text
stringlengths 102
11.9k
| query
stringlengths 2
806
| summary
stringlengths 22
3.99k
|
|---|---|---|
by martha de lacey and steve nolan published: 12:27 est, 23 july 2013 | updated: 16:45 est, 23 july 2013 he may be third in line to the throne, but the newest addition to the royal family was carried away from st mary's hospital seated in something a little more practical and safe well wishers outside st mary's hospital watched as prince william carried the royal baby in his car seat from the steps of the lindo wing earlier today but a far cry from the throne he will one day occupy, the duke and duchess of cambridge's newborn son will have to make do with an £80 car seat for now prince william was seen carrying his son in a simple britax baby safe infant carrier car seat and although he appeared to fix it effortless into the car he had a helping hand the duke and duchess of cambridge's newborn son is pictured in the britax car seat as the couple left st mary's hospital in paddington this evening safe and snug: prince william carries his day old son to the car in the £80 car seat which has one safety awards first glimpse: the baby looks to be crying as he is carried out to the royal car in front of the lenses of the world's waiting media first journey: william fixes the car seat into the waiting car ready to take the baby home earlier this evening the prince avoided every new father's worst nightmare grappling with seatbelts trying to fasten the seat into the car as he simply clipped it into a pre belted base while the seat is a snip, retailing from as little as £80 online, the base itself sells for as much again the car seat won the mother & baby award for best buy in the infant car seat category in 2012, and is a favourite among new parents crowds gathered outside the hospital were given a sneak peak of the child's first throne when an aide was seen carrying it into the maternity wing earlier today a britax spokesman told mailonline: 'the car seat is very safe, award winning, and a great choice for newborns' according to britax: 'the lightweight baby safe provides a secure travel solution for your baby from birth the car seat arrives at the lindo wing earlier today carried by an aide, left, who accompanied kate and william's hair stylist amanda cook tucker, right a far cry from the throne he will one day occupy, the seat retails online for as little as £80 safety first: a close up of the car seat as it was carried into the lindo wing earlier today 'they are secured by the 5 point safety harness and the deep, softly padded side wings and head support add to your baby’s safety and comfort 'the integral cushion allows your baby to lie in a more natural, comfortable position' incidentally, britax also have a model called the king plus, for babies over nine months old we'll have to wait until 2014 to see him in that one european managing director, ian watson, said that his firm were 'delighted' that one of their seats will carry the heir to the throne from the hospital he said: 'as a british brand and the leader in child travel safety, are delighted and honoured to hear that the prince of cambridge could be making his first journey in one of our infant carriers 'we send our warmest wishes of health and happiness to trh the duke and duchess of cambridge as they begin their exciting journey in to parenthood' the car seat could be used to transport the new baby for at least a year britax says it is safe to use their seat until the baby weighs 13 kgs, the normal weight for a 12 to 15 month old safe at a snip of a price: the britax baby safe infant carrier, which the duke and duchess of cambridge carried their newborn son home in, retails online from just £80 cheat: but the couple also used a pre belted base for the seat which saved the new parents from grappling with seatbelts in an attempt to strap their son in | prince william britax baby safe infant carrier as little as £80 royals | prince william was seen to carry his son from the hospital in a car seat . car seat is britax baby safe infant carrier, which retails for as little as £80 . it has won safety awards and is said to be a favourite among new parents . britax expressed its delight that the royals may use one of its products |
by chris parsons updated: 04:33 est, 30 january 2012 dressed in matching skin coloured caps, round spectacles and grey moustaches, these young children are taking part in a lookalike record attempt like no other the 485 children donned matching outfits in honour of mahatma gandhi, the iconic indian spiritual leader who was assassinated 64 years ago to the day as well as the peace leader's trademark round glasses and moustache, the boys also sported white robes to mimic his traditional indian dhoti and shawl, as well as holding walking sticks record: the 485 boys who dressed as peace icon mahatma gandhi represented the biggest number ever fitting: the half a kilometre march the children completed mirrored gandhi's dandi peace march in 1930 finishing touches: a young boy puts his grey moustache back in place as the record attempt in eastern india gets under way their march was an attempt to bring alive memories of gandhi's historic dandi march in march 1930 which sparked india's independence movement the boys, all aged between ten and 16 and mostly from single mothers, walked in costume for half a kilometre in central kolkata, west bengal icon: gandhi led the way for non violent civil rights and independence in indian before his death in 1948 the underprivileged youngsters also set a world record, as their march of 485 children was the largest such gathering ever recorded their impressive effort eclipsed the previous record for such an event, where 255 children dressed as gandhi in tamil nadu's coimbatore district on june 13, 2010 the children took part in the march named 'rise up' while watched by gandhi's granddaughter usha gokani she said: 'it's a great feeling when my children heard of the effort they egged me to come to kolkata 'they said it may be a bit tiring for you, but the trip is worth to be made 'i now know they were right i am moved by the passion for the father of the nation displayed by these children' michael anthony, who runs the uk based organisers tracks (training recourse and care for kids) who set up the march, said: 'we don't want the underprivileged kids to forget the rich legacy of gandhian ideology' mahatma gandhi's birthday on october 2 is commemorated as gandhi jayanti a national holiday which sees tributes across the country 'mahatma' gandhi, which means great soul, was born in 1869 and was an inspirational leader of india and the indian independence movement he is famed for his non violent means to achieve his goals, which resulted in the independence of the country dressed for the occasion: a group of boys arrive in kolkata on a bus to the march ready prepared checking numbers: guinness world record officials count the gandhis during the attempt in west bengal the 485 under privileged boys smashed the previous record for the most gandhis by 200 during their effort copycats: the young boys also sported replicas of gandhi's trademark dhoti and shawl during the march gandhi is one of the most influential figures in recent history and his methods inspired civil rights movements across the world gandhi was fatally shot on january 30 1948 while having one of his nightly public walk on the grounds of the birla bhavan (birla house) in new delhi the assassin, nathuram godse, was a hindu radical with links to the extremist hindu mahasabha | exceptious bailed grumphies | no related information |
by lizzie parry published: 08:46 est, 24 december 2013 | updated: 09:58 est, 24 december 2013 an independent report which found there was evidence that portsmouth mp mike hancock 'made unwelcome sexual advances' towards a vulnerable female constituent, has been branded 'one sided' by the former lib dem the report, seen by the guardian, found there was 'prima facie evidence' the backbencher, who resigned from the party over the allegations, had made the 'sexual approaches' the mp was arrested in 2010 in connection with the allegations but hampshire police decided there was not enough evidence to mount a criminal case portsmouth south mp mike hancock has today claimed an independent report which claims there is evidence he sexually assaulted a 'vulnerable' constituent is one sided as his accuser sues him in the high court he was accused of making repeated sexual advances towards the woman, who had contacted him for help in dealing with her 'noisy neighbours' it is alleged that mr hancock sexually assaulted the woman despite knowing she suffered mental health problems and had been sexually abused as a child his accuser is taking civil action, suing mr hancock through the high court but the mp has vowed to clear his name, vehemently denying the allegations portsmouth city council instructed nigel pascoe qc, a leading barrister specialising in sexual crime cases, to interview the alleged victim after the council said it received a standards complaint against the fratton councillor in june mr hancock, 67, stood down from the lib dems after a meeting with the party’s chief whip, alistair carmichael in an exchange of letters, the mp wrote: ‘i have decided to temporarily withdraw from the parliamentary party in the commons until the civil court case against me has been concluded he added that he would ‘vigorously defend my position and that i completely refute the allegations made against me’ but in august, mr pascoe's report, seen by rajeev sajal and daniel foggo at the guardian, concluded there is evidence of sexual approaches made by the mp the inquiry goes on to conclude that mr hancock was aware of the woman's mental health problems the guardian reported mr pascoe said in the 49 page report: 'i consider that the prima facie evidence of his unwelcome sexual approaches remains unquestionably a very serious matter in the light of the position which he holds and his knowledge from the beginning of the vulnerability of (the alleged victim)' the mp stepped down from the lib dem party in june vowing to clear his name in the high court the report is based on mr pascoe's investigation of a seven month period from november 2009, the guardian said the leading barrister also looked into text messages sent by mr hancock to the alleged victim in the messages, the mp refers to his accuser as 'my princess', and tells her she is 'special and sexy' to him the woman, who was 35 at the time, claimed mr hancock touched her breast, exposed himself to her and kissed her without consent it is also alleged the mp took the woman's son, aged 12 at the time, to parliament for dinner, bought her a teddy bear named mike and sent her numerous text messages the report was compiled following two interviews with the alleged victim, and mr pascoe's examination of her mental health history, the guardian said it says the woman is 'convincing and truthful' but also 'angry and hurt' by what she claimed had happened 'making full allowances for the disclosed mental history of [the alleged victim], i have no doubt that she has provided before me compelling prima facie evidence of serious and unwelcome sexual behaviour carried out towards her by mr hancock 'i am of the clear view that her account is credible and merits both compassion and respect,' he wrote in the report 'i found [the alleged victim] to be a straightforward and vulnerable person, angry and hurt by what she said had happened to her… indeed, at no point did i form the view that she lied to me,' he said mr pascoe added mr hancock had shown kindness towards the woman, which had not been reflected in the media he said: 'there is clear evidence that he sought to help her wholly properly as her local councillor in a detailed way which was commendable' mr pascoe says he did approach mr hancock but sources close to the council told the guardian the mp declined to meet the barrister a spokesman for mr hancock today accused the report of being 'one sided' adding the mp looks forward to the case coming before the high court so he can 'strongly and utterly refute' the accusations made the spokesman said: 'these matters have twice been looked at by the police, first in 2010, and in conjunction with the cps, they have found that there is no case for mr hancock to answer and have taken no further action when a person complains to police they are the victim of a sexual offence, they are immediately granted anonymity for life the sexual offences act, 2003, includes numerous crimes including: those convicted of a sexual offence will be forced to sign the sexual offenders register for a length of time dictated by the sentencing judge once a police force has gathered the evidence, they present their findings to the crown prosecution service it is the cps who review the evidence and determine whether there is enough evidence to bring a case to court where they decide the evidence is insufficient, the case is dropped but the alleged victim is entitled to take civil action, suing the alleged perpetrator for damages in criminal proceedings the prosecution has to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty but in civil court the uk standard is only to prove guilt on the basis of a balance of probability 'mike hancock looks forward to the civil case coming to court so that he can bring forward evidence to strongly and utterly refute the allegations made 'the independent legal advice to portsmouth city council noted that the high court was a better place to establish matters of fact not least because it could take evidence under oath which the council cannot 'mike hancock asked to meet with the council's independent investigator to explain this and this was denied him despite the city council's solicitor asking the investigator to meet mr hancock 'he therefore believes the report which he has not seen is likely to be one sided 'the most suitable place to settle a civil case is in court and not in the newspapers 'as this is an on going legal case, it not appropriate for mike to give a running commentary 'in the meantime he will continue to work hard to serve his constituents as an mp and councillor' following the completion of the report in august, police officers re examined the claims made but announced in november that they required more evidence and dropped the case a spokesman for portsmouth city council, told mailonline their inquiry into the allegations have been suspended until the conclusion of the civil case the council's solicitor, michael lawther, said: 'the council's procedure for dealing with complaints against councillors makes no provision for a copy of a report to be provided to a complainant or to be published 'we have therefore been unable to release it we anticipate that we will be reviewing our procedure once the investigation of this complaint is over 'after legal advice, the council sub committee running the investigation decided on november 15 that it could be unsafe to deal with the complaint using our internal disciplinary process when the same allegations were due to be tested in the high court 'it therefore postponed the process until the high court action was concluded 'it felt there was a risk of inconsistency between a decision the council could reach and one which the high court might reach 'in deciding to postpone, it also considered the greater suitability of the high court for determining contested issues of fact, including its ability to compel the attendance of witnesses, and provision for cross examination while on oath' | portsmouth city council mike hancock 2010 hancock the high court | report ordered by portsmouth city council finds evidence mp mike hancock made 'made unwelcome sexual advances' towards a constituent . mp was arrested in 2010 in connection with the allegations but the police decided there was not enough evidence to mount a criminal case . he is accused of making 'sexual advances' towards the woman who contacted him for help in dealing with her 'noisy neighbours'. the alleged victim is taking civil action suing mr hancock at the high court . mp said report is 'one sided' and vehemently denies the allegations |
by associated press reporter published: 22:22 est, 5 june 2013 | updated: 23:39 est, 5 june 2013 judge edith jones is alleged to have said that blacks and hispanics are predisposed to crime and violent acts a coalition of civil rights organizations has filed a judicial misconduct complaint against a conservative federal judge for discriminatory comments she allegedly made during a speech, including that some racial groups were predisposed to violent crime judge edith jones of the 5th us circuit court of appeals addressed the university of pennsylvania law school on feb 20 her comments were not recorded, but five students and one attorney who were in attendance signed affidavits swearing to what they heard the complaint alleges that jones said certain ‘racial groups like african americans and hispanics are predisposed to crime,’ and that they are ‘prone to commit acts of violence’ and be involved in more violent and ‘heinous’ crimes than people of other ethnicities the judge also allegedly said mexicans would prefer to be on death row in the us than serve prison terms in their native country, and that it's an insult for the us to look to the laws of other countries such as mexico the allegations were laid out in a 12 page complaint backed by several texas groups and filed tuesday in new orleans, where the appeals court is based the complaint said jones engaged in conduct that, among other things, ‘undermines public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and creates a strong appearance of impropriety’ a message seeking comment left at jones' law office in houston was not returned appointed by president ronald reagan, jones has served on the court since 1985 and was its chief justice for seven years, until october 2012 judge jones allegedly said that mexicans would prefer to be on death row in the us than serve prison terms in their native country ‘students were appalled by her speech,’ said katie naranjo, a spokeswoman for the coalition backing the complaint that includes the mexican capital legal assistance program, the league of united latin american citizens and the texas civil rights project the naacp in austin and the national bar association's houston affiliate also are included the complaint also states that jones said defendants' claims of racism, innocence, arbitrariness, and violations of international law and treaties are just ‘red herrings’ used by opponents of the death penalty she allegedly said claims of ‘mental retardation’ by capital defendants disgust her, and the fact that those defendants were convicted of a capital crime is sufficient to prove they are not ‘mentally retarded’ and she said a death sentence provides a service to capital case defendants because they are likely to make peace with god only just before their execution, according to the complaint judge edith jones of the 5th us circuit court of appeals addressed the university of pennsylvania law school, left, on feb 20 naranjo said the coalition is demanding an investigation she said it took months for those who heard jones' comments to contact lawyers and verify that they could warrant a formal complaint it also took time to compile the affidavits, she said the coalition said jones' comments resembled those made during the trial of duane buck, a black texan sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of his former girlfriend and another man at buck's trial, a state psychologist listed race as one of several factors in describing the danger he would continue to pose though the psychologist was called to the stand by defense lawyers, a prosecutor emphasized the testimony in her closing argument later, then texas attorney general john cornyn identified the case as among six in which race had played an inappropriate role in death sentences the other inmates all received new sentencing hearings, and they've been resentenced to death buck hasn't received a new hearing ‘judge jones's comments are frighteningly similar to those that violated duane buck's constitutional rights,’ said christina swarns, one of buck's lawyers and director of the criminal justice project of the naacp legal defense & educational fund duane buck was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of his former girlfriend and another man | edith jones the university of pennsylvania mexicans us | judge edith jones is alleged to have made the comments when addressing students at the university of pennsylvania law school in february . her comments weren't recorded, but five students and one attorney in attendance have signed affidavits swearing to what they heard . they claim she also said that mexicans prefer to be on death row in the us than serve prison terms in their native country |
by daily mail reporter published: 06:46 est, 14 june 2013 | updated: 18:03 est, 14 june 2013 not caring who sees them, two thieves brazenly steal from a ‘wishing well’ that raises money to help dying children the pair were caught on camera as they helped themselves to the charity cash from a town centre fountain in the middle of the afternoon the men, one wearing a camouflage jacket and the other a baseball cap, leant over the edge of the fountain and used long sticks to drag the coins towards them, then reached into the water to fish them out dreadful: one man was spotted using a stick to rake up money while the other suspect appears to have coins inside his hand after plunging his arm in brazen: despite being photographed in broad daylight both men were happy to be shown pocketing cash from the fountain witnesses said the two continued to trawl the foot deep water despite efforts from members of the public to intervene sharon bevis, 33, used her mobile phone to take photographs of the pair after she spotted them in redditch, worcestershire, at about 4pm on monday mrs bevis, a mother of six, said: ‘they were taking the money out for bus fare and beer money and they were just not bothered at all when i told them they were bang out of order for doing it ‘they were drunk and didn’t seem to care that there were lots of people around and even children watching spotted: one of the shameless thieves looks up to see they are being photographed but they continued regardless 'i told them what they were doing was appalling and that the money goes to children’s charities but they didn’t listen ‘you can see their clothes were clean and new so they didn’t look like they needed the money’ the fountain in the centre of the town is cleaned once a year and all money collected is donated to acorns children’s hospice local traders were left outraged yesterday butcher pat mcgrath, 50, said: ‘these two men are nothing but scum do they not realise they are essentially robbing seriously ill children? probe the grade ii listed fountain in church green west, redditich, and police said today they are investigating and they told people it was for booze too – that’s the saddest part of it all’ cafe owner julie bradbury, 30, said: ‘it’s like stealing people’s wishes i hope this doesn’t put people off donating to charity by throwing coins in there’ redditch councillor debbie taylor said: ‘it’s clearly not on for years, the bits of loose change that get swept up in the town, including when the fountain gets cleared out, have been gathered up, cleaned, and donated to charity’ carole crowe, fundraising manager for acorns, said: ‘it’s very disappointing to hear of this we rely on fundraising and voluntary donations for the majority of our income’ west mercia police said they were investigating the incident ‘we are trying to identify the two men pictured,’ a spokesman said | acorns children's hospice redditch | police are tracking the men, who carried on despite being photographed . one used a stick to rake up coins while the other put in his whole arm . money is thrown into fountain for acorns children's hospice in redditch |
by sam greenhill and simon cass published: 12:39 est, 12 august 2013 | updated: 19:01 est, 12 august 2013 as a millionaire sportsman accustomed to the world’s finest clubhouses, you’d have thought lee westwood might have mastered a dignified approach to criticism alas, it appears not especially when he has ‘been on the sherbet’ when critics on twitter dared question his poor performance in the final round of the us pga championship in oak hill, new york, he responded with a tirade of foul mouthed abuse imploded: lee westwood was attacked online after his performance at the us pga championship in new york snapped: he responded to his tormenters by unleashing a volley of abuse after missing out on a trophy the former world number one golfer told the ‘girly boy trolls’ to ‘get a life’, and boasted about how rich he was and when one of his detractors on twitter said ‘i bet he’s been on the sherbet’, westwood replied: ‘i’ve had lots!’ the 40 year old snapped after failing to take home the trophy on sunday when a user asked whether he might ‘learn how to putt’, he replied, ‘will you get a life first’ other fans also criticised his play at the championship, which followed a string of disappointments at other tournaments another major disappointment: westwood was in contention up until the start of the fourth round life of luxury: westwood¿s £38million home in florida he and his wife, laurae, and their two children, sam, 12, and poppy, nine, moved into their mansion in february this year in reply, he ranted: ‘you minions need to live from the inside out rather than the outside in!!!!’ 'like i give a f*** what the haters say that’s life some people will always be just a little bit better and work just a little bit harder' lee westwood westwood added: ‘just sick of negative a******** sat behind a keyboard with a pitiful life’ he continued: ‘like i give a f*** what the haters say! that’s life! some people will always be just a little bit better and work just a little bit harder’ goading his critics, he boasted about his £2million earnings: ‘come on you girly boy trolls! i’ve only won just over 2 mill on course this year! need you to keep me entertained a bit longer than this!’ he seemed pleased with his handiwork when nobody bothered to reply ‘ahhh just when i’m in the mood the haters all go quiet!’, westwood said ‘obviously didn’t like a bit back at em!’ the golf star explained: ‘i love slagging people back! had enough of sitting there taking it bring it on!’ having a wine: westwood poruing out the drinks after winning the 2010 ryder cup at celtic manor when twitter users rose to the challenge, westwood had yet more choice words for those who had dared to highlight his failure to win a golf major turning his fire on one tweeter who claimed he deserved ‘all the stick’, westwood, from worksop in nottinghamshire, declared: ‘i tried all the way and you’re a t***!’ another poster was given short shrift by the golfer after he suggested he could not handle criticism westwood replied: ‘not from unachieving (sic) low life’s no!’ one user urged westwood to ‘go to bed’, while others suggested that the golfer might have been wise to avoid twitter while less than sober footballer joey barton got involved and received a strong reply from westwood barton congratulated him on his ‘good old twitter rant’, to which westwood said: ‘get to training joey! you need to run a bit of fat off!’ barton replied: ‘note to twitter users tweet sober’ another user also questioned westwood’s sobriety, writing: ‘has someone hacked your account lee drink doesn’t solve anything!’ in reply, westwood said: ‘oh it does! plenty!’ despite having briefly been the world’s top golfer, when he ended the reign of tiger woods in 2010, westwood has never won a major championship he has been in contention for all four major golfing trophies this year but has let them slip through his grasp not quite: westwood has suffered numerous close major finishes but has not managed to get across the line westwood co owns a private jet and lives in a villa in florida overlooking the 14th fairway of the old palm golf club he and his wife, laurae, and their two children, sam, 12, and poppy, nine, moved into their mansion in february this year the £38million mansion is 15,000 sq ft, with five bedrooms and a palm tree fringed swimming pool last night, some six hours after his rant, westwood appeared to have had a change of heart, tweeting: ‘sincere apologies to my sponsors and true followers for my earlier comments ‘it was out of order and out of character, westy’ | garle acetyltannin embryotegae | no related information |
by matt blake published: 06:13 est, 11 march 2013 | updated: 10:52 est, 11 march 2013 as any seasoned prankster will know, drive thru takeaway cashiers make easy targets you might even say giving them a fright is pure child's play and now one veteran online mischief maker has put this theory quite literally to the test, with this hilarious chucky doll drive thru prank magic of rahat put the possessed child's toy in the front seat of his car as he drove into a series of fast food pick up points in a bid to hoodwink employees into thinking that the infamous movie villain was behind the wheel scroll down for video child's play: 'magic of rahat' put the possessed child's toy in the front seat of his car as he drove into a series of fast food pick up points in a bid to hoodwink employees into thinking that the infamous movie villain was behind the wheel scary sight: this is how the car looked to magic of rafat's victims fear: using a hidden camera in the passenger seat, he filmed the reactions of his unsuspecting victims and their reactions were quite something to behold, ranging from fear to laughter to downright disbelief the practical joker camouflaged himself behind a fake, home made car seat which allowed him to drive without being seen using a hidden camera in the passenger seat, he filmed the reactions of his unsuspecting victims one female employee slams the service window shut as soon as she sees the scar faced apparition, from hollywood film franchise child's play, and runs to her manager, whimpering: 'i don't like chucky' 'i don't like chucky': one female employee slams the service window shut as soon as she sees the scar faced apparition, from hollywood film franchise child's play, and runs to her manager, whimpering: 'i don't like chucky' funny: another runs to get her colleagues who point and laugh while taking pictures on a mobile phone attack: perhaps the most unusual reaction, however, comes from one group of workers who resort to throwing a bag of chips at the doll in a bid to scare him off with saturated fats another runs to get her colleagues who point and laugh while taking pictures on a mobile phone perhaps the most unusual reaction, however, comes from one group of workers who resort to throwing a bag of chips at the doll in a bid to scare him off with saturated fats the clip was uploaded to youtube five days ago and already has almost three million hits 'wuuuut?': this worker cannot believe his eyes as the car pulls up popular: the clip was uploaded to youtube five days ago and already has almost three million hits it is not the first time magic of rahat has used his 'invisible driver' car seat to scare unsuspecting passers by in january a video of him fooling fast food workers into believing his car could drive itself went viral and has now had more than 30 million hits his other tomfoolery includes a ghost cereal box prank in a supermarket, a floating dollar bill prank and a breaking wind in a lift prank | reimportune colliquament commercialistic | no related information |
by jonathan o'callaghan most galaxies are thought to be large star forming structures with millions or billions of stars but the segue 1 dwarf galaxy, 75,000 light years from earth, has astrophysicists scratching their heads it contains just a few hundred stars and it hasn't produced any new ones in over 13 billion years, suggesting it may be a fossil left over from the young universe the stars of the dwarf galaxy segue 1, which may be one of the universe's first galaxies, are circled here researchers led by anna frebel of the massachusetts institute of technology in cambridge, us recently published their measurements scientists believe the big bang gave rise to a universe filled with hydrogen, helium, and a trace all the other elements that we see today were forged in stars, which are born in clouds of gas and dust provided by supernovae — huge stars that explode at the end of their life this endless recycling process has yielded an intriguing tool for astrophysicists one way of determining stellar age is iron, whose content in a star enriches with every successive birth the lower the iron content in a star's light spectrum, the older it is they analysed data from the las campanas observatory’s magellan telescopes in chile and the keck observatory in hawaii what they found was that the stars in segue 1 are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, with very little amounts of heavier elements like iron detected this makes segue 1 ‘the least chemically evolved galaxy known,’ the researchers say in their paper most galaxies go through periods of repeated star formation when stars explode in supernovae, they release heavy elements that lead to the creation of new stars the types of element released depends on the mass of the star high mass stars, which live for relatively short amounts of time, release elements like magnesium and calcium low mass stars, on the other hand, live longer but release mostly iron now you see it: on the left is an image of the segue 1 dwarf galaxy as imaged with other stars, where it is almost invisible when the other stars are removed (right), the sparse galaxy starts to reveal itself the stars in the segue 1 galaxy only seem to contain products from high mass stars the researchers say this supports the idea ‘that it may be a surviving first galaxy that experienced only one burst of star formation’ the reason for this is not known it may be due to something known as the ‘epoch of reionisation’ that occurred 132 billion years ago, 600 million years after the big bang in this period any existing galaxies would have lost their ability to make new stars this would also explain why segue 1 experienced only one brief spurt of star formation the new data on segue 1 was taken from observations made by the las campanas observatory in chile (pictured) and the keck observatory in hawaii another unknown is whether galaxies can form this small, or whether they form larger and then have mass taken away ‘this study is so interesting because i really want to know, can galaxies form this small?’ astronomer beth willman of haverford college told scientific american ‘can galaxies form and look like segue 1 when they form or do they have to form larger and then have some mass taken away?’ ‘there could be 200 segue 1 like galaxies around us’ ‘my lifelong goal is trying to understand, are things like this the most abundant in the universe?' for now segue 1 gives us a tantalising look at some of the first things to form in the universe and it may provide us with some useful new information as to how some of the very first structures in the cosmos came to be | grint overbookish requiter | no related information |
by david martosko, us political editor published: 14:56 est, 30 october 2013 | updated: 10:16 est, 31 october 2013 president obama said wednesday that he has 'complete confidence' in health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius, just hours after she took a beating during a congressional hearing over the disastrous obamacare website his defense of sebelius came after she was forced to concede on capitol hill that obama, not she, was ultimately responsible for the affordable care act's rocky launch 'the president has complete confidence in secretary sebelius,' white house deputy press secretary joshua earnest told reporters aboard air force one en route to the president's speech in boston, where he offered full throated oratory on the importance of his signature health insurance overhaul earnest focused on sebelius' early apology rather than on her later concession that the buck stops in the oval office she 'took responsibility for many of the problems that are evident with the website, but she also deserves credit for the other aspects of the affordable care act implementation that have gone well,' he said scroll down for video problerms: obama faces a disaffected public that has grown weary of health care promises and is less confident than ever about the wisdom of the affordable care act grand: obama used the historic faneuil hall in boston today to double down on his vision for obamacare but admitted he's 'not happy' about the website roll out the embattled face of the health insurance overhaul law and its disastrous internet enrollment platform had said in her opening statement, 'you deserve better i apologize' but later during her testimony wednesday before the house energy and commerce committee, sebelius was muscled into sharing blame for the glitch prone rollout with her boss in the white house mississippi republican rep gregg harper pressed her on who is ultimately to blame for a website that wasn't adequately tested before its october 1 launch, and crashed wednesday morning, rendering it out of service during most of sebelius' 3 1/2 hour grilling 'the president ultimately is responsible,' harper insisted 'while i think it’s great that you’re a team player and you’re taking responsibility, it is the president’s ultimate responsibility, correct?' 'uh, whatever,' she sniped while shaking her head 'yes, he is the president he is responsible for government programs' less than five hours later, obama proudly drew parallels between his obamacare program and former gov romney's, begun seven years ago in boston 'there were early problems to solve,' when romney reformed health insurance programs there, he said, just as his program's rollout has been plagued with poor management, technical failures and organizational snafus 'there were changes that had to be made' and of his own program, he admitted, 'the web site is too slow, too many people have gotten stuck and i'm not happy about it' obama recalled happily how 36,000 massachussets citizens signed up for romney care in the first year, a pace that would leave obamacare short by millions of taxpayers adoring throng: a crowd estimated at 800 clapped and cheered for obama as he reinforced his vision of a government managed health insurance market interruption: protesters yelled in unison about the keystone xl pipeline as obama quipped that they were at the wrong rally 'enrollment was extremely slow,' obama recalled of romney's experiment in government management of the insurance market 'within a month only about a hundred people had signed up by the end of the year, 36,000 people had signed up' massachusetts comprises 21 per cent of the american population; at the same rate, the obamacare program would only have 17 million new insurance enrollees by october 1, 2014 administration officials have said they need 7 million to sign up – more than four times as many – in order for the affordable care act's books to balance as its strains to cover health care costs of the elderly and chronically ill still, obama claimed of massachusetts, 'the vast majority of its citizens are happy with their coverage' 'i'm confident this plan will work because the massachusetts model has shown that it works,' he said repeatedly to wild applause from an estimated 800 partisans obama was interrupted twice by screaming protesters upset about the construction of the keystone xl pipeline 'that is the wrong rally,' he quipped, saying 'we had the climate change rally back in the summer' campaigner in chief: obama kissed babies and even signed an 'i (heart) obamacare' cast as he greeted his supporters friendly faces: obama is mobbed by supporters after his speech in which he said reforming healthcare was a 'no brainer' responding to complaints that insurers are dropping millions of americans from their coverage, he declared that those policies were 'cut rate plans' sold by 'bad apple insurers' who weren't offering benefits in line with what the obamacare law requires his gop opponents have highlighted dozens of examples of constituents receiving cancellation letters, many of which cite the affordable care act as the reason policies are being discontinued one member of congress brought his own such letter to a hearing on wednesday but 'americans would be better off,' obama jabbed, if republicans put as much energy into helping the affordable care act succeed nationally as they put into criticizing it romneycare is a statewide plan, instituted by obama's one time republican election foe mitt romney when he was governor of massachusetts, that formed part of the template the president used when his team formulated the affordable care act the hearing was rife with stories about taxpayers who have lost their medical coverage because of new requirements forced on insurance companies by the obamacare law, and included a contentious exchange in which sebelius said she wouldn't – or couldn't – buy health insurance through the government's insurance exchanges herself 'why aren't you losing your insurance?” colorado republican rep cory gardne demanded 'why won’t you go into this exchange?' health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius apologized to a congressional committee for wasting americans' time as they tried and failed to use the crippled obamacare website the most hated woman in america? sebelius is staying put, said obama's aide, despite the woeful performance of the program she's leading 'i think it’s illegal for me,' she replied, citing the employer sponsored insurance she already enjoys as a federal government employee she later said she would 'gladly join the exchange' if she weren't already covered 'you can decide to drop the coverage from your employer,' gardner insisted 'you have the choice to decide not to choose [it]' healthcaregov – when it's up and running – advises people in sebelius' position, however, that 'f you’d like to explore marketplace coverage options you can' she would, however, be required to forgo taxpayers' contribution toward her coverage as a 65 year old who is enrolled in medicare part a, sebelius could also reject that coverage if she chose to, relying solely on exchange driven insurance as millions of americans are contemplating as they find policy cancellation notices in their mailboxes that, though, would be a symbolic and impractical choice obama will follow his health insurance speech with an appearance at a democratic fundraiser on wednesday night, but will return to washington without seeing the sixth game of the world series between the boston red sox and the st louis cardinals the president, earnest reminded reporters, is a chicago white sox fan 'i am well aware that a presidential visit is not the biggest thing going on today in boston,' the president said during his speech 'i promise we will be done here in time for everybody here to head over to fenway' | bowlegged horatiye neighbourer | no related information |
by ryan gorman published: 00:56 est, 6 december 2013 | updated: 17:54 est, 6 december 2013 a california teenager was arrested thursday for stealing a piece of the wreckage left from saturday's car crash that killed actor paul walker and his friend jameson witty, 18, was arrested thursday morning at his california home after an investigation led police to his doorstep, officials announced thursday afternoon police did not say what brought them to mr witty’s home, but mailonline easily found pictures of the stolen car part posted sunday to instagram by mr witty caught red handed: police found the stolen car part in jameson witty's home the wrecked porsche carrera gt was being hauled by a flat bed tow truck hours after the wreck that claimed the movie star and friend roger rodas, who was driving the vehicle when it crashed the tow truck stopped at a red light and a male jumped out of a car following it to grab a piece of the car – he then hopped back into his car and sped away, according to police the tow truck driver immediately reported the theft a search warrant was executed thursday at mr rodas’ home, police found the stolen car panel a part from the sports car's roof and arrested him on the spot a mailonline review of mr witty instagram profile showed that he also has a penchant for fast cars and risk taking pictures of him speeding and with injuries sustained in bmx races fill his profile he also sent out a tribute to mr walker and mr rodas, writing 'dec 28th we will be having a car meet and cruise, at the crash site to celebrate the lives of paul walker and rodger rodas we will also be raising money, to continue the donations of paul walker's charity' the hashtags #fun and #fastcars are prominent on his instagram page brazen: mr witty couldn't resist bragging about his daring heist need for speed: mr witty, like his hero paul walker, also likes fast cars their final ride: the red porsche gt in which fast and furious actor paul walker died along with his friend roger rodas mr witty was charged with felony grand theft and tampering with evidence, he is being held on $20,000 bail a booking photo will not be released, according to ktla a second suspect, a 25 year old male, is also facing similar charges but is out of the state and is discussing the terms of his surrender with police the investigation into the crash that killed both mr walker and mr rodas is still ongoing | jameson witty porsche paul walker instagram | jameson witty stole a piece of the porsche wreckage left after the accident that claimed actor paul walker's life . he then posted pictures of the stolen car part to instagram |
by jennifer smith published: 11:21 est, 27 october 2013 | updated: 10:20 est, 28 october 2013 kathryn, 22, believes she would have longer to life if doctors had been able to find her more suitable liver and bone marrow transplants a 22 year old who has been battling leukaemia for six years has said her ill health could have been prevented if more people were registered as donors kathryn cartwright of sutton coldfield believes she would have longer to live if doctors had been able to find her a suitable bone marrow match when she was 16 kathryn, who was forced to undergo a second transplant and liver replacement in later years, is now unsure if she will see her 23rd birthday in january after being diagnosed with the disease, kathryn's older sister stepped in to donate her own bone marrow, a move which was boosted by chemotherapy but after several months the teenager's health continued to deteriorate 'i found lumps in my face which turned out to be malignant tumours, and tests revealed that my bone marrow was full of cancer again,' she recalls she required a second transplant from a donor in germany, after which doctors told her she had a 20 per cent chance at life though she surpassed doctor's expectations, kathryn discovered she had developed graft versus host virus disease (gvhd) shortly after the second operation 'this is when the donor cells recognise the recipient's cells as foreign and they attack', she explains 'it can happen in any of the systems of the body, and i've had it almost everywhere 'i had it in my skin and my digestive system, but it was treated with several weeks of iv steroids after receiving a bone marrow transplant from her sister christine in 2008 and undergoing chemotherapy, doctors were hopeful kathryn would make a recovery kathryn recalls how her skin turned yellow with jaundice as she was in desperate need of a new liver 'then in the september i got it in my eyes i lived in the dark for a month because it made me incredibly photophobic 'it was eventually treated with eye drops made from stem cells from my own blood' as a result, kathryn was hospitalised on halloween 2008 and did not return home until june the following year kathryn has undergone rounds of chemotherapy as well as the transplants throughout her six year battle it was during this time she received a liver transplant but, as she was in such bad health, doctors selected an organ of a different blood type to try to keep her alive though the operation, which took place on december 21, was a success, experts didn't believe the teenager would be alive at christmas 'my donor was a different blood type to me i was a positive, but i received an o negative liver because i was so poorly 'while the haematology doctors were still monitoring me, they discovered an anomaly in one of my test results the dna in my bone marrow had changed 'it wasn't me neither was it my sister, nor the german donor 'what happened was that the stem cells from the liver had travelled to my bone marrow, kicked out the german and set up shop 'i had effectively had a third accidental bone marrow transplant i'm the only person in the world for all this to happen to 'there's a scientific paper being written about me' as more gvhd spread through her body, kathryn's lung capacity reduced to just 50 to 60 per cent, and she was forced to start using a wheelchair kathryn stunned experts by reaching her 21st birthday last year after being told she only had a 20 per cent chance of survival 'this wasn't such a problem when my new liver was working fine but in 2011 i got biliary stones they're basically the same as gallstones' though this was temporarily resolved with the creation of a new bile duct, kathryn's liver is now failing to drain properly, causing infection which is resistant to antibiotics as such, her only hope of survival is a new liver transplant a prospect which is becoming less likely as her respiratory function continues to falter last year kathryn was told it would be too much of a risk to her health to perform a second liver transplant kathryn recalls the moment doctors told her she wasn't eligible for a second transplant as the procedure would involve too much risk, describing the news as 'like being punched in the face' 'it was decided that i couldn't have a transplant because they would probably not be able to get me off the ventilator post surgery and that's if i survived the operation at all' speaking of her family's reaction to the life threatening news, she said: 'we know everything is not going to be all right, but for now we are just carrying on the best we can' though heartbroken, the 22 year old says she is 'not surprised' by doctor's decisions as there merely aren't enough people willing to donate organs or bone marrow 'i am going to die because not enough people are on the donor registers 'one in three people die while on the waiting list for an organ, and it is so unnecessary 'people die because they can't find suitable bone marrow donors, and that shouldn't happen when signing up and donating is so easy no one has to die to donate bone marrow like they do with an organ 'i have been to too many funerals that could have been prevented if more people were on the registers' as well as a trip to america and celebrating christmas, kathryn wishes to use her remaining time 'spreading the word about organ and bone marrow donation' 'i have things i want to do, i don't want to go before i've done them the 22 year old has said she will spend her remaining time campaigning for bone marrow donation so others don't find themselves in her situation 'i want to try and stop this from happening to anyone else,' she said, adding: 'so many people 'mean to do it', but never do and it is so simple' 'i want to get to christmas and my birthday but i don't know what's going to happen and god, i am so scared' kathryn has been documenting her condition and campaign for bone marrow and organ donation awareness on her blog which has received 5,000 views in just six days | kathryn cartwright kathryn | kathryn cartwright has been battling leukaemia since she was 16 . after undergoing two bone marrow transplants, a liver replacement and chemotherapy kathryn has just months to live . the 22 year old believes she would live for longer if more people were registered as donors . kathryn is campaigning for more people to register to 'stop this from happening from anyone else' |
by john stevens published: 07:59 est, 27 december 2013 | updated: 20:58 est, 27 december 2013 when percy norton came back from the second world war, his injuries were so serious he was given just three months to live but against all odds the father of two today celebrated his 100th birthday with a card from the queen the former butcher, from east tuddenham, norfolk, suffered injuries to his abdomen and spleen and was left with a partial lung after he was struck by a shell blast in normandy, france birthday: percy norton was given three months to live when he came back from the second world war but he survived against all odds and today he's celebrated his 100th birthday with a card from the queen healthy: percy says he has always worked out, been an avid gym goer and still uses an exercise bike he was brought back to britain and spent more than a year in hospital, but he was sent home to die as doctors believed he would only live for a few months however, the soldier was nursed back to health by his wife ellen and miraculously made a recovery and still works out on an exercise bike and goes fishing most saturday during the summer season last night, mr norton, who was celebrating his birthday at a party with friends and family said: ‘i put my long life down to hard work, healthy life and healthy diet’ brave: mr norton pictured aged two with his parents in 1916 and right in his service uniform in 1940 he was struck by an allied shell in normandy in northern france and spent more than a year in hospital recovering after marrying his wife in 1943, mr norton was sent away with royal norfolk regiment and landed in normandy shortly after d day he said: ‘we went down to portsmouth and when it was time for us to go across the water we were split, half to the dorsets and half to the hampshires, it was the last time i saw a lot of my friends ‘around a month after i got over to france just after d day i was badly wounded i was put with an anti tank platoon and it was my job to look after the vehicle and supply the crew with ammunition’ fighting fit: percy on his bike aged 18 he has two children and says his 100 years have been 'very good and enjoyable' apart from the 13 months he spent in hospital and when he lost his wife eileen in 1991 during an attack on a german tank near caen in normandy, mr norton was injured by an allied shell he said: ‘one of the shells dropped short it killed two of the six of us’ proud: mr norton pictured in 1944 he puts his long life down to always being active mr norton was so badly injured that it was three to four weeks before he was moved back to britain from france and then spent 13 months in hospital in weston super mare it was only when he returned to the hospital after making a recovery at home that he was told they thought he had only three months to live he said: ‘we went to wales on a holiday, and i said to my wife, we’ve got to go over to weston super mare we went across and went up to the door and i asked for the matron ‘she came to the door and she could not speak, her mouth was wide open “norton the resurrection”, she called me ‘she said, “i can tell you now that we sent you home with only three months to live” she could not believe it’ mr norton, who has two daughters, marilyn, 58, and angela, 66, said that he has had ‘a very good and enjoyable’ life except for his 13 months stay in hospital the widower, who lost his wife ellen in 1991, was still driving up until six years ago when he had to stop because of his deteriorating eyesight mr norton, who took a trip on concorde before it was retired, still travels around the country for dog shows with his daughter marilyn and their nine dachshunds they have qualified for crufts every year since he started to enter and last year (2012) their dog mildred won best of breed active: mr norton on his wedding day in 1943 and right, passing the time in his retirement fishing for trout king’s lynn born mr norton said that he believes keeping active has contributed to his long life he said: ‘i used to go in for nearly every sport there was running, cycling, cross country i would cycle to holt, north walsham and i used to hold the record for cycling up one of the hills at ringland hills ‘i’ve always been fit i’ve been fit all my life, i’ve always been one for sport and exercise; every sort of sport and getting in the gym’ | suppable contrastedly settle | no related information |
by joshua gardner published: 19:56 est, 12 august 2013 | updated: 23:40 est, 12 august 2013 a colorado man confessed this weekend to killing two teen boys who he said were out to blackmail him using video footage of him asking them for sex william dean otto, 43, pointed police to the bodies of danny espinosa gamboa and jonathan gonzalez, both aged 16, buried in shallow graves near the south platte river in northeastern colorado otto told police the boys came to his house with footage of him propositioning one of them for sex they threatened to blackmail otto with the video and he said he shot them when, after he refused to pay them each $10,000, one of the victims brandished a butcher knife at him scroll down for video slain: william dean otto admits to killing danny espinosa gamboa (left) and jonathan gonzalez (right), both aged 16, on friday otto claims the boys tried to blackmail him with video footage of the 43 year old propositioning them for sex adams county sheriff department spokesman sergeant terrance o'neill told the denver post that otto was arrested sunday when police followed his directions to the rural edges of colorado near the nebraska border, they found bodies the families of espinosa gamboa and gonazalez identified the boys as the victims monday evening otto apparently owns two homes in the centenial state he told authorities the two boys arrived at his home in unincorporated adams county, east of denver, early on friday and demanded $10,000 each or else they would expose him for propositioning and inappropriately touching one of them scene of the crime: otto has a home (pictured) in adams county, colorado, where he admits to shooting and killing the boys he claims one of the teens threatened him with a knife otto said that after he refused, one of the teens procured a knife from the kitchen when he threatened otto with the weapon, otto shot them both dead with a 22 caliber rifle he said he then wrapped the bodies in blankets and plastic and drove toward his other home in the far northeast corner of the state, in sedgwick county at some point, he doused the corpses in gasoline and set them ablaze before burying them in shallow graves near the south platte river the boys were reported missing by saturday evening shallow graves: pictured is the south platte river in sedgwick, colorado otto told police he drove the boys' bodies to the rural area, burned them, and then buried them along the remote stretch of river in the state's northeast corner according to neighbor rob mcclary, otto grew up in rural sedgwick home along with a sister the home may also have been where he first met the boys he ultimately killed mcclary said that otto had, in recent years, hosted many parties for teenagers at the farm home ‘they said they were related to billy when we asked how they knew him,’ mcclary told the denver post a boy interviewed by 9news said otto's adams county home was also 'a kick back spot' for teens and that otto would often offer them beer mcclary, who knew otto for many years, said he was shocked by the revelations about his old neighbor, who now faces two counts of murder in the first degree ‘he was always very nice,’ said mcclary ‘very polite’ | unshaky consigne seditionary | no related information |
by binky felstead published: 03:14 est, 12 august 2013 | updated: 03:52 est, 12 august 2013 wow, it’s hot! i'm a glass half full sort of girl and try to see the good in any situation yes, it's been hot and humid for the last few weeks and, yes, it can get grimy during summer in the city (even in chelsea!) but i prefer to look on the bright side and think hot days and nights mean hot fun but there is one side of this humid weather that's been getting me down my make up keeps sliding off! i'll start the day looking picture perfect, but when i get home my face is shiny, my mascara has smudged around my eyes, and my lipstick has disappeared! scroll down for video it may be hot outside but binky felstead has perfected make up that will last all day long my make up skills can't compete with the weather, so i've decided once again to consult cosmetics pro daniel sandler to find out how to bullet proof my look make up expert daniel has beautified countless celebrity faces, creating gorgeous looks that will stand up to the heat and dazzle of mega watt movie lights if anyone can heat proof and sweat proof my make up, daniel can how to bulletproof your makeup start with a fresh, clean face avoid too much moisturiser as this can eat away at your make up during the day; just lightly blend daniel sandler retexturizing face primer all over your face this is the most important part of the process to ensure your make up stays put through the day, as the primer will lock your cosmetics in place and also help smooth out fine lines next blend stila's prime pot lid primer across the eyelids to form a long lasting base for eyeshadow run a navy blue eyeliner along the upper lash line then apply a green eyeliner to the lower waterline before smudging it apply daniel sandler invisible radiance foundation onto the face, aiming for a fresh, light coverage to even out your skin tone now dab a touch of daniel sandler's watercolour blusher in so pretty onto the cheeks with your fingertip, blending it into the foundation you only need a tiny blob of this product it's a fluid blusher and it's water resistant, which means it has serious staying power alternatively, use a cream blusher and fix it in place with translucent powder run a navy blue eyeliner along the upper lash line then apply a green eyeliner to the lower waterline before smudging it with a small brush to soften the effect using waterproof products like the daniel sandler long lasting waterproof eyeliners will give your make up that extra longevity – i’ve used the shades blue velvet and green velvet brush stila forever your curl mascara onto your lashes for a really long lasting, smudge proof result waterproof mascara can be tricky to remove, but a clever little make up artist's trick is to apply ordinary mascara first then add a coat of waterproof mascara this makes it easier to remove at the end of the evening define your eyebrows with stila's stay all day waterproof brow colour and groom them into place with a brush rub daniel sandler's invisible veil powder into your hands and press it onto your face this will fix your products in place without giving a heavily powdered feel 17 photo flawless primer rimmel undercover shadow primer bourjois radiance reveal healthy mix foundation revlon photoready cream blush in flushed barry m bold waterproof eyeliners in blue and green maxfactor clump defy waterproof mascara maybelline master sleek brow mascara natural collection loose powder the finished make up look that daniel has created for me feels lightweight and lovely, and that's part of the magic layers of heavy base and thick powder are bound to turn greasy and slide off in the heat a naturally pretty effect created with long lasting products will look good from dawn till dusk with the minimum of touch ups thanks daniel! if you have a big party or important event coming up, it's well worth investing in really good quality, long stay make up to ensure you look your best head to online beauty boutique escentualcom to find all the products daniel used for this look now i'm off to road test the results see you on the dance floor tonight i'll be the girl still looking great when things get steamy!stay gorgeouslove binky xxx for more great beauty tips, visit binky's blog here | binky daniel sandler last all day | binky calls on daniel sandler to achieve the look . beauty look aims to last all day in humidity |
by bianca london published: 05:13 est, 12 august 2013 | updated: 07:15 est, 13 august 2013 they are the brightly coloured clogs with signature aeration holes most commonly spotted on middle class mothers doing the school run and whilst they enjoyed huge success when they burst onto the footwear market back in 2007 thanks to their comfortable style, crocs haven't maintained that success in recent times last month, the brand reported a 43 percent decline in second quarter profits, and their stock fell by nearly a quarter in one day out of fashion: they have long been the marmite of the fashion world and now crocs have seen earnings fall despite selling £630 million of shoes in 2011 and £739 million in 2012, the first quarter of 2013 saw earnings fall by 425 per cent compared to the previous year, which the company blame on colder than normal weather and decreased consumer interest and last thursday, shareholders suffered another blow after it was reported that analysts from brokerage stern agee downgraded the company from 'neutral' to 'underperform' sam poser, the analyst who wrote the report for stern agee, cited reasons for this rating as reduced earnings expectations and concerns over the senior executive leadership, according to the daily beast he wrote: 'unfortunately, it appears that those who concur with the top executives remain at the company, at the expense of numerous talented people who have left' losing their appeal: despite selling £630 million of the shoes, which were credited for their comfortable style, in 2011 and £739 million in 2012, the first quarter of 2013 saw earnings fall by 425 overhaul: in an attempt to win over the fash pack, the brand have recently had a style overhaul and redesigned the original £2999 crocs to give them a more stylish appeal ultimately, it is the end of crocs’ hypergrowth, and their stock has fallen by about half in the past two years in an attempt to win over the fash pack, the brand have recently had a style overhaul and redesigned the original £2999 crocs to give them a wider appeal fashion writer nicole mowbray said: 'crocs should stop pretending to be cool and stick to what they do best — comfortable clogs or simply publicise how comfortable all their shoes are, rather than bleating on that they’re stylish 'in the seventies, supporters of millwall football club used to chant: ‘nobody likes us, we don’t care’ 'perhaps they’re words the million dollar crocs company would do well to listen to' fashion blogger lydia faye jones added: 'i'm a girl with a serious shoe obsession, however thankfully crocs have never been one of them 'the shapeless chunky style and hideous array of colours are why i'm not surprised the demand for crocs has rapidly decreased! 'they have never been fashionable and it looks like now they never will be' famous fans: the quirky footwear is loved by celebrities such as brooke shields and whoopi goldberg crocs ceo john mccarvel said: 'crocs, in fact, is alive and kicking our transformation to a diversified, four season lifestyle footwear brand is still on track 'we are a very different company today compared with five years ago – more than 300 different footwear styles, more than 500 of our own branded retail stores, better wholesale relationships, a very strong balance sheet, and more competitive cost structures – and global consumer demand for our products remains very strong 'we’re on track to sale approximately 55 million pairs of shoes around the world this year' | crocs 43% second quarter june nearly a quarter one day stern agee | crocs reported a 43% decline in second quarter profits in june . stock fell by nearly a quarter in one day as a result . brokerage stern agee downgraded company from 'neutral' to 'underperform'. have recently unveiled new designs to try win over fash pack |
by matt blake published: 11:18 est, 12 march 2013 | updated: 11:31 est, 12 march 2013 the dean of york has been forced to drag the police into the row over where the remains of richard iii should be buried after receiving a torrent of hate mail, an mp has claimed the very revd vivienne faull, until recently the dean of leicester, has been the target of a string of abusive letters as the debate over the hunchback king's final resting place rages on in what was one of the most extraordinary finds archeological in history, his bones were unearthed last year under a council car park in leicester by archaeologists from the city's university under attack: the very revd vivienne faull, until recently the dean of leicester (pictured, left, outside leicester cathedral), has been the target of abusive letters as the row over richard iii's (right) final resting place rages under the terms of their licence to dig up the remains, the university's scientists have decided richard iii killed at the battle of bosworth in 1485 should be re interred at leicester cathedral but other experts argue that the king himself would have wanted to be put to rest at york minster and that the remains should be moved to the city labour mp hugh bayley said while the debate appeared good natured at first, it has now taken a more sinister turn after the dean of york received such abusive letters she had to pass them to the police calls: labour mp hugh bayley said while the debate appeared good natured at first, it has now taken a more sinister turn he has now called on the government to set up an independent panel of experts to make a decision once and for all speaking during a debate in westminster hall, he said: 'i received many letters and emails from members of the public about this, supporting burial in york 'most are thoughtful and well argued and based on scientific facts but some are frankly inflammatory and talking yesterday to the dean of york, some that she has received at the minster are so extreme that she has referred the correspondence to the police 'i would say to everybody: calm down let's all respect the memory of a former king of our country let's discuss where his remains should be put to rest in a dignified and sober way we don't want to reignite the wars of the roses' nine of the monarch's descendants have called on the government to return the remains of the king to york for a 'formal and ceremonial' burial, while a petition calling for his remains to be transferred to the northern city has been signed by more than 23,000 people mr bayley said: 'the decision should be taken on independent national advice and not delegated to archaeologists from leicester who clearly support the leicester cause 'they would find it outrageous if the decision was delegated to people from york we need the decision to be taken nationally, in the national interest by people who are independent of the vested interests of either york or leicester' but justice minister jeremy wright said york minster itself supported the re interment of the remains at leicester cathedral he said the decision was up to the university of leicester, under the terms of its licence royal find: in what was one of the most extraordinary archeological finds in living memory, his bones were unearthed last year under a council car park in leicester by archaeologists from the city's university under the terms of their licence to dig up the remains, the university's scientists have decided richard iii should be re interred at leicester cathedral, left, but other experts argue that the king himself would have wanted to be put to rest at york minster, right he told mps that, before the archaeologists started digging, they thought it was 'unlikely' they would find the remains of the king mr wright said: 'now that the exhumation has been completed, it is the university of leicester's responsibility as holder of the licence to decide where king richard iii remains are finally laid to rest that is the law 'much has been made, not least today, of the fact that the people of york want the remains to be buried in york and i do understand the strength of feeling in york and yorkshire more widely 'however, i should make it clear that york minster has openly supported the re interment of richard iii's remains in leicester cathedral 'it is also right i think to point out that the default position of the church of england is that the remains should be interred at the nearest christian church and that of course is in this case indeed leicester cathedral' campaigner: richard iii's skeleton was discovered last year following a campaign led by phillipa langley, of the richard iii society (pictured, left, with an artist's model of how he may have looked) grisly death: richard (on white horse) died at the battle of bosworth in 1485 he was stripped naked with his hands tied, and scarred by multiple 'humiliation wounds' inflicted as his body was paraded through leicester, richard iii was dumped in a shallow grave with no coffin or shroud the discovery of richard iii's skeleton in a leicester car park was formally announced early in february this year to much fanfare and cheers it was, scientists said, a historic moment, finally ending the centuries old mystery of what happened to the body of the last plantagenet king academics were also able to reveal details of how one of the nation’s most controversial monarchs met his end – and how appallingly he was treated in death after defeat at the hands of henry vii at the battle of bosworth in 1485 stripped naked with his hands tied, and scarred by multiple ‘humiliation wounds’ inflicted as his body was paraded through leicester, richard iii was dumped in a shallow grave with no coffin or shroud there his body remained until his skeleton was discovered last year following a campaign led by phillipa langley, of the richard iii society using historical maps, archaeologists had traced a friary where the king was rumoured to have been buried, which now lies beneath a social services department car park in leicester screenwriter miss langley described the chill she felt when walking through the car park in august 2009: ‘it was a hot summer and i had goosebumps so badly and i was freezing cold 'i walked past a particular spot and absolutely knew i was walking on his grave’ | blowpipes concertato salters | no related information |
by matt blake and reuters reporter published: 04:33 est, 11 march 2013 | updated: 04:18 est, 12 march 2013 afghan president hamid karzai hijacked us defence secretary chuck hagel's debut visit to the region yesterday by accusing america of conspiring with the taliban a day after two taliban bombings killed 17 people, karzai accused the united states and the taliban of colluding to convince afghans that foreign forces were needed beyond 2014, when nato is set to wrap up its combat mission and most troops withdraw 'those bombs that went off in kabul and khost were not a show of force to america they were in service of america it was in the service of the 2014 slogan to warn us if they (americans) are not here then taliban will come,' karzai said in a speech scroll down for video fighting talk: karzai said the so called collusion was a bid to convince afghans that foreign forces were needed beyond 2014 it was one of several inflammatory comments by karzai and his government on sunday appearances: hagel's visit coincided with the passing of a deadline imposed by karzai for us special forces to leave wardak province accusing them of overseeing torture and killings 'in fact those bombs, set off yesterday in the name of the taliban, were in the service of americans to keep foreigners longer in afghanistan' it was one of several inflammatory comments by karzai and his government on sunday and follow weeks of efforts by the afghan leader to curtail us military activity in afghanistan, including a call to kick american special forces out of an important province us commanders see special operations forces as key to the end phase of the conflict response: hagel appeared at pains to be respectful of karzai and avoid sharp criticism, but he told reporters that any collusion between the us and the taliban 'wouldn't make a lot of sense' hours after karzai's speech, hagel said he spoke 'clearly and directly' about the comments during his first meeting with the afghan leader since becoming us defence secretary on february 27 hagel appeared at pains to be respectful of karzai and avoid sharp criticism, but he told reporters that any collusion between the us and the taliban 'wouldn't make a lot of sense' the us and nato commander in afghanistan, general joseph dunford, was more categorical 'we have fought too hard over the past 12 years, we have shed too much blood over the past 12 years, we have done too much to help the afghan security forces grow over the last 12 years to ever think that violence or instability would be to our advantage,' dunford told reporters travelling with hagel of karzai's remarks, he added: 'i'll let others judge whether that's particularly helpful or not at the political level still, politics will be key over the next several months, as the united states and nato allies work to carry out their strategy of pulling out their troops and decide how large a residual force to leave behind after 2014 nato defence chiefs meeting in brussels last month discussed keeping a combined us and allied force of 8,000 12,000 in afghanistan, focusing on training afghan troops and countering the remnants of al qaeda, the pentagon has said any deal for a follow on force, which washington says must include immunity for us troops, would need karzai's blessing karzai has a history of making incendiary statements that exasperate washington but the nature and awkward timing of his latest remarks about the united states were exceptional he also alleged on sunday that the taliban and the united states had been holding talks in the gulf arab state of qatar on a 'daily basis,' further fuelling his suggestion that washington and the militants were working at common purposes goodwill mission: hagel is in afghanistan on his first trip as the 24th secretary of defense to visit us troops, nato leaders, and afghan counterparts but karzai's government has also alleged that us led forces and afghans working with them were abusing and arresting university students 'i told the president that it was not true,' hagel said 'the fact is any prospect for peace or political settlements that has to be led by the afghans' the taliban spokesman in afghanistan, zabihullah mujahid, denied that negotiations with the united states had resumed karzai's government also alleged that us led forces and afghans working with them were abusing and arresting university students karzai issued an executive order banning foreign troops from entering all education institutions hagel and karzai were meant to have appeared together at a joint news conference on sunday evening but, in a reminder of the threats posed by the resilient insurgency, us officials said it was cancelled because of security concerns afghan security officials inspect the scene of a suicide bomb attack outside the afghan defense ministry in kabul a wounded man is carried to a nearby hospital following a bomb blast hagel was about a kilometre away and within earshot of a saturday morning suicide attack outside the defence ministry that killed nine people he was meant to have met his afghan counterpart there this weekend but the venue was later changed hagel's visit coincided with the passing of a deadline imposed by karzai for us special forces to leave wardak province accusing them of overseeing torture and killings us forces have denied involvement in any abuses hagel has sounded hopeful that a deal could be reached on their continued deployment but acknowledged no breakthroughs were made in his talks with karzai it was unclear how hagel's trip would be viewed by us republicans who bitterly fought his nomination to become defence chief, portraying him as soft on iran and questioning his judgement hagel at times appeared sympathetic to the stresses of political life that karzai must endure 'i know these are difficult issues for president karzai and the afghan people and i was once a politician,' hagel said 'so i can understand the kind of pressures especially leaders of countries are always under' | karzai us afghans 2014 saturday taliban hagel | karzai implies us bid to convince afghans that us forces needed after 2014 . he claims saturday's taliban bombs that killed 17 people 'in service of us'. hagel says collusion between us and taliban 'wouldn't make a lot of sense' |
by daily mail reporter published: 21:41 est, 9 september 2012 | updated: 07:40 est, 10 september 2012 a veteran police officer escorting president barack obama's motorcade in west palm beach, florida has died after being hit by a pickup truck bruce st laurent, a 20 year veteran of the jupiter police department, was preparing to close off access to a roadway as the president was being transported from a campaign event, when the officer was struck by a ford f 150 palm beach county sheriff's spokesman teri barbera said the police officer was on interstate 95 on sunday afternoon around 5pm when the tragedy occurred scroll down for video end of watch: jupiter police officer bruce st laurent was killed as he tried to block off a road for obama's motorcade the security caravan (pictured in march) escorts the president wherever he travels mr obama made a campaign appearance at the palm beach county convention center on sunday afternoon, part of his weekend campaigning in florida 'officer st laurent was assigned to the motorcade escorting president barack obama from a campaign event in palm beach county,' said a statement on a memorial website for st laurent 'he was struck as he was preparing to close access to the highway from the on ramp as the presidential motorcade neared the impact pushed him and the motorcycle into a guardrail' mr st laurent, 55, was transported to the nearby st mary’s medical center, where he was pronounced dead 'we didn’t lose a co worker we lost a friend,' sgt scott pascarella told the palm beach post 'he would do anything for anyone' ms barbera says an investigation is ongoing and no charges have yet been filed against the driver, who has not been identified campaign: us president barack obama has been campaigning in the sunshine state over the weekend he spoke at a rally at the palm beach county convention center in west palm beach on sunday afternoon 'i'm so overwhelmed right now,' jupiter police chief frank kitzerow said 'our first priority is notifying [mr st laurent's] family' white house press secretary jay carney said the president was notified of the officer's death and added, 'our thoughts and prayers are with the officer's family' 'there was a serious accident involving a jupiter, florida, police department motorcycle officer, who was part of the motorcycle escort for the motorcade,' mr carney told reporters after air force one left palm beach 'the accident happened ahead of the motorcade itself and no other vehicle in the motorcade was involved in the accident' | bruce st laurent the jupiter police department obama | bruce . st laurent was a 20 year veteran of the jupiter police department . officer was closing off a roadway in advance of obama's motorcade |
by daily mail reporter published: 15:09 est, 5 august 2013 | updated: 11:16 est, 6 august 2013 defiant alex rodriguez made his dubious return to baseball monday night just hours after major league baseball handed the star a 211 game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs and even fans of his new york yankees weren't happy to see him a rod, the highest paid player in baseball, was greeted by jeers and boos as he stepped up to the plate for the first time at us cellular field in chicago on monday night many of those shouts came from fans wearing yankees jerseys including one man who held up a sign reading 'a rod, a bum' during a press conference monday evening, rodriguez did not deny that he had used performance enhancing drugs when asked point blank by a reporter instead, he said, 'we'll have a forum to discuss that and we'll talk about it then' because of the contract negotiated by the players' union, a rod will be allowed to play while he appeals the decision which could last through the end of the 2013 season scroll down for video take a boo: chicago baseball fans booed and jeered when alex rodriguez stepped up to the plate for the first time and us cellular park on monday night turning on him: a yankees fan turns on his own player as he holds a sign monday night calling the baseball star a bum defiant: alex rodriguez did not deny that he had used performance enhancing drugs when asked point blank by a reporter on monday still popular: rodriguez signed autographs from fans at chicago's us cellular field before taking the field on monday night rodriguez is on a 10 year, $275million contract with the yankees that will see him play for the team through the 2016 season the suspension, if upheld, will bar him from the game through 2014 allegations have dogged the 38 year old rodriguez since january, when records were released from biogenesis of america that named him as a client of the florida anti aging clinic known for distributing banned performance enhancing drugs 'the last seven months has been a nightmare, has been probably the worst time of my life for sure,' he said before the game but, he said he was happy to be playing the game again after spending the first four months of the season recovering from surgery on his right hip 'i am so excited to have an opportunity to wear this uniform and to help this team win,' he said his presence, and the distraction it has caused off the field, didn't seem to help the yankees monday night rodriguez hit a shallow single in his first at bat, but then hit a fly out to center field, a line out to left field and struck out looking the demoralized yankees plagued by injuries all season lost spectacularly in an 8 1 drubbing by the white sox suspended: these 12 players accepted 50 game suspensions after being implicated in performance enhancing drug use they are: (top row, left to right) texas rangers' nelson cruz, detroit tigers' jhonny peralta, san diego padres' everth cabrera, new york yankees' francisco cervelli, philadelphia phillies' antonio bastardo and san diego padres' fautino de los santos (bottom row from left to right) houston astro's sergio escalona, houston astros' fernando martinez, now with the new york yankees, seattle mariners' jesus montero, new york mets' cesar puello, new york mets' jordan valdespin and oakland athletics' jordan norberto chicago fans were even more brutal to a rod branding him 'a roid' for the allegations of performance enhancing drug use 'the new york yankees in no way instituted and/or assisted mlb in the direction of this investigation; or used the investigation as an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under a player contract; or did its medical staff fail to provide the appropriate standard of care to alex rodriguez' statement released by the new york yankees, who had two players suspended'i made an error in judgment that i deeply regret, and i accept full responsibility for that error i should have handled the situation differently, and my illness was no excuse' nelson cruz, suspended 50 games'i promise to do everything possible to try and earn back the respect that i have lost' jhonny peralta, suspended 50 games'i made significant errors in judgment during the 2012 season and i accept full responsibility for those errors' antonio bastardo, suspended 50 games if the suspension ultimately stands, rodriguez will lose around $34million in salary and may have played his last game for the yankees baseball commissioner bud selig announced the suspension of 13 players on monday related to biogenesis a rod is the only player to appeal the rest of the players, including all stars nelson cruz, jhonny peralta and everth cabrera were all banned from playing for 50 games each for their involvement with performance enhancing drugs, bringing the total to 18 athletes so far by benching 13 players, the mlb administrators have handed out the biggest sentence since the chicago black sox rigging scandal nearly a century ago last month, ryan braun received a higher sentence than most of the others he is suspended for 65 games the harshest penalty was reserved for rodriguez, a three time most valuable player and baseball's highest paid star the new york yankees slugger admitted four years ago that he used performance enhancing drugs while with texas from 2001 03 but has repeatedly denied using them since rodriguez was suspended under both the drug agreement and labor contract mlb said the drug penalty was for 'his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years' his penalty under the labor contract was 'for attempting to cover up his violations of the program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the office of the commissioner's investigation' an a bomb! from a rod: rodriguez watches his towering home run sail over the fence friday night the honeymoon ended quickly: what started out so promising, quickly became acrimonious as a rod's personal life soon became a major distraction for the team not everyone is convinced: a fan holds a sign that reads 'cheater,' while rodriguez signs autographs before a friday rehab game for double a trenton been there, done that: fans have been holding up signs labeling the beleaguered player a cheater for years, this sign is being held up by a fan in philadelphia during the 2009 world series | alex rodriguez baseball 10 year 275million the new york yankees 2014 | alex rodriguez has been suspended from playing in 211 games . a rod is appealing the suspension, clearing the way for him to play until his case is heard by an arbitrator . baseball's highest paid star is on a 10 year, $275million contract with the new york yankees . suspension, if upheld, would see him banned from the game through 2014 |
by matt chorley, mailonline political editor published: 07:10 est, 12 august 2013 | updated: 15:31 est, 12 august 2013 sensible: international development secretary justine greening defended giving aid to nigeria, which has launched a space programme britain giving millions of pounds to nigeria while it embarks on a space programme is a ‘sensible investment’, the government insisted today the oil rich country, which has accepted £300million from britain in aid this year alone, has set in train ambitious plans to launch its own rockets and even put a man into space but international development secretary justine greening was backed by downing street after arguing that it was money ‘well spent’ by nigeria however a department for international development spokesman was keen to stress to mailonline that britain is 'not providing any aid funds to nigeria’s space programme' the first nigerian astronauts are being trained to join russian, chinese or american missions within the next two years at the same time the uk taxpayer is sending £114billion in foreign aid to the country over the five years of the coalition the revelation sparked a storm of protest last week, coming after ukip mep godfrey bloom accused the government of ‘treason’ for sending billions in aid to ‘bongo bongo land’ while making cuts to police and social services at home but ms greening insisted the foreign aid sent to nigeria would ‘help nigeria progress and develop as a country’ she told bbc radio 4: ‘i believe it is being well spent but we obviously have to make sure that we critically assess the projects underway ‘we do expect them to invest in their country as well the so called space programme was in fact investment in satellites, weather satellites and for communication ‘so actually this investment that they’re making in the so called 'space programme' which is actually satellite technology, some of which is actually has been provided by uk companies based in surrey, is a sensible investment and actually one that we would be expecting them to be making alongside the investment that we make’ space race: a nigerian engineer at work on one of the country's satellites developed in a british laboratory nigeria’s space programme started in 2003 but its first satellite lost power and disappeared from orbit it now has three in space, nigcomsat 1r, nigeriasat 2 and nigeria sat x, the first to be constructed by nigerian engineers although it has bought its own satellites and launched on russian rockets, nigeria has built laboratories which it hopes will produce its own space craft by 2028 the national space research and development agency confirmed nigerian astronauts should be trained and ready for space travel within two years big spending: nigeria has already launched these surveillance rockets from russia as part of its plans to join the space race in july this year, nasrda’s director general, professor seidu onailo mohammed, declared: ‘by our road map we are supposed to have astronauts prepared by 2015 before the end of the year, the recruitment of astronauts will begin so that we have them handy and as soon as we get the nod we can pick from that number’ critics last week asked why britain was, in effect, subsidising a space programme for a nation where 70 per cent of people live below the poverty line the £114billion nigeria will receive over the five years of the coalition is double the £500million set aside to prop up struggling accident and emergency departments at our own hospitals backbench tory mp philip davies said it was ‘totally unjustifiable and unaffordable’ for britain to give this money to nigeria, given the scale of its ‘grandiose’ space programme ‘we cannot go around the world saying “don’t worry, we will feed your public for you while you waste your money on all sorts of other projects”,’ he said ‘we have got to say to these countries “you have got to spend that money on your people where it’s most needed not on some grandiose space programme” we are against welfare dependency at home but at the same time we are encouraging welfare dependency abroad’ the row surrounding mr bloom flared when he insisted that sending aid to africa was tantamount to treason he added: ‘how we can possibly be giving a billion pounds a month, when we’re in this sort of debt, to bongo bongo land is completely beyond me’ he claimed foreign leaders frittered the money away on ‘ray ban sunglasses, apartments in paris and ferraris’ poverty: millions of nigerians are living in poverty, despite the country earning huge profits from its oil deposits resources: nigeria generates millions in oil revenue every year but much of the population lives in poverty the department for international development’s budget is rising by 35 per cent in real terms by 2015 but while aid costs are ballooning, spending on the military, the police, border control and care homes is being slashed britain is also spending about £280million a year on aid to india, another country with its own space programme debate: ukip mep godfrey bloom has reignited the issue of britain's foreign aid contributions with his infamous 'bongo bongo land' comments despite nigeria having the second highest national income of all african countries, most of its people still live in poverty it is also mired in corruption the most modest estimates suggest between £25 and £5billion is stolen from the state’s coffers every year by corrupt officials and politicians jonathan isaby from the taxpayers’ alliance, said: ‘when budgets are tight both for families and the government alike, people cannot understand why ministers are sending more and more of our hard earned cash overseas ‘taxpayers find it especially unacceptable when their money is sent abroad as aid to developing countries which then somehow find sufficient cash to fund the likes of a space programme ‘it is totally unacceptable that british taxpayers’ money is effectively subsidising nigeria’s efforts to send an astronaut into space’ the nigerian government has not released detailed figures on how much it is spending on its space programme, but it is thought to be hundreds of millions of pounds a year british aid to nigeria will increase by 116 per cent under the coalition government, from £141million in 2010/11 to £305million in 2014/15 it amounts to a total of £114billion over five years the country has also been criticised for failing to crack down on corruption the only senior figure from nigeria to have been prosecuted over corruption in recent years was jailed by a british court james ibori, the former governor of the country’s oil rich delta state, was sentenced to 13 years for money laundering, forgery and fraud totalling nearly £50million he used the money to live a lavish lifestyle, buying a house in london worth £225million and luxury cars worth over £650,000 last night a spokesman for the department for international development said spending aid money in nigeria would help cut crime and illegal immigration in britain ‘no uk aid money goes through the nigerian government,’ she said ‘our investment goes into specific health, education and poverty reduction programmes nigeria is home to a quarter of the poorest people in africa, and supporting their development will benefit our own trade and security’ | international development justine greening 300million this year alone nigerian next two years 70 per cent 129 ukip godfrey bloom's bongo bongo | international development secretary justine greening defends aid cash . oil rich country has accepted £300million in aid this year alone . plans for nigerian astronauts to join missions within next two years . but 70 per cent of the country live below the poverty line of £129 a day . row ignited by ukip mep godfrey bloom's 'bongo bongo land' comments |
by toni jones published: 06:19 est, 5 august 2013 | updated: 07:14 est, 5 august 2013 last seen soaking up rays on a hawaiian beach while her actor beau bradley cooper filmed scenes for his latest movie, suki waterhouse plays the role of glamorous groupie very well now the cool blonde has been snapped up by fashion brand sass & bide to rock its latest collection in a shoot that seems to be inspired by a listers and their posses and 21 year old suki proves she isn't just a pretty face by styling the designer shoot, as well as modelling in it and illustrating a series of behind the scenes shots scroll down for video cool blonde model suki waterhouse has been snapped up by fashion brand sass & bide to rock it's latest collection the shoot by andrew de francesco is meant to give a glimpse in to the life of suki as a model, actress and artist set in a brooklyn brownstone the candid pictures show off pretty suki's eccentric side as she poses in a mixture of pieces from the brand's denim, ready to wear and gallery pieces as the face of the autumn/winter 2013 digital campaign the brand wanted to show suki as r'aw, real and confident': 'suki embodies the spirit of the brand' said heidi middleton, creative director sass & bide 'she has a curious mind and looks at the world in an original way we felt an instant connection to her' middleton continued, 'we wanted suki’s creativity to shine in the behind the scenes images we’ve provided an insight into who suki is as an artist, a photographer, a model that was interesting to us' 21 year old suki was last seen soaking up rays on a hawaiian beach while her actor beau bradley cooper filmed scenes for his latest movie the nyc shoot, shot around a brooklyn brownstone by andrew de franceso seems to be inspired by glamorous groupies suki poses in a mixture of pieces from the brand's denim, ready to wear and gallery pieces speaking to the telegraph about her personal style and her level of creative involvement in the shoot suki said: 'i'm a real chameleon with my style and i use outfits to express myself and the character i want to be that day 'it's a lovely thing when brands allow you to bring your own creative flair it made the whole experience even more enjoyable and i loved the sass and bide collection so i was spoilt for choice' the £295 beaded bolero jacket (pictured above, worn with distressed jeans) is suki's favourite piece and her online picks also include new season rock chic staples like the £475 leather and feather capelet and the £295 embellished bodysuit 'suki embodies the spirit of the brand' said heidi middleton, creative director sass & bide 'she has a curious mind and looks at the world in an original way we felt an instant connection to her' suki said: 'i'm a real chameleon with my style and i use outfits to express myself and the character i want to be that day as the face of the autumn/winter 2013 digital campaign the brand wanted to show suki as 'raw, real and confident' 20 year old suki and 39 year old bradley met six months ago at the elle style awards and are in honolulu as bradley starts shooting deep tiki alongside emma stone and rachel mcadams details about the plot are scant, but rumours suggest bradley will play a military contractor sent to hawaii to oversee the secret launch of a weapon satellite bradley told the huffington post of the role: 'i can't really say anything about the script, but i'm excited' 'it's a lovely thing when brands allow you to bring your own creative flair,' said suki of the shoot 21 year old suki and 39 year old bradley met six months ago at the elle style awards and are in honolulu as bradley starts shooting deep tiki alongside emma stone and rachel mcadams | suki australian brand british bradley cooper | 21 year old suki models, styles and even illustrates the new autumn/winter digital campaign for the australian brand . brand directors say that the british model embodies the spirit of the glamorous partywear label . started dating actor bradley cooper six months ago . the campaign goes live today at . sassandbidecom, and includes a mix of campaign and . behind the scenes images as well as personalised content by suki . herself |
by james rush and rosie taylor published: 18:44 est, 3 august 2013 | updated: 05:35 est, 5 august 2013 working away from home can be lonely, especially if you are 220 miles above earth on the international space station but japanese designers have come up with a way to stop the astronauts from feeling isolated the world's first talking robot astronaut kirobo derived from the japanese words for 'hope' and 'robot' has been sent into space to keep astronaut koichi wakata company scroll down for video robot: kirobo (pictured) has been sent to the international space station by japanese scientists friend: kirobo has been designed as a companion for astronauts to stop them from getting lonely mr wakata will become the space station's first japanese commander later this year although he will be joined by five flight engineers, including two russians, two americans and one latvian, researchers hope that being able to talk with kirobo in japanese will keep his spirits up the robot was among five tons of supplies and machinery on a cargo rocket headed for the international space station which was launched into space from an island off japan today robot designer tomotaka takahashi, of the university of tokyo, advertiser dentsu and car maker toyota worked on the robot, which will communicate with another robot on earth while in space he said the challenge was making sure it could move and talk where there was no gravity 'russia was the first to go to outer space, the us was the first to go to the moon, we want japan to be the first to send a robot astronaut to space that can communicate with humans,' said yorichika nishijima, the kirobo project manager lift off: the unmanned cargo rocket carrying kirobo takes off from tanegashima space center cargo: the rocket contains five tonnes of machinery and supplies for the international space station history: the launch marked the first time a talking robot astronaut has been sent into space humanoid: kirobo will act as a companion for japanese astronaut koichi wakata, who will become commander of the iss later this year mr takahashi said he hopes robots like kirobo that hold conversations will eventually be used to assist astronauts working in space 'when people think of robots in outer space, they tend to seek ones that do things physically,' he said 'but i think there is something that could come from focusing on humanoid robots that focus on communication' because kirobo does not need to perform physical activities, it is smaller than most robots that go into space it is about 34cms tall and weighs about 1kg ahead of the launch on saturday, kirobo told reporters: 'one small step for me, a giant leap for robots' launch: the robot was sent into space on a h 2b rocket which set off at 0448am local time companion: kirobo (right) will be speak japanese with astronaut koichi wakata (left) at the iss japan boasts the most sophisticated robotics in the world, but because of its 'manga' culture, it tends to favour cute robots with human like characteristics with emotional appeal mr takahashi said sending a robot into space could help write a new chapter in the history of communication 'i wish for this robot to function as a mediator between person and machine, or person and internet and sometimes even between people,' he said japan has an ageing population and there is hope that in the future robots like kirobo could be used as companions for elderly people in their homes and in nursing homes petite: because kirobo does not perform physical activities, it is smaller than most robots that go into space | kirobo japan the international space station koichi wakata | robot named kirobo was blasted into space from island off japan . it was onboard a cargo rocket bound for the international space station . talking robot has been created to keep astronaut koichi wakata company |
by martin robinson published: 04:11 est, 13 august 2013 | updated: 14:08 est, 13 august 2013 gloating: askfm has proudly revealed a surge in numbers since the suicide of hannah smith, who blamed bullies on the site the shameless website blamed for allowing trolls to drive teenager hannah smith to suicide has bragged about how it has had a record number of users the 14 year old's father david smith today called askfm 'heartless b*******' after the latvian based social network exclaimed millions more had signed up since his daughter's death ten days ago mr smith said it was like they were 'dancing on hannah's grave' the site, which david cameron called 'vile' and demanded people boycott, tweeted yesterday: 'askhits 70million registered users' hannah hanged herself on friday, august 2, after anonymous bullies on the site told her to 'go die', 'drink bleach' and 'get cancer' her father told the daily mirror: ''it just proves what a heartless bunch of b******* the people that run the site are 'it should be shut down, but instead they're boasting about the numbers of hits and members they've had and all the while, the government is doing nothing' askfm claimed yesterday it has 70million users, but six weeks ago it tweeted it had 60million users based on those figures it makes £6million a year on advertising, although last week some of britain's biggest businesses started pulling out because of its image as a place for anonymous bullying it came just 48 hours after the website's bosses claimed the teenager sent most of the vile abuse to herself it was reported the social networking site insists that she set up most of the anonymous identities used to bombard her own page a source at the firm based in riga, latvia, said: ‘with the hannah case, the company have looked at every identity – the [computer] ip addresses are trackable she posted the anonymous things herself’scroll down for video boast: the askfm twitter account rarely tweets but yesterday it revealed a huge rise in users 10m more in six weeks upsetting: hannah smith and her father dave when she was a baby and and as a teenager, and he said today askfm were 'dancing on her grave' askfm allows users to ask questions or invite them from other members but they can remain anonymous, allowing trolls to pick out victims mr smith, a lorry driver from lutterworth, leicestershire, added that the issue was not if hannah had sent any of the messages ‘she was bullied online,’ he said ‘if hannah did do some of it herself, then it just shows how desperate she was’ mr smith said askfm should be working to stop the abuse instead of deflecting blame for hannah’s death ‘askfm has information to say that hannah was being bullied but they have not passed on that information,’ he said ‘they are trying to discredit a 14 year old girl who has committed suicide ‘they have not once been in touch with me hannah has touched a lot of hearts but they are trying to discredit her because this company was making millions’ tragic hannah, 14, from lutterworth, leicestershire, was found hanged in her bedroom after suffering months of abuse by bullies on the social network askfm marks terebins, oskars liepiøö, ilja terebins, who founded askfm, an internal investigation is said to have revealed that 98 per cent of the messages were sent from a computer with the same ip address as hannah's row: askfm has said previously it does not take responsibility for what is on its site and does not monitor posts a 16 year old boy from belgium has been identified as the troll who sent taunts to hannah the day before she died mr smith told the daily mail he had seen evidence the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was targeting his daughter he wrote: 'this is so srs (serious) i think i might go to jail 'you no that girl that's all over the news and s**t hannah!? the day before she died i was sending her a load of abuse get cancer kill yourself etc i didn't think it would go this far' but he maintained that identifying him would not protect other children as only regulating the internet would be effective ‘catching this boy won’t make any difference, it won’t make the internet safer,’ he said ‘the only way is to bring in controls’ leicestershire police are analysing hannah’s computer and said they would consider charges if any offence was uncovered a spokesman said: ‘hannah’s death is not being treated as suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner’ | dave smith askfm 70m hannah 98% | father dave smith says bosses at social network are 'dancing on her grave'. askfm tweeted yesterday it had 70m users 10m more than six weeks ago . hannah killed herself 10 days ago after trolls said 'go die' and 'drink bleach'. executives say 98% 'sent from a computer with same ip address as her's'. if you or a family member have contemplated suicide, contact the samaritans on 08457 909090 |
by catherine townsend published: 16:46 est, 15 april 2013 | updated: 16:46 est, 15 april 2013 on homeschoolers anonymous, former students of homeschooling families have begun blogging about childhood experiences they claim have left them traumatized and unprepared for adult life the daily beast reports that kierstyn king (formerly kierstyn paulino) used to write entries with titles like 'the case for christians in government' now 22, on her 18th birthday king 'escaped' from her fundamentalist family in georgia these days, she has trouble walking into a church without having a panic attack she blames her at home education, which she claims 'contributed to the amount of hurt i and many others who grew up in this radical/evangelical/conservative/christian subculture endured and continue to endure' life studies: kierstyn king, who was homeschooled by her parents in georgia until she 'escaped' at the age of 18, blogs about her experiences and says they did not prepare her for adult life 'fundamentalist homeschooling is a poison,' agrees 'isaiah', another former student 'it spreads like a virus, and not just among the conservative christians who form its natural hosts' he discusses his lesson plans, and writes that 'little oddities started to present themselves' once biology and astronomy began to be discussed home truths: kierstyn king, 22, now lives in maine with her husband, also a former homeschooler history, he writes, suffered a 'biblically literalist whitewashing, an almost colonial view of non europeans, and to top it off, no acknowledgement that anything over six thousand years old could exist at all' with titles like 'i was trained to torture myself' and 'home is where the hurt is', the bloggers share their experiences about the largely private subculture as the eldest of eight, king was told that her divinely ordained role was to be a helpmeet to her mother until her own marriage then she would switch over to sexually satisfying her husband and bearing as many children that she could so that she could create a future generation of homeschoolers birth control was out instead she had to 'let god plan' the number of kids she had because he would never give the couple more than they could handle she discusses two home stillbirths that she thinks could have been prevented with medical intervention the home school legal defense association was founded in 1983 to promote homeschooling and protect parents from state oversight its founder, michael farris, dreamed of creating a generation that could do battle with the corrupt secular world and reclaim the institutions of american life for jesus 'fundamentalist homeschooling is a poison it spreads like a virus, and not just among the conservative christians' many former students were schooled in the quiverfull movement, which openly discusses the fact that women should submit, then bear as many children as possible to add to the cultural army 'our primary concern is for people to be exposed to our experiences growing up in the conservative christian homeschooling world and to see how those ideologies can create abusive situations,' says ryan lee stollar, one of the site’s founders sex mis education: former students discuss experiences with school shortcomings on the blog homeschoolers anonymous 'there’s a lot of depression and body acceptance issues,' he admits 'i’ve seen a lot of self injury, even to this day when i was 16, cutting was a huge thing, especially among female teenagers in our community there’s also a lot of coming to terms with one’s own sexuality' 'when i was 16, cutting was a huge thing, especially among female teenagers in our community' stoller struggled with his beliefs for many years, and after going away to graduate school he realized that many of his fellow homeschoolers were also suffering from depression, anxiety attacks, and suicidal thoughts according to the department of education, 15 million kids were being homeschooled as of 2007, up from 850,000 in 1999 legally, when it comes to education, parents often have ultimate authority and in many states there is zero oversight since her parents saw no reason for women to get higher education, king was taught 'consumer math,' which was mainly about creating a family budget, in lieu of algebra now she's speaking out so that other women don't have to learn fractions from cookbooks | kierstyn king georgia | kierstyn king, 22, escaped from her fundamentalist family in georgia when she was 18 and says she now gets panic attacks when she walks into a church . many of the individuals behind the blog accounts cite the quiverfull movement, which believes that women should submit, then bear as many children as possible |
by hilary freeman patients with a severe type of arthritis associated with the skin condition psoriasis now have access to a drug that can ease pain and inflammation within a week cimzia has just been licensed for nhs patients with psoriatic arthritis it is given to them as an injection and can be self administered approximately 156,000 people in england and wales suffer from the condition the drug will be available for nhs patients with psoriatic arthritis it is given to them as an injection and can be self administered approximately 156,000 people in england and wales suffer from the condition a recent trial showed the medication rapidly improved joint swelling and skin symptoms in patients who were experiencing mild to severe psoriasis about 10 to 20 per cent of the 18 million people in the uk with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis, usually around ten years after the onset of skin problems stiffness in the back or neck and swelling of fingers or toes is often seen and in the worst cases joints fuse jo cumming, head of information and helplines at arthritis care, explains: ‘some patients develop the arthritic symptoms before the psoriasis, while others never develop the skin condition jo cumming, head of information and helplines at arthritis care explained that psoriatic arthritis could be hard to diagnose 'it can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms may be similar to those experienced by those with other forms of arthritis’ cimzia is an anti tumour necrosis factor drug (anti tnf) according to consultant rheumatologist, dr stefan siebert, senior lecturer in rheumatology at the university of glasgow, it works by targeting one of the molecules involved in causing joint inflammation ‘tnf is an inflammatory protein that circulates in the joints and causes damage over time an anti tnf sticks to it and disables it, stopping it going into the cells 'cimzia has an extra ‘peg’ side chain attached to it, which makes it work for longer ‘patients seem to have a quick and effective response, which is a huge positive to someone living with the emotional and psychological effects brought on by psoriatic arthritis ‘we’re beginning to understand more about the genetics of this condition, and several new drugs are in the pipeline’ to find out more click here to visit the arthritis care website | how draggy metropoleis | no related information |
by fiona macrae published: 14:35 est, 4 december 2013 | updated: 10:22 est, 6 december 2013 tragic: beth warren with her husband warren before he died beth warren and her husband dreamt of having two children – a boy and a girl but he died of cancer before they could start a family and she has launched a legal battle to give her the chance of realising the dream mrs warren, 28, wants more time to decide whether to have ivf treatment using sperm that her husband had frozen before his death the couple had been together eight years and married in a hospice six weeks before warren brewer, a ski instructor, died from a brain tumour aged just 32 he had agreed that the samples could be used to allow his wife to have their child after his death but, under the law, the samples will be destroyed within months mrs warren admits she may never be ready to have her late husband’s child but she needs more time to decide whether to have a baby who will never meet its father she is not only grieving for her husband, but also her brother, edward, a policeman who was killed in a car crash just weeks before mr brewer’s death in february 2012 mrs warren, who took her husband’s christian name as her surname after his death, wants to be financially secure before bringing a child into the world the physiotherapist from birmingham said: ‘i am still trying to make myself happy again – you don’t have a child because you are lonely and heartbroken i need to make myself whole again i want to be financially settled as well, so that my child can have everything i had i am just a normal person who loved someone very, very much and lost them’ widow: beth warren, 28, has been told by the human fertilisation and embryology authority that the sperm cannot be stored beyond april 2015 after falling ill just ten months into their relationship, mr brewer stored samples of sperm ahead of gruelling cancer treatment that could leave him infertile the storage was time limited and, over the years, he regularly extended it he also explicitly agreed to the samples being used after his death now, unless the storage period can be extended, the samples will be destroyed in april 2015 this gives mrs warren little time to get over her grief or to have ivf, a stressful and invasive process that may have to be undergone several times and even if she did have a baby soon, the samples would be destroyed before she could use them to have the equally longed for second child in a case that will reignite the debate over the ethics of posthumous conception, mrs warren is asking the high court for the storage period to be extended her solicitor james lawford davies said that her right to use the sperm in ivf is not in dispute the legal issue is how long it can be stored for the lawyer, whose firm is not charging for its work, said: ‘she would like to be able to make the decision when she is ready’ the fertility watchdog, the human fertilisation & embryology authority, said that it had ‘every sympathy’ with mrs warren however, the storage period cannot be extended without her husband’s consent mrs warren, who put her studies and career on hold to care for her dying husband, said: ‘we just fell head over heels in love it was a long time ago that we made plans that when we are engaged and married we would have children ‘ideally we’d have a boy and a girl and we talked about names i am just trying to do the right thing’ mrs warren added: ‘‘i have the full support of warren’s family in my legal battle and in whatever decision i make, and they have told me how proud they are of how i am dealing with the situation’ | photoaquatint landgates veiledly | no related information |
by snejana farberov and meghan keneally published: 15:33 est, 6 december 2013 | updated: 17:35 est, 6 december 2013 the white house has announced that the president and first lady will be traveling to south africa next week to pay respects to nelson mandela mr obama and his wife michelle will be attending memorial events for the fallen south african leader but the specific details of when they will arrive or what events they will be attending have not been disclosed the south african government announced that the formal state funeral will take place on december 15, capping off a 10 day mourning period the obamas are just two of a long list of international dignitaries who are expected to attend the memorial services emotional: president obama was one of the first heads of state to pay tribute to the fallen leader and now the white house confirmed that he and michelle would be traveling to south africa for the memorial paying respects: mr obama ordered the flags of government buildings, including the white house pictured here friday, to half mast through monday last visit: though the obamas were in south africa this summer, mandela was too ill for visitors so the last time michelle met the man was in june 2011 when she went to africa with her daughters and without barack on friday afternoon, former president george w bush and his wife laura announced that they will be traveling to south africa for the memorial former president clinton, who was in office at the same time as mandela, was very close to the leader and is going to the memorial alongside his wife, former secretary of state hillary 'one of the things that sometimes gets lost is that he was a very very good president i think he was an extremely effective president of south africa,' mr clinton said in an interview with cnn on friday evening 'he managed to be an inclusive figure while still managing to take a stand' prime minister david cameron has announced that he will be attending the funeral and prince charles is expected to join him connection: obama only met mandela once in person but did write a forward to his book several celebrities who had personal ties to the late great leader, such as oprah winfrey and u2 frontman bono, are also expected to attend the service desmond tutu, a long time friend of mr mandela and former archbishop of cape town, is the clear frontrunner for leading the service mourners have gathered to dance and sing songs of freedom outside his home as the world celebrates the life of the adored statesman who brought peace and equality to his country and died last night aged 95 he passed away at home in johannesburg at 850pm thursday and his body was moved to a military hospital in pretoria friday morning, where he is under armed guard south african president jacob zuma announced friday afternoon that mandela’s state funeral will be held in qunu, the village where he grew up, and will cap 10 days of national mourning the first major event will be on december 10, where a memorial service will be held at the johannesburg soccer stadium that hosted the 2010 world cup final, and holds 94,000 people between december 11 and december 13 his embalmed body will lie in state in a glass fronted coffin at the union buildings in pretoria , where he was inaugurated as president on may 10, 1994 on day nine, plans have been made for a military aircraft to fly mr mandela to mthatha, the main town in the south african province of eastern cape his casket will then be taken by the military on a gun carriage to qunu, his home village in honour: following the announcement of the death of mandela, former president bill clinton, who is set to attend the state funeral, tweeted this 2007 picture captioned: 'i will never forget my friend madiba' joining: former us secretary of state hillary rodham clinton, eho met with then 94 year old mandela last august, will also journey to south africa later anc leaders, local chiefs and mandela's family are expected to gather for a private night vigil on the final day, mandela will finally be laid to rest in the grounds of his family home in qunu, where thousands of people including world leaders will gather for the state funeral preparations for funeral are expected to bring the country of 53 million to a virtual standstill the sheer number of dignitaries, including numerous heads of state, is sure to spell a logistical nightmare for the south african government, which will be tasked with providing air tight security during the solemn event according to several sources involved in planning the state funeral, the 10 day occasion will combine both western traditions and those of mandela's native clan, the thembu at some stage during days one to four, thembu elders are expected to gather for a first ceremony called 'the closing of the eyes' either at his home or in the mortuary representing britain: prime minister david cameron and his wife samantha, seen with mandela at a photo shoot for his 90th birthday in london, will pay their respects long history: prince charles, seen here with mandela during a visit to london in 1996, is expected to accompany mr cameron for the memorial service lighter note: the two saw one another in amsterdam in 2002 as well during the dutch royal wedding of queen beatrix's eldest son after the ceremony, it is believed his body will be embalmed at the mortuary, thought to be a military hospital in pretoria no formal public events are expected to take place until day five, december 10, when mourners will have a chance to say goodbye to their beloved father figure during a service at the 94,000 capacity johannesburg soccer stadium that hosted the 2010 world cup it is not clear whether mandela's casket will be taken there on days six to eight, december 11 to 13, the anti apartheid hero's body is earmarked to lie in state in a glass topped coffin at the union buildings in pretoria, where he was inaugurated as president on may 10, 1994 on day nine, plans have been made for a military aircraft to fly mr mandela to mthatha, the main town in the south african province of eastern cape his casket will then be taken by the military on a gun carriage to qunu, his home village, where the former leader spent his childhood years the public will have a chance to say goodbye to their beloved father figure during a memorial service at the johannesburg soccer stadium (above) that hosted the 2010 world cup to mark the formal passing of responsibility to his family, the south african flag that is expected to drape his coffin will be replaced by a traditional xhosa blanket later, anc leaders, local chiefs and mandela's family are expected to gather for a private night vigil on the final day, mandela will finally be laid to rest in the grounds of his family home in qunu, where thousands of people, including heads of state will gather for the state funeral mr mandela often spoke with great love of his first home where his family members, including his children who predeceased him, rest the family plot is located just a few yards from the home he shared with his mother as a child and the one which he built following his release from victor verster prison he loved qunu 'in the unconditional way a child loves his first home' and spent holidays and special occasions here star studded event: the memorial service is expected to draw many celebrities who had a personal relationship with mandela, including oprah winfrey pictured here in 2002 friends: u2 front man bono, with mandela at his johannesburg home in 2002, is thought to have been invited the protocol for the funeral preparations was drawn up more than a year ago, around the time when mr mandela's health took a turn for the worse, and it may be altered in the coming days mourners will be able to share their thoughts about mandela’s passing in condolence books that will be made available in all foreign missions, the nelson mandela foundation headquarters and other institutions, according to the guardian, which has obtained a copy of the protocol it has also been reported that the south african government is in talks with the bbc team that filmed the royal wedding in 2011 to get help with the world wide broadcast of the funeral of a global icon guests at the funeral will include mr obama, the first lady and their daughters bill and hillary clinton, who knew mr mandela well, are also expected to make an appearance the scale and significance of the planned funeral is already being compared to the 2005 service for pope john paul ii, which was attended by 2million people, among them five kings and 70 presidents days one to four (today to december 9): according to sources involved in planning the state funeral, the 10 day occasion will combine both western traditions and those of mandela's native clan, the thembu thembu elders expected to gather for a first ceremony called 'the closing of the eyes' either at his home or in the mortuary after the ceremony, it is believed his body will be embalmed at the mortuary, thought to be a military hospital in pretoria day five: no formal public events are expected to take place the fifth day when mourners will have a chance to say goodbye to their beloved father figure during a service at the johannesburg soccer stadium that hosted the 2010 world cup it is not clear whether mandela's casket will be taken there days six to eight: the anti apartheid hero's body is earmarked to lie in state at the union buildings in pretoria, where he was inaugurated as president on may 10, 1994 day nine: plans have been made for a military aircraft to fly mr mandela to mthatha, the main town in the south african province of eastern cape his casket will then be taken by the military on a gun carriage to qunu, his home village, where the former leader spent his childhood years to mark the formal passing of responsibility to his family, the south african flag that is expected to drap his coffin will be replaced by a traditional xhosa blanket later, anc leaders, local chiefs and mandela's family are expected to gather for a private night vigil day ten (sunday, december 15): mandela will finally be laid to rest in the grounds of his family home in qunu, where thousands of people, including heads of state will gather for the state funeral | obama michelle south africa george w bush laura air force one africa bill clinton hillary bush johannesburg mandela qunu | president obama and michelle will travel to south africa but specific travel details have not been released . former president george w bush and laura 'gratefully accepted' the obama's invitation to join them on air force one for the trip to africa . former president bill clinton and hillary will also be going but it is unclear whether or not they will also be on the presidential plane . the elder bush, 89, will not be attending likely due to ill health . public memorial service will be held at johannesburg soccer stadium . mandela will be laid to his final rest in his hometown of qunu . funeral plans were developed 10 years ago when his health took a turn |
by james rush published: 09:29 est, 2 december 2013 | updated: 11:54 est, 2 december 2013 ian innes discovered his daughter cheryl (pictured) died when he phoned to find out what she wanted for christmas a heartbroken father has spoken of how he rang his daughter to find out what she wanted for christmas only to discover she had died ian innes contacted his daughter cheryl after returning from holiday but was told by her partner that she had been dead for five weeks cheryl, 42, had down's syndrome and lived with her partner of four years, glynn bull, in lytham, lancashire she died on october 18 of natural causes relating to her diabetes but because of a fault on her phone, mr bull was unable to access her phone directory and so was unable to contact mr innes to tell him what had happened mr innes, 61, said: 'normally cheryl contacts us to let us know what she wants for her birthday and christmas when she hadn’t called i phoned her and her partner said she had died five weeks ago' mr bull had told police where he thought mr innes lived but searches were unsuccessful mr innes, of longridge, said: 'it was such an absolute shock glynn was very upset and kept telling me he did the best he could but he wasn’t able to save her 'i’d seen her before i went away and she seemed fine and chirpy at least she was asleep and she still thinks she’s asleep it’s our only comfort that she didn’t suffer' mr bull, 52, said: 'that day she was up and about as normal to take her tablets and her insulin but she told me she was tired and wanted to go back to bed 'she told me to wake her up for her programmes when i went to wake her up, she was gone' mr bull immediately rang for an ambulance and a 999 operator talked him through cpr he said: 'i looked after cheryl i put my heart and soul into looking after her she was my friend and she was my life she always made me smile' mr innes said his daughter was a popular woman who enjoyed her independence he said: 'glynn loved her to bits and they were going to last forever' mr innes said he was disappointed that no one was able to contact him to tell him the news he said: 'if i hadn’t rung her it could have been christmas before i went round 'someone would have to say she wasn’t here any more, and that’s horrendous' coroner's officer pc ken lord says he did everything he could to try to contact miss innes’ family, including searching the electoral register, contacting gps and checking at hospitals | ian innes cheryl glynn bull bull innes | ian innes contacted his daughter cheryl after returning from holiday . her partner glynn bull told him his daughter had been dead for five weeks . a fault on her phone meant mr bull was unable to contact mr innes . he had even told police but searches for mr innes had been unsuccessful |
by tom gardner published: 05:09 est, 14 june 2013 | updated: 06:15 est, 14 june 2013 cruel: dent, 44, of bagillt, wales, has stolen money from two pensioners while acting as their carer a carer who fleeced a stroke victim of his £13,000 life savings leaving nothing to pay for his funeral has been spared jail today belinda dent, 44, emptied the bank account of david lewis, 68, for whom she was meant to be caring the 'despicable' theft was only discovered when mr lewis died in october 2010 it turned out that dent emptied his bank account then transferred money from his isa into that account so that she could steal that as well the money in the isa had been to pay for his funeral expenses the thefts described as a breach of trust meant that the trustee of his will had to pay for the funeral out of his own pocket and his gravestone has still not been inscribed because there is no money left to do it the court heard that since the offence, again while working as a carer dent had received a suspended sentence for stealing more than £500 from a 92 year old client in december dent, of ffordd canton in bagillt, wales, admitted stealing £13,000 from mr lewis while caring for him at his home in prestatyn sentence had been deferred for six months to see if she could come up with compensation money judge niclas parry, who described the theft as 'despicable', gave dent six months to raise funds to pay some of the money back to her victim but he accepted that she had not thrown that chance back in his face and that genuine attempts had been made to raise the money since then she had lost her home, her car and her job, she was caring for her disabled husband and her very sick father, and her teenage daughter also relied upon her the judge said that in the circumstances, the court could show compassion and he said he would pass a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 16 months but he ordered her to repay the full amount of £13,300 at £250 a month betrayal: judge parry, sitting at mold crown court, pictured, said dent systematically and repeatedly stole in such a breach of trust judge parry, sitting at mold crown court, told dent, who wept throughout much of the proceedings: 'this serious and quite despicable matter involved the theft of more than £13,000 in breach of a high degree of trust 'your victim, the victim of a stroke, required daily assistance with all personal care and by the time cambrian home care ltd began to care for him, his physical condition meant had deteriorated and he was prone to confusion this person had cared for his finances and had worked hard 'after he had been targeted by you, his finances were in such a state that that the trustee found that he could not even finance his gravestone to be engraved to this day it remains un engraved' at the time she was a woman of good character but having stolen £13,000 in october 2010, she went on to steal from another person in her care five months later the judge said that those who systematically and repeatedly stole in such a breach of trust had to receive prison sentences 'you only stopped when there was no money left,' he said 'any right minded person would be sickened by what you have done' but she had pleaded guilty, he accepted that she was truly remorseful, and he told her: 'you are ruined 'you have lost your home, lost your car, lost your job and lost your reputation despite all of that your strong work ethic remains 'you remain a fighter for your family i accept that you were driven not by greed but by your desperation to address financial problems that were not of your making' when sentencing, the judge was asked to bear in mind that dent had been caring for husband who was disabled following a work related accident kate meredith jones, defending, said that while in a reference her employers had said they would stand by her, they had not provided her with any work since | warworker subtermarine subtaxer | no related information |
by lizzie edmonds published: 13:04 est, 18 november 2013 | updated: 13:16 est, 18 november 2013 official update: the south african government have today said former president nelson mandela remains in a 'stable but critical' condition nelson mandela remains in a 'stable but critical' condition and 'continues to respond to treatment', the south african government has said today the statement, the first official update on the former president's condition since he left hospital in september, said: 'the health of the former president remains much the same' it was released after president jacob zuma visited mr mandela at his home today the 95 year old is still receiving intensive care at home after being discharged from hospital on september 1 he was admitted three months earlier for a lung infection the government has largely refused to give details about mr mandela's condition, citing the need for privacy, but said today 'he continues to recover' mr mandela's oldest grandson, mandla mandela, who visited the former statesman on sunday, said he found him in a 'good state 'he is still progressing steadily but very much under a critical condition,' mandla mandela told reporters however, mandela's former wife winnie madikizela mandela this week told a local newspaper that he remains 'quite ill' and is unable to speak because of tubes being used to clear his lungs of liquid he is using facial expressions to communicate, ms madikizela mandela added the nobel peace prize winner is under the care of 22 doctors while his pneumonia has cleared, his lungs remain sensitive, ms madikizela mandela said, adding that it was 'difficult for him' 'he remains very sensitive to any germs, so he has to be kept literally sterile the bedroom there is like an icu (intensive care unit) ward,' she told the sunday times 'he remains quite ill, but thank god the doctors were able to pull him through from that (last) infection' his lung problems date back to his time in jail when he was diagnosed with early stage tuberculosis mr mandela, who spent 27 years in apartheid jails before becoming south africa's first black leader, has faced several health scares infection: mandela was discharged from hospital, where he had been for three months, on september 1 and taken by ambulance, pictured, to his home in johannesburg where he receives intensive care his most recent 86 day hospital stay was his longest since he walked free from prison in 1990 mr mandela has been in and out of hospital since last year with lung related complications a globally admired figure for steering south africa peacefully into democracy, mandela's health problems prompted outpourings of well wishes around the world south africa's presidency said zuma had conveyed the well wishes of south africans and of leaders who attended a recent commonwealth summit in sri lanka zuma, according to his office, also told mandela that he was 'looking forward' to officially opening the nelson mandela centre of memory later in the day concern: the nobel peace prize winner's former wife winnie madikizela mandela, pictured, said this week that mandela remains 'quite ill' and can only communicate through facial expressions the president will inaugurate a multi purpose centre that will run an exhibition on the life and times of south africa's first black leader the centre is located within the same complex that houses the nelson mandela foundation in houghton, an upmarket suburb north of johannesburg november 18 marks the day, 20 years ago, when a panel of political negotiators approved an interim constitution for south africa and an electoral bill that would clear the way for the historic 27 april 1994 polls two days earlier, on 16 november 1993, mr mandela and the last apartheid era president, fw de klerk, had agreed on the basic points allowing for the country's first democratic election | mandela jacob zuma today first september 95 year old winnie madikizela mandela's this week | government statement said mandela's health 'remains much the same'. released after president jacob zuma visited mandela's home today . is the first official update on the former president's health since september when the 95 year old was released from hospital following a lung infection . winnie madikizela mandela's said this week her former husband remains 'quite ill' and can only communicate through facial expressions |
by simon cable showbusiness correspondent published: 17:28 est, 9 may 2013 | updated: 17:28 est, 9 may 2013 veteran: wildlife expert david attenborough is one of the show's hosts there's nothing quite like a tweet from a celebrity to boost sales of a product and it seems it doesn't even have to be on twitter david attenborough's tweet of the day programme a radio broadcast of birdsong has proved such a hit with listeners that retailers are reporting a surge in sales of bird related items the veteran wildlife expert is one of the hosts of the bbc radio 4 series, which features a 90 second recording of a different bird each day and it emerged yesterday that retailer waterstones has seen sales of bird books double since the programme was first aired on monday morning it has also been noted that the rspb pocket guide to british birds is selling nearly twice as fast as last week meanwhile, internet retailer amazon revealed that their two best selling products in the bird category were birdsong audio cds sales of british birdsounds on cd and dawn chorus: a sound portrait of a british woodland at sunrise have surged over the past five days tweet of the day is set to run for 265 episodes, with each one being accompanied by a short narration related to the different species the five episodes so far have featured the cuckoo, the song thrush, the swift and the wood warbler this morning (fri) listeners heard the sound of the nightingale the series, which has been made by the bbc’s natural history unit, is being broadcast every weekday morning at 0558am, just before the flagship current affairs show, the today programme waterstone’s spokesman jon howells, said yesterday: ‘it’s spring and we traditionally see good sales of books about birds at this time however, we have indeed noticed increased sales since radio 4s tweet of the day started earlier this week – our top selling bird book, the rspb pocket guide to british birds is selling nearly twice as fast as last week ‘currently, 11 of our top 20 natural history titles are bird books, which is about double what it would usually be tweet of the day shows every sign of being one of those ‘out of nowhere’ things that sparks people’s interest and could indeed lead to lots more interest in birds, and bird books’ the retailer explained that the increase in sales were mostly restricted to physical copies of the books, rather than ebooks, as customers wanted to see the pictures and illustrations of the different birds birdsong: the nightingale (pictured) was one of the first birds to be featured on tweet of the day scripted by bbc presenter and wildlife expert brett westwood, each episode of tweet of the day features information about each particular bird’s behaviour and habits, as well as its literary and folklore associations a spokesman for the royal society for the protection of birds said last night: ‘there is a real appetite for birdsong, and it is been a hugely popular topic among many of ourmembers in recent days, which may be a result of the tweet of the day feature on radio 4 ‘there appears to be a huge buzz around this and we’ve noticed many more birdsong enquiries over the past few days’ listeners have flooded social networking site twitter to discuss the programme in recent days tom colvin wrote: ‘loving david attenborough’s tweet of the day perfect early morning radio' oliver emanuel added: ‘this is my new favourite thing’ chris wing said: ‘really enjoying tweet of the day so far i have been meaning to learn my birdsong for ages’ toby clark wrote: ‘cuckoo, song thrush, and now swift loving bbc radio 4 tweet of the day’ tweeters: the cuckoo (left) and the song thrush (right) have already featured on the popular programme the programme comes four years after a cult radio station, which broadcast nothing but the sound of birdsong, was axed, prompting an outcry among fans birdsong radio had attracted an estimated 500,000 listeners, including the author sir terry pratchett it played a 20 minute long recording of birds singing in chorus, which was repeated on a continuous loop from 6am every day until midnight however, it was cancelled in 2009 to make way for amazing radio, a station which plays a mix of indie, urban, rock and jazz music by unsigned artists the decision caused outrage among its fans, who flooded forums and websites calling to have the programme reinstated | bbc radio 4 attenborough | bbc radio 4 programme hosted by attenborough hugely popular . bird book sales doubled since programme started this week |
by matt blake published: 12:44 est, 11 march 2013 | updated: 02:54 est, 12 march 2013 she is the undisputed queen of 'mummy porn' her erotic tales of romance and bondage having both titillated and inspired millions of housewives across the world and now fifty shades of grey author e l james is to release a new book called 'inner goddess' but fans dying to once again dive into her steamy world of sexual desire are this time going to have to do it themselves because this one is a diy guide on how to write bestseller: e l james' erotic 'fifty shades' trilogy was acquired by vintage last year and has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide vintage books announced on monday that james has collaborated with the publisher on 'fifty shades of grey: inner goddess (a journal)' it combines professional advice from the million selling author and lined pages for readers to set down their own ideas, or 'inner goddess' the book will include a foreward by james, excerpts from the fifty shades trilogy, writing tips as well as a playlist of the music that inspired her to write fifty shades of grey: james' erotic trilogy was acquired by vintage last year and has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide there are also lined pages for jotting notes and sections devoted to her steamy protagonists, anastasia steele and christian grey 'as e l james traveled and met with her readers, there was a great curiosity about how she got started writing,' said vintage publisher anne messitte 'her personal story as a writer is inspirational to many women, and journaling has been an important part of her creative process from the start' vintage says the journal will have a soft leather cover, 'bonded' vintage is a paperback imprint of random house inc james' erotic trilogy was acquired by vintage last year and has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide the 'inner goddess' journal will be published may 1 earlier this year, the multi millionaire author told mailonline that her next tome will not be as racy as her explicit hit fifty shades of grey series el real name erika leonard said: 'i've got so many ideas for my next book but it will be much less raunchy and i will probably write it under another name and be done with it' from her modest london roots, james, 48 who earned an estimated $98 million last summer just a few months after her books became a summer sensation hit the hollywood scene as she continues to discuss turning fifty shades into a big screen hit universal pictures and focus features paid $5 million for the fifty shades trilogy and screenwriter kelly marcel has been brought on board to write the adaptation | totemism bolis preternatural | no related information |
by associated press reporter published: 02:06 est, 9 march 2013 | updated: 02:06 est, 9 march 2013 a proposal in the utah legislature that would tax electronic cigarettes at the same rate as regular cigarettes has put the state at the forefront of a national movement to regulate the increasingly popular devices more than 35 proposals calling for some type of regulation of electronic cigarettes have been introduced this year in legislatures across the country, but utah seems to be the only state currently proposing that they be taxed like regular tobacco, said karmen hanson, a tobacco policy analyst with the national conference of state legislatures hanson is unaware of any state with a law like this on the books popular: jason cropper, managing director of the electronic cigarette company, smokes an electronic cigarette as he shows off his product often called 'e cigarettes,' the battery powered devices heat a liquid nicotine solution and create vapor that users inhale their popularity has spiked in recent years first marketed overseas in 2002, e cigarettes first became widely available in us in 2006 there are several million users worldwide today, up from a few thousand in 2006 analysts estimate sales could double to $1 billion in 2013 some companies have even started running tv commercials, including an ad during this year's super bowl that showed a man using an electronic cigarette made by an arizona based company many states have been waiting for the food and drug administration to come out with regulation before passing their own laws, but states seem to be growing impatient, hanson said 'the more popular they become, a more prominent public policy issue they become,' hanson said 'without federal regulation, it's left up to the states' the food and drug administration's current stance is that health impact of electronic cigarettes is unknown because it has not been properly studied there is speculation that the agency will take over regulatory authority of the devices this year, dealing with them in a similar way as they do with regular cigarettes and other tobacco products the utah measure's sponsor, republican rep paul ray, says e cigarettes should not be considered healthy 'they're trying to sell them as nicotine replacement therapy it is not,' ray said this week 'it is not an fda approved nicotine replacement therapy there's medications, there's patches, there's things for that this is not one of them' taxed: on cigarettes, the utah state tax is generally a flat $170 for a pack of 20 ray considers electronic cigarettes similar to other tobacco products and says they should be taxed as such his measure extends to dissolvable tobacco, which is pressed into shapes like tablets that slowly melt in a user's mouth 'this is terrible stuff they're peddling stuff that they know absolutely will kill people,' ray said 'this is an industry who kills their clientele' utah law already prohibits anyone younger than 19 from possessing the products or anyone from selling the products to someone younger than 19, but because of a loophole, county and city agencies are not able to impose fines or penalties on those selling e cigarettes or dissolvable tobacco products to anyone underage proposal: senator paul ray considers electronic cigarettes similar to other tobacco products and says they should be taxed as such the electronic cigarettes would be taxed at 86 percent, ray said that's the same as utah's rate on cigars, roll your own tobacco or pipe tobacco on cigarettes, the state tax is generally a flat $170 for a pack of 20 smokes it usually costs about $50 to buy the equipment to get started using electronic cigarettes, said brandon stauffer, who has used the devices to quit smoking after that, the main cost is buying the 'e juice,' which is a nicotine laced liquid that becomes the vapor when heated a 30 milliliter dose usually costs $15 $20 and lasts about two weeks, stauffer said so, under ray's proposal, a $20 batch of liquid nicotine would cost about $3720 currently, people only pay regular sales tax on electronic cigarette items a legislative analysis shows the state could see an additional $16 million a year if the e cigarette tax becomes law it's unclear how far the measure will get in this year's legislative session, which comes to a close thursday an amended version of the bill passed through a house committee wednesday afternoon it is now awaiting debate by the full house if approved, it moves to the senate for consideration electronic cigarettes are touted as a way to break an addiction to traditional cigarettes stauffer, 38, of west point, utah, is among the believers reduced costs: it usually costs about $50 to buy the equipment to get started using electronic cigarettes, said brandon stauffer, who has used the devices to quit smoking he credits the devices with helping him quit smoking after 20 years he had tried quitting a dozen different times using nicotine patches, gum and lozenges 'quitting smoking has never been easier i quit almost overnight,' said stauffer 'cigarettes taste horrible to me now and, i'm doing much less harm to my body by doing this' since he started using electronic cigarettes in late 2011, stauffer has gradually been cutting back on the amount of liquid nicotine in the devices he's hoping to be able to stop using them all together within a year 'vilifying these products is the wrong approach,' stauffer said 'if the state and this country is serious about helping us make healthy choices then this is something that should be encouraged' | 2006 1billion this year utah | popularity of 'e cigarettes' booming, from a few thousand users in 2006 to a predicted $1billion in sales this year . utah proposal claims devices are similar to other tobacco products and therefore should be taxed as such |
by hayley peterson and associated press reporter published: 00:00 est, 9 march 2013 | updated: 03:37 est, 9 march 2013 a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a gate of the afghan defense ministry in kabul on saturday shortly after us defense secretary chuck hagel arrived in the country on an official visit, according to afghan officials at least nine civilians were killed and fourteen others wounded when a suicide attacker on a bicycle hit the main entrance to the defense ministry, officials said hagel was in a meeting at a us led military coalition facility in kabul at the time of the blast and he was unharmed, a pentagon spokesman said in a statement, the afghan taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was 'a kind of message' for hagel defense secretary chuck hagel walks with us marine general joseph dunford, commander of the international security force, upon hagel's arrival near camp eggers in kabul, afghanistan safe: us defense secretary chuck hagel, seen on a flight en route to afghanistan, is in a safe location and unharmed reporters traveling with hagel were in a briefing when they heard the explosion, and were moved to a lower floor of the same building, according to the associated press the blast was followed by the sound of heavy gunfire hagel, who was confirmed as pentagon chief last week, arrived in afghanistan for his first official visit on friday on the day of his arrival, three men wearing afghan army uniforms and driving an army vehicle forced their way onto a us base in eastern afghanistan and opened fire, killing a contractor and wounding us troops 'we are still at war,' hagel said friday, discussing the challenges ahead in drawing down us troops in the country 'that transition has to be done right, it has to be done in partnership with the afghans, with our allies,' he said 'our country as well as afghanistan, the region, and the allies have a lot at stake here and our continued focus and energy and attention on afghanistan is going to be very important' arrival: hagel (second right) steps off a helicopter upon his arrival near camp eggers in kabul there are currently 66,000 us military personnel in the country, and that number is scheduled to be cut in half by early next year 'even as we move into more of a support role, this remains a dangerous and difficult mission,' hagel said in a statement to us forces, which was issued upon his arrival in the country 'many of you will continue to experience the ugly reality of combat and the heat of battle' hagel told reporters on a flight en route to afghanistan that he wanted to go to the country to 'see where we are' 'i need to better understand what's going on,' he said | chuck hagel pentagon afghan taliban hagel us | chuck hagel arrived in the country on friday for his first official visit as pentagon chief he was unharmed by the attack . afghan taliban claims responsibility for the attack and says it was meant as a warning for hagel . at least eight civilians were reported dead in the immediate aftermath of the blast . the us is scheduled to cut in half the number of military personnel in the country by early next year |
by ap reporter published: 17:52 est, 6 december 2013 | updated: 18:21 est, 6 december 2013 at&t, under fire for ongoing revelations that it shares and sells customers' communications records to the national security agency and other us intelligence offices, says it isn't required to disclose to shareholders what it does with customers' data in a letter sent thursday to the securities and exchange commission, at&t said it protects customer information and complies with government requests for records 'only to the extent required by law' the telecom giant's letter was a response to a shareholder revolt sparked on nov 20 by the new york state common retirement fund, the aclu of northern california and others the groups are demanding that at&t and verizon be more transparent about their dealings with the nsa in the letter, at&t said information about assisting foreign intelligence surveillance activities is almost certainly classified telecom giant at&t, who are in the midst of a shareholder revolt following revelations they sold communications data to the nsa, say they are under no legal obligation to disclose their dealings because it is 'classified' the company said it should not have to address the issue at its annual shareholders meeting this spring nicole ozer, technology and civil liberties policy director at the aclu of northern california said at&t has overstepped its bounds 'it's outrageous that at&t is trying to block the shareholder proposal,' she said 'customers have a right to know how often their private information is ending up in the government's hands' at&t spokesman mark siegel said: 'the letter speaks for itself we have no comment beyond it' after the sept 11 terror attacks, us agencies established a warrantless program to monitor phone calls and e mail between individuals in the united states and other countries who are suspected of having links to terrorism but disclosures in recent weeks from former intelligence contractor edward snowden have exposed the breadth and depth of us government surveillance programs on the internet and over other telecommunications networks the washington post reported this week that the nsa tracks locations of nearly 5 billion cellphones every day overseas, including those of americans companies are responding to the revelations in a variety of ways tech firms including yahoo and google are pushing back, adding encryption, filing motions in the fisa court, and arguing that the nsa is overstepping its bounds but telecommunications firms appear to be cooperating fully pro rights groups say the response by at&t is 'outrageous' and that 'customers have a right to known when their private information is ending up in the governments' hands' 'at&t has not made it clear to investors or customers what data it shares or with whom customers should not be the last to know how their personal information is being used by governmental agencies,' said new york state comptroller thomas dinapoli dinapoli co signed the at&t shareholder resolution on behalf of the new york state common retirement fund, which holds assets totaling about $161 billion the fund owns more than 15 million shares of at&t valued at roughly $517 million 'customer trust is critical for any business, but nowhere is it more so than for those corporations that handle our personal data and communications,' dinapoli said at&t shareholders trillium asset management in boston and durham, nc based arjuna capital/baldwin brothers were also part of the revolt, which demands that at&t publish semi annual transparency reports similar to those from microsoft, twitter, linkedin, facebook and yahoo the companies disclose the number of government requests for information and whether they comply but at&t noted that those transparency reports don't disclose details about the requests or even separate out the number of national security letters companies receive that information is withheld by the companies because they are barred by the federal government from revealing it, a prohibition many companies are fighting in court 'in fact, all six internet companies referenced in the (shareholder's) proposal state that they are not allowed to publicly disclose any such information in their transparency or law enforcement request reports,' said at&t 'therefore, because the proposal is over broad, it is excludable' at&t also argues that the issue of their disclosure practices with the nsa has not been a topic of 'sustained debate over the last several years,' a standard they say must be met to require public reporting securities and exchange commission spokeswoman christina d'amico said the agency declined to comment customers and shareholders of at&t are demanding to know what the telecom giant do with their private information | the national security agency us at&t | telecom giant under fire following revelations it sells customer communications records to the national security agency and other us intelligence offices . in staging a revolt, shareholders demanded they be forthcoming with their dealings . at&t have now said they are not obligated to disclose such information and will comply with government requests 'only to the extent required by law'. pro rights groups say the response is 'outrageous' and that 'customers have a right to known when their private information is ending up in the governments' hands' |
by alex ward published: 10:47 est, 18 march 2013 | updated: 11:45 est, 18 march 2013 thomas ‘slab’ murphy, the former ira chief of staff, is thought to have been tipped off just hours before a major cross border police raid authorities believe that murphy and his associates knew about the raid and allegedly destroyed computers and documents before the garda pounced last wednesday morning a number of large fires were seen close to murphy’s home in ballybinaby, county louth, at around 2am that day and, salvaged from the embers, were the burnt remains of laptops, documents and computer disks 'tipped off': thomas 'slab' murphy and his associates are thought to have known about a major cross border police raid hours before the garda arrived at his house and more than 22 homes and business premises sixty year old murphy, who was named under privilege as an ira chief of staff during a smithwick tribunal in 2011, was questioned but not arrested shortly after the raid as he drove away from his home, which is just six feet inside the border at 6am, operation loft got underway as swat teams from the garda emergency response unit and the psni surrounded murphy’s home, along with air corps and british army helicopters led by the criminal assets bureau (cab) in dublin, a team of 300 have been involved in the investigation into the illegal fuel trade which has seen searches in 11 countries in the raid of over 22 homes and business premises, more than €100,000 in cash and a huge number of documents were seized one of the largest suspected diesel laundering plants ever discovered was also found the irish independent reported that the plant could produce more than €5million worth of illegal fuel a year some 40,000 litres of fuel was also found at the premises cross border raid: as operation loft got underway, swat teams from the garda emergency response unit and the psni surrounded murphy's home and two tankers were seized on raid day: a number of large fires were seen close to murphy's home in ballybinaby on the day of the raid and police salvaged the burnt remains of laptops, documents and computer disks the investigation has found that a reported €100million had been generated and laundered in the last 18 months alone from the sale of laundered diesel, through an intricate network of bank accounts in made up names more than €16million in bank accounts in the republic of ireland, northern ireland, britain and europe has been frozen already the belfast telegraph quoted a source saying: 'this investigation has been ongoing for several years 'it is just like a jigsaw and the final pieces in that puzzle are now being put in place' the fuel laundering operation sells laundered diesel which has had its colour marker washed out in order to avoid vat payments in a statement the criminal assets bureau said: ‘this illegal activity has knock on effects on legitimate businesses as well as on unsuspecting customers who have very often experienced damage to the fuel system of their vehicles (from laundered diesel) or poor return per litre of petrol’ concerned by compromise: one of the tankers removed from murphy's house after the raid but authorities are said to be worried about a possible 'tip off' which allowed evidence to be destroyed before the early morning raid authorities are said to be 'very concerned' by the prospect of their operation having been compromised, a security source was reported saying in the irish independent the source said: ‘they seemed to know that a raid was imminent but they now have to explain why this burning took place it is expected that the amount of money frozen will rise dramatically as the investigation continues and more accounts are discovered, it was reported in a separate case, murphy is currently facing nine allegations of failing to file income tax returns from 1996 to 2004 before the special criminal court and his family is also contesting a €5million tax bill from the cab | thomas 'slab' murphy more than €100,000 an estimated €100m | fires were seen near thomas 'slab' murphy's home before the raid . the burnt remains of laptops, documents and computer disks were found . in the raid of over 22 homes, more than €100,000 in cash was seized . one of the largest suspected diesel laundering plants ever found was also discovered . an estimated €100m has been made and laundered in the past 18 months |
by william turvill published: 20:14 est, 7 december 2013 | updated: 20:14 est, 7 december 2013 france and the african union have announced plans to deploy several thousand more troops into the embattled central african republic the move comes as thousands of christians fearing reprisal attacks sought refuge from the muslim former rebels who now control the country after days of violence left nearly 400 people – and possibly more – dead following a conference on african security in paris, president francois hollande said france was raising its deployment to 1,600 today 400 more than first announced francois hollande, pictured here with nkosazana dlamini zuma, chairwoman of the african union commission, it said france was raising its deployment to 1,600 today 400 more than first announced later, after a meeting of regional nations about the central african republic, his office said that african union nations agreed to increase their total deployment to 6,000 up from around 2,500 now, and nearly double the projected roll out of 3,600 by year end amid new massacres on thursday, the un security council adopted a resolution that allows for a more muscular international effort to quell months of unrest in the country troops from france, the country's former colonial overseer, were patrolling roads in bangui and fanning out into the troubled north west on saturday 'this force is going to deploy as quickly as possible and everywhere there are risks for the population, with the african forces that are present currently 2,500 soldiers,' mr hollande said, referring to the increased french presence 'in what i believe will be a very short period we will be able to stop all exactions and massacres' in an interview with france 24 tv, mr hollande specified the au reinforcements would arrive 'in the coming days' word of the bigger deployments came as human rights groups continued the grisly business of counting and collecting bodies of those killed in recent massacres the death toll in the capital from the recent fighting rose on saturday to 394, according to antoine mbao bogo, of the local red cross meanwhile, central african republic's president called on the former rebels who are now integrated into the national army to stay off the streets now being patrolled by french and regional forces presidential spokesman guy simplice kodegue said those who violated the order would be punished central african republic, one of the world's poorest countries, has been wracked for decades by coups and rebellions in march, the muslim rebel alliance known as seleka overthrew the christian president of a decade aid workers returned to the streets today to collect bloated bodies that had been uncollected in the heat since thursday, when christian fighters known as the anti balaka who oppose the country's ruler descended on the capital in a co ordinated attack on several mostly muslim neighbourhoods residents of christian neighbourhoods said the ex rebels known as seleka later carried out reprisal attacks, going house to house in search of alleged combatants and firing at civilians who merely strayed into the wrong part of town zumbeti thierry tresor, 23, was among those killed after he tried to cross through another neighbourhood to visit family members in another part of bangui seleka fighters shot him in the neck and stomach, his friends said in march, the muslim rebel alliance known as seleka overthrew the christian president of a decade on saturday, neighbours hiked the rocky path to his one room home where his covered body lay on the floor underneath neatly hung music posters outside the front door, his wife wailed hysterically, gripping their three year old daughter in her lap as neighbours crowded around her alongside their house, a team of a dozen men with sticks and shovels dug mr tresor's grave under the shade of a tree ‘we want the french army to come and protect us,’ said mr tresor's friend, francois yayi ‘we have no police to call the seleka will kill us all’ he and his friends begin counting on their fingers the number of neighbours killed amid the latest spasm of bloodshed at least ten they determine have died since thursday | christians muslim france | move comes as thousands of christians fear reprisal attacks from muslim former rebels who now control the country . france has also announced plans to increase number of troops in country |
by daniel martin published: 19:05 est, 3 march 2013 | updated: 02:50 est, 4 march 2013 worrying: children's charity the nspcc has found children as young as five are being reported to the police over sex offences, and it blames online pornography for a rise in under 18s accused of crimes (file picture) children as young as five are being reported to the police over sex offences, a charity warned last night the nspcc blamed the shocking statistics on the growing ease of access to online pornography that ‘warps’ young people’s minds more than 5,000 formal investigations have been launched over the past three years into under 18s accused of crimes including rape and sexual assault, according to statistics obtained by the charity it blamed the rise on hardcore porn that is readily available on the internet, warping youngsters’ ideas about sex and relationships the nspcc’s findings reveal that the number of sex offences allegedly committed by under 18s has gone up 38 per cent from 1,432 in 2009/10 to 1,978 in 2011/12 it means that every day police are dealing with at least five children accused of sex offences but the startling numbers may be the tip of the iceberg because many police forces – including some of the biggest such as the metropolitan police – did not reply to the charity’s freedom of information request three of the forces that did respond – humberside, cambridgeshire and avon and somerset – said their youngest cases of ‘harmful sexual behaviour’ had involved children aged five others reported cases of youngsters aged six, seven or eight being questioned because they are under ten, the age of criminal responsibility, these children cannot be charged it is not known what offences the youngest children were accused of committing, but harmful sexual behaviour ranges from indecent exposure and inappropriate touching at one end of the scale, to rape and sexual assault at the other it also covers forcing and coercing other people into watching or taking part in inappropriate or harmful sexual behaviour the nspcc said it was likely the youngest children were guilty of the less serious offences, or were victims of abuse who were copying behaviour to which they had been subjected the daily mail has been calling for an automatic block on adult material on the web as part of its block online porn campaign ministers have pledged to introduce a less stringent filtering system for all new computers, but no timetable has yet been imposed on internet service providers, meaning children are still at risk increase: the charity's findings reveal the number of sex offences allegedly committed by under 18s has gone up 38 per cent from 1,432 in 2009/10 to 1,978 in 2011/12 (file picture) only last week, a 15 year old boy was convicted of raping a 14 year old girl after becoming obsessed with online porn the girl was bound, gagged, beaten up and raped as he tried to re enact sadistic scenes he had viewed on the internet her father demanded ministers take action to protect children from adult material online, particularly the ‘extreme violent nature’ of some easily accessible sites but the nspcc’s figures show that the situation is more widespread than it was thought, and is getting worse claire lilley, policy adviser at the nspcc, said: ‘we hope our findings will ring alarm bells with the authorities that this is a problem which needs urgent attention in some cases older children are attacking younger ones and in other cases it’s sexual violence within a teenage relationship campaign: the daily mail has been calling for an automatic block on adult material on the web as part of its block online porn campaign (file picture) ‘while more research needs to be done on this problem, we know that technology and easy access to sexual material is warping young people’s views of what is normal or acceptable behaviour ‘we are treating an increasing number of children who have carried out online grooming, harassment in chatrooms and “sexting”’ john carr, from the children’s charities’ coalition on internet safety, said: ‘it’s very alarming to realise that children as young as five are being caught up in the consequences of the sexualisation of modern britain ‘the impact of this on a child of five will potentially live with them and scar them for the rest of their lives’ the scale of sexual offences committed by children was revealed after the nspcc approached all 43 police forces in england and wales, and received responses from 34 of them a total of 5,028 offences categorised as ‘harmful sexual behaviour’ were recorded between 2009/10 and 2011/12 where the perpetrator was under 18 west midlands, greater manchester and the metropolitan police in london were among those unable to give data – meaning the real total will be far higher figures from those that did respond show that 98 per cent of the 4,562 offenders were boys and where the relationship was recorded, at least three out of five of the victims knew the abuser more than one third of the offences were said to have been committed by a family friend or acquaintance, and one in five by family members the nspcc, which provides treatment to help reform children who exhibit signs of harmful sexual behaviour, said easy access to indecent material may be behind the increase in the numbers being treated miss lilley said: ‘evidence shows that most young people who receive behaviour changing treatment early on will not continue to sexually abuse others or grow into adult offenders’ the largest number of offences was recorded by avon and somerset police, with 633 over the past three years, closely followed by humberside on 595 next was suffolk with 351 offences, followed by south wales, norfolk, cambridgeshire and northumbria, which each recorded 250 or more offences last year sue berelowitz, the deputy children’s commissioner, told mps that online porn was turning children into sex attackers she said: ‘it has definitely affected children’s thresholds of what they think is normal’ | nspcc 38 per cent | more than 5,000 investigations launched over the past three years . nspcc blames figures on hardcore porn readily available online . number of sex offences by under 18s risen 38 per cent since 2009/10 |
by hannah roberts published: 09:08 est, 22 october 2013 | updated: 09:16 est, 22 october 2013 with a litany of legal actions brought against him over the years, silvio berlusconi would be the first to tell you he’s had a rough time in the law courts but the former italian premier has finally found a court that is on his side a judge in monza has cut his alimony payments in half to a mere £12million a month he had previously been ordered to pay ex wife veronica lario, whom he first met when he saw her topless on stage, a cool £25million a month former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi and his ex wife veronica lario in rome before their divorce the former actress had also wanted the £60million family villa but mr berlusconi, 77, whose personal fortune is estimated at £37billion, kept the villa near milan as well as control of his business empire the playboy politician has complained bitterly about the payments which add up to £82,000 a day or £30million a year stating that the 'ridiculous settlement' was a scandal, decided by three 'feminist and communist' judges miss lario filed for divorce in 2009 after berlusconi was photographed at an underwear model's 18th birthday party she said she could no longer stay with someone who spent time with 'minors' and pointed out that he had never turned up to any of his own children's 18th birthday parties new love: berlusconi is now engaged to francesca pascale earlier in the year the billionaire had been forced to take out full page adverts in the newspapers to apologise to her for telling a guest at a tv awards dinner that he wanted to marry her 'if i wasn't married, i would marry you right away, ' he told showgirl turned politician mara carfagna berlusconi was married to miss lario for the best part of 20 years and has three children with her barbara, 29, eleonora, 27, and luigi, 25 he was previously married to carla elvira dell’oglio with whom he had his first two children marina, 47, and pier silvio, 44 the controversial entrepeneur is now engaged to marry 28 year old former tv showgirl francesca pascale despite the legal victory, berlusconi is still appealing two convictions, one for sex with an underage prostitute and one for illegally publishing police phone taps | veronica lario £25m italian first berlusconi 475billion | berlusconi had originally been ordered to pay veronica lario £25m a month . the former italian pm met her after first seeing her topless on stage . mr berlusconi has an estimated wealth of £475billion |
by dalya alberge published: 07:47 est, 17 october 2013 | updated: 09:06 est, 17 october 2013 he was one of the most respected poets of the second world war and a military hero, but he was also a serial deserter who lied about his war record vernon scannell saw violence on the battlefield, but he took it back home, savagely beating the women in his life, according to revelations in a new biography as a desert rat, who was seriously wounded in normandy, and wrote of the 'heroic corpses' that he saw for himself on the d day beaches, he was no coward revelations: a new biography has revealed that wartime poet vernon scannell, pictured left as an old man and right as a soldier, was a serial deserter who lied about his war record but the horrors of war took their toll on him now, seven years after his death aged 85, new research reveals that he absconded more than a dozen times, got into drunken brawls and physically abused his wife and two partners – apparently unaware of what he had done even on seeing the bruises he had inflicted on them his desertions were known, but the full extent of them and the details have now been discovered by james andrew taylor, whose research will be published by oxford university press on october 24 in walking wounded: the life and poetry of vernon scannell the biography tells the story of a prize winning and much anthologised poet whose writings were 'drenched in humanity', as professor john carey puts it in the biography’s foreword scannell was tormented by wartime memories of a soldier’s dying screams in 1962, he wrote one of the most moving of war poems, walking wounded: '…the walking wounded/straggling the road like convicts loosely chained/dragging at ankles exhaustion and despair/…' scannell pictured with his former girlfriend jo peters she recalled his nightmares in the new biography nor could he forget the shock of seeing fellow soldiers looting corpses, both british and german, stealing their watches and other valuables now taylor has unearthed unpublished material from army records and other sources, and persuaded scannell’s family to speak for the first time each of them told him of a tortured individual that they adored, somehow forgiving him for lashing out at them angela beese, a long term girlfriend, showed taylor a diary entry in which she had cowered in fear: 'i think he might kill me, he is so angry' but the next day, she wrote: 'i can see love once more in his eyes' she also revealed the horror of being punched in the face by him scannell had learnt to punch as a boxer but the next morning, he saw her two black eyes and a broken nose, but did not comment his daughter, nancy, says in the biography that her father never laid a finger on his children: 'but we were terrified for my mother he was an aggressive drunk, destructive' taylor says that the descriptions of the violence against the women in his life are 'horrible' yet, the women saw another side to scannell beese also told the biographer: 'poetry was vernon’s religion… nothing, no human, mattered to him as much poetry was his wife, his mistress, his mother, his father' another former girlfriend, jo peters, recalls waking him from nightmares, sweating and shouting soldier: scannell was a desert rat, who was seriously wounded in normandy, and wrote of the 'heroic corpses' that he saw on the d day beaches 'he remembered the first dead body he had seen… covered with a blanket, and all he could see was the hand,' she says taylor presented the evidence and symptoms to a leading psychiatrist who believes that scannell would today be diagnosed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) he said: 'scannell, without doubt, was seriously damaged by the war the jealous rages, the drunkenness, the violence, and the nightmares are all common enough symptoms of ptsd that is the forgotten legacy of combat for many thousands of old soldiers it was the women he loved who suffered the bruises, the blood, and the tears but it would be a harsh judge who ruled that scannell himself was not a victim as well the scars of war cut deep' scannell wrote several moving poems about el alamein, including one conveying the heroism of a scottish piper at the height of the battle: 'of course that brave young piper/did not stand there long/shrapnel or a spandau burst/ended that brief song' 'but he wasn’t there', taylor says, having discovered that scannell got to north africa after el alamein examples of the poet's writings the new biography suggests that scannell would today have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder scannell wrote several moving poems about el alamein, including one conveying the heroism of a scottish piper at the height of a battle despite the fact that scannell had not arrived in north africa until after el alamein notebooks belonging to poet vernon scannell, who was said to be 'tormented' by the horrors of war taylor discovered that scannell spent more than 300 days on the run or in prison during four years of active war service from 1941 he found a record of a disciplinary hearing for having gone absent without leave a hearing before scannell’s commanding officer on 23 september, about a month after he would have had to set sail to reach north africa in time for the battle of el alamein it proves that scannell cannot possibly have been in africa until four months later scannell did, however, take part in the bitter 1943 assault on wadi akarit it was in the aftermath of that battle that he saw soldiers looting corpses he walked away, only to be sentenced to three years’ military detention in a brutal military prison he was released after six months when he volunteered to take part in the d day landings when germany surrendered, he disappeared again, living as a fugitive until finally rearrested in 1947 scannell’s daughter, jane, has yet to read the biography but she says: 'as children, we were aware of the contradictions in our father a warm, humorous, charismatic man who was a gentle, loving and fun father and yet one whose behaviour towards our mother could be violent 'although we were only partially aware of his war time experiences, even as children we felt the profound effect they had had on him 'neither his violence or the war were discussed in our home… however… the violence was only one very small aspect of dad and one that did not define him to us either as children or now 'we hope andrew's book will help explain what made him the man and poet he was' | vernon scannell ' family of scannell walking wounded: the life and poetry of vernon scannell | new biography reveals poet vernon scannell 'lied about his war record'. research claims celebrated writer abused his wife and two partners . poet, who died in 2007, would have been diagnosed with ptsd today . family of scannell speak out for the first time in new book . claims made in walking wounded: the life and poetry of vernon scannell |
by matt chorley, mailonline political editor published: 11:18 est, 7 may 2013 | updated: 05:12 est, 8 may 2013 britain is to back a £50million fund to improve security in somalia david cameron said the international community had to to 'get right behind' the rebuilding of the war torn country or risk fuelling terrorism and mass migration after hosting an international conference in london, the prime minister warned radicalism was 'poisoning young somali minds' which posed a threat to uk security scroll down for video david cameron, pictured during today's somalia conference in london, said the country could pose a security threat to the uk the conference at lancaster house brought together somalia's president and a host of international leaders aimed to bring an end to two decades of conflict britain, china, the united states and south africa are among the countries which have agreed to contribute to the £50 million funding pot the money will be used to build up the army, police force and strengthen maritime securitymr cameron said there had been 'remarkable' progress since the first meeting of world leaders last year but warned that 'huge challenges' remain he told a press conference: 'if we ignore it we will be making the same mistakes in somalia that we made in afghanistan in the 1990s i'm not prepared to let that happen' in mogadishu, demonstrators waved placards and photos of mr cameron and somali president hassan sheikh mohamud urging them to reach an international agreement home secretary theresa may and foreign secretary william hague were among the senior ministers to attend the conference almost 50 governments and global bodies such as the imf gathered at the conference to hear somali president hassan sheikh mohamud outline his plans to stabilise the country after two decades of brutal civil war a year on from the last such meeting in london the world was 'seeing the beginnings of a new future for somalia', mr cameron said extremism was 'in retreat' as the al shabaab militias were driven from more towns, piracy attacks were down 80 per cent and a 'proper, legitimate' government had been put in place alongside a clan selected parliament, he noted the capital mogadishu is starting to return to more normal life with petrol stations, supermarkets and international flights returning for the first time since 1991 despite continued terrorist attacks by extremists such as a suicide car bomb which killed several civilians last week ending poverty and the lure of payment by extremists was 'the best antidote to extremism', he saidbut help had to go well beyond humanitarian aid, he said, pledging £10 million of uk support for developing somalia's armed forces, £145 million to boost police numbers and train judges and financial support for a maritime radio system to counter piracy 'i hope that others here will contribute too and the countries in the region will stay the course and work with somalia while it builds up its own forces' at present, it relies on the help of ethiopian and african union military support to combat al shabaab the pm said the international community had to send a 'strong signal' to world financial institutions to help somalis deal with debt and get access to finance now it has a government recognised by the us and other key players for the first time in more than two decades and al shabaab extremists who renounced violence should be able to join the political process earlier mr cameron had talks with young members of the somali diaspora and said he wanted to make their country sufficiently safe for those who wished to return and help with the rebuilding process | london david cameron somali | london hosts international conference on ending two decades of conflict . david cameron warns radlicalism is 'poisoning young somali minds'. almost 50 governments and global bodies meet to agree on new help |
by hugo gye published: 04:44 est, 17 october 2013 | updated: 12:08 est, 17 october 2013 a controversial muslim free school is set to be placed in special measures after a damning official report condemned it as 'dysfunctional' and says that it is 'in chaos' al madinah, a free school in derby, has repeatedly been featured in the press for allegedly forcing women teachers to cover their hair and making boys and girls sit separately in class ofsted inspectors launched an urgent investigation into the school, and listed a number of serious criticisms in their official report, which was published this morning david cameron said he would be prepared to shut down the school if it does not improve quickly a minister told mps today that the school would not be allowed to 'languish in failure' and insisted the government had taken 'swift action' to deal with the problem damning: al madinah free school in derby has been heavily criticised in an official ofsted inspection report the report found that teachers were inexperienced, with many having never taught before, and were overly generous in assessing pupils' work it also wrote that boys and girls ate lunch in separate shifts, while older pupils were segregated by sex in the classroom 'this school is dysfunctional,' the report stated 'the basic systems and processes a school needs to operate well are not in place the school is in chaos and reliant on the goodwill of an interim principal to prevent it totally collapsing' it continued: 'this is a school which has been set up and run by representatives of the community with limited knowledge and experience 'leadership and management, including governance, are inadequate and have been unable to improve the school' rules: a member of staff from the school, where female teachers were told to wear headscarves inspectors added: 'staff have been appointed to key roles for which they do not have qualifications and experience for example, most of the primary school teachers have not taught before and the head of the primary school is experienced in teaching secondary aged pupils only' sir michael wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, called for al madinah to be placed in special measures in the report, which rates the school as 'inadequate' in every category al madinah opened in september 2012 as one of the free schools which are the cornerstone of the coalition government's education policy, and has 412 pupils aged between four and 16 it boasts of having 'a strong muslim ethos', with long school days and shorter holiday, which 'maximise opportunities for pupil achievement and success' the ofsted inspection was brought forward following reports that religious hardliners had taken control of the school and imposed islamic rules on all staff and pupils, including non muslims after the first day of the inspection, officials found so many worrying problems that they asked management to close down the school entirely while the investigation continued according to the report, pupils in the secondary school 'are generally given the same work regardless of their ability', meaning that the most able students are not sufficiently stretched inspectors wrote that one hour long maths lesson consisted almost entirely of pupils cutting out and pasting different shapes, while they said that the only subject which taught crucial literacy skills was islamic studies the school's problem's mean that 'attendance is low and declining', the report said, leading to problems with 'behaviour and safety' acting headteacher stuart wilson accepted that the school has 'significant and serious problems' and that some lessons are not challenging pupils enough 'obviously the report doesn't make pleasant reading for anybody,' he told the bbc 'we don't want to be in this position we wish we weren't in this position but what we need to do now is to accept the report in full and use it to move the school forward' he said today: 'any school that faces special measures, as we clearly now do, has got its fair share of problems i accept we have a whole range of problems 'some of those are things we can fix in the short term quite quickly some of them are longer term in terms of the longer term progress for students, teaching and learning etc' criticism: the report of the ofsted inspection rated al madinah as 'inadequate' on every criterion when asked how parents have reacted to the news, dr wilson said: 'in many ways the parents are aware more of the reality of the school than the press are 'they didn't have the concerns about the segregation you'll notice in the report that ofsted said that there were no concerns about that 'they didn't have any concerns about the hijab what they're seeing is the school is on a journey i think we're in a position now where we're not where we want to be in terms of practicalities for the building 'in terms of having the right number of staff in place in key roles, that's what we need to do now we need key staff in key roles to allow the school to move forward as quickly as possible' asked whether he was concerned the school could face closure, he said: 'there will need to be a school here for 412 children as of the end of last month 'there are people on a daily basis who are doing a very difficult job very well it's not something they signed up to when they came to the school to be a member of staff here 'we will do what's possible in the timescales that we're given it's business as usual for our children' 'swift action': schools minister david laws told the house of commons that the school's problems would be quickly tackled by the government the prime minister told the derby telegraph: 'i am not afraid to shut the school, of course 'we are taking rapid corrective action towards the school we are taking a tougher approach and schools will be shut' he added: 'i am very disappointed all round by the ofsted report and what is happening at the school, which is why we are acting swiftly' answering an urgent question in the commons today, schools minister david laws said: 'after a steady start by the school, we became aware of potential breaches of the conditions in its funding agreement late this summer, and at the end of july we began a wide ranging investigation in to the financial management and governance of the school 'we investigated whether the school was delivering on its requirement to be inclusive and we investigated some allegations about the imposition of a dress requirement on some members of staff 'our investigations did indeed find significant and numerous breaches of the conditions in its funding agreement and our concerns were such that we requested ofsted to bring forward its planned inspection' closed: the school was temporarily shut down during the urgent ofsted investigation he added: 'the ofsted report is published this morning it has found the school is dysfunctional and is inadequate across every category of inspection 'we will not let any school, whether a free school, an academy school or a local authority school, languish in failure 'the ofsted report confirms we are taking the right actions we are not prepared to let a school fail its parents, its children and its community we said we would take swift action in these cases and that is exactly what we are doing' shadow education secretary tristram hunt said michael gove's free schools agenda was 'out of control', adding that the policy had been dealt a 'devastating blow' by the revelations in derby 'the education secretary has sacrificed learning for ideology,' he told mps 'it is not just al madinah school which is dysfunctional, it is the education secretary's free schools policy' as the report was published, the department for education released a letter sent to chairman of governors shazia parveen by schools minister lord nash, in which he says that ofsted's report confirms the 'very serious concerns' he raised in a previous letter to the school 'the report is further compelling evidence of the breaches of the funding agreement i have required you to address,' he writes 'contrary to your suggestion that i have acted prematurely, i am even more convinced of the need for very decisive and urgent action on the part of the trust to comply with all your obligations and remedy the serious failings at the school' clash: al madinah is one of the free schools championed by education secretary michael gove, left; his labour opposite number tristram hunt, right, says that it shows the policy has failed the local mp, chris williamson, has called for the school to be closed down completely following the litany of complaints 'frankly, the position of al madinah school is now untenable and i would fully expect the school to close and for the children to be found alternative places in the council schools in the city,' he told the bbc mr hunt told the guardian that the school's problems show that the coalition's education reforms have failed 'what this report exposes is that david cameron and michael gove's free school programme has become a dangerous free for all an out of control ideological experiment that has closed a school, leaving 400 children losing an entire week of learning,' he said 'pupils have been failed on every possible measure and parents will want to know how david cameron and michael gove have allowed this to happen especially as ofsted identified that this school was not meeting the basic requirements on child protection before it was opened 'far from an isolated incident, the failings at this school reveal the systemic threat to education standards under this government david cameron and michael gove can no longer ignore this issue it is a crisis entirely of their own making' a department for education spokesman said: 'we were already investigating this school before allegations became public we discussed the problems with ofsted and it launched an immediate inspection 'we have received a response from the al madinah education trust as well as a report on the school from ofsted any decisions made will take into account all the available evidence' derby city council said it acknowledged the findings of the ofsted report a statement said: 'educational attainment for all children and young people in derby is as always our priority the council is keen to work with other agencies as partners to address the key issues outlined in the ofsted report' | al madinah derby islamic cameron labour coalition | al madinah school in derby was closed for ofsted inspection after reports that bosses segregated students and made staff cover their heads . inspectors' report denounces islamic school as 'dysfunctional'. damning verdict calls for al madinah to be placed in special measures . minister insists government has taken 'swift action' to address problems . cameron threatens to shut the school down if it does not improve . labour says the scandal shows failure of coalition's free schools policy |
by daily mail reporter published: 16:24 est, 4 august 2013 | updated: 01:39 est, 5 august 2013 a blundering council has apologised to a pensioner after declaring she was dead exeter city council wrote to the executors of florence matthias to inform them they had stopped her council tax support and housing benefit from mid july the letter from the council’s benefit development officer said: 'the reason the benefit has stopped is because mrs matthias has sadly passed away' exeter city council (pictured) wrote to the executors of florence matthias claiming that she was dead the letter was sent to her home in exeter, devon, addressed to ‘exor florence matthias’ the family of the 86 year old pensioner was furious and demanded an explanation from the council her son michael said: 'my mother is not in the best of health and this has caused her a lot of anxiety we are annoyed too 'someone at the council has made a bad mistake and has caused my mother upset and confusion 'she actually asked my brother ‘am i dead now ?' an exeter city council spokesman said: “the council regrets that the letter was sent to mrs matthias because of an oversight by a member of staff 'we have responded to a complaint from a member of mrs matthias’ family with a formal apology for any distress caused and we have apologised personally to mrs matthias 'we have reviewed our procedures and reminded all staff about attention to detail' | antifeministic overfrankness breakdowns | no related information |
by daily mail reporter published: 09:13 est, 25 july 2013 | updated: 14:32 est, 25 july 2013 a newlywed couple’s beloved husky named simba was snatched from the edge of a north carolina creek and eaten whole by a twelve foot alligator tuesday evening devastated owners drew minx and amy matz had no idea that alligators lived in the area as they played fetch with the 80 pound dog and were dumbfounded when the beast attacked ‘this behemoth of a gator just came out of nowhere, grabbed him, smashed him, took him under and disappeared,’ minx said 'behemoth': this 12 foot alligator leaped from a jacksonville, north carolina creek and grabbed a newlywed couple's 80 pound husky, eating it whole 'he has this crazy, annoying, cute howl': owner amy matz wept as she described simba, who was eaten in an instant by the 12 foot gator on tuesday that was the last time minx or his wife would see simba according to wcti, minx and matz frequently brought simba to the area where the attack occurred, an area close to a park and a neighborhood dense with families with children ‘we bring [our dog] down here every day for the past two months, and walk and play fetch with him,’ a tearful matz told the area abc affiliate ‘when i got down here, there was absolutely nothing left of him at all’ matz was especially heartbroken and called simba ‘my protector when my husband's gone in the field and deployed’ dumbfounded: amy matx, left, says her beloved simba protected her when husband drew minx, right, was deployed in his service to the us marine corps write caption here minx and matz married last month minx is a corporal in the us marine corps though nearly eradicated in the state in the early 20th century, alligators have made an impressive comeback in western north carolina and can be found in all coastal—and even some inland—counties and the dangerous creatures feed at dusk, as simba and his owners learned the hard way ‘this is my home,’ minx said ‘i assumed it would be safe i sort of beat myself up—if i would have just taken the time to look this canal up alone and the lakes this ran into, maybe this would have never happened’ aggressive: the 12 foot gator was shot wednesday morning by police who feared for the safety of locals and officials say they'll be putting the specimen in a town museum write caption here grief: authorities found remains of simba on wednesday matz and minx intend to cremate them after the attack was reported to local authorities, wildlife officials were able to locate the gator on wednesday along with ‘animal parts’ city officials told wcti that the gator likely mistook the dog for a very large duck when it attacked, since ducks—which locals frequently feed—often attract the cold blooded reptiles in the first place minx and matz said they would cremate simba’s remains public safety spokeswoman beth purcell said officials discussed capturing and relocating the alligator, but decided that it displayed aggressive behavior and needed to be killed they're baaack: though nearly eradicated in the 20th century in the state, alligators have made a huge comeback in north carolina's coastal counties in recent years the american alligator's range is seen here a police officer then shot the gator, which sank down and disappeared into the water the alligator’s body was later dragged from the creek and will be displayed at a local museum meanwhile, matz would prefer to remember simba ‘he has this crazy, annoying, cute howl,’ matz told wcti ‘i'll miss that the most’ var p = new anv pl def();ploadvideowithkey('eyjtijoir1juviisinaioii0ocisinyioiiynjqzodiwin0='); | amy matz drew minx jacksonville north carolina matz marine minx | newlywed couple amy matz and drew minx had no idea there were alligators in the coastal town of jacksonville, north carolina . 'he's my protector when my husband's deployed' said matz, who married marine corporal minx in june |
by tom gardner published: 08:46 est, 9 december 2013 | updated: 09:56 est, 9 december 2013 a fireball engulfed a packed commuter train after it collided with a fuel tanker in indonesia killing 10 and injuring 80 passengers emergency workers fought to drag survivors from the burning and twisted wreckage of the disaster just south of the country's capital jakarta police are investigating claims the truck accelerated into the path of the oncoming train, thought to have been carrying 600 people, while attempting to skip closing barriers of a level crossing scroll down for video fireball: passengers walk away from the fire after a commuter train collided with a truck hauling fuel on the outskirts jakarta, indonesia, today emergency: rescue workers attempt to evacuate victims following a collision between a commuter train and fuel truck at bintaro, western jakarta the train was travelling at 43mph split seconds before the collision, according to authorities 'the first and last carriages on this train were for women only, so it was the first carriage that collided with the truck,' sukendar mulya, a spokesman for state owned train company kereta api indonesia, told afp the truck accelerated and drove onto the tracks just as the gate was coming down to halt traffic and let the train pass, mulya said mangled: emergency rescuers pull survivors from the twisted wreckage of the commuter train which hit a fuel tanker killing 10 and injuring 80 safety: a bandaged survivor is stretchered out of the wreckage of one of the train carriages investigations were under way after the accident shortly before lunch at a crossing in the suburb of bintaro, southwest of jakarta, police said the truck was destroyed in the blaze 'one of the railway crossing gates malfunctioned a railway officer had tried to stop the truck,' said dedi arnadi, head of police for the area, told reporters both the carriage and tanker flipped on their sides following the crash at a level crossing and caught fire, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air as passengers jumped off the train and fled the train company estimated that around 600 passengers were on board when it slammed into the truck on the southeastern fringes of jakarta forty year old ira, who goes by one name, was in the carriage that hit the truck shell: the fierce flames destroyed much of the fuel tanker truck after colliding with a commuter train on the outskirts jakarta, indonesia fierce: firefighters battle to quell the intense heat from the flames totally destroyed the fuel tanker and engulfed a passenger train in indonesia 'i felt the strong crash and panicked, so i forced my way out a window and just ran,' ira told afp as she broke down in tears 'i was outside when i heard an explosion and saw the truck and carriage on fire,' she said jakarta deputy police chief sujarno confirmed that five people were killed but other passengers were safely evacuated 'there were also young children hospitalised with injuries,' he said destruction: firefighters walk near the wreckage of a fuel tanker truck that was hit by a commuter train and caught fire on the outskirts of jakarta flipped: residents inspect the wreckage of a collided commuter train in jakarta, indonesia it was one of indonesia's worst train accidents since 1987 when 156 people were killed when two trains collided, close to the scene of monday's accident a list displayed near the crash site showed more than 80 people had been hospitalised an afp correspondent at the scene saw several burns victims being taken away in ambulances nine people were being treated for serious injuries, jakarta police spokesman rikwanto said, suggesting the death toll may rise rikwanto said the train sounded its horn several times before hitting the truck, which was unable to get out of the way as it was stuck in traffic behind a motorcycle 'the train hit the truck from the back left and propelled it around 65 feet forward before they both flipped,' rikwanto said, adding that police were questioning seven witnesses probe: two indonesian policemen stand inside the carriage of the wrecked train in jakarta, indonesia, as an investigation is launched into what caused the crash isnadi, a senor official at kereta api indonesia, said the safety gate was in working order 'the warning alarm sounded for at least five minutes before the train arrived the train was travelling at 43 miles an hour when it hit the truck,' isnadi told state run news agency antara local media reported that an engineer and a technician from the driver's compartment were among the dead in the early evening, a team was seen trying to tow the derailed carriage with another train that had arrived at the scene the tanker was owned by state owned company pertamina, which has assisted with the evacuation train accidents, especially at crossings, are common on indonesia's ageing and poorly maintained railroad network | bintaro jakarta more than 40mph front 1987 | two carriages of packed commuter train flip, injuring 80 passengers . accident in bintaro, southwest of jakarta, happened at level crossing . truck driver accelerated onto track to beat closing barriers, it is claimed . 600 passengers were on board when it slammed into the truck . train was travelling at more than 40mph when collision occured . front carriage which hit the tanker was packed with woman and children . worst rail accident since 1987 when 156 people were killed |
by sara malm ignored: peter tizzard, 73, says his calls for assistance went unanswered at dorset county hospital an elderly cancer patient claims he was forced to call 999 from his hospital bed after staff ignored his calls for help peter tizzard, 73, was in the care of dorset county hospital when he suddenly experienced severe pain, and pressed his bedside call button and shouted out for assistance mr tizzard, who suffers from prostate cancer, claims he saw no other way to get help, and used his mobile phone to make an emergency 999 call the emergency operator called mr tizzard's ward at the dorset county hospital, and they sent a doctor to see him mr tizzard says he does not blame the staff for not coming to his aid quickly enough, saying the ward was understaffed and the doctors and nurses ‘run ragged’ mr tizzard, from weymouth, dorset, said: ‘i kept shouting but no one came to see me i don't know how long i was shouting for ‘i thought, “what am i going to do?” calling 999 was the only way someone was coming to help me ‘i told the operator that i didn't want an ambulance i just wanted to be wheeled down to a and e so i could be seen to ‘all the nursing staff, the doctors, were wonderful they just don't have enough staff they're run ragged ‘there were four nursing staff looking after between 28 and 34 people how can you expect them to be able to do that?’ dorset county hospital denied that there were problems with staffing at the hospital on the night of the 29th march, and says that mr tizzard chose to dial 999 instead of using the call bell system a spokeswoman said: ‘lulworth ward was fully staffed that night and there were no problems with call bells being answered in a timely way ‘we understand that mr tizzard felt the ward was very busy and believed it would help staff if he dialled 999 and alerted emergency services rather than using the call bell system disagreement: dorset county hospital says said the 999 operator called the mr tizzard's ward directly and they sent a doctor to see him, as there was no problem with staffing on the night in question ‘we appreciate mr tizzard was trying to be helpful but this course of action was not necessary ‘the ambulance service contacted the ward and the situation was explained no ambulance was dispatched ‘the matron and ward sister met with mr tizzard daily during his stay and ensured he was able to contact them directly if he felt he was not being attended to promptly enough ‘we are really disappointed that mr tizzard felt it was necessary to take the action he did given the effort the ward staff and matron had taken to ensure he received good care’ last month, dorset county hospitals were accused of wasting taxpayers’ money on 'non jobs', after it emerged they employed a part time ‘arts in hospital co ordinator’ on a £30,000 salary the investigation revealed that the nhs is spending £46million a year on non jobs such as ‘play and communication workers’, ‘carbon managers’ and ‘car park environmental officers’ mailonline has contacted dorset county hospital for further comment | calabaza anththeridia nonnatives | no related information |
by mark prigg google is working on a version of its android software for televisioons, leaked screenshots have revealed the firm previously tried to work with manufacturers, including sony, on a range of google tv boxes, which flopped however, it appears the search giant is now planning a second assault on the living room to take on apple, amazon and the games consoles in the race to become the main living room gadget google's play store already has deals with all of the major studios in place yahoo and microsoft have both revealed plans to create their own tv shows in the ever expanding battle for the living room yahoo has unveiled plans for four shows, while microsoft is believed to have 12 in development they will go up against amazon, hulu and netflix, all of whom are also commissioning their own shows in a bid to change they way we watch tv according to documents obtained exclusively by the verge, google is about to launch a second attempt at a tv box major video app providers including hulu, netflix and vevo already have apps running on the paltform, accoridnt o screenshots the verge obtained 'android tv is an entertainment interface, not a computing platform,' writes google 'it’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction it will be 'cinematic, fun, fluid, and fast' it comes just a week after amazon revealed fire, its tv set top box it is unclear whether the google system will include amazon's instant video app experts say the company could still face problems by confusing customer who have already bought its chromecast tv dongle, a $30 device that allows selected apps to show video on a tv google's tv homepage shows a menu system similar to apple's tv box, with voice control 'android tv by the look of things is what google tv should have been first time around, however is still likely to be met with confusion by customers already trying to understand google chromecast,' stuart miles of gadget website pocket lint told mailonline 'google can’t ignore the move to the television as a way to enjoy connected content as company’s like roku, amazon, and apple still continue to make strong inroads the screenshots obtained by the verge also shows apps on the platform, including hulu, netflix and vevo 'however it has to make sure lessons are learnt from its first outing and that it doesn’t over complicate things further when creating a product to take on the competitors including its own product' | second chromecast | leaked screenshots show firm's second attempt at a set top box . experts warn system could confuse consumers if sold alongside $30 chromecast dongle already on sale |
by peter hayter published: 02:00 est, 28 december 2013 | updated: 15:44 est, 28 december 2013 of all the images england’s suffering supporters will take home from the loss of the ashes down under, the sight of ian bell dragging himself from the pitch at the melbourne cricket ground carrying his bat upside down might just turn out to be the one that survives the longest in the english summer series, bell was the batting rock on which england built their 3 0 win, with 562 runs, including three hundreds at trent bridge, lord’s and the riverside: brilliant, confident and consistent performances which team mates and opponents alike understood might have papered over a variety of cracks video scroll down to watch charles sale: england only have themselves to blame sorry sight: ian bell leaves the field after being dismissed by nathan lyon drag on: tim bresnan was bowled by nathan lyon during england's abysmal collapse in the evening cheers! lyon somehow managed to take five wickets for 50 on a pitch that failed to turn get on with it: brad haddin looked to score quickly in the morning but was eventually caught behind on day three of the fourth test at the mcg, his dismissal from the first delivery of his second innings, caught at mid off by mitchell johnson off the bowling of nathan lyon, and his slow march back to the pavilion underlined the state of utter confusion in the minds of england’s batsmen their batting stalwart from the sixties and former coach kenny barrington, a magnificent jumbler of popular terms, once called the condition ‘caught in two man’s land’ hard to better that here indeed, such was the collective loss of marbles england suffered in collapsing not once in a second innings lasting just 61 overs, but twice as they slumped from 65 for no wicket to 179 all out, that some unkind observers might suggest they may as well all try using the bat upside down for what remains of the series england had produced some beauties before they arrived in melbourne: six for nine runs and seven for 49 in the first test in brisbane and four for six in adelaide the best of them but losing three wickets for one run in six balls, then squandering their last five for six runs in a sorry, overall surrender of eight wickets for seven runs, when attempting to convert a first innings lead of 51 into a match winning position was something else and no matter how the rest of the series pans out here and in sydney next week, the manner of so many of the dismissals, ranging from the brainless to the brain dead, not only indicates just how mentally shot alastair cook’s men are but how much work is required to fashion a side capable of winning back the urn in 18 months’ time hard to credit it, but the outcome could have been even worse had australia taken another golden opportunity to dismiss kevin pietersen when he had scored just nine of the 49 runs which, in the main, he had earned with great skill, patience and focus until he ran out of patience and partners if peter siddle had hit any of the three stumps he had to aim at when ben stokes called his partner for an imaginary single at 102 4, pietersen would have been run out by the best part of three yards and the match might not even have lasted until day four thanks! haddin celebrates reaching his half century as australia's tail wagged once again fast start: alastair cook wasted no time in scoring his runs when england's openers when out to bat milestone: the skipper became the youngest player ever to pass 8,000 test runs during the afternoon captain's job: cook scored a gutsy half century here's his wagon wheel from our hawk eye service pietersen and cook can be exempted from some of the criticism the skipper batted more fluently than at any other time in the tour for his fifty before johnson did him for pace at 65 1 pietersen showed once again that he does have the flexibility of approach to adapt his game to the needs of the side and the context of the match, the sadness being that it seems to have taken him until now even to accept the possibility that he might need to michael carberry, lbw to siddle, battled well for just over two hours without looking as though he would ever make it to 20 jonny bairstow hit out briefly against lyon before johnson had him caught behind far better batsmen than monty panesar have been nowhere near good enough to survive the kind of delivery with which johnson claimed his 31st wicket of the series but the rest of the dismissals betrayed techniques and minds stretched beyond the point of no return, from joe root’s mad and ultimately successful attempt to run himself out at 86 2, bell’s half push, half block at 86 3, stokes’s underhit drive to steve smith off lyon, and later as they slid from 173 5 to 179 all out, possibly the worst of them all, featuring stuart broad got him! mitchell johnson appeals just before cook was given out lbw as the england wheels began to come off dropping like flies: joe root was run out by johnson after making 15 as the tourists' demise started trudging off: michael carberry departs the mcg square after being trapped in front by peter siddle golden? ian bell was caught by johnson after misjudging a nathan lyon delivery first ball pietersen was on 45 and in a groove, and another hour or so of him and england may well have racked up a lead of 300 plus which would have made them favourites for a victory that would mean so much all broad needed to do, especially after tim bresnan had just chopped one on, was not get out, so quite what he was doing teeing off and slicing his third ball, from lyon straight to michael clarke at slip, must remain a mystery two man’s land? that is where you end up when you don’t know when the time is right to try to grind out runs or to attempt to impose yourself on the bowlers, or maybe when you have lost the ability to distinguish between the twonot knowing whether to stick or twist and ending up doing neither lyon deserved his moment in front of another huge crowd of 70,000 plus but even he must have been somewhat embarrassed by the fact that none of the balls with which he took 5 50, and his 100th test wicket in the process, actually turned no wonder graeme swann called it quits it was left to pietersen to try to make sense of it all and, to be fair to him, he made a pretty brave fist of it, suggesting the demands of back to back ashes series had left england jaded and ‘a bit fragile’, not to mention the possibility that the schedule may have contributed to the early return home of jonathan trott and the permanent departure of swann ‘i think people shouldn’t forget, and it’s never been done before that guys have got to go and endure 10 back to back ashes matches ‘it has been an incredibly pressurised situation, being away for the second leg and not starting in the manner that we are accustomed to … it’s been incredibly difficult ‘i’ve been told that a number of olympic athletes go into some sort of post olympic depression or a negative frame of mind, and i’m not saying we’re in a depression or a negative frame of mind, but after you’ve competed at such a level, post that competition, mentally you are a bit fragile’ that is one explanation another is that england have played a lot of pants wheeling away: lyon took five big wickets with his off spin during the third day temper! johnson exchanges very strong words with kevin pietersen as the game became heated for a spell resistence: pietersen was the only batsman to really hang around after the lunch break keen: david warner and chris rogers set about scoring quickly when they were set 231 to win | zimbaloon noneviction sulphury | no related information |
by alex ward published: 09:44 est, 8 march 2013 | updated: 12:22 est, 8 march 2013 jailed: mahdi mohammed was sentenced to 27 months in prison after he groomed two schoolgirls for sex via facebook an iraqi born paedophile, who has been jailed for grooming 13 year old girls for sex via facebook, avoided deportation in 2005, it has been revealed questions are now being asked about why the uk border agency allowed mahdi mohammed to seek asylum in britain after he first appeared in court charged with inappropriately approaching girls as young as ten back in 2005 this week mohammed, 33, was jailed for 27 months after he admitted sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to sexually touch a child and possessing indecent images at peterborough crown court in cambridgeshire judge nic madge described his crimes as ‘sophisticated offending,’ plying schoolgirls with mobile phone top up vouchers when he was caught he blamed them for ‘making themselves available’ to him claire matthews, prosecuting, said mohammed was seen hanging around a playground in peterborough where he met two 13 year old girls on a number of occasions he gave them mobile phone top up vouchers, offered to take them home, and tried to put his hand down one of the girl’s trousers he also showed the girls pornographic tv channels and encouraged them to take part in sexual activity avoided deportation: questions are now being asked about why the uk border agency allowed iraqi born mohammed to seek asylum in britain after he was charged with inappropriately approaching girls as young as ten back in 2005 he sent indecent facebook messages to one of them and even posted a memory stick to her home and asked her to put pictures of herself on it he also sexually touched a 15 year old in another park and had 19 indecent images of children on his computer 'sophisticated offending': mohammed met two 13 year old girls at a peterborough playground, offering to take them home and trying to put his hands down one of girl's pants lawrence bruce, defending, said: ‘he came to the uk in 2000, having fled persecution from saddam hussein in iraq ‘admitting guilt publicly has been a very difficult process, and has involved the loss of faith, character and reputation’ after reading a letter from mohammed, judge nic madge said: ‘the letter is disturbing in two senses 'firstly, the account of treatment of your family in iraqi kurdistan, but also allegations that young girls were making themselves available in a sexual manner to you’ mohammed first appeared at peterborough crown court in september 2005 when he admitted using inappropriate language towards young girls in the city he was sentenced to 80 hours of community punishment and a 12 month rehabilitation order and also got an asbo banning him from approaching young girls for five years at the time, the court was told that mohammed’s application for asylum had been refused and he would be returned to iraq but the border agency confirmed today that he was granted leave to stay in britain shortly after the case and was legally here when he committed the latest offences 'disturbing' letter: judge nic madge told mohammed at peterborough crown court (pictured) that a letter from him was troubling because in it he alleged that the girls 'made themselves available' to him 'appalling case': conservative mp shailesh vara, said serious questions needed to be asked about why he was allowed to stay since 2005 they refused to say why mohammed had been allowed to stay in the country shailesh vara, conservative mp for north west cambridgeshire, said: ‘this is an appalling case 'serious questions need to be asked as to why despite the asylum application having previously failed, the uk border agency allowed him to stay ‘the sooner this man is deported the better’ tory mp for peterborough stewart jackson added that it was ‘appalling’ mohammed had not been deported in 2005 he said: ‘this is a shocking case and is typical of the previous government’s lax and dangerous policy of unrestricted immigration ‘this man should have been removed from the uk in 2005 and the fact that he wasn’t is appalling ‘i will be writing to the immigration minister to ensure that he is permanently removed from our country after his prison sentence is served’ the border agency said that mohammed would now be deported at the end of his prison sentence | alveolectomy kidsman symmachy | no related information |
by emma innes published: 11:56 est, 22 october 2013 | updated: 02:22 est, 23 october 2013 a little girl can never have a cuddle from her mother because a rare condition means she breaks out in painful sores at the slightest touch alisa doanvan, five, is at risk of a potentially deadly infection because of the disorder but still attends school despite not being able to join in many playground games just one cuddle from her mother, lee, 33, can leave alisa with painful sores and walking barefoot can see her skin flare up alisa doanvan (pictured with her parents, joe and lee) has a rare skin condition which means her skin blisters and develops painful sores at the slightest touch alisa suffers from herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa (eb) which affects less than one child in a million her mother, from dartford, kent, said: ‘it’s awful seeing alisa in so much pain, we have to be so careful with her, even a simple cuddle is impossible as she sometimes has blisters on her back ‘despite having such a painful condition she never moans and still tries to do everything like a normal little girl ‘alisa’s condition means she has scabs and sores all over her body and is unable to do some things as its too dangerous such as playing with her friends in the playground ‘alisa currently has no skin on her left knee so she’s unable to straighten it’ alisa is forced to run on the balls of her feet as her toes have started to fuse together where the skin has shed and healed so many times she will need an operation to separate them alisa's body is covered in painful sores and she has to use a wheelchair as the blisters make it too painful for her to walk far alisa suffers from herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa (eb) which affects less than one child in a million blisters also form easily inside her mouth so she has to stick to a soft food diet she can’t physically eat enough calories each day to aid her constantly healing body, so she is fed via a gastrostomy button in her tummy during the night her mother is her full time carer and faces the gruelling task of changing her bandages every day it takes an hour and a half and is very painful she said: ‘alisa will try and do as much as she can but easy movements are often painful for alisa ‘even walking is painful her skin shears away and causes blisters sitting down is equally bad’ alisa's mother said: 'it's awful seeing alisa in so much pain, we have to be so careful with her, even a simple cuddle is impossible as she sometimes has blisters on her back' alisa is forced to run on the balls of her feet as her toes have started to fuse together where the skin has shed and healed so many times she will need an operation to separate them when alisa was born, the youngest of four sisters, her parents joe and lee knew immediately there was something wrong with her angry, pink skin alisa was diagnosed only a few days after birth and she was suffering from the most severe type of eb it can be fatal in infancy but luckily a better prognosis followed her mother said: ‘her skin was so sore when she was first born we had no idea what was wrong with alisa or how serious her condition was thankfully her skin condition slightly improved and we were able to take her home’ her father, joe, 43, said: ‘we have to be very careful around alisa as even cuddling her can cause severe blisters and can completely tear the skin off’ the doanvan family are supported by the debra charity they have specialist eb nurses who have assisted them from the moment alisa was born alisa uses a wheelchair at school to give her independence, allowing her to move safely around alisa's father, joe, 43, said: ‘we have to be very careful around alisa as even cuddling her can cause severe blisters and can completely tear the skin off’ ben merrett, debra chief executive said: ‘imagine a baby in terrible pain think about a parent having endless rounds of changing dressings, lancing blisters and cleaning the open wounds that develop all over their child’s body ‘this is the reality faced by many families affected by eb who often lose their child after years of fighting this devastating condition ‘debra is the only national organisation which offers specialist care and support to people and families affected by the condition and provides real hope for the future by funding pioneering research to find effective treatments for eb’ junctional epidermolysis bullosa is one of the forms of epidermolysis bullosa a group of genetic conditions that cause the skin to be fragile and easily damaged junctional epidermolysis bullosa is divided into two main types herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa and non herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa the features of each type are similar but herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa is more severe from birth affected children have blistering over large parts of their bodies they also experience blistering in their mouth and digestive tract which can make eating difficult the sores make affected children susceptible to severe infections the condition can also cause breathing difficulties if it impacts the airways, and fusion of the fingers and toes it can also cause restricted movement and hair loss infants with the condition usually do not survive beyond their first year herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa affects less than one child per million | anthinae settos atheromata | no related information |
published: 13:17 est, 13 august 2013 | updated: 14:42 est, 13 august 2013 oscar pistorius has been pictured looking 'relaxed' while kayaking with friends just days before he is due back in court charged with murdering his girlfriend the sprinter known as the 'blade runner' was spotted paddling with three male friends off the coast of hermanus, south africa, on sunday it comes as south african police announced they have finished their investigation into the case oscar pistorius 'looked relaxed and happy' as he kayaked with a friend just days before he is due back in court accused of murdering his girlfriend the olympian was spotted kayaking by bronwin du plessis, 25, who was walking with his wife around the old harbour he described him as looking 'relaxed' pistorius, 26, who is accused of gunning down model reeva steenkamp, is due to attend a hearing in pretoria on monday, the day reeva steenkamp would have turned 30, where he is likely to be formally charged with her murder and a trial date could be set it comes after prosecutors concluded their investigation into the death of his girlfriend the paralympian will return to court in pretoria on monday, the 26 year old double amputee and six time paralympic sprint champion has been charged with the premeditated murder of ms steenkamp on valentine's night, but claims he shot the 29 year old after mistaking her for an intruder the olympian was spotted kayaking by bronwin du plessis, 25, who was walking with his wife around the old harbour he said: 'he was standing next to a kayak with three of his friends and i saw the prosthetic legs i looked up and i thought 'oh, it's pistorius' 'i had my camera with me so i quickly took a few photographs it was totally by chance 'then they started carrying out the kayak and he was up in front with a friend at the back and then there was another two friends in another kayak 'he looked relaxed, he wasn't looking over his shoulder he was just like a normal person 'you wouldn't think it was the same person you saw in the courtroom' the double amputee and six time paralympic sprint champion has been charged with the premeditated murder of ms steenkamp on valentine's night, but claims he shot the 29 year old after mistaking her for an intruder mr du plessis said there were about a dozen other people around at the time but that none 'paid much attention' to pistorius he said this could have been because of his longer hair style even though he kept his prosthetic legs on the whole time 'he looked like a totally different person,' added mr du plessis, who described the moment as 'surreal' pistorius has been living with his uncle since being bailed by pretoria magistrates court according to beeld, pistorius' uncle arnold pistorius said the athlete was in hermanus visiting a family friend's mother who is terminally ill pistorius, pictured in court in pretoria, south africa, in february at his bail hearing the 'blade runner' has resumed a 'low key track routine', according to his family in a statement on his website in june, they said: 'oscar is not contemplating a formal return to athletics and his training is not aimed at preparing for competition 'his focus at this time remains entirely on the court case his family, and those close to him, have encouraged him to spend a few hours a week on the track to assist him in finding the necessary mental and emotional equilibrium to process his trauma and prepare for the trial' the athlete was 'overcome with emotion' when he pulled on his carbon fibre running blades for his first track training since ms steenkamp's death, his agent peet van zyl said, adding that pistorius described his return to the track as 'bittersweet' ms steenkamp's parents previously said they are still searching for answers in a television interview in june, june steenkamp said: 'there is only one person who knows what happened' on the night her daughter was killed' sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons | lanch apostolic printouts | no related information |
by sarah griffiths from powered exoskeleton races to competitions using brain power, the first ever olympics for bionic athletes will take place in switzerland in october 2016 the cybathlon will include races for competitors wearing prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons as well as a powered wheelchair obstacle course and a competition where people control an avatar using their mind as well as enabling bionic athletes to compete together, the cybathlon is designed to boost interest in performance enhancing technology used by humans scroll down for video from powered exoskeleton races to competitions using brain power (illustrated), the first olympics for bionic athletes, called the cybathlon, will take place in switzerland in october 2016 some of the technology that will be put through its paces by athletes has previously been excluded from the paralympics the event, which will be hosted by the swiss national competence centre of research (nccr) will include a race for competitors who are paralysed from the neck down, where they control an avatar in a computer game using a headset that links their brain to the computer ‘the competitions are comprised by different disciplines that apply the most modern powered knee prostheses, wearable arm prostheses, powered exoskeletons, powered wheelchairs, electrically stimulated muscles and novel brain computer interfaces,’ the nccr said the wearers of the assistive devices will be known as pilots and the technology they use can be available commercially or developed for them as a prototype in a lab pilots with leg amputation will be equipped with machine operated prostheses and will have to successfully complete a race course (pictured) as quickly as possible, which will include obstacles such as slopes, a staircase, cobblestones and a seesaw in the powered exoskeleton race (pictured), pilots with complete thoracic or lumbar spinal cord injuries (sci) will be equipped with actuated exoskeletal devices, which will enable them to walk along a particular race course in a slightly similar way to formula one, both the pilot and company that has developed the device will receive a medal at the event at the hallenstadion zurich while prosthetic limbs are becoming increasingly advanced, there is often a disconnect between patients and the technology they use, according to professor robert riener, the organiser of the event from the university of switzerland pilots with forearm or upper arm amputations will be equipped with actuated exoprosthetic devices and will have to successfully complete two hand arm task courses as quickly as possible (illustrated) a close up camera view will be used to life display the shoot on the stadium screens at least two participants will start at the same time on two identical courses, to make the event more exciting the wearers of the assistive devices will be known as pilots and the technology they use can be available commercially or developed for them as a prototype in a lab a bionic hand called the ilimb, which is commercially available from touch bionics is pictured ‘the idea is that we want to push development of assistive technologies towards devices that patients can really use in everyday life,’ he told the bbc ‘some of the current technologies look very fancy but are a long way from being practical and user friendly’ the powered wheelchair race (illustrated) will allow pilots with different disability levels (eg quadriplegics, paraplegics, amputees) to be equipped with power wheelchairs, which will enable them to steer along a particular race course the course will be defined by cones between which the pilots will have to manoeuvre the chair both forward and backward in addition, obstacles of different sizes will be used pilots with arm amputations will be equipped with robotic prostheses and will have to successfully complete two hand arm task courses as quickly as possible, including a course where they try not to touch a wire with a metal hoop (pictured) powered arm prostheses race: pilots with arm amputations will be equipped with robotic prostheses and will have to successfully complete two hand arm task courses as quickly as possible one of the challenges will see pilots holding a wire loop which they will use to navigate a metal wire without touching it another race will see participants pick up differently shaped objects in order to demonstrate the dexterity of their prostheses brain computer interface race: pilots will be equipped with technology that lets them control an avatar in a racing game played on computers using their brains they will race along a track with obstacles functional electrical stimulation bike race: pilots with spinal cord injuries will use functional electrical stimulation devices, which will enable them to perform a pedaling movement on a cycling device that drives them on a circular course there will be two categories a sprint race, over a distance of 200metres and an endurance race over the distance of 1000metres powered leg prostheses race: pilots with transfemoral amputation will be equipped with machine operated prostheses and will have to successfully complete a race course as quickly as possible, which will include obstacles such as slopes, a staircase, cobblestones and seesaw powered exoskelton race: pilots with spinal cord injuries (sci) will use powered exoskeletons to negotiate a race course with obstacles of around 100metres powered wheelchair race: participants will use powered wheelchairs to steer along a race course with slopes and uneven surfaces as well as a slalom in one of the six disciplines at the games, participants will use powered wheelchairs to steer along a race course with slopes and uneven (illustrated) surfaces as well as a slalom | pilgrimlike captivated cervicohumeral | no related information |
by victoria woollaston it's been four months since reports of a reversible usb plug started doing the rounds, and the project just took a step forward as images of the cable surfaced online the artist's renderings, created by taiwanese manufacturer foxconn, show what the new cables will look like, and how the ports on the side of electronic devices are set to change called the usb type c connector, it has been designed for use with thinner, sleeker devices, such as tablets and ultrabooks, and solves the annoying problem of inserting drives the wrong way up the images, pictured, created by taiwanese manufacturer foxconn, show what the new reversible cables could look like the type c connector is built on existing usb 31 and usb 20 technologies captions on the images state they are 'artist renderings courtesy of foxconn' and 'final designs are subject to change' the usb type c connector has been designed for use with thinner, sleeker devices, such as tablets and ultrabooks it is being built on existing usb 31 and usb 20 technologies the plug is smaller than current laptop connectors, and more closely resembles the size of the current micro usb crucially, it will be reversible meaning it will work whichever way it is plugged in this is similar to how apple's lightning connector works the usb 20 specification was released in 2000 and became the standard by the end of 2001, followed by usb 30 in 2008, and 31 in july 2013 apple uses its own lightning connector on newer models of iphone and ipads, which can be inserted either way up the type c connector will work in a similar way, while resembling the size of the current micro usb plug according to the usb 30 promoter group, the type c will be ‘the only connector one will need across all devices’ crucially, however, as the new design is different to the current versions of usb plugs, users of older computing equipment will need an adapter to use the new plugs the usb type c connector, artist's impression pictured, has been designed for use with thinner, sleeker devices, such as tablets and ultrabooks the design and full specifications have not been released yet, but the final design is expected by the summer brad saunders, chairman of the promoter group, said the plug is being developed ‘to help enable thinner and sleeker product designs, enhance usability and provide a growth path for performance enhancements for future versions of usb' the type c connector is built on existing usb 31 and usb 20 technologies captions on the images state they are 'artist renderings courtesy of foxconn' and 'final designs are subject to change' the usb 20 specification was released in 2000 and became standard by the end of 2001, followed by usb 30 in 2008, and 31 in july 2013 these plugs have been criticised because they can only be inserted one way up the design and full specifications have not been released yet, but the usb implementers forum claimed the images reflect its preferred design the final design is expected to be released by the summer alex peleg of intel said his company ‘is excited to see the development of the new thin type c connector as it will enable an entirely new super thin class of devices from phones to tablets, to 2 in 1s, to laptops to desktops and a multitude of other more specific usage devices’ | apple taiwanese foxconn the middle of the year | the usb type c connector is being designed for use with thinner devices . it will be reversible and work in the same way as apple's lightning cable . the artist's renderings were created by taiwanese manufacturer foxconn . users of older devices will need . an adapter to use the new type c plugs . the design of the connector is set to be finalised by the middle of the year |
by mark prigg scientists have questioned miley cyrus's ability to arrive 'like a wrecking ball' pointing out she would have to travel at over 316 mph to cause a similar impact, and risk death in the process a science student carried out the analysis, warning 'any human behaving like a wrecking ball would likely result in serious injury' 'based on these findings, it is clear that a human being cannot possess the characteristics of a wrecking ball without sustaining significant injury, and other objects should be sought as an analogy,' he warned the songstress are you sure miley? scientists have questioned miley cyrus's ability to arrive 'like a wrecking ball' students analysed the movement of a wrecking ball to find how fast a human would need to move to recreate its effects the study, called 'the viability of arriving like a wrecking ball' was carried out by third year natural sciences student david mcdonagh from the centre for interdisciplinary science at university of leicester 'a pop song that made the charts in late 2013 alludes to the idea of entering a given location analogous to a wrecking ball, raising questions over if such a feat is possible,' he wrote 'perhaps more significantly, the singer claims to have impacted both love and ostensibly the walls of someone’s house with similar momentum at some point, providing a somewhat unique case in studying the effects of shock on human beings' experts analysed the impact of a real wrecking ball for the study the researchers admit that music is littered with scientific impossibilities 'popular music has a rich history of musicians stating extraordinary feats, from the beatles claiming an eight day week to westlife achieving human flight without wings 'such claims must follow the basic known principles of science if they are to be believed, and can often be investigated through simple approximations | university of leicester over 316mph | university of leicester student calculated how a human could act like a wrecking ball . say miley would need to travel at over 316mph |
by chris pleasance un general secretary ban ki moon has spoken of the 'shame' that fell on his organisation for failing to act against the rwandan genocide as the african nation marks the 20th anniversary of the tragedy over the course of 100 days, starting on april 6, 1994, nearly 800,000 ethnic tutsis were killed by hutu extremists as they tried to eradicate the minority group the international community, including the un, were accused of deliberately ignoring events and of failing to intervene, despite warnings from peacekeepers within the country that genocide was taking place scroll down for video un general secretary ban ki moon, who was in rwanda today to take part in ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the country's genocide, as spoken of the un's 'shame' over failing to act ceremonies in the capital kigali were led by president paul kagame, who came to power as the genocide ended kagame and ban light a torch at the genocide memorial in the capital, which will burn for 100 days to mark the number of days the genocide attacks lasted for speaking at events in the capital kigali, ban said: 'many united nations personnel and others showed remarkable bravery the rwandan genocide started on april 6, 1994, when president habarimana's plane was shot down over the capital kigali his death brought years of ethnic tensions to the surface, with extremist hutus starting a planned campaign of extermination against the minority tutsis over the next 100 days 800,000 tutsis were killed, alongside thousands of hutu moderates who objected the killings only stopped when the tutsi controlled rwandan patriotic front seized control, and put paul kagame into power the international community, and the un, were criticised for failing to act, despite warnings from inside the country that genocide was taking place 'but we could have done much more we should have done much more in rwanda, troops were withdrawn when they were most needed' 'one year later in srebrenica, areas proclaimed 'safe' by the united nations were filled with danger, and innocents were abandoned to slaughter the shame still clings, a generation after the events' he added that the genocide was 'one of the darkest chapters in human history' official mourning began three months ago with a flame of remembrance touring towns and villages across the small nation, and culminated on monday when the torch arrived at the national genocide memorial where the remains of a quarter of a million people are stored in vast concrete tombs president paul kagame lit a flame that will burn for 100 days, the length of time it took soldiers and militiamen to carry out their plan to wipe out the 'inyenzi' a term meaning 'cockroaches' that was used by extremists to designate minority tutsis and hutu moderates the slaughter only stopped after the tutsi controlled rpf seized power, installing kagame as leader at the national stadium, survivors of the genocide recounted their memories of the killings and of survival several people were overcome with trauma, screaming and crying uncontrollably with medical staff helping to carry them out and to provide counselling performers re enacted events from the massacre which saw 800,000 minority tutsis three quarters of the population killed in just 100 days starting on april 6, 1994 as the ceremonies took place, there were cries and screams from the audience and several had to be treated by medics as painful memories flooded back 'it is the day when the faces of all those i loved and died come back,' said marie muresyankwano, a mother in her thirties, saying that she would spend time 'with my own thoughts' 'it is so hard for the people, because it opens mental wounds, hearing the testimonies of those who survived, they are reminded of what happened to them,' a rwandan health ministry official said the commemorations were also attended by former uk prime minister tony blair, who advises president kagame through his africa governance initiative foundation french officials, however, were absent, with french justice minister christiane taubira having pulled out over the weekend after kagame repeated his accusation of french 'participation' in the genocide several spectators had to be carried from the national stadium as they recalled the horrific events staff were on hand to provide counseling and support as remembrance ceremonies took place former prime minister tony blair, who has close links to kagame through his africa governance initiative foundation also attended the ceremony alongside former south african president thabo mbeki kagame said in an interview that french soldiers who helped train the hutu controlled rwandan army prior to 1994, as well as being accused of aiding the killers to escape were both accomplices and 'actors' in the bloodbath france's ambassador to kigali, michel flesch, said that he had been telephoned overnight and told he was no longer welcome at the ceremonies french authorities have repeatedly denied any direct involvement in the genocide, and, unlike former colonial power belgium, have refused to apologise in his speech at the stadium, kagame took another thinly veiled swipe at france, saying it was impossible to 'change the facts', and drawing loud applause kagame is a controversial figure he has helped rwanda to become one of the most economically stable countries in africa, but is also accused of human rights violations during the genocide 800,000 tutsis were killed by extremist hutus over the course of 100 days the killing only stopped after the rpf seized power and installed kagame as leader but he said rwandans should also celebrate the remarkable progress made in the past 20 years kagame has led rwanda since his then rebel force ousted hutu extremists, steering a business friendly and zero corruption policy although he has also come in for fierce criticism over his refusal to tolerate dissent and his alleged backing of rebels in neighbouring dr congo 'today we have a reason to celebrate the normal moments of life, that are easy for others to take for granted if the genocide reveals humanity's shocking capacity for human cruelty, rwanda's choices show its capacity for renewal,' kagame said tony blair today in the rwandan capital of kigali blair has close ties with the country's controversial president paul kagame through his africa governance initiative foundation tony blair attended the commemoration ceremonies in the rwandan capital of kigali today, and was pictured paying his respects to the 800,000 killed the former pm has close ties to rwanda and its president, paul kagame, through his africa governance initiative foundation, which provides advice to african leaders writing in today's guardian, blair has defended kagame's time in power, saying he brought the small nation back from the brink in the wake of the atrocities committed in the mid 1990s rwanda, he points out, is growing economically, is attracting foreign investment and provides a good level of healthcare to its citizens elsewhere rwanda's government has been described as the least corrupt in africa by berlin based transparency international however, kagame, who was installed in power after the tutsi controlled rpf seized control of the country following the genocide, is a highly controversial figure while his economic policies may be producing results, his human rights record has drawn strong criticism when hutu extremists fled rwanda to the neighbouring democratic republic of congo, or zaire as it was then known, rpf soldiers pursued them, starting a chain of attacks and counter attacks that have left millions dead twice rwanda has invaded the country outright, in september 1996 and again beginning in august 1998 kagame's supporters have also been implicated in attacks on opposition politicians and journalists in the run up to the last election in 2010, which kagame won, amnesty international condemned the widespread violence across the country, during which one political leader was beheaded in 2001 pasteur bizimungu, a hutu, tried to organise a political party to run against kagame, but it was declared radical and bizimungu was sentenced to 15 years in jail, though he was pardoned in 2007 the same happened again in 2010 when victoire ingabire, a female politician, returned from 16 years in exile to run for president after a speech at the national genocide memorial, in which she was critical of the fact that no hutu victims were remembered there, she was accused of 'genocide ideology' and arrested during her trial, kagame publicly declared her guilty | rwanda tutsis ban ki moon un | rwanda holds ceremonies to mark 20th anniversary of genocide in country . starting on april 6, 1994, hutu extremists began executing minority tutsis . over 100 days 800,000 tutsis were killed, with families executed together . ban ki moon has spoken of the un's 'shame' of failing to act |
by fergal macerlean published: 20:03 est, 7 december 2012 | updated: 20:03 est, 7 december 2012 argentine intimidation has led to the cancellation of two luxury cruise ship visits to the falkland islands the plush 700 capacity seven seas mariner and oceania cruise flagship regatta, owned by prestige cruise holdings, axed an early february stopover to the british overseas territory john pollard managing director of port stanley based sulivan shipping services, agents for the prestige cruise group, confirmed the cancellations blocked: the seabourn sojourn was blocked in by argentine port workers who want to prevent the ship sailing to the disputed islands mr pollard said he believed the decision was taken in light of the increasingly aggressive tactics by argentinean nationalists an fco spokesperson said: ‘we are deeply concerned to learn that these cruise ships have cancelled their upcoming visits to the falkland islands following intimidation from factions in argentina’ the news follows militant action by buenos aires port workers on wednesday which prevented the british flagged seabourn sojourn cruise ship from setting sail for the falklands arriving in hong kong: the ship's 450 passengers paid between £4,200 and £9,300 each for the trip it boasts 225 cabins spread over eight decks, a casino and two swimming pools it was delayed for seven hours as united maritime workers union leaders attempted, and failed, to wrestle a pledge from the captain not to land on the falklands mike summers chairman of the falkland islands tourist board said directors of the miami based prestige group had showed ‘a disturbing lack of backbone’ and had ‘caved in to argentine pressure’ ‘this type of bullying by a large aggressive neighbour against a small innocent community is despicable, and deserves to attract worldwide condemnation,’ mr summers said cruise ship stops are estimated to be worth at least £10 million to the island’s economy the announced cancellation will affect several small falklands businesses but there are fears that withdrawals by cruise companies could escalate trapped: workers from the united maritime workers union (somu) prevented the seabourn sojourn from leaving the port in buenos aires as it headed for the falkland islands stop over: the ships were scheduled to make an eight hour stop at the falklands' capital port stanley, pictured britain summoned argentina’s ambassador alicia castro to london on monday after masked leftists thrashed the offices of a shipping company in buenos aires, a move the foreign office alleged was aimed at deterring ships from visiting the disputed falkland islands following the violent attack two cruise ships belonging to the carnival corporation, which carries 40 per cent of cruise passengers to the falklands, pulled out of scheduled trips posting on an online news board ‘outlawcatcher’, a falklands war veteran, voiced his support for the islanders: ‘as an ‘82 vet i can say that this behaviour by those contemptible people only reaffirms that our actions thirty years ago were utterly worth it war didn’t work out for them and they now think that bullying will pathetic’ the foreign office said yesterday: ‘we will take every necessary measure to support the falkland islanders’ | nondefining arcae outpursued | no related information |
by chris hanlon and daily mail reporter published: 13:18 est, 27 may 2012 | updated: 04:34 est, 28 may 2012 tragic: shaun wilson miller, 17, passed away on saturday just weeks after he posted a heartbreaking video on to youtube wishing an inspirational farewell to the world scroll down for video terminally ill australian shaun wilson miller, 17, died yesterday just weeks after he posted a heart breaking and inspirational farewell message to the world on youtube shaun, who was told by doctors he did not have long to live after his body rejected a second heart transplant, passed away holding his father’s hand reported the sun herald the teenager became an internet sensation after a glitch meant the tragic goodbye he was trying to post his tragic goodbye speech to his friends on facebook was uploaded on youtube as well he woke up to find it had more than 10,000 views the video, in which he shows no signs of self pity instead encouraging watchers to seize the day and make the most of their lives – had been viewed more than 19 million times on sunday the boy’s devastated father said his son’s positivity never wavered and that shaun had given him constant hugs in recent days ‘he passed peacefully with me holding his hand; that is something the family will hold with us,’ he told the sun herald shaun’s death came as a shock as his distraught family hoped he had weeks, or even months, to livetributes from around the world have started to pour in for the inspirational teen, including from his favourite football club in his three minute long 'my final goodbye' clip, after choking back tears, shaun says: 'i won't be here as long as i thought, but i want to say that it's been an awesome ride and i have no regrets 'live life to the fullest because you never know what's going to happen' the video has inspired such a wave of emotion in his homeland that shaun spent his final weeks living out his dreams by appearing in neighbours, meeting his favourite aussie rules football player, writing his memoirs and even finding love shaun's girlfriend is a fellow heart patient he started a relationship with just over a month ago but has been friends with for seven years 'the hardest thing for me is leaving her, knowing that i won't get to marry her,' he told the herald sun in australia 'to have kids together to grow old together that is what makes me sad he added: ' i want to have fun i want to enjoy my life the way i look at it is i didn't get to decide this these are the cards i have been dealt i just have to roll with the punches 'i have had two heart transplants and a stent put in i have had ten more years than i should have because of that i want to go out with a bang' his father cameron admits the circumstances surrounding shaun's death have left him bursting with pride at his boy's bravery but utterly devastated he will have to bury his beloved son cameron told the herald sun two weeks ago: 'i just pray that it's quick i don't want him to suffer no parent should have to bury their child but he's just loving life and wants us to do the same he doesn't want us to cry for him 'i've become angry with the world, i question why this beautiful person should be taken way from me, from his family and from the world but he doesn't want me to cry he needs to know i'm going to be ok' | shaun wilson miller 17 saturday second youtube | shaun wilson miller, 17, died on saturday after his body rejected a second heart transplant . passed away holding his devastated father's hand . video has more than 19m views on youtube after he posted it by accident . in the video he urged viewers not to cry for him but to make most of their own lives |
by alex ward published: 15:05 est, 24 february 2013 | updated: 15:25 est, 24 february 2013 this gutsy dragonfly toyed with certain death by landing on the nose of a frog that could have easily gobbled it up for dinner living life on the edge, the dragonfly perched right between the eyes of the unfazed frog and they sat together in a pond in indonesia the dragonfly’s unusual resting spot was captured on camera by amateur photographer adhi prayoga in his garden pond living life on the edge: this gutsy dragonfly toyed with certain death by landing on the nose of a frog that could have easily gobbled it up for dinner mr prayoga, 41, said: ‘the frog would normally swallow the dragonfly down in one gulp, but he actually seemed quite happy for him to be sitting on his head ‘i had about 30 seconds to shoot the images, but once the dragonfly flew away, he buzzed around and then landed back on the frog's head again unusual resting spot: the dragonfly perched right on the head of the unfazed frog and they sat together in a garden pond in indonesia gobble it up: photographer adhi prayoga who captured the moment said: 'the frog would normally swallow the dragonfly down in one gulp' ‘he was so lucky i couldn't believe how fortunate he was to have picked such a placid frog to land on’ perhaps it was frog breeding season, when frogs do not feed at all, explaining why the insect got away with the daring manoeuvre when frogs are active they feed on any moving invertebrates of an appropriate size such as insects, snails, worms and slugs which they catch with their long, sticky tongues adult frogs tend to feed entirely on land while younger frogs also feed in water odd couple: the dragonfly and the seemingly placid frog sat together in the pond in indonesia friend not foe: mr prayoga (right) said the dragonfly 'was so lucky' perhaps it was frog breeding season, when frogs do not feed at all, explaining why the insect got away with such a daring manoeuvre (left) | gheraoed bartramia needleproof | no related information |
by suzannah hills published: 07:55 est, 14 february 2013 | updated: 09:33 est, 14 february 2013 the guns that have caused so many deaths and wrecked thousands of lives in northern mexico are now making music sculptor pedro reyes has taken hundreds of guns seized in ciudad juarez in mexico and transformed them into artistic musical instruments he has cut down gun barrels to different lengths to sound like marimbas while other pistol parts have been turned into cymbals top gun: mexican sculptor pedro reyes pictured next to an instrument made out of used weapons that mimics the sound of a bass guitar top gun: pedro reyes picked out the weapons he wanted to use in the project out of 6,700 guns that were seized reyes said: 'it's important to consider that many lives were taken with these weapons, as if a sort of exorcism was taking place' when they were played, he said, 'the music expelled the demons they held, as well as being a requiem for lives lost' for the project titled 'disarm', reyes said he was able to choose his instruments from about 6,700 guns that were turned in or seized by the army and police in ciudad juarez, a city of about 13 million people where 10 people were shot a day at the height of the violence in 2010, ciudad juarez had a murder rate of 230 killings to every 100,000 inhabitants the nationwide rate for the us that year was 48 hooting sounds: former rifles, seized by the army and police in ciudad juarez, have been transformed into a rustic piano invention: reyes made this circular xylophone just using the parts of old guns reyes said: 'the dramatic thing is that this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the weapons that are seized every day and that the army has to destroy' reyes has used weapons in his previous artworks in 2008, he melted down 1,527 weapons to make the same number of shovels to plant the same number of trees this latest project began last year with a phone call offering him another chance to work with the seized guns 'normally, they bury or destroy them, but someone who works in the government said, 'would you be interested in making a sculpture with this metal?'' drug cartel violence cost more than 70,000 lives in mexico over the last six years with many of the weapons used by the cartels smuggled across the border from the united states transformation: pedro reyes tests a drum like set made out of gun parts at his workshop in mexico city disarming: reyes described playing the instruments as an 'exorcism' of their violent past in 2012, then president felipe calderon inaugurated a billboard in ciudad juarez which, facing texas, spelled out the words 'no more weapons' in welded pieces of decommissioned guns reyes also hopes to take his message international, with an exhibition of the musical instruments in london's lisson gallery in march and later in the united states 'this project has a pacifist intent, to create a global consciousness about arms trafficking,' reyes said violence has become a theme in mexican art in recent years one artist from the violence plagued state of sinaloa, teresa margolles, works with artifacts collected from crime scenes, such as pieces of glass or cloth dabbed with mud and blood reyes stresses that his work 'is not just a protest, but a proposal' 'it occurred to me to make musical instruments, because music is the opposite of weapons,' reyes said 'this exercise of transformation we see with the guns, is what we would like to see in society' a loaded task: reyes has dedicated his last two years transforming weapons used to kill into works of art checking the load: a worker organises a set of seized guns in the workshop of mexican sculptor pedro reyes violent past: the guns were seized in ciudad juarez where around 10 people were shot dead every day at the height of the country's gun violence | wrongheaded dehumidification wailer | no related information |
by catherine townsend published: 14:51 est, 14 august 2013 | updated: 17:11 est, 14 august 2013 the couple who bought the houseboat used for the exterior shots of sam baldwin's home in sleepless in seattle have opened up their home and revealed the twist of fate that brought them to the iconic property loretta, 71, and her then boyfriend jim healy were living in princeton, new jersey when they made an historic date night deal 'i told him that i had gone to see silence of the lambs with him, and he'd have to go see sleepless in seattle with me,' she tells the national enquirer (not online) 'as we were watching the film, i poked him and said 'i want to live in that houseboat'' still sleepless: loretta and jim healy bought the four bedroom floating home in 1993 and say that they have been happy there for the past 20 years at the time, loretta didn't take her dream seriously because at that time, they had no plans to relocate to seattle but she admits that she already fallen in love with the unique four bedroom, 2,100 square foot property that tom hanks's character called home then, out of the blue, jim got a job interview in the emerald city when they visited the city in the summer of 1993, loretta scoped out the houseboat and noticed a 'for sale' sign 'i thought 'this is where i'm going to live',' she says soon afterward, jim got a nearby offer, and the couple took the house present day: the iconic houseboat 20 years later looking back: the house as it appeared in the 1993 hit movie sleepless in seattle they had their wedding there six months later, and claim that they have lived happily ever after since then 'i love the place,' loretta says 'it's really magical' the unique property is one of the largest floating homes in seattle, and features floating gardens and killer views jim even jokes that he doesn't mind being mistaken for tom hanks, who played widower sam baldwin in the film romantic moment: in the movie, annie reed (right) must decide whether to meet architect sam baldwin (left) at the top of the empire state building happy ending: the couple are brought together at the empire state building with sam's son jonah (near right) the film has been lucky for the neighborhood as well experts say that the houseboat changed the market in seattle's south lake union, where 20 years later tourists still drive by and take pictures in 2008, the couple put the floating home on the market for $25 million because they were considering a permanent move to the east coast but in the end decided that they couldn't part with it now they have two homes: one in new york city, and the other in seattle for the couple, it's the ideal happy ending | intactile fulcrums ambiance | no related information |
by ellie zolfagharifard nasa has unveiled incredible footage of what it describes as a ‘graceful’ solar flare erupting from the sun's surface the mid level solar flare erupted on wednesday april 2, peaking at 2:05pm gmt (10:05am edt) with nasa’s solar dynamics observatory capturing the event solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation from the sun harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground scroll down for video a solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end the amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100 megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time a flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released mostly in the active regions around sunspots their frequency varies from several a day, when the sun is particularly active, to less than one a week during quiet periods however, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where gps and communications signals travel this particular flare, classified as an m65 flare, is not thought to have caused significant disturbance on earth m class flares are ten times less powerful than the most intense flares, which are labelled x class the number after the m provides more information about its strength an m2 is twice as intense as an m1 and an m3 is three times as intense the mid level solar flare erupted on wednesday april 2, peaking at 2:05pm gmt (10:05am edt) with nasa's solar dynamics observatory capturing the event solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost astronauts are not in immediate danger because of the relatively low orbit of this manned mission they do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks the charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the earth’s magnetic field very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies a positive aspect, from an aesthetic point of view, is that the auroras are enhanced geomagnetic storms are more disruptive now than in the past because of our greater dependence on technical systems that can be affected by electric currents on march 29, the sun unleashed a massive x class solar flare causing a brief radio disturbance while generating a series of coronal mass ejections (cmes) cmes are powerful plasma eruptions near the surface of the sun driven by kinks in the solar magnetic field earlier this month, scientists came a step closer to understanding this powerful phenomenon behind solar flares by witnessing, for the first time, the mechanism behind it footage put together by an international team led by university of cambridge researchers showed entangled magnetic field lines looping from the sun’s surface these magnetic lines slip around each other and lead to an eruption 35 times the size of the earth and an explosive release of magnetic energy into space the discoveries of a gigantic energy build up have brought scientists a step closer to predicting when and where large flares will occur solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation nasa claims harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground ‘we care about this as during flares we can have cmes and sometimes they are sent in our direction,’ said lead author, dr jaroslav dudik from cambridge university ‘human civilisation is nowadays maintained by technology and that technology is vulnerable to space weather' ‘indeed, coronal mass ejections can damage satellites and therefore have an enormous financial cost’ ‘they can also threaten airlines by disturbing the earth’s magnetic field very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies’ | laniariform pinhole skee | no related information |
by mark prigg nest labs, the maker of smart thermostats that google inc acquired for $32 billion, has been forced to stop sales of its smoke alarm test founds users could potentially turn off the sensor unintentionally with a wave of the hand the firm warned existing users to switch off the 'gesture control' feature while it worked on a fix the $129 nest protect sensor, which was pulled from sale today after the firm admitted a wave of the hand could switch it off under some circumstances the nest protect has smoke and carbon monoxide sensors built in, along with a computer with wifi connection it speaks to owners, telling them where the danger is and what the problem is before it sounds a piercing alarm, nest protect gives you a friendly heads up warning that you can silence with a wave of your hand until now it integrates with your mobile devices and even messages you if the batteries run low, avoiding that all too familiar midnight low battery chirp nest co founder and chief executive tony faddell said that, under a unique set of circumstances the alarm's 'nest wave' feature, which allows a user to switch off the device with a wave of the hand, could be inadvertently activated faddell, one of the creators of apple inc's ipod, apologized in the blogpost for a problem that was discovered during recent laboratory testing he added that no customer had complained so far 'we observed a unique combination of circumstances that caused us to question whether the nest wave could be unintentionally activated,' he wrote 'this could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire,' he said 'the fact that it could even potentially happen is extremely important to me and i want to address it immediately' he did not specify that set of circumstances the sensor can be controlled with an app or by gesture control the firm proudly showed off the gesture feature at launch but will now disable it nest will immediately disable the wave feature one of many innovative design elements that has won the company and its devices acclaim in all smoke alarms that are wifi connected while it works on a software update to fix the possible defect it said the fix, plus regulatory approvals, could take two to three months to complete customers without wifi connected devices should either disable it or return it for a full refund, the company added nest halted all sales of its smoke alarms to prevent customers from buying a device that would need an immediate software patch google announced plans in january to acquire nest via its second largest deal, to expand into a broader array of devices and bring valuable hardware design expertise in house nest gained a large following with its first thermostat a round, brushed metal device with a convex screen that displays temperature and changes hue to match the color of the wall it attaches to nest gained a large following with its first thermostat a round, brushed metal device with a convex screen that displays temperature and changes hue to match the color of the wall it attaches to it also tracks usage and uses that data to automatically set heating and cooling temperatures google referred requests for comment to nest | nest smart | firm advising customers to switch off nest gesture feature immediately . claims it can be fixed with an update over wifi . smart sensor can monitor smoke and carbon monoxide and send alerts to an app and speak to the user telling them where the issue is |
by daniel miller published: 08:47 est, 7 march 2013 | updated: 03:35 est, 8 march 2013 north korea is expanding its already extensive network of prison camps, eating up entire villages as it struggles to house hundreds of thousands of political prisoners, latest satellite images have revealed the secretive communist regime has built a huge 'security perimeter' around an existing camp restricting movement in nearby villages as part of its 'general repression' of its people, human rights watchdog amnesty international said today the reclusive country's network of political prison camps is believed to hold at least 200,000 people and has been the scene of rapes, torture, executions and slave labour, un high commissioner for human rights navi pillay said in january satellite images show how north korea is expanding its already sizeable network of prison camps clampdown: north korea has built a huge 'security perimeter' around a camp for political prisoners, restricting movement in nearby villages analysis of new satellite images of the area near camp no 14 in kaechon shows that the government is 'blurring the lines' between its camps and surrounding civilians, amnesty said the images show that between 2006 and 2013, north korea has constructed 20 km (12 miles) of posts around the ch'oma bong valley located 70km north of pyongyang the new perimeter encloses civilian villages with a series of check points and guard towers, amnesty said in a statement voicing fears about government intentions for the valley, 70 km north of the capital pyongyang 'the security and control adjacent to camp 14 shows the degree to which general repression and restrictions on the right to liberty of movement have become commonplace in north korea,' said rajiv narayan, north korea researcher for amnesty expansion: satellite images reveal an increase in housing between 2008 and 2011, in north korea's ch'oma bong valley the images show that between 2006 and 2013, north korea has constructed 20 km (12 miles) of posts around the ch'oma bong valley located 70km north of pyongyang a satellite image shows what amnesty international believes is the construction of an entrance gate in north korea's ch'oma bong valley the london based group called on the un human rights council, holding its main annual session in geneva through march 22, to launch an international commission of inquiry into grave and systematic violations 'including crimes against humanity' north korea denies the existence of a network of camps a similar un investigation similar to the one amnesty is demanding, made up of independent experts, has said it is documenting war crimes committed by both sides in syria's conflict so as to build a case for future prosecution top un rights official pillay, who met two north korean camp survivors in december, has called for an independent investigation into 'one of the worst but least understood and reported human rights situations' concerns about abuses in the impoverished country have persisted for years, but have been largely overshadowed in international forums by fears over north korea's attempts to become a nuclear weapons power blind obedience: north koreans attend a political rally earlier this week criticism of the ruling communist regime is strictly forbidden the un security council is expected to vote later on thursday on a draft resolution in response to north korea's third underground nuclear test last month amnesty commissioned digitalglobe to take the images and help with their analysis following reports of the possible construction of a new political prison camp adjacent to camp no 14 in kaechon, south pyongyan province 'dear leader': 29 year old north korean dictator kim jong un 'we expected to find a new or expanded prison camp what we found is in some ways even more worrisome,' said frank jannuzi, deputy executive director of amnesty international usa the security perimeter beyond what appears to be the formal boundaries of camp 14 blurs the line between people in the prison system known as kwan li so and civilians, he said new buildings that appear to house workers are probably linked to expanded mining activity in the region, amnesty said hundreds of thousands of north koreans, including children, are held in political prison camps and other detention facilities, often subjected to forced hard labour, denial of food rations, and torture, it said many detainees have not committed any crime, but are relatives of those deemed unfriendly to the regime and detained as a form of 'collective punishment', it added japan and the united states called last week for the council to launch an inquiry into alleged violations including torture and execution of political prisoners in north korea the council already has an independent investigator on north korea, marzuki darusman, who has said a wider inquiry should examine personal and institutional accountability for crimes activists hope the forum adopts a resolution on north korea by consensus now that neither china nor russia are members | cottonwood sexennium acolythate | no related information |
by alex ward published: 05:02 est, 1 march 2013 | updated: 05:55 est, 1 march 2013 a former councillor has been spared jail after beating his 80 year old neighbour with a crutch in a row over cleaning wheelie bins and cutting grass barry ross, 66, was instead given a curfew after hitting malcolm daniel three times as he lay on the ground after falling over during the attack elderly neighbours in ravenfield, rotherham, have started a petition to order the eviction of ross because they see him as a nuisance and say they are afraid of him beat neighbour: barry ross (pictured), a former councillor, hit pensioner malcolm daniel three times with his crutch after he fell to the ground, the court heard deputy district judge helen cousins told ross, an ex liberal democrat councillor, that if he had been a younger man or had a record of violence, he would have been given a jail sentence rotherham magistrates’ court heard that ross told police that mr daniel had approached him from behind and tapped him, which led him to believe that he was being attacked in october last year judge cousins said: ‘you didn't see who it was, but instinctively you struck behind you with your crutch ‘when you turned, mr daniel was there and you accept you tried to take hold of him and he fell to the floor and then you accept that you struck mr daniel three times with your crutch when he was on the floor 'imprison you at home': the judge told ross that if he was younger or had a history of violence, he would have got a jail term, instead he was handed a curfew ‘there was something which provoked you to behave this way however, an elderly man on the floor being hit with an implement is very serious ‘if you were a young man or had a record of any violence then this would be a case of custody, but i am going to imprison you at home and deal with you in the community’ ross, who walked into court with the aid of two crutches, confirmed this version of events by simply saying: ‘correct’ ross pleaded guilty and was handed a curfew order the judge added that ross's account was not ‘materially different’ from that of his victim and that she needed to hear no further evidence before passing sentence on one charge of assault by beating she said: ‘unpaid work is not appropriate, given (ross's) age and disability it might be that a curfew is appropriate’ another of ross's neighbours, who refused to be identified, said that ravenfield's elderly residents were afraid of him a petition has been signed by 20 residents branding him a nuisance neighbour and demanding he is evicted asked by the judge whether he had anything to say for himself, ross accepted that he could have handled his confrontation with mr daniel without violence ross said: ‘i would like to forget the whole issue and i can only apologise to the bench profusely' despite what his neighbours said, ross added: ‘i am not an aggressive person and i can only apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused you this morning i would adhere to a curfew, obviously’ neighbourly squabble: ross's confrontation with mr daniel is thought to have come about after an argument over the cutting of grass and washing of wheelie bins on the cul de sac road they live on (pictured) after consulting with probation service officers, the judge sentenced ross to a four month curfew confining him to his home between 7pm and 7am ross, who set up his own political group called the john lilburne democratic party, was also made the subject of a restraining order which banned him from approaching mr daniel or witnesses to the incident for two years the judge told him: ‘this hangs over your head for two years and if you break the conditions you will be sent to prison’ mistaken identity: rotherham magistrates' court (pictured) heard that ross told police that mr daniel had approached him from behind and tapped him, which led him to believe that he was being attacked the judge also ordered ross to pay court costs of £100 and compensation to mr daniel of £200 mr daniel's daughter jill dungworth, 53, said that the family were ‘very disappointed’ with the sentence she said: ‘it's disgusting i don't think my dad's the same person since the attack and ross has just got to pay £300 ‘it's shocking to think that if he were 50 years old he would have gone to prison’ | comparted misbegotten primp | no related information |
by alex ward published: 07:18 est, 4 march 2013 | updated: 03:00 est, 5 march 2013 this photograph of a thai woman sitting on top of a dead rhino with a rifle in hand is a 'fake hunt' photo allowing poachers to get away with their illegal wildlife trade, authorities believe authorities say that she is one of the women allegedly hired by a laotian wildlife trafficking gang to pose as hunters who are allowed to kill a limited number of rhinos and keep the horns as trophies in order to circumvent the law, enabling their wildlife smuggling operations the photograph, taken somewhere in south africa, was released today by the freeland foundation who say that authorities and wildlife investigators from several countries have joined forces in an operation aimed at breaking down the animal trading network which connects african wildlife and the asian market 'fake hunt' photo: authorities say that this thai woman was allegedly hired by a laotian wildlife trafficking gang to pose as hunters who are allowed to kill a limited number of rhinos and keep the horns as trophies in order to circumvent the law rhino horn is now worth more than £37,000 a kilo, fetching more on the black market than diamonds and cocaine, leading to a surge of poaching in south africa to record highs last year it is particularly sought after in vietnam the new york times reported that there was strong evidence that a man, who they allege is a linchpin of wildlife trafficking, uses this technique of hiring people to pose with dead rhinos to aid his illegal trade south african authorities said his wildlife trading company in laos had committed ‘one of the biggest swindles in environmental crime history’ by creating these photographs, according to the new york times booming trade: a stash of illegal ivory found in kenya as poaching levels in africa hit record levels it is believed that he is linked to thai national chumlong lemtongthai who was sentenced to 40 years in jail by for shipping large quantities of rhino horns to asia for ‘selfish financial gain’ in november last year chumlong, 44, paid prostitutes $800 for the ‘fake hunt’ photographs which saw them go to game farms and pose next to rhinos killed by others to provide proof the horns were souvenirs judge prince manyathi said chumlong fraudulently obtained hunting permits to kill 26 rhinos and then shipped most of the horns to asia to sell for a profit chumlong lemtongthai was sentenced to 40 years jail last year for shipping large quantities of rhino horns to asia for 'selfish financial gain' ‘the shooting was not for trophy hunting it was for horn trading,’ manyathi said, adding rhinos were a symbol of the country and continent between october 2010 and may 2011, more than two dozen rhinos were killed on licensed 'hunts' arranged by chumlong the horns were mounted as trophies and sent to the owner of the wildlife trading company in laos kenyan officials have also made links from the company to the smuggling of elephant tusks as well he has been linked by investigators and government officials in several countries to the illegal trade which has seen the illegal killings of elephants and rhinoceroses in africa and destruction of other species in asian jungles rhino horn is just one part of a trade worth an estimated 19 billion us dollars (£12 billion), making it the fourth biggest global illegal trade after narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking the trade of exotic wildlife has experienced a boom in china and vietnam because of their increasing wealth poaching has hit record levels in south africa where, by mid october, 455 rhinos had been killed illegally there were 448 in 2011 among the reasons for the trade is demand for medicines, consumer goods and the desire to possess exotic pets, hunting trophies and rare plants and animals, the study suggested illegal wildlife trade thrives in places with widespread corruption, weak law enforcement and where rangers, police officers and customs officials are not sufficiently trained or resourced with new tools such as dna tracing technology costly commodity: rhino horn is now worth more than £37,000 a kilo, fetching more on the black market than diamonds and cocaine it is particularly sought after in vietnam a report by the wwf warned that species with high value to illegal traders had seen dramatic declines in recent years, including forest elephants in parts of the congo basin, asian elephant, sumatran rhino and javan rhino wwf's wildlife trade expert heather sohl warned the species could face localised extinctions if poaching continued at that level she said of the threats to animals such as elephants, rhinos and tigers: 'these are iconic species, they are being exploited and it's illegal and should be stopped' in february a month long operation involving police, customs and wildlife officers from asia, africa and the us was carried out to dismantle organised wildlife crime syndicates hundreds of arrests were made and an assortment of wildlife specimens were seized including 22 rhino horns and four rhino horn carvings, 6,500kg of elephant ivory, 2,600 live snakes, 10 tiger and seven leopard trophies and 31kg of elephant meat fire arms and ammunition was also recovered from the poachers in operation cobra, according to freeland senior superintendent, uttam kumar karkee, from nepalese police said: ‘operation cobra has proven itself to be an excellent model for fighting trans national crime’ investigations: kenyan officials have also made links from vixay keosavang's wildlife trading company xaysavang trading to the smuggling of elephant tusks as well | laotian more than £37,000 | authorities say she was allegedly hired by a laotian wildlife trafficking gang . they are paid to pose as hunters, who are allowed to kill a limited number of rhinos and keep the horns as trophies . rhino horn is now worth more than £37,000 a kilo as the market for illegal wildlife reaches record high levels |
by alex ward published: 07:52 est, 1 march 2013 | updated: 09:27 est, 1 march 2013 fifty ‘irreplaceable’ medals awarded to one family of gurkhas over five generations and after 127 years of service to the british army have been stolen members of the gurung family have fought and died for britain since 1886, but now they have been robbed of that legacy after thieves broke into the family's nepalese restaurant in nuneaton, warwickshire om gurung, his father bil bahadur, his grandfather shirprasad and his great grandfather suklal, who received the george medal posthumously, amassed the impressive collection of medals for service in conflicts including both world wars and fighting in burma and malaysia five generations of gurkhas: some of the family's impressive collection of medals which were stolen, awarded to members of the family for service in conflicts including both world wars and fighting in burma and malaysia om, 55, a former regimental sergeant major with the gurkha signals, was left devastated after the theft from a cabinet displaying the medals in his restaurant crossed khukris, late last sunday night om received an mbe from the queen in 1997 for his services as the last gurkha regimental sergeant major during the handover of hong kong he said: ‘they had been put away in a locker, which was forced open by the burglars robbed of legacy: om gurung (pictured with mbe for services as a gurkha regimental sergeant major) is devastated that the family's war medals were stolen ‘it's very upsetting, because the medals have such sentimental value and cannot be replaced ‘my family have served the british for 127 years and to think these medals have been stolen is terrible i am not bothered about the money, it is the history and value of these medals that matters ‘there were about 50 medals in all, dating back to the first world war i occasionally had them on show in frames on the wall of my restaurant and it is possible that someone broke in specifically to get them ‘whoever is responsible forced their way through a rear door and made a thorough search ‘as well as the medals, they also emptied four charity boxes, containing about £250, the till, which had £50 in it, and even took money from a staff tip box’ the theft happened around 1130pm last sunday night, when the restaurant closed, and it was not until noon the following day that the break in was discovered om, who settled in nuneaton after serving at the town's bramcote barracks and retiring from the army, has continued his involvement with the military he founded the british gurkha veterans association, was president of nuneaton rotary club and has been a constant supporter of ex service, civic and local charities for honour and country: om receiving his mbe from the queen in 1997, which is among 50 'irreplaceable' medals awarded to members of his family who have fought in the british army over five generations on tuesday, om helped to organise a special ceremony at the co op club in nuneaton when medals were handed to 126 former gurkha soldiers who had served in malaysia in attendance was nuneaton and bedworth deputy mayor bob copland who said: ‘i was very shocked to hear about om's burglary, which he purposely kept to himself on tuesday so that it wouldn't overshadow the presentation proceedings ‘that is typical of the man, who is such a lovely person and a real star 'it's the history that matters': still an active member of the army community, om said the medals, which were stolen from a cabinet in the family restaurant, had sentimental value ‘i cannot find the words to describe what i feel about the sort of people who would steal a soldier's medals and money donated for charity’ a spokesman for warwickshire police said: ‘we would ask anyone who saw anything, has any information or anyone who has been offered any medals to contact crimestoppers on 0800 555 111’ gurkhas are nepalese fighters who fight for british and indian military units more than 200,000 fought in the two world wars, and they have served in kosovo, hong kong, malaysia, borneo, cyprus, the falklands, and now in iraq and afghanistan over the last 50 years crime scene: the medals were stolen from family restaurant crossed khukris at around 1130pm last sunday night, when the restaurant closed, and it was not until noon the following day that the break in was discovered | gurung british 1886 | five generations of the gurung family fought for the british since 1886 . the medals were kept in a cabinet in the family restaurant until the break in . money from the till, charity boxes and the tip jar were also stolen |
by alex ward published: 15:04 est, 26 february 2013 | updated: 15:08 est, 26 february 2013 an artist has used scrap metal from cars to create iconic sci fi film characters, selling them for up to £5,000 what started as a hobby for mai sudjai ten years ago has become a lucrative business, making hundreds of sculptures for customers all over the world metalsmiths at the kreatworks workshop in bangkok, thailand spend up to two months making the 8ft tall sculptures that include terminator, predator, robocop and alien scrap no more: mai sudjai and his metalsmiths create iconic sci fi film characters such as a transformer using scrap metal from cars each one is welded together from the body parts of bmws, mercs, nissans, hondas, toyotas and isuzus as demand for the pieces grew mr sudjai set up a workshop and now employs more than a dozen people to create the sculptures larger than sci fi: metalsmiths spend up to two months making the 8ft tall pieces including this alien recreation and sell them for up to £5,000 car wars: each one is welded together from the body parts of bmws, mercs, nissans, hondas, toyotas and isuzus including yoda from star wars (left) and walle (right) the artists collect parts including carburettors, chains, and exhaust pipes from scrap japanese cars before rinsing off dust and grease they then set each part alight to burn off petrol then coat them in lacquer for protection each piece of steel is then welded together, while aluminum parts are screwed into place the finished sculptures weigh up to 1100lbs transformer trade: what started as a hobby for mai sudjai ten years ago has become a lucrative business, making hundreds of sculptures for customers all over the world including transformer bumblebee heavy metal: terminator (left) and a dragon (right) are among the sci fi figures that the workshop in bangkok, thailand create in the workshop: each piece of steel is then welded together, while aluminium parts are screwed into place the finished sculptures weigh up to 1100lbs the firm has made hundreds of 'steampunk' models as well as famous characters alien, queen alien, species, predator, hellboy, optimus and bumblebee from transformers, t 800 from terminator they have also made star wars favourites darth vader, battle droid, r2d2, storm trooper and boba fett one of the metalsmiths krittayakorn chaijit said they receive commissions from around the world and have shipped finished pieces to the uk, united states, australia, russia, japan, canada, new zealand, poland, germany and switzerland making alien: the artists collect parts from scrap japanese cars before rinsing off dust and grease they then set each part alight to burn off petrol then coat them in lacquer for protection predatory parts: as demand for the pieces grew, mr sudjai set up a workshop and now employs more than a dozen people to create the sculptures he said: ‘our artists are passionate about film characters we want to recreate them in our own style from recycled metal ‘we try to retain the specific characteristic of the car parts although we do a lot of cutting, hammering and welding to make sure that we get the right shape for the character's features ‘if a car part size is exactly what we need then we just use it as a whole’ mr chaijit said making pirates of the caribbean star johnny depp was the most fun he said: ‘jack sparrow is a great character to make he is such a scruffy yet charismatic character with so many accessories ‘we thought making a metal sculpture of him would be an interesting break from alien and predator projects we do ‘our artist created his face by hammering and welding metal sheets ‘each hair lock and beard were made from individual metal slings and wires ‘we had fun giving him lots of individually made metal accessories, such as a sword, a gun and liquor bottle’ the sculptures can be bought from kreatworkscom | mai sudjai two months 8ft sci fi | what started as a hobby for mai sudjai, is now a lucrative business . metalsmiths spend up to two months making 8ft tall sci fi sculptures |
by neil ashton and hugo gye published: 02:53 est, 17 october 2013 | updated: 14:10 est, 17 october 2013 england manager roy hodgson has been forced to make a bizarre apology after making a joke about a monkey while referring to a mixed race player during a half time team talk the coach's gaffe is believed to have upset a player in the dressing room during england's 2 0 win over poland at wembley on tuesday night which secured the team's place in the next world cup hodgson made the joke, which refers to the early days of nasa space missions, as he was telling defender chris smalling that he should pass the ball to midfielder andros townsend both players are mixed race several prominent footballers have come forward to defend the manager, but anti racism campaigners have demanded that the fa launch an investigation to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again good man: hodgson is being tarnished by over zealous reactions from activists star: the remark came as hodgson urged players to pass to up and coming star andros townsend he told players: 'nasa decides to send a shuttle into space with two monkeys and an astronaut on board 'after months of training, they put all three in the shuttle and prepare for launch mission control announces: 'this is mission control to monkey one do your stuff' the first monkey begins frantically typing and the shuttle takes off we're there: roy hodgson and andros townsend embrace following the final whistle in the qualifier that secured england's place at the 2014 world cup 'two hours later, mission control centre announces: 'this is mission control to monkey two do your stuff' the second monkey starts typing like mad and the shuttle separates from its empty fuel tanks 'after another two hours mission control announces: 'this is mission control to astronaut' 'the astronaut interrupts, shouting: 'i know, i know feed the monkeys and don't touch anything!'' the fa confirmed that hodgson did make the remarks, but said they were disappointed that it has been interpreted by some as a racial slur or innuendo hodgson said last night: ‘i would like to apologise if any offence has been caused by what i said at half time ‘there was absolutely no intention on my part to say anything inappropriate ‘i made this clear straight away to andros in the dressing room i also spoke to andros again on wednesday ‘he has assured me and the fa he did not take any offence and understood the point i was making in the manner i intended’ the coach is said to be furious, and insists the joke refers only to a fictional event and cannot be interpreted as having any racial connotations, despite the historic use of 'monkey' as a racist term for black people a video still of townsend emerging from the tunnel for the second half against poland, following roy hodgson's gaffe at half time unfazed: townsend has taken to twitter today to questioned what all the fuss was about and say that no offence was taken game: townsend leaves the pitch after being substituted, walking past hodgson on the way nasa decides to send a shuttle into space with two monkeys and an astronaut on board after months of training, they put all three in the shuttle and prepare for launch mission control announces: 'this is mission control to monkey one do your stuff' the first monkey begins frantically typing and the shuttle takes off two hours later, mission control centre announces: 'this is mission control to monkey two do your stuff' the second monkey starts typing like mad and the shuttle separates from its empty fuel tanks after another two hours mission control announces: 'this is mission control to astronaut' the astronaut interrupts, shouting: 'i know, i know feed the monkeys and don't touch anything!' townsend, a promising 22 year old winger for tottenham hotspur, told the fa he was not offended by the joke when officials spoke to him about the incident he tweeted today: 'i don't know what all this fuss is about no offence was meant and none was taken! it's not even newsworthy!' his father troy works for the anti racism campaign kick it out, and is believed to have discussed the issue with his son a spokesman for kick it out said that the organisation 'recognises and shares the concerns of the parties who felt mindful to bring the comments into the public domain' he added: 'the matter has been raised by the chair directly with the fa, who acknowledges the apology made by roy hodgson and now seeks an investigation to ascertain the full facts and ensure a similar situation does not arise again' controversy: the joke was made to manchester united's right back chris smalling 'all the fa has to do is examine the facts and make a statement if they do not then there will be recriminations from other players' piara powar, executive director of european anti discrimination group fare, said: 'hodgson used a very silly term within a diverse team environment he should know better' hodgson is understood to be distraught by any attempt to smear his name after successfully leading england to next year's world cup finals in brazil on tuesday the 66 year old manager is known for his lengthy team talks, but the decision to tell a joke at half time is unusual some football fans expressed outrage at the alleged racial jibe adekunle dimeji tweeted: 'roy hodgson should be sacked' clash: the joke came in a half time team talk during the crunch game at wembley stadium however, others stood up for him and insisted he meant no harm by the remark, such as bryn jones who wrote: 'if you think roy hodgson's 'feed the monkey' remark was racist, then you didn't get the joke' former footballer stan collymore, who played for liverpool and aston villa as well as appearing three times for england, took to twitter to defend the manager, claiming that the supposed scandal detracts from anti racism efforts 'demeans every anti racism campaigner by having cheap pop at rh who said nothing wrong,' he wrote 'makes campaigners seem over pc and petty they're not' legendary striker john barnes, who was often subjected to racial abuse during his playing career, said: ‘how can anybody be offended by that? it’s not racist' england's wayne rooney added: 'seen the story on roy this morning he [sic] done nothing wrong this is ridiculous' ridiculous: that roy hodgson is being smeared as a racist by politically correct thought police is ludicrous the row has taken the gloss off england’s qualification, which was praised by david cameron in parliament yesterday, and came as it was revealed that hodgson is in line for a huge bonus after leading england to brazil if he is successful next summer, the cash reward he will receive could reach £1million hodgson accepted a basic package worth £3million a year when he left west bromwich albion to take over the england team after the previous manager fabio capello resigned ahead of last year's euro 2012 tournament he has previously spoken out against racism in football, saying that racial prejudice is 'abhorrent' | caduceus guaiacols paludose | no related information |
by tracey cox published: 06:33 est, 14 august 2013 | updated: 06:55 est, 14 august 2013 in an age where women are liberated, have choices and careers and (better) economic equality, why are we still putting up with men behaving badly? what’s with kim kardashian putting up with new dad kanye’s blatant unavailability both emotional and physical when he should be beaming by her side, being proud and protective rihanna giving chris brown a zillion second chances when she has visual evidence her smashed up face of what ‘love’ means to him what's with kim kardashian putting up with new dad kanye's blatant unavailability? simon cowell’s mini tribe of exes all sobbing that they should have been the one to father his love child why exactly? yes, i get the yacht/jet/diamond appeal but seriously, who really wants to spend their life with a man who collects their exes rather than puts them in the past, where exes are supposed to be why is cara delevingne sniffing around kate moss’s ex pete doherty? what am i missing? yes, we should all be entitled to make and learn from our mistakes but what message is this sending teenage girls, who we know are obsessed with celebrity? simon cowell's mini tribe of exes all sobbing that they should have been the one to father his love child why exactly? what’s wrong with going for the nice guy? women have always been brainwashed into the appeal of the ‘bad boy’ the drama of it all is seen as exciting there’s the ‘hot’ make up sex after the fights; the heady rebellion of going for someone who only thinks about now, doesn’t care about the future when you’re 18 and tentatively exploring life and sex and relationships, this can be appealing but as an adult, who can be bothered with the reality of dating a guy who’s never on time (if he bothers turning up at all), who has no money, drug or alcohol problems, an inability to plan ahead, an allergic reaction to a mere whiff of commitment, no real goals or ambition and loathes your friends and family (but not half as much as they loathe him) my definition of a bad guy is this: it’s someone who doesn’t treat you nicely the stereotype that nice equals weak is false studies show nice people are not necessarily less assertive or competitive than ‘difficult’ people tracey says women have been 'brainwashed' into liking bad boys and that nice doesn't equal boring ‘nice is boring’ also doesn’t stand up to scrutiny unless ‘boring’ means calling when they’re supposed to and being where they’re supposed to be, with the person they’re supposed to be with ‘nice is average looking’ is shot to smithereens by jon hamm topping sexiest man alive polls worldwide and also being a nice guy ‘nice’ isn’t just an throwaway word by the way: it’s measurable psychologists define nice people as those who score high on a personality trait called agreeableness if you’re nice, your over riding concern is having happy, positive relationships with other people you like harmony and you don’t like upsetting people nice people are generous, trustworthy, reliable and considerate they don’t play games because they don’t like to make other people feel uncomfortable the ability to be able to ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes’ or ‘see how your partner sees’ is a hugely positive factor in relationships this is the automatic default for the average nice guy studies show agreeable people also stay married longer, are more intimate in their marriages, have better relationships with their kids and not surprisingly are more satisfied with their lives overall case closed for any female who has even a hint of intelligence and high self esteem visit tracey's website and mailonline blog for relationship and sex advice and follow tracey on twitter | translater electrocardiogram tummel | no related information |
by harriet arkell published: 11:05 est, 13 august 2013 | updated: 11:05 est, 13 august 2013 a russian surgeon who helped himself to a bag of drugs he removed from a patient's stomach faces up to 15 years in prison for theft and possession the doctor, who was high when police arrested him, had been asked to remove containers of heroin from the stomach of a suspected drug mule in the siberian region of krasnoyarsk a spokesman for ministry of the interior said the 32 year old who worked in the small city of bogotol had helped himself to capsules of the drug after removing in from the man's stomach in a bid to save his life police have arrested a surgeon whom they believe stole heroin after removing it from a drug mule's stomach the drug courier, who was known to police, was said to have been travelling on a train between krasnoyarsk and bogotol when he was taken ill and rushed to hospital to have the contents of his stomach removed he is said to be in a coma and fighting for his life after the operation police officers checked the drugs containers removed from the smuggler's stomach and searched the doctor after realising one was missing they found five grammes hidden in the surgeon's clothing and found that he was high on drugs, too a police spokesman said: 'the doctor was intoxicated at the time of detention', and said he faced a jail term of up to 15 years for theft and possession of illegal substances the doctor, who has not yet been named, although a picture of him has been issued, is said to have refused to answer questions without a lawyer in the town that lies about 1,930 miles east of moscow the doctor operated on the man in the siberian town of bogotol in the region of krasnoyarsk, russia (file pic) the drug smuggler had been on a train from krasnoyarsk to bogotol when he fell ill and had to go to hospital he was later charged on two counts: with illegally acquiring and possessing a large quantity of drugs, and stealing a large quantity of drugs in 2009, russia announced that it had become the world's biggest consumer of heroin cheap supplies of the drug enter the country from afghanistan by land via the former republics of central asia or by air | 32 bogotol siberia 5g up to 15 years | doctor, 32, was asked to remove heroin from the smuggler after he fell ill . after op in bogotol, siberia, police noticed some of the heroin was missing . they checked surgeon and found him high, with 5g of drugs in his clothes . the doctor now faces up to 15 years in prison, while smuggler is in a coma |
by jonathan o'callaghan babies are known for putting anything and everything in their mouths, from lego to crayons but a study suggests that this isn't necessarily a misbehaving habit, but rather a brain mechanism wired from birth research performed by the institute of cognitive sciences in bron, france, points to a 'survival of the fittest' mentality that ensures the baby survives even when other sensors haven't developed researchers suggest that a baby's habit of putting things in its mouth is a cognitive ability learned in the womb a drug known as donepezil, used to improve memory function in alzehimer's patients, has found another use as a brain stimulant for adults researchers at harvard university found that the drug can revert adult brains to the quick learning phase of children's brains it increases the elasticity of the brain, making it capable of learning rapidly in these 'critical periods' the drug was used to successfully rewire a visually impaired patient's brain to process images to investigate this human trait, director of neuropsychology angela sirigu and her team studied 26 patients who were undergoing brain surgery while unconscious, they were able to make nine of the patients move their hands to their mouths by stimulating regions of the brain known to perform these actions the fact that this behaviour is programmed into the same region of the brain in every person suggests that it is most likely an ability present in our brains before birth if it was a learned skill, different regions of the brain would be involved in performing the action and it would change between individuals, but this was not the case by stimulating sections of the brain, the researchers were able to make nine of 26 brain surgery patients unconsciously move their hands to their mouths, suggesting such a movement is wired into our brains this suggests that our motion of moving our hands to our mouths, perhaps to consistently supply us with food from a young age, is something that is wired into the circuitry of the brain even when in the womb, foetuses are known to suck their thumbs, a precursor action to actually putting food into their mouths 'if you've ever looked at a newborn primate's brain or a baby's brain, it's surprising that they work at all,' jon kaas, a neuroscientist at vanderbilt university in tennessee, us told new scientist 'the neurons aren't mature and the consistency of the brain is sort of like pudding 'but some things have to work right away' | entailers reminting wetumpka | no related information |
by bianca london she's built up a successful diet and exercise brand, as well as her very own 'booty camp', in the wake of her departure from the only way is essex late last year and now lucy mecklenburgh is also proving her worth as a model, too the former towie star is helping superdrug celebrate a milestone as it reaches its 50th birthday scroll down for video what a difference! lucy mecklenburgh has been treated to a series of makeovers from the past 50 years to celebrate superdrug's 50th birthday speaking about this 80s material girl look, she said: 'i love the funky thick black eyeliner this is actually a really cool look' to celebrate, dare, superdrug’s customer magazine, worked with lucy to recreate five iconic looks from the last fifty years of beauty the 22 year old was given a 60s twiggy inspired makeover, a 70s disco look, as well as 80s material girl, 90s 'fresh' and a modern day bronzed beauty speaking about the shoot, lucy said: 'my favourite look today has definitely been the 1960s twiggy look, i love it i love this style and have always wanted to try twiggy eye make up' lucy said the 70s disco look made her feel 'really glamorous' and described the 80s look as 'really cool' 70s disco: lucy said of this look: 'the metallic eyes and strong red lips make me feel really glamorous!' 90s fresh: speaking about her urban makeover, lucy said: 'i like this look everything i need to create it is already in my make up bag' 'i actually liked all of them,' she added 'today’s 'bronzed beauty' is how i wear my make up now i also like being bronzed a la kim kardashian' charmian harris, editor of dare magazine said: 'working with lucy on this shoot was loads of fun, she loves beauty and was involved in styling the looks to give her own unique interpretation of beauty through the decades' aside from her modelling duties, lucy was seen relaxing on the beach in dubai earlier this month slipping into a skimpy white bikini, the 22 year old reality star displayed her killer tan and envy inducing hourglass curves as she soaked up the sun in the middle eastern holiday hotspot lucy threw herself into a vigorous diet and exercise regime in the wake of her painful split from co star fiance, mario falcone, last april best beauty look: speaking about the shoot, lucy said: 'my favourite look today has definitely been the 1960s twiggy look, i love it i love this style and have always wanted to try twiggy eye make up' bronze babe: 'today's bronzed beauty is how i wear my make up now i also like being bronzed a la kim kardashian' said lucy of this contemporary look but the svelte 9st 5ft 6in star has since admitted she got 'too skinny' at one point she said: 'when i started training for the first time last january, exercise started out as the thing that made me happy at a time when i felt sad it got me out the other end 'i still love exercise but, back then, it was more of an addiction and, at one point, i was too thin' she recently told mailonline of her healthy approach to life: 'i think it's normal for people to lose weight through anxiety after a break up i would just advise women to not overdo it i feel more confident, i am aware of what i eat and i have so much more energy' trim figure: lucy, pictured left at last night's f&f show and, right, showcasing the fruits of her labour on the beach in dubai her typical daily diet now consists of eggs with smoked salmon for breakfast, sushi or salad for lunch and fish or meat with quinoa and vegetables for dinner, all washed down with lots of peppermint tea reminding us that she's still mortal, lucy has a treat day and loves a huge bowl of spaghetti bolognaise with lots of cheese, as well as a piece of apple crumble or chocolate brownie with her sunday roast dinner she added: 'i love going for drinks with the girls, it's how i relax after a long day i just opt for vodka and steer clear of sugary cocktails 'we need to realise that we are just addicted to sugar, we don't need it i banned it for two weeks and never craved it again' dare magazine’s superdrug 50th birthday special edition launches on 9th april at superdrug stores nationally, a digital version will also be available to download behind the scenes videos of lucy on the shoot can be viewed at daresuperdrugcom | lucy 22 last five decades twiggy star dubai | lucy, 22, has had makeovers from last five decades . says her favourite was the twiggy makeover . star has been holidaying in dubai recently |
by daily mail reporter published: 02:44 est, 1 june 2013 | updated: 02:45 est, 1 june 2013 hypocritical: police inspector mohammed razaq may himself face jail after the fraud conviction a senior police officer who spearheaded a ‘zero tolerance’ crime clampdown is facing jail after being convicted of a £46,000 insurance and mortgage scam mohammed razaq was in charge of a neighbourhood police team in bolton, greater manchester, until he was arrested and his office was raided by police disgraced inspector razaq, 53, has been found guilty of a fraud involving four rental properties he owned minshull street crown court in manchester heard that razaq created a false damage report document, purporting to be from a genuine company, and used it as evidence for a bogus insurance claim he then made a series of claims for damage on properties that he owned and a false mortgage application insp razaq, who owned four homes and was trying to buy a fifth property in bolton, used several different identities in a bid to cover his tracks robert hall, prosecuting, said that his ambition was part of his downfall he said: ‘he was undoubtedly ambitious in his approach to life and his rise to inspector ‘the crown says that his ambition for status and wealth is what fuelled this dishonesty’ the court heard that in 2008 he ‘could not have wanted for anything else’ he had a wife and three children in their teens or early 20s and mr hall said razaq was ‘not short of a bob or two’ ‘the effect of this financial demand on mohammed razaq was that his bank account, that was in good credit, started to go down in balance to where money was needed to keep them in the black,’ mr hall told the jury razaq was found guilty of six counts of fraud and three counts of converting criminal property and will be sentenced next month bad landlord: one of the salford houses owned by mohammed razaq where neighbours complained about anti social behaviour from the tenants his dishonesty started in 2008 when he had a water leak at his home and a surveyor said the cost of the damage was about £1,200 razaq disputed this and submitted two documents from companies showing that the damage cost more than £7,000 the insurance company paid out £7,685 the court heard that there was water damage at another house he owned, which prompted a fire service call out insp razaq submitted an insurance claim for £20,000 but it was rejected he changed his insurance company on his home in bradford road and, in 2010, he claimed again for water damage, having not declared a previous claim to the company the prosecution says this damage was the same damage that he had claimed for previously, but had not been repaired he was paid £6,300 police inspector mohammed razaq has worked for greater manchester police for more than 30 years before the fraud was uncovered the court heard he also applied for a £12,000 mortgage for home improvements on an address in bradford street, on the basis that he lived there, but in reality it was rented out the money was transferred to him in june, 2010 in march 2011, the court heard, razaq lied about which house he lived in when applying for a mortgage for another property claiming he was going to more there but within two weeks of the mortgage being granted he called an insurance company for a quote to insure the building as a rental property razaq had more than 33 years policing experience, including spells in cid, tactical aid, a firearms unit and various community cohesion projects during the 1980s, he helped to police the toxteth riots, and was part of the team which escorted the moors murderer myra hindley back to the saddleworth moors to identify the location of victims' bodies he was eventually put in charge of policing the johnson fold estate in bolton where he introduced extra high visibility police patrols and more cctv surveillance groups of youths were regularly stopped and asked to account for what they were doing last year anti social behaviour order laws, which insp razaq often used to deal with thuggery on his beat, were used to close down the house he owned in higher broughton, near salford after complaints it was a blackspot for late night parties, drug taking and violence all the tenants were moved out and the windows were boarded up speaking after the court case yesterday elisa hopley, senior crown prosecutor from the cps north west complex casework unit said: ‘mohammed razaq embarked upon a prolonged period of dishonesty, breaching the trust that was placed in him as a serving inspector for greater manchester police ‘the public are entitled to expect the highest standards from police officers and whilst cases where police officers are charged with criminal offences are rare, today's conviction shows that they are not above the laws they are expected to uphold’ | skiing precelebrated transnatation | no related information |
by harriet arkell published: 10:30 est, 12 june 2013 | updated: 10:38 est, 12 june 2013 hell raising sports star he most definitely isn't after documentary makers spent a year filming tennis champion andy murray, they admitted what many of us already suspected: he's pretty ordinary forget fathering children in laundry cupboards or smashing up hotel rooms a good weekend for the 26 year old scotsman is spent at home, playing with his dogs and eating takeaway sushi andy murray, who took on france's nicolas mahut at london's queen's club today, doesn't lead a flash life, a film maker said today and a bad weekend involves a bad result from his fantasy football team film maker jo mccusker, who trailed murray around the world for her programme, has lifted the lid on the world of ice baths, early nights and six hour training sessions that constitute the life of this top flight tennis player she said he did nothing other than train, eat, sleep and travel 'you don't see anything flash because he doesn't do anything flash,' she told the radio times 'he doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't go out 'and it all comes back to one word, mentioned by everyone we spoke to 'ordinary'' murray, who today took on france's nicolas mahut at the aegon tennis championships at london's queen's club, is filmed during a six hour 'boot camp' training session in miami, during which he did pilates, bikram yoga, weights, speed work and, of course, tennis he then had to spend ten minutes in a freezing ice bath to rid his body of lactic acid, with a cup of sweets to lure him in andy murray was watched by actor kevin spacey and his girlfriend kim sears at the match in london today miss mccusker said his determination and focus on being the best could make murray appear aloof, but said she had been surprised by his manners, wit, and droll sense of humour she described murray as laid back with other people but hard on himself, and said he wore his heart on his sleeve 'there isn't an andy that goes into a press conference and an andy outside of it; he doesn't edit himself' during the filming, the team also followed murray visiting dunblane primary school where his famously ambitious mother, judy, was giving a tennis lesson to youngsters murray's hitting partner danny vallverdu, left, and coach ivan lendl, right, watch his game this afternoon the school, which murray attended, was the scene of an appalling massacre in 1996 when gunman thomas hamilton killed 17 people before shooting himself murray, who has never spoken publicly about the tragedy, sheltered in a classroom during the shooting the film makers said the visit to dunblane, during which murray fresh from a win at the us open spent hours shyly signing autographs and posing with children, was the most poignant moment during the year in the radio times interview, miss mccusker said: 'it was quietly moving to see how much the murray siblings his brother jamie is also a professional tennis player mean to that school and the dunblane community' the documentary covers the entourage behind the professional tennis player, which includes his coach, former player ivan lendl, his hitting partner danny vallverdu, and trainers jez green and matt little, physio andy ireland and matt gentry from simon fuller's xix entertainment miss mccusker said murray took some flak over the size of his team, but said he defended it by saying it was crucial to his success at such a high level she also said murray was friendly with other players off the court, and enjoyed playing playstation with rivals like rafael nadal, whom he has known since they were both children andy murray: the man behind the racquet, will be shown on bbc1, june 23 | scottish jo mccusker | scottish sportsman doesn't drink, smoke or go out, but he loves his dogs . his life consists of ice baths, six hour training sessions, and travelling . film maker jo mccusker says sushi loving 26 year old is polite and witty |
by daily mail reporter published: 10:01 est, 24 october 2013 | updated: 13:49 est, 24 october 2013 marines are up in arms over president obama's proposal to create unisex hats that some have branded too 'girly' for males while others have lambasted its steep cost as unnecessary one estimate is that the divisive new hats, which are thinner and smaller than those in the current uniforms, could cost as much as $8 million 'what's wrong with the current uniform?' one marine posted on a story about the proposed hats 'nothing! read the news marines getting relieved, budgets and structure being cut, and we have time/desire to evaluate a new cover [hat] you gotta to be kidding!' new design: proposed new hats for the marines are smaller and thinner and will cost $8 million the hats, which have been designed to be used in male and female uniforms, are called the 'dan daly' hat after a long island sergeant who earned the medal of honor twice he famously led his tired, outnumbered marines at belleau wood in june 1918 during world war i, yelling: 'come on, you sons of b****es, do you want to live forever!' but some marines are complaining about the switch from the old hats, which have been part of the uniform since 1922, while others have complained about its look 'the dan daly cap looks too french, and the last people we want to associate our marines with would be the french military,' one wrote on the marine corps times website old design: the current hats are much wider but the marines wants uniforms to be unisex another quipped: 'why not just put them all in pink camo?' name sake: the hats are named after 'dan daly' a ww1 sergeant who earned the medal of honor one senior marine source added to the new york post: 'we don't even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the dod is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women's hats! 'the marines deserve better it makes them look ridiculous' so far the hats are just a proposed design, and a second part of the proposal suggests women simply wearing the current male hats with slight modifications instead of the dan daly hat marine corps head gen james amos will make the final decision, and officials have until the end of this week to allow or reject the proposed design the move to make female uniforms more like those worn by men comes as the dod starts to open more combat unit roles to women an informal survey of the marine uniform advisory board already found: 'the group members did not like the appearance of the dan daly cap on the male marine' but the marine times reported how, over the years, the uniform board has made recommendations against the opinions expressed by the marines in surveys one example was the decision to wear uniform sleeves rolled down, even in the summer | dan daly' wwi dod | the hats, called 'dan daly' hats after wwi sergeant, are part of a proposed uniform change to make female uniforms more like those worn by men . move comes as the dod starts to open more combat unit roles to women |
by ted thornhill published: 07:44 est, 26 december 2013 | updated: 10:57 est, 26 december 2013 nearly six decades after it first aired, an i love lucy christmas special was last week's most watched holiday program there was a gimmick involved: the episode of the 1950s lucille ball desi arnaz sitcom was colorized a companion episode that featured lucy as a grape stomper in italy also went from black and white to color lucille ball, center, dressed as santa claus in a colorized i love lucy christmas special, which aired on friday, december 20 on cbs lucille ball, who died in 1989, played a housewife with aspirations of showbiz fame arnaz, her real life husband, played a bandleader who always offered a shoulder to cry on when her schemes met with inevitable disaster ball said it was her belief in her character that made her popular the nielsen company said on tuesday that the i love lucy special on cbs drew 87 million viewers to rank as last friday night's most watched program old gold: lucille ball and edward everett horton sitting at a card table in a scene from i love lucy runner up a charlie brown christmas a relative newcomer that debuted in 1965 settled for 64 million the night before on abc cbs was the most watched network but nbc was the most popular among advertiser favored young adults with help from the voice finale and the nfl bears eagles game on sunday night football earlier this year, a polka dot dress lucille ball wore on the show, which aired from 1951 to 1957, sold at a hollywood auction for an incredible $168,000 the pink and brown garment was expected to rake in between $40,000 and $60,000, but one i love lucy enthusiast was apparently willing to part with much more for the iconic relic the dress is a long, brown silk gown cinched around the waist, with a white collar and light pink polka dots i love lucy won five emmy awards and was the most popular us tv show for four of the six seasons that it aired, between 1951 and 1960 | christmas first lucille ball desi arnaz a charlie brown christmas | the christmas special was shown in color for the first time . the show starred lucille ball and real life husband desi arnaz . the ratings runner up was a charlie brown christmas, with 64m viewers |
by mark duell published: 13:16 est, 15 december 2013 | updated: 13:17 est, 15 december 2013 a couple have completed the adventure of a lifetime by travelling for 127 days across 16 countries in a classic car they bought for £500 on ebay clive, 54, and gillian raven, 53 who have been together for 33 years travelled 17,342 miles in a blue 1968 triumph 1300 after starting their trip from their home sheffield in june they visited france, germany, poland, czech republic, estonia, lithuania, latvia, russia, mongolia, china, laos, thailand, cambodia, malaysia and singapore arriving back home via india in october travelled 17,342 miles: clive, 54, and gillian raven, 53 who have been together for 33 years drove from sheffield to singapore in a blue 1968 triumph 1300, before returning to britain via india adventure: the couple's car is pictured next to the angor wat temple in cambodia (left) and in china (right) mr raven said: ‘we have been on plenty of package holidays we've been to australia and we've done thailand but we wanted to do something really different having a car gave us freedom ‘(it) allowed us to go off the beaten track if we didn't like a hotel we just moved on if we loved somewhere, we stayed put for a little longer we did what we wanted, when we wanted’ the couple staggered their journey by alternating driving duties, spending one day out of every four days on the road they spent their nights camping, or staying in budget motels mr raven, a self employed diesel plant fitter, bought the triumph for £500 on ebay and restored it himself in preparation for their adventure he said: ‘people thought we were mad they said we would never make it they kept asking me if we were worried about breaking down or getting injured ‘the way i saw it, i'd only bought the car for £500, so if it didn't survive the trip then i wouldn't lose a huge amount of money’ achievement: mr and mrs raven in cambodia they also went to france, germany, poland, czech republic, estonia, lithuania, latvia, russia, mongolia, china, laos, thailand, malaysia, singapore and india meeting the locals: children in china pose for a photograph with the blue 1968 triumph 1300 on its journey the wide variety of environments they travelled through brought particular challenges mr raven said: ‘in the gobi desert we had a bit of a problem with fuel evaporating because it was so hot ‘i had to do a few repairs on it along the way, but only small things, and i had some spares with me in case of emergencies local people warmed to us when we drove through their villages 'people thought we were mad they said we would never make it' clive raven ‘people saw the car and wanted to engage with us, coming over to shake our hands being in an old car, rather than a modern vehicle, we felt more connected with the world outside’ the pair saw the kremlin in moscow, viewed the terracotta army in xi'an and ate goats' cheese at the table of a hospitable mongolian family mr raven said: ‘in china we were required to stick to an agreed route and we were needed an official guide with us in the back seat the whole time ‘the forests of laos were stunning and the people were lovely they had very little but were happy the sun setting over the gobi desert is an experience i will never forget’ mr raven estimated the trip cost £10,000 at one point the couple encountered some stick wielding men, whom they took to be bandits, while travelling through india happy trip: mrs raven is pictured driving in mongolia despite being stuck in the car together for hours at a time, the couple say they did not argue once across the world: mr raven, a self employed diesel plant fitter, bought the triumph for £500 on ebay and restored it himself in preparation for their adventure his wife is pictured with the car in malaysia going global: the couple are planning on making a similar journey next year, and hope to raise money for charity on their next drive mr raven is pictured driving in laos mr raven said: ‘we started to drive at night in india, because we didn't have much time left and we wanted to see so much one night, we found ourselves travelling along a road which we were told was particularly dangerous ‘we were the only ones on the road suddenly, i saw a road block of piles of tyres in the way as we got nearer i saw it was manned by several men with sticks 'we took it in turns driving and reading the map and we just worked as a team people won't believe us but we didn't fight at all' gillian raven ‘i just put my foot down and drove straight through the men hit the car with their sticks, but i did not stop’ despite being stuck in the car together for hours at a time, the couple say they did not argue once ‘when you take on a big challenge you can't help but unite,’ said mrs raven ‘we took it in turns driving and reading the map and we just worked as a team people won't believe us but we didn't fight at all’ the couple are planning on making a similar journey next year, and hope to raise money for charity on their next drive mr raven said: ‘i am already missing it and i would love to go on a similar journey again i could go again tomorrow’ | clive 54 gillian raven 53 17,342 miles 1968 sheffield june october france germany poland czech republic estonia lithuania latvia russia mongolia china laos thailand cambodia singapore malaysia | clive, 54, and gillian raven, 53, travelled 17,342 miles in 1968 triumph 1300 . they started from home in sheffield in june and arrived back in october . visited france, germany, poland, czech republic, estonia and lithuania . also went to latvia, russia, mongolia, china, laos, thailand and cambodia . made it to singapore via malaysia and camped or stayed in budget motels |
by sue reid published: 10:50 est, 18 december 2013 | updated: 02:53 est, 19 december 2013 no wonder the prime minister looks aghast he is standing inside a squalid shed in the back garden of a suburban london house it has a concrete floor, a half built roof open to the wintry sky, and is strewn with dirty mattresses, battered suitcases and plastic bags yet yesterday it emerged that the shack, with one of its four walls missing and covered instead by a blue cotton sheet, is home to a number of indian immigrants living illegally in britain grim: the prime minister appears taken aback as he is confronted by the rubbish, piled up suitcases and grubby blankets of this wretched squat in an outbuilding in southall in total 14 people were living a three bedroom home and the shack built in the garden the inhabitants are just a few of the tens of thousands of new arrivals who pay shadowy landlords exorbitant rents to stay in so called ‘beds in sheds’ in back gardens across outer london and the home counties as the country struggles to accommodate the huge numbers of immigrants arriving here – both legally and illegally – this is often the sad and degrading fate that awaits them the scene of squalor, hidden away behind a house in an avenue in southall, west london, where property prices top £400,000, is all too common crackdown: some 10 officers raided the house at 5am yesterday, making three arrests with more expected quiet: the property used to house 14 illegal immigrants sits on this quiet residential street in southall, london (general view) a government crackdown on immigration is 'really spitting in the wind of the problem we face', a tory mp warned yesterday philip davis also predicted that new benefit restrictions would be found illegal in the european courts he added 'the only way to get control of our borders back, and control of our benefits system, is to leave the european union' but david cameron insisted that ministers had taken legal advice on limiting access to benefits to those who have been in the uk for three months 'there is a right to work in different countries of the european union but there shouldn't be a right to claim in different countries of the european union,' the pm said earlier this year, the local council – ealing – estimated that the inhabitants of bed sheds has pushed the area’s population up by 60,000 to nearly 400,000 it has meant schools struggle to cope with huge increases in pupils gp surgeries and health services are overwhelmed while rubbish collection and sanitation services reel under the extra burden i have seen the appalling conditions in which these newcomers live for myself earlier this year i visited neighbouring hounslow, a borough where there are 20,000 gardens with ramshackle sheds or outbuildings of all sizes, a lot of them rented out illegally to migrants, mainly from india as local councillor sheila o’reilly told me: ‘once, it was a rural scene around here now, many areas resemble shanty towns’ i was led by a council enforcement team to a cream painted house on a leafy road which looked perfectly respectable yet in the back garden was a jerry built shack thrown together with breeze blocks – and distinct signs of human habitation when i poked my head inside the door, the smell made my eyes water message: the prime minister said it was vital to send home people who don't have a right to be here the tiny, cramped outbuilding was home to eight indians illegally living in britain, including a young woman, who paid hundreds of pounds a month to a rogue landlord who owned a thriving grocery shop a few miles away at the time of my visit, hounslow had already inspected more than 2,000 bed sheds in its area – and was still counting when discovered, some are torn down because they break planning rules all too often though, red tape and lax laws mean that the landlord receives only a warning the council must also give home owners 24 hours’ notice of an inspection, which, of course, gives them ample time to clear out a back garden shack illegal: mr cameron said he wanted to see more raids being made of properties used to house people in the uk illegally in london suburbs and the home counties it is thought that tens of thousands bed sheds now exist, each housing up to ten people it is a huge secret population living under the radar 'we are dealing with the mess that we inherited from labour, when immigration was completely out of control' prime minister david cameron yesterday mr cameron was confronting the harsh reality of a decade or more of uncontrolled migration and the utter misery it can bring to everyone – including the migrants themselves mr cameron said it was vital to ‘send home people who don’t have a right to be here’, as he set out plans to prevent migrants claiming benefits for three months after arriving in britain he also said landlords would risk big fines if they fail to check the status of their tenants under the terms of a new immigration bill curbs: the visit came after the government announced it was rushing forward legislation to stop migrants claiming benefits for the first three months they are in britain briefing: mr cameron was told that the three bedroom house had been converted into 10 bedrooms and up to 14 people in the house ‘we are dealing with the mess that we inherited from labour, when immigration was completely out of control,’ the prime minister said ten officers raided the terraced house at 5am and made three arrests of indian nationals the government is scrambling to toughen its immigration message as britain is forced to remove restrictions on incomers from romania and bulgaria on january 1 ministers have set out a series of measures to limit migrant access to public services and benefits landlords will be fined up to £3,000 if they rent a property to an illegal immigrant but more than 70 tory mps are calling for mr cameron to go further and flout eu rules by extending the controls on romanian and bulgarian migrants until 2018 | cameron london 5am three months | cameron tours three bedroom london house where 14 immigrants lived . 10 officers raid property at 5am and make three arrests, more expected . pm reveals plans to stop migrants claiming benefits for three months |
by damien gayle published: 23:17 est, 9 september 2012 | updated: 04:14 est, 10 september 2012 the shocking alps massacre was dismissed as nothing more than a trivial news item by the french media despite the terrifying nature of the killings and the horrific discovery that a four year old girl had been left under her family's corpses in the car for eight hours the country's journalists paid little attention to the events for newspapers and news networks in france the execution style slayings of the al hilli family constitute what is known as a 'fait divers' a term used to describe a trivial news item not newsworthy? the bullet riddled bmw where the al hilli family were discovered news of the cold blooded multiple murders emerged well in time for newspaper deadlines on both sides of the channel, but only british papers carried it on their front pages on thursday centre right daily le figaro reported the story only on page eight, while leftwing paper liberation relegated the shocking story to page 14 even when one of the victims was on friday named as french local sylvain mollier, a father of three, only local papers and national tabloid aujord'hui put the story on the front page aeronautical engineer saad al hilli, his wife ikbal, 47, a dentist, and his mother in law suhaila al allaf, 74, were discovered dead at a remote beauty spot near the village of chevaline, by lake annecy, last wednesday ignored: no mention on le figaro's front page the day after the murder of saad al hilli, right, and his family each was shot twice in the head in a blaze of semi automatic gunfire thought to have lasted around 30 seconds also in the car were the couple's daughters zainab, seven, and zeena, four, who both survived the attack seriously injured zainab was just yesterday brought out of a medically induced coma and is recovering in hospital in grenoble after being shot in the shoulder and pistol whipped her younger sister, who hid for hours beneath the skirt of her dead mother, returned to the uk yesterday in the care of relatives aujourd'hui wrote in an article how the british press had been 'sarcastic' about the efforts and methods of local police, who took eight hours to realise zeena was alive and hiding in the car 'maybe some people saw martians i really don't know': eric maillaud, the prosecutor of annecy, seemed perplexed by the in depth questioning by fleet street reporters according to the guardian, the paper added that the distrust was not entirely misplaced since french police had been responsible for 'several legal or administrative fiascoes after the murder of british citizens on french soil' france's most watched news network bfm tv hailed the british press's 'race for information' which turned up the first photos of the dead man, his car and details of his family particularly perplexed by british journalists' insatiable appetite for detail was public prosecutor eric maillaud 'why is that important?' he replied more than once to forensic questioning at the ends of fleet street reporters at daily press conferences, the guardian reported 'maybe some people saw martians i really don't know,' he reportedly answered journalists badgering him about what witnesses may or may not have seen | uk al hillis' french british | only uk papers made the killings front page news the day after the al hillis' bullet riddled car was discovered . french tabloid aujourd'hui notes british journalists' sarcasm over local police blunders |
by leon watson published: 04:14 est, 13 june 2013 | updated: 04:59 est, 14 june 2013 from wonderful waterfalls to figures trudging through the snow this stunning collection of pictures show the beauty and ferocity of nature they were all finalists in the great outdoors photography competition, which was won with a shot of a camel herder entitled homebound by indian times photographer sudipto das, from west bengal it shows a camel seller leaving a fairground with unsold camels after the world's biggest camel fair is over at pushkar in rajasthan camel sellers from remote villages in rajasthan gather at the fairground yearly to trade camels which continues for seven day second prize went to brit mountain guide andy teasdale, from gwynedd, north west wales, for his picture of four skiers battling through the snow on gran paradiso in the italian alps winner: this picture by sudipto das, from west bengal, entitled homebound scooped the top award in the great outdoors photography competition the picture that came second overall was taken by andy teasdale, from gwynedd, and titled wild times on grand paradiso in the italian alps third prize went to model turned photographer paul reiffer, from dorset, for his shot of horse shoe bend in the grand canyon and third prize went to another brit, model turned photographer paul reiffer from dorset for his shot of horse shoe bend in page, arizona the competition was organised by the the society of nature and wildlife photographers, an association for photographers worldwide, based in wales spokesman phil jones said: 'the theme of this competition was the ‘great outdoors’ and photographers were encouraged to let their creative juices flourish 'images that depict this vibrant topic were welcome to be submitted, and could include landscapes, seascapes, panoramas, underwater or whatever your creativity captures in this all embracing photographic competition 'in the end we had 802 images submitted and they were judged by a panel at the society' shots that made the final from the uk include a plane coming in to land at city airport in london and a lighthouse at whitley bay on tyneside nature in all its beauty: wildlife photographer mark bridger's shot titled fallow love a plane coming into land in andy palmer's picture of london city airport at dusk csar armindo pereira torres moody: nik sargent, ely, took this snap of a remote church other finalist andreas ettl, from germany, captured a rainbow next to seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern iceland mr jones added: 'the competition produced a load of quality images 'we have been blown away by the variety and the fact that so many pictures came in from all over the planet 'as an organisation it shows there is so much talent around the world and we look forward to building on that in the future' here's another picture shortlisted by the society of nature and wildlife photographers of a surfer by ewa figaszewska sujan sarkar's wonderful picture of a remote lake was one of the finalists at the society of nature and wildlife photographers awards beautiful: british photographer howard gordon's shot of a lighthouse at whitley bay on tyneside andy teasdale's the spirit of adventure (left) shows six figures trudging through the snow and dawn black's cathedral rocks pictures a famous landmark on the sedona, arizona skyline awe inspiring: stairway to heaven by anton petrus marius van graan's other worldly picture entitled beaten by the sea shows a spectacular shoreline andreas ettl's earth on fire, taken in the stunning moonlike landscape of southern iceland finalist: philip bird's the sun strikes elephant rock taken at ayers rock in australia hungarian photographer aron suveg entered this mountain shot for the society of nature and wildlife photographers competition another picture by andy teasdale was featured in the list of finalists, this one called on the edge andreas ettl, from germany, captured a rainbow next to seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern iceland | annual great outdoors indian times sudipto das west bengal | among the finalists in annual great outdoors photography competition were these incredible shots . the winning snap taken by indian times photographer sudipto das, from west bengal |
by daily mail reporter published: 20:16 est, 26 december 2013 | updated: 20:16 est, 26 december 2013 having spent 40 years flitting between careers in law enforcement and journalism, senior cbs news correspondent john miller is re joining the nypd to once again work with friend and mentor bill bratton miller, who has worked at cbs since 2011, will return to the department in a high level counter terrorism role, he announced on wcbs on thursday afternoon miller who faced criticism for a recent 60 minutes report that many thought was too soft on the nsa served as the chief spokesperson for the nypd from 1994 1995 after twenty years as a local journalist in new york city he then moved to abc news for seven years before leaving to join the los angeles police department, followed by a stint as assistant director for public affairs at the fbi journalist john miller is leaving cbs after two years to work in a counter terrorism role at the nypd miller is seen here in october 2013 participating in the secrets of homeland panel at the sheraton tribeca club lounge in new york city miller will work underneath bratton, the nypd commissioner mayor elect bill de blasio will be sworn in on jan 1 and has already tapped bratton to once again lead the department ray kelly has served as police commissioner for the past 12 years under mayor michael bloomberg as both a law enforcement agent and reporter, miller has built a reputation as having an expertise in terrorism, even interviewing osama bin laden via video link in 1998 at the time the interview didn't 'create many waves', however it was replayed constantly in the wake of 9/11 in 2003 miller joined the lapd, working under bratton, who was chief at the time, as the head of the counterterrorism and criminal intelligence bureau he oversaw the lapd’s bomb squad, its major crimes division and its hazardous materials unit it was at the lapd where miller launched a system that helps to identify potential terrorist targets, according to cbs 'the message going out from al qaeda central is not ‘we need you to come here and train up in our camps and be deployed in our operations,’ he said on thursday, in discussing his new role breaking from news: john miller announces live on cbs new york he is rejoining the nypd 'the message going out is not from al qaeda as much as it’s al qaeda ism, which is do what you can do with the resources you have' miller said that while a terrorist attack similiar to september 11 is highly unlikely, al qaeda are now focusing on low cost, high impact attacks, such as the westgate shopping mall attack in kenya, which killed 72 people since joining cbs news in 2011, miller has covered major stories like the times square bomb plot, the boston marathon bombings and the newtown school shooting, for which cbs will be awarded the prestigious dupont columbia award for breaking news coverage | john miller cbs two years the new york police department miller the last 40 years nypd bill bratton | john miller is leaving his position as senior news correspondent at cbs after two years to return to the new york police department . miller has spent the last 40 years switching between journalism and law enforcement . he will work underneath friend, mentor and nypd commissioner bill bratton . the position is described as dealing with 'high level counter terrorism' |
by daily mail reporter published: 11:35 est, 27 december 2013 | updated: 15:31 est, 27 december 2013 ups sent out thousands of extra workers thursday in scramble to deliver packages that had failed to arrive in time for christmas as the no 1 us ground delivery service sought to stem the the growing fallout from the delays the company's facebook and twitter became sounding boards over the past week for likely thousands of livid customers whose holidays were ruined by delays caused by a surge in online shopping the company simply couldn't handle along with 2,600 extra employees, the company has been forced to stick some 900 managers behind delivery truck wheels in order to meet a friday deadline for the delivery of delayed packages it set for itself christmas day scroll down for video scramble: ups is scrambling to make up for its disastrous christmas delays by sending out 2,600 extra workers and putting 900 managers behind the wheels of delivery trucks nationwide ups said on wednesday that a confluence of factors from bad weather, a shorter shopping season and a surge in online shopping were to blame it stressed that only a small percentage of total packages were delayed the associated press spoke to people in alabama, california, georgia, kansas, louisiana, nevada, ohio, oklahoma, south carolina, texas and virginia who didn't receive presents in time for christmas the company refused thursday, along with its smaller rival fedex corp, to reveal how many packages had been delayed however, judging from the backlash, the impact of the delays were far reaching ups and downs: ups, the worlds largest parcel delivery service experienced overwhelming demand after a flurry of last minute only christmas purchases when ups posted a 'merry christmas' message on its facebook page on december 25, hundreds of furious customers replied with stories of how their holiday season would not be bright because ups failed to deliver in time 'ups ruined my christmas,' katherine mceachen of fairfield, connecticut, told nbc news ms mceachen said she sent her father a custom made coffee mug with 'i love you' and a photo of the moment she was able to overcome her lupus and help them cut down a christmas tree this year none of them arrived for christmas 'it's just a mug, but it was supposed to be so special and it's the only way i can say those words to him,' she said ups truck driver larry ledet posted this comment on a facebook page which drew angry responses from customers customers responded to the driver's remark that he had worked a 60 hour week trying to get all the packages delivered jill amaya, of houston, texas, shipped her entire family's christmas presents to her sister's home in dallas week ago they still had not arrived by christmas eve 'i ordered my three year old grandson's entire christmas on december 11 i received notice that it had been shipped december 13 the updated delivery date is dec 27 'a little late for a 3 year olds christmas by the way, my 3 year old grandson was adopted out of a horrible situation in july and this is his first christmas,' fumed robbie escalon of amarillo, texas widespread: both ups and its smaller rival fedex experienced delays over the holiday while both companies refuse to reveal the exact number of delayed packages, the problem appears to have been far more widespread with ups amazon spokeswoman mary osako said in an email that orders were sent to delivery companies on time for holiday shipping and that the company was 'reviewing the performance of the delivery carriers' osako said shipping charges for late packages would be refunded and affected shoppers would receive $20 gift cards, though she did not provide a number of how many shipments were delayed ups says there was simply too much demand and the company couldn't keep up with the last minute shipments as 'the volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network,' according to a statement 'we're terribly sorry,' ups spokeswoman natalie black told cnn 'a small percentage of shipments are delayed and will not be delivered today,' another spokesperson told usa today dissatisfied customers had been piping up for days, but their complaints became a chorus as hope they'd receive their packages in time for the holiday faded christmas eve however, workers behind the scenes continued working over the holiday to ensure packages would be ready to go out thursday 'there will be an afternoon sort today,' ms black said 'workers will be processing packages so that tomorrow, bright and early, our drivers can clear out the remaining excess air volume 'we expect that air volume to be delivered between tomorrow and friday' while ups stopped making delivery date guarantees for ground packages on december 11, senders of next day air packages were told their shipments would arrive by christmas eve as late as monday | facebook twitter amazon ups | families nationwide were disappointed christmas morning after presents failed to reach doorsteps . the ginned up delivery comes after torrents of social media attacks swamped the ups facebook and twitter . amazon was hit, too, as retail giant was reportedly forced to offer gift cards to irate customers . on wednesday, ups assured an angry public that undelivered gifts will all be delivered by friday |
by lizzie edmonds published: 09:42 est, 23 december 2013 | updated: 11:45 est, 23 december 2013 this is the heartwarming moment a little girl gives her brave father a hero's welcome after he completed a 'crazy' 200 mile south pole adventure he was part of a group of injured british service personnel who took part in the walking with the wounded charity expedition across antarctica which was also attended by prince harry they arrived at heathrow this morning after catching a flight from cape town, south africa to spend christmas at home scroll down for video daddy's home: serviceman duncan slater is greeted by wife kim and daughter lilly this morning having completed the walking with the wounded trek reunited! mr slater embraces his daughter having completed the arduous 200 mile trek, led by prince harry prince harry joined the uk team to race against two others from the commonwealth and the us to complete the arduous trek but the groups faced such extreme weather conditions during their 200 mile odyssey that organisers had to call off the competitive element of the adventure working as one unit, the three squads made it to their antarctic goal together on friday december 13 in total, 12 injured servicemen and women who have overcome life changing injuries took part amputee major kate philp, 35, from worcestershire, lost her leg below the knee while serving in afghanistan in november 2008 hero: team uk member ali ibrar cuddles his daughter zara at heathrow this morning back together: the serviceman and his daughter take a walk through the terminal this morning the only female member of team uk hailed harry, who returned to britain separately, for being 'fantastic from beginning to end 'especially considering he hadn’t had as many training opportunities because he is so busy, he was a really strong, fit individual 'personally speaking, there were a couple of days where i was struggling and he was there every time, at rest breaks, helping me out, buoying me up and pulling me on 'he was exactly what you would expect from a military man no airs or graces, he just mucked in with everyone else' penguin huddle: ed parker and daughter olivia the three teams from the uk, us and commonwealth worked together to reach the pole on december 13 prince hairy: harry, sporting a full beard, and fellow walking with the wounded trekkers during a tour of nsf's amundsen scott pole station sergeant duncan slater, 34, became the first double amputee to reach the south pole during the trip he lost both his legs after the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by an ied in the babaji area of afghanistan in july 2009 the team uk member, originally from muir of ord, near inverness, said: 'it was pretty crazy you couldn’t have written it 'it was a big disappointment when the race was called off but some of the guys were really struggling, some had frostbite, so i can see why they did it' home turf: members of team uk come through arrivals at the london airport this morning adverse: the team had to battle winds of up to 50mph, dragging their belongings on 154lbs sleds holding his young daughter, lilly, he added: 'i’m just happy to be home to this little one' ed parker, co founder of walking with the wounded and expedition director, said: 'it was far harder than we were expecting 'we were expecting flat snow from south of 87 degrees to the pole but actually there’s been bad storms through the winter over there, so it was very broken up 'we also had a couple of days which were much colder than we were expecting flying home for christmas: team uk, pictured, praised prince harry for his involvement in the trek 'psychologically it’s hard, there’s nothing to see, it’s very, very flat, so your brain has nothing to focus on' asked what the wounded soldiers gained from the experience, he said: “i think for them it proves they can do just about anything' the team tackled a challenging training programme beforehand to prepare themselves for the conditions in antarctica decorated member of the yorkshire regiment ibrar ali took part to honour the memory of comrades who were killed in 2012, and especially two who died in iraq while he took part in the selection for the south pole challenge the 36 year old captain, from york, who lost his right arm during a roadside bomb explosion in 2007, said: 'it was quite poignant when those two fellows were killed while i was on selection for this event snap happy: serviceman duncan slater from norfolk takes a picture with his daughter waiting: a group of the team's children wait for their families to return home this morning 'having served in the yorkshire regiment for just over 10 years, our losses have been quite high, as it has through every unit in the armed forces and i really wanted to honour all of them but especially those two guys' aiming to trek around nine to 12 miles a day, the teams endured temperatures as low as minus 45c and 50mph winds as they pulled their 154lb sleds, known as pulks, towards the southernmost point on the globe harry had previously taken part in some of a walking with the wounded expedition to the north pole in 2011 | walking with the wounded prince harry today group us commonwealth this morning south pole december 13 | injured servicemen home from walking with the wounded expedition . team leader prince harry, a patron of the trek, also returned home today . group joined two others from us and commonwealth to complete adventure . arrived home this morning having reached south pole on december 13 |
by alex ward and steve nolan published: 10:01 est, 27 february 2013 | updated: 11:26 est, 28 february 2013 tragic: police have confirmed that they have found a body in the search for missing mother of three karen simpson who went missing on sunday police searching for a missing mother of three who vanished while suffering post natal depression have found a body karen simpson, 31, disappeared from her home in the village of burscough, near ormskirk, lancashire, on sunday morning when she went to a local tesco store leaving her three month old girl with relatives and never returned she had told family members that she needed to 'clear her head' more than 170 people had been involved in a search of the area including 70 police officers plus mountain rescue teams, police divers, the force helicopter and volunteers but lancashire police have confirmed that they found a body, believed to be that of mrs simpson, in a field in her home village this morning a police spokesman said: 'karen’s family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers' the force said the death was not being treated as suspicious at this stage a post mortem examination will be carried out to establish how she died mrs simpson was married to husband philip and had two young sons as well as her three month old daughter she was seen leaving the tesco store in the village at about 11am but did not return to her nearby home as expected in a statement today, lancashire police said: 'very sadly, at around 1030am this morning, the body of a woman was found in a field off marsh moss lane in burscough 'the body is believed to be that of missing 31 year old karen simpson who had not been seen since the weekend 'a post mortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death but at this stage there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances desperate hunt: those involved in the search for mrs simpson had put up posters appealing for information as to her whereabouts grim discovery: police found a body at around 1030am this morning in a field close to where mrs simpson was last seen 'we would like to thank all the community for their overwhelming support and assistance during the searches for karen' yesterday, her sister, clair dobrec, said mrs simpson had been receiving support for post natal depression as the family made an emotional appeal for the young mother to return home she had said: 'this is one of the reasons we are so concerned for her 'i want to say to directly to karen: if you see or hear this appeal, we know you haven’t been feeling well and we want you to know that we are all here to support you' karen's other sister paula caunce had added: ‘the hardest thing at the moment is not knowing what has happened 'just want to know you are safe': mrs simpson's family (pictured with her husband philip and her two sons) have appealed for her to come home police hunt: more than 170 people were involved in the search including 70 police officers plus mountain rescue teams, police divers (pictured searching the canal near where mrs simspon went missing), the force helicopter and volunteers treatment: mrs simpson, who also had two young sons and was married, suffered from post natal depression following the birth of her daughter last year for which she had been receiving treatment ‘i was with her the day before she was a bit quiet but otherwise ok she was supposed to come to mine the next day but never got the chance we all just want her home safe’ a facebook page set up appealing for mrs simpson to come home had attracted more than 7,000 followers as hundreds of volunteers rallied together to search footpaths, fields and gardens around the area where she was last seen karrin burrows, one of mrs simpson's close friends who had known her since high school, had described her as an 'amazing person' she added: 'karen is the life and soul of anything, she lights up a room worry: sister paula caunce (pictured left with mrs simpson) said the hardest part had been not knowing what had happened to her sister appeal: mrs simpson's other sister claire dobrec, who flew from western australia to help with the search, (pictured with brother in law andrew simpson) said mrs simpson was receiving help for post natal depression ‘she is always there for everybody and loves her children they are her whole world ‘there is not a bad bone in her body she's friends with everybody and you can see that by the turnout for the search today' friends of mrs simpson paid tribute to her today on the facebook group set up in a bid to try and find her a message posted this afternoon said: 'sadly heaven has got a new angel today, thankyou to everyone who has helped with searches, food leaflets etc 'all we ask is for you now to give the family some privacy rip our dear karen, sleep well angel xx' carolyn harvey posted: 'such sad news rip karen 'i didn't know you well but on the few occasions i did meet you you were always so lovely 'my thoughts are with the family at this incredibly sad time xxx' jackie white added: 'she will be the most beautiful angel ever 'sweet dreams karen you were a wonderful person and will be sadly missed x x x' hunt hq: police vans outside the british legion club in burscough which had become the base of operations for the police search in which officers were 'using every resource' | forgiving nontheistically damp | no related information |
by alex ward published: 12:09 est, 4 march 2013 | updated: 13:32 est, 4 march 2013 you would expect tadpoles to be timid when they are starting out life in a pond, but this lot found strength in numbers as thousands swarmed around an underwater photographer the tiny, bold amphibians were captured in these beautiful shots as the photographer tried to take photographs of lilies and plants underwater eiko jones was stunned when he was suddenly swimming among thousands of tadpoles in the cedar lake near the campbell river in canada tadpole time: thousands of tadpoles swarmed around photographer eiko jones as he tried to take pictures of lilies and plants underwater the 41 year old was pleasantly surprised when he saw the swimmers while he waited patiently in the water he said: ‘i was in the water for three hours and i was lucky that they swam right by me and all around me ‘i was there taking pictures of the lilies and other water plants when all of a sudden there was this huge 'cloud' coming towards me i didn't even know what it was at first a whole new underwater world: mr jones was stunned when he was suddenly swimming among thousands of tadpoles in the cedar lake near campbell river in canada swimming with the babies: mr jones described it as a huge 'cloud' of tadpoles as they swam around him for about ten minutes ‘they were moving very quickly, but there were thousands of them around me for ten minutes, which was great’ the underwater photographer spends two days a week taking pictures he said: ‘i couldn't believe it when a huge cloud of tadpoles swam past in a huge long trail while they were searching for feeding areas at the edge of the lake ‘at first i didn't know what i was seeing and then when i realised it was tadpoles schooling i knew i was seeing a fairly rare sight i have never seen or heard of tadpoles schooling a school of swimmers: tadpoles are the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, mainly toads and frogs, and are usually totally aquatic bound ‘it's a very unique view of a tadpole's world that very few people would ever get to see’ cedar lake is a 6500 acre wilderness lake that is 16 miles long and has varying depths of a few feet up to 60 feet it also has 62 miles of shoreline tadpoles are the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, mainly toads and frogs, and are usually totally aquatic bound at first they do not have arms or legs but as they grow into adulthood they develop limbs and lungs most are herbivores, eating algae and plants beneath the deep: cedar lake is a 6500 acre wilderness lake that is 16 miles long and has varying depths of a few feet up to 60 feet it also has 62 miles of shoreline | cedar lake campbell river canada photographer eiko jones | the tadpoles were swimming in cedar lake near campbell river in canada . photographer eiko jones was photographing lilies and plants underwater when he was surrounded |
by alex ward published: 14:43 est, 26 february 2013 | updated: 03:30 est, 27 february 2013 never came home: a major police search has been launched to find missing mother karen simpson who vanished after going out to buy nappies for her baby a young mother suffering from post natal depression has sparked a major police hunt after she vanished while going out to buy nappies for her baby daughter karen simpson, 31, had gone to her local tesco store at 11am on sunday leaving her three month old girl with relatives but never returned home today a massive search operation was underway in her home village of burscough, near ormskirk, lancashire into the disappearance of the mother of three who told loved ones she wanted to ‘clear her head’ mrs simpson who also has two young boys and is married to husband philip suffered from post natal depression following the birth of her daughter in november last year and police say they are ‘very concerned’ for her welfare more than 170 people are involved in the search including 70 police officers plus mountain rescue teams, police divers, the force helicopter and volunteers in a statement mrs simpson's sister clair dobrec, who has flown in from her home in western australia to help with the search, said: ‘we are devastated by karen's disappearance which is very out of character ‘she has now been missing for over 48 hours and the whole family are extremely concerned for her welfare ‘she is the mother of the children, the youngest is only three months old karen has been suffering from post natal depression, for which she was receiving help, and as such we are very concerned for her welfare ‘karen, we know you haven't been feeling well and we want you to know that we're all here to support you we are so worried about you, we are all missing you especially the children 'just want to know you are safe': mrs simpson's family (pictured with her husband philip and her two sons) have appealed for her to come home police hunt: more than 170 people are involved in the search including 70 police officers plus mountain rescue teams, police divers (pictured searching the canal near where mrs simspon went missing), the force helicopter and volunteers ‘we just want you to know you are safe the police and members of the public have been searching for karen and we are overwhelmed by the community support ‘if anyone has seen her or know where she might be, please can you contact the police’ karen's other sister paula caunce said: ‘the hardest thing at the moment is not knowing what has happened ‘i was with her the day before she was a bit quiet but otherwise ok she was supposed to come to mine the next day but never got the chance we all just want her home safe’ missing mother: mrs simpson, who also has two young sons and is married, suffered from post natal depression following the birth of her daughter last year and police are 'very concerned' for her welfare a facebook page set up appealing for mrs simpson to come home has attracted over 2,000 followers as hundreds of volunteers rallied together to search footpaths, fields and gardens around the area where she was last seen karrin burrows, one of mrs simpson's close friends who has known her since high school, said: ‘she has never gone missing before it came as a real shock she is an amazing person karen is the life and soul of anything, she lights up a room ‘she is always there for everybody and loves her children they are her whole world ‘there is not a bad bone in her body she's friends with everybody and you can see that by the turnout for the search today want her home safe: sister paula caunce (pictured left with mrs simpson) said the hardest part was not knowing what has happened to her sister mrs simpson's other sister claire dobrec, who flew from western australia to help with the search, (pictured with brother in law andrew simpson) said mrs simpson was receiving help for post natal depression ‘everyone is worried sick she was going to get nappies for the baby and clear her head we believe she bought the nappies but not 100 per cent sure’ online search: a facebook page set up appealing for mrs simpson's safe return has attracted over 2,000 followers det ch insp andrea barrow of lancashire police said: ‘we're very concerned for karen simpson's welfare she was last seen by her family at 1015 on sunday morning she left home address to go to tesco in burscough ‘the last confirmed sighting of karen is at 1042am leaving tesco and she turned towards liverpool road area ‘we have an unconfirmed sighting of her at red cat lane, at its junction at liverpool road’ insp barrow said police and members of the public have been searching the area she said: ‘over 170 people are actively engaged in research and investigation detectives, dogs, officers, mountain rescue and british transport police are involved we're using every resource ‘this is very much out of character for karen she left the address and she is not made any contact with her family since ‘we do know that she was being treated for post natal depression after the birth of her third child three months ago ‘it's a really difficult time for the family she's got three young children, the family are devastated and really want all members of the public to help ‘she had gone to tesco to get some supplies and to clear her head but the family said there was no indication at the time that there was anything wrong’ mrs simpson is around 5ft6in, of slim build and was wearing a dark green jacket, blue jeans, maroon grey scarf and black boots when she vanished she has dark brown hair which is dyed red at the ends anyone with information should call police on 101 hunt hq: police vans outside the british legion club in burscough has become the base of operations for the police search in which officers are 'using every resource' | karen simpson 31 tesco sunday morning | karen simpson, 31, went to a tesco store on sunday morning . she never returned home after telling family she wanted to 'clear her head'. more than 170 people are involved in search and police are 'very concerned'. the mother of three suffered post natal depression and was receiving help |
by sarah griffiths published: 12:08 est, 29 october 2013 | updated: 13:59 est, 29 october 2013 this might just be the most elaborate way to open a bottle of beer pilots in china have used helicopters to open beer bottles mounted on poles, as part of a competition to showcase their control over the aircraft the challenge demanded that they took the top off a bottle of beer fixed to a pole, without damaging it, using a bottle opener attached the the helicopter's skid scroll down for video in the last event of the china helicopter tournament, pilots hovered close to beer bottle mounted on poles in a bid to open them using a bottle opener fixed to the helicopter's skid for the last event of the three day china helicopter tournament, pilots had eight minutes to open a sequence of five beer bottles in a row, wwmt reported the task required the pilots to hover smoothly near to the ground and move the helicopter by the tiniest of movements to open the bottles a total of 40 points was awarded for each of the bottles that were opened and undamaged the task required the pilots to hover smoothly near to the ground and move the helicopter by the tiniest of movements to open the bottles (pictured) pilot and competitor wang xuefei said: 'the game mainly tests pilot’s manipulation of the helicopter 'we have to let the bottle opener get close to the beer bottle as much as possible,' thv11 reported unfortunately the pilot in the video failed in his pursuit of winning this year's title as it was decided that the bottle he opened was too badly damaged to qualify for any points it appears that he took the glass rim off the bottle as well as the metal cap however, the winner, zhang zhiqiang managed to open three of the five bottles in the required time and standard to scoop a total of 120 points, according to jaunted pilots entering the competition try to open a sequence of five bottles using their helicopters within eight minutes 40 points are awarded for each bottle opened but the pilot in the video missed out on his points as judges decided the bottle (pictured) was too badly damaged the winner of the competition, zhang zhiqiang managed to open three of the five bottles in the required time to score 120 points here, an official takes an opened bottle down from its mount | theophagite flitter freeport | no related information |
by ellie buchdahl published: 04:30 est, 15 august 2013 | updated: 06:13 est, 15 august 2013 a teenage girl's ashes were tossed into the street by thieves after they found them in her mother's truck the ashes of emma ransom had been kept in a velvet pouch by her mother since the 19 year old's death in 2009 culprits apparently tipped the ashes out of the pouch onto the pavement when they found them in a truck during a series of vehicle break ins in calgary, canada, on august 2 precious: emma ransom, 19, was killed in a car crash in 2009 since then her mother had kept her ashes close to her in a velvet bag a green jacket that belonged to emma was also taken emma was killed along with two other women when the car they were driving in 2009 near nanton, alberta, slammed into an oncoming car ransom was barely able to hold back tears yesterday as she discussed losing her daughter for a second time 'the first thing i looked for were my daughter's ashes, and they were gone,' she said 'the policeman found the little pouch in the middle of the road and it was empty, so we went down to the corner and found the pile of ashes there grief: colleen ransom tried to salvage as many of her daughter's ashes as she could from the rain soaked street robbed: thieves found the bag containing the ashes in mrs ransom's truck spree: several other vehicles were stolen from the area of calgary on the same day 'it had been raining, they were wet and we couldn't scoop them 'we got a few anyways' ransom, who tightly clasped a large picture of her smiling daughter, said she always kept her close by 'anybody who has lost someone knows how precious it can be they were the only things i have left of my daughter and i like her to come with me wherever i go,' she said 'i thought, who would do that? who would take the ashes and dump them? and then i realised they probably didn't know they were my daughter's ashes' the few remaining ashes are now safely in her home ransom said in future she plans to take her daughter's ashes with her, but will keep them in her purse ransom said the pain of the loss of her daughter hasn't eased over the past four years 'it never goes away she's always there i wake up … i think about her i think about her constantly' mourning: colleen ransom held her daughter's picture and the ashes she had retrieved as she spoke to the public plea: police and emma's mother are still looking for a green jacket, which was also stolen with the truck calgary police are looking for three teenage girls who were spotted in the neighbourhood all three were very petite and one of them might be named sarah, police said one was blond, one had brown hair and the third had black hair 'it's hard for me to even imagine suffering the loss of a daughter and, of course, to have this happen again,' said acting staff sergeant lee stanton 'and now, unfortunately, our victim has been victimized once again, so we're looking for the public's help to find those responsible for that' anyone with information is asked to call crime stoppers at 1 800 222 8477 | bondieuserie chondrosarcomatous scared | no related information |
by alex ward published: 12:00 est, 28 october 2013 | updated: 04:36 est, 29 october 2013 a baby girl found naked, lying in her own excrement, and close to death in a car boot may have been hidden there since her birth almost two years ago, a court in france has heard the baby's portuguese parents face up to ten years in jail for the alleged neglect of the child, who was only found in the car when the mother took the vehicle to a garage in terrason, central france the unemployed couple live in brignac la plaine in the correze department in france the baby, thought to be aged between 15 and 23 months, was found by mechanics when they heard 'strange noises that sounded like moans' coming from the woman's car boot neglect charges: the parents of a baby girl found close to death in the boot of her mother's car in france are escorted to court, where prosecutors told how car mechanics made the gruesome discovery prosecutor jean pierre laffite said yesterday that it 'defied imagination' that the baby was forced to live in the car boot undetected after the 45 year old mother woman kept the baby's existence a secret, even from her husband mr laffite said the baby’s condition had stabilised but that she was ‘seriously retarded’ garage workers were only made aware of the little girl when they heard noises coming from the boot of the mother’s peugeot 307, according to the telegraph insisting on opening the boot despite the woman's protests they were horrified with what they found guillaume iguacel, one of the mechanics who made the horrible discovery, said: ‘i’m still having trouble sleeping 'it was a horrifying sight, seeing this little girl in her own excrement, not able to hold up her head, white as a sheet’ mechanic's shock: the baby found in her own excrement in the foul smelling boot after mechanics heard 'strange noises that sounded like moans' is thought to have been hidden there from birth the portuguese couple faces charges relating to depriving the child of care and food, inflicting habitual voluntary violence on a child under 15 years old, and concealing a child's existence prosecutors said last night that the woman’s claim that the baby’s father, a 40 year old unemployed builder, was unaware of the baby’s existence was ‘one of several points being checked out by investigators’ the couple were released under strict bail conditions and their names have not been released to protect the identity of their three other children, a girl aged four and two boys, nine and ten the children are currently being cared for by correze social workers the couple are prohibited from entering their house pending further investigations by police hid baby's existence: neighbours of the baby's parents, from french village birgnac la plaine (pictured), were shocked to learn the shocking news, one saying 'there was never any trace of a baby' firemen who spoke to la montagne newspaper said that the baby's life ‘was at stake within a time frame of 15 minutes’ when she was discovered a juvenile judge will make a ruling in the next few days on the future of the couple’s four children and whether the two eldest, the boys, can be returned to their parents neighbours of the couple were incredulous at news of the discovery one villager said: ‘they are people like any others and not dirty ‘i went to their house several times and there was never any trace of a baby 'i’m still having trouble sleeping it was a horrifying sight, seeing this little girl in her own excrement, not able to hold up her head, white as a sheet' guillaume iguacel, mechanic who found the baby girl ‘we never noticed that she was pregnant’ another neighbour, pascale, told le parisien: ‘we had the impression that this woman lived in her car she never left it ‘i recall seeing her several times a week with her car parked in a little lot about 200 metres from her house but we couldn’t see what she was doing in the boot ‘we never heard a single cry, never saw a bottle or a pushchair’ the couple’s three other children had attended the local school and appeared normal according to sud ouest newspaper, it was said that the mother had given birth to the baby in a corridor at the couple’s house aided by a neighbour the man was allegedly drunk when he was arrested on friday night and could only be questioned on saturday after spending a night in a cell to sober up sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons | portuguese french between 15 and 23 months | portuguese couple in french court on neglect charges . baby, believed to be aged between 15 and 23 months, was found in the car by mechanics in french garage doing repairs . mother kept the child a secret even from her husband since it was claimed . prosecutor said girl's condition was stabilised but 'serious'. parents have three other children who are in the care of social workers |
by snejana farberov and associated press published: 17:09 est, 14 august 2013 | updated: 06:24 est, 15 august 2013 the home of erica lynn parsons' adoptive parents in salisbury, north carolina is being searched today as the fbi join the hunt to find the 15 year old who went missing two years ago her parents sandy and casey parsons said that she went to live with her biological grandmother in asheville two years ago, but authorities say that isn't true erica was officially reported missing july 30 by her 19 year old adoptive brother she was last seen in november 2011, then 13 years old the search is on: authorities are searching the home of erica lynn parsons' adoptive parents after she was just reported missing july 30 she was last seen in november 2011 where is she? erica was reported missing by her older brother nearly two years after she disappeared from her salisbury, north carolina home last sighting: erica has been missing since november 19, 2011, when she left her adoptive parents' home on miller chapel road in salisbury rowan county sheriff's office spokesman john sifford confirmed the search, but said it was standard with such a case he said people shouldn't read too much into it without a trace: erica lynn parsons, 15, was reported missing by her 19 year old brother july 30 after she was last seen in salisbury, north carolina, in november 2011 the couple has hired an attorney they spoke with reporters last week, saying they wanted to give their side of the story an attorney hired by erica's adoptive parents, casey and sandy parsons, claimed that his clients were under the impression that the 15 year old went to live with her biological grandmother and wanted to be left alone, the charlotte observer reported the lawyer, carlyle sherrill, said that two years ago, a person claiming to be a relative or friend of erica's birth parents came by parsons' home on miller chapel road to pick her up and take her to her family the adoptive parents said they did not raise an alarm at the time because erica visited that person in asheville on several occasions according to sherrill, in february 2012, erica called the parsonses and informed them in no uncertain terms that she was not coming back because she did not want to live with them anymore, asheville citizen times reported ‘they looked at it as being a rebellious teenager that was an attitude they took,’ sherrill said ‘i don't know that at any time it dawned on them she was a missing person’ according to police investigating the case, when they questioned casey and sandy parsons over a two day period last week, the parents lied to them and were uncooperative 'rebellious teen:' erica, who was adopted by the parsons family when she was 2 weeks old, allegedly informed them by phone that she does not want to return home and plans to stay with her birth parents' relatives their attorney, however, insists that his clients did not purposefully fabricate anything, but were rather relaying information that they believed to be true sherrill added that her clients stopped answering questions when detectives began insinuating that that the parsonses may have played a role in their adopted daughters' disappearance on friday, erica's adoptive aunt and grandmother were interviewed by investigators meanwhile, the parsonses spoke to local reporters, saying that they believed the 15 year old was ok, but afraid to contact them due to all the media attention 1998: erica lynn parsons, age 2 weeks, is taken in by casey and sandy parsons, who have three children of their own she is the biological child of sandy parsons’ brother’s wife 2000: the parsonses officially adopt erica in cabarrus county 1999 2011: the couple have two more children, brooke and toby february 2010: william james parsons, 16, the couple’s biological son, is arrested for biting his younger brother august 2011: james parsons is charged with two counts of assault, animal cruelty and assault on a minor charges are dismissed when casey parsons does not appear in court nov 19, 2011: the parsonses take erica to a mcdonald’s in mooresville to catch a ride to the asheville home of her biological grandmother, irene 'nan' goodman december 2011: the parsonses say on her third visit to asheville, erica calls home and says she doesn’t want to live with them anymore 2012: casey parsons files a missing persons report for her daughter, brooke july 30, 2013: after his parents kick him out, james parsons contacts the rowan county sheriff’s office and reports that erica has been missing for two years august 2013: after undergoing two days of questioning by investigators, the parsonses hire attorney carlyle sherrill aug 5, 2013: the rowan sheriff’s office issues a missing/endangered persons alert for erica aug 9, 2013: the parsonses have agreed to appear on the dr phil show source: salisbury post casey and sandy parsons told the press that despite accusations from police, they have done nothing wrong ‘[police said] we had killed erica and buried her in our backyard,’ casey parsons said ‘we told them 'go do what you want to the house look go dig the yard up erica is not in this yard erica is fine'' according to the couple, they believed that their adopted daughter has been living with her biological grandmother, irene goodman, since december 2011, when the girl traveled to asheville to visit her for christmas however, police and erica's birth mother, carolyn parsons, said that the teen's paternal grandmother has died despite casey and sandy parsons' protestations that they have never hurt erica, the department of social services has removed their two other children from their home and launched an investigation of its own according to dss documents obtained by channel 9, at least one person had been concerned that erica was being abused as a child the report stated that when erica was 4 years old, she was observed with ‘four marks on her rear end, a long one down the back of her leg and a couple on the side of her face' according to a woman involved in the case, the little girl was perpetually punished by her adoptive parents the person who raised the alarm about erica's treatment told dss at the time that casey parsons even carried ‘a belt’ and used it to whip the girl however, a dss investigation into the allegations of abuse has yielded no evidence according to a report summing up the investigation, ‘no signs of cuts, contusions, or scratches’ have been found, and erica showed ‘no signs of fear with either of the parents going up and sitting on each of their laps without being asked’ the person who reported the abuse, however, insisted that erica was very submissive and would do whatever she was told out of fear of being punished the parsonses' lawyer told abcnewscom that around november 2011, case and sandy parsons got a call from erica's birth mother, who said she wanted her daughter to come stay with her and another relative in the asheville area for a while erica has been missing since november 19, 2011 on july 30, nearly two years later, her older brother, james parsons, reported her missing he told authorities that when he asked about his sister previously, his parents said she had left and moved in with other relatives, the salisbury post said claims of innocence: casey and sandy parsons gave an interview to local media in which they insisted that they have done nothing to harm erica, and that they believed she has been living with her grandmother the 19 year old said he fears that something may have happened to erica and his parents are not telling him according to sherrill, james parsons called police after being forced to move out of his parents’ house as punishment for assaulting his mother with a baseball bat in june casey and sandy parsons described their son as an emotionally disturbed young man who is bi polar, suicidal and at times violent in february 2010, james was charged with assaulting his then 3 year old brother, toby, by biting the toddler on the arm that summer, james was charged with assaulting his mother, who had just undergone surgery, his sister and brother, and also choking the sister’s dog according to the arrest warrant, the teen pulled his mother’s gastrointestinal bag tube, causing it to bleed, and kicking the woman while she was on the floor james also allegedly threated his baby bother with a knife and grabbed his sister, brooke, by the throat the charges against james parsons were later dropped because his mother failed to appear on court vendetta: the parents accused their son, james, of filing the missing persons report just to get back at them for forcing him out of the house after he had attacked his mother worst fears: the girl's adoptive grandparents, janet and steven parsons, are afraid that something happened to erica, and their son, erica's father, and his wife are not telling them the truth ‘he always told me he was going to get me i never thought he’d do this,’ casey parsons said, implying that her son filed the missing person’s report to get back at her last year, authorities said casey parsons reported her daughter brooke missing, but the child was later found and returned home when the parsonses, who adopted the girl when she was just 2 weeks old, tried to contact erica's family in asheville, they could not be found the parents have agreed to speak out about their adopted daughter on the dr phil talk show, hoping it will help investigators find erica relatives told channel 9 the girl has had a life filled with pain and fear according to one family member, erica could not speak to or look at anyone because she was always being punished and abused erica parsons is described as 4 feet 5 and weighing between 85 and 90lbs she has brown hair and brown eyes and appears small for her age | erica lynn parsons salisbury north carolina casey sandy parsons' erica rowan county sheriff's office phil | erica lynn parsons, 15, last seen november 19, 2011, leaving adoptive parents' home in salisbury, north carolina . casey and sandy parsons' lawyer claims erica called in february 2012 to say she wants to stay with her birth grandmother . rowan county sheriff's office spokesman said the search is routine . adoptive parents will go on dr phil talk show to discuss case . social services investigated allegations of abuse when erica was 4 years old |
by sarah griffiths published: 09:58 est, 13 august 2013 | updated: 03:24 est, 14 august 2013 scientists surveying the sea floor's gas deposits got a surprise when they spotted a crab snacking on frozen bubbles of methane streaming from a vent, which it mistook for food they spotted the hungry arthropod while exploring methane gas deposits off the coast of vancouver island, british columbia the deep sea crab scavenges for its meals by tracking vibrations created by movement and sound and was consequently attracted to the stream of bubbles scroll down for video scientists surveying the sea floor's gas deposits got a surprise when they spotted a crab snacking on frozen bubbles of methane, which collected round its mouth to form a moustache the icy bubbles might have seemed like a suitable snack to the crab, but froze onto its claws and mouth, creating an amusing moustache scientists from the monterey bay aquarium research institute (mbari) caught the crab snacking and filmed the arthropod from a remotely operated vehicle offshore of canada the underwater site situated just off vancouver island has naturally occurring methane vents where gas bubbles emerge from the sea floor, peter walz, an mbari research technician told becky oskin at live science 'it was pretty obvious that the crab was intent on going to the gas vent, but we had no idea what he was going to do or why 'the crab was doing his own investigation of what we were investigating,' he said the creature used its claws to 'catch' bubbles of gas and push them into its mouth its moustache formed because of the cold temperature of the bubbles and high pressure of the methane on the seas floor when the gas escapes around 1,260 metres below sea level, the bubbles have a frozen skin methane hydrate with the gas trapped inside the icy layer according to mr walz, the skin of the bubbles formed a layer on the crab's claws as when the crab moved them in the stream of bubbles, the gas turned to methane hydrate and stuck to the creature, which also transferred the substance to its mouth he told live science: 'the hydrate forms more readily with increased agitation or shaking, such as the movements of the crab' the hungry creature used its claws to 'catch' bubbles of gas and push them into its mouth its moustache formed because the cold temperature of the bubbles and high pressure of the methane on the seas floor the animal eventually scraped off the methane hydrate and scuttled away, leaving the distracted scientists to study the bullseye vent, which they had come to do in the first place as well as studying the strange behaviour of the crab, they found large pockets of the gas can change the shape of the seafloor peter brewer, senior scientist at mbari, said the video illustrates the unusual property of hydrocarbon gas behaviour under the extreme pressure and cold temperatures the scientists believe it also serves as an example of how organisms living on the seafloor might interact with naturally occurring hydrocarbons video courtesy of mbari video | vancouver island british columbia monterey bay aquarium research institute | scientists spotted the deep sea crab on the sea floor off the coast of vancouver island, british columbia . the icy bubbles might have seemed like a . suitable snack, but froze onto the crab's claws and mouth, . creating an amusing moustache . the video by monterey bay aquarium research institute shows unusual hydrocarbon gas behaviour under extreme pressure and cold temperatures |
by daily mail reporter published: 21:25 est, 14 august 2013 | updated: 22:24 est, 14 august 2013 a nurse who appeared in the iconic victory over japan day kiss photo helped commemorate the anniversary of the joyous day by posing for a touching re enactment on wednesday gloria bullard, 87, stood in times square, just like she did as thousands celebrated the end of world war ii that day in 1945, and let herself be swept off her feet the stage was set under a giant video projection of the famous photo, 67 years after v j day became one of the greatest moments for the greatest generation re joicing: gloria bullard is seen smiling as she re enacts the famous victory over japay day kiss from 1945, a photo she appeared in as a young nursing student her gentleman caller is wwii fighter pilot jerry yellin the iconic photo of a nurse and a soldier in a the middle of a jubilant kiss as new yorkers took to cheer on the allied victory is actually two photos perhaps the most well known was taken by alfred eisenstaedt and shows the couple kissing head on it’s the version that appeared in time magazine’s end of the war issue the other shot, of the very same moment, was taken by victor jorgensen a shows the kissing couple from the side, with more of the times square crowd in the background among the onlookers watching what would become one of history’s most famous kisses was nursing student gloria bullard, then known as gloria delaney she’s taking a peek at the smoochers, as seen at the photos far back at left 'it was so exciting': there, at the far left, bullard's head peeks out, smiling, from the crowd ‘we decided to walk over to eighth avenue to take the bus home,’ mrs bullard said in a new york times interview she gave in 2010 ‘that’s when we got caught in times square’ bullard was let out of class at new york medical college, then at 105th street, to join in the festivities—all while still wearing their starched, white uniforms ‘that was a no no, but who cares that day,’ mrs bullard said ‘we didn’t want to lose any time at all’ bullard, then doing her part to fill in for nurses who were enlisted in the war effort, has now pitched to help memorialize the greatest generation’s most momentous day memorial: to commemorate the historic moment and the day it has come to represent, a jumbo screen of the photo, comprised of smaller shots of couples from the day has been lit for 24 hours on the 67th anniversary vj day iconic shots: the famous time square photo commonly thought of is actually two photos this one, taken by alfred eisenstaedt and the one in which bullard appears, which was taken by victor jorgensen under a sign that was erected in times square for the 67th anniversary, bullard was held in the steady arms of world war ii fighter pilot jerry yellin on wednesday above them, innumerable photos of couples who met during the war years are projected in such a way as to come together and form the legendary photograph both then and now, bullard is all smiles and she still remembers the day fondly ‘it was so exciting,’ mrs bullard said ‘horns, church bells, all kinds of noises’ unfortunately, the woman who claimed for years to be the nurse being kissed in the photo, edith shain, died in 2010 so bullard’s account is the best that remains but she says shain was enjoying herself, too ‘it looked to me like she was trying to keep her skirt down i got the impression she was enjoying it’ greatest generation: bullard remembers the moment fondly and says the nurse being kissed, long claimed to be the late edith shain, enjoyed it too 'i got the impression she was enjoying it,' bullard says | 1940s times square gloria bullard 87 | a giant version of the 1940s photo was projected on times square jumbo screens . gloria bullard, 87, appears in the 'kiss seen 'round the world' photo |
by louise boyle college students who interned at taco bell in the mid nineties are the latest contenders to come forward as the 'true' inventors of doritos taco andrea watt, mark rader and roy brown were part of a summer internship at taco bell in 1995 when they struck on the genius move of making a taco shell from doritos' chips the group pitched the idea to taco bell executives as part of a competition for a line of taco bell themed appetizers and lost scroll down for video from left to right, andrea watt, mark rader, roy brown and a fourth student were part of a group of summer interns who claim that they invented the taco bell snack using a doritos shell back in 1995 the taco bell college interns revealed promotional materials which they claim proves they are the original inventors of the doritos wrapped taco tasty profits: since taco bell launched the doritos locos tacos in 2012, it has made more than a $1billion in sales mr brown told abc that he didn't remember a 'very dramatic, positive reaction' to their idea fast forward 15 years and the interns 'idea' has become taco bell's golden ticket the doritos locos taco which has a spicy, cool ranch or nacho cheese shell has made $1billion for parent company of the two products, pepsico, since the snack launched in 2012 the former interns are not looking for any money for the idea just some recognition that they were behind the wildly popular snack mrs watt, a former vanderbilt student in nashville, still has the interns' marketing materials for the doritos tacos as proof she told the huffington post: 'i’m sure i signed away that anything i pitched to them was their property anyway i would just like someone to recognize that it was a good idea' none of the former interns went on to work in the food industry mr brown works as a tv writer in california, mr rader is an advertising copywriter and mrs watts is in corporate sales training in a statement today, taco bell told mailonline: 'from interns to inmates, we’ve had no shortage of people claiming to have thought of the ''idea'' of a doritos flavored taco the reality is far more boring the doritos locos tacos that our fans love were conceived, developed, and successfully brought to market by a hard working, collaborative team at frito lay and taco bell' mark rader (pictured left) and roy brown, the former taco bell interns, told abc this week that their 1995 idea of a cross promotion with doritos didn't win over executives the former interns are not the first to claim they came up with the doritos taco last year, friends of todd mills, who passed away from cancer at thanksgiving, petitioned taco bell after they claimed he came up with the idea but never made a cent mr mills reportedly had the brainwave for the doritos tacos locos while watching tv in 2009 and lobbied the company and taco bell for two years with a facebook campaign until it became a reality taco bell told mailonline last year that their 'hearts are with his family' but added that mr mills 'did not invent' the snack last may, an inmate at a maximum security prison sued taco bell claiming the company stole his idea for the doritos loco tacos colorado prisoner gary cole, who is serving 25 year sentence for a number of charges, says the restaurant chain obtained the plans from him and stole his ideas the lawsuit was later dismissed | pampanga concubitous gabi | no related information |
by hayley peterson published: 06:48 est, 14 august 2013 | updated: 16:54 est, 14 august 2013 the photos have emerged that aol employee abel lenz snapped just before ceo tim armstrong publicly fired him during a conference call with 1,000 people listening media reporter jim romenesko obtained the photos wednesday as armstrong apologized in an email to staff for his curt dismissal of lenz, patch's creative director, during the all hands meeting on friday the photos, which lenz posted to the company's internal website on friday morning, feature armstrong addressing a couple hundred patch employees he was discussing an announcement of severe cutbacks at the hyper local news organization this photo taken by abel lenz, patch's former creative director, shows aol ceo tim armstrong addressing employees during an all hands meeting friday aol ceo tim armstrong addresses employees abel lenz took this photo at the meeting just before he was fired in an audio recording of the meeting, armstrong is heard abruptly stopping in the middle of his remarks and saying: 'abel, put that camera down right now abel, you're fired' he is then silent for about 10 seconds before resuming his remarks without explaining the firing according to patch employees, lenz often snapped pictures during conference calls and staff meetings and would later post them to the company's internal website in his emailed apology for the manner in which he fired lenz, armstrong called the outburst an 'emotional response' to a difficult situation he wrote: 'i am the ceo and leader of the organization, and i take that responsibility seriously,' according to a copy of the email published on valley wag 'we talk a lot about accountability and i am accountable for the way i handled the situation, and at a human level it was unfair to abel i’ve communicated to him directly and apologized for the way the matter was handled at the meeting' scroll down to listen to an audio recording of the call aol ceo tim armstrong has apologized to patch staff after publicly firing creative director abel lenz during a conference call with 1,00 staff listening he added that he reacted that way because he wanted to an 'open discussion' about cutbacks and did not want the conference call recorded armstrong wrote: 'as you know, i am a firm believer in open meetings, open q&a, and this level of transparency requires trust across aol internal meetings of a confidential nature should not be filmed or recorded so that our employees can feel free to discuss all topics openly 'abel had been told previously not to record a confidential meeting, and he repeated that behavior on friday, which drove my actions 'on friday i acted too quickly and i learned a tremendous lesson and i wanted you to hear that directly from me we have tough decisions and work to do on patch, but we're doing them thoughtfully and as openly as we can' [caption the recording of the conference call was obtained by media reporter jim romenesko, who tweeted lenz on saturday for a comment on the firing lenz replied: 'i appreciate the interest jim, but i have nothing to share go patch!' several hours later, lenz tweeted, 'no comment,' and attached a photo from inside old town bar in manhattan the conference call, held one day after aol announced major cutbacks at patch, was meant to boost morale for the employees remaining with the news organization armstrong assured the employees on the call that aol is still committed to patch's success and asked anyone who does not believe him to leave their jobs 'if you don’t use patch as a product and you’re not invested in patch, you owe it to everybody else at patch to leave,' he said 'if you think what’s going on right now is a joke, and you want to joke around about it, you should pick your stuff up and leave patch today' armstrong also complained about leaks to the press, saying they won't change the direction that patch is going 'i don’t care what the press says, i don’t care if people leak information i also want to clear up the fact that leaking information or anything around patch isn’t going to bother me, doesn’t bother me i’m not changing direction 'when you hear about what we’re doing at patch it’s very serious and it’s very forward thinking and anything that happens around patch isn’t going to change that direction' several minutes after firing lenz, however, armstrong indicated that he does, indeed, care about leaks he said leaks were making patch seem like 'loser ville' in the press, according to business insider he said, 'that's why abel was fired' 'we can't have people that are in the locker room giving the game plan away' audio source jimromeneskocom 'aolers i am writing you to acknowledge the mistake i made last friday during the patch all hands meeting when i publicly fired abel lenz 'it was an emotional response at the start of a difficult discussion dealing with many people's careers and livelihoods 'i am the ceo and leader of the organization, and i take that responsibility seriously we talk a lot about accountability and i am accountable for the way i handled the situation, and at a human level it was unfair to abel 'i’ve communicated to him directly and apologized for the way the matter was handled at the meeting'my action was driven by the desire to openly communicate with over a thousand patch employees across the us the meeting on friday was the second all hands we had run that week and people came to friday's meeting knowing we would be openly discussing some of the potential changes needed at patch 'as you know, i am a firm believer in open meetings, open q&a, and this level of transparency requires trust across aol 'internal meetings of a confidential nature should not be filmed or recorded so that our employees can feel free to discuss all topics openly abel had been told previously not to record a confidential meeting, and he repeated that behavior on friday, which drove my actions'we have been through many difficult situations in turning around aol and i have done my best to make the best decisions in the long term interest of the employees and the company 'on friday i acted too quickly and i learned a tremendous lesson and i wanted you to hear that directly from me we have tough decisions and work to do on patch, but we're doing them thoughtfully and as openly as we can at aol, we had strong earnings last week and we’re adding one of the best companies in the world to the team aol is in a great position, and we’ll keep moving forward ta' | aol tim armstrong armstrong abel lenz lenz | in an email to staff aol ceo tim armstrong said his outburst was an 'emotional response'. armstrong was recorded firing patch creative director abel lenz in a conference call with 1,000 workers listening on friday . he claims lenz had been warned not to film confidential meetings |
by meghan keneally published: 20:05 est, 30 october 2013 | updated: 04:59 est, 31 october 2013 the battle over national health care is costing president obama in the polls as he now has his lowest approval rating of his presidency a new poll put out by nbc and the wall street journal reveals that only 42 per cent of the country approves of the president's job performance that approval rating is five points lower than it was earlier this month in the heat of the government shutdown following the budget battle showing that the federal problems are overflowing into uncharted territory, the new poll reveals that the president's personal approval ratings have flipped from their normal stance where more americans like him as a person than those who dislike him now 41 per cent of respondents view him favorably and 45 per cent see him in a negative light feeling the heat: president obama's approval rating dropped to its lowest ever point of 22 per cent while 51 per cent of americans disapprove of his job performance (which is tied for his highest score ever) still got some fans: president obama signs cathey park's cast at an event in boston on wednesday signing off: the president signed the cast as he gave his latest speech in support of the affordable care act 'personally and politically, the public’s assessment is two thumbs down,' pollster peter hart told nbc president obama: 22 per cent approves of his job performance, 51 per cent disapproves 41 per cent view him favorably and 45 per cent sees him in a negative light congress: 74 per cent think congress is causing more problems than they are solving republicans: 22 per cent approve of their job performance and 53 per cent disapprove the shutdown: 38 per cent blame republicans, 23 per cent blame democrats, and 36 per cent feel that both parties are equally responsible the negative responses were not limited to the president, however, as the republican party in general was met with an all time low of 22 per cent approval and 53 per cent disapproval nearly three quarters of the respondents said that congress was causing more problems than solving them just slightly more than one fifth (22 per cent) of the country thinks we're headed in the right direction and half of all respondents think that another government shutdown is inevitable and finally, 63 per cent of respondents want to vote their congressional representative out of office that particular question has been regularly asked in polls over the past decade an the latest response is the highest ever president obama's disapproval rating which measures the portion of the country who actively believes that the president is doing a poor job came in at 51 per cent both in the hot seat: president obama and the democrats are not the only ones in trouble as the republicans, headed by john boehner, also reached their lowest approval rating 'unpopular': the poll reveals that house speaker john boehner (left), senate majority leader harry reid (center) and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell (right) are all viewed in a negative light this is the second time that his unfavorables have reached that high since he took office in 2009 talk of fallout from the 16 day government shutdown earlier this month was a constant concern during the negotiations, and it seems that the fact that democrats came out just slightly less hated than republicans has begun to fade more americans 38 per cent blame republicans for the shutdown as opposed to democrats who are seen as the cause by 23 per cent of respondents but there is still a sizable group 36 per cent who think both were to blame pollsters explained that there was no one single problem cited by respondents, but rather it is a result of numerous issues in addition to the ongoing health insurance roll out and postponed budget battles, longer lasting controversies like the nsa spying and the handling of the chemical weapons attack in syria looming: half of respondents said that they felt there would be another government shutdown | obama republicans 53 per cent americans nsa syrian 63 per cent | president obama now has the lowest professional and personal approval ratings of his presidency . republicans are also at their lowest point with only 22 per cent approval rating and 53 per cent of americans disapproving of their job performance . comes after health care roll out, government shutdown, the budget battle, nsa spying controversy and syrian chemical weapons attack . new poll says that 63 per cent of americans want to boot their congressmen out of office |
by deborah arthurs jean paul gaultier is no stranger to pushing the boundaries he sparked controversy with his last couture show after he sent out amy winehouse lookalikes in clothing similar to those the late singer used to wear just months after her death and with today's show, the french couturier proved that aged 60, he still knows how to push buttons gaultier chose as his muse the former drug addicted musician, pete doherty the fashion designer encountered doherty during his stint as a cannes film festival jury member this year doherty made his acting debut as a 19th century figure in a film that was screened at the riviera event the movie, 'confession of a child of the century,' bowled gaultier over 'i said my god he is so seductive, a decadent dandy,' said the designer backstage 'and that's my collection' so it was that this show, with its unlikely matinee idol as a muse, became a dandyesque tribute to the silver screen androgynous 'femi man' model andrej pejic was the star turn of jean paul gaultier's androgynous couture show this afternoon the result was a theatrical delight androgynous by design and by the virtue of the show's star turn, the so called 'femi man' model andrej pejic, who strode onto the catwalk wearing a gauzy black top that revealed his chest, it was pure gaultier nineteenth century top hats accompanied high taffeta collars, deconstructed texture rich satin crepe waistcoats and a sea of black the black was broken up with explosions colour and bright fox fur, which provoked whoops of delight from the crowd gaultier threw in other cinema references for good measure 'the original idea i thought of doing fritz lang's metropolis,' he said, and indeed, as if straight out of that 1927 science fiction film, there was a grey metallic looking cape with golden lining he had clearly done his cinema homework the shoulderless jumpsuit which completed the ensemble had the broken sheen of scrubbed metal, like the film's robot mechanical maria art deco prints and the odd robotic conical bra only added to the graphic feel the piece de resistance came in the form of a science fiction corset cage, that stood out from the model's body like a mechanised hourglass 'i'm here because it's lively and provocative,' said movie star bette midler from the front row and indeed it was theatrical: the opulent fabrics and striking shapes evoked scenes from the silver screen flamboyant: androgynous suits, top hats and metallic tones were a running theme in the collection muse: musician pete doherty, who gaultier encountered when he saw a film he was starring in during cannes, inspired french designer jean paul gaultier takes a bow at the end of the show | 60 year old british cannes amy winehouse | the 60 year old designer said he was 'bowled over' by the british musician after meeting him in cannes . resulting show was a theatrical, androgynous feast for the eyes . gaultier sparked controversy with his last show after sending out amy winehouse lookalikes soon after her death |
by suzannah hills published: 03:44 est, 7 november 2013 | updated: 10:25 est, 7 november 2013 as more and more people are becoming obese, a council has resorted to expanding the size of its graves to accommodate bigger bodies rochford council in essex, where more than a quarter of the adult population is classified as obese, has agreed to expand average grave sizes by 10 per cent in a bid to cater for larger bodies the town suffers from above average adult obesity rates and some cemeteries have already struggled to fit some larger coffins into the 9ft by 4ft graves currently provided expanding: rochester council is digging larger graves in its cemeteries to accommodate bigger bodies keith gordon, rochford councillor responsible for environment and leisure, said: 'the plots have been increased in size to give everybody a chance 'the actual graves are getting bigger, as you can appreciate, because some people are getting larger 'i think it’s something that’s been noticed by councils all over the place, that people are getting bigger' it comes after many undertakers started providing the option of 'super size coffins' for larger bodies some funeral parlours in britain have even had to install hoists capable of lifting 50 stone, purchase reinforced steel trollies and increase the size of their fridges in order to manage larger corpses hospital morgues and crematoriums have already had to make alterations to deal with the changes, such as installing extra large furnaces wide: larger coffins that are needed to house obese bodies while a standard casket typically measures between 24 and 27 inches wide, manufacturers are now producing boxes as wide as 52 inches, capable of fitting a person weighing up to 1,000 pounds the move comes despite a shortage of space in graveyards across the country which has led to councils considering ‘reusing’ old grave sites experts have labeled the space shortage a crisis with a recent survey revealing some councils could run out of burial space within the next 20 years mr gordon went onto explain that two plots can be bought to accommodate extremely large coffins although a two foot separation between graves is needed to prevent collapse he added: 'you can end up with a collapse if you’re not careful, i think that’s uppermost in people’s minds' wide load: obesity is forcing ambulance bosses to revamp their fleets to cope with obese patients among the improvements are specially strengthened stretchers capable of expanding to take extra weight and motorised stretchers to help staff lift heavy patients ambulance bosses have also started paying out millions to ‘supersize’ their vehicles to cope with the growing number of obese casualties the east midlands ambulance service (emas) is to introduce a fleet of 128 larger ambulances, each capable of dealing with patients who weigh up to 55st its fleet of bigger vehicles, known as ‘bariatric ambulances’, have larger doors and more space inside they have also been fitted with specially strengthened stretchers capable of expanding to take extra weight, motorised stretchers to help staff lift heavy patients, wider ramps and larger chairs statistics released by public health england in september 2013 showed 242 per cent of england’s adult population suffer from obesity bigger seating: the university of alabama hospital in birmingham had to order oversized wheel chairs (right) to help obese patients, at approximately double the cost | rochford council essex 9ft 4ft 10% | rochford council in essex is expanding its typical 9ft by 4ft graves by 10% . more . than a quarter of the council's adult population is obese . it comes after funeral directors across the country started providing bigger coffins for larger bodies |
by deni kirkova published: 11:32 est, 1 november 2013 | updated: 13:39 est, 1 november 2013 a woman who beat anorexia to become the face of a curvy lingerie brand has stripped off for a naked photo shoot alice jackson, 26, from the brundall region of norwich, has posed completely nude for a national magazine, showing just how far she's come since she was in the grip of the eating disorder 'doing the shoot is something i never could have done when i was suffering from anorexia i used to be at war with my body and not like who i was,' says alice, who features in the december issue of cosmopolitan scroll down for video alice has posed completely naked for a national magazine after beating anorexia and becoming a model 'it shows just how far i have come in terms of recovery i hope that anyone looking at my photo who may be struggling with an eating disorder or body image issue will feel inspired that you can recover from these problems and learn to love your body again' alice, a fashion researcher based in london, was not always so confident with her body she developed anorexia during her first year of university 'like lots of women, i put on weight i’d been quite slim, but drinking alcopops and cooking for myself meant the pounds gradually crept on,' she says she suffered from depression shortly after beginning her retail course at bournemouth university in 2006 and became obsessed with her weight she would go running for up to two hours every day, eating just a handful of lettuce leaves at night 'my new year’s resolution after my first term was to go on a diet, and i lost three stone i felt in control of my body when in fact i became dangerously underweight for my 5ft 9ins frame 'i had cut out whole food groups, and all i could think about were calories and exercise i was exhausted, and knew i had a serious problem, but was so depressed i didn’t care if i died alice jackson pictured in 2007, when her life was controlled by counting calories and long running sessions 'by the time i saw a doctor – after my parents saw how thin i’d become – i was 7st 10lbs and a size 6 8 her weight plummeted from 9st 11lbs to a dangerously low 7st 10lbs in just three months considerably lower than the recommended healthy weight for her 5ft 9ins frame and she shrunk to a size six dress size alice finally decided to get help after her parents told her she was too thin when she returned home to norwich in june 2006 her university gp referred her to a hospital who confirmed she was anorexic, and she spent a year receiving counselling with the somerset and wessex eating disorders association (sweda), eventually getting back to a healthy weight 'i had weekly weigh ins, and gradually put on a pound a week eventually, i reached a healthy goal weight of 9st 7lbs and finally, with boobs and a bum, i started feeling comfortable with being a woman 'in march i entered curvy kate’s star in a bra competition, and although i didn’t win, i became an ambassador for the brand since then, i’ve worked with them on events that highlight issues surrounding body confidence, and i also volunteer with eating disorder charities 'so many women are trying to fit an ideal, but everyone has their natural size some of us are meant to be a size 8, and some aren’t who you are inside is so much more important than a dress size' alice says was controlled by not eating so her weight went down pretty rapidly alice, who has a 30ff bust, said: 'it started when i was in my first year of university when i was 18 i started to put on a lot of weight and wasn't confident so i went home at christmas and decided to go on a diet read more about alison in this month's cosmopolitan 'it spiralled into cutting down my food and over exercising, and before i knew it i was eating very little i was controlled by not eating so my weight went down pretty rapidly 'when i got to june and i was doing race for life, my parents were like 'you're too thin, you need to see someone' 'i didn't feel well, i felt really ill and had no energy because i was eating so little and starving myself and over exercising so running on empty that was a really difficult summer it's a horrible thing to be trapped in your thoughts about food and weight i felt really really depressed and i didn't care if i died, i just felt awful, all i could think about was food and calories' at the hospital doctors told alice she would only feel better if she began eating properly, so alice took their advice and started taking better care of herself, reaching a healthy weight by the end of her second year of university she said: 'by the end i had got to a healthy weight i was still slim but i wasn't controlled by calories my weight has gone up gradually but i'm now 11 stones i feel happy with myself, my body feels like it's at its natural shape alice's friends entered her into curvy kate's annual lingerie competition, she was surprised to be shortlisted 'when i was anorexic i used to lie in bed and could feel all my bones it was just a really horrible time to be so trapped, i thought i would never get better i didn't eat chocolate at all and never had bread either but i love chocolate now, it's my favourite thing to have as a treat 'i am confident in my body and being healthy and i think it's really important women don't keep feeling dissatisfied with themselves because people tell them to lose half a pound i'm happy to be curvy and i'm proud to be curvy and i think that's important' now the curvy kate ambassador has a 30ff bust and poses nude for cosmopolitan now the curvy kate ambassador goes one step further with an incredible nude photoshoot showcasing her fabulous new figure 'when i was asked by curvy kate if i wanted to be put forward to cosmo i thought, 'why not', it would be an amazing experience 'the team were all fantastic and made me feel very at ease it was an honour to work with such professionals and it was a real treat to have my hair and make up done i came out of the shoot feeling super happy and body confident' view more of cosmopolitan's amazing bodies here | alice jackson 26 norwich two hours kate cosmopolitan | alice jackson, 26, from norwich developed anorexia at university . used to go running for two hours a day and eat only lettuce for dinner . weighed 7st 10lbs, four stone below recommended weight for her height . now curvy kate ambassador has 30ff bust and poses for cosmopolitan |
by daily mail reporter and reuters published: 01:56 est, 23 december 2013 | updated: 01:56 est, 23 december 2013 president barack obama's healthcare law could have a 'meltdown' and make it difficult for his democratic party to keep control of the us senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a democratic senator said on sunday senator joe manchin of west virginia, who has urged delaying a penalty for people who do not enroll for health insurance in 2014 under the law, told cnn that a transitional year was needed for the complex healthcare program, commonly known as obamacare, to work 'if it's so much more expensive than what we anticipated and if the coverage is not as good as what we had, you've got a complete meltdown at that time,' manchin told cnn's state of the union program 'meltdown': democratic senator joe manchin says the president's healthcare law could have a 'meltdown' heavy lifting: manchin says that democrats up for re election next year are 'feeling the weight' of the disastrous roll out of obamacare 'it falls of its own weight, if basically the cost becomes more than we can absorb, absolutely' the white house has been scrambling for months to control the damage from the botched oct 1 launch of the law, formally called the affordable care act, which aimed at making sure that millions of americans without health insurance are able to receive medical coverage there have been complaints from consumers about higher premiums than they previously had to pay for health insurance after their old plans were canceled because of new standards under the law, as well as lingering problems with the main web portal used to sign up for insurance, healthcaregov manchin said senate democrats who are up for re election next year are 'feeling the weight' of the program's woes and could have trouble keeping their majority in the chamber republicans have been highlighting the healthcare law's difficulties as they seek to gain the six seats they would need to win control of the 100 member senate feeling the heat: the president has been running damage control since he flaws in his healthcare initiative became obvious 'it needs to turn around,' manchin said of obamacare 'i'm not going to say that i think we will lose it (the senate) it's going to be extremely challenging we have some very good people who are truly there, i believe, for the right reason they're going to be challenged for the wrong reason' obama acknowledged on friday that that the bungled launch of the healthcare law was his biggest mistake of 2013 his public approval numbers have dropped to historic lows over the law's debut the president said more than 1 million people have signed up so far for new coverage under obamacare through healthcaregov, which services 36 states, and 14 state run marketplaces a day earlier, obama's administration said people whose insurance plans were canceled because of the law may claim a 'hardship exemption' to the requirement that all americans must have coverage by march 31 next year or face a penalty manchin, a conservative democrat whose state of west virginia has been increasingly trending republican, has made no secret of his frustration over the program's fits and starts last month he introduced legislation to delay by a year the $95 penalty for failing to sign up for health insurance, saying americans should not be penalized while obamacare is going through its 'transition period' manchin does not face re election next year, but some democrats who do have also urged changes to the program, such as extending the open enrollment period beyond the march 31 deadline one third of the senate is re elected every two years | inexcusableness extractors friarhood | no related information |
by alexandra klausner published: 10:35 est, 27 december 2013 | updated: 09:25 est, 28 december 2013 a thief snatched a package right off someone's doorstep yesterday and it was all caught on tape diana lougnot of north glendale in phoenix, arizona was shocked to see a man pull up to her home in a white suv, grab the package on her doorstep, and walk away with her personal property at first the woman thought her package was late but after looking at footage on her surveillance system she'd had for only a month, she was able to identify foul play as the culprit cbs 5 kpho 'the nonchalant attitude with which he does that is just shocking to me it's just something else,' said lougnot to cbs 5 'it was like no big deal to him you could tell from the expression on his face it was just, 'hey the package was there, let's just take it' 'this was two hours later and so i believe that he just drove by and saw the package sitting by the door,' she said the male suspect unknowingly took a pair of women's shoes, which luckily the shoe company offered to replace for her lougnot had her next package delivered to work, something that fedex recommends for safety if the home is not a viable option coincidentally, this was not the first package stolen in phoenix that day two hours earlier, another white suv pulled up to another driveway and stole a package even though the suvs look similar, it's not the same car the two suvs have different rear view and backseat windows with different door handles and hubcaps a fedex spokesperson told cbs 5 that couriers are instructed not to leave packages at people's doorsteps if they feel that is is safe to do so the mail online spoke with the phoenix police department who said that they are still looking for the suspect behind the package theft those with information are asked to call (602) 262 7626 after spotting a package on the doorstep, a white suv parks in front of diana lougnot's house the unidentified suspect is 'nonchalant' as he walks up to the house are they his size?: the suspect continues on to the home to grab the package of women's shoes jackpot: the suspect appears to be in shock and delight upon seeing the package diana lougnot was horrified by the man's nonchalant behavior and apathy there was a package theft two hours earlier, each involving a different white suv | diana lougnot lougnot | diana lougnot thought her packaged was late, but after looking at surveillance footage she realized someone had stolen it . 'it was like no big deal to him you . could tell from the expression on his face it was just, 'hey the . package was there, let's just take it,' said lougnot . the suspect's identity is still unknown but police are on the lookout . a similar theft happened two hours earlier but police are not sure if the thefts are related |
Subsets and Splits