy said. Scroll down for video... Mystery surgery: Elisabeth Hasselbeck was conspicuously absent from Fox & Friends on Wednesday . Fox called Hasselbeck's surgical procedure 'a private matter.' In the former The View host's place Wednesday was Fox News' Kimberly Guilfoyle. Another of Hasselbeck's Fox co-hosts, Brian Kilmeade, seemed confident she'd recover quickly from the unknown ailment. 'She is strong, she is tough, and a better athlete than me,' Kilmeade said. 'We heard from her last night and she said she is feeling good. So, in a short time, she'll be back on the set.' Fox News reps told The Wrap: . 'Elisabeth has asked for all to respect her wishes for privacy in regards to further details at this time.' Hasselbeck and friends: Fox & Friends co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck did not show up for work Wednesday. Her fellow hosts revealed the conservative TV personality, wife and mom had undergone surgery the day before for an undisclosed ailment. A Fox rep called it 'a private matter' Hasselbeck got her start in television in 2001 after she was chosen to compete on Survivor: The Australian Outback. She finished fourth and was soon chosen to host the Style Network's The Look For Less in 2002. The following year, she rose to stardom when she was hired at age 26 to co-host The View. She's moved on to Fox in 2013. She's been married to former NFL player Tim Hasselbeck since 2002. They have three children: daughter Grace aged 9, and two sons -- 6-year-old Taylor and 5-year-old Isaiah. Family: Hasselbeck has been married to former NFL player Tim Hasselbeck (left) since 2002. They have three children: daughter Grace aged 9, and two sons -- 6-year-old Taylor and 5-year-old Isaiah . | Her Fox & Friends co-hosts on Wednesday said the 37-year-old mother of three is 'on the mend' Fox called Hasselbeck's surgery 'a private matter' The former The View co-host has a daughter Grace aged 9, and two sons -- 6-year-old Taylor and 5-year-old Isaiah . | 08bd332cb7cbb135d88991c9fda056ae78b83e21 |
By . Alex Finnis for MailOnline . Michael Miller, who faces 10 years in jail for assaulting a homeless man he invited into his house and had a threesome with his wife with . An ex-marine faces up to 10 years in jail after assaulting a homeless man he had invited into his home to have a threesome with his wife. Martin Miller, 30, and his wife Daniela, 24, had brought homeless 20-year-old Michael Chaney into their house and had a threesome with him, before things took a nasty turn. Mrs Miller and the homeless man continued to stay intimate for three days after the threesome without Mr Miller's knowledge, a Bay City, Michigan court heard - and things blew up when Mr Chaney offered to cook hamburgers for them all. The married couple were in the bathroom, with Mrs Miller in the tub, when Mr Chaney brought up some burger meat for them to taste. Mr Miller tossed the meat into the bath - and did the same again when his guest returned with more. Mr Chaney told him to stop wasting food and left the room, so Mr Miller followed him and told him he would beat him up. Mr Chaney told him to go ahead. Mr Miller then kicked him in the chest, pushed his wife away and then choked him, telling him he was going to kill him, court records say. He blacked out, and when he awoke, Mrs Miller walked him to the hospital, the homeless victim told the court. 'Martin became jealous after we had a threesome because Daniela started to distance herself from him,' said Mr Chaney, as reported by mlive.com. In his defence, Mr Miller said: 'I am a marine. When someone challenges me I go into kill mode,' while adding that Mr Chaney was being an 'a**hole'. The catalyst: Michael Chaney was cooking burgers for the Millers, and brought some of the meat up to the bathroom where they were for them to taste. Mr Miller then threw it in the bath and attacked him . He claims that he could not remember if he had kicked Mr Chaney and admitted to strangling him, but said throwing the burger meat in the bath was a joke. He has been charged with one count of assault by strangulation, and could go to prison for up to 10 years and be fined $5,000 if found guilty. Police were sent to the McLaren Bay Region hospital emergency room, near to the Millers' Bay City home, at about 11.44pm last Friday. There, Mr Chaney told officers he had been living with the Millers for about a week before the attack, and that Mr Miller became jealous of him after their threesome. Mrs Millers backed up Mr Chaney's description of the events, while Mr Miller also confirmed many of them. He said that Mr Chaney called his bluff when he had threatened to beat him up, and questioned his wife as to why she had taken the homeless man's side. Polce then arrested him. At court on Monday, Mr Miller told Bay County Chief District Judge Timothy Kelly that he had served in the U.S. Marine Corps between 2002 and 2005, before receiving honourable discharge. He suffers from bipolar disorder, and now receives social security income. | Martin Miller, 30, had invited Michael Chaney to live with him and his wife . They had a threesome, but Mr Chaney and Daniela Miller continued relations . Mr Miller had no knowledge and became jealous because she got 'distant' Mr Chaney was cooking burgers for the Millers when brawl kicked off . Had brought up meat for them to taste, which Mr Miller threw in the bath . Mr Miller then allegedly kicked his guest in the chest and strangled him . | 3fb80655bfcb6ecb3cd9325471d68d126614dd49 |
The engagements’ diary of a Second World War army general has revealed that he wrote off the week of the D-Day landings by scribbling a line through it. General Sir Miles ‘Bimbo’ Dempsey made notes of top secret meetings he held with Allied commanders in the weeks and months leading up to and after the week beginning June 6, 1944 in the black book. But the diary was mysteriously 'cleared' from the two pages covering Monday, June 5 through to Sunday, June 11, with a simple blue squiggly line across those dates. The engagements' diary of a World War Two army general has revealed that he wrote off the week of the D-Day landings by scribbling a line through it. Sir Miles 'Bimbo' Dempsey made notes of top secret meetings he held with Allied commanders leading up to and after the week beginning June 6, 1944 in the black book . A modest man, Sir Miles was one of the most important wartime generals but is almost completely unknown because of his determination to stay out of the limelight. Sir Miles is pictured (right) alongside King George VI (centre) and Field Marshal Montgomery (left) It is not clear why Sir Miles erased the days, but for . every day after the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, Gen . Dempsey marked in pencil ‘D+1’, ‘D+2’ and so on and also noted which . divisions of his army had landed. The mysterious gesture comes to light as hundreds of surviving D-Day veterans prepare to revisit the beaches of Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the landings. Events to commemorate the historic invasion of northern France will take place across the UK and also around the pivotal beaches themselves - code-named Utah, Omaha, Sword, Gold and Juno. Dignitaries including the Queen, as well as 650 British veterans of the conflict, will visit France for events. A modest man, Sir Miles was one of the most important wartime generals but is almost completely unknown because of his determination to stay out of the limelight. He went from Major to General - in charge of half a million troops - in just six years, and was the first person since Agincourt to be knighted on the battlefield by the King himself. His diary is among an archive of documents and photographs relating to the commander of the largest British Army in history to be released by his family - including several letters of . congratulations sent by Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Montgomery for his . martial success. King George VI knighting Monty's second in command General Dempsey in Northern France 1944. The first occasion it had happened on a battlefield since Agincourt in 1415 . Montgomery (centre) standing with his four army generals, Dempsey, Hodges, Simpson and Crera during the Battle of the Bulge . His diary is among an archive of documents and photographs to be released by his family - including several letters of congratulations sent by General Dwight Eisenhower, right, along with a signed photograph . Andrew . Currie, of auctioneers Bonhams, said: 'The Dempsey material offers a . wonderful opportunity to highlight the career of a soldier who in many . ways became the forgotten man of D-Day. 'The . many warm letters of congratulations from Eisenhower and Montgomery . show just how much they valued his calm leadership of the huge 2nd Army . and in particular the way he approached the unglamorous task of pinning . down the German troops and tanks in the immediate aftermath of D-Day. 'Unlike . most of the senior figures involved in D-Day, General Dempsey did not . write his memoires so the tributes from his fellow offices have a . special significance. 'They . speak loudly and impartially for the vitally important contribution he . made both then and during the rest of the war in which he served with . such distinction. 'General . Dempsey was the focal point of one of the stranger episodes at the very . end of the war when a delegation of high ranking German military . personnel, acting on the authority of the interim German government, . arrived at his HQ on June 3, 1945 to negotiate the German surrender. 'The . set of four photographs recording this event is a vivid reminder of the . chaos which surrounded the collapse of the German state after Hitler’s . suicide on April 30.' The collection also includes a rare order of service for a church service held on June 4, 1944, to say prayers for the tens of thousands of men about to take part in D-Day. Photographs showing the German deputation at General Sir Miles Dempsey's tactical headquarters on 3 May 1945 . The landings on June 6, 1944 involved a combination of British, Canadian, American and French forces, including hundreds of units from the Royal Navy. About 132,000 Royal Marines and Allied soldiers were transported by ships and injected onto the beaches of Normandy by landing craft and sea boat. More than 23,000 arriving by air, according to the Ministry of Defence, and the RAF and allied air forces provided air support with 11,000 aircraft. Landings: The D-Day attacks remain the largest seaborne invasion ever. Picture is the scene on Omaha beach in Normandy as U.S. forces poured ashore . D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion ever launched and opened the gateway to victory for the British and allied forces to bring the Second World War to an end. Around 10,000 troops and civilians were killed but the actual figure has never been discovered. To mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, an international flotilla of ships will sail through the channel to Normandy before an international ceremony on Sword Beach.Services led by the British and the French will be held at Bayeux Cathedral followed by an event at the Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. It also includes four unofficial photos of the moment the German high command tried to surrender to him at his headquarters in Germany on May 3, 1945. General Demspey sent the German deputation away as, by protocol, they had to surrender to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, which they did the following day. And a signed photo of US army supremo Eisenhower in which he described ‘Bimbo’ as ‘brilliant army commander of World War II’ is included. He led the British 2nd Army in the Battle of Normandy, where his men occupied the German forces at Caen, allowing the Americans to push into northern France. His family have decided to sell some of the wartime mementos ahead of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. The archive has a pre-sale estimate of almost £40,000. Gen Dempsey retired from the army in 1957 and hunted and bred race horses. He died aged 72 in 1969. The auction takes place on June 26. Commemoration: Former Allied soldiers are set to gather in Normandy this week. U.S. veteran Jack W Schlegel, 91, is pictured above teaching boys in Normandy about his role in the fighting . Recreation: Historical re-enactors, with authentic-looking vehicles and uniforms, are also preparing to mark the landings . Memories: Mr Schlegel, who served in the 82nd Airborne unit of the U.S. Army, poses in front of a road which was named after him . Practice: The events of this weekend in Normandy will be attended by leaders from all over the world . | General Sir Miles Dempsey was second-in-command to Gen Montgomery . Modest military man was crucial in organising successful D-Day landings . Collection of his belongings are up for auction - including a diary . But the book mysteriously strikes through the dates for D-Day landing . Allied troops poured onto beaches of Normandy in fight against Hitler . Historic landing's 70th anniversary to be commemorated this week . The lot also contains letters from Montgomery and Dwight Eisienhower . | a97b69734a9974c3efba08bb764179903b7b7734 |
(CNN) -- Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has called on the Saudi Telecommunication Authority to drop reported plans to block social media platforms, describing the action -- if implemented -- as a "losing war." The prince's words appear to refer to proposals thought to be under consideration by Saudi officials for tighter controls on social media, including steps that would mean Twitter users could be identified. Amanpour: Can Twitter really change Saudi Arabia? "Dear Saudi Telecommunication Authority, social media is a tool for the people to make the government hear their voices. Just thinking of blocking them is a losing war, and a way to put more pressure on the citizens," the prince wrote on his Twitter account Monday. A number of Twitter users commented on this post. "They won't succeed in blocking our voices, Twitter is our world through which we'll send our voices," one wrote. "Nice of you to talk to the authority rather than talking to the decision makers," another commented. "The era of blocking is over, everything is exposed now, and people will find a way to communicate, even if they had to use pigeons like the old days!" Bin Talal announced in late 2011 that he and his investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., had bought a $300 million stake in Twitter. Read more: Saudi activists say kingdom trying to silence them . Rights groups have criticized Saudi Arabia, a conservative kingdom, for its efforts to stifle online dissent. Freedom House, a U.S.-based free speech advocacy group, highlighted the limits imposed on free expression by Saudi Arabia in its report last year on Internet freedoms around the world, "Freedom on the Net 2012." The kingdom was one of a number of countries in which "authorities imposed further restrictions following the political uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, in which social media played a key role," it said. Saudi authorities have detained and intimidated hundreds of online political activists and online commentators, blocked and filtered sensitive political, religious or pornographic content from entering the Saudi Internet, and even recruited supporters online to campaign against calls for protests, the report said. Divided kingdom . Sanja Kelly, project director of Freedom on the Net, told CNN there had been an increasing number of arrests of Saudi Internet users who've posted critical remarks online, including on Twitter, since the report came out last September. According to tracking by Freedom House, 51% of Saudi Internet users are active on Twitter, which is one of the highest ratios in the world. "The Saudi authorities have been struggling for the past several years with decisions on how to deal with the growing and increasingly critical discussions online," Kelly said. "In recent months there have been increasing proposals by the authorities to either limit access to social media or to increase surveillance and decrease privacy for users." One proposal under discussion has been the introduction of a rule requiring each Saudi Twitter user to register using government ID, she said. It has not been implemented but has attracted a lot of attention because of the popularity of Twitter in the kingdom. "If this really comes into reality, it would be in effect a way for the government to track who's posting what," she said. Those at the liberal end of the spectrum in Saudi Arabia are outraged by the idea of such registration, she said. "They feel that at the moment one of the few ways for them to vent and to engage in political conversations is through social media," she said. But at the other end of the spectrum, "there are a lot of conservative voices in Saudi Arabia who are saying that social media -- Twitter in particular -- is a huge waste of time," and so would support this kind of measure, Kelly said. This division reflects a broader cleavage in Saudi society between progressives who are trying to push the boundaries of what is allowed and more conservative elements who are trying to maintain the status quo and see social media as a threat, she added. Up to now, Saudi authorities have been able to identify more prominent social media users, but a change in the rules might mean those who post online under the cover of anonymity are also exposed, she said. A likely consequence would be increased self-censorship. Bin Talal, who is one of many Saudi princes, is more prominent in business circles, Kelly added, so his more progressive views do not necessarily represent what is being discussed among the ruling elite. | NEW: Tension over social media freedoms reflects divisions in Saudi society, analyst says . Prince Alwaleed bin Talal rejects reported plans as a "way to put more pressure on the citizens" Social media platforms enable people in Saudi Arabia to make their voices heard, he says . Twitter users say rumored plans by Saudi authorities to restrict access won't work . | 2c37c8be956611d0cd07a801d0df0a9fb111de06 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:00 EST, 11 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:12 EST, 11 February 2014 . A 23-year-old legislative intern in Florida - who had hopes of going to law school next year - has been missing for over a week, and authorities are running short on credible leads in their effort to find him. Ryan Uhre, an intern in the Tallahassee office of state Representative Richard Stark, was last seen on February 2 - which was Super Bowl Sunday - at a bar just blocks from the Florida State Capitol. Sunday also was the last time he responded to text messages or phone calls from his family. Missing: Ryan Uhre - a 23-year-old legislative intern in Florida - has been missing since Super Bowl sunday . Vanished: Uhre was last seen leaving a bar in Tallahassee on February 2, and has not been heard from since . 'We're just still baffled why in one week we haven’t heard a word from him,' his father, Michael Uhre, told NBCMiami. The night he disappeared, Uhre was at a bar in Tallahassee called Clyde & Costello's. Credit card records also indicate that he went to another nearby bar called Andrews Capital Grill and Bar. He was last seen wearing a white, Hawaiian-style t-shirt with surfing Santas on it. Different leads have taken law enforcement officials all across the state looking for Uhre after cell phone records showed that Uhre's cell phone had briefly been turned on and then quickly turned off near Pompano Beach in Fort Lauderdale - which is nearly 500 miles from Tallahassee - on Thursday. Uhre went to high school near Fort Lauderdale. Search: Uhre's family and law enforcement officials have been canvassing the entire state looking for the 23-year-old . Family members tell the Miami Herald that authorities also were investigating a possible sighting of Uhre and Rosie's Bar and Grill in the Wilton Manors section of Fort Lauderdale. Employees at the restaurant, however, say they couldn't remember whether they saw the 23-year-old. Uhre graduated from Florida State University in December and was planning on going to law school, his family says. In the meantime, he was interning in Representative Stark's office, but had been there just a few days before his disappearance. Intern: Uhre had started an internship with Florida Representative Richard Stark just days before his disappearance . 'In the few days that Ryan has worked with us, he demonstrated . exemplary knowledge and performance in all of his tasks,' Stark - who knows Uhre's father - said in a statement. 'My thoughts and prayers are with Ryan and his family, and I . sincerely hope that his disappearance will have a positive outcome.' At the moment, authorities don't suspect Uhre's disappearance is the result of foul play. Anyone with information about Uhre's whereabouts is asked to call the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-606-5800. | 23-year-old Ryan Uhre was last seen on February 2 . On Thursday, phone records show that his cell phone was turned on and then quickly off nearly 500 miles from where he was last seen . Uhre was planning to attend law school after taking the LSATs . Uhre had started an internship with Florida Re. Richard Stark just days before his disappearance . | 282c1f61333f9ed18f28f2ed1950b16fa676d8b6 |
(CNN) -- Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fans and critics will find out Saturday night if he's still "Money" -- his nickname -- and still undefeated, when he takes on WBA super-welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas. The two fighters offer divergent personalities out of the ring, and distinct styles in it. The 31-year-old Cotto is more inconspicuous and workmanlike, while the 35-year-old Mayweather has a more flamboyant, brash reputation and a sizable cohort of celebrity supporters. Those wishing him luck on Twitter shortly before the fight included teen pop star Justin Bieber, skateboarder and MTV personality Rob Drydek, musician Akon, and Rob Kardashian of the E! reality show clan. The breakdown of the purse for the fight demonstrates the fighters' respective clout: Win or lose, Mayweather is set to pocket $32 million, while Cotto would get $8 million. While the odds are against him, Cotto declared before the bout that he had "no doubt" he'd win. "I'm ready and prepared for anything he can bring to me," Cotto said. Physically, Mayweather entered the bout as the taller of the two by an inch, while Cotto weighed in at 154 pounds, three pounds more than his foe. Max Kellerman, a boxing analyst and commentator for HBO (which like CNN is owned by Time Warner) said Mayweather has evolved into a "consistent, thudding puncher" who counts on pressuring his opponent. In the other corner, Cotto is known for being aggressive and a deft puncher, added Kellerman. The Puerto Rican has lost twice in his professional career, most recently against eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao -- whom Mayweather has famously challenged verbally, but has never fought. After an accomplished amateur career that includes several Golden Gloves titles, Mayweather burst on the pro scene in 1996 and hasn't lost since. The Michigan native's athletic success speaks for itself, having won seven different titles in various weight classes in his career. But he's had his share of trouble outside of the ring. That includes a 90-day prison sentence tied to his conviction on a domestic violence charge, after police said he'd punched the mother of his children at his home. Mayweather had been set to go to prison earlier this year, but a Nevada judge pushed back his reporting date to June because the boxer had already lined up Saturday's fight date. | Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto face off in the ring in Las Vegas . The undefeated Mayweather is the favorite, though Cotto says he's confident . Mayweather will go to prison on a domestic violence conviction weeks after the fight . | f97e820f7afe30253342cf94281227b4ccdd4bc9 |
By . Snejana Farberov . 'Baby-faced killer': Marissa Williams, 19, has been charged with solicitation of murder for allegedly trying to hire her own aunt posing on Facebook as a boy to kill her family . A 19-year-old Alabama woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to hire her own aunt posing online as a man to kill her family and even their dog. Marissa Williams was charged Monday with solicitation of murder. She was being held in the Tuscaloosa County jail on $30,000 bond. Williams' aunt told authorities she created a Facebook profile for a fictional man, Tre 'Topdog' Ellis, to connect with her niece and chat with her after their relationship became strained. Williams moved in with her aunt and her family in April, but the two women were not on good terms. The aunt became angry with Ms Williams for constantly talking to strangers online and inviting them over to her home, where the woman lived with her fiance and son. In retaliation, the niece blocked her aunt on Facebook. In order to keep tabs on her niece's online activities, and also to teach her a lesson about the pitfalls of talking to strangers, the aunt came up with the character of 'Topdog' Ellis. Court records obtained by Al.com state that Ms Williams began chatting with the fictional man and confided in him that she was angry with her relatives. The 19-year-old also invited the bogus Facebook friend to her home to get drunk and offered to have sex with him if he agreed to pay her $50 cell phone bill. In late May, the unaware teenager asked Ellis to come and take her away, and to shoot her aunt if she tried to stop him. As the two continued exchanging messages online, Williams' alleged murder-for-hire plot became ever more elaborate and brutal. Documents indicate that the teenager instructed her aunt pretending to be a young man to enter the woman's bedroom and kill her and her fiance. Ms Williams also allegedly asked 'Topdog' to gun down her cousin and the family dog while she was busy loading her belongings into the getaway car. Williams' concerned aunt eventually contacted authorities for help. When deputies responded to the family’s home in Tuscaloosa and interviewed Williams, the teen confessed and apologized, but insisted that she did not really intend to have anyone killed. | Marissa Williams, 19, was angry with her relative for asking her to stop talking to strangers on Facebook and inviting them over . Aunt created fake Facebook profile for Tre 'Topdog' Ellis and started chatting with niece, who quickly invited the bogus man over to have sex . The teenager allegedly asked her new friend to kidnap her and shoot her aunt, the woman's fiance, her son and the family pet . | 5d83029ca72688c3f7078282a12ab56eb28e3bfc |
LONDON, England -- New photos released this week show British air force jets shadowing Russian bombers over the North Atlantic Ocean in scenes that echo the Cold War and highlight Moscow's growing assertiveness. A British Royal Air Force Typhoon F2 fighter plane (left) encounters a Russian Bear-H bomber over the Atlantic. The images from Britain's Ministry of Defence show an encounter outside British airspace last Friday between the Royal Air Force's (RAF) new Typhoon F2 aircraft and one of several Russian Bear-H bombers. The incident comes as Moscow seeks to raise its military profile. The encounter happened on the same day that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, announced it was to resume the Soviet-era practice of continuous long-range bomber patrols on a permanent basis. The move is regarded by analysts as one of several signs of growing Russian assertiveness. Also Tuesday Putin announced plans to revive Russia's aviation industry after more than a decade of post-Soviet under-funding, Reuters said. Opening the MAKS-2007 airshow at the Zhukovsky airbase, east of Moscow, Putin said that "Russia ... faces the task of maintaining supremacy in producing military aircraft", according to the agency. Reuters said Putin made his comments as a formation of two dozen warplanes, civilian craft and helicopters roared past at the event, which is intended as a mark of the nation's aviation ambitions. "The show presents the unique potential of our country," the agency quoted him as saying. The British jets, from Number XI Squadron and on their first mission since becoming the UK's new reaction force, cover the southern part of England and were launched from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, eastern England, according to the Ministry of Defence. The encounter in the skies was not the first this year between the UK and Russia. In July, two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers made unusually long sorties over the North Sea, leading Norway and Britain to scramble fighter jets to follow them. Russia's air force said later it was a routine flight. And earlier this month Russian air force generals said bomber crews had flown near the Pacific island of Guam, where the U.S. military has a base. U.S. planes were scrambled to track them. Last week White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he did not believe the flights posed a threat to the United States. "Militaries around the world engage in a variety of activities, so this is not entirely surprising," he said. The encounters follow growing rifts during the past 12 months between Russia and the West on issues including Kosovo, energy, and Moscow's treatment of its ex-Soviet neighbors. Earlier this year Putin caused a stir by saying Russian missiles would again be aimed at European targets if the U.S. persisted with plans to build a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Tensions between the two countries later cooled after compromise talks between Putin and U.S. President George Bush. And the UK and Russia have engaged in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions of diplomats after Russia refused to allow the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, a former security service agent turned businessman. Lugovoi is accused by the British authorities of the radiation poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London last year, a charge Lugovoi has denied. E-mail to a friend . Reuters contributed to this report. | Pictures show UK fighters encountering Russian bombers over the Atlantic . Encounter came on the same day Russia resumed bomber patrols . Russian president announces plans for military aviation expansion . Encounter comes amid Russian assertiveness and tensions with the West . | 89623337f50b8d11b5d8a3b7b20afb6a218c4acf |
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