text
stringlengths 102
11.9k
| query
stringlengths 2
806
| summary
stringlengths 22
3.99k
|
|---|---|---|
(cnn) tom watson will become the oldest ryder cup captain in golf history when he takes charge of the united states team for the 2014 contest in scotland a country that has played host to some of his greatest successes the eight time major winner will be 65 when the event gets underway at gleneagles he is the last us captain to have won on european soil, triumphing at the belfry course in england in 1993 'i was waiting for about 20 years to get the call,' the 63 year old said at his unveiling on thursday 'i loved it the first time it's just a great honor to be able to do it again' the united states professional golf association (uspga) turned to the five time british open champion in a bid to overturn recent poor form in the ryder cup, with team europe having won five of the last six matches including at medinah last september having turned professional in 1971, watson is a seasoned veteran of the golfing world whose experience and respect are expected to aid the struggling us team in two years' time the us has picked a new captain for recent ryder cups, which are held every two years, but the uspga said it wanted to try something different after losing seven of the last nine tournaments 'the pressure of playing in the ryder cup is greater or as great as in any event,' said watson, who will replace davis love iii 'my job is to help them deal with that pressure i've lived for that pressure and lived underneath that pressure all my career' one of the most popular figures on the golfing stage, the revered watson tried to play down the gulf in age between his players and himself at the new york press conference the previous oldest us captain was the legendary sam snead, who was 57 when he oversaw his nation's retention of the trophy in 1969 made famous by jack nicklaus' concession of a match equaling putt to tony jacklin 'i deflect that very simply by saying, 'we play the same game,' ' watson said 'i hope i can set the table for these players i'm the stage manager i set the stage for them to go out and do what they do in two years, i hope they can get it done' watson's relationship with tiger woods will come under intense scrutiny, having criticized the 14 time major winner's behavior on and off the course following his fall from grace in 2009 nonetheless, woods was one of the first to offer both his support for watson and availability for the tournament 'i would like to congratulate tom watson on his selection as ryder cup captain,' woods said in a statement 'i think he's a really good choice tom knows what it takes to win and that's our ultimate goal i hope i have the privilege of joining him on the 2014 united states team' watson swiftly dampened the sparks of any potential controversy about woods by stating that he would pick the former world number one in his squad whether or not he qualifies for one of the eight automatic places on offer the captain also has four discretionary choices 'i want him on my team,' watson said 'tiger is maybe the best player in history if he's not on the team, he's going to be number one in my picks' watson, the first us captain to return to the helm since jack nicklaus lost on home soil in 1987, also received the backing of brandt snedeker like woods, a member of this year's unsuccessful side in illinois 'obviously they were looking outside the box, given our recent failures,' snedeker told the pga tour website 'they wanted to get a guy who has had success and commands respect i think that's why they went this way: to get the us to rally around him as a way to rejuvenate the american side 'tom is one of the best competitors of all time he's going to bring that fire and unwillingness to lose and mental strength that has defined his career' at the 2009 british open, watson missed a par putt on the 72nd hole at turnberry that would have made him the oldest major champion in the history of the sport the american has a warm relationship with scotland, the country where he won his first major title at carnoustie in 1975 and where he would eventually win half his major crowns his appointment was announced by the uspga on nationwide television, with predecessor love having relinquished his post after what was dubbed the 'meltdown in medinah' in the us but the 'miracle of medinah' in europe 'we've got the right guy,' rallied uspga president ted bishop | tom watson united states' ryder cup 2014 scotland 63 year old us sam snead the age of 57 1969 | tom watson named as united states' ryder cup captain for 2014 event in scotland . 63 year old is the oldest us captain in ryder cup history . sam snead held the previous record when captaining the us at the age of 57 in 1969 |
mogadishu, somalia (cnn) soldiers were among the casualties in a suicide attack at a cafe in somalia early saturday, authorities told cnn the incident occurred in the town of beledweyne in the central part of the african nation and it drew sharp condemnation from the somali prime minister authorities continue to sort out the casualty figures police officers said the death toll is as high as 20, but the country's prime minister's office reported at least 13 dead a few dozen injuries were reported 'i condemn the attack in the strongest terms and send my condolences to the families of all the innocent civilians who were killed and wounded,' prime minister abdi farah shirdon said 'the motive of these attacks are to frighten somali people, these acts of terrorism will not derail the progress made across somalia' mohamed ibrahim ali, a hirran deputy governor, said seven government soldiers died and top somali military commanders were injured and hospitalized he said at least 33 people were injured al shabaab, the militant islamist group, issued a claim of responsibility on its website and said it killed somali and ethiopian troops, who have been fighting al shabaab a terror group with ties to al qaeda, al shabaab claimed responsibility for last month's four day siege at the westgate mall in nairobi, kenya, where at least 67 people died beledweyne is the capital of hirran province, and the attack took place near the administrative office of the region the city, more than 200 miles north of mogadishu and near the ethiopian border, is a commercial hub linking southern and northern somalia 'a process of establishing a regional administration in the area has been under way in the past couple of days,' the prime minister's office said in june 2009, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives laden vehicle at the front gate of the medina hotel in beledweyne al shabaab claimed responsibility for that assault, which killed 35 people, including several somalia diplomats | somali beledweyne al shabaab | the incident took place in the somali city of beledweyne . soldiers were among the dead, an official said . al shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack |
(cnn) first came the dramatic discovery of the long lost remains of king richard iii now, there's the mystery of the coffin within the coffin archaeologists working at the site in central england where richard iii's body was found underneath a parking lot are currently puzzling over a sealed lead coffin containing the remains of a yet to be identified person the lead coffin was found encased in a larger stone coffin the smaller coffin is intact 'except for a hole at one end of the casket through which we could tantalizingly see someone's feet,' said mathew morris, the fieldwork director at the site new discovery just as exciting last year, archaeologists unearthed a body buried beneath a nondescript parking lot in the city of leicester in february, they confirmed the body was that of richard iii, the last king of england to die on the battlefield the news drew global attention and set off a debate over richard's bloodthirsty reputation archaeologists from the university of leicester, who have been toiling away at the site this summer, say the discovery of the double coffin is just as exciting they only uncovered the lead coffin last week after eight people hauled the heavy lid off the stone coffin but figuring out who's inside looks set to be a much tougher task 'this inner coffin is likely to contain a high status burial, although we still don't know who it contains,' morris wrote in a blog post 'no writing was visible on the coffin lid but it does bear a crude cross soldered into the metal' there are three main contenders for the identity of the coffin's inhabitant: a medieval knight named sir william de moton of peckleton, and two leaders of the english grey friars order, peter swynsfeld and william of nottingham beneath the parking lot the leicester site is where a church, known as grey friars friary, once stood over the centuries, the whereabouts of the friary's remnants were forgotten, but it remained in the records as the burial place of richard iii last year, experts began digging away at the area, which had taken on the less illustrious role of a parking lot they went on to establish that it was part of the friary and that a skeleton, hastily buried in an uneven grave, was that of richard the archaeologists who undertook a new dig this summer think the double coffin, located near richard's grave, was buried during the 14th century, more than 100 years before richard was killed at the battle of bosworth field in 1485 of the coffin's three likely occupants, swynsfeld died in 1272, william of nottingham died in 1330 and sir william de moton died between 1356 and 1362 'a first for all of us' besides the puzzle of who lies within, the archaeologists were excited about the coffins themselves 'this was a first for all of us on site,' morris said 'none of the team had ever excavated an intact stone coffin before, let alone a lead coffin as well' they have now wrapped up their four weeks of digging at the site the lead coffin has been taken away so that experts can carry out tests to figure out the best way of opening it without damaging its contents but, morris said, other parts of the friary that the archaeologists tried to investigate this summer appear to have been completely destroyed meaning that some of the site's mysteries may never be solved | weka hygiastic bemouth | no related information |
(cnn) going into election day 2013, there was little doubt that chris christie was going to win his run for re election the only unknown was what he would say in his victory speech the tough talking republican headliner has the most buzz of any potential 2016 republican presidential candidate and he created more by delivering a speech that was aimed at both new jersey and a national audience 'and you don't just show up six months before an election you show up four years before one and you don't just take no for an answer the first time no has happened you keep going back and trying more,' christie told the audience in asbury park republican strategist and cnn contributor alex castellanos called christie's address 'an announcement speech' and it will only serve to stir up more speculation that despite his saying that he's seriously considering a run in 2016, his mind is already made up cnn exit polls show christie performed well with groups that normally cast ballots for democrats exit polls indicate the gop governor grabbing 57% of the female vote and winning all age groups other than those 18 29 christie also took a fifth of the african american vote and half 51% of latinos, a much better performance than most republicans in recent elections overall, christie bested his little known democratic challenger, barbara buono, by a 60% 38% margin with about 99% of the vote counted virginia and new jersey are the only two states that hold elections for governor in the year after a presidential contest and virginia's race provided the only real drama as votes were counted democrat terry mcauliffe, a long time clinton confidant, trailed republican state attorney general ken cuccinelli through the evening until votes from democratic strongholds started rolling in and propelled him to victory a complete list of election results the race was nasty from the get go and devolved into incessant mudslinging and personal attacks voters throughout the commonwealth of virginia were bombarded by negative ads and polling showed that neither candidate was particularly well liked by the people who would be voting for them with nearly all of the vote counted, mcauliffe held a 48% 45% margin over cuccinelli libertarian robert sarvis pulled in about 7% of the vote, which could have made the difference in new york city, the race for mayor was never in question, either, as democrat bill de blasio defeated republican joe lhota, by a 73% 24% margin with 91% of the vote in, making the city's public advocate the first democrat to lead the nation's largest city in a generation in alabama, an establishment candidate defeated a tea party backed candidate in a republican primary runoff for the congressional seat from alabama's 1st district, which had been seen as precursor of intra republican party contests in next year's midterm elections bradley byrne, a former state senator, defeated businessman dean young in the race by a 52% 48% margin with all of the vote in the contest was the first time republican voters could weigh in on which direction they want to take their party after the partial federal government shutdown in october was laid largely at the feet of tea party instigators in congress exit polls: christie and mcauliffe took different paths to victory here's a closer look at some of the night's most interesting races and ballot measures: a nasty race in purple virginia the mcauliffe and cuccinelli campaigns engaged in nasty political warfare with mcauliffe making sure that women were aware of cuccinelli's support of 'personhood' legislation that critics say restricts abortion and some forms of birth control, while cuccinelli frequently highlighted federal investigations of an electric car company that mcauliffe co founded mcauliffe and democrats pinned cuccinelli as a tea party activist, linking him to conservative lawmakers in washington who initiated a strategy that eventually led to the government shutdown take a closer look at the virginia race what does christie's win say about 2016? while much of his address was directed at his new jersey audience, christie also had a message for the nation 'i know tonight, a dispirited america, angry with their dysfunctional government in washington, looks to new jersey to say, 'is what i think happening really happening? are people really coming together are we really working, african americans and hispanics, suburbanites and city dwellers, farmers and teachers are we really all working together' 'let me give the answer to everyone who is watching tonight: under this government our first job is to get the job done and as long as i'm governor that job will always, always be finished,' more on christie's big win nyc picks first democratic mayor in a generation at the center of the new york mayor's race were disagreements over taxes and the city's controversial 'stop and frisk' program backed by incumbent mayor michael bloomberg de blasio campaigned on a promise to raise taxes on those earning more than $500,000 a year to pay for universal prekindergarten, an idea lhota vehemently opposed go deeper on the nyc race deep pocketed republicans pick winner in alabama byrne, the establishment candidate, far outraised young, the tea party candidate, thanks to major help from the business wing of the party, including the chamber of commerce he also garnered endorsements from establishment figures, including several republican house leaders however, despite support for smaller tea party personalities, young was largely ignored by the national tea party groups tea party express, club for growth and freedomworks three of the largest national tea party groups sat on the sidelines of the intra party fight establishment beats tea party in alabama runoff also on the ballot new york is not the only major city that held a mayoral contest on tuesday voters in boston, seattle, detroit and cleveland also elected mayors and voters in six states weighed in on 31 ballot measures colorado voters overwhelmingly approved the marijuana tax 65% to 35% washington voters rejected genetically modified food labeling with 55% of voters opposing it and new jersey voters agreed to increase the minimum wage voters in 11 colorado counties also voted on a colorado succession measure pot tax, secession top state's ballot measures cnn's kevin bohn, leigh ann caldwell and john helton contributed to this report | alabama democrat terry mcauliffe ken cuccinelli virginia bill de blasio first nyc over 20 years chris christie new jersey | the establishment candidate beats the tea party candidate in alabama primary runoff . democrat terry mcauliffe defeats ken cuccinelli in race for virginia governor . bill de blasio heads toward becoming first democrat to lead nyc in over 20 years . chris christie easily takes another term as new jersey governor |
washington (cnn) russian president dmitry medvedev on thursday congratulated president barack obama on the senate's approval of a new nuclear arms control treaty between the countries, the white house said according to a white house statement, the two presidents spoke by phone on the first day of obama's hawaiian holiday after congress adjourned wednesday in a flurry of legislative action, including the senate vote to pass the treaty a major foreign policy objective of the obama administration 'president obama and president medvedev spoke by phone this morning to discuss the new start treaty and their continued close cooperation on a range of critical issues,' the white house statement said 'president medvedev congratulated president obama on the senate's approval of the new start treaty, and the two leaders agreed that this was an historic event for both countries and for us russia relations' obama cited issues of cooperation with russia including afghanistan, sanctions on iran and world trade organization developments, the statement said obama added it was important for the two countries to work together 'to support a peaceful referendum in sudan and a resolution to the impasse in cote d'ivoire (ivory coast) that respects the results of the recent democratic election,' according to the statement the new strategic arms reduction treaty, or new start, was passed on a 71 26 senate vote, with several republicans joining a unified democratic caucus in support of the accord the treaty will bring resumed inspections of each country's nuclear arsenal while limiting both the united states and russia to 1,550 warheads and 700 launchers it still needs to be approved by the russian parliament signed by obama and medvedev in april, the treaty is considered a critical component of nuclear non proliferation efforts and the administration's attempt to 'reset' washington's relationship with moscow 'this is the most significant arms control agreement in nearly two decades,' obama said wednesday after the senate vote it 'will enhance our leadership to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and seek the peace of a world without them' several senators were reassured by the last minute passage of an amendment stating that the accord should not be interpreted in a way that would hamper us missile defense plans the amendment was sponsored by republican senators john mccain of arizona and bob corker of tennessee, among others others said they had been assured of an administration commitment to modernize america's aging nuclear arsenal 'the people of the world are watching us, because they rely on our leadership,' said senate foreign relations committee chairman john kerry, d massachusetts it is time to 'move the world a little more out of the dark shadow of nuclear nightmare' 'we are the leading nuclear power on this earth it is our responsibility to lead,' said sen byron dorgan, d north dakota this treaty is 'a step in the right direction' indiana sen richard lugar, the top republican on the foreign relations committee, called it a step forward in terms of constraining 'expensive arms competition with russia' and frustrating 'rogue nations who would prefer as much distance as possible between the united states and russia' not all republicans were convinced of the treaty's merits, however sen jim demint, r south carolina, argued on the senate floor that the basic premise of the treaty that america's nuclear arsenal should be at parity with russia's is flawed 'russia is a protector of none and a threat to many america is a protector of many and a threat to none,' demint said demint also voiced an ongoing conservative complaint in the lame duck session that democrats were ramming the treaty through as part of a long list of partisan priorities rejected by the public in the midterm elections 'we should not be passing major legislation at this time of year with this congress,' he said the arms pact is part of 'a continued effort of accommodation and appeasement' that makes a 'mockery of the debate and ratification process' sen mark kirk, r illinois, called the treaty 'an echo from the 20th century' that fails to account for new and emerging threats kirk and several other senators expressed a fear that the treaty would weaken america's ability to prevent potential nuclear attacks from countries such as iran and north korea mccain himself, despite passage of the amendment he sponsored, ultimately voted against the accord he argued that it 're establishes an old and outdated linkage between nuclear arms and missile defense, which is no longer suited to the threats of today's world' passage of the treaty appeared to be in doubt for weeks a late burst of support came tuesday, however, after treaty supporters voted down or tabled several republican amendments, saying they were unnecessary and would imperil the pact by reopening negotiated language or understandings with russia the defeated amendments included adding a reference to tactical nuclear weapons and a bid to remove from the preamble language recognizing a relationship between offensive and defensive weapons an overwhelming majority of americans support ratification of the treaty, according to a cnn/opinion research corp poll released tuesday: 73 percent of people questioned in the national poll said the senate should approve the accord, while 24 percent said senators should reject it cnn's alan silverleib, tom cohen, dana bash, ted barrett and lesa jansen contributed to this report | sneck psychohistory mitchboard | no related information |
(cnn) the disputed head of the ivory coast will not step down, one of his key ministers said saturday, despite the threat by west african leaders to use military force to force him out a day earlier, a statement from the 15 member economic community of west african states said its 15 members would not hesitate to use 'legitimate force' if necessary to defuse an escalating crisis in the ivory coast but alcide djedje, the foreign affairs minister for incumbent president laurent gbagbo, on saturday dismissed the threat as part of a western plot spearheaded by france he said that his regime views the prospect of outside military action unlikely, claiming that the west african group's members would be reluctant to send soldiers into the ivory coast the organization's move was the latest to isolate gbagbo, amid sweeping international sentiment that he is not the ivory coast's rightfully elected leader and that his forces have perpetrated human rights abuses against his opponents the united nations, african union, european union and numerous individual nations have called for gbagbo to step down, with many also calling out his regime for its actions against political foes in the past week that have reportedly killed scores of people still, the call from the economic community was especially significant, given that the ivory coast is a member and its mention of possible military action 'in the event that mr gbagbo fails to heed this immutable demand of ecowas, the community would be left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force, to achieve the goals of the ivorian people,' the group said in a statement following an emergency meeting friday in abuja, nigeria under the leadership of nigerian president goodluck jonathan, the regional bloc will coordinate, 'without delay,' a meeting of defense ministers from member countries 'to plan future actions, including the provision of security along the cote d'ivoire liberia border,' the statement said this back and forth comes as the security situation in the ivory coast continues to deteriorate the united nations refugee agency said saturday that about 14,000 ivory coast residents escaping that country have fled to eastern liberia, some walking hours if not days before boarding barges on rivers bordering the west african nation a few deaths have been reported among the refugees, including a child who drowned while crossing the cestos river into butuo in some locales without ambulances, un high commissioner for refugees vehicles are being used to take people out to get medical care 'some are arriving with severely swollen feet, some families said they had walked three to four days through the bush with little food,' the un agency said in a statement a spokesman for alassane ouattara, widely recognized as the ivory coast's legitimate leader following a november 28 run off election, accused gbagbo of defying democratic ideals and instead embarking on new era of violence spokesman patrick achi said friday that ouattara hopes the west african leaders will be able to help end the turmoil meanwhile, the dutch defense ministry said on friday that at the request of france, it had dispatched one of its ships to the ivory coast to help evacuate european citizens in case the situation worsens and us state department spokesman pj crowley said earlier this week that the united states and other countries were discussing with african nations the possibility of augmenting the existing un force in the ivory coast however, he said it was unclear what a us contribution could look like forces of logistical support or something more indirect were among the options the african union has suspended the ivory coast from the organization 'until such a time the democratically elected president effectively assumes state power' the world bank has halted lending and disbursing funds to ivory coast and has closed its office in the country on friday, un secretary general ban ki moon welcomed the decision of the un general assembly to recognize ouattara as the winner of the disputed ivory coast election 'this important decision reflects the united position of the international community with respect to the legitimacy of the new government led by president ouattara,' a spokesman for the secretary general said in a written statement kyung wha kang, the un deputy high commissioner for human rights, has said that between december 16 and tuesday, human rights officers had 'substantiated allegations of 173 killings, 90 instances of torture and ill treatment, 471 arrests and detentions and 24 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances' she added that the actual numbers may be much higher because 'it has been impossible to investigate all the allegations of serious human rights violations, including reports of mass graves, due to restrictions on movement by un personnel' while acknowledging 'the situation is very, very difficult to live' in, charles ble goude the nation's youth minister under gbagbo said thursday the government is 'dealing with that' he said 'the un report is not correct,' especially in its fingering fellow gbagbo backers as being to blame for the recent violence instead, he accused ouattara's supporters of using weapons at what had been billed as peaceful rallies to attack soldiers after last month's election, the country's independent electoral commission named ouattara the winner but its constitutional council invalidated those results and declared that gbagbo won goude said that he and others in gbagbo's circle couldn't accept the electoral commission picking ouattara, noting that it announced its decision in a hotel that was also being used as ouattara's headquarters while stressing a desire for talks on the issue, he said there is no intention for gbagbo to forfeit a seat that he believes is rightfully his 'why do you want someone who won an election to step down?' goude asked 'the president has been elected' | the ivory coast's laurent gbagbo west african gbagbo | the ivory coast's laurent gbagbo will not step down, his foreign minister says . the official dismisses as unlikely a threat by west african leaders to use force against gbagbo . on friday, that group said it may have 'no alternative' but to use 'legitimate force'. the international community has called gbagbo illegitimate and accused his forces of abuses |
(cnn) north korea says it will retaliate if its 'satellite' launch from its northeastern coast is intercepted, with the communist nation saying interference would 'mean a war' the statement came as the north cut off communications with neighboring south korea north korean soldiers at the border village of panmunjom on december 6, 2008 'shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war,' a spokesman for the north korean army said in a statement carried by the state run korean central news agency (kcna) us and south korean officials have said that north korea appears to be preparing to test fire its long range missile, the taepodong 2, under the guise of launching a satellite into space the missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles (6,700 kilometers), which if true could give it the capability of striking alaska or hawaii north korea's announcement comes as south korea and the united states start their annual joint military drills on monday 'we have said several times that the us south korean military exercises are annual defensive exercises,' kim ho nyun, spokesman for south korea's ministry of unification, said at a news briefing monday 'we again urge north korea to maintain the agreed stance of mutual respect and to stop its verbal attacks and actions that are raising tensions on the korean peninsula,' kim said the north said it has shut its borders to 'any enemies' and has cut off 'the north south military communications in order to guarantee the security' north korea said the communications channel will remain closed until the 12 day joint exercise by south korean and us forces ends on march 20, according to south korea's yonhap news agency kim said his government is urging north korea 'to immediately retract this measure and to allow the smooth flow of personnel and communication' as of monday morning, hundreds of south koreans were kept from crossing the border to and from an industrial complex because north korea cut off military communications, preventing the workers from getting clearance to return home, kim said on saturday, us envoy stephen bosworth said he wants dialogue with north korea, but he also spoke against north korea's move to go forward with a launch, saying it would be 'ill advised' | parquetage topinish shootee | no related information |
(cnn) venezuelan president hugo chavez is set to arrive in iran on monday to discuss the expansion of relations between the two countries, according to iran's semiofficial fars news agency chavez will stay for two days in tehran, and will be accompanied by a venezuelan delegation, fars said he will meet with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad and other officials chavez and ahmadinejad are also expected to discuss regional and international issues, fars said | hugo chavez tehran iran iranian mahmoud ahmadinejad | hugo chavez is expected to arrive in tehran, iran, on monday for a two day trip . he and iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad will talk about expanding relations |
atlanta, georgia (cnn) the cholera epidemic already blamed for more than 1,100 deaths in haiti could worsen because of poor sanitation in the earthquake ravaged country, us medical researchers reported thursday a lack of treated drinking water, coupled with poor hand hygiene and food preparation practices, make the 13 million people still living in camps particularly vulnerable, according to a new study published by the us centers for disease control and prevention 'the course of the cholera outbreak in haiti is difficult to predict,' the report states 'the haitian population has no pre existing immunity to cholera, and environmental conditions in haiti are favorable for its continued spread' jordan tappero, a cdc epidemiologist in haiti, said haitian authorities and aid agencies are working to limit the epidemic by emphasizing clean water and sanitation but he added, 'we expect we will be working very hard for many months to come' haiti has not reported a cholera outbreak in more than a century the current epidemic was first reported in october and has now spread to eight of the caribbean nation's 10 provinces, the cdc found reports linking the outbreak to nepalese troops from the un peacekeeping mission minustah sparked riots in the northern port city of cap haitien on tuesday a new round of violent protests erupted thursday in the capital port au prince, eyewitnesses told cnn un officials have denied the nepalese were to blame for the outbreak the cdc has said the strain of the cholera bacteria responsible is 'indistinguishable' from one found in other parts of the world, including south asia, but researchers are unlikely to be able to pinpoint how it arrived in haiti 'the reality is that we have a serious problem here,' cdc spokeswoman lola russell said the emphasis is on controlling the outbreak, 'so that more people do not become ill and potentially die from cholera' the epidemic comes as haiti already the poorest country in the western hemisphere struggles to recover from the january earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people even before the quake, only 12 percent of the haitian population of 98 million received treated tap water and only 17 percent had access to adequate sanitation, the cdc noted 'the water safety and sanitation systems in haiti were weak be before the earthquake and made weaker by the earthquake, so conditions are ripe for the further spread of cholera,' tappero told cnn some symptoms of cholera, an acute, bacterial illness caused by drinking tainted water, can be mild or even nonexistent but the disease can cause profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting, leading to death by rapid dehydration the heart of the outbreak is the haitian province of artibonite, north of port au prince interviews with victims hospitalized in the first days of the outbreak found that two thirds of them had been drinking untreated water from rivers or canals, the same percentage did not routinely use chlorine to sanitize drinking water and nearly four out of five defecated in the open and as the current outbreak spreads, infected people could spread the disease further by preparing food without proper hygiene, the cdc reported 'the way to prevent acquiring cholera when sanitation is poor is to take your water from a clean water source or treat water yourself in the home, and use good sanitary practices with clean water when preparing and cooking food,' tappero said cnn's miriam falco and matt smith contributed to this report | us haiti more than a century | us report says the cholera outbreak's course is 'difficult to predict'. haiti hasn't seen a cholera outbreak in more than a century . the epidemic has killed more than 1,100 in the earthquake ravaged nation |
(cnn) the first full day of the new bundesliga season kicked off saturday with some promising wins for teams that struggled in last year's campaign stuttgart opened their account with a 3 0 win over schalke at the mercedes benz arena on saturday brazilian striker cacau opened the scoring with a header in the 37th minute, before austrian striker martin harnik doubled the lead 11 minutes into the second half japanese striker shinji okazaki netted with a superb strike moments from the end to send last season's champions league semi finalists to a crushing opening day defeat hanover 96 also got off on the right foot beating hoffenheim 2 1 a free kick from former german international jan schlaudraff gave last year's fourth placed side the lead after 15 minutes but their advantage was short lived as hoffenheim hit back three minutes later when bosnia and herzegovina midfielder sejad salihovic converted from the penalty spot hanover were awarded a penalty of their own 12 minutes later when schlauddraff was brought down norwegian striker mohammed abdellaoue stepped up to score what proved to be the winner champions dortmund open bundesliga season with win a second half brace from swedish striker markus rosenberg sealed a 2 0 win for werder bremen over kaiserslautern, while 2009 champions, wolfsburg who finished last term in 15th place also bagged three points with victory at cologne two goals from former german striker patrick helmes and one from marcel schaefer (recently stripped of the captaincy by coach felix magath) sealed a comfortable 3 0 victory newly promoted augsburg earned a 2 2 draw at home to freiburg thanks to two second half goals from striker sascha molders but last year's second division champions hertha berlin went down to a 1 0 defeat at home to nuremberg in the late kick off 22 year old czech striker tomas pekhart scoring the decisive goal ten minutes from time bayern munich open their league campaign on sunday at home to borussia moenchengladbach while last year's runners up bayer leverkusen travel to mainz | thereanents aphanesite plumoseness | no related information |
denver, colorado (cnn) on a good day, keri christensen spends the day watching her children she prepares their meals, gets them ready for school and helps them with their homework keri christensen was nearly a victim of a roadside bombing in iraq when the convoy in front of hers was hit but this housewife and mother of two is far different than most of the women living in her denver, colorado, suburb she's an iraqi war veteran, among the first women in the united states to be classified as combat veterans even though she's been home from the war for more than 2½ years, she's now fighting another battle this one with depression, nightmares, sleeplessness and anger she says all of it is caused by her time in iraq 'i start feeling those feelings of 'i'm not worthy i can't raise my family,' ' christensen said women have made up about 11 percent of the military force in iraq and afghanistan in the past six years, according to the department of defense; that's an estimated 180,000 women in the war zone the figure dwarfs the 41,000 women deployed during the persian gulf war and the 7,500 who served during the vietnam war, mostly as nurses unlike past wars, women are assigned to combat support roles many are seeing violence firsthand in an unconventional war watch cnn's randi kaye report on female veterans » as a member of the national guard, christensen transported tanks in iraq she says she was shot at and was nearly a victim of a roadside bomb when a convoy in front of hers was hit 'you have this fear, 'oh, my god, i still have to go through there,' ' she recalled ' 'am i going to make it?' ' christensen says that she was sexually harassed by a superior while serving in iraq and that the harassment added to the pressure created by just being in a war zone 'i just know it took a big toll on me because i was trying to deal with it myself just trying to be a soldier,' christensen said in 2007, the department of veterans affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts the va diagnosed 60,000 veterans with post traumatic stress disorder of those, 22 percent of women suffered from 'military sexual trauma,' which includes sexual harassment or assault, compared with 1 percent of men christensen, who has been diagnosed with ptsd, says she doesn't like leaving her comfort zone she doesn't drive more than two miles from her home 'when i get outside my familiar safe territory, i start to feel overwhelmed,' christensen said 'it gets foggy not sure where i'm really going something comes over me where i don't feel like i have control over it' 'ptsd is actually something that shows up over time, and so the natural recovery process doesn't happen,' said dr darrah westrup, who counsels female veterans at the va run women's health clinic in menlo park, california 'so three months out or so, you find yourself still not sleeping, still with nightmares, still having intrusive thoughts,' westrup said westrup says another factor contributing to poor mental health is the high amount of sexual trauma reported by women screened by the veterans administration she says many women have trouble reporting the trauma to their superiors out of fear of retribution 'when you are in a war zone, your survival depends on people watching your back and on unit cohesion,' westrup said 'the same individuals who attacked you are those who will be protecting you, or you'll be fighting alongside the next day' christensen receives counseling and group therapy sponsored by the va however, the military has said there is no merit to her claims that she suffered military sexual trauma like many who suffer from post traumatic stress, christensen still has her ups and downs she says she's just working to get past the feelings of guilt, shame, loss of control and low self esteem 'i don't think we'll ever be the same i think that you can learn to cope with it, and that's what i'm learning right now,' she said e mail to a friend | conjurer pretest nonflagellated | no related information |
(cnn) it wasn't tibet's subzero temperatures that nurse practitioner arlene samen found so chilling on a 1997 medical trip, but the haunting stories she was told about mothers and newborns on the brink of death after childbirth arlene samen, right, helps provide childbirth education and equipment to those in need through one heart 'when i came to tibet i heard of so many tragic stories of women dying no access to care in remote areas, no history of trained birth attendants, and no knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth,' samen recalls it is a problem that stretches well beyond tibet's borders according to the world health organization, more than 500,000 women worldwide die each year as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and nearly 7 million babies are either born dead or die within 28 days of their life almost all these deaths occur in the developing world upon her return from tibet, and in association with the university of utah health services center, samen, 54, created one heart (health education and research in tibet) to combat the high infant and maternal mortality rates in tibet and around the world through one heart, samen's mission is to reach remote areas where women have limited access to a safe delivery, distribute the organization's training model, and debunk any fears toward safe, sanitary birthing practices 'it's not uncommon for babies to die from basic things like not cleaning their mouth out to breathe,' says samen 'in surveys we've done, more than 50 percent of babies that died were born alive this is due to lack of education' watch samen talk about the organization's work » since 1998, one heart has worked to set up centers that teach and educate local nurse practitioners, villagers and expectant mothers on how to deliver and care for newborn babies a huge part of the organization's instruction includes hands on birthing demonstration and distribution of community tailored birth kits 'i witnessed deliveries where the infant did not even have a blanket,' says samen 'i put a kit together with very simple items and anyone, anywhere can use this kit to keep infants and mothers alive during and after childbirth' watch home video of samen in tibet, where she delivered a baby » the birth kit typically includes a sterilized razor blade, a clean sheet, three towels for the baby, three fleece blankets, a string to tie around the umbilical cord, gloves for the person delivering the baby and soap for hand washing over the last 10 years, samen's team has supplied more than 3,400 safe birthing kits to pregnant women and has trained more than 1,000 people in life saving techniques for 2008, one heart's education outreach program has targeted nayarit, mexico, a mountainous terrain in mesoamerica and the native land of more than 50,000 indigenous cora and huichol indians this past february, accompanied by a team of doctors and translators, samen spent three days embedded within nayarit's santa theresa communities, using an instructional newborn doll for childbirth training sessions and discussing safe birthing techniques and procedures 'the traditional birth attendants told us they don't like to bring the women to the hospital because there's a fear of c section and complications [the women] would rather die than to come in and get help,' samen says watch samen describe the rigors of bringing a child birthing center to a remote area of mexico » 'i found that really astounding and would like to look into that further to see if there's ways that we can cross that barrier and really help them so that they don't have that kind of fear' samen lives in salt lake city, but currently spends several months of the year in tibet future plans for one heart include training local partners on the ground in nepal and ecuador e mail to a friend | utah tibet group mexico this year nepal ecuador | utah nurse practitioner helps fight high childbirth mortality rates in tibet . one heart conducts birthing demonstrations, distributes birth kits . group is working in mexico this year; future plans include nepal, ecuador |
new york (cnn) with the election just days away, most americans disapprove of both democrats and republicans in congress, while 58 percent of our fellow citizens say it's time for a third party so let's break out of the two party mold and take a look at some of the independent candidates across the country who are surging or struggling as election day approaches more americans now identify themselves as independent than democrat or republican and independent candidacies are on the rise 'ninety two percent of the voters this election will find a minor party or independent candidate on their ballot, either for statewide office or for us house,' said richard winger of the ballot access news 'that's higher than in a normal midterm year' the united states had four independent governors in the 1990s jesse ventura of minnesota, lowell weicker of connecticut, wally hickel of alaska, and angus king of maine but none in the last decade we've had three independents in the senate since 2000 vermont's jim jeffords and bernie sanders as well as connecticut's joe lieberman and independent mayor michael bloomberg of new york city is mentioned as a possible candidate for president in 2012, following in ross perot's self funded footsteps this year, we have high profile candidates running for governor's mansions and for the us senate as independents lincoln chafee is leading in polls to become the first independent governor of rhode island one of 10 states where registered independents outnumber democrats or republicans president obama recently decided not to endorse the democrat in this race out of deference to chafee, who had been a rare republican friend in the senate and supported obama in '08 there is 'fatigue with the two parties right now,' chafee told me a few months ago 'people are so weary of the gridlock and partisanship it's counterproductive to moving the country forward in our very, very challenging times' in maine, independent eliot cutler is trending upward and collecting major newspaper endorsements for his bid to be governor, though he still trails in the polls but in a state where two term gov angus king set the model for independent executives, you can't count out a man whose plans are praised by local newspapers as 'thoughtful, logical and, most important, doable' especially when his gop opponent is becoming best known for promising to tell the president to 'get the hell out' of his state two serious independent senate runs are being conducted this year, both by centrist republicans who found themselves being pushed out by conservative tea party activists in closed partisan primaries in alaska, polls show incumbent sen lisa murkowski running neck and neck with gop nominee joe miller, who enjoys the support of former gov sarah palin murkowski is running as an independent in a write in candidacy the last successful write in senate candidate was strom thurmond in 1954 but the murkowski name is almost as influential in alaska, and joe miller's erratic behavior, including allowing his private security staff to handcuff a local reporter, is provoking a backlash even among conservatives like ben stein, who recently called him a 'clown' in florida, gov charlie crist has been campaigning as an independent for the us senate he was leading in polls over the summer, but gop nominee marco rubio has been surging by staying competitive among florida's 25 million independent voters, while keeping his republican base happy it might surprise you to know that there are 140 independent or third party candidates running for the house of representatives this year and while most are admittedly long shots, their campaigns retain an aura of idealism and independence for example, in mississippi, independent candidate les green, a local math teacher, explains the logic of his campaign in a radio ad which proclaims, 'they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result but that's what we've been doing electing the same career politicians of the same political parties year after year 13 trillion in debt, open borders, and 8 million lost jobs is what we got i'm no politician, but i know when things don't add up if we want to change washington, we have to change who we send there' one of the most interesting stories of independence this year comes from the modern whig party, a surprising reinvention of the political party to which henry clay and abraham lincoln once belonged 'we are in the grass roots stage, but over time, when people think whig, we want them to think of non fringe, pragmatic centrist solutions,' said andrew evans, one of the founders and leaders of the party 'we wanted that connection to history,' he said, 'but we have modern principles our members tend to be socially liberal but fiscally conservative' the modern whig party claims 50,000 members in all 50 states, and it is running a handful of candidates for both congress and statewide office this year jeff vanke is the party's candidate in virginia's 6th district, running a competitive campaign against republican incumbent bob goodlatte (there is no democrat in the race) vanke a 40 year old former eagle scout with a phd in history has a detailed balanced budget proposal as the centerpiece of his campaign and pledges to keep at least 50 percent of his net worth in federal bonds 'in order to get more of american debt out of chinese, middle eastern, and other foreign hands and back into our own country' more and more americans are declaring their independence, because the two major parties seem to be controlled by special interests or the parties' most extreme elements, leading directly to government dysfunction the parties are not mentioned in the constitution, but they act as if they are the purpose of our politics they are not and until they become more representative and responsive to the majority of americans who feel politically homeless, we will see more declarations of independents the courage of their example could drive a renewal of our democracy the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of john p avlon | john avlon avlon lincoln chafee rhode island | john avlon: most people are unhappy with the two major parties and want an alternative . he says several independents and third parties are on ballots this year . avlon says lincoln chafee is running a credible independent campaign in rhode island . avlon: the two major parties 'act as if they are the purpose of our politics' |
(cnn) ten cases of polio have been confirmed among children in syria, the first outbreak of the disease in that country since 1999, a world health organization spokesman told cnn tuesday who's oliver rosenbauer said the confirmations were among 22 suspected cases that were identified on october 17 in the eastern city of deir ezzor after the children exhibited symptoms of 'acute flaccid paralysis' a sudden onset of weakness and floppiness in any part of a child's body or paralysis in anyone in whom polio is suspected as the cause the confirmation was key because other diseases can cause similar symptoms most of the victims were younger than two years old and were unimmunized or underimmunized, who said in a statement the syrian health ministry is working with international organizations and the syrian arab red crescent to get vaccine to all areas of syria, health minister dr saad al nayef told who's regional committee on monday in muscat, oman, the state run syrian arab news agency reported tuesday but dr bruce aylward, the world health organization's assistant director general for polio, emergencies and country collaboration, told cnn last week that his organization was not waiting for the confirmation to mount a vaccination campaign 'as far as everyone is concerned, they're treating this like polio,' he said on october 24, health officials launched a program to immunize 16 million syrian children against polio, measles, mumps and rubella in government and rebel held areas the response, which will also include neighboring countries, is expected to last at least six months, the who said according to unicef, 500,000 children in syria have not been vaccinated against polio given the fighting, the large scale movement of refugees and the number of children who have not been fully immunized, 'the risk of further international spread of wild poliovirus type 1 across the region is considered to be high,' it added the highly infectious viral disease primarily affects young children initial symptoms can include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, limb pain and, in a small number of cases, paralysis and death it can be prevented through immunization, but there is no cure the incidence of the disease has dropped by more than 99% since 1988 it remains endemic in three countries pakistan, nigeria and afghanistan down from more than 125 countries in 1988 public health can be among the first casualties of war, as resources are diverted away from ensuring clean water supplies and intact sewer lines despite the challenges posed by the ongoing civil war, the polio vaccination effort will be helped by the fact that syria had high rates of vaccination coverage among its populace prior to the current conflict, aylward predicted in an address friday to the un security council, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief cited the outbreak as an example of the privations endured by the syrians and the risks they face diseases, including those easily preventable by basic hygiene and vaccination, are spreading 'at an alarming rate,' said valerie amos in addition, reports of malnutrition have soared, and people suffering from chronic illnesses, such as cancer and diabetes, are dying for lack of access to treatment, she said aid workers cannot reach some 25 million people in the country, she added 'all humanitarian staff missions and convoys continue to require written approval,' she said, citing as 'unacceptable' and 'unpredictable' the government's processing of visas for un and non governmental staff members more than 100 such visas are pending, many are limited to a single entry and many of those that are issued are for insufficient durations, she said 'there is simply no reason why humanitarian staff, whose only interest is to help those in desperate need, have not been granted visas to scale up our operations,' she said in response, syria's permanent representative to the united nations acknowledged to reporters in new york that the country is facing grave humanitarian problems, but accused amos of having failed to properly apportion blame 'she should know and say what are the root causes,' bashar jaafari told reporters, citing neighborhoods that are 'under siege by the syrian army because there are armed groups in these neighborhoods taking civilians as human shields' jaafari said his country is 'a victim of interference by some member states into its domestic affairs' regarding the issuance of visas, he said, 'we are issuing too many visas to too many people; we are a sovereign nation, like any other nation; we have our own reasons sometimes to deny a visa to this or that individual' jaafari said damascus has extended visas to hundreds of people working for the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha), which is led by amos 'any minimal cases here and there' of problems 'wouldn't affect the overall picture of our cooperation with ocha,' he said according to the united nations, more than 100,000 people have died in the conflict, which began in march 2011 when government forces cracked down on peaceful protesters cnn's jessica king contributed to this report | gallophilism intrenched superinformality | no related information |
karachi, pakistan (cnn) with a few drops of vaccine, gulnaz shields another child from the devastating effects of polio it's a simple but potentially life saving task it's also incredibly dangerous not for the children, but for gulnaz, who works in one of the most violent parts of karachi last year, her niece and sister in law also polio workers were gunned down by men on motorcycles the un's children's agency, unicef, said they were shot to death for vaccinating the children why polio hasn't gone away yet but the deaths haven't stopped gulnaz, who is using one name for safety reasons 'everybody in my family was suffering from shock some of them tried to stop me, telling me not to do this job anymore because two coffins leaving one house leaves a mark,' she said anti polio campaigns have been targeted by militants ever since us intelligence used a fake vaccination program to help in its hunt for al qaeda leader osama bin laden in 2011 the cia used a fake vaccination program to collect dna samples from residents of bin laden's compound to verify his presence there taliban to us: end drone strikes, or no more polio vaccines that wasn't a polio campaign, but the fallout still lingers since july 2012, at least 22 polio workers have been killed still, gulnaz remains undeterred 'after this tragedy, i'm not scared at all in fact, i feel even stronger and more determined,' she said 'every woman in this country who is doing this job is praying for me when i'm working in the field i'm with my partner, but i also sense that my niece and sister in law who were killed are walking alongside me' gulnaz and her partner are escorted by paramilitary soldiers who seal off the area guarding each end of a street to ensure that young children get access to the crucial drops of vaccine that most parents and children around the world can simply get from their local doctor unrelenting attacks on monday alone, two people were killed and 13 others were wounded in a bombing that targeted polio workers in northwest pakistan, police said that blast took place on the outskirts of the violence plagued city of peshawar at the un, money backs up vow to eradicate polio by 2015 the bomb was detonated remotely as polio vaccines and accompanying materials were being handed out to health workers, said najeeb ur rehman, a senior police superintendent last year, a taliban commander in northwest pakistan announced a ban on polio vaccines for children in the region as long as the united states continues its campaign of drone strikes it wasn't immediately clear if the taliban played a role in the most recent attacks a father's dilemma osman was infected with polio as a child and wanted to make sure his children were vaccinated but after the raid that killed bin laden, he decided not to vaccinate his 3 year old son, musharraf the boy became one of the 28 cases of detected polio in pakistan in 2013 'i'm not stupid or illiterate i made sure my other children got the drops,' osman said 'but i was very angry and wary of aid workers, because if they are cooperating with spy agencies, then it's better to keep away from them i am sad my youngest suffered, but i don't regret my decision' paralympian: we can't afford to lose the fight against polio osman, who is using only one name for safety reasons, changed his mind only after the government released a booklet with a series of religious edicts from muslim scholars telling parents that polio drops are safe polio is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis in just hours it has been eradicated around the world except for three countries where it is endemic: pakistan, nigeria and afghanistan after the number of cases spiked sharply last year, pakistan stepped up its eradication efforts the numbers fell from 173 in 2011 to 58 in 2012, according to the global polio eradication initiative 'i am appealing to my fellow pashtun society, to give their kids polio drops,' osman said it's a message that health care workers hope others will hear it could not only make their jobs safer, but also save children from a lifetime of disability | gulnaz us cia bin laden's pakistan | gulnaz's niece and sister in law were gunned down for giving polio vaccines . militants have targeted such programs after the us started a fake vaccination program . the cia collected dna samples from residents of bin laden's compound to verify his location . pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is endemic |
(cnn) with tuesday's recall vote, taxpayers in wisconsin affirmed gov scott walker's reforms and put an end to the state's unholy alliance between big government and big labor the reign of entrenched public sector unions may be over and a new era of self governing fiscal responsibility beginning the importance of walker's victory cannot be understated this is, after all, wisconsin the birthplace of the american federation of state county and municipal employees and the first state to permit collective bargaining not since ronald reagan in 1984 has wisconsin voted republican, and in 2008, obama took the state by a whopping 14 points analysis: wisconsin now tougher for obama, but still uphill climb for romney and yet walker won by seven points tuesday, becoming the first governor in us history to survive a recall election lt gov rebecca kleefisch also beat the recall the wisconsin saga ends close to where it began: a sobering defeat for organized labor and a stunning victory for fiscal conservatives walker took office in 2011 facing a $36 billion budget hole he had few options at his disposal to balance the budget: raise taxes, make draconian cuts or go after the sweetheart public employee pension and health care plans he bravely chose the latter, requiring public employees to pay 5% of their salaries toward their pensions (they paid virtually nothing before) and 126% of their health care premiums (less than what private and federal employees pay) furthermore, he ended collective bargaining except for wages and made automatic union dues optional walker's wisconsin win big blow to unions, smaller one to obama before walker's reforms, wisconsin state employees enjoyed salary and benefits that were about 28% higher than comparable private sector workers, according to a new study from the american enterprise institute even after his much decried reforms, wisconsin public employees' total compensation is still about 22% greater $81,637 versus $67,068 than similar private sector workers yet how were walker's proposals received? democratic state senators fled to illinois to avoid votes; up to 100,000 protesters stormed the state capitol in madison, climbing through windows and trashing the building; teachers handed out fake doctors' notes to skip school and protest, some even bringing their students with them; signs and fliers compared scott walker to adolf hitler; a democratic state senator cursed out a republican lawmaker; and lastly, democrats initiated recall elections on state senators, the lieutenant governor and walker in the end, democrats have little, if anything, to show for it that's because walker's reforms have done everything he promised he recouped the state's budget shortfall without raising taxes school districts that enacted his reforms were able to meet budgets without firing teachers, enlarging class sizes or cutting programs in fact, some even reported budget surpluses property taxes fell for the first time in 13 years, and walker cited figures that showed wisconsin has added 35,000 jobs since he took office the public sector union machine, once a colossus of democratic power, looks weak in the wake of walker's triumph with mandatory union dues now extinct, union membership has withered in wisconsin afscme's local 24 in madison has seen its ranks drop from 22,300 to 7,100, while afscme's statewide membership has been cut in half in short, walker has broken the long running cycle of handoffs and paybacks between union leadership and state politicians where is the democrat outrage? in 2007, then sen barack obama promised, '(i)f american workers are being denied their right to organize when i'm in the white house, i will put on a comfortable pair of shoes and i will walk on that picket line with you as president of the united states' in february 2011, president obama called walker's proposals an 'assault' on unions but less than two years later, obama wouldn't set foot in wisconsin before the recall his endorsement of tom barrett came via twitter, hardly instilling confidence in the democratic cause public sector unions were left out in the wisconsin cold on the other hand, the untold story of the wisconsin saga may be the resurgence of the tea party local tea party groups, like the racine tea party, and national groups, such as americans for prosperity, have hosted dozens of rallies for walker, recruiting volunteers from around the country and pouring in campaign donations in unparalleled numbers any rumors of a tea party demise have been short lived come november, wisconsin will be the conservative rallying cry fittingly, the badger fight song may very well be the anthem: on, wisconsin! on, wisconsin! plunge right through that line! run the ball clear down the field, a touchdown sure this time the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of william j bennett | william bennett wisconsin scott walker multibillion dollar bennett obama | william bennett: recall vote a huge victory for conservatives, tea party . he says wisconsin gov scott walker faced multibillion dollar budget deficit . bennett says cutting worker benefits erased deficit, lowered taxes, helped state economy . he says obama didn't fulfill vow to stand with workers who lost collective bargaining on benefits |
bangkok, thailand (cnn) lao airlines is investigating that possibility that a plane crash that killed 49 people wednesday was caused by 'wind shear,' an airline official said wind shear a sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance has been a factor in many air disasters chalerm taiyalad, a lao airlines vice president, said it was raining heavily at the time flight qv301 was approaching for landing at pakse airport, near the thai border, after departing from the capital vientiane gusts from the remnants of typhoon nari appeared to have caused the pilots to lose control of the atr 72 aircraft, he said the atr 72 propeller plane was preparing to land when a gust of wind appeared to push it away from the airport, and it crashed on or near an island in the mekong river, reported kpl, the national news agency forty nine people 44 passengers and 5 crew were killed in the crash they included 16 laotian passengers and five crew, seven french, six australians, five thais, three koreans, two vietnamese, an american, a canadian, a chinese, a malaysian and one taiwanese, taiyalad said he said five bodies had been recovered from the mekong river, while the black box and the remains of the aircraft remained unaccounted for, along with the remaining 44 bodies families of the victims were arriving in pakse, awaiting the recovery of their relatives somphone doungdara, ceo of lao airlines, said his company was working with authorities and investigators from the aircraft manufacturer to determine the cause of the crash 'our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this terrible tragedy,' he said plane crash kills 14 at nigeria airport cnn's kocha olarn in bangkok and brandon miller contributed to this report | lao airlines vientiane pakse laos thai typhoon nari | new: five bodies recovered from lao airlines crash, 44 still missing . flight was headed from vientiane to pakse, laos, thai official says . remnants of typhoon nari have been hitting the area . the plane was preparing to land amid heavy gusts of wind and rain |
bangkok, thailand (cnn) the general who seized control of thailand in a coup last week said monday that he has received royal endorsement to run the politically unstable country and warned of a potential crackdown on people protesting military rule dressed in a white uniform and flanked by more than a dozen other military officials, gen prayuth chan ocha addressed reporters in bangkok, saying he had received a royal command from the country's deeply revered king to head the ruling military council saying there was 'no set time period' for when new elections might be held, prayuth outlined the steps he said his junta plans to take, including setting up a committee to introduce reforms but he also issued a warning to the groups of protesters who have gathered in bangkok in recent days to voice their opposition to the coup and call for democratic elections the demonstrators, who numbered in the hundreds on sunday, have scuffled with soldiers in the streets so far, the military has allowed the small but growing protests to take place, even though martial law forbids gatherings of more than five people with more protests expected monday, prayuth suggested the military wouldn't tolerate public displays of dissent indefinitely, saying the situation was reaching a 'boiling point' he urged people to stop demonstrating, warning that they risk a stricter enforcement of martial law and prosecution in military courts, and told journalists and social media users not to transmit provocative messages coup criticized the thai military carried out the coup thursday tearing up the constitution and imposing a curfew after months of unrest that had destabilized the elected government and caused outbursts of deadly violence in bangkok but the sudden intervention by the armed forces the latest in a series of coups that have punctuated modern thai history has been criticized by human rights activists and foreign governments, including the united states receiving endorsement from king bhumibol adulyadej, thailand's ailing but widely admired monarch, adds legitimacy to prayuth's credentials but it appears unlikely to change the opinions of many of the protesters who have been taking to the streets to demonstrate against the coup other thais have expressed hope that the military will succeed in bringing an end to the crisis that has plagued the country for months politicians, academics summoned since taking power, military authorities have summoned and in some cases detained scores of leading political officials and other prominent figures, such as academics and business leaders travel bans have also been imposed among the most high profile figures who've turned themselves in is former prime minister yingluck shinawatra, who was in office when the current phase of political turmoil began in november yingluck, who was removed from office by the courts earlier this month, was released from a military facility over the weekend after she followed a summons to report to military authorities on friday a military source said yingluck was asked to 'help us maintain peace and order and not to get involved with protesters or any political movement' and now has freedom of movement and communication but a close aide to yingluck disagreed with the assertion that she was free to move and communicate she is yet to make any public statement since the coup thaksin's influence the recent unrest was driven by months of protests against yingluck's government the protest leaders said they wanted to rid thailand of the influence of yingluck and her wealthy brother, the exiled former prime minister thaksin shinawatra, who was deposed in the country's last military coup in 2006 the shinawatras' powerful political movement, which has dominated elections for more than a decade, draws its support from thailand's populous rural regions in the north and northeast but it is unpopular among the bangkok elites, who accuse it of buying votes through ill judged, populist policies the protesters who campaigned against yingluck's government claimed thailand needed reforms to be imposed by an unelected council before any further elections could take place with the military's intervention, they appear to have got their wish, although some of the protest leaders were taken into custody after the coup suthep thaugsuban, the ring leader of the anti yingluck protests, was released on bail of 600,000 baht ($18,000) with instructions he can't leave the country, his organization said monday on its facebook page it remains unclear how the pro thaksin red shirt movement, which held mass rallies in central bangkok in 2010, will respond to military rule some of the top red shirt leaders are also among those who were detained by military authorities cnn's paula hancocks reported from bangkok, and jethro mullen reported and wrote from hong kong cnn's kocha olarn and journalist kiki dhitavat contributed to this report | prayuth chan ocha last week months | new: the leader of rallies against the former government is released on bail . gen prayuth chan ocha urges people to stop protesting or risk crackdown . he says he has the king's approval to head the ruling military council . the military took power last week after months of political turmoil |
(matadornetworkcom) matador network's eva sandoval lays out the city's most avoidable attractionsand what you should do instead 1 don't get lit in temple bar temple bar is home to several bars that drunken tourists in green face paint love to frequent there are lovely things to see in historic temple bar for example, the irish photography centre, the temple bar music centre and the irish film institute but save your tour for the daytime, before things get pagan do tie one on like the locals head to the area around georges street in city centre or make your way down towards rathmines 4 dame lane and the globe for your clubbing clusterfreaks; the duke, the bernard shaw, the bleeding horse and roddy boland for your beer and gaa matches those in search of the dirty singles scene might entertain the idea of hitting copper face jacks a local institution, described in disgusted tones by my dubliner friends as 'a meatmarket,' 'full of nurses and gardaí (irish police),' and 'hell on earth' but, you know, wildly popular with the locals you've been officially warned 2 don't expect to drink all night most pubs close at 11:30 pm on weeknights and 1am on weekends something about curbing alcoholism well done do make friends the party still goes on after hours in people's homes make sure to hit the off license before 10:30 pm to stock up or you'll be doubly out of luck matador network: photo essay exploring western ireland 3 don't try to get inside oscar wilde's birthplace 21 westland row is not a museum it's the writing centre for the creative writing and irish literature master's of philosophy students at trinity college dublin there are no tours; just would be writers attending lectures and jumping in shock each time you ring the buzzer and shout: 'oscar wilde!' i speak from personal experience do visit the yeats exhibit at kildare street brilliant free definitely open to the public or if it's still oscar you're after, visit 1 merrion square to see the house where he grew up or the oscar wilde statue in merrion square 4 don't call an irishman (or irishwoman) british this goes for the whole of the republic of ireland want to start a fistfight? talk about how dublin is the greatest capital city in the uk; tourist goes down do get it right the republic of ireland is independent of the the crown it has been a free state since 1922 northern ireland is part of the uk matador network: a night down the pub in dublin by the numbers 5 don't automatically dismiss the food i might be a bit biased here because i find traditional irish fare incredibly satisfying: hearty shepherd's pie, fat pink irish salmon, mussels, chips and potato boxty what's not to like? dublin is a vibrant capital city, full of trendy restaurants offering ethnic and traditional specialties new irish cuisine puts heavy emphasis on organically sourced ingredients and it's the norm to find vegan and coeliac options on most menus do try irish classics with a twist for souped up takes on homestyle irish classics like fish pie and bangers & mash, try the farm or the winding stair yamamori on eden quay has great fresh sushi, or try fafie's french crêperie on kevin street for crepes and gallettes jo burger in rathmines has quite possibly the world's perfect burger with homemade fixings from the breton buns to the homemade spicy ketchup and patties of 100% locally sourced beef, chicken and lamb prior fasting recommended 6 don't stick to british colonial and irish civil war historical sights dublin's got serious viking dna, dating from the 9th century, and plenty of local pre history to explore do take the viking splash tour 20 euro gets you a seat on the viking splash tour a bright yellow amphibious vehicle that parades you around dublin's city centre to learn about its viking past at the end of the tour, the vehicle slips into the grand canal docklands for a cruise best of all, the tour leader encourages passengers to shout 'argh!' like vikings at hapless pedestrians bonus: everyone gets to wear plastic viking helmets alternatively, visit the national museum of ireland archaeology to see bog people bodies preserved to eerie near perfection thousands of years ago in ireland's peat bogs free admission every day matador network: 5 of ireland's best beaches 7 don't attend the st patrick's day parade celebrating st patrick's day in dublin is a bucket list goal for many too many try to be content with simply being in country for the holiday, unless you like vomit lined streets, exposed genitalia and sidewalk to sidewalk crowds do head somewhere on the west coast the west coast has less crowds and less tourist nonsense try visiting achill island for their annual piper celebration 8 don't order a murphy's why would you? murphy's stout comes from cork! gasp do order a guinness you're in the land from whence the mother's milk flows, after all arthur guinness signed a 9000 year lease on the guinness factory in dublin 2, so you've got plenty of time matador network: 10 wwoofing opportunities in ireland 9 don't expect an 'authentic' trad music session these days, catching a trad music session in dublin is like watching a rodeo in new york city while you might get some sessions in touristy temple bar or at the duke, you'll have better luck finding spontaneous traditional irish music out on the west coast or in the countryside do find dublin style standup comedy on monday nights, the international bar at 23 wicklow street in city centre hosts glór an open mic poetry, music and writing slam held in both english and irish brilliant cultural fun 10 don't take a photo next to molly malone during my first visit to dublin, my irish then boyfriend forbade me to set foot near the statue of molly malone for fear i'd get myself him pegged as a tourist turned out, there wasn't even a point in trying to get a photo; dublin's most famous working girl still has people crawling all over her do find another idol try taking a photo next to the statue of thin lizzy's phil lynott on harry street or james joyce at north earl street and the spire for an easier photo op dublin has lots of terrific statues that aren't mobbed by tourists © 2011 matador network, matador ventures, llc | dublin skip dublin's st patrick's day parade | 10 attractions to avoid when visiting dublin . don't expect to drink all night most pubs close at 1 am on weekends . skip dublin's st patrick's day parade when vomit and crowds fill the streets |
baghdad, iraq (cnn) muntadher al zaidi, the man seen as a hero in some circles for throwing his shoes at then us president george w bush, was sentenced to three years in prison thursday by an iraqi court tv reporter muntadher al zaidi, shown in a file photo, was jailed after throwing his shoes at president bush al zaidi threw his shoes at bush during a news conference with iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki in december in baghdad neither shoe hit the president, and other people in the room quickly knocked al zaidi to the ground before security officials arrested him family members and journalists were cleared from the courtroom before thursday's verdict after news of the verdict reached family members, al zaidi's brother appeared close to fainting other family members were seen crying and shouting curses about al maliki and bush watch al zaidi's family protest the sentence » al zaidi was a journalist who worked for the television network al baghdadia the network also called for his release shortly after the incident he explained his actions during an hourlong appearance last month in the central criminal court of iraq asked whether anyone pushed or motivated him, al zaidi said he was spurred by the 'violations that are committed against the iraqi people' in the middle east, throwing shoes at someone is traditionally a sign of contempt al zaidi's angry gesture touched a defiant nerve throughout the arab and muslim world he is regarded by many people as a hero, and demonstrators took to the streets in the arab world and called for his release shortly after the incident al zaidi, who faced a charge of assaulting a visiting head of state, had 17 lawyers to defend him there were also three judges in the courtroom, along with the prosecutor and family members in december, his defense team told cnn that he could face 15 years in prison if convicted but al zaidi's defense team was hoping to change his charge to an insult rather than assault, which would have brought about three months in prison rather than three years cnn's yousif bassil and mohammed tawfeeq contributed to this report | muntadher al zaidi bush middle east al zaidi iraqis | muntadher al zaidi gets three years in prison for throwing shoes at president bush . throwing shoes at someone is sign of contempt in middle east . al zaidi said he was upset over violations committed against iraqis |
(cnn) the bad news just keeps coming for english premier league champions manchester united already out of the fa and league cups, another english premier defeat to stoke at the weekend left the club lagging 15 points behind leaders arsenal and now an online survey of chinese fans reveals the london club has eclipsed united as the most popular football club in china arsenal edged david moyes' side as the most popular club with italian side ac milan third, and ahead of spanish giants real madrid and barcelona germany was chosen as the most popular national side in china ahead of italy and spain while the english premier league was the overwhelming favorite national division among chinese fans, receiving 50% of the votes ahead of spain's la liga and italy's serie a the survey was conducted by coventry university's center for the international business of sport (cibs) in england between september and november last year, and drew a total of 15,586 responses cibs researcher jiajia song offered a possible explanation for why chinese football fans may prefer arsenal to manchester united, which has regularly toured in the far east 'fans are more likely to support a club team when players from their favorite national squad regularly make the starting line up,' said researcher jiajia song, who worked on the survey 'this means players like mesut ozil and lukas podalski, both german international players and players for arsenal, are likely to fulfill an important commercial and marketing role for club, country and league' arsenal first played in china in 1995 but did not tour again until 2011, reportedly because manager arsene wenger preferred to focus on preseason training in europe rather than embarking on potentially lucrative international tours many of arsenal's premier league rivals, including united, manchester city, liverpool and chelsea, have traveled to china and other asian nations in the hope of boosting their preseason coffers but professor simon chadwick, director of the cibs, argues the potential revenue from a club's global fanbase is not being maximized 'there's no doubt that clubs generate revenue from china, south korea and japan,' chadwick explained on twitter 'whether they make a profit is a different matter 'typically, less than 10% of turnover from a premier league club comes from overseas sales compare european football to nba in china, for example 'the nba has physical and marketing infrastructure set up on the ground to capitalize on opportunities to serve fans and customers' for now, arsenal and its premier league peers still deem it worthwhile to travel east to play in front of their global fans, but they face growing competition from china's domestic game the chinese super league was established in 2004, rebranding the jia a league formed a decade earlier, and it has now been expanded to 16 teams guangzhou evergrande is the club taking the domestic league by storm and last november it became the first chinese winners of the asian champions league the chinese champions claims it regularly attracts 45,000 fans evergrande is coached by italian marcello lippi, who guided italy to the 2006 world cup the foundation for lippi's success is a group of burgeoning chinese talent; he only has three international players among his ranks largely because the chinese league limits each club to employing five international players | arsenal chinese manchester united ac milan english premier league china guangzhou | arsenal is the most popular soccer club among chinese fans, according to a new survey . manchester united and ac milan were the next popular clubs in 16,000 fan survey . english premier league clubs still struggle to profit from overseas fansbase . in china, guangzhou evergrande are taking the domestic league by storm |
port au prince, haiti (cnn) like cholera itself, haiti's protests against the united nations spread thursday to the capital, port au prince, as angry people took to the streets demanding the global body get out of their country similar demonstrations erupted earlier this week in the northern coastal city of cap haitien after assertions that un peacekeepers from nepal were responsible for starting the cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 1,100 lives and spread to eight of the nation's 10 departments the united nations has denied that its forces were responsible for the outbreak in port au prince on thursday, a planned protest began peacefully in the center of the city but turned violent as it moved toward the presidential palace, with one woman overcome by tear gas, witnesses said at the central square, champs de mars plaza, several hundred young men moving in a pack blocked traffic by setting fire to tires in the street and overturning dumpsters several threw rocks at a campaign poster for presidential candidate jude celestin, whose candidacy has been endorsed by outgoing president rene preval others threw molotov cocktails at the poster some haitians have said celestin is a symbol of what is not working in the country, and that preval's endorsement of him means the election set for november 28 will not be fair near the presidential palace, which was destroyed in the january 12 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left more than 1 million homeless, stores were closed and few cars were in the streets, though pedestrians were moving about freely a sprawling makeshift tent city that is home to thousands of people who lost their homes in the quake is located in the area 'the haitian government is never do nothing for us,' said pierre aliodor, a protester who lives in the camp 'and we know the international government is still spending a lot of money for the haitian people but preval, with his government, he still keeps their money to take back to the united states to buy some house' since the earthquake struck, neither he nor his wife had received any help from the government or from any of the many nongovernmental organizations that are in haiti, aliodor said aliodor called for elections to be delayed 'this is not election time,' he said, adding that both preval and the un forces should depart, 'because they are not good for the haitian people' in another part of town, dozens of haitians most of them young and male attacked a government tractor that was being used to clear barricades blocking the streets in addition to the 1,110 reported cholera deaths, another 18,382 people have been hospitalized with the disease, the health ministry reported the hospital death rate was 40 percent, far above the none to 10 percent that infectious disease experts said they expect in developed countries in washington, mark ward, the acting director of the office of us foreign disaster assistance at the us agency for international development, said us authorities have 'a lot of confidence' in the haitian government's response to the outbreak the us government strategy for aid in haiti is to focus on prevention, he said, citing the need for clean drinking water, the addition of chlorine to the water supply, the ready availability of oral rehydration salts, education of the populace about how to protect themselves from getting the disease, and money to expand treatment centers 'we're going to invest a lot of money in their health system in the next five years,' said thomas c adams, special coordinator for haiti 'every hour that the efforts of medical and relief workers are obstructed means more deaths of haitians from cholera,' said dr mirta roses, director of the pan american health organization (paho) 'we understand the frustration of many haitians with the tragic situation that has developed as a result of systemic poverty, the january earthquake and now the cholera epidemic but relief and medical workers are as critical to saving lives as rescue teams were after the earthquake' in cap haitien, a cholera treatment center at the main stadium is being operated by medecins sans frontieres, also known as doctors without borders before the recent unrest, the organization was planning to open another center in a different part of town, said dr lea guido, paho representative in port au prince on wednesday alone, the center took in 100 patients paho said the unrest had led it and other united nations agencies to discontinue much of their work supporting cholera treatment centers, training health personnel, and delivering supplies to affected communities 'the last shipment of medical supplies was delivered over the weekend, and we had to postpone distribution planned for monday,' said guido 'the airport was closed, and many roads remain blocked we have not been able to ship new supplies to the area at all this week' beginning monday, residents of cap haitien, which has been hard hit by the outbreak, began demonstrations against un peacekeepers the northern port city is in the north department, the haitian province that has the highest fatality rate from cholera, 75 percent 'experience shows that without access to health care, the rate could rise to as much as five times that figure,' paho said in a statement health workers at hopital universitaire, the city's main hospital, treated at least six patients with gunshot wounds 'minustah shot them,' said a man pushing a wheelbarrow holding one of the wounded he was referring to the un forces in haiti by their acronym at cap haitien's justinien hospital, dr wilton cheruben told cnn that 37 people with bullet wounds had been treated between monday and wednesday night the victims included a 9 year old and a 14 year old who were shot in the mouth; a 6 year old was shot in the back and an 11 year old was shot in the arm, he said 'right now, we don't have any anesthetics, and the people really need some help,' he said in cap haitien, paho staff members have been confined to their living quarters since monday roses said thursday it was impossible to identify the origins of the epidemic in haiti 'with currently available data' rita colwell, a cholera expert at the university of maryland in college park and the johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health in baltimore, said the reported links between the outbreak and peacekeepers is not based on evidence 'the evidence is not clear at all to be making any charge whatsoever for importing the disease,' she said 'we've been jumping to conclusions without evidence, without facts' un officials said the demonstrations have disrupted logistical operations, including the supply of clean water and proper sanitation the un's world food programme reported that one of its warehouses had been looted and that food supplies were burned the private charity oxfam suspended water chlorination projects and other private charities pulled out of the cap haitien area un staffers have suggested the violence is politically motivated and said it's especially troubling just ahead of haiti's presidential elections journalists dmitri foucard and osman jean junior contributed to this story from port au prince | dichlorvos darius determ | no related information |
(cnn) health officials will be comparing samples to determine if two newborn infants were infected with the same strain of the bacteria that led to the rare infections that killed one and sickened another in the past month one newborn in missouri died from an infection caused by a type of bacteria called cronobacter sakazakii another newborn baby was sickened in illinois, but is recovering from the infection, according to the state health departments health officials friday were gathering information about each newborn, including what they ate and where they were, in an effort to trace the sources of the infections early indications led authorities to suspect a link to powdered infant formula the centers for disease control and infection and the states' health departments have been testing samples of open containers of infant formula, according to the cdc's dr robert tauxe, and the food and drug administration has been testing samples of unopened powdered formula 'so far no formula samples have yielded cronobacter,' according to tauxe, who is the cdc's deputy director for the division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases cronobacter infections are very rare, according to the cdc, which says only four to six cases are reported per year some of these infections have been linked to powdered infant formula in the past, according to the illinois department of public health however, at this time, it has not been established that infant formula was the source of either of the latest infections, according to the cdc late wednesday, wal mart stores inc announced it had pulled from its outlets nationwide all cans of enfamil newborn powdered formula that matched the size and lot number of the formula used for the baby who died in missouri the retailer said it removed the product 'out of an abundance of caution' until the investigation determines the source of the infection 'we really don't have evidence that the two infections are related to each other,' tauxe told cnn 'those two cases that occurred this past month may just be a coincidence' he said cdc labs will compare samples of the bacteria from both states in an effort to determine if they came from the same source tauxe cautions that these tests can take a long time 'up to a month' cronobacter can cause life threatening infections in newborns it's fatal in nearly 40% of cases, according to the cdc, and some of those who survive can be left with severe neurological problems because cronobacter is not monitored by pulsenet, a national network of state and local health departments and laboratories that is coordinated by the cdc (and works with the us department of agriculture and the fda), the cdc has alerted public health officials to be on the lookout for any other cases, tauxe said while breastfeeding is the healthiest and safest option to feed newborn infants, it's not always possible for mothers to do so commercially prepared liquid infant formula is generally safe because it's been canned, tauxe said, but powdered infant formula is not completely sterile the illinois health department says 'formula can become contaminated with c sakazakii through the raw products used to make the formula, contamination after pasteurization or during preparation of reconstituted formula for infant feeding' there are steps parents can take to reduce infection in newborn babies: prepare only a small amount of reconstituted formula for each feeding so as to reduce the amount of time the formula is held at room temperature do not hold reconstituted formula for longer than two hours without refrigeration throw out any formula left in a bottle after a feeding minimize the time reconstituted formula is held in the refrigerator before feeding | robert tauxe wal mart | initially, authorities suspected a link to powdered infant formula . tests so far have not found contamination in formula, dr robert tauxe says . wal mart has pulled a brand of formula from its shelves . only four to six cases of this type of infection are reported per year |
(cnn) when she saw a dayton, ohio, police officer tangled up with a man, angela pierce could have kept on driving instead, she got out of the car to team up with the officer and join the fight while the danger was real especially with the suspect in arm's reach of the officer's gun pierce told hln's jane velez mitchell that her thought process saturday night was simple: the police officer needed help, and she was in a position to give it 'i didn't even think about what (the suspect) could have had, i didn't think about what he could have done to me,' pierce said thursday 'i just went and tried to help' a camera mounted to the officer's car showed the police officer identified by cnn affiliate whio as officer jonathan seiter pulling over 64 year old otto coleman on what appeared to be a routine traffic stop but then coleman attacked the officer, leading to a full on scuffle 'it was hands on, and it was a boxing match,' seiter told whio around that time, pierce said she was driving by with her aunt, heading to a birthday party she asked her aunt to pull over, then got out of the car and ran toward the scene to help for less than a minute, pierce pounded coleman repeatedly on his head to help subdue him until more help arrived 'that could have been my father or grandfather,' pierce said of her decision to help seiter 'i just kept on swinging, because i didn't want (coleman) to get me or anything' pierce said that police initially handcuffed her, before soon realizing her part in the battle and releasing her subsequently, with coleman by then under arrest, she and the other police officers exchanged high fives before she headed off to her party dayton police sgt larry tolpin warned that people could get seriously hurt when they jump into the fray even if it's on law enforcement's side still, he told cnn affiliate wdtn that pierce deserved thanks for her effort 'don't get me wrong, i'm not endorsing that citizens participate in this manner,' tolpin said 'but under this particular circumstance, it was very commendable of her' | angela pierce dayton pierce | angela pierce was driving by when she saw a dayton police officer and suspect scuffling . she got out of the car, helping out the officer by repeatedly pounding on the suspect's head . pierce says, 'i didn't even think about what he could have done to me' |
(cnn) inter milan secured their fourth straight victory in italy's top flight sunday with a 2 0 win over catania to maintain their pursuit of unbeaten serie a leaders juventus boosted by their 1 0 defeat of ac milan in the city derby last weekend, inter were always on top in the san siro after star man antonio cassano headed home in the 28th minute rodrigo palacio added the clinching second with five minutes to go as diego milito set up his fellow argentine to score his first goal for inter inter coach andrea stramaccioni was delighted by their performance, particularly after the break 'we're a team that's growing the coach should only try to improve the team match by match,' he told the official inter website 'today was a step forward with a spectacular second half perhaps it was the first time we were fluid without giving anything away' they stay in fourth place, four points adrift of juventus, who maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2 0 win over napoli in a top of the table clash saturday evening martin caceres and 19 year old paul pogba scored for juve, who have opened up a three point lead over their opponents lazio's 3 2 win over struggling milan has left them in third ahead of inter on goal difference the top four are well clear of fifth placed fiorentina, who had to settle for a share of the points in the 1 1 draw at chievo french striker cyril thereau put the home side ahead in the first half but la viola leveled only a minute later when argentine defender guillermo rodriguez scored after a corner in the english premier league, fourth placed everton had steven pienaar sent off in the second half at loftus road as they were held 1 1 by queens park rangers midfielder pienaar went for a second yellow card on the hour mark, but his side held on for a draw which leaves them a point ahead of tottenham hotspur david moyes' men went behind to a deflected junior hoilett strike before sylvain distin's header deflected in off qpr goalkeeper julio cesar's back for an own goal to level sunday's other game in the epl saw sunderland and newcastle draw 1 1 in the tyne wear derby newcastle took the lead at the stadium of light through yohan cabaye's early strike, but had cheick tiote sent off for violent conduct in the 25th minute the home side pressed hard for an equalizer and were rewarded when demba ba diverted a john o'shea header past his own goalkeeper late on in the german bundesliga, augsburg were held to a goalless draw at nuremberg, while hamburg went down to their first defeat since rafael van der vaart signed from tottenham as they lost 1 0 to stuttgart vedad ibisevic scored the only goal on 30 minutes | giddap embryotroph stillage | no related information |
(cnn) the recent ordeal of meriam yahia ibrahim ishag, a sudanese mother and wife of an american citizen coupled with iran's continued imprisonment of saeed abedini, also an american citizen and a pastor should awaken our conscience to one grim and inescapable fact: the persecution of christians continues charged with leaving islam to marry a christian, despite being raised a christian and remaining one throughout her 27 years, meriam was sentenced to death last month for apostasy after an international outcry, she was released, rearrested, and released again, according to the us state department in sudan and iran, as well as countries like saudi arabia, leaders and movements impose their own extreme interpretations of islam, while restricting the rights of christians and other religious minorities elsewhere in the middle east, mass violence as well as repression arises from such movements in iraq and syria, forces of the islamic state of iraq and syria (isis) commit horrific abuses against christians and others, from torture to murder in egypt, scores of churches and other christian structures were burned by radicals last autumn following president mohamed morsy's fall while christians faced repression under prior regimes like hosni mubarak's, their predicament has worsened in a post arab spring world 7 terrible countries for christians with media attention riveted on the middle east, it is tempting to assume that persecution against christians occurs almost exclusively in that region but assaults against christians are worldwide, transcending any one regional, ideological, or religious bent combating this problem entails a much broader solution according to the findings of the us commission on international religious freedom (uscirf), evidence abounds of persecution elsewhere in myanmar (also known as burma), with a buddhist majority and a struggling democracy, ethnic minority christians, along with rohingya muslims, have faced ongoing abuses last year, during military incursions in kachin state, as many as 60 churches were shelled military forces have beaten and arrested christian leaders and kidnapped church members for forced labor in china, the world's most populous nation, catholics and protestants refusing to register with the communist dictatorship face arrests and fines, and their churches are shuttered china's government has issued a directive to 'eradicate' unregistered protestant churches over the next decade, and even registered churches have recently been bulldozed in zhejiang province in eritrea, a military regime jails up to 3,000 people, mostly evangelical or pentecostal christians, on religious grounds prisoners have been beaten and tortured in interviews with uscirf, released prisoners reported being confined in 20 foot metal shipping containers with extreme temperature fluctuations in india, the world's largest democracy, christians face harassment and violence, especially in states with laws restricting religious conversion from hinduism in nigeria, the central government fails to protect christians, as well as muslims, from boko haram terrorism in north korea, a totalitarian tyranny with a cult of personality venerating the ruling kim family, the government imprisons, tortures, and executes christians caught transporting bibles or engaging in missionary endeavors or other banned activities north koreans who flee for china and then convert to christianity are in grave danger when forcibly returned punishment includes beatings, torture, forced labor, sexual violence, and forced abortions or infanticide in pakistan, christians face a government that can imprison them unjustly under blasphemy laws while failing to protect them from attacks or punish their attackers last september, suicide bombers launched the worst assault against christians in pakistan's history, leaving, according to conservative estimates, at least 80 dead and more than 150 other parishioners wounded at a peshawar church in vietnam, a communist government suppresses independent protestants and other groups operating without government approval the regime seeks to stop their growth through discrimination, violence, and forced renunciations of faith opinion: extremism fuels abuse of christians in mideast and in a host of post soviet countries, christians in unregistered churches are seriously constrained in several of these countries, including uzbekistan, individuals are in prison for belonging to such churches abuses against christians span the globe a key reason is the confluence of two factors first, there are more than 2 billion christians in the world second, according to a pew research study, in one third of all nations, containing 75% of the world's people, governments either perpetrate or tolerate serious religious freedom abuses a six year pew study found that over six years, christians were harassed in 151 countries, the largest of any group surveyed in other words, given their enormous numbers and wide dispersion across nations, as well as the lack of freedom in many nations, it is no surprise how often christians are persecuted christians are often regarded as alien because some are members of ethnic minorities or are perceived as being identified with western interests for despotic governments and religious extremists, christianity is a dangerous source of competing authority, challenging their claims of absolute supremacy the bottom line is that christians are the proverbial canary in the coal mine wherever they are persecuted, the right to religious freedom for all is jeopardized wherever they are harassed or jailed, detained or discriminated against, tortured or murdered, governments perpetrate or tolerate abuses against others as well the global persecution of christians remains a serious indictment against governments and cultures for failing to protect a bedrock human right one that is enshrined in the 1948 universal declaration of human rights, which was signed by nearly every nation, and subsequent covenants we must continue to demand respect for that right, so that sudanese mothers and others can follow the call of conscience and conduct their lives in peace | robert george sudanese christians george mideast | robert george: sudanese mother's ordeal shows christians still persecuted . george: it's wrong to think discrimation against christians just happens in the mideast . george: assaults against christians transcend regional, ideological, or religious bent . he says a third of 2 billion christians live in nations that allow abuse of religious freedom |
jerusalem (cnn) israeli archaeologists have discovered an ancient roman bathhouse that was probably used by the soldiers who destroyed the second temple in jerusalem, the israel antiquities authority announced monday the surprise discovery includes the mark of rome's tenth legion as well as the paw print of a dog the animal probably belonged to one of the soldiers, excavation director ofer sion said the print 'could have happened accidentally or have been intended as a joke,' he said archaeologists were not expecting to find the roman structure in the jewish quarter, where a mikvah, or jewish ritual bath, was being constructed 'the mark of the soldiers of the tenth legion, in the form of the stamped impressions on the roof tiles and the in situ mud bricks, bears witness to the fact that they were the builders of the structure,' he said 'it seems that the bathhouse was used by these soldiers who were garrisoned there after suppressing the bar kokhba uprising in 135 ce (ad), when the pagan city aelia capitolina was established,' he explained the structure includes a number of plastered bathtubs in the side of a pool, a pipe used to fill it with water, and a white industrial mosaic pavement on the floor hundreds of terra cotta roof tiles were found on the floors of the pool, indicating it was a covered structure, he added the bathhouse tiles are stamped with the symbols of the tenth legion 'fretensis' leg x fr, he said the discovery shows that the roman encampment established to help keep israel under roman domination was larger than previously thought, another expert said 'despite the very extensive archaeological excavations that were carried out in the jewish quarter, so far not even one building has been discovered there that belonged to the roman legion,' jerusalem district archaeologist yuval baruch said 'the absence of such a find led to the conclusion that aelia capitolina, the roman city which was established after the destruction of jerusalem, was small and limited in area,' he said but the discovery of the 1,800 year old bathhouse 'together with other discoveries of recent years, shows that the city was considerably larger than what we previously estimated,' he said understanding the ancient roman city of aelia capitolina is 'extremely valuable,' he said, because it determined the shape of jerusalem's historic walls 'and the location of the gates to this very day' | roman the second temple jerusalem | the surprise discovery shows the ancient roman encampment was bigger than thought . it includes tiles stamped with the mark of the legion that destroyed the second temple . archeaologists found a dog's paw print . the roman city helped determine the shape of jerusalem to the present day |
new york (cnn) the united states and china could play a crucial role in helping finally to resolve the conflict that plagues the korean peninsula, says analyst fareed zakaria in one of the most violent incidents in decades, north korea shelled a south korean island tuesday, killing four people north korea accused the south of provoking the shelling of yeonpyeong island by holding a military exercise in the yellow sea and south korea responded by charging that the north's actions were a 'definite military provocation' in an interview with cnn, zakaria said a long term solution to the korean conflict would require high level secret talks aimed at assuring the government of china that if the two koreas were reunified, it would not be faced with a nuclear armed us ally on its border he said china 'has the power to make the north koreans pay a very, very high price were they not to listen to the chinese, because the chinese provide the vital food and fuel that keeps the country alive remember, this is a country with almost no indigenous economic activity, and so it would be very difficult for them to meet their most vital supply needs' 'the chinese have a lot of influence they have so far been very careful to apply some pressure, but they have almost never cut off food or fuel except for a day or two when they have really wanted to send a strong signal, and, by the way when they have done that, it's worked, it gets the north koreans' attention' the author and host of cnn's 'fareed zakaria gps' spoke to cnn on tuesday here is an edited transcript: cnn: what's the significance of north korea's actions? fareed zakaria: i think it's very worrying, very troubling combined with the sinking of that south korean ship, it is the most provocative thing the north koreans have done in years in terms of instigating hostilities the regime is unpredictable but ruthless, and we know that the south koreans are feeling some substantial pressure to respond in some way, and then you have all the other great powers in the region watching anxiously the whole thing has the potential to spiral out of control cnn: do you think it's connected to the succession process in north korea? zakaria: i think that's probably the most plausible theory that i've heard they're clearly going through a succession process it appears to be one that is fairly complex there are different factions that are being accommodated or tussled with sometimes it feels like something out of a shakespearean play where the aging king is appointing his dauphin as the successor, but there will be a regent who will actually administer, and by the way his sister has just been made a four star general in the army but outside that kind of theatrics what it suggests is that the family is trying to consolidate power, that there is perhaps some opposition in some quarters, perhaps in the military, perhaps in other quarters and by creating an external diversion, the regime is trying to consolidate power and unify the various parts of the government but one has to admit, this is just a theory the regime is a black box; we have so little contact that nobody really knows cnn: there's been a suggestion by some that north korea is really hoping to force the issue about getting direct talks with the united states rather than be part of a six nation diplomatic process zakaria: i don't buy the idea that people send you these signals by killing soldiers, sinking warships, sinking ships if the north koreans want to talk to the americans, they can ask to talk to the americans, and they could ask to do it within the six party talks; they could ask outside the framework; they could bring that up the issue of bilateral talks with the americans in the six party talks do they really have to kill the south koreans to make that point? i think this idea of brutal violence as some kind of sophisticated signaling device strikes me as highly unlikely far more likely is that this is a pretty thuggish regime that is consolidating power by creating external threats and enemies, but we probably should be open to any signs that they do want to have negotiation i myself doubt that this is the moment that they want to do anything they know that that door is open; the president has a very capable emissary, stephen bosworth, who is his envoy on this topic, very well versed in this issue, former ambassador to south korea, and my sense is that the north koreans have not reached out to him cnn: bosworth made a statement that he talked to the chinese about this, but it didn't seem like there was any special progress on that front zakaria: the chinese have been pretty helpful on managing the situation, making sure that it doesn't spiral out of control, but we haven't been able to get to the next level with the chinese, which is to say that the chinese sustain this regime the chinese provide about 90 percent of their energy and about 40 percent of their food aid it's pretty reasonable to say that without chinese support their regime would collapse, but the chinese have legitimate concerns about what the future of the korean peninsula would look like if there were a north korean implosion there is in their minds the kind of scenario in which korea unifies on the south's terms and becomes a unified much larger nation sitting on china's border with american troops in the unified korea, with an american security alliance, and by the way with nuclear weapons they would view it as a kind of threatening or destabilizing presence and so i think that is what makes the chinese very reluctant to do anything that would cause the regime to implode or cause the regime to start a downward spiral i think what needs to happen at some point, is that the united states and beijing need to engage in a very high level and very secret conversation about the future of the korean peninsula a conversation in which the united states should make certain informal or perhaps even formal guarantees regarding the role of nuclear weapons on the peninsula and the nature of american troop deployments we should make clear that we would denuclearize korea or we would encourage the south koreans to denuclearize korea, and then we would not move the troops that we have north of the north/south border cnn: this is all in the event of a unification? zakaria: right, so we make clear that in the event of a unification we understand the chinese concern, and we would try to respond to it, without obviously in any way jeopardizing the historical relationship with south korea unless we have some kind of long term strategic conversation with the chinese about what the future of the korean peninsula would look like, they don't have an incentive to in any way push the north koreans so we've got to get into a conversation with them to say, 'we understand your problem we should talk about those concerns now, and would you be willing to get tough on north korean nukes and north korean behavior?' cnn: here's a different view, which some have raised what is the united states doing in korea decades and decades after the end of the hostilities, and should the us stay indefinitely? zakaria: well, i think that's very shortsighted look, i am in general someone who believes the united states is overcommitted around the world i believe we have to draw down and pare back many of our commitments, but i think maintaining a stabilizing role in korea is absolutely crucial the center of power is shifting to asia, and korea is probably the single place in asia where there's the greatest potential for a war between the great powers russia, china, south korea, north korea, japan, all get involved in this so for the united states to be able to play a constructive role will be absolutely vital to its ability to be a pacific power, to be in what is now the new geo economic cockpit of the world i think there is a perfectly reasonable case to be made to have us draw down in places like germany, where the threat to american security is nonexistent, to draw down from iraq and the middle east to where we have an overly large military presence, but korea is a vital national interest of the united states, and i think that the major players in the region, particularly south korea, strongly want an american presence there | fareed zakaria china north korea north zakaria us chinese | fareed zakaria: china has tremendous influence over north korea . he says china supplies much of the north's vital supplies and can play a positive role . zakaria says us needs to work secretly with china to bring an end to conflict . he says us assurances could go long way toward gaining chinese ok for reunification |
(cnn) an arlington, texas, police officer was among three people killed in a shooting at an apartment complex tuesday night, officials said it was at least the second fatal shooting in two days of a law enforcement officer in the united states on monday, a georgia state trooper was fatally shot after a traffic stop in northwest atlanta in the arlington incident, the officer had been dispatched to an apartment complex to check out a report of domestic assault, city spokeswoman tiara richard told reporters 'shortly afterwards, officers received a call of a shooting at the same location when officers arrived, they found three people deceased here in an apartment at the complex one of those people was an officer,' she said authorities did not immediately release the name of the victims 'it's a tragic situation our hearts are broken tonight,' mayor robert cluck said in a statement in january, another arlington police officer died in the line of duty, richard said officer craig story was killed when his motorcycle struck a school bus about a mile away from tuesday's shooting scene, cnn affiliate wfaa reported 'any time you lose an officer who is working in the line of duty or not in the line of duty it's hard on the department,' richard told reporters 'it's hard on the city as a whole these are people who day in and day out, they go out and do their job and they are doing it to protect the citizens here it's a hard loss for anyoneespecially during this time of year' meanwhile, georgia officials have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of the state trooper late monday trooper chadwick lecroy, 38 was shot twice in the face following the traffic stop and he died en route to a hospital, a state patrol spokesman said the suspect escaped in the trooper's patrol car, which was found abandoned about half a mile away shortly afterward, he was taken into custody, the spokesman said cnn's samuel gardner contributed to this report | second arlington this year monday georgia | the officer was dispatched to the apartments on a domestic assualt report . he is the second arlington officer to die in the line of duty this year . on monday, a georgia state trooper was killed after a traffic stop |
dublin, republic of ireland (cnn) europe and the international monetary fund are in the process of finalizing a rescue package worth up to 100 billion euros to bail out ireland's banking sector what are the implications of the bailout for irish people and the rest of the world? when will we know the full details of the rescue package? over the next few weeks, the exact size of the bailout will be revealed and include details of when it will take effect, and what changes to ireland's austerity measures the imf will insist on in exchange for the facility on wednesday, irish prime minister brian cowen announced a tough four year austerity plan, which included a huge cut in welfare spending, a rise in the value added tax (vat) rate, and thousands of redundancies in the country's public sector however dublin stopped short of changing ireland's low corporate tax rate why does ireland need the money? ireland needs funds to shore up balance sheets after its government pumped billions of euros into irish banks to keep them afloat, effectively nationalizing most of them the european central bank is lending money to irish banks because other banks won't and lately people and companies have been pulling funds out of the banks this couldn't have continued what would the dangers have been if the crisis continued? a run on irish banks mass withdrawals by customers worried their bank will go bust would have been bad for the eurozone, as it could have forced the eu and imf to scramble to provide emergency funds within days, rather than in the more orderly, considered way now being organized also if yields (interest rates) on irish government bonds kept rising, the same would probably happen to bonds issued by countries such as spain and portugal this weakens the finances of banks in those countries (because their large holdings of spanish and portuguese bonds are growing less valuable), which will make them inclined to lend less which is damaging for the economy what does the bailout mean for irish citizens? analysts say a bailout is not likely to affect irish citizens directly but will have beneficial effects nonetheless 'all it's going to do is keep the banks going,' said peter morici of the university of maryland 'it's not going to change the objective conditions for the average irish people' but allan timmermann, who holds an endowed chair of finance at the university of california san diego, says a bailout will make life easier for ordinary folks because the aid might lessen the severity of service cuts the government will need to make 'if you imagine that there's no bailout, the measures that ireland would have to take in terms of cutbacks would have to be much more drastic' what will the bailout mean for people across europe? it means their tax dollars going to pay for yet another bank bailout plan, after the european union bailed out greece to the tune of 110 billion euros (currently $150 billion) in may but it also means the markets might calm down, taking pressure off spain and portugal, which are also facing budget problems bringing the yield on portuguese and spanish government bonds back to normal levels would mean they pay less on interest and more, hopefully, toward reducing their own deficits would it mean anything for americans? the stock market might regain what it has lost in the past two weeks over 'fears of european recovery' it could also mean the dollar starts to fall against the euro, which might boost american exports to europe, since american good would be cheaper for euro spenders to buy who would pay for an irish bailout? after greece took european and international monetary fund loans, european union countries pledged nearly $1 trillion for any country that can't pay its bills by raising funds through normal debt markets ireland does not have that problem, but it's clear the eu will allow ireland to pump loans into its banks (given the government controls them now anyway) eu countries and their taxpayers pay according to their size: germany the most and malta the least the united kingdom and sweden, neither of which use the euro currency, have also said they will lend about 8 billion euros and 1 billion euros respectively, to ireland what strings will be attached to the rescue package? the extra banking injection will take ireland's fiscal deficit from the planned 1175 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 to as high as 32 percent that's 10 times higher than the three percent allowed under the maastricht treaty agreed by the eu when it laid out the foundations of its single currency in 1992 the big question was whether the eu and the imf would demand that ireland's low level of corporation tax of 125 percent one of the lowest in the eu which helps keep the country competitive, be raised ireland has said it alone decides taxes, and decided against any change in its four year austerity plan the imf and financial markets will be analyzing the details of the plan to reassure themselves that finance minister brian lenihan can deliver on his pledge to shrink the fiscal deficit back down to three percent of gdp in 2014 so how did ireland get into this mess? ireland recorded stunning economic growth during what is known as the 'celtic tiger' era from around 1993 to 2007 when the global financial crisis hit irish banks, like others around the world, loaned money to people who in some cases couldn't pay it back cheap loans created extra demand for housing and as prices surged the construction industry raced to build more house prices multiplied during the period, making many homeowners impressive profits and generating fat tax receipts for the government however, when the housing bubble burst, consumer spending slowed sharply unemployment tripled from around four percent in 2005 to 118 percent in 2009 the most recent figure, for september, puts it even higher at 137 percent what has been the reaction of irish people towards the bailout? one of monday's papers carries the word 'humiliation' as part of its headline, and many people are unhappy that the imf has come to town the government is unpopular and it is hard to see how the bailout will help but what people don't want to see is the imf dictating terms of the budget over the next couple of years the government is trying to reassure voters that will not be the case, but it remains to be seen cnn's jim boulden contributed to this report | europe imf 100 billion euro ireland irish 125 percent | europe and imf discussing 100 billion euro bailout for ireland's banking sector . irish pm announced swingeing four year austerity plan . no change to ireland's low corporation tax of 125 percent . media express anger of irish people over mess it is in; government is unpopular |
san francisco, california (cnn) facebook ceo mark zuckerberg favors the little guy, but that attitude can pose obstacles for popular websites that want to work with his company apple and google, which are among the biggest technology businesses in the world, find themselves stonewalled at times by zuckerberg and company that sometimes results in less functional applications apple launched its music centric social network, called ping, as part of an itunes update that contained a facebook component but apple had to remove integration with the world's largest social network hours after ping launched last week twitter announced an agreement with apple's ping steve jobs, apple's ceo, spurned facebook for what he considered were 'onerous terms' when questioned about this in an interview onstage at the web 20 summit in san francisco on tuesday, zuckerberg said with a shrug, 'it's fine' then zuckerberg pointed out that the two work together in many ways for example, facebook's app 'is on the vast majority of iphones,' he said at an event earlier this month at facebook's palo alto, california, headquarters as for facebook's relationship with google, the two are in the midst of a public spat about letting users import and export personal data between the social network and gmail facebook, which launched an email service on monday, doesn't let users easily migrate addresses to other apps zuckerberg said at the conference on tuesday that this move was meant to protect the private contact information of a user's friends he backtracked near the end of that fireside chat and highlighted the data export issue as a potential mistake 'i've made so many mistakes in running the company so far,' he said 'we still make mistakes all of the time' the trouble, he said, is figuring out which of the company's myriad problems 'really matter' zuckerberg also seemed to distance himself from google, the undisputed leader in search, last month when facebook announced a deal with microsoft's bing 'they're just trying to rapidly gain [market] share by doing awesome stuff,' zuckerberg said of microsoft at the bing event 'they're really the underdog here' but microsoft wasn't spared from criticisms during tuesday's event microsoft, a massive computer software company and an investor in facebook, has thousands of engineers, zuckerberg pointed out; facebook has fewer, and is therefore seen by developers as a more effective and attractive employer, he said zuckerberg makes it known that he has a soft spot for budding entrepreneurs when asked about 'the social network' the film based on the founding of facebook zuckerberg boasted of fan mail from people who say his story inspired them to become entrepreneurs his mission is to 'enable others to build' social networking services, which can be accomplished using facebook's platform, he said small time developers can freely make use of facebook's offerings, but larger companies must work directly or be locked out despite amassing 500 million people actively using the service, zuckerberg still doesn't consider facebook a giant company 'in some ways, i actually think we're only now entering the zone where a lot of entrepreneurs will consider working with us,' he said but during yahoo ceo carol bartz's onstage interview earlier tuesday, she described facebook as yahoo's 'competition' this sentiment could create even greater disconnects between facebook's service and popular apps, as is the case with gmail and ping without being specific, zuckerberg derided some large internet companies, saying they won't make it past a social networking revolution 'some aren't going to make it,' he said on tuesday 'i think there's an exciting opportunity for some entrepreneurs' zuckerberg's advice to 'incumbents,' as he calls technology giants: 'get on the bus' but that doesn't mean he's going to make it easy for them to board | facebook mark zuckerberg apple google | facebook ceo mark zuckerberg favors 'underdogs' and entrepreneurs . apple and google have struggled to make apps that work well with facebook . small companies can freely build apps that work with facebook |
paris, france (cnn) last week reporters without borders released a letter calling on wikileaks to take down the names of civilians identified as having collaborated with the international security assistance force and with nato forces in our view making the names of afghan civilians public could put them at risk of reprisals from the taliban or other insurgent forces in afghanistan some news reports and some pundits portrayed our statement as an unequivocal condemnation of wikileaks, but this is not the case reporters without borders supports the continued existence and work of wikileaks, and we are ready to take part in any discussion about the problems inherent in managing and disclosing vast amounts of critical information but we also believe that to continue their work, wikileaks and other websites likely to publish documents from whistle blowers need to ensure that the information disclosed does not pose an avoidable threat to the security of civilians pointing that out does not amount to, for example, support for the pentagon's request that wikileaks remove all documents from its website or a call for outright censorship in fact, wikileaks has published useful information, and we hope it can continue to serve journalists and the wider public we have spoken out strongly against the pentagon's request that wikileaks remove all documents from its website and against the detention of the alleged source of the leaks, pfc bradley manning we've also criticized proposed amendments to the federal shield law that would exclude whistle blowing sites such as wikileaks from any legal protection of sources we are not disputing the importance of the afghan war diary indeed, it is more important than ever that there be an outlet for information governments want to keep secret too often, government departments and agencies resort without justification to declaring documents classified or secret to conceal information that is of public interest exaggerated and at times unsubstantiated safety concerns have been used to block important information from being made public in the past the pentagon, the bush and obama administrations are no strangers to these tactics whistle blowing sites deserve, and have, our support however, the case of the war logs illustrates the difficulties that will arise when dealing with the sheer mass of information that may become available even the largest news organizations in the world would be overwhelmed, and for the moment at least wikileaks does not command resources of that scope julian assange, the wikileaks editor in chief, has said that by reviewing the document classification system and certain parts of the material, his organization was able to identify and withhold 15,000 documents that possibly contain the names of innocent informers, and that is commendable it does not change the fact that releasing so many documents without being able go through the large majority of them is problematic whistle blowing websites need to deal with this issue if they want to avoid giving the authorities an excuse to muzzle them we should note though, that through the good offices of the new york times, wikileaks requested the help of the obama white house in vetting the material, a request the white house denied it is not beyond imagining that rather than cooperate in an attempt to protect its informers and collaborators, the us government chose instead to keep all its tactical options open in its campaign against wikileaks indeed, adm mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was quick to say wikileaks would have blood on its hands, although he brought no evidence of that wikileaks staff is under considerable pressure from western governments, and alleged surveillance and rumors of extraditions have exacerbated a climate of apprehension within its day to day operations it cannot be easy working under such conditions but if the media is to demand a high level of transparency in public affairs, they must also demonstrate a high level of responsibility the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jean françois julliard | jean françois julliard julliard wikileaks wikleaks | jean françois julliard says reporters without borders supports whistle blower sites . julliard says wikileaks' indiscriminate document release can put civilians at risk . press group has spoken against government censorship of wikileaks, he says . julliard: wikleaks must act responsibly to avoid giving authorities excuse to muzzle it |
(cnn) under heavy pressure from the united states and allied governments, wikileaks appealed to supporters worldwide to mirror its website sunday as it continued the process of releasing thousands of sensitive us diplomatic cables 'wikileaks is currently under heavy attack in order to make it impossible to ever fully remove wikileaks from the internet, we need your help,' the site told followers sunday the message was followed by instructions on how website operators could set up mirror sites that would distribute the documents as wikileaks released them on the microblogging site twitter, supporters have rallied by offering their sites or by posting links to other mirrors in an echo of 'spartacus,' the 1960 film classic about a slave revolt against ancient rome, many adopted the hashtag #imwikileaks 'all the censoring of wikileaks is more alarming than the actual content of the leaks it only further justifies wl's actions,' read one widely distributed comment wikileaks, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, began posting the first of more than 250,000 us state department documents last week since then, the site has been hit with denial of service attacks, been kicked off servers in the united states and france, and lost a major revenue source on friday when the us based paypal cut off its account paypal said wikileaks violated its policy against activities that 'encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity' and a us based domain name provider shut down wikileaks early friday, but the controversial website announced hours later that it had employed a company in switzerland and was back up in addition, swedish authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the site's founder, julian assange, on unrelated allegations of sex crimes, including rape assange has denied the accusations, calling them a smear campaign the obama administration has condemned the disclosures, arguing that they harm us diplomacy by exposing confidential communications a variety of us and western figures have called for assange to be prosecuted or even killed 'i think the man is a high tech terrorist,' senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, r kentucky, told cbs' 'face the nation' on sunday 'he has done enormous damage to our country and i think he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law' but secretary of state hillary clinton managed to make a joke about it at a washington event saturday night speaking at a dinner for the kennedy center honors, clinton praised the 'full breadth and depth of american artistry and diversity,' adding, 'i am writing a cable about it, which i'm sure you'll find soon on your closest website' richard haass, president of the council on foreign relations, told cnn's 'fareed zakaria gps' that the wikileaks disclosures were 'a gaffe on a large, global scale' but he added, 'this is not a crisis it's not a disaster' 'where i think it creates problems is process wise, in terms of what people in the future will put down on paper, what people in the future will say,' he said the documents released so far have featured sharp us criticism of the government of afghanistan, where an american led coalition has been fighting al qaeda and the taliban since 2001; intense mistrust between the united states and pakistan, a nuclear armed state where top al qaeda and taliban figures are believed to be in hiding; blunt assessments of the extent of corruption in russia; and unflattering descriptions of allied leaders like italian prime minister silvio berlusconi, whom one 2009 cable described as 'a complete mess' the prime suspect in the disclosure is bradley manning, a us soldier now awaiting trial in a virginia stockade manning, a private first class who served as an army intelligence analyst in iraq, is charged with leaking video of a 2007 helicopter attack in iraq to wikileaks and with illegally transferring classified data us officials have said manning was able to access a wide variety of documents through a computer system that was set up to promote information sharing after the september 11, 2001, attacks on new york and washington but haass warned against an 'overreaction' that will cause american agencies to share too little intelligence cnn's elise labott contributed to this report | clinton wikileaks senate republican assange | 'we need your help,' site tells supporters . clinton joked about wikileaks at a saturday night event . senate republican leader calls assange 'a high tech terrorist' |
(cnn) looking for fine wine or a luxurious spa visit without a top drawer price tag? visit one of these nine destinations where lavish experiences and affordability intersect whether it's an off season value, a cost of living advantage, a favorable exchange rate or simply a less traveled locale, resourceful travelers looking for the finer things will find great bang for their buck in these spots argentina known for its art, wine, food and fashion, those visiting argentina can expect a rich cultural experience at a fraction of the cost of many european destinations travel specialist vanessa guibert heitner of limitless argentina, based in buenos aires, says the vibrant capital city and wine soaked mendoza are must see destinations for luxury travelers salta in the northwestern tip of the country should also not be overlooked heitner estimates a couple could have an exquisite, multicourse meal in argentina for $60, not including wine or drinks 'dinner for two at a high end restaurant is much more accessible than in the united states,' she says sydney, australia getting to sydney, australia will be the most expensive part about your vacation, but once you're there, the prices are completely reasonable, says arabella bowen, editorial director of fodor's travel 'one of the great advantages is you get to stay at a major luxury grand hotel for a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere,' bowen says in october, the four seasons in sydney runs about $280 a night, while the same chain in new york city would cost about $1,000, she says sydney offers a great mix of city life and outdoor experiences, including visiting the beaches october is also the middle of spring in sydney, so temperatures will hover around 72 degrees, bowen says 'there's a great vibe to the place,' she says, 'and the quality of life is absolutely incredible' cambodia steeped in cultural heritage dating back to the 8th century, the ruins at angkor are a huge draw for visitors 'it's an interesting collision of backpacker travel and luxury,' bowen says cambodia is high end in terms of hotel experiences, but extremely cheap in terms of getting around and eating good meals, she says 'it's hard to get there, but once you're there, it's so incredibly affordable,' bowen says cambodia travel specialist sandy ferguson of asia desk, based in duluth, georgia, estimates an excellent meal could cost as little as $20, before wine ferguson suggests staying in siem reap for its proximity to the ruins and selection of high end hotels curacao curacao, located in the far south of the caribbean, has a latino flavor and plenty of attractions, bowen says 'it's an absolutely stunning place to walk around,' she says there's also great diving, excellent hiking, golfing and cool cultural nightlife it's off season in the caribbean, and through october, the four star hyatt regency is running its grand opening rate of $149 a night the hotel has its own golf course, a private beach and tennis courts bowen says the dutch architecture around the island looks a lot like wedding cakes add that in with the south american influences, and you've got a 'really interesting cultural mix,' she says this extends to the food choices, which are extremely cosmopolitan berlin, germany 'berlin is a mercurial city,' bowen says visitors can enjoy an incredible art scene, cutting edge shopping, remarkable architecture and unlimited history 'what's more, berlin remains more affordable than paris, london and rome,' bowen says in october, travelers will get shoulder season prices bowen recommends the lux 11 hotel for about 140 euros (about $182) per night or the adlon kempinski for 270 euros ($351) similar hotels in paris would cost an additional 100 euros ($130) or more per night bowen says taking a scenic boat cruise on the spree river can be a great way to start exploring in berlin iceland for a beautiful outdoors experience married with vibrant nightlife, iceland is a great choice for the budget conscious traveler, bowen says reykjavik, the capital of iceland, has a cool vibe, bowen says 'it's more about nightlife and restaurants than it is about cultural activities' with its lunar like landscapes and mysterious natural wonders, iceland's backdrop is a combination of yellowstone national park and montreal, bowen says she recommends the blue lagoon natural spa and a tour of the unusual scenery bowen says autumn is shoulder season in iceland, so rates are affordable for example, about $650 will cover some package deals including round trip airfare and three nights in a four star hotel india with countless resorts, relaxing yoga retreats and shopping galore, india is becoming well known in luxury travel circles 'india is a paradise for shoppers,' says india travel specialist victor biswas of international ventures and travel, based in new york city he recommends visiting jaipur, mumbai or delhi for great deals on fabrics and silks for the best value, biswas suggests traveling in the off season april through september and focusing on the southern part of the country 'the south of india has better deals all around,' he says biswas suggests visiting the southern city of chennai, formerly known as madras, for the best hotels and spas in the area indonesia known for its many luxury options, indonesia is a relaxation seeker's paradise recently spotlighted in author elizabeth gilbert's best seller, 'eat pray love,' the country offers numerous first class hotels, spas and dining options 'spa prices are very reasonable, even at luxury hotels,' says indonesia travel specialist diane embree of michael's travel centre, based in westlake village, california 'and, if you go to day spas, rather than hotel spas, the prices are extremely reasonable' dinner for two at a luxury hotel could cost you from $50 to $70, and half that at a top local restaurant embree says that many of her clients stay in multiple hotels during a trip, just to experience the different kinds of luxury accommodations in indonesia 'though spas, and to some degree, food, play a part, i think that the number one attraction for luxury clients is the accommodations,' embree says oregon wine country it's peak harvest season in oregon wine country, but you'll still pay less for hotels and other pleasures than you would in california's napa valley, bowen says 'oregon offers more flexibility and a lower price point,' bowen says 'you'll pay $40 to $50 per bottle of pinot noir, but it's worth it because you're saving money on your hotel and everything else' plus, oregon isn't as much of a tourist destination as napa, so you won't likely see a big tour bus of people going around to vineyards, she says bowen recommends staying at the allison inn & spa in willamette valley, the best known wine region in the state rooms start at $295 a night 'it starts with where you stay,' bowen says 'it's really important since you're going to be driving out from there every day' | curacao cambodia iceland | favorable exchange rates and off season values help travelers get the most for their money . visiting less traveled destinations can often ensure lower prices and fewer people . for great values, fall is the right time to visit places such as curacao, cambodia, iceland |
princeton, new jersey (cnn) there is at present a profound uncertainty about currencies that is why the president of the world bank, robert zoellick, created such a stir with a brief reference to an enhanced role for gold in the course of a plea for a more sustainable international exchange rate system the revival of interest in a golden measure of value derives from two fundamental sources first, there is a question about our personal sense of worth the aftermath of the economic crisis has destroyed our confidence in the reliability of conventional paper money we need money as a store of value, but in the course of the crisis it has also become a tool of government policy looser monetary policy or 'quantitative easing' can help to get the economy moving again but the purposes of money may conflict and collide when money becomes too much of a policy tool, the function of reliably measuring value gets chipped away we look at gold when we are really upset about big price changes over the past two years, market sentiment has shifted abruptly from fear of deflation to fear of inflation the crisis has produced a profound shock, in which some prices (especially housing) have moved sharply lower while others (notably foodstuffs and some raw materials) have increased the movement of prices is actually an important part of the adjustment process: that is, americans should devote less of their resources to building and filling mega size houses but the price changes involved are deeply discomforting: the prices that are falling represent a major store of wealth, because people viewed their house as a sort of source of cash; and the prices that are rising are a major part of daily expenditure more opinion on topics in the news the appeal of gold would be that it might be a better way of storing value but it would not avoid the harsh task of adjustment at a personal level secondly, there is an international dimension to the concern with gold the crisis has intensified international conflict it has pushed countries to compete much more aggressively for markets, and to worry that other countries are using unfair means to push their exports americans think that china has maintained an artificially undervalued exchange rate, while mediterranean countries accuse germany of having devised the euro as a monetary unit that gives germany permanent cost advantages even former federal reserve chair alan greenspan now says that us monetary policy is aimed at the weakening of the dollar as a consequence, the victims start to retaliate both the rhetoric and the consequences in terms of exchange rate actions seem to recall the currency wars of the 1930s, when the world spiraled down into protectionism can the countries of the world sit down at a table and hammer out an agreement on what exchange rates can be? no previous attempt at such an exercise has been successful the exchange rates adopted at bretton woods in 1944 needed to be extensively modified in the late 1940s, and the smithsonian conference of 1971, which tried to work out a new system, broke down within a year and a half as countries ignored any need for monetary constraint the appeal of gold is that it sets a clear limit on the extent to which policy actions can manipulate exchange rates but for nations and individuals, it does not in any way remove the pain from living in altered circumstances the gold standard worked reasonably well in the 19th century, but even then it did not produce complete price stability in the absence of new sources of gold, it exerted a downward influence on prices; then, in the 1890s, new gold started to flow from south africa, australia and alaska, and the result was mild inflation a real effort at the monetization of gold today would produce a much more dramatic version of the same sort of logic first, there would be a major scramble for gold and the current gold bubble would swell to even greater proportions that would provide very large incentives to existing producers of gold in south africa and russia to intensify extraction, but also to others to look for nonconventional sources, such as the bulk processing of seawater to extract the very small gold content the result would be an initial deflation and then a colossal inflation that would make the 19th century experience look trivial the late 19th century critics who thought that there must be a better way of storing value than gold were right but such a search demands sustained attention to methods of limiting the tendency of both individuals and governments to behave in a way that produces short term gains while sacrificing the longer term good of stability self limitation, rather than the magic fix of a new precious metal based currency, should be the real golden rule the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of harold james | harold james james | people are profoundly uncertain about currencies, says harold james . he says sharp drops in housing prices and increases in commodities are causing fear . james: gold appeals to people because it limits governments' monetary policies . basing currencies on gold would result in deflation, then colossal inflation, says james |
washington (cnn) as many as 2,000 additional troops including a number of us forces may be headed to afghanistan in the coming weeks under a plan backed by gen david petraeus, cnn has learned petraeus has not commented publicly on the need for more troops, but a us defense official and a senior nato official directly familiar with his thinking and the entire matter have confirmed details to cnn the proposal for more troops has been briefed to nato officials behind closed doors according to the nato source, it calls for an additional 2,000 troops including at least 750 personnel to serve as trainers for afghan forces the trainers specifically would work to teach afghan units how to support their operations in the field the balance of the forces would work largely to counter the still significant threat posed by improvised explosive devices (ieds) another nato official tells cnn 'it's highly likely' many of the additional forces will be us troops some nato member countries are politically ambivalent about the war, he noted and practically, it is only us forces that have the most advanced equipment to counter roadside bombs in may, defense secretary robert gates sent 850 us military trainers on a temporary deployment when european countries could not pledge enough of their own forces this latest need for 2,000 forces goes beyond that to include counter ied forces, although some small number of the at least 750 additional trainers could replace those already there no final decisions have been made on any additional us troops nato military authorities are scheduled to meet in the coming days to try to get specific troop commitments from member nations the goal is to get the matter resolved before a november nato summit in which us and nato military commanders are expected to discuss progress in the war it is not clear whether the new effort will bring the troop levels above the 30,000 additional us forces authorized by president barack obama earlier this year, as it will depend on how many troops the nato countries contribute and the potential re assignment of existing forces the president also authorized the pentagon at the time to deploy 3,000 forces, but more than half of those 3,000 have already been earmarked nato sources emphasize they believe the bulk of the additional 2,000 will likely have to come from the us the potential for yet another troop increase, even a relatively small one, is already being defended by nato the senior official told cnn 'this relatively small uplift less than 2 percent of the 150,000 in theatre from the coalition reflects the direction of the campaign: training the afghan security forces to prepare for transition, as well as protecting our forces' a us military official also confirms that in recent weeks the discussion of the 'withdrawal' of forces from certain areas of afghanistan beginning in july 2011 has taken a bit of a twist the official said the withdrawal in some areas will signify that those areas may be turned over to afghan control, but that may not mean troops will come home the latest options call for taking those troops not needed and sending them to other areas where security is still poor | nefariousness ejaculators sahara | no related information |
(cnn) grammy award winning artist ricky martin has long been passionate about helping others, serving as a unicef goodwill ambassador and working with habitat for humanity but his main charitable focus is the ricky martin foundation, which he founded to advocate for children around the world this year, martin served on the blue ribbon panel that selected the top 10 cnn heroes of the year he recently spoke to cnn about the heroes campaign and his philanthropy below are excerpts from that interview cnn: what's the mission of the ricky martin foundation? ricky martin: it's about children it's about being their voice our mission is to advocate on behalf of children's rights and their well being in three crucial areas: education, health and social justice through our principal project, people for children, we combat child exploitation that results from human trafficking modern day slavery children aren't just our future they're our present unfortunately, there are children around the world that are being forced into slavery i've heard those testimonies, and if we don't do something about it, we're allowing it to happen at this point so it's been almost 10 years of intense work educating the world about this little by little, we're trying to create awareness that this goes on cnn: do you have any anecdotes about your work with your foundation? maybe someone your organization has helped that you're particularly proud of? martin: i have many, but rescuing three girls from the impoverished streets of india in 2002 was a rude awakening into the reality of human trafficking it gave me the courage to establish people for children, and drew the route to my path as an activist and just recently listening to a boy who has been empowered by our anti trafficking and leadership seminars, saying he wants to be a teacher for other children, was uplifting these are moments of grand simplicity and profound awareness cnn: why is philanthropic work important to you, and how has it changed your life? martin: i am convinced that music, like philanthropy, bridges hope once you learn about this heinous crime, you cannot turn a blind eye knowing that we have prevented children from falling prey to modern day slavery or that a life was saved by our awareness efforts is invaluable to our mission and human spirit cnn: what was it like being on the blue ribbon panel that selected the top 10 cnn heroes? martin: it was a very humbling experience their stories served as inspiration, and they also weave a canvas that [shows that] in spite of injustices, there are many warriors of light that make our world a better place cnn: the cnn heroes campaign honors everyday people doing extraordinary things why do you think it's important to honor the work that these individuals are doing? martin: kudos to cnn for honoring the work that human beings are doing around the world, because [these heroes] are 'little gods,' as i call them they are making miracles with nothing they are creating such a beautiful impact on different lives cnn: what is a hero to you? what are the qualities of a hero? martin: heroes represent the best of ourselves, respecting that we are human beings a hero can be anyone from gandhi to your classroom teacher, anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem a hero is someone who is willing to help others in his or her best capacity it can be someone teaching another to write, saving someone in danger or giving up your life for another amongst the qualities a hero should have, i would include determination, loyalty, courage, perseverance, patience, focus, intrepidity and selflessness cnn: why is important for people to give back? martin: it nourishes your soul and enhances the meaning of life | ricky martin 2004 martin the blue ribbon panel year | ricky martin started his foundation to advocate for children around the world . in 2004, he started focusing his efforts on human trafficking . martin: 'you cannot turn a blind eye' to children being forced into slavery . martin was on the blue ribbon panel that chose this year's top 10 cnn heroes |
(cnn) mexico's war against the drug cartels is frustrated by a risk averse army and interagency rivalries, according to us diplomatic cables obtained by wikileaks but amid some downbeat assessments of the challenges faced by president felipe calderon, some of the cables celebrate outstanding successes against the cartel 'capos' one such success came almost exactly a year ago, when a mexican naval unit killed one of mexico's leading cartel figures, arturo beltran leyva with plenty of assistance from the united states 'the arrest operation targeting abl began about a week prior to his death when the embassy relayed detailed information on his location to semar [mexican navy],' according to a cable sent soon after the operation the naval unit 'raided an identified location, where they killed several abl bodyguards and arrested over 23 associates, while abl and hector [his brother] escaped' but time was running out for beltran leyva (also known as el fantasma and el elegante), thanks to us surveillance the cable continues: 'the embassy interagency linked abl to an apartment building located in cuernavaca (about an hour south of mexico city), where abl was in hiding abl's forces fired on the semar operatives and engaged in a sustained firefight that wounded three semar marines and possibly killed one' besides beltran leyva, at least three other cartel operatives were killed during the dec 16, 2009, raid, with a fourth committing suicide the success of the operation was especially pleasing to the united states because its military had spent years training mexican naval units some might question why the navy was involved in a land operation this and other cables provide the answer: the army had declined to act quickly on information about beltran leyva's whereabouts and is described as 'risk averse' after the beltran leyva operation, there was glowing praise from us diplomats for mexican navy units 'semar is well trained, well equipped, and has shown itself capable of responding quickly to actionable intelligence,' a cable read 'success puts the army in the difficult position of explaining why it has been reluctant to act on good intelligence and conduct operations against high level targets' there is no euphoria about beltran leyva's demise, but the embassy hopes it will mark a new beginning 'his death will not solve mexico's drug problem, but it will hopefully generate the momentum necessary to make sustained progress against other drug trafficking organizations' since beltran leyva's death, mexican security forces have scored some significant successes in arresting or killing leading cartel members, and often semar units have been in the vanguard last month the navy ministry confirmed its forces shot and killed ezequiel cardenas guillen, alias 'tony tormenta,' one of the top members of the gulf cartel and, in january this year, there seemed to be optimism that some of the institutional challenges were at last being tackled 'a truly joint effort to implement a new us mexico strategy is yielding stronger organizational structures and interagency cooperation on both sides and a deeper understanding of the threat posed by the drug trafficking organizations,' reads one cable the same cable noted that the mexican army [sedena] had for the first time asked the united states for special forces training 'we need to capitalize on these cracks in the door any retreat on engagement on our side will only reinforce sedena's instincts to revert to a closed and unaccountable institution' | mexican americans arturo beltran leyva | diplomatic cables spell out successes against mexican cartels . americans praise actions of mexican naval units . cables detail operation against arturo beltran leyva |
new delhi, india (cnn) us president barack obama started his second day in india on a lighter note: pulling a few dance moves and celebrating a major religious festival with local students obama and first lady michelle obama spent sunday morning at a local school, where students were celebrating diwali youngsters performed dances in colorful saris to mark the festival of lights the president bobbed his head to the music and clapped young girls danced with baskets on their heads as the room erupted in cheers at one point, students pulled the first lady on stage and taught her how to twirl 'notice they didn't ask me,' the president said students later extended the offer to the president, who joined them and towered over the youngsters as he danced obama also visited students at holy name high school, where students in school uniforms explained their projects to the president one girl described her 'eco friendly village' with a large windmill 'did you guys get that a tree a day keeps global warming away,' obama told journalists obama also attended an agriculture exposition and took part in a town hall style meeting with students at st xavier's college in mumbai he and the first lady then visited humayun's tomb, a magnificent architectural precursor to the taj mahal, before heading to new delhi for a private dinner sunday night with indian prime minister manmohan singh at the meeting with the students, obama faced some difficult questions including his thoughts about jihad and why the united states doesn't consider pakistan india's neighbor and rival a terrorist state the president said it was necessary to isolate those who distort religion as a means for war, and said young people have a role in rejecting violence as a way to mediate differences on pakistan, obama called it a country of enormous potential that had extremist elements he acknowledged that progress against militants there was 'not as quick as we'd like,' particularly in the difficult terrain of the northwest territories along the border with afghanistan obama also said that india has the biggest stake in its neighbor's success, and that he hoped over time that the two nations develop further trust and cooperation 'the united states stands to be a partner in that process, but can't impose that,' obama said the relatively light agenda on the second day of obama's 10 day, four nation asian trip followed the president's unveiling saturday of about $10 billion in contracts for us exports to india 'the united states sees asia, and especially india, as a market of the future,' obama said at a meeting with business leaders from both countries 'for america, this is a jobs strategy' promoting broader trade relations with india is a delicate balancing act for obama, given american frustration with the outsourcing of jobs to call centers in the country but obama said the notion of indian outsourcing being a net drain on the us economy is part of a 'caricature of india as a land of call centers and back offices that cost american jobs' obama's three day visit to india, asia's third largest economy and one of the world's few growth markets, also will include bilateral talks with singh and an address to the the nation's parliament after india, obama will travel to indonesia, then on to the g 20 meeting in south korea and apec (asia pacific economic cooperation) summit in japan | obamas humayun's tomb a day earlier about $10 billion us india | new: the obamas tour humayun's tomb . the president celebrates diwali with local students . diwali is a festival of lights . a day earlier, the president unveiled about $10 billion in contracts for us exports to india |
harare, zimbabwe (cnn) the wife of zimbabwe's president has sued a zimbabwean newspaper for $15 million following its publication of allegations that she was linked to and profited from illegal diamond sales in the southern african country according to papers filed at the high court in harare wednesday, grace mugabe, the wife of president robert mugabe, is suing the standard for defamation after its report based on diplomatic cables released by the website wikileaks the cables in question, from the us embassy in harare, claimed that zimbabwe's first lady was among the senior zanu pf and government officials who were gaining huge profits from the smuggling of diamonds in the eastern part of zimbabwe 'the diamonds that are sold to regime members and elites are sold for freshly printed zimbabwean notes issued by the rbz (reserve bank of zimbabwe),' the paper quoted a 2008 cable as saying 'the cables suggested that (the head of the bank, gideon) gono kept the money printing press running to finance the purchase of diamonds and this could have accelerated hyperinflation, which eventually rendered the zimbabwe dollar worthless,' the newspaper charged grace mugabe said in the suit that the report published sunday by the standard was 'false, scandalous, malicious and bent on damaging (her) reputation' the documents said the newspaper wrongly suggested that grace mugabe had 'used her position as the first lady to access diamonds clandestinely, enriching herself in circumstances in which the country was facing serious foreign currency shortages, which amounts should have been channeled to the fiscus 'the imputation of such conduct on a person of such high standing, the mother of the nation, is to lower the respect with which she is held by all right thinking persons, to a point of disappearance,' the lawsuit said chris mhike, an attorney for the newspaper, said the summons is being studied 'and in due course we shall respond 'but looking at most of the claims, so far, i can say they are just meant to harass the press,' he said foster dongozi, a spokesman for the zimbabwe union of journalists, said the group was 'concerned' about the lawsuit 'we condemn suing newspapers for merely reproducing something which is in the public domain it is one way of trying to frustrate access to information, and to squeeze newspapers out of existence as a union, we are really concerned that a crackdown on journalists may resurface,' he said | grace mugabe standard | the cables say grace mugabe and others profited from illegal diamond sales . the standard said the sales accelerated hyperinflation in the country . a journalist group voices concern about potential fallout of the suit |
(cnn) danish authorities said tuesday they have arrested three people who allegedly were plotting a 'terror related assassination' of a cartoonist whose drawing of the prophet mohammed sparked rage in the muslim world two years ago the cartoons of the prophet mohammed provoked widespread outrage in the muslim world two years ago the danish security and intelligence service said police arrested a 40 year old dane of moroccan origin and two tunisians the danish citizen is charged with a terrorism offense, the intelligence service said, and the tunisians will be deported police have not yet released the names of the three the operation took place in the aarhus area of western denmark at 4:30 am local time following lengthy surveillance, the intelligence service said the target of the plot, the intelligence service said, was the cartoonist for the danish newspaper morgenavisen jullands posten, which first published the controversial drawings in september 2005 the paper identified the cartoonist as kurt westergaard watch how threats have targeted cartoonists » 'not wanting to take any undue risks [the intelligence service] has decided to intervene at a very early stage in order to interrupt the planning and the actual assassination,' the statement by jakob scharf, the agency's director general, said 'thus, this morning's operation must first and foremost be seen as a preventive measure where the aim has been to stop a crime from being committed' the uproar over the cartoons ignited after the danish newspaper published caricatures of islam's prophet mohammed some muslims believe it is forbidden by the quran to show an image of the prophet demonstrations erupted across the world in early 2006 after other newspapers reprinted the images months later as a matter of free speech some turned deadly many protesters directed their ire at denmark, prompting the closure of several danish embassies in predominantly muslim countries, including indonesia and pakistan westergaard's cartoon depicted the prophet wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse westergaard said he wanted his cartoon to say that some people exploited the prophet to legitimize terror however, many in the muslim world interpreted the drawing as depicting their prophet as a terrorist 'of course i fear for my life after the danish security and intelligence service informed me of the concrete plans of certain people to kill me,' westergaard said in a statement posted on the newspaper's web site 'however, i have turned fear into anger and indignation it has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity which i used to do by the thousand was abused to set off such madness' cnn's paula newton said the arrests reinforced growing fears in europe that radical islam was trying to suppress free speech 'more and more europeans feel that islam is a threat to their way of life,' newton said a recent gallup poll for the world economic forum showed a majority of europeans believed relations between the west and the muslim world were worsening according to the poll this sentiment was strongest held among danish westergaard remains under police protection and does not know whether it will continue 'i could not possibly know for how long i have to live under police protection; i think, however, that the impact of the insane response to my cartoon will last for the rest of my life,' he said 'it is sad indeed, but it has become a fact of my life' carsten juste, the paper's editor in chief, said staffers have been 'deeply worried' for several months 'the arrests have hopefully thwarted the murder plans,' he said on the newspaper's web site e mail to a friend cnn's saeed ahmed contributed to this report | antherine faraday bluestockingism | no related information |
(lifewire) colleen hiltbrunner spent two years researching her dream trip to south africa but she wasn't looking for the perfect safari lodge she was hunting for the right cosmetic surgeon when she told her family, it wasn't an easy sell 'south africa? you're going to get some kind of witch doctor,' she recalls her father saying 'but i told him they perfected some of the first heart surgeries down there to me, south africa had the most reputable surgeons' hiltbrunner, of colorado springs, colorado, traveled to johannesburg in 2004 for a face lift, upper arm lift and eyelid surgery and she and her husband who hadn't taken a vacation in 20 years went on a luxury safari, included in the package by medical travel agency surgeon and safari 'medical tourism' may sound strange, but patients are discovering they can get some cosmetic surgeries abroad for less than the us price and many surgeries include sightseeing packages the roster of countries in which hospitals and surgeons are marketing their services to foreigners is growing south africa, argentina, thailand, brazil, costa rica, india and singapore have become major players robert painter, a travel writer from albuquerque, new mexico, journeyed last year to argentina for dental surgeries and tango lessons: 'if i'm going to be stuck somewhere for two weeks at a time, twice, buenos aires has got to be the best possible place,' he says painter's procedures were organized by plenitas, a medical travel facilitator in buenos aires, which booked him at a hotel with a dance studio in the back he wasn't the only guest getting surgery: 'while i was there, there was a young lady who was also having implants though not of the dental type' cost cutting pros and cons cosmetic, or elective, procedures aren't covered by insurance, so cost remains the motivating factor for most medical tourists surgeries in many countries cost half or even one fifth what they would in the us including airfare, hotel and excursions 'a full face lift that would cost $20,000 in the us runs about $1,250 in south africa,' a 2005 article in u daily, the university of delaware's online news service noted faith richter, of hope sound, florida, got a face lift in bangkok, thailand her trip was organized by new york city's med journeys 'in the us, it would have cost $20,000 for the procedure alone, with no time in the hospital,' she says in bangkok, richter was in the hospital four days, and the total cost of her 19 day trip, including sightseeing and airfare for two, was $10,600 painter estimates he saved $18,000 on his surgeries 'cost was the primary factor,' he says 'the only factor' medical costs abroad are less than in the us for many reasons favorable exchange rates, lower salaries and fewer medical lawsuits, which means lower malpractice insurance costs but the international society of aesthetic plastic surgery warns against low cost surgery 'get bargains on your shoes and laundry detergent, not on your face,' says spokesman tony staffieri 'researching the quality of doctors should be a patient's primary consideration, but it isn't always,' he says 'some people think 'tummy tuck and shopping' this is not makeup; it's somebody cutting you' some medical professionals fear that patients will overlook the severity of invasive surgeries and fail to ask the right questions more casual attitudes toward plastic surgery spurred by lunch break botox treatments and same day liposuctions, paired with temptingly cheap alternatives and vacation packages increase the risk of bad outcomes even stateside, cosmetic surgery can have tragic results 'first wives club' author olivia goldsmith died during a chin tuck in 2004, and this year kanye west's mother, donda, died after a tummy tuck and breast reduction however, a 2004 study published in the official medical journal of the american society of plastic surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgery, found that 'deaths occurring at office based surgery facilities (in the us) are rare less than a quarter of a percent' quality surgeons medical tourism experts counter criticism by saying that cheaper prices don't necessarily mean lower quality of care 'in general, it is the hospitals and facilities that have justifiable claim to 'world class' status or to meeting or exceeding us standards that are competing for patients from the united states and other countries,' says jeff schult, author of 'beauty from afar: a medical tourist's guide to affordable and quality cosmetic care outside the us' the authors of a 2006 'new england journal of medicine' article confirm the high standards of internationally accredited hospitals: 'we doubt () that the average us hospital can offer better outcomes for common complex operations' 'almost 80 percent of the doctors we use have been trained in the us or uk,' says tim wallace, vice president of sales and marketing for med journeys 'it gives the american consumer a degree of confidence' richter, a registered nurse, agrees that standards are high abroad 'after the surgery, the nurses were there for me 100 percent,' she says 'at home, we're so understaffed and overburdened, and inundated with paperwork' when painter visited us dentists, 'i felt like i was being processed for a home loan,' he says 'in argentina, i had three dentists working on me at once' while medical tourism continues to increase in popularity, it's still not mainstream when richter left for bangkok, she 'didn't tell a soul, not even my seven children, who are almost all in the medical field they would have had a stroke 'at thanksgiving, though, they were all saying, 'you really do look good'' e mail to a friend lifewire provides original and syndicated content to web publishers neil edward schlecht writes about travel, food and wine he lives in litchfield county, connecticut | 80 percent us | tummy tuck tourism is on the rise as companies make arrangements . most cosmetic procedures not covered by insurance . prices overseas are cheaper . company: 80 percent of doctors they use are trained in us |
(cnn) scientists have discovered the remains of a rodent the size of a small car which used to forage the south american continent the 1 ton creature is believed to have been about 3 meters in length and 15 meters tall the fossilized skull of the new giant rodent the giant rat's skull, which measures an impressive 53 centimeters in diameter was found by andrés rinderknecht and ernesto blanco, two scientists from montevideo, uruguay the two paleontologists stumbled upon the fossilized remains in a broken boulder in san jose along the coast of uruguay by looking at the size ratios of the skulls and bodies of existing rodents, scientists determined the bodyweight of the rodent must have approached 1,000 kilograms or a ton, making it the world's largest rodent to have been discovered to date the relatively small size of its teeth however, suggests it fed mainly upon soft vegetables and fruit 'we can give an educated guess that the rodent would have been 3 meters long assuming that it was similar to a capybara (the largest rodent alive today) and taking it into account that large mammals generally have relatively smaller heads it's tail probably was closer to the one of capybara or guinea pig (very short) and not like a rat,' ernesto blanco says the scientists believe the rodent, named josephoartigasia monesi, roamed the earth about four million years ago at the same time as other giant creatures, such as terror birds, saber toothed cats, ground sloths and giant armored mammals during this period, the now arid region was forested and rich in vegetation the largest living rodent is the capybara, a 50 kilogram guinea pig found in south america e mail to a friend | uruguay 1,000 kilograms | rodent the size of small car discovered in uruguay . scientists say the rodent must have weighed 1,000 kilograms . small size of its teeth suggests it fed mainly upon soft vegetables and fruit |
islamabad, pakistan (cnn) rawalpindi's police chief stopped doctors at the hospital where benazir bhutto died from conducting an autopsy, according to a lawyer on the hospital's board in a video released sunday, benazir bhutto, far right, appears through the sunroof before shots ring out it was a violation of pakistani criminal law and prevented a medical conclusion about what killed the former prime minister, said athar minallah, who serves on the board that manages rawalpindi general hospital however, the police chief involved, aziz saud, told cnn that he suggested an autopsy be done, but that bhutto's husband objected the revelation came on monday after new videotape of bhutto's assassination emerged, showing her slumping just after gunshots rang out the tape provided the clearest view yet of the attack and appeared to show that bhutto was shot that would contradict the pakistan government's account read bhutto's full medical report a previously released videotape showed a man at the right of her vehicle raising a gun, pointing it toward bhutto, who was standing in her car with her upper body through the sunroof he fired three shots, then there was an explosion in the video that emerged on sunday, bhutto was standing, and her hair and scarf appeared to move, perhaps from the bullet bhutto fell into the car, then came the blast watch new tape showing apparent gunman » these images seem to support the theory that bhutto died at the hands of a shooter before a bomb was detonated, killing another 23 people doctors at rawalpindi general hospital declared the 54 year old dead hours after thursday's attack, but the cause of her death has been widely debated pakistan's interior ministry announced on friday that bhutto died from a skull fracture suffered when she fell or ducked into the car as a result of the shots or the explosion and crashed her head onto a sunroof latch see the likely sequence of events » bhutto's family and political party maintain that the government is lying, and insist she died from gunshot wounds bhutto's husband, in an interview with cnn's wolf blitzer on monday, called for an international investigation into his wife's death, saying the new video proves the pakistani government 'has been trying to muddy the water from the first day' 'everything is now very clear that she was shot,' asif ali zardari said zardari also called on the us government to push for an international probe 'i want them to help me find out who killed my wife, the mother of my children,' he said of the bush administration javed iqbal cheema, spokesman for pakistan's interior ministry, said the government's conclusion on bhutto's death was based on 'absolute facts, nothing but the facts' and 'it was corroborated by the doctor's report' but minallah issued an open letter on monday and released the doctors' clinical notes to distance them from the government statement, and he also talked to cnn in the letter, minallah said the doctors 'suggested to the officials to perform an autopsy,' but that saud 'did not agree' he noted that under the law, police investigators have 'exclusive responsibility' in deciding to have an autopsy minallah told cnn that he was speaking out because the doctors at the hospital were 'threatened' 'they are government servants who cannot speak; i am not,' he said he did not elaborate on the threats against the doctors he said the lack of an autopsy has created 'a perception that there is some kind of cover up, though i might not believe in that theory' 'there is a state within the state, and that state within the state does not want itself to be held accountable,' minallah said cheema said the government had no objection to bhutto's body being exhumed for an autopsy if the family requested it her widower has said the family was against exhumation because it did not trust the government minallah said the family could not have prevented an autopsy at the hospital without getting an order from a judge the three page medical report, which was signed by seven doctors, described bhutto's head wound, but it did not conclude what caused it it noted that x ray images were made after she was declared dead the wound was described as an irregular oval of about 5 centimeters by 3 centimeters above her right ear 'sharp bones edges were felt in the wound,' it read 'no foreign body was felt in the wound' e mail to a friend cnn's jomana karadsheh contributed to this report | bhutto pakistani benazir bhutto athar minallah aziz saud | new: new video proves bhutto shot, widower says . doctors claim pakistani police prevented an autopsy on benazir bhutto . lawyer athar minallah said the move violated pakistani criminal law . police chief aziz saud said he suggested autopsy but bhutto's widower objected |
atlanta, georgia (cnn) it was an image that got the nation talking: two giggling young women in oversized sunglasses robbing a bank the 'barbie bandits' helped their hometown earn the dubious distinction as the nation's bank robbery capital here one of the so called 'barbie bandits' is captured on surveillance video at a surburban atlanta bank atlanta's fbi field division topped los angeles in reporting the most bank heists, with 350 for the 12 months ending september 30, 2007, according to the fbi, which annually names areas most prone to bank robberies the los angeles area was no 2 with 338 heists, followed by philadelphia with 316 just thursday, two suspects overpowered a security guard at an atlanta, georgia, bank, took his gun, robbed the bank and fled with money in hand, police said eventually, police shot one of the suspects in an exchange of gunfire two more armed bank robberies took place in metro atlanta friday the fbi says violent crime is up across the nation, especially in major metro areas like atlanta so it's no surprise atlanta has become a prime target for bank robberies, fbi spokesman stephen emmett told cnn watch hotlanta or heistlanta? » 'this goes hand in hand with those figures,' emmett said atlanta's rapid growth over the last decade has also been a factor a recent atlanta business chronicle article reported that metro atlanta has 26 more banks than in all of north carolina roughly one bank for every 3,500 people in the region see photos of bank heists in metro atlanta » 'we would attribute a lot of that [bank robberies] to the growth and the fact that the banking industry has matched that growth with an increase in bank branches throughout the area,' emmett said atlanta's rise in bank heists comes just as los angeles has aggressively countered once out of control bank robberies los angeles has gone from more than 500 bank robberies in the mid 2000s to this year's 338, the fbi stats show according to the fbi, its atlanta field division reported 350 bank robberies in the last year the most notorious of which were the 'barbie bandits' and 'grandpa bandit' robberies the fbi says 122 of the heists were armed robberies, or robberies where a weapon was visibly used emmett said many more of the robberies were what law enforcement officers classify as 'note jobs' where a robber gestures as if he or she has a gun on them in a demand note handed over to the teller also factored into the total number of robberies were atm heists and a record nine armored car robberies those armored car robberies are particularly disturbing to emmett 'anyone that would confront an armored car courier knowing that he's already armed and in somewhat of a defensive posture, that mindset is very troubling for law enforcement,' he said while emmett said there is no 'typical' bank robber, he said he has seen some trends, most notably that they are often people battling drug addictions he also said bank robbers are often repeat offenders two recent high profile cases in atlanta seem to confirm that two women dubbed the 'barbie bandits' were arrested after working with a bank employee to rob a bank of america in the atlanta suburb of acworth they both later admitted to police to having drug addiction problems recently apprehended 69 year old bobby joe phillips, dubbed the 'grandpa bandit,' is suspected to have robbed seven banks in tennessee and the atlanta area and had a criminal history emmett says typically very little money is taken in a bank heist joe brannen, president of the georgia bankers association, agrees, saying 'the average is $2,000 to $3,000 it's not as big a payoff as most people think it is' with the holidays in full swing, authorities are steeling themselves for a spate of bank robberies with robbers looking for quick holiday cash 'i would make the assumption that a large part of it is the increased [financial] pressures this time of year,' said brannen the fbi advises banks to be extra vigilant this time of year and to keep a close eye on jittery individuals donning gloves, hats and sunglasses but brannen says profiling people like that can be problematic 'we've chosen not to go there here in atlanta, lots of people wear head coverings for religious purposes this is a free and open society,' he said he said customers want to come into a bank unimpeded that 999 percent are just customers, not bank robbers brannen says banks do all they can to balance convenience for their customers and the bank's need for security 'there is no good, magic solution' he says emmett said as long as metro atlanta continues to grow, so will the number of bank robberies 'this is something that is part of growth we have more banks we have more people we're a big city now' e mail to a friend cnn's rusty dornin contributed to this report | atlanta la philadelphia fbi around holidays bank just $2,000 to $3,000 | atlanta surpasses la, philadelphia as city with most bank heists . fbi says it's the result of rising violent crime and increased number of banks . fbi: expect more bank robberies around holidays . bank official says most robbers get away with just $2,000 to $3,000 |
(cnn) disgraced former nfl star michael vick declared that 'i am not the bad person or the beast i've been made out to be' in a letter to a judge asking for leniency michael vick wrote he was 'forever a changed man' 'i have been talked about and ridiculed on a day to day basis by people who really don't know michael vick the human being they only knew the football player which is unfair,' vick said in a handwritten letter released this week us district judge henry e hudson sentenced vick on monday to serve 23 months in prison for financing a dogfighting ring and helping to kill pit bulls that did not fight aggressively vick wrote the judge that he had accepted responsibility for his actions, would pay restitution and never again use 'a single dollar that i have earned for anything but to help people' read letters from vick, his mom, sports stars » the former atlanta falcons quarterback said he grew up not knowing the severity of the crime of dogfighting and asked hudson for 'a second chance' other letters supporting vick were sent by his mother, his seventh grade teacher and children he had met since becoming a star and one of the nfl's most highly paid players brenda vick boddie said her son fell victim to friends who took advantage of vick's inability to 'say no' 'please your honor give my baby michael another chance [h]e's never been in trouble with the law before, please! please! one more chance,' she pleaded in her own handwritten letter former falcons teammate warrick dunn, atlanta mayor shirley franklin and two sporting legends former home run king hank aaron and former two time boxing heavyweight champion george foreman also wrote letters on vick's behalf e mail to a friend | michael vick nfl vick atlanta | michael vick wrote five page letter to judge seeking leniency . former nfl star said he was wrong and promised to make amends . vick's mom, atlanta mayor and sports legends also sent letters to judge . vick sentenced monday to 23 months in prison in dogfighting case |
(cnn) steven spielberg led the fbi straight to a stolen $700,000 norman rockwell painting someone snatched from a missouri gallery it was in his collection in california the original of this norman rockwell reproduction was found in the collection of steven spielberg last year spielberg wasn't the thief, and he doesn't know who took rockwell's 'russian schoolroom' an oil of 16 pupils looking at a bust of lenin all the a list director knows is he paid about $200,000 for the 16 x 37 canvas in a legitimate purchase the fbi says its just one example of how pilfered art lands in respectable places and it was an uncommon ending for stolen art someone found it recovering masterpieces happens in less than 5 percent of cases, said bonnie magness gardiner, the fbi's art theft program manager usually, expensive pieces go missing no one knows who took them no one gets prosecuted, and everyone wonders, 'why steal something you can't turn to cash quickly?' art thieves do a simple risk versus reward evaluation, said corine wegener, associate curator of the minneapolis institute of arts thieves know that 'even if they receive only a fraction of the work's market value, the cash gained was at low risk of death or injury museums can be a relatively soft target,' said wegener, who's teaching a university of minnesota class this month on art theft but it could be years or never before the thief sees even a small payoff in 1990, robbers took $300 million worth of certified masterpieces among them rembrandt's 'storm on the sea of galilee' and vermeer's 'the concert' from the isabella stewart gardner museum in boston, massachusetts no one's seen them since on sunday, robbers made off with one of the biggest art hauls in european history, grabbing four paintings worth an estimated $163 million from the eg buehrle collection in zurich, switzerland they took works by paul cezanne, edgar degas, claude monet and vincent van gogh see what robbers grabbed in switzerland » 'these paintings are extremely valuable on the open market, but they'll never go onto the open market so at the same time they're both priceless and worthless,' said charles hill, the former chief of scotland yard's art and antiques unit 'some thieves may buy into the myth that a wealthy but unscrupulous collector will contact them and offer to take the art off their hands,' wegener said 'when this doesn't happen, the thieves often try to ransom the art back to the museum or the insurance company' one london art dealer, who said he has handled stolen works, told cnn on condition of anonymity that an insurance company would rather get art back at a fraction of its original price than pay the owner its insured value watch how art thieves operate » ransoming art to an insurance company through an intermediary adds 'up to 10 percent of the market value, which given the art market, is quite a lot of money,' the dealer said david vuillaume, secretary general of the swiss museums association, told time magazine that ransom may be what the thieves behind the swiss heist want 'we are thinking that maybe in a week or two there will be a ransom demand but we just have to wait and see,' time quoted him as saying the museum has offered $90,000 reward for information leading to their recovery, time reported options for art thieves julian radcliffe, chairman of the art loss register, which operates a database to help recover lost and stolen art, said ransom or reward are unlikely to bring results 'it is very seldom that people have been able to undertake a ransom,' he said 'this gang might think that a reward has been offered, and that they'll get the reward' but in fact, 'the reward won't be paid unless someone is arrested, or there is proper criminal intelligence,' and that's unlikely to happen, radcliffe said he said the thieves may just be patient, willing to get their payoff decades later or the art may move through an underground network, gradually increasing in value, before being slipped back onto the legitimate market take spielberg he bought 'schoolroom' in an above the board transaction 'usually, these pictures will change hands in the criminal underworld at a fraction 1 percent or less of their true market value,' radcliffe said, before someone tries to get them back into the international market in such an effort, the seller may hope the work has been forgotten over time or they may disguise it as a copy or student re creation 'they may try and sell them not as being by degas, but as being a copy, or school, or by a follower of one of the great artists and that is the ways in which they try and get them on the market,' radcliffe said the original thieves rarely face justice, the fbi's magness gardiner said 'the stolen items turn up years, sometimes decades, after the theft,' she said 'because a work of art does not require a title document in order to be transferred from one owner to another, a stolen object easily enters the legitimate stream of commerce 'it is impossible to trace them back to the original thief in most cases even if the original thief can be identified, there is also a statute of limitations on prosecution for theft,' magness gardiner said what happens to stolen art? even if the art is recovered, original owners may not get it back while museum pieces are likely to go back to their collections, private owners may not be so lucky 'russian schoolroom' remains in spielberg's possession while courts determine the rightful owner, a spokesman for the director said but art stolen from a los angeles mansion and sold in sweden remains with its swedish purchasers, according to a case file posted on the web site of the los angeles police department's art theft detail even though the thief was caught, 'the swedish government refused to return the paintings, claiming that according to swedish law, the auction buyers had purchased the paintings in good faith,' according to the web site in the case of rockwell's 'russian schoolroom,' someone took it from a gallery in clayton, missouri, a st louis suburb, in 1973, according to an fbi synopsis of the case in 2004, the fbi's art crime team found out that the piece had been for sale at a new york rockwell exhibition 15 years earlier and posted a picture and description of the painting on its art recovery web site spielberg's staff learned of the search and told the fbi that spielberg had it in his collection in los angeles he had purchased it from a legitimate dealer in 1989, an fbi press release said the agency also determined the painting was auctioned in new orleans in 1988, but it has yet to determine who took the painting or its whereabouts from 1973 to 1988 whoever took 'russian schoolroom' from the suburban st louis gallery in 1973, or the masterpieces from the boston museum 1980, or the works lifted in zurich this week, shouldn't be mistaken for a high society, tuxedo wearing, 'thomas crown affair' kind of thief, radcliffe said 'these people are the worst sort of criminal they are just like the criminals who traffic individuals or sell children, or murder 'they are thoroughly unpleasant people there is no romanticism in anyway that should be connected to it' e mail to a friend cnn's paula hancocks and teresa martini contributed to this report | rockwell steven spielberg's | stolen art can be lost for decades . soft targets like museums entice thieves, experts say . stolen rockwell found in steven spielberg's collection decades after theft . nothing glamorous about art thieves, expert says |
washington (cnn) first lady michelle obama found herself at the center of an unlikely breast feeding debate this week when three prominent conservative women criticized her for encouraging the creation of a 'nanny state' conservative radio talk show host laura ingraham on tuesday asked rep michele bachmann, r minnesota, about an announcement by the internal revenue service that the purchase of breast feeding equipment would be considered a medical expense ingraham suggested that the first lady's advocacy of breast feeding as a way to fight childhood obesity might have been 'coordinated' with the irs decision bachmann, a frequent critic of the obama administration's policies, was quick to point out that the decision falls in line with the 'hard left' agenda 'i think this is very consistent with where the hard left is coming from,' bachmann said 'for them, government is the answer to every problem so government got us in this problem, and so they think government is going to get us out of the problem 'i've given birth to five babies and i breast fed every single one of these babies, and to think that the government has to go out and buy my breast pump for my babies i mean, you want to talk about the nanny state? i think you just got a new definition of the nanny' at an event in new york on thursday, sarah palin joined the conversation although somewhat lightheartedly 'no wonder michelle obama is telling people to breast feed their babies, because the price of milk is rising so high,' palin joked, later warning reporters, 'that better not be the takeaway here' the controversy stems from an irs announcement earlier this month that breast pumps and other breast feeding supplies would qualify for reimbursement as a medical expense under federal tax law previously, new mothers who set aside pre tax money in health savings accounts, or who itemized their medical expenses at tax time, were prohibited from filing claims for money spent on breast feeding equipment as for the question of whether politics played any role in the irs decision, spokespeople for the irs and the treasury department said the decision was a legal one made by the irs general counsel's office two days before the irs announcement, obama held a lunch with print reporters to celebrate the first anniversary of her 'let's move' campaign to fight childhood obesity when asked what plans she had for the campaign's second year, the first lady said, 'breast feeding kids who are breast fed longer have a lower tendency to be obese' five months earlier, she used nearly identical language in a speech to the congressional black caucus' annual legislative conference 'because it's important to prevent obesity early, we're also working to promote breast feeding, especially in the black community, where 40% of our babies never get breast fed at all, even in the first weeks of life,' she said in september 'and we know that babies that are breast fed are less likely to be obese as children' while the extent to which breast feeding affects obesity is still unknown, some connection between the two is largely accepted in 2009, the american academy of pediatrics lobbied the irs directly on the matter because of what it says are the 'diverse and compelling advantages for infants, mothers, families and society from breast feeding and use of human milk for infant feeding' more specifically, the academy's 2005 policy statement on breast feeding found that 'some studies suggest decreased rates of overweight and obesity in older children and adults who were breast fed, compared with individuals who were not breast fed' a 2007 report on breast feeding from tufts new england medical center found that 'there is an association between a history of breast feeding and a reduction in the risk of being overweight or obese in adolescence and adult life,' along with a variety of other health benefits when asked if her problem with the irs decision stemmed from a belief that breast feeding shouldn't be in the same category as other medical expenses, bachmann's office issued a statement that refocused her criticism on the federal tax code 'the issue americans have with the tax code isn't with one specific tax deduction,' the statement said 'instead of social engineering through select tax breaks, the government should scrap the current tax code and put all americans on the same playing field' the irs has a fairly broad interpretation of the term 'medical expenses' in the federal tax code, including wigs, acupuncture, artificial teeth, eyeglasses, contact lenses, certain home improvements, lead based paint removal and television equipment for the hearing impaired as deductible expenses the cost of the irs announcement is hard to estimate although the irs provides broad instructions, individual insurance companies set their own guidelines for what is covered under health savings accounts additionally, only one third of taxpayers itemize their deductions, and medical expenses need to exceed 75% of income in order to qualify for deduction congress' joint committee on taxation called the announcement a 'regulatory decision' and has not prepared any public information on the issue a 2010 cost analysis of low breast feeding levels published in the american academy of pediatrics' medical journal pediatrics found that if 90% of us families followed medical recommendations to breast feed for six months, 'the united states would save $13 billion per year and prevent an excess (of) 911 deaths, nearly all of which would be in infants' | fishified oltonde outwrest | no related information |
washington (cnn) republican rep paul ryan of wisconsin is two for two the republican from janesville, wisconsin, has successfully appeased house republicans and engaged president barack obama in as little as 48 hours a feat near impossible in these times of extreme partisanship after laying low, ryan swept into the budget battle crippling washington with a plan to break the stalemate that has resulted in a government shutdown and no agreement so far on avoiding a possible us debt default with an op ed and some persuading, he effectively moved demands by tea party aligned house republicans on government funding and debt away from obamacare op ed doesn't mention obamacare ryan responds to critics that enabled house republicans to propose an approach on friday on the fiscal impasse that still hasn't met president barack obama's chief requirements, but hasn't scotched negotiations, either obama, boehner agree all sides should keep talking the ryan express chugged into the white house on thursday with other house republican leaders where he again waited for his opportunity to make an impact in that meeting, progress seemed elusive as the two sides talked past each other then, the 2012 republican vice presidential candidate stepped in and the tone of the meeting changed key moment in white house meeting ryan conceded his side wouldn't get all it wanted while obama asked how he could make something happen borger: goodbye to the strategy republicans knew was a fantasy republicans left the executive mansion expressing optimism, motivated to get to work the white house admitted progress but can ryan push a deal over the finish line? he might be the person in the republican party to do it ryan leaves drama to others in new book, paul ryan asks 'where do we go from here?' the republican's chief negotiator, house speaker john boehner, has been unable or unwilling to reach a deal with the president amid the shutdown boehner and obama have a fractured history of bitter negotiations both said afterward they felt burned by the other though they did talk by phone on friday and agreed talks should go on ryan and obama, on the other hand, have a completely different relationship they were the fiercest of competitors during the presidential election even after, they remain political foes 'now that the president is implementing his agenda, we'll see that the benefits are far less than advertised,' ryan said at the national review institute in january, just days after obama was inaugurated for the second time while they spent months criticizing and deriding each other on the campaign trail, the mantra of politics is not personal seems to be true with these two after thursday's meeting, republican rep steve southerland of florida said they obviously respect each other 'paul and the president certainly have a pass through the last election and i think there's a great respect between them and you can't make that up' southerland said, adding that 'the communication between paul and the president, i think, was an important part of the conversation' what's more, a white house official told cnn that the president viewed ryan's op ed as an opening and provided an opportunity for negotiations to open the government and lift the ceiling to take place ryan is steeped in fiscal matters as chairman of the house budget committee the two politicians are only nine years apart, and while their positions on government spending are the role of government sit on opposite ends of the political spectrum, the have a bit in common they both tap into the younger generation yet have an academic approach to their work but most importantly, they seem to get along cnn's gloria borger put it this way: ryan and president obama have a 'preexisting condition' they have a prior relationship built on ideological differences not personal insult 'they respect each other,' borger said the last time they worked together was six months ago during the last budget battle in march, obama invited ryan and his democratic counterpart on the budget committee, rep chris van hollen, d maryland, to lunch it was the first time obama and ryan had sat down together since the presidential race van hollen said at the time that 'their relationship is developing' one of their first public encounters, however, was mixed when obama invited himself to a republican retreat in baltimore in 2010, he took questions from the members while the television cameras rolled ryan introduced himself as 'a ranking member of the budget committee,' indicating he wasn't sure the president knew who he was after a back and forth about the budget, the president abruptly cut ryan off, ending the discussion obama later complimented ryan, saying, 'i think paul ryan is a pretty sincere guy and has a beautiful family' obama joked 'and by the way, in case he's going to get a republican challenge, i didn't mean it don't want to hurt you, man' fast forward to today while they have been on different sides of nearly every debate, their relationship is not broken and in today's washington, that's saying a lot shutdown polls: no winners, but a bigger loser christie: 'if i was in the senate right now, i'd kill myself' coburn: our spending addiction is out of control supporters stand by representatives, and government shutdown cnn's dan merica contributed to this report | paul ryan washington obama ryan the white house | after keeping a low profile, paul ryan emerges with key role in washington's standoff . president obama and ryan are political rivals but not enemies . he changed the tenor of a meeting at the white house and engaged obama . obama and ryan have past relationship that could benefit the negotiations |
new york (cnn) a former teacher at a brooklyn high school who claimed she was sexually harassed and verbally assaulted by her students has agreed to a $450,000 settlement from the city of new york, her attorney and school officials told cnn as part of the settlement, theresa reel, 52, resigned from the school for legal studies in brooklyn in exchange for having poor ratings on her employment record cleared, her attorney said the settlement was reached ahead of a trial that was scheduled to begin earlier this month 'i think we had a very strong case,' said attorney joshua parkhurst, 'but this way my client can go on with her life' reel told cnn she was subjected to continuous verbal assaults and sexual harassment by students, who she claimed touched her breasts and wrote insults against her on a desk, shortly after she began working at the school in 2005 the educator said she reported the students' behavior to the school multiple times, but the principal's response was worse than inadequate 'i was told i wanted to make the school look bad, i was called a troublemaker,' she said 'that was the worst for me: that my employer reacted this way i felt so worthless' in may 2008, parkhurst wrote the new york city department of education to complain about the harassment allegations and the school's response, and to ask for compensation he said his client in some instances had been reprimanded or threatened with discipline if she insisted the school administration take action in response to an incident the department responded that in each instance of reported misconduct, the students involved were 'disciplined and/or dealt with appropriately,' and that no poor job performance marks against reel were 'a result of reporting any incident involving a student' the department also said that in the course of its investigation, it was advised of an occasion in which reel 'wore a low cut, v neck, lace top while teaching one of her classes' the senior counsel wrote that 'she should dress in an appropriate manner when working at school and teaching her classes' reel said she made multiple requests for a transfer from the school before filing a discrimination lawsuit in may of this year, a judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to decide the case and set the trial date for september 10 the city made its settlement offer before the trial began the education department said it does not comment on ongoing lawsuits or settlements, but the new york city law department issued a statement saying the agreement was based 'on an assessment of the city's best interest in this case, which included obtaining an agreement from the plaintiff to leave the doe's employment and not seek to be employed by our school system again' when she took the job at the brooklyn high school, reel said, she had already been teaching at the high school level for seven years 'i am not a 22 year old without any experience i know how to handle a class,' she told cnn on friday, but this experience was so bad that it brought her to the brink of suicide 'every school year i hoped the situation would get better but it didn't,' reel said 'i just didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel i was emotionally and physically drained' now, she says, she is happy to go on with her life 'i also hope what i did will empower other school teachers to go forward with similar cases' reel said she is 'relieved' by the settlement and would like to look for a new job, probably in another state | moonlighted nonfascists coupled | no related information |
(cnn) sandy disrupted the lives of millions of people when it turned toward the northeast united states and morphed into a superstorm most will return to their routine in time, but some lives are forever changed among those people, here are three of their stories: emergency: a desperate rush to save lives in a hospital the doctors, nurses and staff at the new york university's langone medical center acted fast monday evening when their hospital basement flooded, cutting off power and the roof top generators choked under sandy's torrential rain how you can help ventilators giving newborns breath failed, lights dimmed and elevators in the 15 floor hospital stopped dr andrew brotman described a desperate rush to find other hospitals to take their 260 patients and ambulances to take them there along streets flooded by the superstorm the hospital was empty of patients by 11 am tuesday, but brotman and his colleagues were left with the challenge of reclaiming it from sandy's fury read more about the fast thinking efforts of the hospital staff rescue: police chief aids hundreds who stayed behind one of ralph verdi's jobs as police chief of little ferry, new jersey, is to make sure residents heed warnings when danger approaches but many of the 10,000 residents who rode out irene last year the first hurricane to make landfall in new jersey in 108 years might have seen sandy as another overhyped storm when sandy lived up to her billing and flooded little ferry and two neighboring towns, verdi's job became the rescue of residents trapped in the top floors and roofs of their homes by 6 feet deep water rescuers under verdi's direction scrambled to save a bergen county woman who waved and shouted from her front porch the chief has been too busy to count how many people have been whisked from rising water, but he knew it was in the hundreds with many others, some in pajamas and barefoot, calling for help read more about the rescue efforts in hard hit new jersey death: she answered the call of the sea and history while the patients at brotman's hospital and the people verdi rescued all survived, sandy took the life of claudene christian christian, 42, was living her dream as a deckhand on a replica of the historic hms bounty before giant waves, churned up by hurricane sandy, overtook the three masted, 180 foot sailing vessel off north carolina's coast early monday while 14 crew members made it to lifeboats, waves washed christian, capt robin waldridge and another crew members overboard the third crew member eventually swam to a lifeboat the us coast guard staged a daring helicopter rescue: they flew into the hurricane's outer bands and plucked the surviving crew members from two lifeboats christian's body was later pulled from the sea, but waldridge remained missing tuesday read more about the adventurous life of claudene christian elizabeth cohen, ashley frantz and thom patterson contributed to this report | andrew brotman ralph verdi's claudene christian the hms bounty | emergency: dr andrew brotman describes a frantic rush to evacuate 260 patients . rescue: ralph verdi's job was to warn people to flee, then to rescue those who didn't listen . death: claudene christian was living her dream as a deckhand on the hms bounty |
(travel + leisure) the web is an essential tool for travelers, but as booking engines and trip forums evolve and multiply, you have to know where to look and whom to trust to help you, travel + leisure has assembled the ultimate online guide getting there booking flights (overall) sidestepcom comparing top aggregators sidestep and kayak, we found that eight year old sidestep's flight tool has a slight edge: a handy matrix at the top of the results page gives an overview of the lowest prices pulled from 600 airlines across 200 sites and refining the search by departure time or airport is a breeze researching low fare carriers in europe flycheapocom don't get stuck on the name this is a great resource for learning about 45 low fare carriers in europe select your two endpoints (say rome and oslo) and learn who can get you from one to the other on a direct flight (denmark's sterling air) caveat: flycheapo only shows you who flies where; for prices and schedules, you'll have to visit the airlines' own sites locating the best international airfares farecomparecom decide how much you want to spend and when you want to travel, and getaway maps will overlay the lowest fares pulled from more than 500 airlines (most of the major us carriers, as well as many international ones) for a select range of cities knowing when to book a flight farecastcom buy now or wait for a better price? farecast uses historic pricing data to help you make an educated decision about whether or not a fare is likely to fluctuate in the coming week a supplementary service called fareguard ($10) covers the difference if they tell you to wait for a price to go down and it rises instead caveat: farecast covers only 78 cities, all of them in the united states getting ideas booking hotels (overall) kayakcom this two year old aggregator scours 159,000 hotels worldwide, and about 10 percent of the places that it turns up have been suggested by real people, so the picks are well rounded (hotelscom only lists 70,000 properties) new features allow you to sort the listings by location (using google maps) and view photographs finding late breaking deals on luxury hotels lastminutetravelcom search hotels by ratings in your city of choice, and the site turns up an impressive mix of reduced rates on rooms at luxury properties our recent results: 23 percent off a room at the biltmore, in coral gables, and 15 percent off at the goring, in london caveat: the best deals take digging previewing menus in the us menupagescom with approximately 25,000 restaurants across eight cities, menupages makes it easy to plan meals by type of food, neighborhood, price or random craving (bialys in philly?) caveat: menus may be a bit stale; 3,000 to 5,000 are updated per month and, unlike at opentable, you can't book tables online nabbing the perfect seat seatgurucom preview seat maps including where to find the power outlets as well as that extra inch of legroom for 73 models of aircraft on 39 different airlines like most airlines these days, the site is no frills, but you'll never get stuck next to the bathroom again dishing with global foodies chowhoundcom an obsessive community of feisty people around the world share secret finds the site features interviews with experts, videos of local culinary customs (watch how to tie pancetta), and blogs such as the newly launched tasting notes customizing an itinerary homeandabroadcom plan a trip to one of more than 90 destinations from start to finish along with all the basics (hotel, restaurant, and entertainment ideas), get tips on what to read before you go caveat: they tend to overpack an average day with suggestions planning a cruise cruisecriticcom research almost anything about 60 different cruise lines and gather advice on everything ship related from buying travel insurance to using onboard slot machines caveat: not a booking site, so prices usually aren't listed getting around mapping routes on us public transportation hopstopcom decide on your transport of choice, as well as how far you're willing to walk, and get point to point directions for five cities bonus features: you can see what the trip would cost by taxi and look at panoramic shots of what to expect when you emerge from underground plus, there's a new small screen version for phones and pda's caveat: there are no actual subway maps driving directions in europe viamichelincom scan information on 44 million miles of road across 42 european countries maps feature pop ups with descriptions and pictures of the desired destinations; directions include estimates about what you'll spend on gas; they even tip you off to speed traps caveat: it requires an extra step to convert from kilometers creating comprehensive maps worldwide mapsgooglecom simple, clearly designed maps and driving instructions are just the beginning the standout stuff: live feeds of traffic conditions and street views of major us cities (only slightly creepy); addresses, phone numbers and web sites for what you're mapping the basics converting currency xecom 180 currencies from 250 places, updated every minute the conversion application is easy to locate (unlike that of close competitor oanda), and you can bookmark go to conversions caveat: animations and flashing ads create a bit of sensory overload finding reliable weather forecasts weathercom a notch above accuweather and weather underground, 11 year old weather does the best job of delivering the essentials clearly get current conditions for 98,000 destinations worldwide, updated every 20 minutes learning about health and safety abroad tripprepcom a comprehensive resource with recommended vaccinations, embassy listings and crime advisories for 204 countries (information is culled from the state departments of the us, canada, australia and the uk) also included: tips on local customs and transportation caveat: incomplete listings of doctors abroad free registration required 8 more to watch vayamacom a booking engine that pulls prices from all international flights originating in the united states, including those of low fare carriers yaptacom tracks airfares after you book and will send an e mail about a significant price drop, along with info about how to use little known loopholes for a refund travelisticcom a compilation of on the ground travel videos (there were more than 4,100 at press time) from real people around the world meethalfwaycom uk based site, with a soon to launch us version, that helps you find a geographic compromise seriouseatscom new york times writer ed levine filters, compiles and analyzes all the juiciest global food news and opinions airtrekscom helps you plan complicated multi leg itineraries without the hassle and expense of one off tickets dontforgetyourtoothbrushcom create your own handy before you leave checklists thebathroomdiariescom a seemingly silly, surprisingly useful resource reviewing 12,000 public bathrooms in 120 countries e mail to a friend planning a beach getaway? don't miss travel + leisure's guide to affordable beach resorts copyright 2009 american express publishing corporation all rights reserved | flycheapo europe farecast viamichelin 44 million miles | flycheapo is a great way to learn about low fare carriers in europe . farecast uses historic pricing data to help you decide when to book flights . viamichelin provides information on 44 million miles of road across europe |
(cnn) lionel messi scored a hat trick as barcelona won a nine goal thriller, 5 4 against deportivo la coruna at the estadio municipal de riazor on saturday and go three clear at the top of la liga tito vilanova's side looked to have the game wrapped up as early as the 18th minute when lionel messi scored barca's third goal after jordi alba and cristain tello had netted in the opening 10 minutes but deportivo responded with two goals of their own first, portugal forward pizzi converted from the penalty spot in the 26th minute followed by an alex bergantinos effort 11 minutes later barca were back in control by halftime as messi bagged his second of the night to give the visitors a 4 2 lead the home side reduced the deficit to one goal immediately after halftime with pizzi scoring a second before messi completed his hat trick in the 77th minute his teasing run followed by a thumping low drive past keeper daniel aranzubia looked to have finally settled matters but jodi alba's own goal two minutes later once again threw the result into doubt urged on by their supporters, deportivo searched for an equalizer but barcelona clung on for the three points real madrid enjoyed a comfortable victory 2 0 over celta vigo at the bernabau on saturday a 10th minute goal from gonzalo higuain and a cristiano ronaldo penalty midway through the second half ensured jose mourinho's side continue their rise up the table after a sluggish start to the season madrid have now taken 13 points from their last four league games while newly promoted celta continue their run of up and down form they have yet to draw this season and stay on nine points and currently lie 13th in the table malaga bounced back from defeat against atletico madrid earlier in the month with a battling 2 1 win over real valladolid at the estadio la rosaleda the visitors took the lead in the ninth minute thanks to manucho before isco equalized five minutes before the break valladolid were reduced to 10 men for the final ten minutes of the game when manucho received a second yellow card for a foul and malaga took full advantage with joaquin scoring an 87th minute winner the win means malaga maintain their grip on third place with 17 points from eight matches second place atletico madrid travel to real sociedad on sunday meanwhile in serie a, juventus put daylight between themselves and second placed napoli with a 2 0 win uruguay's jose caceres and french teenager paul pogba both came off the bench to score late goals for the reigning champions and extend their unbeaten record in the league this season while bringing napoli's to an end the win means juventus are now three points clear at the top of the table having taken 22 points from their opening eight games napoli remain in second on 19 points third placed lazio moved clear of inter milan (who play catania on sunday) with a 3 2 win over ac milan at the stadio olimpico the home side stormed into a 3 0 lead thanks to goals from brazilian midfielder hernanes (25th minute) antonio candreva (41st minute) and miroslav klose (50th minute) milan looked dead and buried but mounted a spirited comeback with nigel de jong pulling a goal back in the 61st minute and striker stephan el shaarawy's 79th minute strike setting up a tense climax despite their best efforts, milan couldn't find an equalizer, leaving last year's runners up mid table with just seven points from eight games | messi barcelona deportivo la coruna real madrid celta vigo malaga real valladolid 2 1 juventus napoli ac milan lazio | messi hat trick inspires barcelona to 5 4 win over deportivo la coruna . real madrid continue recent good form with 2 0 win against celta vigo . malaga maintain grip on third coming from a goal down to beat real valladolid 2 1 . juventus beat napoli to go three clear at top of table; ac milan slump to 3 2 defeat at lazio |
tokyo (cnn) at least 18 people have died and 44 people are missing after typhoon wipha pummeled the tokyo area on wednesday the majority died after heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides that blocked roads and crushed houses in oshima, a small island 120 km (75 miles) south of tokyo, a local official said one woman died in the tokyo metropolitan area but the capital was largely spared significant damage forty one people were still missing on the offshore island as of thursday morning local time ireport: heavy winds near tokyo as typhoon wipha hits more than 500 domestic and international flights were canceled at tokyo's narita and haneda airports and the national rail operator halted bullet train services in central and northern japan the typhoon moved north along the pacific coast of japan and was expected to reach the northernmost island of hokkaido by late wednesday tokyo electric power company (tepco), the main electricity supplier in tokyo and central japan, said blackouts affected more than 56,000 households tepco, which has been struggling to deal with a series of leaks at its fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, said workers at the plant were 'on vigil' and accumulated rainwater had been released from storage tanks typhoon nari pounds the philippines, killing 13 | typhoon wipha tokyo oshima the pacific coast japan | new: 18 people have died, 44 missing after typhoon wipha hits the tokyo area . oshima, a small island south of tokyo, has been hardest hit . more than 500 domestic and international flights were canceled . the typhoon is moving north along the pacific coast of japan |
(cnn) delicious cupcakes can make pretty much any situation sweet so when nba star lebron james wanted to apologize to his neighbors in cleveland for a recent bout of chaos he headed straight for the bakery his decision to re sign for his hometown cavaliers franchise prompted an explosion of joy in the city, and an explosion of interest in him news crews descended on his property in the bath township area of the city as well as fans after he announced he was coming home and his way of saying sorry to his community was to enlist a local bakery to deliver the treats on behalf of the lebron james family foundation contained within the boxes were six 'just a kid from akron cherry cola' cupcakes and six 'homecourt chocolate chunk' cupcakes attached to the cupcakes was a note that read: 'dear friends, we know things have been hectic in our neighborhood these past few weeks and we are sorry for the chaos 'we are so thankful to live in this wonderful community and we are so blessed to have understanding neighbors like you' james is one of the nba's biggest stars and left the cavs in storm of controversy in 2010 when he announced he was signing for the miami heat in a televised special called 'the decision' a minority of cavs fans still haven't forgiven james for walking out on his local team but he went on to win back to back nba championships with the heat his announcement on july 11 prompted a wave of euphoria in cleveland, with 'welcome home' banners plastered all over the city | lebron james cleveland nba james cavaliers | lebron james sends cupcakes to his neighbors in cleveland by way of apology . nba star's recent return to cleveland has caused a commotion in his neighborhood . james recently signed for the cavaliers, the team where he made his name . cupcakes come with a note that says: 'we are sorry for the chaos' |
(real simple) it was mid december of 2005 i don't know why he said it author anne roiphe's latest book, 'epilogue: a memoir,' will be released in paperback this fall i don't know if a shadow had fallen across him, something appalling he saw out of the corner of his eye i don't know if it was just coincidence or intuition that prompted him, but about a week before my seemingly healthy 82 year old husband suddenly died, he emerged from the kitchen ready to go to his office, his face clean shaven, his eyes shining, smiling shyly, holding the copy of the anthony trollope book he was rereading, and said to me, 'you have made me very happy you know that you have made me a happy man' there i stood in my work outfit, blue jeans and a t shirt there i stood with my white hair and my wrinkles and the face i was born with, although now much creased by time, and i felt beautiful tell us what makes you feel beautiful 'what?' i said i wanted him to repeat the words 'you heard me,' he said and put on his coat and drew his earmuffs out of his pocket 'say it again,' i said he said it again 'you've made me happy' we had been married 39 years we had held hands waiting in hospital corridors while a desperately ill child struggled to breathe and thankfully recovered we had made financial mistakes together we had spent hours out in fishing boats real simple: 34 low cost, make you smile ideas we had raised the children and then second guessed our choices we had stood shoulder to shoulder at graduations and weddings and we were well worn, but still i had made him happy, and i was proud and flushed with the warmth of his words real simple: 10 ways to be happier i know i looked beautiful that morning perhaps not to the young man holding his toddler in his arms who rode the elevator with me; perhaps not to the friend i met for lunch, a true believer in botox; perhaps not to passersby on the street; but i knew it for a certainty i was beautiful real simple: how to change things for the better i don't believe that inner beauty is sufficient in this cruel world that's the pap one tells a child i don't believe that positive thinking improves your skin tone or that loving or being loved changes the shape of your nose or restores the thickness and color of hair, but i do know that there is a way of being beautiful, even as age takes its toll, that has something to do with the spirit filling with joy, something to do with the union with another human being, with the sense of having done well at something enormously important, like making happy a man who has made you happy often enough ten days after that morning conversation, my husband and i returned from a concert and dinner with friends and walked down our windy block toward our apartment house when suddenly he stumbled and fell and died within minutes as i waited for the ambulance, i remembered his words, a beauty potion i would take with me into the rest of my life get a free trial issue of real simple click here! copyright © 2009 time inc all rights reserved | maidenly subnutritiously subideal | no related information |
(cnn) uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against lazio over allegations a section of their supporters chanted racial abuse at tottenham players in the europa league on thursday aaron lennon, jermain defoe and andros townsend appeared to be subjected to racist abuse including monkey chants during the goalless draw at white hart lane, a game that was watched by uefa president michel platini members of football against racism in football (fare) who were at white hart lane plan to file reports to uefa to assist with their investigation romanian referee ovidiu alin hategan and match delegate adonis procopiu have already submitted their reports of the match's events tottenham held by lazio in europa league 'uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against ss lazio for the improper conduct of the club's supporters (racist behavior) during the uefa europa league group stage match on thursday 20 september between tottenham hotspur fc and the italian side,' read a uefa statement 'the uefa control and disciplinary body will deal with the case on 18 october 2012' lazio could be hit with a fine of $26,000 if their fans are found guilty of racial abuse, while uefa could also force the club to play their next game behind closed doors racism remains 'significant' problem in english football earlier this week chelsea midfielder john obi mikel had to close his twitter account after receiving racist abuse online chelsea issued a statement condemning those responsible and has informed the police following the matter the statement read: 'we've been made aware of racist tweets targeted at mikel which are totally unacceptable, disgusting and abhorrent 'we've informed the police and support taking the strongest possible action' this season uefa has fined bulgarian side levski sofia $39,000 for racist behaviour by their fans during the club's europa league second qualifying round match levski fans unveiled a racist banner during their game against bosnia & herzegovina's sarajevo on july 19 'fans should realise that the club is responsible for all of their extreme or irrational actions,' levski said in a statement meanwhile on thursday, two aik solna supporters suffered stab wounds while in naples for their side's europa league game against napoli a 41 year old and a 23 year old were both wounded in the leg, but the club do not believe the attack was football related | uefa lazio tottenham italian 42,000 bulgarian levski sofia 39,000 | uefa has opened disciplinary action against lazio . move comes following lazio's goalless draw at tottenham . italian club could be hit with $42,000 fine . bulgarian side levski sofia hit with $39,000 fine |
(cnn) at the group of 20 summit in mexico, president barack obama and vladimir putin had their first face to face meeting since putin resumed the russian presidency in may the joint statement they issued afterward indicated several issues (including iran and syria) that the two sides would seek to cooperate on, but it did not announce any significant agreements to do so more telling were the visual images when the two presidents were together; obama appeared to be doing his best to project an image of warmth and friendliness, while putin was stiff and reserved, as he usually is with other world leaders it appeared that obama was earnestly seeking to befriend putin, but putin was not reciprocating why would putin behave this way? it may be because, unlike obama, he may not be looking for opportunities to cooperate, nor be embarrassed about forgoing them he appears to have a much more transactional approach to foreign policy, running something like this: washington wants moscow to adopt the american approach to iran and syria and several other issues but it is unwilling to make concessions to moscow to get it two such concessions would be abandoning ballistic missile defense plans that moscow finds threatening and repealing the cold war era jackson vanik amendment that continues to limit russian american trade but much to moscow's frustration, washington is either unwilling or unable to accommodate russia so why should russia accommodate america? news: obama and putin discuss syria, other topics during two hour talk the obama administration would undoubtedly respond that surely putin does not want iran to acquire nuclear weapons, and thus should fully cooperate with the international effort to prevent this and as benjamin rhodes, obama's director for strategic communications at the national security council, was quoted as saying monday about syria, 'we've been working to get the russians to come in line with, frankly, the broad international community this is not just an issue between the united states and russia' surely russia would not want to defy the 'broad international community' on syria especially when it comes to syria though, putin and the russian foreign policy establishment believe that america and the 'broad international community' have missed the point as bad as bashar al assad's regime may be, russia believes its downfall will be far worse for everyone, and not just russia the russians believe the most likely consequence would be the rise of a radical sunni regime or a drawn out civil war either way, far more people will be killed nor does moscow see increasing sanctions much less the use of force as being effective in resolving the iranian nuclear crisis moscow doesn't see itself as willfully and wrongly defying 'the broad international community' it genuinely believes that america and its western allies are pursuing misguided policies toward syria and iran for obama to think he can get moscow to adopt the american approach without compensation is simply an insult to putin the obama administration needs to understand that america cannot have its borscht and eat it, too if it wants russia's cooperation on syria and iran, it is going to have to make significant concessions to moscow on other issues washington must now decide whether the cooperation it wants from russia is really worth that syria exposes cool spots in us russia ties the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of mark n katz | mark katz obama putin g 20 us russia syria | mark katz: obama and putin said they'd cooperate but didn't say how they would . he says obama appeared to want to befriend putin at g 20, but putin was stiff and reserved . he says if us won't accommodate russia, russia won't accommodate us. katz: russia thinks us mistaken on syria and regime's ouster will bring worse carnage |
(cnn) lyon have reached agreement with french league rivals bordeaux to sign french international playmaker yoann gourcuff for a fee of 22 million euros the 24 year old, who was sent off for france against hosts south africa at the world cup finals and has won 24 caps for his country, will sign a long term contract with the former champions lyon midfielder jean makoun told reporters that the club's players were excited by gourcuff's arrival at the club 'his signing demonstrates the ambition we have 'he has a lot of technical qualities he is a player who can be decisive in extra time and in the final pass sometimes we have trouble in these areas 'with him we're hoping to get to the next level and recapture the title,' he added meanwhile, juventus are reported to have made a move to sign italy forward antonio di natale from udinese italian news agency ansa have claimed the turin club have offered seven million euros for the 32 year old however, the player himself has distanced himself from reports, telling local media: 'i've been here seven years and i want to stay here, i don't know anything about a transfer' in other transfer news, west ham striker alessandro diamanti has completed his return to italy, signing for newly promoted serie a side brescia the 27 year old failed to become a regular for the english premier league side after joining from livorno last year and has now gone back to italy for a fee in the region of 22 million euros | lyon french bordeaux yoann gourcuff 22 million euros gourcuff france the world cup south africa juventus italian antonio di natale | lyon reach an agreement with french league rivals bordeaux to sign yoann gourcuff . the former french champions to pay 22 million euros for the french midfielder . gourcuff played for france at the world cup finals in south africa and has won 24 caps . juventus have registered an interest in signing italian striker antonio di natale |
(cnn) snow fell in parts of the southeast saturday, the leading edge of a powerful storm system that has prompted blizzard warnings in new york city and boston and threatened to cause major travel headaches at the tail end of the holiday week the national weather service has issued a blizzard warning for the new york city metropolitan area, from northeast new jersey through newark and new york, and including the entirety of both the long island and connecticut coasts of the long island sound that warning is in effect between 6 am sunday and 6 pm monday forecasters predict between 11 to 16 inches of blowing snow in much of that region, bringing visibility to near zero at times sustained winds as strong as 30 miles per hour could hit sunday night, with gusts up to 55 mph in parts of central and eastern long island and, starting at noon sunday and extending through 6 pm monday, a similar warning is out for all of rhode island and most of eastern massachusetts parts of that region could see as much as 20 inches of snow, with strong winds contributing to near blinding travel conditions and likely significant power outages the weather service also put out a blizzard watch from sunday evening through monday afternoon for coastal new hampshire and maine, up to the canadian border all this could put a wrench in thousands of travel plans continental airlines, which is partnered with united airlines, has canceled about 250 domestic mainline and regional departures for sunday, spokesman andrew j ferraro said american airlines spokeswoman mary sanderson said that the airline expected minimal delays through sunday morning, but that it plans to cancel flights in and out of several key east coast airports starting in the afternoon 'customers will be contacted through the automated re accommodation system as early as tonight,' sanderson said 'we'll have a better idea tomorrow morning' delta air lines, too, has begun cancelling some flights, though it expects to have a better handle of how many cancellations will be needed on sunday morning 'once we've worked through the schedule,' spokesman kent landers said earlier, the carrier cancelled approximately 500 christmas day flights including roughly 300 in and out of atlanta in an attempt to get ahead of the storm, delta spokesman morgan durrant said delta has joined continental, united, american, airtran airways and other carriers in waiving penalties for travelers who have to reschedule their trips over the weekend while specific information varies by carrier, most are offering penalty waivers for passengers traveling on december 26 and 27 at airports from north carolina to boston and beyond affected customers are being urged to contact the relevant airline either by phone or online winter storm warnings were in effect late saturday afternoon and into sunday in parts of georgia north to virginia, with the rest of the east coast set to follow as the weekend progresses a band of light snowfall was moving across the tennessee valley and the southern appalachians, according to the national weather service madison, alabama, had received 22 inches of snow since thursday snowfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches were possible across north carolina, and atlanta was receiving afternoon precipitation picturesque asheville in western north carolina was well on its way saturday to notching up to 8 inches of snow light flakes were falling in washington on saturday, a precurso to heavier snowfall expected to arrive midday sunday accumulations are expected to be between 2 and 4 inches forecasters, too, warned of icy driving conditions across much of the east much of the precipitation will fall along the interstate 95 corridor and near the atlantic coast cnn meteorologist bonnie schneider explained that the system is a nor'easter, which gets its name from the continuously strong northeasterly winds blowing in from the ocean ahead of the storm and over the coastal areas cnn's nick valencia contributed to this report | runefolk gramophonically assentingly | no related information |
(cnn) uruguay's controversial world cup star luis suarez has been given a seven match suspension after being found guilty of biting an opposition player in a dutch league match the striker will miss six eredivisie games as well as a dutch cup tie, ruling him out until his club ajax's next league match at home to de graafschap on february 4 the amsterdam side's captain was punished by the royal netherlands football association following an incident in sunday's 0 0 draw with psv eindhoven the 23 year old who was infamously sent off during the world cup quarterfinal against ghana in july after saving a goal bound attempt with his hands was investigated after biting psv player otman bakkal 'ajax and luis suarez have accepted the knvb's settlement proposal of a seven match suspension,' said a statement on the club's website on wednesday ajax had already fined suarez and banned him for the club's next two domestic matches 'the fine will go towards a charitable cause,' ajax said suarez, who played in ajax's 4 0 defeat by real madrid on tuesday night, will be available for the final champions league group g match at ac milan on december 8 he was named the 2010 dutch footballer of the year after scoring 49 goals in all competitions last season, and has now netted more than 100 times for ajax since joining the club in 2007 meanwhile, european football's ruling body uefa will look at the red cards incurred by real's sergio ramos and xabi alonso late in the amsterdam match, the uk press association reported on wednesday both players received second yellow cards for time wasting late in the match, meaning they will miss the final group game against french club auxerre the spanish club have already earned a place in the second round, and the duo's disciplinary is effectively wiped clean ahead of the two legged last 16 tie in february and march pa reported that if the players were ruled to have been purposefully booked, they could be charged and have their suspensions extended real madrid coach jose mourinho denied that he had given such instructions to the duo 'i spoke with many players throughout the game, not only with ramos and alonso,' he told reporters 'the two red cards were the result of strange referee bookings in an easy game to monitor 'i didn't like them one bit, but if ramos or alonso can't face auxerre, others will take their place we will not give our game against the french away we want to win all our matches' | ajax luis suarez dutch eredivisie uruguay the champions league uefa real madrid | ajax captain luis suarez punished following incident in dutch eredivisie match . uruguay striker ruled out until early february after being found guilty of biting opponent . he will miss seven domestic matches but can still play in the champions league . uefa to investigate red cards given to real madrid players for time wasting |
london (cnn) a previously unseen portrait of the teenage education activist malala yousafzai goes on show wednesday in a new display of work by jonathan yeo opening at the national portrait gallery in london yeo says the portrait, measuring just less than a meter in height, is larger than life size and shows the young campaigner, now 16 years old, doing her homework malala at un: taliban failed to silence us the schoolgirl became the focus of global attention after she was shot in the head by taliban gunmen last year malala was 15 when gunmen jumped onto her school bus and shouted her name, scaring other girls into identifying her, in the attack in pakistan's swat valley the taliban's actions sparked massive protests in pakistan and condemnation worldwide since recovering from brain surgery in britain, malala has continued her high profile efforts to improve access to education for everyone she celebrated her 16th birthday at the united nations in new york, where she delivered an emotional plea for all children to have the right to go to school yeo first met malala and her family in april 2013, when she had just started school in england and was still recovering from her life threatening injuries, the gallery said in a news release gordon brown: how malala forced terrorists onto defensive 'it was a great privilege to spend some time with malala and her family at such a pivotal moment in her life,' said yeo, who has donated the work to the malala fund, which was set up to help girls go to school 'given how much she has already been through and all that she represents to the world, it took a while to adjust to the fact that she is still a very fragile teenager hopefully the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time' from taliban to malala: why we shot you he said it was an honor to support her charitable fund and to portray 'one of the most inspiring figures of our age' malala said she was honored that the national portrait gallery wanted to show her picture 'i think that he has really captured me in the image,' she said of yeo's work 'it is wonderful to know that many children will ultimately be able to benefit from the money raised from its sale' other portraits by yeo in the show include former british prime minister tony blair and actor kevin spacey, depicted in shakespeare's 'richard iii' | the national portrait gallery london jonathan yeo the malala fund malala | a painting of the teenager is being shown at the national portrait gallery in london . artist jonathan yeo calls her 'one of the most inspiring figures of our age'. he has donated the work to the malala fund, which was set up to help girls go to school . 'i think that he has really captured me in the image,' malala says of the portrait |
macau, china pete sampras rolled back the years to upset current world number one roger federer in an exhibition match in macau on saturday sampras enjoyed the spoils of victory in macau after two previous defeats to federer federer had one the two previous clashes in an asian series in straight sets but was handed a 7 6 6 4 defeat in the finale american ace sampras downplayed his victory, noting federer was coming off a long season and that he was helped by his big serve and the fast indoor carpet surface he had only aimed to win one set during the three match series 'let's not get carried away,' he said at a news conference sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match, 'i had my time in the 90s' federer tried to put on a positive spin on the loss, saying he wasn't embarrassed to lose to his idol, but still showed some disappointment 'it's been tough beating my idol the last two times i'm happy that he got me at least once,' he said, but adding, 'i hope we can do it again in the future i'd like to get him back' the two players have won a combined 26 grand slam titles, but sampras, 36, retired five years ago after winning the us open in 2002 federer is coming off another outstanding season in which he won three grand slams and last week's masters cup in shanghai 'i'm sort of surprised this guy can play tennis, you know,' the swiss player said after his loss saturday federer beat sampras 6 4 6 3 in seoul on tuesday and edged the american 7 6 7 6 in kuala lumpur on thursday in macau, federer was never able able to force a break point on the powerful sampras serve, but had set points at 6 5 and 8 7 in the tiebreak but sampras saved both and a run of three points, capped by a forehand winner, gave him the opener the ninth game of the second second proved vital as a forehand error by federer gave sampras a break point which he gratefully took with another fine forehand sampras closed out the match as a federer backhand return sailed long federer said he thought sampras could still beat the world's top five players on a fast surface sampras then predicted that federer could beat his record of most grand slam wins (14) 'if not next year, pretty soon' 'he's a great, great player he's got things in his game that i couldn't do,' he said e mail to a friend copyright 2007 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | microbeam chaulmoogric physicianless | no related information |
los angeles, california (cnn) alex trebek, the long time host of the popular television quiz show 'jeopardy,' suffered a minor heart attack at his home monday night alex trebek has hosted 'jeopardy!' for 23 years trebek, 67, was recovering at a local hospital, and it was not clear when he would be released, a representative of the show said he is expected to resume taping the show in january the representative added that trebek did not have any previous known condition that would have led to the heart attack trebek, 67, is a native of sudbury, ontario he has hosted 'jeopardy!' since 1984 prior to becoming 'jeopardy!' host, he served as emcee for a number of game shows, including 'high rollers,' 'the wizard of odds' and 'battlestars' e mail to a friend | alex trebek monday trebek jeopardy 23 years la | alex trebek suffered heart attack at home monday . trebek has hosted 'jeopardy!' for 23 years . trebek is recovering at la hospital |
mexico city, mexico (reuters) archaeologists have discovered what they think are ruins of an aztec pyramid razed by vengeful spanish conquerors in what is now one of mexico city's most crime ridden districts construction workers unearthed ancient walls in the busy iztapalapa neighborhood in june, and government archeologists said wednesday they believe they may be part of the main pyramid of the aztec city, destroyed by conquistador hernan cortes in the 16th century iztapalapa, now infamous for violent crime and drug dealing, has grown into a sprawling, poor district of the capital, obscuring the ruins 'we knew the general location but couldn't explore because it's a big urban area,' said government archeologist jesus sanchez, who is director of the site iztapalapa's ruler, cuitlahuac, nearly annihilated cortes and his spanish troops in 1520 in what became known as the sad night after eventual victory, cortes destroyed the city sanchez hopes he has found the city's main pyramid just below the neighborhood's central plaza and garden he and his team will spend more than a year investigating before deciding whether to excavate mexico city is littered with pre hispanic ruins in october, archeologists in the city's central zocalo square unearthed a 15th century aztec altar and a 12 ton stone idol just yards from choking downtown traffic the aztecs, a warlike and deeply religious people who built monumental works, ruled an empire stretching from the gulf of mexico to the pacific ocean and encompassing much of modern day central mexico e mail to a friend copyright 2007 reuters all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed | aztec iztapalapa mexico city aztecs the gulf of mexico the pacific ocean | ruins of an aztec pyramid uncovered in iztapalapa neighborhood, mexico city . iztapalapa is a sprawling, crime ridden district . the aztecs ruled an empire stretching from the gulf of mexico to the pacific ocean |
khartoum, sudan (cnn) hundreds of angry protesters, some waving ceremonial swords from trucks equipped with loud speakers, gathered friday outside the presidential palace to denounce a teacher whose class named a teddy bear 'mohammed' some calling for her execution an undated amateur photo of gillian gibbons, who has been found guilty of insulting religion the protesters, which witnesses said numbered close to 1,000, swore to fight in the name of their prophet gillian gibbons, 54, was given 15 days in jail late thursday after she was convicted of insulting religion she was cleared of charges of inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer, ali ajeb, said ajeb said they planned to appeal the sentence, which begins from the date she was detained, nov 25 including friday, she has 10 more days in jail british foreign secretary david miliband said he was 'extremely disappointed' that the charges were not dismissed meanwhile senior british lawmakers were en route to khartoum to try to secure gibbons' early release the two members of the house of lords were set to arrive in khartoum about 5 am saturday (9 pm friday et), time magazine reporter sam dealey told cnn, citing british and sudanese sources they will meet with government ministers and sudanese president omar al bashir, he said sources close to the british government and the republican palace in sudan say it is expected that a deal will be reached, and gibbons will be released, dealey said visas for the two, he said, were granted 'in record time by sudanese standards' friday's demonstrations began as worshippers spilled out of mosques in the capital after friday prayers they marched to the palace, which is on the same street as unity high school, where gibbons taught grade school students those who named the bear were 7 years old a heavy police presence was maintained outside the school, but no demonstrators were there watch men brandish knives, shout » armed with swords and sticks, the protesters shouted: 'by soul, by blood, i will fight for the prophet mohammad' western journalists who attempted to talk to the protesters were ushered away by men in plain clothes gibbons is being held in a women's prison in the omdurman district of khartoum, and she will be deported at the end of her prison term, british consular officials told cnn british embassy staff said they were giving the teacher from the northern british city of liverpool full consular assistance in leaflets distributed earlier this week by muslim groups, the protesters promised a 'popular release of anger' at friday's protests the leaflets condemned gibbons as an 'infidel' and accused her of 'the pollution of children's mentality' by her actions omer mohammed ahmed siddig, the sudanese ambassador to britain, was summoned for a second time to meet with the british foreign secretary late thursday after the court's ruling miliband also spoke to the sudanese acting foreign minister for 15 minutes on the telephone during the meeting, the british foreign office said 'our priority now is to ensure ms gibbons' welfare and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her,' miliband said in a statement the foreign office said there would be further talks with the sudanese government friday gibbons was arrested sunday after she asked her class to name the stuffed animal as part of a school project, the foreign office said she had faced charges under article 125 of sudan's constitution, the law relating to insulting religion and inciting hatred she could have received a sentence of 40 lashes, a fine or jail term of up to a year, according to the foreign office british newspapers condemned gibbons' conviction, with the daily telegraph calling for the recall of the british ambassador from khartoum and sanctions against the heads of the sudanese government watch a report on reactions to the verdict » in an editorial, the tabloid newspaper, the sun, said gibbons' jailing was a 'grotesque insult to islam' and called gibbons 'an innocent abroad' four vans filled with riot police were waiting outside the courthouse at thursday's hearing, but there were no disturbances staff from gibbons' school, including director robert boulos, were present defense counsel later confirmed that the complaint against gibbons came from sarah khawad, a secretary at the school gibbons has been working at the school, popular with wealthy sudanese and expatriates, since august, after leaving her position as deputy head teacher at a primary school in liverpool this summer, boulos said he said gibbons asked the children to pick their favorite name for the new class mascot, which she was using to aid lessons about animals and their habitats e mail to a friend | gillian gibbons 54 gibbons 15 days mohammed | some demonstrators demand execution of gillian gibbons, 54 . gibbons found guilty of insulting religion, sentenced to 15 days in jail . teacher arrested after her class named teddy bear 'mohammed' |
(cnn) it now seems like a lifetime ago that a young man in circleville, ohio, first pinned the pickaway county sheriff's badge to his shirt it was 1965, and he had just beaten the man who took the office from his daddy four years earlier the young man is 80 now, with a lawman son of his own but dwight e radcliff is still wearing that badge he is believed to be the longest serving sheriff in the united states radcliff says he didn't set out to make history, and that it recently 'struck me that enough is enough' he has decided to hang up his holster for good from running the jailhouse to rounding up criminals, radcliff witnessed the best and worst his fellow man had to offer during 12 terms as sheriff he has worked for the department since 1953, when he started at the bottom as a deputy 'i'm just thankful to the citizens of pickaway county for seeing fit to elect me' radcliff recently told cnn in a telephone interview 'it's been an enjoyable career and i'd love to do it again' while radcliff says he's ready for retirement, his wife of 58 years, betty, isn't so sure 'he doesn't golf, he doesn't bowl, he doesn't dance,' she said 'i don't know what he's going to do' for starters, he will try to keep the sheriff's business in the family his father, charles radcliff, was the pickaway county sheriff from 1931 to 1961 now, his son, robert b radcliff, 50, is hoping voters will choose him on november 6 to succeed his dad and become the county's third sheriff radcliff 'i never take anything for granted,' robert radcliff said of his chances at the polls 'but it's been going good, it's been very positive' pickaway county, population 55,000 or so, derives its name from the pekowi band of shawnee indians it is a slice of agricultural america near the center of ohio and is also know for its golf courses the county's most popular event is the annual circleville pumpkin show, which is held each year on the third wednesday in october a democrat like his father, the younger radcliff is a veteran law enforcement officer he spent 32 years climbing the ranks from deputy to lieutenant before retiring in february 'my father never wanted to show any favoritism,' he said, 'i was there for 12 years before i was promoted working for your dad wasn't easy we butted heads a lot' dwight radcliff was raised to be a lawman he was born in the official sheriff's residence, located inside the old jail what was confinement to the inmates was home to three generations of radcliffs 'i was the matron,' his wife, betty, recalled 'i took care of all the adult women and the juvenile boys and girls, and that was quite an experience' a new lockup replaced the old jailhouse 20 years ago the sheriff's staff, which began with just a small handful, now numbers more than 100 dwight radcliff still goes to work on sundays and holidays he has 10 walkie talkies in the house including one in the bathroom, and another in the laundry, said his wife but if his dedication remains the same, many other aspects to the jobs have changed over the years 'when i first ran for the office, there were a lot of things you can do with a handshake without worrying about the controversy,' dwight radcliff said 'and where i find it very difficult is the way criminal statutes have changed the maneuvers you have to go through in the courts, it seems you have roadblocks wherever you go' those obstacles make the pursuit of justice more difficult, the sheriff says 'i'm the kind of person that feels if you do something, you commit a crime, you pay,' he explains 'i don't want somebody charged that is not guilty it used to be if someone was arrested they would have to get their own attorney, now all they got to do is say they don't have the funds and the state appoints a public defender and that's added money you can't take a chance today' radcliff is passionate about his profession 'he's given 24/7,' wife betty said 'as sheriff, he never gets away we've sat down for thanksgiving dinner and he'd get a call and we wouldn't see him for 24 hours he never stopped to eat, he would keep going until he got his man and i understood that' it's in radcliff's blood, their son agrees 'he demands so much he wants to know everything that's going on he lives it, eats it, breathes it' asked what the hardest part of the job is, sheriff radcliff doesn't hesitate: 'when you have to go to a motor vehicle accident and notify the next of kin the knock on the door and the mom in her bathrobe answers and you have to tell them that her son was just killed' retiring will give dwight radcliff more time to spend with his children and grandchildren he and his wife will get the chance to do things they never could while he was on the job 'our health is still good and we better take what time we have and enjoy ourselves instead of looking back and saying 'i wish we did this,'' he said, adding that he leaves without regrets and knows he did the best he could and he said he's ready for some down time 'if anyone doesn't like me because of what i've done, so let it be,' he said i've done my job' | rickettsialpox refashions sterelminthous | no related information |
(cnn) when mixed martial arts fighters ronda rousey and liz carmouche stepped into the octagon saturday night, they made history for women's sports when rousey stepped out, she was the champion in the first women's match in the ultimate fighting championship rousey and carmouche met in the headline fight for the ufc 157 pay per view event in the honda center in anaheim, california rousey used her signature armbar move to force carmouche to submit late in the first round 'the place was going nuts,' rousey said, 'and i'm glad it was a full house and i'm just honored to be a part of it' meet the ufc's first female superstar just having two women in the ring was a historic first for the ufc, which has been around since 1993 in 2011, ufc president dana white said there would never be a women's mma match in the ufc at the time, he wasn't convinced people would pay to watch women fight but then rousey came along, and white changed his mind 'i know i was the one talking smack about women's mma,' white said saturday night 'but i believed in this fight, and i believed in it enough to make it the main event' before becoming an mma fighter, rousey competed in judo she took bronze at the 2008 olympics, becoming the first american to win a women's judo medal since it became an olympic sport in 1992 on saturday, rousey found herself in early trouble for the first time as an mma fighter carmouche, a former us marine, mounted rousey's back and tried a neck crank for several seconds before rousey escaped 'i wasn't worried, but i was very aware of the situation,' rousey said rousey recovered, responded with a series of strikes and eventually got carmouche in an armbar carmouche quickly tapped out 'it was a great fight,' carmouche said afterward 'i thought i had it' the armbar has been a reliable weapon for rousey she had won by armbar in all six of her previous mma matches before joining ufc and like saturday, all six of those came in the first round rousey improved to 7 0 in her mma career and made history by winning the first women's match in the ufc now, she just might become a household name 'this is something really special and it might take a little to really sink in,' she said cnn's jason moon contributed to this report | haemolysis updarts uncontradictablely | no related information |
atlanta, georgia (cnn) andre rives no longer mows his own lawn and it's not because he's too busy the thought of cutting his grass brings back some bad memories 'man, did this just happen to me?' andre rives asked himself after losing three toes in a mowing accident rives, a 28 year old cable technician from ellenwood, georgia, accidentally cut off three toes on his right foot two years ago while trying out his new riding mower 'i was going too fast and my shorts got caught on the gear shift,' rives recalled 'i came too close to the curb and i couldn't stop i ended up sliding off and my foot went under' rives is one of 100,000 people in the united states in 2006 who suffered an injury in a lawn mower accident the american academy of orthopaedic surgeons, which tracked the statistics, said the problem is more common than people think the group reported most injuries occur among adults age 25 to 64, followed by children under the age of 5 more than 22 percent of injuries involved the wrist, hand or finger; nearly 14 percent involved the foot, ankle or toes 'most of the time it's a pure accident,' said dr marvin royster with the peachtree orthopaedic clinic in atlanta, georgia 'they slipped on the lawn mower, the grass was wet or the lawn mower overturned' royster described some injuries, such as burns from touching the muffler, as mild but other risks are greater; a mower can eject a piece of metal, rock or wood up to 100 mph, he said health minute: more on lawn mower risks » in rives' case, the accident resulted in the amputation of three toes royster repaired some of the damage in the operating room but was unable to re attach the digits he met with rives recently for a follow up visit 'andre is doing very well,' the doctor said 'he has a little trouble with running and getting up on the ball of his foot, but other activities, he's able to do quite well' the association of orthopaedic surgeons noted that most lawn mower injuries are preventable if some basic safety guidelines are followed 'the main thing is you need to wear protective clothing,' royster cautioned wear protective goggles, gloves, boots and long pants never mow barefoot or in sandals 'mowing the grass with flip flops on or sandals on, you're just asking for trouble,' royster said have your lawn mower serviced before the start of the season to ensure it's working properly do not remove any safety devices on the machine be sure to add fuel before starting the engine, not when it's running or hot the liquid could overflow or flame up finally, keep hands and feet away from the lawn mower blade even if the machine is turned off once cleared of an obstruction, a blade can swing around and cause injury rives realized immediately after his accident that he made a number of common sense mistakes 'even in the hospital, i'd say 'man, did this just happen to me?' ' he said he's learned his lesson his wife made him sell his riding mower after the accident he pays professionals to mow his lawn twice a month rives said that in spite of having just two toes remaining on his right foot 'i am not having a pity party for myself i have to keep going on' | blushed hiccupping fettucini | no related information |
(cnn) author doris lessing, who won a nobel prize for her life of literature, died sunday at age 94, her publisher, harpercollins, said the british author was best known for 'the golden notebook,' which is considered by many critics to be one of the most important feminist novels ever written lessing 'passed away peacefully' at her london home early sunday, according to harpercollins spokeswoman susanna frayn lessing began writing at 7, which she said was not the result of inspiration, but her innate capacity 'i was born to write, as other people are born to paint that's all,' she said 'writers tell stories this is what we do' lessing was awarded the nobel prize in literature in 2007 at the age of 88 the swedish academy called her 'the epicist of the female experience' who had 'subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny' 'she is survived by her daughter jean and granddaughters anna and susannah,' the publisher said 'her family has asked for privacy at this time' lessing was born to british parents in persia (now iran) much of her fiction was based on her experiences growing up in southern rhodesia (now zimbabwe), where she moved as a young child her mother raised her on storytelling, reading stories that lessing gave her own spin when sharing them with her younger brother these childhood stories evolved into the powerful fiction that made up her 50 books lessing, who dropped out of a school in the rhodesian capital, salisbury, when she was just 13, developed her writing skills by reading the works of dickens, tolstoy, dh lawrence and dostoevsky 'i educated myself by reading,' she said in her nobel prize acceptance speech, lessing spoke of the desperate struggle for knowledge of people in some developing countries 'not long ago a friend who had been in zimbabwe told me about a village where people had not eaten for three days, but they were still talking about books and how to get them, about education' she left home at 15 to work as a nursemaid but also started writing stories and later sold two of them to magazines in south africa her first novel, 'the grass is singing,' was in her suitcase when she moved to london in 1949, the harpercollins statement said published in 1950, it examines the tension between oppressed black africans and white colonials lessing 'broke new ground' in 1962 with 'the golden notebook,' the publisher said harpercollins editor nicholas pearson called it 'a handbook to a whole generation' 'but her many books have spoken to us in so many various ways,' pearson said 'doris has been called a visionary and, to be in her company, which was a privilege i had as her editor towards the end of her writing life, was to experience something of that even in very old age she was always intellectually restless, reinventing herself, curious about the changing world around us, always completely inspirational we'll miss her hugely' 'she was a wonderful writer with a fascinating and original mind; it was a privilege to work for her and we shall miss her immensely,' longtime friend and agent jonathan clowes said sunday 'doris lessing was a one of the great writers of our age,' harpercollins uk ceo charlie redmayne said 'she was a compelling storyteller with a fierce intellect and a warm heart who was not afraid to fight for what she believed in it was an honor for harpercollins to publish her' people we lost in 2013 | uk lessing london the nobel prize the age of 88 | new: harpercollins uk ceo says lessing had 'a fierce intellect and a warm heart'. lessing 'passed away peacefully' at her london home, publisher says . 'i was born to write,' lessing said . lessing won the nobel prize in literature at the age of 88 |
(cnn) i've been tasked with the assignment of following president clinton on two legs of his southeast asia trip for his charity the clinton foundation we join him and his large entourage in hanoi, vietnam, where he's visiting an aids orphanage about an hour's drive outside the city despite the heat and humidity, the president walks around the facility, speaking to local staff through a translator, commending them on their tireless work his foundation provides tuberculosis medicine for the children infected with hiv/aids and it's saving lives the children perform a dance for their distinguished visitor and the president can't wipe the smile off his face 'i was watching them dancing and they gave me a little poster where each of them wrote what their dreams are for the future,' explains clinton, who is clearly moved by what he has just witnessed 'when we came here first in 2006 every one of the children was hiv positive they would have eventually died from aids they had no future, so to see them now healthy and alive it's just amazing' clinton says he decided at a very early age that he wanted to dedicate his life to public service meeting president john f kennedy at the white house as a student in 1963 and listening to martin luther king's 'i have a dream' speech the same year was a life changing experience that he says firmly placed him on his path i ask if his charity gives him a sense a purpose 'oh yeah,' he says in his folksy southern drawl 'i like it because it's personal flesh and blood you're not just talking in abstract policy terms you are actually seeing the lives of people change and it's one of the great things about the life i have now 'i loved my life in politics i loved it but the difference now is i can see the personal human implications of the decisions we are making' 'and then you see results there they are those kids dancing i wouldn't take the world for that i'm going to have a film of that and i'm going to have that all my life now' mh17, gaza, and the rise of china he speaks with emotion and it's more than just being at the orphanage he just found out that some of the people on board malaysia airlines flight 17 when it went down over ukraine were due to attend the aids conference he will soon be speaking at in melbourne, australia 'it's awful i mean those people are really in a way martyrs to the cause we need to wait to make any definitive statements until we know exactly what happened but it was sickening thinking about those people being knocked out of the sky it's pretty tough' we discuss world issues such as the gaza offensive and the ongoing middle east conflict a conflict he tried to resolve while in the white house he believes it's up to israel to clinch a peace deal with the palestinians, but i ask him if that's realistic considering the current state of war 'well i think it's possible partly because you get tired of doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result it's crazy i hope that this will lead to a little soul searching and trying to get back to the baseline issue of a peace agreement' our conversation moves on to the isolationist policy now being adopted by the us after its long wars in both iraq and afghanistan i ask if america is still the world's policeman and he replies: 'i don't think we have been the world's policeman since the end of the vietnam war' 'but i do think we have been more active and less active over time the wars in afghanistan and iraq were highly costly to us they cost us a lot in lives and wounds and national treasure we have a lot of work to do within the us to rebuild our economic strength but i think we have been and should be active in the world' on the issue of a rising china that is becoming more assertive in its foreign policy, especially in the south china sea, he says he is 'concerned' 'the chinese obviously have a legitimate interest in and right to try to develop a natural capacity to have enough natural resources to continue to grow their economy but i think it's a big mistake for them to be seen as big footing the whole region 'historically that's not been their role and wherever they have done it they have wound up paying a price bigger than the benefit they got this whole thing is still playing out so this where we ought to be working for the best and preparing for the worst' hillary 2016? towards the end of the interview i ask the question on everyone's lips will hillary run for president in 2016 he laughs it's a question he's been asked a thousand times and will continue to be asked until his wife makes an official announcement 'i don't know,' he explains 'i think she really needs some time to think this through we reached a point in our life when we think you shouldn't run for office if you don't have a clear idea of what you can do and a unique contribution you can make you can outline that 'so much of politics is background noise and we don't need the background noise anymore i am proud of her and whatever she does is fine with me i'll support what she does' i get the feeling he wants his wife who he met in the spring of 1971 in a library at yale law school to run it would be history in the making america's first female president and the first husband and wife to ever be leaders of the free world 'it's a decision that only she can make and i'm not going to try and jump the gun, and if she decides not to do it i'll be happy too,' he says 'we have a lot of good years left i hope regardless so we will do whatever happens' | cnn anna coren us bill clinton southeast asia clinton vietnam mh17 coren gaza china america | cnn's anna coren interviews former us president bill clinton during his southeast asia trip . clinton visits children at an aids orphanage in vietnam . he learns some mh17 victims were due to attend an aids conference at which he'll speak . coren asks clinton about the gaza conflict, the rise of china and america's isolationist policy |
(cnn) this world is a busy place with billions of people and billions of things to achieve and experience it's easy to live a lifetime without knowing the feeling of helping others but can you really blame people for making a way for themselves and not others? that's the message you get from birth: 'go after your dreams and don't let anything or anyone keep you from it' i hear people ask: 'what's in it for me?' or 'why should i help you, or them?' could it be that they were never taught the importance of helping others or know how much they could gain from it themselves? for me it wasn't someone, but more something, that made me realize the importance of helping others it was simply visiting a place that some have never visited before and fighting for my life after sustaining burn injuries while serving in the army in iraq in 2003 at 19 years old, i asked myself a notebook full of questions the main one was: 'why did this happen to me, and what am i going to do with it?' as i carried on with my recovery, i waited for that answer about six months after i was burned, i was asked to visit a young man in the same position as me he was in the early stages of his recovery and hadn't been as physically injured as i was growing up, i wasn't as connected to helping other people because too much was catching my attention, typical teenage things like football and girls needless to say, walking into that young man's room when i was 20 and visiting him gave me more than any other experience ever gave me it opened my eyes to a true purpose i learned that i was able to have an impact on others and help them avoid the difficulties and challenges i faced in order to learn the many things i have learned i do not regret what happened to me on april 5, 2003, because it has brought me to a special place and has given me so much from which to grow i know i have so much more to experience and learn i am living the america dream, and that is being able to dream and make it a reality others do not have this opportunity because of a disruptive childhood, abusive relationships or limited resources i went from fighting for my life to helping inspire others to fight for their own i have had the honor of sharing my own life experiences with audiences throughout the world, and it has been a whirlwind however, being able to hear others' stories and meet people who share the name 'hero' with me is even more amazing i had the unbelievable honor to meet great people over the years, and most recently, at the cnn hero awards show in los angeles i attended the show to support my friend dan wallrath, founder of operation finally home, which provides custom made homes to wounded and disabled veterans and the widows of the fallen in an effort to get their lives back on track and become productive members of their communities he is a hero to many people he didn't know much about the troops, but he knew how to build homes and wanted to give the troops what had been given to him and his family: hope, life, respect, acknowledgement and opportunity witnessing him being honored and also meeting nine other heroes that night motivated me to continue the fight to give to others so, ask yourself this question: will you be someone's hero? if you reply yes, but don't know where to start, do as my friend paul rieckhoff, the executive director and founder of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, suggests 'instead of asking the question, 'what can i can do?' the real question is, 'what do you do best?' ' the more heroes we have, the better off our world will be all of us can have an unimaginable effect on one person with the simple concept of making him or her feel cared for, appreciated and that they matter most important, you will learn far more than you ever expected, and that is what's in it for you the opinions in this commentary are solely those of jr martinez | vanadate painsworthy stauroscope | no related information |
dubai (cnn) a court in dubai sentenced two men wednesday to 15 years in prison for the rape and kidnapping of a 15 year old french boy veronique robert, mother of the 15 year old french swiss teen, speaking outside a court in dubai the boy's mother, veronique robert, was visibly upset after the sentence was read and promised to appeal robert, a french journalist, brought the case to the media's attention in recent months in an effort to shed light on what she deemed to be injustices in the pro western emirate of dubai robert said wednesday's sentence was too lenient for a crime that she believes is tantamount to attempted murder because one of her son's attackers was knowingly hiv positive at the time of the rape she refrained from asking the death penalty for her son's attackers, but said she hoped the sentence would be much longer a spokesman for the dubai government, habib al mulla, told cnn the sentence was in accordance with international standards and was not lenient 'today's verdict has proven that the system is efficient and is fair to all parties involved,' al mulla said the case began in july, when the two men, 36 and 18, kidnapped and raped the french teenager at knifepoint robert contacted french diplomats, who took up the allegations with dubai authorities al mulla said police action was swift and arrests were made within 24 hours but robert has said the case was botched from the start, beginning with her son's examination by a doctor who said her son was gay homosexuality in dubai is illegal, and the teen could have faced as much as a year in prison robert's son has since returned to france and was not in court for wednesday's sentencing robert has also said dubai authorities repeatedly concealed evidence confirmed in court papers that one of the attackers was hiv positive robert said her son, who is still awaiting test results to find out whether he has the virus, could have gotten treatment much sooner had they known dubai authorities deny any evidence was concealed the case has shed light on dubai's attitudes toward rape and homosexuality, which some western observers have said is outdated al mulla, however, said wednesday's sentencing and the government's handling of the case proves the country's system works 'it's today's verdict which proves that there is a system,' al mulla said 'the system is working properly however, if there is any room for any improvement in the system, we'll definitely look into it, consider it, and if there's any room for improvement, we'll implement it' the mother has already filed suit in courts in paris and geneva, switzerland seeking compensation from sheikh khalifa, president of the united arab emirates, and the prime minister and vice president of dubai, sheikh mohammed al maktoum she is also suing others, including the dubai police chief robert started a web site over the summer, boycottdubaicom, demanding better treatment for children who suffer sexual assault there at a press conference last month, she proclaimed, 'we are here because i just would like first justice for my son; and second for every girl and boy who was raped and even had no chance to speak' robert said she will drop all her pending cases if the government sets up rape clinics, recognizes the status of rape victims, and takes precautions after rape against sexually transmitted diseases in the wake of wednesday's verdict, robert said a dubai government official told her the emirate plans to open its first rape clinic, which she said was a small victory the government has not yet officially announced its plans to open such a facility al mulla told cnn that dubai believes a reception center for rape victims is 'a good solution' 'we are considering it,' he said, regarding robert's request 'we believe it's good it's good for the victims, and it's good for the whole system' e mail to a friend cnn correspondent wilf dinnick contributed to this report | parcellize gothic acetylating | no related information |
los angeles, california (cnn) dr sanjay gupta, cnn's chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the united states, he said thursday dr sanjay gupta will continue his work as a surgeon and for cnn 'this is more about my family and my surgical career,' gupta told cnn's 'larry king live' the neurosurgeon said he would likely have had to give up practicing had he taken the job as the nation's top doctor in addition, the 39 year old and his wife are expecting their third daughter any time, and the government job would have meant long periods away from his family, he said 'i think, for me, it really came down to a sense of timing more than anything else,' he said 'i just didn't feel i should do that now' watch gupta explain his reasoning » gupta said he had not been formally nominated for the job, though he had spoken with senior members of the obama administration, who made it clear he was their choice, he said 'i think there was a real melding there,' he said, adding that he felt flattered to have been considered earlier thursday, an administration official said gupta 'was under serious consideration for the job of surgeon general he has removed himself from consideration to focus more on his medical career and his family we know he will continue to serve and educate the public through his work with media and in the medical arena' sources said in january that gupta had met then president elect obama in chicago, illinois, in november to discuss the post at the time, gupta declined to comment the transition team was impressed with the combination of gupta's government experience, as a white house fellow in 1997 and a special adviser to then first lady hillary clinton, along with his medical career as a neurosurgeon and his communication skills, the transition sources said gupta is a member of the staff and faculty of the department of neurosurgery at emory university school of medicine in atlanta, georgia he regularly performs surgery at emory university hospital and at grady memorial hospital, where he serves as associate chief of neurosurgery gupta joined cnn in 2001 as chief medical correspondent for the health and medical unit, he is a lead reporter on breaking medical news, provides regular health and medical updates for 'american morning,' anchors the half hour weekend medical affairs program 'house call with dr sanjay gupta' and reports for cnn documentaries based in atlanta, gupta also contributes health stories to cnncom, co hosts 'accent health' for turner private networks, provides medical segments for the syndicated version of 'er' on tnt and writes a column for time magazine he also anchors the global health program 'vital signs' for cnn international and is featured in a weekly podcast on health issues called 'paging dr gupta' just after joining cnn, gupta became part of the team covering the september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on new york and washington later that year, he led breaking news reporting on a series of anthrax attacks in 2003, gupta reported from iraq and kuwait as an embedded correspondent with the us navy's medical unit and worked alongside them, performing brain surgery five times in addition, gupta reported from sri lanka in the aftermath of the tsunami that swept the region in december 2004 he also helped cover the aftermath of hurricane katrina from new orleans, louisiana, in 2005 he received his undergraduate degree from the university of michigan and his medical degree from the university of michigan medical center | uncanonically photochronographic quininism | no related information |
valley springs, california (cnn) sheriff's deputies on foot and in patrol cars made their presence known at a northern california school on monday amid the stepped up security, classmates at jenny lind elementary school carried flowers for leila fowler their parents held onto fear 'i'm scared for my kids, for the family,' mother wendy converse said 'it's horrible' fowler, an 8 year old third grader at the school, was stabbed to death at her home over the weekend as police search for suspects, word of the killing has left many shaken in the community, which is about an hour outside of sacramento 'leila was bubbly, she was vivacious, a great student i don't think i ever saw leila without a smile on her face,' amy hasselwander, the school's principal, told cnn affiliate kcra 'just a bright girl, just kind, compassionate, sincere to everyone' converse said her son, elijah, was friends with leila 'they sit together at school it's very sad,' she said 'things like that don't happen here' the girl died of shock and hemorrhages caused by multiple stab wounds, the calaveras county coroner's office said on monday her mother said the family was still coming to grips with their loss 'we are devastated,' crystal walters, leila's mother, told cnn via facebook correspondence early monday 'she didn't deserve this she was so full of life' no suspect named police say leila and her brother were home alone on saturday when he saw an intruder leaving the house he then found his sister stabbed and severely wounded she died minutes after arriving at the hospital, authorities said since then, police have been running down leads but say they have no specific suspect 'we're searching extensively into attics and storage sheds it is a difficult area to search it is rural, remote and the grass is tall right now,' calaveras county sheriff's capt jim macedo said authorities have combed the home and the neighborhood for evidence 'we did collect fingerprints during that search,' macedo said, 'and we did collect what we believe to be dna those prints and dna will hopefully be processed within the next week' a neighborhood on edge word of the killing rattled many residents in the neighborhood michael range, who lives near the fowlers, said he heard about leila's deadly stabbing from a boy who lives nearby 'i took my kids instantly and locked the doors,' he said 'it was scary we've been inside all weekend' ryan wydner, who lives across the street from the fowlers, said the girl's death left him feeling anxious 'anything's really possible at this point,' he said 'what's the difference between that guy going left and right and coming into my house? i don't know' while authorities said they had 'no specific suspect,' they are looking for a white or hispanic male with a muscular build, about 6 feet tall, wearing a black long sleeved shirt and blue pants he is considered to be armed and dangerous, the sheriff's office said macedo said the boy who found his sister 'is not a suspect at this time, but we are continuing to talk to him, which would be normal because he was the last person with the child' detectives continue to track down dozens of leads phoned into a tip line created saturday, including some leading to other counties, he said more than 100 members of the law enforcement community are working on this case, macedo said nanny indicted on charges of stabbing two children to death georgia girl, 7, died of head trauma, stabbing cnn's paul vercammen reported from valley springs, california cnn's ed payne reported from atlanta cnn's stephanie elam, anneclaire stapleton and jennifer moore contributed to this report | leila fowler leila | new: the coroner's office says leila fowler died after suffering multiple stab wounds . new: amid stepped up security, parents at her elementary school say they're afraid . new: school principal: 'i don't think i ever saw leila without a smile on her face'. the girl's brother 'is not a suspect at this time,' a sheriff's spokesman says |
(cnn) on the day that marks the birth of elvis presley perhaps it is fitting that lightning should strike twice bradford city, currently in the fourth tier of english football, stunned premier league aston villa with a 3 1 win in the first leg of their semifinal in the league cup just weeks after toppling the mighty arsenal the club are now just 90 minutes away from their first major final since they lifted the fa cup back in 1911, if they can successfully negotiate the second leg at villa park on january 22 goals from nehki wells and rory mcardle stunned the visitors before andreas weimann pulled a goal back for villa but a late header from carl mchugh restored city's two goal cushion bradford are now on the verge of matching the achievement rochdale, who were the last fourth division side to reach the league cup final in 1962 the league cup, first contested in 1960, is regarded as the third competition in english football behind the premier league and the fa cup villa are owned by randy lerner, the american businessman who recently sold the cleveland browns nfl franchise even if bradford don't make it to wembley they will have two cup shocks to remember fondly after they disposed of a full strength arsenal team on penalties in the last eight their manager phil parkinson told sky sports: 'to beat aston villa 3 1 is outstanding achievement, we played so well 'villa came with an attacking line up but left space and i thought we passed the ball well the lads were magnificent in all departments 'we've got be respectful and do it all again so we don't get carried away but what a victory for us we've got to go there and enjoy it in front of 40,000 fans, and 6,000 of ours, because the pressure will be on villa 'we want to go and put in a strong performance if we do that we'll have a great chance of going to wembley this is a dream to be in the semifinals with the likes of chelsea, villa, swansea and we've got take it they'll have to really earn it if they get to the final' a despondent paul lambert said his young villa side weren't good enough to match their supposedly inferior opponents on the night 'we knew what was coming, the set pieces, and we never defended them well at all,' he said 'it wasn't good enough we had a lot of the game but you've got to be able to defend set pieces its happened year after year that so called lesser teams beat bigger teams but we've got a chance to redeem this 'i'm pretty sure we'll start as favorites but it's a big game for us now' european champions chelsea take on swansea in the other semifinal first leg on wednesday night | bradford city aston villa league cup bradford valley parade arsenal | fourth tier bradford city stun premier league aston villa in league cup . bradford win the first leg 3 1 at their valley parade ground . the lowly team knocked out high flying arsenal in the previous round |
(cnn) president barack obama and rival mitt romney have targeted ohio with incessant campaigning, a slew of television ads and nonstop political phone calls the importance of the buckeye state cannot be overstated: ohio has not voted for the loser in the presidential election since 1960 in other words, as goes ohio, so goes the nation 'they're just going to badger voters over and over again until they cast a ballot,' said paul a beck, a political science professor at the ohio state university 'it doesn't really matter where they pick up the votes, so the campaigns are everywhere they're visiting all over the state and running ads everywhere' obama and vice president joe biden have visited ohio 10 times in the past 30 days, including a rally in dayton on tuesday romney and his running mate, paul ryan, have stumped 21 times it is the second most visited state on the campaign trail, behind only florida, another swing state the obama campaign has flooded the ohio airwaves with $57 million in advertising; romney for president has spent $34 million anything to pick up the state's vital 18 electoral votes five things we learned from the final debate in fact, beck said, all political ad space in the major tv markets has been purchased through the november 6 election 'ohio is ground zero for the jobs debate,' gop strategist and cnn contributor alex castellanos said castellanos, who was a top media adviser to the 2004 bush cheney re election campaign and a romney adviser in 2008, said ohio is 'a microcosm of american swing voters: reagan democrats; suburban soccer moms; and even up tinos, upwardly mobile latinos, an increasingly important target for both parties' if the campaigns needed any more ammo for their efforts, they got it on monday the latest collection of polls in ohio shows a razor thin margin separating the candidates the cnn poll of polls shows obama at 48% and romney at 45% in the buckeye state 'it's a very critical state,' cnn chief national correspondent john king told wolf blitzer on monday 'right now, you have that slight lead for the president; gov romney's team would say it's a tie' pundits say that ohio is a must win state for romney, that his chances for the necessary 270 electoral college votes become nearly impossible without carrying ohio 'this is the big one,' king said the romney campaign also has focused on three typically republican states that went for obama in 2008: indiana, north carolina and virginia getting those three states, plus ohio, would be crucial in electing romney as the nation's next president by contrast, obama could win by picking up wisconsin, iowa and ohio 'you could make an argument the president should just camp out right here in the midwest,' king said at the center of it all is ohio, one of the nation's great industrial states, with 115 million people cleveland, akron, youngstown and toledo have traditionally voted democrat in support of the auto, steel and tire unions, while cincinnati and columbus have leaned republican obama carried ohio in 2008 52% to 47% over john mccain, riding a wave of increased democratic voter turnout over 2004 and winning traditionally republican areas but whether obama can rally his base in the same numbers remains one of the lingering questions this election season campaign enters final stretch 'it's too close to call,' said ohio state's beck 'the outcome is probably going to depend on turnout and how good of a job the campaigns do in getting out their faithful' buoyed by polling that shows obama enjoying a wide margin among female voters (53% to 41%), biden stumped in canton, ohio, on monday, chiding romney for his 'binders full of women' response when the gop hopeful was asked at the last debate about pay inequities in the work force 'he started talking about binders binders?' biden said 'whoa!' romney leads among men by a similar margin the gap between obama and romney has narrowed in the past month ahead of the first presidential debate, obama enjoyed as much as a 10 percentage point advantage, and many political experts believed the election was virtually over but then came romney's october surge 'it's very simple: once again, it's all coming down to ohio,' said william galston, a senior fellow at the brookings institution and former policy adviser to bill clinton 'i feel quite confident this time around that whoever wins ohio will be the next president of the united states, and i very much suspect that the campaigns agree with that proposition' beck attributes romney's comeback to three issues: • the first presidential debate, which most people believed romney won • the events in libya that resulted in the deaths of four americans, including ambassador christopher stevens • voters alienated by obama who wanted to like romney ohio newspapers ink their 2012 presidential picks 'the first debate let people who were looking for reasons to support romney and made them feel that he was of a presidential caliber,' beck said he said he is paying close attention to the blue collar democratic areas in the northern part of the state, where race could play a factor in the voting the auto bailout has played out well in ohio (one in eight jobs is connected to the auto industry), and beck said many blue collar types would like to support romney but have trouble relating to him because of his track record of shipping jobs overseas 'they just don't resonate with romney,' beck said 'but they're not heavily attracted to obama' obama and biden have campaigned hard in ohio and michigan on romney's opinion piece that said to let detroit go bankrupt, repeating the refrain 'osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive'a billboard in the ohio city of defiance, where gm has a plant, carried that same message for four weeks, but not before stirring a swirl of emotions 'a lot of people here were offended by it, republicans and democrats alike,' said mayor bob armstrong, a democrat 'the message was just not a good message' the defiance mayor said he hopes americans 'stop all the bickering' and 'get behind our president, whoever it might be, and put all this behind us' in a sign of voter enthusiasm, more than 14 million ohioans have voted or requested an absentee ballot since early and absentee voting began on october 2 almost a third of ohioans voted early in 2008, in large numbers for obama republicans say they're better organized this time around and hope to make inroads there one thing's for sure, beck said, ohio voters can expect more campaign stops by the candidates, more phone calls, more political mailings 'we're pretty well balanced between the two parties,' beck said 'and that means both candidates are going to court ohioans because both sides feel they can win' six undecided voters in six swing states cnn's paul steinhauser and peter hamby contributed to this report | kolkhosy incipiently tobikhar | no related information |
(cnn) the presidential face off on foreign policy between president barack obama and his republican rival mitt romney was geared to sway us voters, but at points on the globe that the candidates argued over from libya to pakistan to china netizens, analysts and activists tuned in and weighed in china after weeks of tough talk about china, the candidates made little mention of the growing superpower netizens in china did not seem to take sides but instead used the debate to banter about the relationship with the united states 'whoever the winner, they are still all scoundrels and will not benefit china in any way,' a tweet by @sishisiniandesi read on china's weibo social network five things we learned from the final debate 'china only factors into a small part of the debate from these bits and pieces, any conclusions you draw is like that of a blind man feeling out an elephant,' said another post by @youyisuiyi china's state news agency used the occasion to admonish whomever may become president to 'tone down his get tough on china rhetoric made along the campaign trail' and deal realistically with 'china's inevitable rise' which candidate is elected seemed only to make a slight difference to china to analyst wang feng, director of the brookings tsinghua center in beijing 'yes and no,' he said, when asked if there were significant differences in the candidates' stances as concerns china 'both candidates, they made it clear that they want to treat china as a partner and that they want china to play by the rules,' wang said but romney's negative rhetoric stuck out, particularly that 'he'll designate china as a currency manipulator,' wang said cnn fact check: obama ccuses romney of criticiaing his handling of china tire case he found romney's idea that china could not enter into a trade war with the united states as a reaction to tough measures from washington because of the already existing trade imbalance 'a very simple calculation' 'the decisions to be made in beijing here will not only be based on the trade volumes but on domestic political concerns,' he said but wang advised that keeping up pressure on china about trade issues has been effective, particularly in the area of copyright 'people start to use copyrighted materials, and people started to pay more and more respect to intellectual property,' he said calls by the us and international agencies to do so have 'certainly played a role' obama wins final debate, but does it matter? afghanistan and pakistan in pakistan, romney's comments on the country's nuclear weapons program raised some ire 'pakistan and the us have an old friendship, and it's disappointing to hear that mitt romney brought this relationship down to one that is purely based on pakistan being a country with 100 nuclear warheads and counting,' said naveed chaudhry, an aide to president asif ali zardari chaudhry said he wishes the united states would recognize what pakistan has done for the war on terror raza rumi, director of the the think tank the jinnah institute, said it does not much matter who is president cnn fact check: romney, obama and iraq 'both candidates made reference to drone strikes and said they would continue,' he said 'pakistani public opinion is really swelling against the drone strikes' rumi was also disappointed there was no mention of a long term strategy towards afghanistan and pakistan 'i can understand at the moment the american public wants the government to exit from afghanistan, but surely there should be a strategy for that, because we have suffered once in the 1990s with that void, when afghanistan was left (by the soviets)' tweets out of kabul, afghanistan, indicated that viewers there felt left out of the debate 'so who won the debate today? i know who lost afghans little mention of war, except for w/drawal differences not so different from e/o,' tweeted someone who went by the name subel another tweeter, musa mahmodi, wrote: 'watched the us presidential debate, nothing new on afghanistan, they both do not seem understand this country' libya the port city of eastern benghazi wants four more years obama, one blogger said, who stayed up until 4:30 am local time to watch the monday night debate although the candidates did not slug it out over the deadly september attack on the us embassy in the city, ruwida ashour felt romney disregarded the progress in her country ashour already stood behind obama, and nothing his challenger said changed her mind cnn fact check: comparing costs of iraq, libya missions she believes obama has brought more stability to the middle east 'i'm just not sure what romney will do' 'he said libya is just six million people, and we have to take care of egypt,' which is much larger, she complained as concerns egypt, she said romney misjudged the election victories by the islamic party, the muslim brotherhood, as being a bad thing 'it was the people's choice,' ashour said she also found romney's plans to stop terror attacks 'unrealistic,' saying that the issue was too complex to solve comprehensively israel and iran both candidates pledged to stand by israel in the event of an attack by iran between the two of them, obama and romney mentioned iran 47 times in one of the debate's notable zings, romney pointed out that obama did not visit israel as president and left it out on a trip through the region cnn fact check: is al qaeda's core decimated or is group growing? this got noticed in israel, said cnn's sara sidner there is some tension between obama and israeli pesident benjamin netanyahu over how to handle iran but the two nations over the weekend kicked off a large military exercise, reiterating america's unbending support for the jewish state policy towards israel in the past has not changed much from one president to the next, sidner said there has not been much public reaction to the debate, which occurred in the middle of the night israeli time the iranian press has reported on the debate, but so far has not come out with criticism towards anything the candidates said read a transcript of the debate cnn's jonathan mann and journalist saima mohsin contributed to this report | libyans obama china pakistanis afghans | netizens and analysts around the world weigh in on the debate . libyans seem thankful to obama for what they have . china wants respect as an economic power . pakistanis and afghans feel their concerns were not addressed |
(cnn) monday's debate didn't end when the cameras shut off the thousands of readers on cnncom continued the conversation well into the evening after president barack obama and former gov mitt romney met in their final face to face matchup of the presidential campaign readers posted more than 4,500 comments on cnnpoliticscom's 5 things we learned in the debate and many were inspired to make lists of their own as you can imagine, the comments split along partisan lines, but some commenters said they heard enough to know they don't want either man to be president planning to vote? tell your friends on facebook we want to hear more what did you learn from monday's debate? you can add to the list in the comments below or tweet what you learned using #5things meanwhile, here is what readers said they learned: from obama supporters: anthonyf84 5 things i have learned from this debate about foreign policy from romney 1 mitt romney has no clue where iran really is 2 romney would agree with the president's current foreign policy, then attack him on the same foreign policies that he just agreed with, then present his own foreign policy, that amazingly is exactly the same as the president's 3 i thought mitt was originally against a timetable to leave afghanistan in 2014, calling it foolish and harmful, but now he seems to be all for it 4 mitt is as detailed about foreign policy as he is on loopholes 5 on syria, romney has cried that we are not doing enough the president said that we are doing everything we can that is short of direct military intervention and mitt said again it was the wrong course to take so one can only assume that according to mitt the only other course would be a hot conflict where would we get the money to pay for this conflict, if you refuse to raise taxes? debate coach: romney walked into 'bayonets' line nomoreretoric 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 obama is the better choice 2 romney is a liar and can't be trusted 3 romney does not handle pressure very well 4 romney has no plans 5 the gop nominated the worst candidate in history ceejay0214 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 romney gave long answers but ended up agreeing with president obama on most points he shook his etch a sketch once again 2 romney played it too safe and in so doing did not look as knowledgeable about his changing positions 3 president obama talked the talk and walked the walk last night he looked, talked and acted presidential and i did not notice he was not white 4 that when romney is snarky and aggressive, the repubs loved it and said it made him presidential, but when president obama pushes back it makes him look snarky, aggressive and un presidential! 5 romney does sweat! campaign enters final stretch as obama takes final debate george w tush mitt romney's 5 point plan: 1 to the left 2 take it back now y'all 3 one hop this time 4 right foot let's stomp 5 cha cha real smooth editor's note: it's not every day that dj casper's 'the cha cha slide' is cited as a critique of a presidential candidate's positions from romney supporters: jack briss 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 obama proved he is rude and ignorant interrupting romney 2 he failed for 4 straight years 3 obama proved change is needed 4 he tried blaming romney for his own failures which romney could not possibly do 5 obama spoke for 1 hour, 30 minutes without saying a word cnn poll: nearly half of debate watchers say obama won showdown devices777 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 romney looks more presidential 2 romney acts more presidential 3 romney talks more presidential 4 romney's plans are more presidential 5 obama has none of the above presidential debate's global reaction: disappointment jrt1098 5 things we learned from this debate: 1 barack obama has added $5 trillion that's 5 trillion in deficit spending in just 3 years! 2 unemployment remains near 8% and obama has had 4 years to fix it he hasn't! 3 this president hasn't even passed a budget in over 3 years why??? 4 gitmo, the patriot act, and the war in afghanistan and code pink is extinct! 5 syria is a mess, egypt is a mess, iran is on the verge of nukes and in benghazi, libya, this administration played politics and attempted to cover up to avoid political damage!! sugarkube 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 obama seemed cocky interrupting 2 obama spent more time trying to tell us what romney believes than telling us what he believes 3 romney was presidential 4 obama played small ball 5 november will be a landslide for romney from wildcards/third party supporters: brain419 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 obama sucks 2 romney sucks 3 we are all screwed 4 dems/reps think they should run the world 5 i'm voting for gary johnson opinion: obama in command; romney plays it safe justin forgot it 5 things i learned from this debate: 1 neither deserve to run the country inept? plenty of that to go around 2 obamacare meet romneycare difference? 3 romney: let's give all my rich buddies huge tax breaks obama: let's spend their money 4 obama: bush is my mentor (i have followed his idiocy to the 't') romney: my dad was an immigrant on welfare, but he isn't my mentor i'm rich let me forget my roots 5 obama: i'm in over my head romney: i'll make grand promises without any idea how to implement | cnn monday | debate watchers posted thousands of comments after the final presidential debate . some posted their own lists after reading cnn's '5 things we learned' in monday's debate . watch the debate again and add what you learned to the list |
(cnn) in photos released sunday, the two dads are embracing theirs is a meeting wrought with profound grief, spurred by shared tragedy peter rodger's 22 year old son, elliot rodger, went on an armed rampage in late may in isla vista, california, killing six people one of them was richard martinez's 20 year old son, christopher martinez, a university of california, santa barbara student christopher martinez was in a deli where elliot rodger fired several rounds, police said rodger also killed three men in his apartment and two women outside a sorority house, police have said, and drove wildly in his black bmw, shooting at pedestrians and injuring some the bmw collided with other cars before coming to a stop, authorities said when officers approached, they said they found rodger dead of a gunshot wound to the head at the time, richard martinez faced television cameras, tearfully and angrily demanding more gun control 'chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the (national rifle association),' he said 'they talk about gun rights; what about chris' right to live? when will this insanity stop?' on june 1, the two fathers met the images of them together were released to mark father's day by the advocacy firm rally 'we plan to work together so other families such as ours will not suffer as ours have,' martinez told cnn affiliate keyt after their meeting 'this was a private conversation between grieving fathers who've reached common ground' roommates, a 'really great kid' among victims | clavolae perlid obviation | no related information |
(cnn) gen david petraeus, head of the us central command, met with yemeni president ali abdullah saleh on saturday in yemen, according to a senior us government source during the meeting with petraeus, saleh expressed his appreciation for the united states' help in combating extremists, the source said saleh also offered more support for us counterterrorism strikes and said he would continue providing assistance for the us investigation into the attempted bombing of a northwest airlines flight on december 25 the official said that petraeus carried several messages and 'various items' of information from obama to saleh no further details were available the two men discussed the latest intelligence on al qaeda in yemen, the official said, adding that the number of attendees was very small on both sides obama aide john brennan briefed the president on petraeus' trip to yemen, after brennan spoke with the general, the senior us government official and a senior administration official said 'gen petraeus was in yemen today as part of our ongoing consultations with and efforts in support of yemen,' the senior administration official said 'we have made yemen a priority over the course of this year, and this is the latest in that effort' president obama on saturday linked the man accused in the botched attack to an al qaeda affiliate based in yemen the group, called al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, apparently trained umar farouk abdulmutallab, the 23 year old nigerian national accused of trying to blow up northwest flight 253 en route from amsterdam, netherlands, to detroit, michigan, obama said saturday the group equipped abdulmutallab with explosives and 'directed him to attack that plane headed for america,' obama said in his weekly radio address 'this is not the first time this group has targeted us,' obama noted 'they have bombed yemeni government facilities and western hotels, restaurants and embassies including our embassy in 2008 'i've made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the yemeni government training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al qaeda terrorists,' he said yemen is tightening security at its southern and western coasts in an attempt to thwart 'possible infiltration of militants' from a somalia based young mujahedeen movement, the official saba state news agency reported saturday the group, also known as harakat al shabaab, announced on friday its 'readiness to support their brothers in yemen,' saba reported 'the group said its militants will cross the sea and fight on the side of the terrorists in yemen against the enemy of allah,' the news agency said saba reported that counterterrorism troops in yemen have in recent weeks raided several al qaeda hideouts and training sites, and have killed and arrested scores of terrorist suspects it also said that weapons were seized in recent months 'with a number of african infiltrators who crossed the sea into yemen' 'authorities also said that dozens of africans, most of whom were somalis, were arrested fighting the army in support of the houthi insurgents in the far north,' saba reported american and yemeni officials are now looking at fresh targets in yemen for a potential retaliation strike, two senior us officials told cnn tuesday british prime minister gordon brown called friday for an international meeting later this month to discuss how to counter radicalization in yemen on tuesday, yemen's parliament ratified the international convention for the suppression of financing of terrorism, the official saba state news agency reported the move aligned yemen with the united states in expanding the fight against terrorism to sources of funding petraeus and john brennan, obama's counterterrorism adviser, also visited saleh in yemen last summer to discuss the threat of terrorism cnn's barbara starr contributed to this report | david petraeus ali abdullah saleh al qaeda saleh yemen obama somali | new: gen david petraeus and president ali abdullah saleh discuss al qaeda intelligence . saleh says yemen will continue to assist in investigation into attempted airline bombing . president obama has linked man behind botched attack to yemen based al qaeda affiliate . yemen reportedly tightens security after threats from group of somali militants |
islamabad, pakistan (cnn) malala yousufzai's courageous blogging against the taliban set her apart from other 14 year old pakistani girls growing up in a region once dominated by the islamic extremists, she knew the fear associated with the word taliban one of her fears came to pass tuesday, when gunmen sought her out and opened fire on her school van, leaving her seriously wounded along with two other classmates 14 year old girl wins pakistan's first peace prize the pakistani taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, taliban spokesman ihsnaullah ishan told cnn ishan blamed the shooting on malala's activist blogging doctors removed a bullet lodged in her neck during three hours of surgery on wednesday morning 'inshallah (god willing), she will survive,' said dr mumtaz ali, a neurosurgeon who worked malala with three colleagues the attack began when armed militants stopped a van as it was taking her and two other girls home from school the attackers asked which girl was malala, said kainat bibi, one of the wounded girls when the girls pointed malala out, the men opened fire, bibi said, wounding the girls before the van's driver was able to speed away the other two girls' injuries were not considered life threatening malala's blog malala lives in northwest pakistan's swat valley one of the nation's most conservative regions her frustration with the taliban's restrictions on female education in her town prompted her to use the internet and speak out, effectively making herself a target she reached out to the outside world online, taking a stand by writing about her daily battle with extremist militants who used fear and intimidation to force girls to stay at home 'i had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the taliban,' she wrote in january 2009 'i have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in swat my mother made me breakfast and i went off to school i was afraid going to school because the taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools' opinion: girl's courage, taliban's cowardice malala's shooting has sparked national outrage forcing pakistanis to take a harsh look at how extremist elements are shaping the nation 'our society is going through a very critical phase,' said aazadi fateh muhammad, a professor of mass communications at federal urdu university karachi, in an e mail to cnn 'civil society and civilians are in a war with militants and terrorists in every part of the region' the attack on malala, muhammad said, is an example of this war 'dark hands,' she said, tried to attack malala's cause, 'but it will discourage many others who are fighting for light' the taliban controlled malala's valley for years until 2009, when the military cleared it in an operation that also evacuated thousands of families attack on teen blogger consumes pakistan last year, malala told cnn she feared 'being beheaded by the taliban because of my passion for education during their rule, the taliban used to march into our houses to check whether we were studying or watching television' she described how she used to hide her books under her bed, fearing a house search by the taliban malala's online writing against the taliban led to her being awarded pakistan's first national peace prize last november former prime minister yusuf raza gilani directed pakistan's cabinet to award the prize each year to a child under 18 who contributes to peace and education president asif ali zardari strongly condemned the attack, which prompted outrage among residents on local media sites also condemning the attack was prime minister raja pervez ashraf, who spoke with malala's father on the phone tuesday, according to a statement from the prime minister's office taliban's vaccination ban may affect 280,000 children journalists nasir habib and noreen shams contributed to this report | pakistan pakistani taliban | new: doctors remove a bullet lodged in her neck . pakistan's prime minister condemns the attack, speaks with teen's father . pakistani taliban claim they targeted the teen blogger . she feared being beheaded because of her passion for education |
(cnn) four nato troops were killed sunday in an attack believed to involve afghan police in southern afghanistan, officials said, in what appears to be the latest incident of local forces turning their guns on coalition partners the troops died 'following an insider attack involving suspected afghan police,' said jamie graybeal, a spokesman with nato's international security assistance force no more details were provided the attacks followed news that insurgents disguised in us army uniforms carried out a coordinated assault friday at a joint american british base in the same region that assault raised concerns that the attackers had inside knowledge isaf: insurgents wore us army uniforms it is too early to conclude whether the attackers had 'inside knowledge,' graybeal said the incident is under investigation the international coalition released details that suggest it was a well coordinated assault on the fortified base in a remote desert region in helmand province two us marines and 14 insurgents died in a firefight the lone surviving insurgent, who was wounded, was taken into custody, the international coalition said in a statement the insurgents organized into three teams waged an assault on the airfield of the joint base that includes american run camp leatherneck and british run camp bastion, where british royal prince harry is stationed six av 8b harrier jets were destroyed and two others were damaged, international forces said six aircraft hangers suffered damage, while six refueling stations were destroyed, it said the international coalition gave no indication how the insurgents obtained us army uniforms nato denies civilians killed in air strike the taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a response to the 14 minute movie trailer 'innocence of muslims' that sparked protests in more than 20 countries the trailer, which depicts the prophet mohammed as a child molester and ruthless killer, has roiled the muslim world, in afghanistan, the taliban have called on insurgents to step up attacks against the united states and its nato allies in retaliation two british troops were killed saturday when an afghan police officer opened fire on them at a checkpoint in helmand province's nahr e saraj district, the british defence ministry said meanwhile, the international coalition declined to release details about the nationality and location of the attack that killed four troops in southern afghanistan those deaths, including the two killed saturday, raised the number to more than 50 coalition troops killed in 'green on blue' or 'insider' attacks in afghanistan this year 'green on blue' refers to a color coding system used by the military, in which blue refers to the friendly force, in this case isaf; and green refers to allied friendly forces, in this case afghan national security forces cnn's chelsea j carter, chris lawrence and joe sterling contributed to this report | afghan saturday british | the attack involves suspected afghan police, an official says . the nationalities of the troops killed are not immediately released . on saturday, two british troops are killed by an afghan police officer |
(cnn) lebron james led the much vaunted miami heat to a morale boosting christmas day victory over two time defending nba champions los angeles lakers james notched 27 points with 10 assists and 11 rebounds for the 31st triple double of his career in the 96 80 win in the heavyweight clash on the lakers' home court chris bosh added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the heat and dwyane wade chipped in 18 points despite a knee problem would you pay $500,000 to attend lebron's birthday bash ? it was another chastening experience for the slumping lakers and their talisman kobe bryant, after a 19 point home reverse to the milwaukee bucks four days previously james, who moved to the star studded heat from cleveland in a free agent summer move, was delighted by their performance, with stifling defense the key 'that's miami heat basketball,' james told afp 'we just try to go out and defend we know that's going to give us the best chance to win when we're in tune like that defensively five guys on a string, we're all helping each other out we're a pretty good team' it was the first meeting between the two teams since james, wade and bosh joined up with miami, making them one of the favorites for the nba championship a disgruntled bryant was kept to 17 points, clearly losing is battle with fellow superstar james and the tension was evident at the end as they exchanged words 'we're just two competitors, two guys just trying to will their team to victory,' james said bryant's take: 'i just asked him what he got for christmas' spain's paul gasol also scored 17 for the lakers with lamar odom adding 14 points and nine rebounds, but they were well beaten | chokecherry spreadsheets stem | no related information |
(cnn) brothers wladimir and vitali klitschko have sent britain's wba world heavyweight champion david haye a new year message, saying they are both ready to fight him in 2011 wladimir holds three of the current world heavyweight belts, vitali has the prestigious wbc title, and haye the other match ups between haye and the ukrainian pair would help unify the heavyweight crown as well as being a money spinner haye, who has made two successful defenses of his title, was due to fight wladimir in 2009, but pulled out with a back injury meanwhile, wladimir's bout with another briton, dereck chisora, was called off earlier this month, with the triple champion citing injury, paving the way for an early clash with haye 'we promise that in 2011 the fight against haye will come,' read the statement, released through bildde 'we want this fight at all costs he may choose against which of us he wants us to step into the ring to lose his world title' haye's manager adam booth told the press association 'we are now perfectly positioned to get together and make this fight with wladimir klitschko 'despite the fact we know we bring more uk television money to the table, david and i are happy to split the entire pot 50 50 and grant wladimir the deal he has wanted since day one' vitali klitschko said on tuesday that his brother would be the first to take on the 30 year old haye, with him waiting in the wings chisora, upset when his fight with wladimir klitschko was pulled, has been promised another opportunity, but they may now have to wait in world title action sunday, japan's koki kameda won the vacant world boxing association (wba) bantamweight title by beating alexander munoz of venezuela by a unanimous decision the three judges scored it 115 111, 116 109 and 117 109, all in favor of kameda kameda is the first japanese boxer to win three world titles, following the wba light flyweight title and the world boxing council (wbc) flyweight crown | klitschko dave haye 2011 wladimir klitschko britain wba first vitali klitschko wbc koki kameda world boxing association | klitschko brothers issue statement saying they want to fight dave haye in 2011 . wladimir klitschko likely to fight britain's wba title holder first . vitali klitschko holds wbc version of the heavyweight crown . koki kameda wins the vacant world boxing association (wba) bantamweight title |
santiago, chile (reuters) chile called home its ambassador in peru on monday, as a dispute flared over disputed maritime territory between the south american neighbors they have bickered over the rich pacific coast fishing waters for years, and peru published a new map on sunday that pushes its bid to negotiate a new sea border chile's government protested the move and said it was calling home its ambassador in peru, cristian barros, for consultations 'we feel that this type of publication (map) and this position certainly make more difficult a fluid bilateral relationship with the peruvian government,' spokesman ricardo lagos weber said on monday 'chile will continue to fully exercise its rights and competencies over chilean territory,' he said peruvian president alan garcia said in june his country would take chile to the international court at the hague to resolve the case peru's foreign minister, jose antonio garcia belaunde, sought to downplay the row 'it is an absolutely common diplomatic practice in novel situations like this that garner attention that ambassadors are called (back to report),' he said 'the channels of dialogue and communication must be kept open, and the countries must work toward a positive agenda,' garcia belaunde said the sea border, set in the 1950s, starts close to the land border and cuts due west across the ocean but peru says it was non binding and rob it of 14,630 square miles (37,900 sq km) of fishing waters its proposed border is a southwestern sloping line that follows the diagonal land border into the pacific ocean analysts say peru will have its day in court and the hague is the only venue for the issue to be resolved, unless something happens to escalate the debate 'the only thing that could happen, which would be very worrisome, would be if some autonomous group carried out some kind of act of sovereignty (in those waters) now that peru officially claims them that would be a shame,' said ricardo israel, a political analyst in chile chile defeated peru in the 1879 1883 war of the pacific and seized a chunk of mineral rich territory from its northern neighbor the two countries have strong economic ties but relations are still rocky the dispute over their sea border has bubbled anew over the past two years and comes in addition to less serious disputes over the origins of everything from a dessert and a fruit to pisco, a grape liquor peru and chile are the world's top producers of fish meal, a cattle feed, and fishing is one of the engines of peru's economy e mail to a friend copyright 2007 reuters all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed | reconferred siphonia unelectrized | no related information |
(cnn) a year to the day after racially abusing an opponent, john terry stepped out as chelsea captain wearing an anti racism armband only for the blues to suffer their first champions league defeat since winning the trophy in may terry wore the band as part of a week of action organized by the group 'football against racism in europe (fare)', which has asked all club captains in european competition to help its campaign the 31 year old is currently serving a domestic ban after being found guilty of racial abuse against anton ferdinand by the english fa but his suspension does not apply to european football, where chelsea were subjected to a torrid time by shakhtar donetsk read: terry waives fa racism appeal unbeaten over the last 11 months, the ukrainian champions won 2 1 after alex teixeira gave the hosts the perfect start with a goal after three minutes as the ball ricocheted off terry into his path shakhtar would have added to their lead but for some fine goalkeeping from petr cech and had to wait until the 52nd minute before fernandinho rewarded their dominance with a deserved second goal late on, oscar became the third brazilian to score in the european tie but his close range strike was too little too late as chelsea lost their first champions league game since going down 3 1 in italy against napoli in february 'perhaps it was one of our best games in recent times,' shakhtar coach mircea lucescu told the official website of european body uefa 'and i have to say that this chelsea side are stronger than the one that won the champions league last season that makes our victory even more important' chelsea stay second in group e after two time winners juventus could only draw 1 1 at the danish home of tournament new boys nordsjaelland elsewhere, barcelona and manchester united both came from behind as they struggled to beat less fancied opposition despite boasting home advantage deprived of some key personnel in defense, barca were stunned when scottish visitors celtic took the lead through giorgios samaras' deflected header only for andres iniesta to draw the four time champions level just before the break with a fine goal after outstanding celtic goalkeeper fraser forster thought he had done enough to repel the home side's best efforts, barcelona secured their 100th champions league win when jordi alba found the net four minutes into stoppage time to secure a 2 1 win in england, manchester united were equally surprised as brazil's alan gave portugal's braga a two goal lead within 20 minutes inside a shocked old trafford mexican striker javier hernandez made the most of a rare start as he reduced the deficit shortly moments later, before wrapping up the win 15 minutes from time after jonny evans had scrambled home an equaliser shortly after the hour 'it's been the story of our season at home start badly, lose goals and have to fight back to rescue games,' said united coach alex ferguson after the 3 2 victory 'some of our football was fantastic but conceding so many goals is a concern' elsewhere, spartak moscow won their first match and points in group g, beating portuguese side benfica 2 1 in russia to trail barca by six points and celtic by just one spaniards valencia were the biggest winners of the night, winning 3 0 in belarus to bring home side bate borisov who stunned bayern munich 3 1 in their last european game back down to earth meanwhile, the germans, who were beaten runners up on home soil against chelsea in the final in may, rebounded in solid if unconvincing fashion when winning 1 0 at french side lille galatasaray could not profit from playing against a cfr cluj side reduced to ten men for over an hour as the turks conceded an own goal and missed a penalty before equalizing late on to draw 1 1 | shakhtar donetsk champions league chelsea english may john terry a year to the day anton ferdinand barcelona manchester united celtic braga bayern munich last year's belarus | shakhtar donetsk inflict first champions league defeat on chelsea since the english side's triumph in may . john terry sports anti racism armband a year to the day after abusing anton ferdinand . barcelona and manchester united come from behind to win at home against celtic and braga . bayern munich return to winning ways as last year's runners up rebound from shock defeat in belarus |
washington (cnn) president bush vetoed an expansion of the federally funded, state run health insurance program for poor children for a second time wednesday, telling congress the bill 'moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction' in his veto message, president bush calls on congress to extend funding for the current program in his veto message, bush said the bill is almost a duplicate of the proposal he spiked in october 'because the congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill i previously vetoed, i must veto this legislation, too,' he said in a statement released by the white house the bill would have expanded the state children's health insurance program by nearly $35 billion over five years, the same as the measure bush vetoed october 3 track recent and historical presidential vetoes » the president had proposed adding $5 billion to the program and said the version he vetoed would have encouraged families to leave the private insurance market for the federally funded, state run program democratic leaders said the new version addressed republican objections by tightening restrictions on illegal immigrants receiving schip benefits, capping the income levels of families that qualify for the program and preventing adults from receiving benefits though the measure had strong bipartisan support, it fell short of the two thirds majorities needed to override a presidential veto in the house and senate house minority leader john boehner, r ohio, said democrats were more interested in scoring political points with the veto than in reaching a compromise with republicans 'we could have resolved the differences in his program in 10 minutes, if the majority had wanted to resolve the differences,' boehner said 'this has become a partisan political game' the program currently covers about 6 million children whose parents earn too much to qualify for medicaid the federal health insurance program for the poor but who can't afford private insurance democrats wanted to extend the program to another 4 million, paying for it with a 61 cent per pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes 'what a sad day that the president would say that rather than insuring [millions of] children, 'i don't want to raise the cigarette tax,' ' said house speaker nancy pelosi she called for a january 23 vote on whether to override the veto meanwhile, bush called on congress to extend funding for the current program to keep the 6 million now covered on the rolls e mail to a friend | bush bill the state children's health insurance program program medicaid | president bush: measure is 'essentially identical' to the proposal he vetoed before . bill would have expanded the state children's health insurance program . bush: measure 'moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction'. program covers 6 million children whose parents don't qualify for medicaid |
(cnn) he earns millions of dollars every year, but basketball star lebron james wants investors to splash out up to $500,000 each to sponsor his lavish 26th birthday celebrations the miami heat player has hired a marketing firm to find backers willing to help fund his december 30 party, dubbed the 'full court birthday celebration' james, who earned a reported $145 million in salary this year, enlisted sa global plus whose website shows slides from a presentation given to potential investors the sponsorship opportunities range from $10,000 for a single event on his 11 stop 'lebron james dinner party tour' to $500,000 for a season package next week's a list party will take place at the coco de ville lounge in miami beach's gansevoort hotel, and the presentation promises an array of stars including athletes, musicians and political figures who 'reinvent and set the tone for a chic lifestyle' the celebrity bash 'is royal themed fitting for a birthday celebration of a king, channeling an ambience of extravagant court life' click here to see sa global plus' 12 slide presentation potential sponsors will have further chances to catch a glimpse of the self styled 'king' as his celebrations which started in new york this month keep going until the final date in atlanta on april 10 but for someone who pays so much attention to the finer details, his name is spelled 'lebron' throughout the presentation at odds with his own website's preference it is not the first time the former cleveland cavaliers guard, who calls himself 'king james' on his twitter account, has attracted attention away from the basketball court the six time nba all star ended months of speculation about his future in july, when he announced he would be joining the heat on a live television special called 'the decision' the broadcast, which led to james becoming a pariah among cavaliers fans, attracted a reported 10 million viewers the heat will take on two time defending nba champions the lakers in los angeles in saturday's high profile christmas clash | miami heat's lebron james between $10,000 $500,000 miami james | miami heat's lebron james is looking for sponsors for his 26th birthday party . investment opportunities are available for between $10,000 $500,000 . the miami bash will boast a list celebrities according to marketing firm he hired . james is participating in an 11 stop dinner party tour, set to run until april |
(cnn) as hurricane rafael sped away from bermuda, taking with it heavy rain and wind, the government discontinued storm watches for the island there appeared to be minimal disruption to life on bermuda as the fast moving storm roared by to the east, keeping the strongest winds well away from land about 600 homes lost power, the bermuda electric light company said on its facebook page glenn jones, a business development and marketing manager for a bermudian media company, said earlier that the wind was stronger than some locals expected according to the bermuda weather service, wind speeds reached 51 mph at the airport tuesday night the outer bands of the category 1 hurricane had swirled over the 21 square mile island as the storm raced north northeast during the afternoon, bringing tropical storm force winds and downpours late tuesday, rafael was about 135 miles (215 kilometers) east of the island, the national hurricane center in miami said meteorologists said the storm, with 85 mph sustained wind, was moving at 29 mph rafael becomes hurricane as it churns towards bermuda forecasters said rafael will break up late wednesday or early thursday after a turn to the northeast bermuda might see 2 to 4 inches of rain from the storm, and some beaches in the bahamas and the eastern united states will see swells caused by rafael meanwhile, along the pacific coast of mexico, paul turned into a tropical storm and turned away from the mexican coast without the center of the storm ever making landfall cnn's catherine e shoichet, nigel walwyn and greg seaby contributed to this report | bermuda 51 mph pacific paul | new: about 600 homes lose power in bermuda . new: winds reached 51 mph at the airport, weather service says . in the pacific, paul loses strength, turns without making landfall |
(cnn) dutch authorities have arrested 12 men of somali origin they believe were about to carry out a terrorist attack, authorities said saturday the country's intelligence service provided information that led to the arrests in rotterdam, public prosecution service spokesman wim de bruin told cnn no weapons or explosives were found, he said the suspects are in police custody 'the attack was said to be imminent so the national police started an investigation which led to the arrest of 12 somalis later on friday in rotterdam,' de bruin said 'we are not sure about what the target was, how they were going to carry out the attack or when' a dutch counterterrorism office spokeswoman said the immediate threat to the country has been removed and the terror alert level will remain 'limited,' or relatively low 'we are now following the information that comes out of the interrogations with these 12 individuals to see if there still remains a threat from this plot,' said judith sluiter of the national coordinator for counterterrorism the men, between ages 19 and 48, were arrested in various locations police have searched a pawn shop, four homes and two hotel rooms, de bruin said six of the suspects live in rotterdam and one is from denmark some are dutch citizens they all are of somali origin, de bruin said a spokesman for the danish security service said authorities are in 'close contact' with dutch police war torn somalia has a virtually powerless central government and is home to several militant groups, including al shabaab, which controls much of the country al shabaab has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including a series of bombs that tore through an ethiopian restaurant and a rugby center in the ugandan capital of kampala officials said the july 11 blasts, which killed 79 people, were probably set off by suicide bombers the united states this year charged several people with trying to funnel money or otherwise assist somali extremists al shabaab has been linked to al qaeda somali president sheikh sharif sheikh ahmed in september asked other countries to train somalia's forces to help counter militant groups the netherlands is concerned about threats to western countries, including itself, said sluiter she made a reference to the recent suicide bombing in stockholm, sweden a 2009 dutch intelligence report indicated a decreased threat from domestic militant networks domestic militants were becoming more focused on jihad outside the netherlands, the report said but it did say the country was seeing more jihadist threats from somalia and yemen the report noted several cases of dutch citizens trying to travel to somalia to join al shabaab, including four arrested in 2009 in kenya the arrests in the netherlands followed an unrelated sweep a few days before in the united kingdom an operation monday led by the british intelligence service, mi5, resulted in arrests of 12 suspects ranging in age from 17 to 28 in the cities of london, stoke and birmingham, england, as well as cardiff, wales a senior british official not authorized to speak on the record said the suspects were arrested on suspicion of 'preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the uk,' but he also said the suspects were 'aspirational' rather than equipped and 'ready to go' cnn terror analyst paul cruickshank contributed to this report | dutch al shabaab somali rotterdam | new: dutch intelligence report said more citizens wanted to join al shabaab . 12 men of somali origin arrested in rotterdam . they are in custody on suspicion of terrorism . no weapons or explosives were found |
(cnn) fire engulfed five luxury homes monday morning at a subdivision north of seattle in what could be a case of ecoterrorism, officials said firefighters attack blazes at luxury homes monday in suburban seattle, washington a sign with the letters 'elf' was found at the scene of the fires in the 'street of dreams' development in woodinville, washington, said chief rick eastman of snohomish county fire district no 7 eastman did not say if the sign is believed to be from the earth liberation front, which the fbi has called an ecoterrorist group 'built green? nope black!' the sign reads, according to an image from cnn affiliate king tv in seattle the sign calls the homes 'mcmansions' watch why elf is so elusive » john heller, president of seattle street of dreams model luxury home development, said he had spoken to the fire chief and was told that the fires were suspicious watch fires burn luxury homes » 'my understanding is that it was an act of terror,' heller said the fbi said the fires are being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism heller said he was out of town on business and was rushing back to see what was left of the development he said it was a new subdivision that featured luxury homes priced at $2 million video footage showed large grayish white plumes of smoke billowing in the air and firefighters trying to contain blazes in large homes in a heavily wooded area eastman said there had been no injuries and there were no suspects he told king tv that police and agents of the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives were investigating seattle's street of dreams is 'the most popular and highest attended single site luxury home and garden tour in the us,' according to the event's web site according to the fbi, the earth liberation front claimed responsibility for burning five townhomes under construction on november 20, 2005, in hagerstown, maryland fire officials investigating the scene determined that kerosene was used as the accelerant in the arson, the fbi said last year, 10 people, including self proclaimed members of the elf and members of another organization called the animal liberation front, were convicted for a string of arson fires that totaled more than $40 million in damage, according to an august statement by the us justice department at that time, the court case was called the 'largest ecoterrorism case in us history,' according to the statement three others charged in the case are at large and considered international fugitives by the justice department e mail to a friend | fbi earth liberation front | new: fbi investigating as act of domestic terrorism . sign reading 'elf' found at site of fires, fire chief says . earth liberation front called ecoterrorist group by fbi |
washington (cnn) senators approved a giant farm bill thursday that is estimated to cut the deficit by almost $24 billion, largely by ending direct payments to farmers and replacing them with taxpayer subsidized crop insurance to assist farmers in need passage of the bill, by a vote of 64 35, was a rare agreement in a chamber that has been fractured by partisan gridlock over much of this session most of the bill's savings are achieved through changes to crop assistance programs that have been in place in one form or another since the great depression 'we eliminated four different agriculture subsidies and instead have moved to risk management so we'll support farmers and ranchers when there's a loss, where there's a weather loss, it's a price loss, through crop insurance, through other things where the farmer has some skin in the game,' said senate agriculture committee chairwomen debbie stabenow, d michigan not everyone agreed this was the best way to reform these agriculture programs 'unfortunately, it seems that congress' idea of farm bill reform is to eliminate one subsidy program only to invent a new one to take its place,' said sen john mccain, r arizona the bill also saves $45 billion by making changes to the food stamp program known officially as the supplemental nutrition assistance program or snap, these benefits, which were used by almost 50 million people last year, make up the bulk of the overall cost of the bill 'the senate is getting back to operating the way it traditionally does,' said a satisfied senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, r kentucky, as the chamber was wrapping up votes on scores of amendments to the bill republicans have blocked many bills this session partly because they've been denied by the democratic majority the ability to vote on amendments senate majority leader harry reid, d nevada, seemed to agree 'the spirit on the senate floor was good,' he said, because 'everyone can feel we're accomplishing something' the bill still needs to be considered by the house, and it's unclear when that will happen | almost $24 billion agriculture committee bill john mccain | the measure, estimated to cut the deficit by almost $24 billion, passes in 64 35 vote . taxpayer subsidized crop insurance to farmers in need would replace direct payments . move signals shift to 'risk management,' agriculture committee chairwoman says . bill merely axes one subsidy program to 'invent a new one,' sen john mccain says |
los angeles (cnn) a california judge denied thursday a request from an actress who, claiming she was a victim of fraud who'd been caused irreversible harm, wanted an inflammatory anti islam video in which she had appeared to be removed from youtube's website cindy lee garcia, who was among those in 'innocence of muslims,' had sued the producer of the film, nakoula basseley nakoula who authorities say has numerous aliases alleging she is a victim of fraud, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of her likeness in her complaint, filed wednesday in los angeles superior court, garcia also sued youtube, the video sharing website on which the film's trailer is posted, and its parent company, google she alleged the company caused her irreparable harm by not removing the video from its site and asked a judge to order the trailer be taken down immediately youtube attorney timothy alger, meanwhile, argued that federal law protects forums such as youtube from abiding by such orders, from third parties, to remove videos actress in anti islamic film files lawsuit against filmmaker and youtube on thursday, los angeles county superior court judge luis lavin ruled the company can leave the video up online, denying garcia's request for a temporary restraining order last week, the actress told cnn she had been unaware the filmmaker dubbed over dialogue in the movie and had inserted anti islam sentiments the producer's representations that he 'intended to make an 'adventure film' and that (the) plaintiff would be depicted as a concerned mother, were false,' garcia alleges in her lawsuit the defendant 'made an anti islam propaganda film, in which plaintiff is falsely made to appear to accuse the founder of the islamic religion of being a sexual deviant and child molester,' says the complaint the lawsuit claims garcia lost her job and her privacy since the film, on september 11, went from being an obscure internet video to a target of muslim protests worldwide the film mocks the islamic prophet mohammed as a womanizer, child molester and killer from morocco to malaysia, demonstrators in more than 20 countries have railed against the 'innocence of muslims' and the united states, since the film was (privately) produced and disseminated in the country some of these groups have targeted us diplomatic missions, including those who breached the us embassy in cairo, egypt, and those who killed four americans during an attack on the us consulate in benghazi, libya garcia said that, since the video got widespread attention, she has received death threats and has not visited her grandchildren out of fear that they will be harmed calls to representatives of nakoula were not immediately returned actor: filmmaker 'was playing us along' | muslims youtube | actress in 'innocence of muslims' filed complaint alleging she was a victim of fraud . she'd sued the filmmaker and youtube's parent company, saying she had been harmed . a judge denies her request that youtube be ordered to take the video down from its site . the trailer for the film has stirred protests by muslims worldwide |
los angeles (cnn) los angeles detectives have vastly expanded their investigation into the 'grim sleeper' serial killer case and are now looking at whether any of 230 murders are connected to the alleged slayer, police said wednesday in april, police were investigating the grim sleeper's connection to 55 unidentified women a quarter of what they're now probing whose photographs were found among 180 videos and photos taken from the los angeles home of lonnie david franklin jr now, authorities have widened their inquiry to include all homicides that occurred in a general area of south los angeles where franklin lived from the 1970s, when he got out of the military, through the 1980s, police spokeswoman karen rayner said wednesday that amounts to about 230 murders, and even though some had been believed to have been solved, police 'are taking a second look at all of them,' rayner said franklin, 58, is charged with the murders of 10 women as well as one attempted murder he has pleaded not guilty to all the charges he is accused of killing females ranging from ages 14 to 36 between august 1985 and january 2007 many of the victims were prostitutes, authorities said most of the victims were discovered dumped in south los angeles alleys and covered with debris, authorities said all victims were shot; some were strangled too, an indictment alleges prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against franklin prior to his arrest in july 2010, franklin had worked for a time as a garage attendant at a los angeles police station, authorities said a pretrial hearing for franklin is scheduled for november 7, according to the prosecutor's office | lonnie david franklin jr grim sleeper franklin | lonnie david franklin jr is accused of being the 'grim sleeper'. he is charged with 10 murders and one attempted murder . police are looking at 230 slayings that occurred near where franklin lived . police had been investigating photos of 55 unidentified women found in franklin's home |
(cnn) you wouldn't think that gay rights would be on a collision course with immigration reform after all, what does one of these things have to do with another? not all that much yet, the fact is, these two worthwhile causes are about to collide, running right into one another at high speed all for the sake of politics here's why: the gang of eight's bipartisan immigration reform compromise bill 'the border security, economic opportunity, and modernization act of 2013' combines border security and temporary guest workers with a pathway to green cards and us citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the united states you've probably heard about how there are many on the right who want to kill the bill to please anti latino nativists the weapon of choice seems to be the amendment process; more than 300 changes were proposed for example, one person gunning for the legislation is sen ted cruz of texas, who has proposed an amendment that dismantles the pathway to us citizenship cruz would welcome more legal immigrants by expanding the high skilled temporary worker program but the senator opposes giving illegal immigrants us citizenship the cruz amendment says that 'no person who has previously been willfully present in the united states while not in lawful status shall be eligible for united states citizenship' that amounts to a lifetime ban what a terrible idea the pathway should be long and difficult, but there has to be a pathway it can't just be scrapped these people broke the law, but it's a civil infraction, not capital murder but you might not have heard the other half of the story that there also are those on the left who would like to see the bill defeated, even if they have to be more clever and discreet about their efforts to kill it the group that they want to please is organized labor, where despite the public pronouncements of labor union leaders that they support immigration reform, the rank and file may not be so easily convinced many of today's union members especially in rust belt states like ohio, michigan, pennsylvania, etc still see foreign workers the same way that previous generations of union members saw them: as competition and a barrier to higher wages senate panel tackles border security in immigration bill in 1986, the last time that congress passed meaningful immigration reform, the afl cio fought the effort tooth and nail not much has changed since then oh, the leaders are singing a different tune but, at the grassroots level, there is still resistance over the years, i've done radio interviews and given speeches where i've been confronted by self described union members electricians, plumbers, carpenters, construction workers who complain about illegal immigrants taking jobs and allowing employers to pay lower wages in 2007, john sweeney, who was then president of afl cio, helped kill a bipartisan immigration reform bill by coming out against guest workers and firing off a letter to senate democrats telling them not to support any bill that included that provision sen byron dorgan of north dakota successfully proposed an amendment to weaken the guest workers provision republicans yanked their support, and the bill died six years later, business and labor have agreed to a plan for a guest worker program but union members are still threatened by immigrant labor are union opponents of immigration reform still pulling the strings of some democrats? senate judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy has filed an amendment to the gang of eight bill that would allow gay americans with foreign born partners to sponsor them for green cards just like heterosexual couples can leahy can follow through by introducing the amendment, either in committee or on the senate floor to be impacted, gay couples don't even have to be married; the proposed amendment known as the uniting american families act is designed to help 'permanent partners' of us citizens or legal residents apply for a green card and defines 'permanent partner' merely as someone older than 18 and involved in a financially interdependent, committed relationship still, according to a group called immigration equality, only about 35,000 40,000 gay couples would be affected senate watchers say if the gay partners measure is introduced in the judiciary committee, it is likely to pass along democratic party lines and become part of the senate bill that could be the end according to national public radio, the us conference of catholic bishops opposes the leahy amendment, and it could withdraw its support for the entire bill the same goes for evangelical christian groups, and most republican lawmakers the votes will vanish and so, for the sake of the estimated 40,000 same sex couples that would be affected by such an obscure change, an estimated 11 million people will be out of luck adios, immigration reform for his part, leahy has said that he doesn't think his amendment will kill the bill then he must be the only person in washington who thinks that politico called the leahy amendment 'the most serious threat to bipartisan immigration reform' sen marco rubio, r florida, de facto leader of the gang of eight, was more blunt he told politico that reform is 'difficult enough as it is' and that the gay partners amendment 'will virtually guarantee that (the bill) won't pass' and that 'the coalition that helped put it together will fall apart' that's the whole idea don't be fooled the latest shenanigan by democrats isn't about gay rights it's about game playing and when the games are done, what was the best hope for immigration reform in a quarter century may go down the tubes, and all that will be left to do is mop it up democrats will have to find new ways to convince furious latino voters that it was republicans who killed the bill, and republicans will be forced to run for cover the legislation isn't perfect but it would improve the lives of millions of illegal immigrants who, at least, would be given some sort of protective status so they wouldn't have to worry about being unceremoniously scooped up and shipped out of the country by the obama deportation machine while they pick up milk for their kids' cereal not everyone who might support the gay partner amendment is simply doing the bidding of labor unions i'm sure that many gay rights advocates are pushing for the change with the best of intentions and for legitimate reasons they think this battle is worth fighting, even if maybe this isn't the best time and place to fight it still, this is beyond sneaky it's sinister democrats thought of everything, even having the task of amending the bill fall to a senator from vermont, a state where, according to the census bureau, latinos account for just 16% of the population just in case there is a backlash from latino voters by the way, president obama has said that he supports leahy's amendment the president also claims to support immigration reform it's something that we hear obama and other democrats say all the time, and which with stunts like this becomes less and less believable every time we hear it this time they have gone too far if this amendment is proposed, and support for the bill fades, and immigration reform dies on the vine, latinos need to stop paying deference to the democratic party and instead make it pay a price the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of ruben navarrette | marcescence vegetablize jointly | no related information |
(cnn) every athlete competing at the london 2012 paralympic games has an incredible story to tell, of how they overcame tragedy or a disability they had been born with to be considered the best in the world in their chosen discipline but for some the final, bureaucratic hurdle can prove a step too far on thursday it was revealed that the american swimming team's great hope of a gold medal in the pool 17 year old victoria arlen had been denied a classification to compete arlen had dreamed of making the london 2012 able bodied swimming team until a neurological disease put her in a coma for two years when she woke up she was paralyzed in both legs yet arlen continued to swim and this year broke two world records but after the international paralympic committee (ipc) reviewed her case, arlen was told she could not compete it had been decided that arlen's disability wasn't severe enough it appeared that she had lost out because of the complex system of disability classification, an essential tool for the paralympic movement follow cnn's live paralympics blog and she's not the only one to suffer fellow us swimmer mallory weggemann, who lost the use of her legs after a routine epidural injection went wrong, declared she had 'lost faith' in the system when her classification was changed just before the start of london 2012 'i have trained the past four and a half years for these games and within less then 24 hours before my first race was supposed to start it all changed, everything i had prepared myself for these past four years changed right there and then,' said the 23 year old, who had been hoping to compete for nine golds but can now only go for seven complex such is the myriad of different disabilities, and severity of disabilities, each athlete has to be evaluated and placed into a category to compete alongside others of the same potential athletes are placed in one of six main disability groups: those with spinal injuries, cerebral palsy, amputees, the blind or visually impaired, intellectual disabilities and those whose disabilities fall outside of those categories, like those born with dwarfism or multiple sclerosis each of the paralympics' 20 sports are divided between the different classifications and given a number that denotes the severity of the disability 1 being the most severe, 10 the least join the conversation on twitter #cnnparalympics 'classification exists in the olympics as well,' explains dr david howe, a former canadian paralympic middle distance runner and academic at loughborough university 'men and women don't compete together, and in boxing and judo it's based on weight, but in the paralympics it gets broken down much more finely 'so take people with visual impairments you have the b3 class where someone has 10% vision, b2 class with 5% vision and b1 no usable vision at all 'it has a huge impact on how you can train if you have no usable vision you need someone to train with you if you have 10% they can, and they do, move around on their own they can train that gives them a huge advantage' talent, not disability in recent years the ipc has complicated things further by trying to slim down the number of medals and disciplines and look beyond the disability as the defining factor in classification instead, it says, look to the potential of the athlete 'during classification athletes are assessed for their ability to perform in a particular event,' the ipc explains ''ability' in this case refers to an athlete's functional potential and is not an assessment of their disability: this is a complete reversal of the old systems that were clinical and medical in origin and often intrusive' this is why oscar pistorius, the south african double amputee 'blade runner' who made history by becoming the first track and field paralympian to compete in the able bodied olympics can line up against runners with only one prosthetic leg in the pool on thursday, china's zheng tao won gold in the 100 meters backstroke, destroying the field despite not having any arms according to howe, back when he was competing, the procedure to determine classification was very different and also highly intrusive 'when you compete for the first time they make sure you are not fiddling the system,' he says 'you have a medical doctor i have mild cerebral palsy physio and a technical expert now they have the ability to examine classification after competition they used to run them before major competitions and force athletes through them i refused until after the contest because it can be quite exhausting' the move towards streamlining the classifications and having less medals to give out also has it drawbacks 'swimming is a bit of fiddle,' says howe when asked about the arlen case 'i was there to see the british lad jonathan fox win gold, the roar was amazing 'but the thing is when they came out (of the pool) he looked the most able he was the only one not using a stick or wheelchair 'there's a water based test and a land based test, and an element that you are on a performance curve and that discourages training you want to be on the right side of the thin line from the next category otherwise you'll struggle' the politics of classification but, of course, competitive sport is competitive sport and rival teams regularly refer athletes for reclassification if they feel they have an unfair advantage the paralympic movement has also been stung by several high profile scandals the spanish paralympic basketball team was stripped of their gold medals at the 2000 sydney games after it emerged that some of the players weren't properly tested and were not intellectually disabled the controversy saw the entire category of intellectually disabled sport withdrawn from the next two olympics it is only now, in london, making a comeback 'there's a huge amount of politics in classification,' agrees howe 'i was never asked as an athlete, 'do you think the contest was fair?' for the athletes (like arlen) it can be hell when this does happen the athletes come together 'band of brothers' style' arlen returns in the end that is exactly what happened to victoria arlen after an outcry the ipc reviewed the evidence again and cleared her to compete in this weekend's 400 meters heats, one of the most anticipated events at the games but it is unlikely to be the last time the issue of classification hits the headlines 'i've been involved since 1986 and it's always been an issue,' says howe 'it's getting much better but i worry that by bringing in less categories they (the ipc) are trying to be more media friendly if it is fair, fine, but i am against that if that stops different impaired bodies being involved 'we must not forget that, first and foremost, the paralympics is about celebrating difference it's not about ability versus disability' | paralympics us ipc | the issue of disability classification at the paralympics has caused controversy . each athlete is placed in events according to disability and ability . two us swimmers battle ruling body after classifications are changed . ipc trying to slim down the number of medals and disciplines at the games |
(cnn) 'it's been a magical adventure, and this is a fantastic conclusion' not many people get second chances in life, but alex zanardi is making the most of his in 2001 the ex formula one driver was at death's door, lucky to survive a horrific accident that left him with only 30% of his blood supply he lost both his legs amputated at the knee after being pulled from the wreckage of his car at a race in germany fast forward more than a decade, to another race track, and the italian is on top of the world while he was never able to reach the heights of success in f1 zanardi never made the podium in 44 races he is a champion paralympian 'i'm somebody very lucky who had a great life,' the the 45 year old zanardi said after winning gold in his adopted sport of hand cycling at britain's brands hatch circuit on wednesday 'i haven't wasted many opportunities that fate gave me i've certainly had many more opportunities than i deserved, but luckily enough i ended up making the right choices' from disaster to triumph: a week in the life of mallory weggemann in the buildup to the london games, zanardi joked, with a dose of black humor, that his accident 'was how i won my ticket to the 2012 paralympics' having failed to make a career in f1 after four difficult seasons, he turned to the us cart series where he twice won the drivers' title for chip ganassi's team that earned him a return to the elite division of motorsport in 1999 with the williams team, but again he struggled drifting back to open wheel cars, fate came calling at the eurospeedway lausitz on september 15, 2001 he had worked his way up from the rear of the field to lead the race with 13 laps to go before that life changing crash given the severity of his injuries, the doctors at the scene of the accident said zanardi should never have survived remarkably just two months later, he was walking again using prosthetic legs of his own design another two years on, he finished the race that nearly took his life, completing the remaining 13 laps at lausitz in a specially modified touring car by 2004 he was racing touring cars fulltime with the help of hand operated brake and accelerator paddles zanardi even drove a modified bmw formula one car in 2006 rwandan amputees bring message of hope: 'we are superstars' but while most motorsport stars find it difficult to give up their high octane thrills, zanardi did just that 'three years ago i decided to stop motor racing, not because i had to but because i wanted to,' he said 'it looked stupid, because at the age of 42 to dump everything to try to pursue an objective to qualify for the games seemed to be against all odds for a man of my age 'it felt very crazy but it's not the first crazy thing that i do in my life, so i guess it will not be the last' zanardi replaced one adrenaline buzz with another he discovered hand cycling a sport where the bikes are powered by the riders' arms at the 2007 new york marathon invited to speak as a guest, zanardi decided if he was going to fly all the way from italy to the us he might as well compete compete he did, finishing fourth after only a few weeks' training he had found his new passion, competing in the 2009 world championships and then setting about qualifying for the 2012 paralympics 'this was the horizon,' he said, smiling as a burst of brilliant, afternoon sunshine lit up his face following his victory in the h4 classification road time trial 'i'm very, very happy it's never been a sacrifice i've enjoyed every day of training as much as this moment now' paralympic sailing: a tale of triumph and technology immediately after his win, the f1 family including former world champions mario andretti and jenson button took to social media sites to congratulate zanardi although he was only briefly in their ranks, he is still remembered as one of the sport's 'nice guys' and most charismatic competitors the golden ending to his journey came at brands hatch, a circuit 20 miles from london where zanardi had previously raced in a touring car 'with an engine pushing me i didn't realize it was that hilly,' he said 'it's very, very hard but if i had to design the course for the games this is what i would have done it's absolutely beautiful, it's very hard i guess it really suits my characteristics as an old man' so how does the thrill of winning a cycling race compare to the highs of motor racing? 'when you are in your twenties you just think the races are what matter the most,' zanardi said 'when you are in your forties you really appreciate what you do every day of course today is very important but i really appreciate what i did in the past 'day by day, it's been magical, a magical adventure and this is a fantastic conclusion' it seems unlikely that a man who could not be bowed by losing both of his legs will retire from sport anytime soon he has already mooted a possible return at the 2016 rio games, but zanardi also joked that his next plan was to add another wheel and engine to his cycle and come back to brands hatch the circuit also hosts superbike racing and, judging by the glint in his eye, perhaps zanardi is already weighing up a new challenge of trying out a faster form of wheeled sport | alex zanardi the london 2012 paralympics italian | ex formula one driver alex zanardi claims gold medal in hand cycling at the london 2012 paralympics . he lost both his legs in a horrific crash in 2001 but continued in motorsport . italian first tried hand cycling in 2007 and made it his new career two years later . the 45 year old says he has made the most of the chances fate has given him |
canon city, colorado (cnn) life begins at conception, according to the catholic church, but in a wrongful death suit in colorado, a catholic health care company has argued just the opposite a fetus is not legally a person until it is born, the hospital's lawyers have claimed in its defense and now it may be up to the state's supreme court to decide lori stodghill was 28 weeks pregnant when she went to the emergency room of st thomas more hospital in canon city vomiting and short of breath, according to a court document she went into cardiac arrest in the lobby 'lori looked up at me, and then her head went down on her chest,' said her husband, jeremy stodghill before and after roe v wade she died at age 31 her unborn twin boys perished with her that was new year's day 2006 stodghill, left behind to raise their then 2 year old daughter alone, sued the hospital and its owner, catholic health initiatives, for the wrongful deaths of all three after about two years of litigation, defense attorneys for the hospital and doctors entered an argument that shocked the widower they said that under state law, an embryo is not person until it is born alive, according to court documents the stodghills' twins were deceased when they were removed from their mother's lifeless body 'i didn't even get to hold them,' jeremy stodghill said 'i have an autopsy picture that's all i've got' the court agreed with the argument, and stodghill lost the suit the court also ruled against stodghill in the case of his wife for other legal reasons the hospital and doctors then sued him for over $118,000 legal fees and attempted to garnish his wages, according to a legal document filed on his behalf the defendants offered to forget the fees if stodghill dropped his appeal he refused and filed for bankruptcy to avoid having to pay the claim, which he says he can't afford as he struggles to raise his now 9 year old daughter, libby stodghill has petitioned the colorado supreme court to hear his case, and he'd like to hear from the catholic church representatives of the catholic bishops of colorado declined to comment on the legal proceedings, but said they will review the litigation and catholic health initiatives' practices 'to ensure fidelity and faithful witness to the teachings of the catholic church' catholic health initiatives would not speak to cnn on camera, but said in a statement, 'in this case as catholic organizations, (we) are in union with the moral teachings of the church' stodghill wears a tattoo on his chest with his unborn sons' footprints, their names and the words 'our sons' he wants the church and his state to see them the same way survey: few religious groups want roe v wade overturned despite belief abortion morally wrong | manks entrancer nonuple | no related information |
(cnn) mohammed alshaya owns more high street brands than most fashion addicts could stuff in their closets mohammed alshaya, ceo of alshaya's retail division, tells mme he sees a new mindset in the gulf topshop, coast, next and river island are just some of the big names he's imported from the united kingdom to shopping centers in the middle east as chief executive of mh alshaya, he knows what sells: tried and tested western brands that will appeal to local shoppers and his empire is not limited to clothing in the past month, he's taken mothercare and the body shop to central eastern europe with the addition of the czech republic, hungary and slovakia, mh alshaya now operates in 16 markets including saudi arabia, kuwait, united arab emirates, bahrain, qatar, oman, lebanon, jordan, egypt, cyprus, turkey, poland and russia john defterios spoke with mohammed alshaya, and started by asking him for his thoughts on the gulf cooperation council (gcc) plans for a single currency (jd): i would imagine as a retail operation you'd be a huge proponent of a single currency within the gcc is it realistic within the next 4 to 5 years? (ma): i think it can be, as long as there is a will of the leaders to get together and decide it is a huge leap towards efficiency, conciliation, getting closer between the six countries one single central bank that governs and regulates is much better than the current six, i believe (jd): have you ever done any calculations of what impact it would have on your back office operations? (ma): not yet, but it will be great, i think (jd): you're one of the largest retail operations throughout the arabian peninsula with all this growth that we're seeing right now, it must have a direct impact on the retail sector what sort of annual growth are you experiencing? (ma): we're experiencing close to 25 percent annual growth, if not 30 percent in some cases, like in dubai (jd): do you have any sort of concerns that this is going to be a bubble like the 1970s where the money was not deployed correctly? it seems different from my vantage point, do you share that view? (ma): there is a new generation of people from the region that are leading businesses and strong leadership in the government that have mitigated any concern and if you see now the statistics, the gulf is the seventh largest economy in the world in ten, in 15 years time, it will be the fifth so i see a new mindset, a new attitude (jd): one of the other things i wanted to ask you about is your moves into other countries the alshaya group is very well known throughout the arabian peninsula, but you're moving into other markets, into eastern europe, specifically into russia do you have the expertise to go into these markets? (ma): well, yes we have the expertise, and the expertise is by really retaining good management, and traveling with them into new markets i'm not going to open shops myself we have a very strong team in russia; russians that are taking our investment into good projects like starbucks which we opened two months ago, two stores we acquired a business there so we have plans like mothercare, bodyshop, next (jd): so you can basically move this group into any city and have that potpourri of offers? (ma): we have the software we have the software to launch the retail portfolio into a new market (jd): obviously you're a family business you feel quite strongly about preserving culture and the family structure, and the need for family businesses to create jobs, because they represent 75 percent of all turnover in the gulf (ma): we have a social responsibility toward our people we have to make sure we have jobs for them if the government is not going to compete, and is going to take away some of the people who would be relevant to our business another issue that might challenge us to do that is the wealth creation whether (potential employees) would be attracted to be in a department store selling or in a coffee shop making coffee that, we will see e mail to a friend | thirstingly phrasing accrued | no related information |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.