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241,014 | c4079b79e11e3366c451443a874bc3ffbc2b31fa | By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 17:51 EST, 18 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:20 EST, 18 December 2013 . The blind man who thought he would have to say goodbye to the guide dog who helped save his life when they both toppled into the path of an oncoming New York subway train on Tuesday will now get to keep his loyal companion of eight years. Donations totaling more than $45,000 have flooded in since it was revealed that Cecil Williams, 61, would not be able to stay with 10-year-old Orlando because his insurance wouldn't cover his best friend when he retired. At an emotional press conference at St. Luke's Hospital today, a teary Williams thanked strangers nationwide for their kindness saying, 'Orlando, he is my best buddy, he's my pal. The spirit of giving, Christmas, it exists here and it's in New York.' Scroll Down for Video . Thanks: Blind man Cecil Williams (L) speaks about his guide dog Orlando as his partner Cynthia holds the leash during a press conference in New York December 18, 2013 . Cecil Williams, 60, was standing on the subway platform at 125th Street in Harlem, Manhattan on Tuesday when he felt dizzy and fell to the tracks, police said. Williams' 11-year-old black Labrador, Orlando, who had tried to hold him up, fell with him and just as a train was approaching the station woke him by licking his face. Clutching his dog, the blind man flattened himself in the space between the rails as the train moved into the station. The lead car passed over them, as terrified witnesses screamed for the train to stop. 'I feel that it's a blessing, I feel that it's a miracle,' said Williams. 'All the people that contributed or donated, we should take our hat off to them. There's still good people in this world. 'I appreciate that people got together and helped me to keep Orlando. It is going to to cover him for the rest of his life. Williams raised a smile when he noted that Orlando will deserve his retirement. 'He’s a senior citizen -- he’s got grey hair,' Williams explained. 'He’s looking forward to enjoying life now.' And when Williams gets a new guide dog, Orlando will be able to stay with Williams and his partner as a pet. Watch Video Here: . Emotional: Blind man Cecil Williams pets his service dog Orlando as he is hugged by police officer Anthony Duncan (left) following a press conference in New York December 18, 2013 . Blind man Cecil Williams speaks to the press with his service animal Orlando by his side in New York December 18, 2013. Williams fell on the subway tracks with Orlando even as the dog tried to pull him away . Best friends: Blind man Cecil Williams speaks about his service dog Orlando during a press conference in New York December 18, 2013 . 'For me, I know that angels, miracles, that’s what saved me down on the track.' Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the guide dog school that trained Orlando, said they have been fielding hundreds of inquiries about whether Williams will be forced to give Orlando up for adoption in January when he retires from his job and loses his current insurance plan. 'We recognize everyone's concern about Orlando's future - whether he stays with Cecil or goes back to the loving home of his puppy raiser, please know he will be honored like the hero he is,' the group said in a statement. Several donation web pages were created in an effort to raise enough money to keep the pair together. 'Come January, Cecil's insurance will no longer cover the cost to care for Orlando,' the crowd funding platform Indiegogo said on its page. 'Please help these two stay together!' Thankful: 'The dog saved my life,' Williams said, his voice breaking at times . Donations on the site have already reached $19,000 and on the site Gofundme, more than 600 people have donated more than $21,000 for the cause. 'Guide dogs serve a purpose, and they are very loyal and they are very good,' said Williams according to the New York Daily News, as he battled back tears. 'Orlando, he’s my best buddy. He’s my pal. He takes me on the train. He takes me on the buses. He takes me everywhere I need to go. He’s a very gentle, gentleman,' he said. 'He was there. He’s always with me. When I travel on the train or bus, he’s next to me. He’s always watching out for me. He’s always looking for me. When I go on the street, he guides me through traffic, guides me through sidewalks. So he’s always looking out for me. That’s his job,' Williams said. Yesterday the nation was gifted a Christmas miracle when they heard of how Williams and Orlando survived their terrifying brush with death. Cecil Williams, 61, was making his way to the dentist at 9.30 am on Tuesday with his 10-year-old black Labrador Orlando when he suddenly felt faint and began to wobble perilously close to the edge of the platform. Man and his friend: Cecil Williams pets his guide dog Orlando in his hospital bed following a fall onto subway tracks from the platform, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, in New York . Thanks buddy: Williams, of Brooklyn, has been blind since 1995, and Orlando is his second dog. The lab will be 11 on Jan. 5, and will be retiring soon . His longtime buddy desperately tried to hold him back from falling by pulling at his leash. They both tumbled onto the tracks where Orlando managed to wake Cecil by licking his face just in time for them both to duck into the middle trench between the tracks. 'The dog saved my life,' said Williams from his St. Luke’s Hospital bed, 'He tried to hold me up.' Witnesses said the dog was barking frantically and tried to stop Williams from falling, but they both fell to the tracks when Williams fainted. 'The dog was trying to pull him away from the southbound edge of the platform, but his feet were on the edge, he was wobbling, and the dog was barking,' said Ana Quinones, 53, to the New York Post. Despite Orlando's best efforts, he and his owner toppled onto the tracks - just as an uptown A train was approaching the station. Slight injury: Williams, 61 and blind, says he fainted while holding onto his black Labrador who tried to save him from falling . Tough day: Cecil Williams, 61, told The Associated Press from his hospital bed that he was on his way to the dentist during the morning rush hour when he felt faint on the 125th Street platform . 'But there was nothing he could do once he was down there. He just sat there with the man. He just licked the man’s face trying to get him to move,' said Quinones. As horrified commuters watched an employee of the MTA shouted down to Cecil who by now was sitting upright on the tracks not to move and to lie down in the trench between the tracks. The train, whose driver had seen the two slammed its breaks on and then rolled two carts over Orlando and Cecil. The train's motorman slowed the subway cars while witness called for help. Cecil and Orlando were not struck by the train and only Cecil suffered a gash to his head - presumably from the fall. Emotional: Cecil Williams wipes tears from his . face during an interview as he rests in his hospital bed following a . fall onto subway tracks from the platform at 125th Street, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, in New York . Cecil said he was astonished by the help from emergency crews and bystanders on the platform. 'Everyone was screaming, everyone was shaking in horror. We heard someone on the other side scream he’s fine, he’s alive!' said student Ashley Prenza to the New York Post. 'It was a big relief for everyone.' FDNY Capt. Danny O’Sullivan, a 17-year FDNY veteran told the New York Daily News someone must have been watching out for Williams and Orlando. 'We checked out under the train and found that he was not trapped; he was just in between the rails' 'It must have been a lucky day for him. This definitely is a miracle.' | Cecil Williams, 61, survived a fall onto the New York City subway tracks on Tuesday after his loyal guide dog Orlando helped save his life .
Williams was set to lose Orlando in the new year because his insurance wouldn't cover the cost for a retired dog .
Donations in excess of $45,000 flooded in from across the nation after this was revealed .
Now a grateful Williams can keep Orlando as a pet in his retirement . |
120,248 | 276aff888feb5eee50a9cb7dbfa430efce674e9c | An Ebola-infected ISIS terrorist could easily motorboat across Lake Erie and reach Ohio from Canada, according to an American conservative filmmaker who videotaped a fictionalized one-jihadi incursion across Lake Erie and released the footage Monday. 'On the eve of the 9/11 anniversary our man, dressed as an ISIS terrorist was able to cross Lake Eris, walk off a boat into Cleveland, Ohio – and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,' guerrilla documentarian James O'Keefe narrates. 'At no point did anyone even question [him] or ask him what he was carrying in his suspicious brown duffel bag.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Video activist James O'Keefe shows in his latest film how ISIS terrorists could motorboat across lake Erie and land in Cleveland, Ohio without any challenge from US Border Patrol . In his footage, O'Keefe's play-acting 'terrorist' brings pretend poison across one of North America's Great Lakes with the intention of pouring it into Cleveland, Ohio's water supply . Clad in black from head to toe, O'Keefe's terrorist character managed to walk off his boat and into downtown Cleveland, and enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a brown duffel bag – and was never challenged . O'Keefe's latest online provocation comes at a time when the world's attention is focused on the self-professed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and Americans are growing increasingly concerned about the danger the group could pose to the US. His video shows a black-clad jihadi with a British accent being ferried across Lake Erie, which separates Ohio from the Canadian province of Ontario. 'The British government says American journalist James Foley's ISIS assassin was an Englishman,' O'Keefe says in his narration. 'British intelligence believes more than 500 British citizens have joined ISIS. Brits can enter Canada without a visa; it's virtually an open door.' In the short gonzo documentary, O'Keefe meets up with a 'terrorist' who has hired a boat to bring him from Ontario to the middle of Lake Erie. The two exchange pleasantries as the pretend jihadi transfers to O'Keefe's American-piloted craft. 'On August 17 we stole Ebola from a lab in Liberia,' he says in the script. 'We took he bandages and the bedsheets and then we covered ourselves in it and hoped that we'd get infected. 'The incubation period is about 21 days, and it's been about – 21 days.' O'Keefe, a confirmed rabble-rousing video activist, last made national noise in August with a video showing how an Islamist terrorist – dressed as Osama bin Laden, no less – could wade across the Rio Grande River from Mexico to the U.S. without being detected. 'We went to Texas and saw little border security,' he told MailOnline on Monday; 'now we’ve discovered there’s even less border security on the Canadian border.' Charter caption Bob Swinney told O'Keefe that he has never seen US Border Patrol actually patrolling the lake known in Cleveland as 'America's North Coast' In the film, a dressed-up Islamist militant character points to the freshwater supply intake that he plans to use as a ricin delivery vehicle . His jihadi character in this latest video also carries with him a container marked 'ricin.' Playing the part to the hilt, the actor points to a fresh-water intake port that serves the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area, and tells O'Keefe, 'The water supply is over there. If we put it in there, it will kill a lot of Americans.' Staring into the camera, O'Keefe clarifies that the terrorist, his ricin and his Ebola-soaked linens are make-believe – but warns that 'anyone can cross this border. You could cross in a Jet-Ski if you wanted to.' 'You could import weapons, you could import whatever you wanted to, because there's no detection on our borders.' O'Keefe told MailOnline that 'the only coast guard vessels we saw were tied up at their docks.' 'One of the boat captains expressed his own concern about border security,' he said, 'and worried that perhaps the Great Lakes are the soft underbelly of America.' According to federal law, boaters who cross from Canada to the US must notify the Customs and Border Protection agency, but it's an open question whether they do -- or even know about the requirement . O'Keefe last made headlines by donning an Osama bin Laden Halloween mask and army fatigues to show how easy it would be for a terrorist to sneak into Texas by wading across the Rio Grande from Mexico . | Conservative filmmaker's latest provocation shows lax security on America's northern border .
James O'Keefe filmed a play-acting black-clad jihadi with a British accent carrying fake ricin and pretend Ebola across Lake Erie and into Cleveland .
He managed to disembark, walk to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame carrying a duffel bag, and enter the building without anyone challenging him .
UK citizens can enter Canada without a visa; James Foley's executioner was believed to be a Brit .
'The only coast guard vessels we saw were tied up at their docks,' O'Keefe told MailOnline; one boat captain said he has never seen Border Patrol on the waters .
The right-wing documentarian's latest work follows an August video that showed 'Osama bin Laden' sneaking into Texas from Mexico . |
219,153 | a7a855daf4073be28ac98469739080f8a9a86c92 | Max Richmond was put into isolation for a day after he refused to wear a clip on tie . A schoolboy has been punished for refusing to wear a clip-on tie because he wants to wear a smarter traditional one - which breaches 'health and safety rules'. Max Richmond, 13, was put into isolation for a day, for wearing the proper tie at Colne Community School in Brightlingsea, Essex. The 1,438-pupil school insists pupils wear clip-on ties for health and safety reasons - but Max says the clip-on ones are uncomfortable and childish. He prefers to wear a traditional tie of exactly the same design, given to him by a neighbour. He was given work to complete on his own in a small cubicle for continuing to wear the tie. Max, of Waterside, Brightlingsea, said: 'It seems bizarre and unnecessary especially over something like the tie I was wearing. 'I like wearing a real tie because it feels proper. 'People have worn them for generations, and if you are not wearing one during secondary school then you are never going to learn the necessary skills for when you go into the world of work. 'When you are wearing a clip-on tie it is hard to be taken seriously, especially when you go to competitions against other schools - it feels foolish, and childish.' On their website in 2009, the Health and Safety Executive said it was a 'myth' that health and safety bans traditional school ties. The school has agreed to review the policy. Max says the clip-on ones are uncomfortable and childish. He prefers to wear a traditional tie of exactly the same design . Nardeep Sharma, headteacher, said the . rule was introduced about three years ago to support the health and . safety of young people . He said: 'This was in line with the practice in most secondary schools nationally. 'The policy can only be changed by governors and a parent has requested the governors review this policy, which the school has agreed to do.' Max said he welcomed the review and hoped the governors would take his points on board. Roger Bibbings, occupational safety adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said schools can make pupils wear clip-on ties, but should not cite health and safety grounds. He said: .It might be a sensible precaution if a school insists on pupils wearing ties while handling rotating machinery, such as in a school workshop, but for any other reason you cannot say this policy was required under health and safety law.' The school said the rule was introduced about three years ago to support the health and safety of young people . The Health and Safety Executive's website says: 'Quite rightly, few parents would see wearing school ties as a safety issue. 'After all, millions of kids have been wearing ties for years without any real problems. 'Taking simple precautions during laboratory work or around machinery makes sense. But if the concern is about kids fighting, although clip-on ties may help, the real issue is discipline. 'So no, we don't ban school ties – it's down to the school to make decisions about uniform, not HSE.' A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive added: 'It seems to us to be a disproportionate response.' Linda Painter, of the Schoolwear Association, said that producers had reported a 'strong trend' in school opting for clip on ties, largely because every tie looks uniform and neat, but also because it means that the ties do not get wrapped around students' necks. She said: 'Lots of school do have clip on ties, it's a strong trend. It's not definitively about health and safety. 'Obviously they can come off quite easily and don't get stuck round children's necks, but clip-ons do mean that all the students' ties look the same and look smart.' | Teenager Max Richmond says children need to learn how to wear one .
Headteacher says clip on ties supports health and safety of youngsters .
HSE said it was a 'myth' that health and safety bans traditional school ties . |
246,260 | cabb562e3aa0552dea22105e02b9725ad1d2274e | By . Richard Shears . PUBLISHED: . 14:05 EST, 20 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:08 EST, 21 March 2013 . They may be more commonly associated with workmen, but Australian spies will now have to wear high visability vests when they are at work . It may mean the end for any undercover operation. It has been revealed that Australian spies have to wear high visability vests when they are at work. The country’s strict Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act means that everyone working for the government must wear a bright yellow or orange safety vest. It means, of course, that any spy trying to work, following a foreign agent for example, has a great deal of difficulty in remaining out of sight. The work place rule applies to all officers working on the job for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. The service’s spies work mostly overseas, collecting intelligence against individuals or organizations who might be plotting against Australia’s interests. On its website it claims: ‘ASIS is Australia’s overseas secret intelligence collection agency. Our mission is to protect and promote Australia’s vital interests through the provision of intelligence services as directed by Government.’ But it is understood that whether the spy work involves peeping on foreign agents overseas or on home soil, the Health and Safety regulations must still apply because the spies are paid by the government. Two other spy groups – the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and its Australian Defence Force counterpart – are exempted from the rule of wearing safety vests. Learning of the problem that exists for the Secret Intelligence Service spies, the government is now taking steps to make life a little easier for its agents. Amendments are now before Parliament which will allow the ASIS director-general to waive the vest requirement. Australian Parliamentary Secretary Richard Marles (pictured right shaking hands with Hillary Clinton and New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully) told parliament that it might be tough for spies to follow hazard reduction to a tee . Foreign Affairs parliamentary secretary Richard Marles told parliament that it might be tough for spies to follow hazard reduction to a tee. In these environments, the requirements of national security may not always be compatible with full compliance with Australian work health and safety obligations,’ said Mr Marles. ‘Indeed, full compliance could in some circumstances place people who work for the director-general of ASIS at risk and prejudice national security.’ | Health and Safety regulations apply because spies 'paid by government'
Rule applies to officers working for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service .
Two other spy services, however, are exempt from the rules . |
212,476 | 9f235e8b8592c588544549a421776a80f56647c3 | As one of the most expensive properties in Scotland, this sprawling 112-room castle might not look like a typical bargain buy. But this 300-estate is set to go for a knock-down price after its owner put it on the market for £5million - £1.5million less than it cost to buy and renovate. Kate Armstrong, the founder of price comparison website Confused.com, bought Cassillis House near Maybole, Ayrshire, in 2009 for £3million, before spending millions of pounds - and the next four years - on giving the neglected property a 21st-century makeover. Bargain: The sprawling Cassillis House, pictured, is set on a 300-acre estate near Maybole in Ayrshire. The new buyer will own four other properties on the land . Carefully restored: The kitchen features wood cabinets which are complimented by modern lighting fixtures. Mrs Armstrong spent four years renovating the property . Authentic: An intricate doorway hints at the castle's history, left, while a carefully restored spiral staircase adds a touch of medieval grandeur to the property, right . Spacious: The castle boasts 13 bedrooms, seven of which are luxurious en-suites. This bathroom features a free-standing roll-top bath and elegant shower . The mammoth four-year project was last year featured in the BBC2 programme Restoration Home, which is presented by Caroline Quentin. But the Australian tycoon and her family have not been able to spend as much time at the medieval castle as they had hoped. They have now put the historic property up for sale for a knock-down five million pounds. Mrs Armstrong has previously stated that the project had been a labour of love and the sale price is designed to attract a quick buyer who will take care of the building in the future. Cassillis House boasts 13 bedrooms, seven of which have luxurious en-suites, a ballroom, library, wine cellar, cinema room, and space for a gym. And for the £5million asking price, the buyer will also own four other properties on the estate including a five-bed coach house. The castle, which was built between 1404 and 1454, had been neglected for many years before Mrs Armstrong bought it, and had problems including rot to the roofs and damage to ornate design work. Bright and airy: Mrs Armstrong was careful to make sure the castle retained its traditional feel by choosing subdued colours for the walls and restoring original features . Grand: Vast windows flood the rooms with natural light, while imposing doorways add character to the 122-room home . Exquisite: The sprawling gardens can be seen stretching out into the distance from the windows of this room, where a fireplace is the centrepiece . The restoration project saw many historical features retained including a . 15th century staircase and a two-storey front dating between 1830 and . 1832. Mrs Armstrong worked with Historic Scotland on it and had the castle painted yellow, which would have been the original colour. Cassilis is being sold by estate agents Savills. Evelyn Channing, of . Savills, said: 'Someone has gone through the pain of a complete . restoration and it’s now ready for 21st century living. 'Normally there is some sort of project but this is ready to go, and it has such amazing history. Regal: Rich red curtains and carpets add warmth to this grand room, which features painted exposed beams on the ceiling . Calming: Soft blues and greens on wall panels compliment a sea scene painted above the doorway in this room that is flooded with natural light . Country retreat: History appears to come alive in this room, where an unusual stone and wood ceiling and deep red walls dominate the space . 'That . building has been standing there since the 13th century and you can . just imagine everything it has witnessed over the generations. 'Many . ancient interesting features have been retained such as the tower and a . bedroom that was discovered when they pulled away some of the plaster. 'Although it’s on the market for five million pounds this is still one of the most expensive properties in Scotland. If it went up for an unrealistic level it would get no interest. 'It . is on the market for less than what [Mrs Armstrong] has spent on it. She is not asking for all her money back. She is more concerned . about making sure the castle is being looked after.' Bathing in blue: Mrs Armstrong made the most of the space in this room by building in a window seat. She said she wanted to make sure the property was going to a good owner . Modern comforts: The 13-bedroom castle boasts a cinema room, complete with a tartan carpet, a ballroom, wine cellar - and has space for a gym . Bonus: In addition to the main house, the new buyer will own the four other properties on the estate, including a five-bedroom coach house and a stables cottage . Cassillis was built between 1404 and 1454 and was owned by the Kennedy family from the 15th century until 2009, after the last descendent, Mary, Marchioness of Ailsa, died. And the estate comes with its own colourful - and slightly morbid - history. David Kennedy, the 1st Earl of Cassillis, was killed at the Battle of Flodden, while the second Earl was murdered following an unsuccessful attempt to rescue James V. The third Earl was poisoned in France while attending the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots. | Kate Armstrong, founder of price comparison website Confused.com, bought Cassillis House in Ayrshire in 2009 .
She bought the neglected 13th century castle for £3million and spent £3.5million renovating and restoring the property .
The new buyer will also own the four other properties on the 300-acre estate, including a five-bed coach house .
The spacious 13-bedroom castle boasts a ballroom, library, wine cellar and cinema room - and has space for a gym . |
77,194 | dad81b952235443f36a6e2331a2dfdddfecf7438 | David Ginola has withdrawn from the FIFA presidential race after failing to gain the minimum five nominations. The former France and Tottenham Hotspur winger's withdrawal was widely expected, and uncertainty continues over whether another prospective candidate Jerome Champagne, a former FIFA deputy general secretary, has secured the nominations. Ginola, who was paid £250,000 by a bookmaker for his two-week campaign, said: 'Having not obtained required five nominations by deadline I will not be able to continue with FIFA presidential candidacy. Just as I did as a player, I gave everything until the final whistle.' David Ginola confirmed his intention to stand for FIFA presidency at a previous press conference . Ginola's campaign was being backed by bookmaker Paddy Power, known for their PR stunts . Ginola nas now ended his campaign to become the next FIFA president instead of Sepp Blatter . Former Tottenham winger Ginola had no known football administration experience . The message on www.teamginola.com on January 29 as the deadline passed for him to meet strict rules . The idea to back a candidate originated from Paddy Power and David Ginola, being paid £250,000 by the bookmakers to run, apparently topped their shortlist. Paddy Power were inviting people to become members on www.teamginola.com to pledge support and cash. Paid-for memberships range from £5 to £40,000. Paddy Power were aiming to raise £2.3million by the end of February to fund the campaign. FIFA will not publish the list of people who have put themselves forward as candidates for the presidency until next week despite the deadline having passed. Current president Sepp Blatter, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Dutch federation president Michael van Praag, and former Portugal international Luis Figo have all secured the necessary number of nominations. Blatter fired his opening salvo in his campaign for re-election by saying Australia deserves to host the World Cup and that it is an 'unfortunate omission' the country has not done so before. Australia gained only one vote when bidding for the 2022 World Cup, which was won by Qatar, and some FIFA observers believe Blatter was the one member of the world governing body's executive committee who did vote for them. A breakdown of what the £2.3million budget would pay for as Paddy Power appealed for donations . In his first column in FIFA Weekly magazine since confirming he will be a candidate for May's election, Blatter said: 'Australia is the only continent never to have hosted the World Cup finals, although the 1981 and 1993 Under-20 World Cups took place there. 'That is basically an unfortunate omission in sporting history because very few countries boast such a rich sporting culture and long list of champions. 'Sport, with football in a central role, is a defining element in day-to-day life in Australia, not least for women and youths. The 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne and the 2000 edition in Sydney set new benchmarks for their eras. 'So we can say with confidence that it would be more than deserved if Australia were to stage the World Cup at some point,' added Blatter, who is Down Under for the climax of the Asian Cup. The Football Association announced on Thursday it was nominating Prince Ali, while the Scottish FA confirmed it had nominated Van Praag. Figo confirmed he had submitted his candidacy and revealed six countries who had nominated him. Ginola entered the race to become president of world football's governing body FIFA . Ginola tweeted this after the announcement was posted on the official Team Ginola website . He said: 'I am very happy to confirm that my six nominations were delivered to FIFA this week ahead of the deadline. I would like to thank my colleagues and friends from the nominating FAs and across the global football family who have already given their backing to my campaign and sent messages encouraging me in this mission. It has been a great start - my thanks to everyone concerned.' The FAs nominating Figo are: Portugal, Denmark, Montenegro, Macedonia, Luxembourg and Poland. Prince Ali issued a statement saying his campaign had three main goals: Restoring FIFA's credibility; protecting the game and neutralising threats; and developing the game globally. He said: 'The campaign for the presidency of FIFA has entered a new phase, and the number of candidates signals a strong desire for change. 'It is vital that a genuine debate is held and a consensus is established on key issues - enabling everyone, especially fans, to trust FIFA again as we embark on a new era where world football is governed with integrity and credibility.' Prince Ali added: 'I want to make FIFA a first-class organisation that is worthy of a sport that unites billions of people around the globe and is rightly declared the world's game. 'FIFA should function to promote football and work in a real partnership to support all national associations in their mission to develop the game - we must get back to focusing on those goals.' BORN: Jan. 25, 1967 in Gassin, France . EARLY CAREER . ENGLAND . INTERNATIONAL CAREER . | David Ginola has ended his campaign to become FIFA president .
Ginola had to meet strict FIFA regulations by January 29 to run against FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is aiming for a fifth term .
He had to prove to FIFA he had played an 'active role' in two of the last five years and that he had the support of five national associations .
The campaign was co-ordinated by Paddy Power - known for their high-profile PR stunts - and Ginola tried to raise £2.3m to help fund his running .
Team Ginola confirmed they will refund all those that donated .
Ginola tweeted after the announcement he is 'not giving up, still in the race to reboot football!' |
1,278 | 039ae275f2aa621486cd28367200871f14a9e101 | Proposals for 'fracking' for shale gas at two sites in Lancashire should be refused, planning officers have recommended. Lancashire County Council has published reports with recommendations on planning applications from shale company Cuadrilla to develop two new sites to explore for shale gas by drilling, fracking and testing the flow of gas. The council's development control committee is due to make decisions next week on the planning applications for the two sites, at Preston New Road, near Little Plumpton, and Roseacre Wood, near Roseacre, both between Blackpool and Preston. Scroll down for video . Cuadrilla Resources wanted to develop one possible fracking location near Rosacre Wood, pictured . The company also lodged an application at a second site near Preston New Road, near Plumpton, pictured . Cuadrilla Resources wanted to use a drilling rig similar to this one in Blackpool to recover the gas . The report recommended that the application for the site at Preston New Road should be turned down because of concerns over noise impacts which would 'unnecessarily and unacceptably' affect neighbouring properties with noise pollution. At the Roseacre Wood site, the report said there would be an increase in traffic, particularly heavy goods vehicles, which would result in 'an unacceptable impact' on rural roads and reduce road safety. If the council's development control committee take the advice of their planning officers and turn down the applications, it will be seen as a major blow to efforts to get the UK's shale gas and oil industry off the ground. Caudrilla said today in a statement that it was 'very disappointed at the recommendation. 'After an extraordinarily lengthy period of consultation and review of around seven months we are surprised that, at this late point, the planning team at Lancashire County Council has raised objections about background noise for both sites. 'We believe, supported by independent experts Arup, that we have come forward with measures that would mitigate the noise of drilling and fracturing and the proposed noise levels are within the limits set out in government guidance.' Cuadrilla Resources wanted to explore two potential shale gas locations near Blackpool and Preston . The company said it had supplied extra information regarding traffic routes for the Roseacre Wood site, and believed it had addressed all the issues raised. 'In the end the councillors on the development control committee will have to weigh the relatively minor impacts which affect only a small number of households and for which we have proposed adequate proposals for mitigation against the wider local and national economic and energy security benefits. 'We will await the councillors' decisions on both these applications and we believe that all of the limited issues that have been raised can be resolved.' The Government is pushing for the development of a shale gas industry in the UK, claiming it would create jobs and growth, reduce energy prices and cut the country's reliance on gas imports. However, opponents have raised fears that the process causes earthquakes, can pollute water supplies, and could lead to inappropriate development in the countryside and damage house prices. Hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - involves pumping water, chemicals and sand at high pressure underground to fracture shale rock and release the gas trapped in it. Hundreds of protesters attended a six-day Reclaim The Power camp last August near the proposed Little Plumpton site to campaign against shale gas extraction in the region by fracking. The controversial technique has led to fears that water supplies could be contaminated by toxic chemicals . Local authorities in West Sussex have also turned down applications from shale companies to explore for oil and gas in their areas. The Roseacre Wood site should be refused planning permission because of the traffic issue and noise pollution, the planning officers said. They recommended refusing the Preston New Road site on the noise issue alone. The report into the planning applications said shale gas exploration was in principle 'acceptable', and that the impacts on air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, landscape, water resources and seismic movements at the sites were low or could be lessened. But the proposed developments would lead to 'significant increase in night-time background noise levels'. 'Consequently it is likely that this would have significant adverse effects on the health and quality of life and lead to an unacceptable loss of residential amenity' to nearby residents, the report says of each site. For the Roseacre Wood application, the planning officers also raised concerns that it was in a 'very rural location' served by small country lanes, and it should be turned down on those grounds too. They said: 'An assessment concludes that the increase in traffic, particularly HGV movements, would be severe, there would be a material impact on existing road users, particularly vulnerable road users and overall highway safety of which the potential is considered severe. Environmental campaigners Greenpeace hailed the recommendation to turn down the applications. Greenpeace said that people in Lancashire were afraid of the risks caused by traffic, noise, water contamination and even the value of their homes if permission was granted for a similar site to this . Greenpeace energy campaigner Simon Clydesdale said: 'Many thousands of people in Lancashire are seriously worried about the potential risks of fracking - traffic, noise, water contamination, air pollution, the value of their homes, to name just a few. 'The concerns about noise and traffic brought up by the planners are a reminder that fracking could be a lot of pain for very little or no gain for communities in Lancashire. 'The council now faces a clear choice: They can listen to the planners, and the Lancashire residents that elected them - almost two-thirds of whom want a moratorium on fracking - or they can kowtow to the corporate and political interests keen to force through fracking at almost any cost. 'The whole country is looking to Lancashire to protect its communities from the unnecessary risks that fracking plays with our futures.' Lee Petts, spokesman for the North West Energy Task Force, a coalition of more than 500 businesses and academics, said: 'Natural gas from North West shale could be a massive opportunity for growth, investment, jobs and revenues in our region. 'Today's announcements are obviously disappointing, but we await the decision of the development control committee next week, and call on councillors to grasp this opportunity to create the jobs and investment that Lancashire badly needs.' Friends Of The Earth's North West campaigner Helen Rimmer said: 'We are delighted that the planning officers have recognised the serious effects that these developments would have on neighbouring residents and have recommended that Lancashire County Council refuses these applications. 'Councillors must now act on this and the tens of thousands of objections they have received and reject Cuadrilla's fracking applications next week. 'Only by doing so will they ensure that fracking is not allowed to cause further climate change while also putting communities and the local environment at risk.' Philip Mace, Partner at Clyde and Company's Oil and Gas Team said the decision in Lancashire could have long term implications to the viability of the industry. He said: 'This could be a potentially disastrous decision for the future of shale oil and gas development in the UK. 'With oil and gas prices having fallen dramatically, the E&P industry is unlikely to have the appetite or backing to face the long and expensive approval process that is being required to carry out fracking in the UK. 'One remaining glimmer of hope is the proposed underground access rights for shale oil and gas extraction included in the Infrastructure Bill, which is still going through Parliament. But even that is not a given. 'Despite the Government’s desire to make change happen, there are only 100-odd days to the election and the fracking related elements of the Infrastructure Bill have been fiercely debated and may well not make the statute books in the remaining time available.' A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: 'This is a matter for the local planning authority to determine. 'The Government cannot comment on a live planning application. The Government continues to support the development of the shale industry in the UK.' A spokesman for United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG), who represent the industry said: 'It is disappointing that officials at Lancashire County Council have come to this recommendation. 'We need to review the detail of their advice before commenting further, but on first instance it appears that these are local planning matters specific to these sites rather than any issues that would have an obvious impact on other shale gas applications.' | Cuadrilla Resources wants to drill for gas between Preston and Blackpool .
Protesters have lodged several planning objections to both proposals .
Council officials have recommended the projects should be abandoned .
Planners are due to give their final decision by the end of the week . |
24,540 | 4594ea539629c2524914ae061402fe38a526f426 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 10:53 AM on 20th June 2011 . A Nato air strike hit a civilian house in Tripoli and killed nine residents, the Libyan regime said yesterday. Nato admitted on Sunday that its weapons destroyed a house in Tripoli in an incident likely to sow new doubts inside the alliance about its mission in Libya. The strike on the house was the clearest case yet of a bombing causing multiple civilian casualties, and comes at a time when the alliance is already under strain from a campaign that is taking more time and resources than its backers had expected. Scene of destruction: Members of the media and others examine the remains of the residential building damaged in this morning's airstrike . Nato last night admitted that a ‘weapons system failure’ may have been responsible for a missile going astray. Nato spokesman Wing Commander Mike Bracken said: 'The intended target was a military missile site. 'However from our initial assessment of the facts it appears that one weapons did not strike the intended target due to a weapons system malfunction. ‘Nato regrets the . loss of innocent civilian lives and takes great care in conducting . strikes against a regime determined to use violence against its own . citizens. ‘Although we are still determining . the specifics of this event, indications are that a weapons system . failure may have caused this incident.’ Nato did not disclose which country’s . aircraft were involved, although the Ministry of Defence said RAF . warplanes were not operating in the area at the time. Libyan government officials took . reporters to a residential area in Tripoli’s Souq al-Juma district, . where they saw a body being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed . building. Later, in a hospital, they were shown . the bodies of a child and two others who, officials said, were among a . total of nine people killed in the strike. Casualty: A damaged car lies crushed beneath rubble from the destroyed residential block . ‘There was intentional and deliberate . targeting of the civilian houses,’ deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim . said. ‘This is another sign of the brutality of the West.’ Nato has been pounding targets in . Libya for months in what the alliance says is an operation to protect . civilians who rebelled against Colonel Gaddafi’s 41-year rule. Strains . are appearing within Nato member states as the campaign drags on for . longer than most of its backers anticipated and Gaddafi remains in power . – even making a show of defiance last week by playing chess with a . visiting official. Obliterated: Rescue workers shift debris in their search for survivors following last night's airstrike . Rebels from the city of Misrata, . about 130 miles east of Tripoli, have been trying to push west towards . the capital but on Sunday they took heavy casualties when they came . under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces. A doctor at a field hospital near the . front line in Dafniyah, just west of Misrata, said eight fighters had . been killed and 36 wounded. After four months of civil war, . rebels control the eastern third of Libya, the port city of Misrata and . much of the Western Mountains region. But they are a long way from . seizing their prize – Gaddafi’s powerbase of Tripoli and its hinterland – . despite air support from the world’s most powerful military alliance. War zone: Libyan authorities say the civilian building was deliberately targeted by Nato missiles . Innocent victims: Children inspect the rubble of what Libyan authorities claim was a hotel damaged by a Nato airstrike on Thursday . On the attack: Rebels battling government troops have launched a push out of the city of Misrata towards Tripoli, but have come under intense fire themselves . | Alliance now investigating incident after journalists visit target .
Nato admits to destroying house in Tripoli after 'weapons system failure' |
140,846 | 421eaaf677ae0239af98f5610b8b231c64fc9c53 | Wembley chiefs have admitted they failed to lay the new Desso turf properly before Sunday’s NFL game destroyed the playing surface. England head coach Roy Hodgson is furious the pitch will not be in perfect condition when Wayne Rooney wins his 100th cap against Slovenia on Saturday. Hodgson is attempting to introduce a slick passing game to the team as England coast through the rest of their Euro 2016 qualifying. Wembley chiefs admit they failed to lay the new Desso turf properly before Sunday’s NFL game . The Wembley surface is visibly cut up as the NFL stars go through their paces on Sunday night . The Cowboys beat the Jaguars 31-17 in the second NFL game at Wembley in a fortnight ahead of England . More rain is forecast this week as the Wembley groundstaff work night and day to repair the damage caused by Sunday’s mudbath when Dallas Cowboys played Jacksonville Jaguars. FA chiefs have since admitted the pitch will not be perfect on Saturday as they face Slovenia in front of 80,000 supporters. Wembley managing director Roger Maslin said: ‘I’m disappointed the surface isn’t as good as it should be but I’m confident it will be back to its pristine state after a winter renovation. ‘This isn’t so much a problem of the NFL but of our summer renovation. Due to slightly too much topsoil during the summer there’s more marking and scarring than we’d want. ‘Roy is entitled to his opinion. While the pitch will not be of the very highest standard we want for the Slovenia game, it will still be a good playing surface. We do expect it to be back to its best by March for the Lithuania game.’ One man hoping the pitch won’t stop him shining is England new boy Saido Berahino. The striker got a call up after seven goals for West Bromwich Albion and his club have told potential suitors that the 21-year-old is not for sale. With Tottenham and Liverpool both keen on a January move, chairman Jeremy Peace has issued a statement insisting Berahino will be at the club until at least next summer. Contract talks with Berahino’s representatives have begun, with the focus on improving a deal which currently runs to 2017 to reflect his growing importance. England manager Roy Hodgson was not at all pleased with the NFL match taking place at Wembley . It is believed he will be offered double his current £12,000-per-week salary, which was only signed last December. Before that, Berahino earned £850 per week. Peace issued a hands-off warning to would-be suitors. ‘I wish to assure our supporters that Saido Berahino will not be going anywhere in January or, I hope, next summer,’ he said. ‘It is not in our minds at all to trade a footballer the club has worked to develop. ‘It (Berahino’s form) seems to have also generated unwarranted speculation about his future — which I wish to stress remains very firmly aligned to this club.’ Saido Berahino was handed a call-up by Hodgson and the West Bromwich Albion striker has raised eyebrows . It is believed he will be offered double his current £12,000-per-week salary with an imminent new contract . | England manager Roy Hodgson is furious the pitch will not be perfect .
Wayne Rooney is win his 100th cap against Slovenia on Saturday .
More rain is forecast this week as Wembley groundstaff work to fix surface .
Damage was caused by a mudbath on Sunday during an NFL game .
Dallas Cowboys played Jacksonville Jaguars which tore up the turf . |
35,408 | 64a545455285f19f2babda2abc8aed43b7478164 | Human evolution was driven by short, rapid waves of climate change. This is according to researchers studying cone-shaped deposits of sediment in southeast Arabia that provide a 160,000 year record of the area's climate. The deposits reveal that our early human ancestors left Africa on a journey to southern Asia around 75,000 to 130,000 years ago, during multiple phases. Human evolution may have been driven by short, rapid waves of climate change.This is according to researchers studying cone-shaped deposits of sediment from southeast Arabia that provide a 160,000 year record of the area's climate. Inset is photo ofthe exposed quarry site. A person circled for scale . The find contradicts another theory that claims human populations expanded rapidly from Africa to southern Asia via the coastlines of Arabia around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. The sediments reveal a period of increased rainfall, which scientists at Oxford University argue would have provided sufficient freshwater to support expanding populations. 'The dispersal of early human populations out of Africa is dynamically linked with the changing climate and environmental conditions of Arabia,' said Professor Ash Parton at Oxford University. 'Although now arid, at times the vast Arabian deserts were transformed into landscapes littered with freshwater lakes and active river systems. The sediments – also known as alluvial fans - were found along the Western Haja in Al Sibetah, Oman. Pictured is a stock image of alluvial fan deposits . 'Such episodes of dramatically increased rainfall were the result of the intensification and northward displacement of the Indian Ocean Monsoon, which caused rainfall to reach across much of the Arabian Peninsula.' The sediments – also known as alluvial fans - were found along the Western Haja in Al Sibetah, Oman. A previous study by University College London argued that the waxing and waning of huge lakes in the East African Rift valley was linked to the brain expansion of early human species. Professor Mark Maslin, co-author of the study, said at the time: 'It seems modern humans were born from climate change. 'They had to deal with rapid switching from famine to feast - and back again - which drove the appearance of new species with bigger brains and also pushed them out of East Africa into Eurasia and South Africa.' Pictured is a partial human skull excavated from a cave in Israel's western Galilee region. It has been described as the first fossil remains that appear to document our ancestor's journey out of Africa . Long ago, humans left their evolutionary cradle in Africa and passed through the Middle East on their way to Europe. And in January, scientists found the first fossil remains that appear to document that journey, a partial skull from an Israeli cave. The skull dates from around 55,000 years ago, fitting into the period when scientists had thought the migrants inhabited the area. And details of its anatomy resemble ancient skulls from Europe, Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University in Israel wrote in an email. The skull, which lacks facial features and its base, was found in Manot Cave in the Galilee region of northern Israel. The migrants are called modern humans because of their anatomy. The earliest remains of modern humans in Europe date to about 45,000 years ago. | Researchers made discovery after analysing sediment from Oman .
These sediments provided a 160,000 year record of area's climate .
Deposits reveal our ancestors left Africa 75,000 to 130,000 years ago .
They did so in multiple phases as a result of rapid bursts of rainfall .
This contradicts theory they left all at once around 50,000 years ago . |
207,643 | 98d9e3c5bbf13b757823e06c2193cd36cfaa92a8 | By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 21:42 EST, 19 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:02 EST, 20 June 2013 . When three families moved to a remote yet picturesque village in the French countryside several years ago, they thought they had found the quiet, simple life they craved. The families, one of them British, had fallen in love with Bussière-Boffy, a tiny farming community, close to Limoges in central France, and decided to set up home in yurts - accommodation usually favoured by the nomadic people of the Asian steppes. But their peace has since been shattered after the families became embroiled in a bitter legal row with the mayor of the village who took exception to their unusual choice of home. Scroll down for video . Happy: Janie Corbett and her daughter Branwen, pose in front of the yurt where they have been living for several years . Bitter battle: The row has divided the small community of Bussiere-Boffy, near Limoges, with many siding with the mayor and others supporting the yurt families . The court battle has divided the village, with many siding with the mayor, Jean-Pierre Barrière, who claims he is simply applying planning laws, and others who support the British and French yurt families. Alex Bovet, a Frenchman who has a yurt on land he owns with his partner, has described the mayor's crusade as 'social cleansing and administrative harassment' according to The Telegraph. The British family at the centre of the row, antiques dealer and artist Peter Bateman, 44, his partner Janie Corbett and their children Branwen, 14, and Tarn, 10, moved to the area after they stumbled across it while heading home from a tour of the country eight years ago. They set up home in a field, with its owners consent and the two children attended the local school. The family were happy in their quaint surroundings until 2007 when the local council chose to map out plots of land where new buildings could be erected. Unusual choice of home: Three families who set up home in yurts in the small community of Bussiere-Boffy, France, have become embroiled in a legal battle with the local mayor who takes exception to their choice of accommodation . Comfortable: The yurt has a wooden floor and wooden doors and windows and is made of a wooden frame covered in material . The family could only stay on the land if the council decided that either the yurt constituted a tent - it is made of a wooden floor, wooden doors and windows and surrounded by a wooden lattice frame covered in material - or that the land was declared 'a new building zone'. But the mayor said that according to law the yurt constitutes a dwelling more akin to a bungalow than a tent. He claims it would have cost the town £34,000 to keep the yurts as the local authority would have been obliged to hook them up to the water and electricity supply. He refused to allow the families to be included on the electoral role the following year, and the inhabitants claim that he denied one of their children access to the local school. On a mission: Mayor Jean-Paul Barriere, pictured in front of the town hall, says that he is only adhering to planning regulations . Although the situation was temporarily calmed when the region's deputy government prefect promised that the yurtists would be accomadated, trouble flared again in 2010 when the mayor posted a decree banning 'wild camping'. A disgruntled Mr Barrière took legal action the following year when he was hit in the face with a pie during a television documentary on the row. The yurtists appeared to finally have won the long-running dispute late last year when a court ruled that their yurts are tents and they could stay on the land. But the prosecutor appealed the verdict and has now called for fines and orders for the families to leave the land within three months. According to The Telegraph, mayor Barrière said: 'They’re in a region where outsiders are already looked at askance, so you have to make a big effort to be accepted. 'But they think it’s up to us to adapt.' | Three families set up home in yurts in Bussière-Boffy,central France .
But the local mayor took exception to their unusual choice of home .
Several years of legal wrangling has divided opinion in the village . |
43,946 | 7bf78d45b77d1d8c781913d1298fd8992e0c32bf | Would you pay $9 for a litre of water? While Australia is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, a recent photograph on social media has sparked an outrage on the costs for overseas tourists. Chris Ledlin tweeted on his Twitter page, a photograph taken from a Novotel hotel of an 'Evian' branded water bottle with a price tag of $9 wrapped around the lid. Scroll down for video . Chris Ledlin also added: 'It’s shocking. Quick tip: always get your water from a supermarket. 100% cheaper' He also added: 'It’s shocking. Quick tip: always get your water from a supermarket. 100% cheaper.' Seven News reports that 'Australia is gaining a reputation worldwide and it's not good. A place where holiday makers are ripped off.' 'The message to tourists is don't come back to Australia because it’s a rip-off place, everything is ridiculously expensive,' Australian businessman Dick Smith told Seven News. 'It's an outrage that we're having to pay these extreme prices, not just expensive bottles of water, but it's digital products and services, it's cosmetics, clothing,' Choice’s Tom Godfrey told Seven News. 'Australia is being slapped with a tax on these products unnecessarily,' he said. Some Instagram users take to their pages, with actressbrittanychristine (left) posting a two images of 'expensive' produce in Australia and tommyhorann (right) shocked at how much Ben & Jerry's ice cream cost . More Instagram users posting about the costs of figs and a coconut mudslide mocha in Australia . Mica Ivealis tweeted on Twitter not being able to find cheap private rooms under $50 in Australia . Shocked Twitter users responded to the photograph, with one saying: 'I've not got over how expensive bottles of water are here, it's ludicrous'. Slider Tackle tweeted: 'haha welcome to Australia mate' Oliver Yeates: WHAT A JOKE!? #ripoff' Nomad'777: 'We pay more for everything' Twinmum2 tweeted: 'It is from the mini bar-what else would you expect.Families bring their own goodies when staying in hotels-cheaper'. Novotel told Seven News that their 'mini bars rarely make a profit and guests are paying for convenience. Despite the shocking costs of tourism in Australia, research has found Australians are spending some of the highest prices on every day items, including groceries, home ware, eating out and many more. Another Twitter user posts the combination price of two packs of Tim Tam and Ben & Jerry's ice cream . | Australia is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations .
But a recent photograph on Twitter has sparked an outrage .
Chris Ledlin tweeted a photo taken from a Novotel hotel of a water bottle with a price tag of $9 wrapped around the lid . |
67,846 | c07a24893da6b7e6ce074cca0634b8dc24ee6795 | By . Olivia Williams . PUBLISHED: . 13:54 EST, 16 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:15 EST, 17 May 2013 . Odin the walrus had a number of fishy treats in preparation for his dental check at his zoo in Germany, but he turned decidedly grumpy once the inspection began. It was Odin's first experience of the inventory as he only arrived at Hagenbecks zoo in Hamburg last month from his home in Moscow. Although he has settled in well, he was very unimpressed when a keeper prized open his mouth to check his teeth and tried to manoeuvre himself out of the way. Open wide: After some difficulty, the keeper finally had a satisfactory look inside Odin's cavernous mouth . Not a fan of the dentist: Odin had his big jaws prized open to check the state of his pointy teeth . Odin eagerly chomped through his fishy starter, main course and dessert, reaching up to his full height to get every mouthful. Tipping the scales at an estimated 3,700 lbs, it takes a lot of fish to please a walrus the size of Odin. Enormous: It takes a lot of little fish to fill up Odin's sizeable stomach . Towering: Stretching right up for the prize, Odin extended himself up fully to get his reward . Settling in: Odin has only been at the zoo for a few months, but has adjusted well to his new home . To check Odin's teeth were healthy, his keeper had to get his mouth wide open which took quite some tussle. Odin's mood soon soured when the fish stopped coming and the dental check-up was all he had to look forward to. One last fish: Odin is always happy to have fish for starter, main course and dessert . Tempting treat: Odin gobbled up his fishy lunch while the zoo keeper checked him over . Tusks on a walrus like Odin can grow up to 1m in . length, and males tend to have larger tusks than females. The tusks are . used for keeping breathing holes in the ice open, for fighting and for . helping the walruses haul themselves out of the water on to an ice floe. In the wild, walruses live mostly in . shallow waters above the continental shelves, spending significant . amounts of their lives on the sea ice looking for . molluscs to eat. Grumpy: Odin went on the defensive as the keeper tried to inspect his mouth . Still not full: Odin playfully tilted his head in the hope of getting another fish from his zoo keeper . | Odin the walrus had a check-up after only arriving at the zoo last month .
Male walruses like Odin can weigh more than 1,700 kg as adults .
He was less than impressed when a keeper tried to inspect his mouth . |
152,192 | 50b5013ae1c22b24ab0da38e32a3a7e93c6829ba | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that the crisis in Georgia should not be used to score political points, but his campaign has stepped up its attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials. Sen. John McCain says Russia's entry into the WTO should be reviewed. In response, Obama's top foreign policy aide suggested that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was willing to "shoot from the hip" and was acting irresponsibly by offering strong support for the Georgia government. On Wednesday, McCain continued his tough line against Russia, saying its potential membership in the World Trade Organization should be reviewed as a result of its actions in Georgia, as well its relationship with the G-8 nations, which represent the world's largest industrial economies. McCain also said that an international peacekeeping mission should be sent to Georgia and that NATO should re-consider adding Georgia and Ukraine, another former Soviet republic, to the alliance. Watch McCain call Georgia's position 'perilous' » . "After the events of the past six days, no one should wonder why countries on Russia's periphery so ardently seek the security guarantees alliance membership represents," McCain said during a campaign stop in Birmingham, Michigan. Russia has strenuously objected to both nations joining NATO. After President Bush said Wednesday that he was ordering the U.S. military to help Georgia's citizens, Obama applauded the move. "The situation is still unstable, and Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia's sovereignty with actions, not just words," Obama said in a statement. "The United States should now join our European partners in direct, high-level diplomacy with both Georgia and Russia to seek immediate implementation of a cease-fire, and to achieve a lasting resolution to this crisis." The crisis in Georgia started Friday, when Russia moved troops in into South Ossetia after the Georgian government moved troops into breakaway territory. South Ossetia has been largely autonomous since 1991, but separatists would like to break with Georgia and either declare independence or join North Ossetia, which is part of Russia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is heading to France and the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi, said Wednesday that she has been briefing both candidates on the conflict. Watch President Bush declare 'America's unwavering support' for Georgia » . When the crisis began last week, McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was out front in condemning the Russia actions and calling for a cease-fire. "Today, we are all Georgians," McCain said Tuesday. Watch McCain declare 'we are all Georgians' » . When the crisis broke out last week, the Obama camp called "for all sides to show restraint and to stop this armed conflict," echoing the statements from the White House and the European Union. As Russia planes bombed Georgian cities and Russian troops advanced into Georgia, Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, condemned Russia's actions and called for a cease-fire. Watch Obama condemn Russia's actions » . McCain said Wednesday that the crisis was not the time for partisan attacks. "I know the people of Georgia have enjoyed an unprecedented period of prosperity and freedom. And I know that at this time they're suffering mightily," the Arizona Republican said. "So maybe later on in the campaign, let's have a back-and-forth about who has comments or statements. Now, let's devote all our energy to helping resolve a situation which is fraught with human tragedy." But, despite McCain comments, the crisis in Georgia has dominated the political debate between the two candidates' campaigns in recent days. On Tuesday, Randy Scheunemann, McCain's top foreign policy adviser, attacked the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's response to the situation in Georgia, saying his experience with the region amounted to a handful of paper statements. On the other hand, McCain's experience with Georgia runs deep, Scheunemann said, noting that McCain and the Georgian president were friends. "There's a depth of knowledge, a breadth of knowledge and an extent of historical experience that doesn't compare between the two on Russia policy," Scheunemann said. "You can't compare a 15-year historical record to three or four statements over the course of 15 months." But Susan Rice, Obama's senior foreign policy adviser, said Tuesday that McCain's comments condemning Russia "may or may not have complicated the situation." "We cannot shoot from the hip," Rice told MSNBC on Tuesday. "We cannot act on the basis of ideology or preconceived notions. When this crisis began, Barack Obama, the administration ... and all of our NATO allies took a measured and reasoned approach because we were dealing with the facts as we knew them." McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Wednesday that his campaign was disappointed that Rice had launched "inflammatory and baseless" political attacks "during an international crisis when bipartisanship is needed most." In response, Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Obama, said it was "the absolute height of hypocrisy" for the McCain campaign to "play the victim" after attacking Obama's "strong and appropriate" position on Georgia. Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst, said McCain could use the situation in Georgia to highlight one his inherent advantages over Obama: his experience. But McCain's strong position in defiance of Russia also has risks, Schneider said. "Some voters may worry: Does he want to start a new Cold War? The risk for McCain is that he could overplay the issue and frighten war-weary voters whose priorities right now lie closer to home," Schneider said. CNN's Peter Hamby contributed to this report. | Russia's participation in WTO, G-8 at risk because of Georgia, McCain says .
McCain says crisis should not be used to score political points .
Obama's response to crisis reveals foreign policy inexperience, McCain aide says .
Obama's top foreign policy aides say McCain willing to "shoot from the hip" |
170,622 | 68dbabbb65aebaa68af80e5f0364f3db028acffb | Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Rebels in Tripoli furiously hunting for signs of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are exploring a network of tunnels and bunkers built beneath his massive compound. CNN's Sara Sidner got a peek at the passageways Friday. She dubbed it "Gadhafi's inner sanctum." The correspondent, who's been covering the battle of Tripoli, walked down steps into a pitch-dark tunnel and used a flashlight to navigate an underworld described as "massive." So far, she said, rebels have cleared about 700 meters of underground passages. The tunnel network is believed to extend all the way to the city's international airport and the Rixos hotel. That's where 33 journalists and two foreign nationals were held for five days by pro-Gadhafi forces. It also is thought to extend to a neighborhood where Gadhafi forces were lobbing shells recently toward the compound after it was taken over by the rebels. The tunnels Sidner saw are wide enough for adults to walk side by side. She spotted a golf cart that can easily fit in the corridors. Sidner also saw a range of other sights as she strolled through the labyrinth: A thick wall, a massive door and a sturdy lock. A charred ceiling, couches and beds where a fire apparently occurred. Pieces of metal and shrapnel. A section where NATO bombs fell and the roof caved in. Another room contained videotapes lined up on a shelf, part of a TV studio where Gadhafi may have recorded messages. "It's set up like a survival bunker," Sidner said in an on-air report. "There is literally a city under here." | CNN's Sara Sidner sees another world in a tunnel below Tripoli .
Gadhafi may have recorded his taped messages in a studio there .
Rebels are methodically searching through the winding passages . |
233,239 | b9f4945ee2e2d4e9e2da48011a9fcfe568a3ad47 | Ronny Deila is in the mood for a Celtic Park party — after challenging his players to prove they belong in the Champions League. Celtic stand just one strong performance away from reaching the group stages of Europe’s elite club competition, as they take a 1-1 away draw into the return leg of Tuesday's play-off with NK Maribor. Delia knows the reprieve Celtic were handed after being trounced by Legia Warsaw in the previous qualifying round, with Scotland’s champions awarded a 3-0 home win after the Poles fielded an ineligible player as a late substitute, has caused some to question whether they deserve this crack at the big time. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Leigh Griffiths leads back-heel keepy ups in Celtic training . Away to go: Callum McGregor celebrates Celtic's crucial away goal in Slovenia giving them a good chance . But he insists that seeing off their Slovenian opponents will silence all doubters – and send him into a festive season frenzy before August is out. ‘It is Christmas Day and Happy New Year at the same time, if we can do it,’ said Deila. ‘It would be fantastic, it’s my dream to do it, to coach a team in the biggest tournament in football, at the highest level. I get goose bumps when I think of it, it’s fantastic. I’m really looking forward to it. ‘Of course it is the most important night of this season. The biggest. I can’t wait. ‘It’s been a long 10 weeks of hard work, ups and downs. Now we’re here at the final moment, the moment of decision. We have to go out and attack the game. ‘If we go through, we will have shown we belong in the Champions League – because we’ve been good enough to qualify. That is the main thing. ‘I’ll say it again, Legia Warsaw were a better team than us. But things happened and now we have an opportunity in the play-off. Maribor is there and, if we beat them, we have shown we can be in the Champions League. If we don’t beat them then we say: “Okay, we’re not good enough.” Final task: A win against Maribor on Tuesday night at Celtic Park would seal Champions League qualification . ‘That’s where we are now. But let’s give everything and see where it takes us. We can look on this night and see where we are. ‘If we can qualify it wouldn’t mean any less to us because of what happened with Legia Warsaw. As I have said before, it was out of our hands. We got another opportunity to prove we are good enough.’ Deila insisted that pending deals to bring in Wakaso Mubarak and – most probably – Stefan Scepovic were not dependent on securing a spot in the world’s most lucrative club competition. ‘Transfers happen step by step,’ he said. ‘I am comfortable with what I have going into this game. I look at the players and the atmosphere with the group is good. They are the ones who have to do it and I really believe in them.’ Handed a second chance: The substitute appearance of Bartosz Beresynski (right) kept Celitc alive . That said, progression tonight may hold the key to whether Celtic can retain Virgil van Dijk. Sevilla are back in the hunt for the Dutch centre-half after having agreed a deal to sell central defender Federico Fazio to Spurs for around £8million. Their first-choice replacement is Juventus and Italy stopper Angelo Ogbonna but negotiations on a fee have stalled as the Italian champions want in excess of £13m. With the transfer window closing on Monday, they have had to look closely at alternatives and sources in Spain have placed van Dijk high up on the list. Much, of course, could depend on the outcome of tonight’s match. Should Celtic not make it past the Slovenian champions, there will be a temptation to cash in on van Dijk, a player they value at more than £6m. While Celtic continue to work at bringing players in, striker Amido Balde was last night the subject of a loan offer from former club Vitoria Guimares – clearing more space in the squad for a new front man. Hanging: The future of Virgil van Dijk is in the balance with Sevilla interested in buying the Celtic defender . | Celtic face Maribor on Tuesday night for a place in Champions League .
A win will see Ronny Deila's side through after 1-1 draw in Slovenia .
Celtic reinstated in the competition after Legia Warsaw controversy .
Deila says it would be a dream come true to reach Champions League . |
3,490 | 0a19bd7d8f82574e12072e83d3fa0cb5527235fc | By . Sunni Upal for MailOnline . Follow @@RSUpal . Jordan Henderson's father Brian has revealed that he kept his battle with cancer a secret to avoid it affecting the Liverpool midfielder's performance on the pitch. Brian Henderson was diagnosed with the illness last November, but didn't reveal the news to his son until earlier this year, just before he had surgery on his tongue and throat. Brian is now on the road to recovery after having his cancer removed, and he told his son Jordan to make him proud with his performances for Liverpool. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Jordan Henderson's outrageous back heel assist . Secret: Brian Henderson did not reveal his cancer battle to son Jordan to avoid it affecting his performances . Praise: Brian also informed Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers of his illness and said the club were 'amazing' Energetic: Henderson helped Liverpool to second . The 59-year-old retired police officer, who is due to speak at a Sunderland conference for cancer survivors about his experience, also informed Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers about his illness. He said: 'It was a very emotional time when I had to break the news to the family. 'I went to speak to Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool who was very understanding. He gave Jordan time off, and the people at Liverpool were amazing. 'They were very understanding and gave him a lot of support. 'I said to Jordan that the best thing he could do for me when he got back to playing was try to get man of the match in every game. 'People didn't realise the pressure he was under. I was so proud of him.' Henderson's energetic performances helped Liverpool to within two points of their Premier League title last season. The 24-year-old earned a place in Roy Hodgson's England World Cup squad, but his dad Brian was unable to travel to see him play due to his illness. Off and running: Henderson provided an assist for Raheem Sterling in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Southampton . VIDEO New signings excellent - Rogers . | Brian Henderson was diagnosed with illness in November last year .
He only told son Jordan the news earlier this year just before surgery .
Brian told Jordan to make him proud with his performances on the pitch .
'People at Liverpool were amazing', said Brian after telling Brendan Rodgers . |
98,220 | 0a74192cf0ea41514adfdab2a484985fa9107ec1 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The man who revealed that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA said that he was "extraordinarily foolish" to leak her name. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was a source of the CIA leak to columnist Robert Novak. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview broadcast Sunday that he did not realize Plame was a covert agent when he discussed her with syndicated columnist Robert Novak. Novak, a former CNN contributor, wrote the July 2003 column in which Plame was named as a CIA employee. He later cited his sources as Armitage and Karl Rove, then President Bush's top political adviser. Armitage said he had seen a memo that said Plame was publicly chairing a meeting, so he assumed her CIA employment was not a secret. "There was no ill intent on my part, and I had never seen, ever in 43 years of having a security clearance, a covert operative's name in a memo," he said. Watch Armitage explain why he leaked Plame's name » . Blitzer asked Armitage if he "simply assumed that she was not a clandestine officer of the CIA." "Well, even Mr. Novak has said that he used the word 'operative' and misused it," Armitage said. "No one ever said 'operative.' And I not only assumed it, as I say, I have never seen a covert agent's name in a memo. However, that doesn't take away from what Mrs. Plame said. It was foolish, yes." Rove, who left the White House in August, has denied he was also a source of the leak to Novak. Plame's identity was disclosed shortly after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, challenged one of the chief claims underpinning the Bush administration's case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq -- that Iraq had sought uranium for nuclear weapons from the African country of Niger. In an op-ed piece for The New York Times, Wilson wrote that he had investigated the claim at the request of CIA officials and found it "highly doubtful" that any such transaction could have occurred, and he accused the Bush administration of having "twisted" the evidence for war. Neither Armitage nor Rove was charged with a crime in the leak. Wilson and Plame have accused Rove and other Bush officials of leaking her identity as a CIA officer in retaliation for her husband's emergence as an administration critic. A federal judge in Washington recently dismissed a lawsuit by the couple against Rove, Armitage, Vice President Dick Cheney and Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby was convicted of obstructing justice and perjury in the probe and sentenced to 30 months in prison, but Bush commuted his term before he had served any time. E-mail to a friend . | Richard Armitage says he had "no ill intent" when he revealed CIA agent's name .
Armitage revealed Valerie Plame's identity to columnist Robert Novak .
Former State Department official says he didn't know Plame was covert agent .
Plame's husband -- Joseph Wilson -- was critical of Bush administration's Iraq policy . |
149,613 | 4d73942154b691adaa8636fb0812ceef1446436b | Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said he had no plans to jump ship after his side dropped down to last place in the Bundesliga following their 2-0 defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. It is the first time since 2007-8 that Dortmund, Bundesliga champions in 2011 and both league and German Cup winners in 2012, have been in bottom place but Klopp, who also led the club to the Champions League final only 18 months ago, said they were ready to pick themselves up again. Asked if he had any thoughts of leaving, Klopp told Sky Sports: 'I can understand journalists thinking about something like that but there is no such trend (within the club). I see myself as being responsible.' VIDEO Scroll down for Sportsmail's Big Match Stats: Frankfurt 2-0 Borussia Dortmund . Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp comforts Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after his side’s loss to Frankfurt . Frankfurt's Alexander Meier celebrates after scoring in the fifth minute against Borussia Dortmund . Frankfurt's Haris Seferovic (left) makes it 2-0 in the 78th minute to consign Dortmund to another loss . 'If it is only about luck and a change in coach can bring that, then call me up and I will make way. “But as long as nobody comes and says ‘we have someone who makes it better’ then I cannot go. I am not in the way but I cannot go before there is a better solution. This is a big responsibility and I accept it.” Dortmund, who have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stage, have now lost eight of their 13 league games this season. The Borussia Dortmund team face their supporters following their 2-0 away loss to Frankfurt . With a leaky defence, a lack of goals and a string of injuries, including Marco Reus and defenders Mats Hummels and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Dortmund have won just one of their last 10 Bundesliga games and have accumulated only 11 points. 'We wanted dramatically to improve our situation today but we did not do it,' said Klopp. 'But we will keep on working at it.' Eintracht pounced on a Dortmund defensive error with Alexander Meier drilling in after five minutes. Another even bigger defensive mix-up between Matthias Ginter and keeper Roman Weidenfeller allowed Haris Seferovic to add another late on. Arsene Wenger greets Jurgen Klopp before the Gunners' contest with Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates . In between, Dortmund missed more than half a dozen clear scoring chances, dominating the game for most of the time. 'We suffered an early setback and that was painful. You could see it and feel it,' Klopp said. 'Now we face a major challenge.' | Borussia Dortmound lost 2-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday evening .
Dortmund have now lost eight of their 13 league games this season .
Klopp's side remain bottom of the Bundesliga .
Dortmund have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages . |
6,188 | 1182a87328e3d4966f9cfb9543073f697f018551 | (CNN) -- How many people can play the same video game? Not in the same video game, mind you, but play the exact same game at once? With the help of a social-media robot, more than 80,000 people are currently trying. A version of "Pokemon Red/Blue," a 1990s game for Nintendo's Game Boy, has been streaming on Twitch.tv, an online video platform devoted to gaming, for the past five days. A user known only by the gamer tag "TwitchPlaysPokemon" set up the "social experiment" to accept chat commands as the equivalent of button pushes. You know, typing "up" moves your character up, "down" moves him down and whatnot. Except that tens of thousands of other people are doing the same thing at the same time. The resulting movements of the main character have been spastic, to say the least. Although the horde managed some success in the first few days, capturing several of those elusive Pokemon, the sheer number of people now tapping commands into Twitch's chat window is causing the game's main character, Red, to wander back and forth over the same spot, bang into walls and check his inventory with neurotic frequency. The page has been viewed more than 10.6 million times, with the number of active users peaking at about 81,000. "This is one more example of how video games have become a platform for entertainment and creativity that extends way beyond the original intent of the game creator," said Matthew DiPietro, vice president of marketing for Twitch. "By merging a video game, live video and a participatory experience, the broadcaster has created an entertainment hybrid custom made for the Twitch community." The modified game's creator, whose real identity is unknown at this point, has implemented some features to cut down on trolling and help with coordination. The "start" command has been disabled, after people started spamming it into the chat, and the game now has "Anarchy" and "Democracy" modes that players can select via a virtual voice vote. "Anarchy" is essentially the experiment's original form, in which everyone's command is applied immediately. In "Democracy," players are allowed to vote on their character's next move. It takes a vote from 75% of the players to switch modes, though. And you can imagine how easy that is. Fans of the game have created their own subreddit, Twitch Plays Pokemon fan art, progress tracking via a Google document and a Twitter feed. Twitch.tv hopes this inspires others to transform gaming into entertainment. "I didn't really have any plans for it from the beginning," the creator said in an e-mail to gaming site Polygon. "I just wanted to put it up to see how people would respond. I put it together and put it up on a dedicated server all within a few days." He, or she, has been keeping track of players' progress, or lack thereof, and says it would be considered a win if they masses defeat the game's Elite Four -- opponents who need to be bested before a final confrontation. "But I have my doubts about it being possible without much better coordination," TwitchPlaysPokemon wrote. | "Twitch Plays Pokemon" has drawn tens of thousands of followers .
Game lets crowd control an old Game Boy game through chat commands .
"Social experiment" has spawned Reddit blog, fan art, Twitter feed .
Its creator isn't optimistic about success . |
39,687 | 7010036dd3b171807e428f2d1c03bcc20b3b932f | (CNN) -- Manchester United manager David Moyes says he and his slumping team are "desperate" to turn things around -- and hopes the reversal of fortune begins in the Champions League. The defending Premier League champion didn't lose any ground in the title race -- although repeating was already looking unlikely -- but the Red Devils did slip 12 points behind a Champions League spot after the most recent round of games last weekend. And United wasn't just beaten on Sunday. It was outclassed by arch-rival Liverpool at Old Trafford, 3-0. While Liverpool routinely threatened thanks to the likes of in-form pair Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, United's high-profile duo of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie were never a problem for the Reds' sometimes shaky defense. With Liverpool controlling the midfield, United struggled to gain a foothold and managed just one shot on target. "The players are capable of turning it around," Moyes was quoted as saying by Manchester United's website. "We're all desperate to put things right and make sure we play better to give the supporters here something to shout about." The manner of the defeat piled more pressure on Moyes, who is in his first season at the helm at Manchester United after replacing managerial great Alex Ferguson. Former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen said Moyes is "fighting for his future" and that if United exited the Champions League against Olympiacos and then lost to Manchester City in the league, "there will be serious doubts over whether Moyes can continue." According to British bookmaker William Hill, Moyes is the joint third favorite -- behind West Bromwich Albion's Pepe Mel and Norwich's Chris Hughton -- to become the next Premier League manager to depart. West Bromwich Albion and Norwich are struggling near the relegation zone although West Brom won Saturday at Swansea. Manchester United faces an uphill battle to reach the last eight of this season's Champions League after a 2-0 reverse in Greece: Only once has the team lost a first leg in the competition and advanced -- in 2006/2007 against Roma. But Olympiacos has lost all 11 of its previous encounters in England and United has won all of its home games versus Greek opposition. Given United's position in the Premier League, winning the Champions League might be its most feasible path to appearing in next season's competition. United last failed to compete in the Champions League in 1995/1996. "We have to go for the throat to get the win," said Moyes. "We won't be gung-ho but we will certainly go with a mindset to overhaul the deficit as quickly as we can. "We won't be reckless as we could find ourselves with a bigger mountain to climb but we can be forceful. We have to be if we're to keep ourselves in the Champions League." United midfielder Juan Mata, bought in the January transfer window for a club record $61 million, said United's pedigree in Europe -- it has amassed three titles in Europe's top club competition while Olympiacos has yet to make the semifinals -- could be a factor. "Everything went bad (against Liverpool)," Mata wrote in his blog. "It was a tough defeat and I want to tell you that we will give everything we have in order to forget about this in the remaining games. And there is a very important one around the corner. "We know the history of this club and its achievements, based on a winning spirit. That is what we need to beat Olympiacos and get through in the Champions League. "The storm will pass and the sun will rise again," the cup-tied Spaniard also said. "I have no doubt. Besides, no one said this would be easy." | David Moyes says his slumping team is "desperate" to turn things around .
Man United's loss to Liverpool leaves the club 12 points behind a Champions League spot .
United must also overturn a 2-0 deficit against Olympiakos to advance in Europe .
United has never lost a home game to Greek opposition in the Champions League . |
258,309 | da5627fbb33717921d8b2eb390938bb12e10fa6b | (CNN) -- A small plane with four people aboard crashed Monday in a residential neighborhood of Las Vegas, Nevada, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said. The conditions of the four passengers were not immediately known. The single-engine Piper Cherokee was unable to gain altitude after taking off from Henderson Executive Airport, just south of Las Vegas, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told CNN. The pilot tried to return to the airport, but crashed on a street in a neighborhood about two miles northwest of Henderson, Gregor said. The plane hit a few cars upon crashing, according to Stacey Welling, a spokeswoman for Clark County. The crash occurred about 8:15 a.m. (11:15 a.m. ET). The plane is registered to a Louisiana resident, but the identities of those aboard were not released. Investigators from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive at the scene later Monday, Gregor said. | Four people were aboard the plane; their conditions are unknown .
The plane was unable to gain altitude after takeoff .
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash . |
261,804 | df10d1dad99a3def1e359bd6eb2a0496615ba139 | A jobless father is demanding a bigger home after he and his wife had seven children in a council house with just two bedrooms. David Stewart, 38, and his wife Lisa, 29, whose youngsters are all under seven, claim the cramped conditions are unhealthy for their young family. Solomon, six, Clementine, five, Donald, four, Katy-Anne, three, twins Joshua and Sophie, two, and three-month-old baby April are 'crammed in like sardines' and making them depressed, Mr Stewart says. Their home has three bedrooms, but one is filled with furniture bought by the family in case they move somewhere larger. Big family: David and Lisa Stewart and their seven children aged from three months to six years share just two bedrooms in their home in Alness in the Scottish Highlands . At home: Mrs Stewart and her children, who says they have tried to get a larger home from the council but say they have been put to the back of the queue . The Stewarts' children sleep four to a room, or share with their parents. Mr Stewart has accused his local council in the Highlands of losing his application form for a new house exchange twice and prioritising new families in the area. Mr Stewart said his family's sleeping arrangements are causing stress and has called for more space for his children . Mr Stewart said he and his wife fear for the health of their children living in such crowded conditions. 'I . put in for an exchange five years ago but I knew these things took time . and was prepared to be patient. 'Later I put . in a second application, widening the geographic area, because I felt . it might increase our chances if we were willing to be housed in other . places. 'Then I heard of a four-bedroom house becoming available . locally and I went to the council to ask if I could be considered for . it. I was shocked to be told they didn’t even have an application from . me. 'They said it must have gone astray in the post, but I didn’t . understand how that could happen twice. Crowded: Four of the Stewart children share a bedroom, and the other three sleep with in their parent's bedroom . Closed door: Mr Stewart accused Highland Council of ignoring their housing requests and prioritising families who have just moved to their area . 'It’s now five years since I . put the first application in and in that time I have seen many other . families moving into Milnafua, some from abroad, and getting houses very . quickly. 'Because we are so cramped - one of the bedrooms is used . for storage - there are nine of us sleeping in two bedrooms. We’re like . sardines. 'There are four kids in one room and three share a . bedroom with myself and my wife. “I suffer from chronic back . problems for which I take several medications and I can’t always manage . the stairs. As there isn’t a downstairs bedroom, I often have to sleep . on the sofa. “It’s making me and my wife extremely depressed and the . health visitor has told us it’s not healthy for the kids either. We’re . very worried about them. It is so unfair.” A Highland Council spokeswoman said: 'While we are aware of the Stewart family’s concerns, we cannot discuss . these with third parties but can confirm that we are liaising with the . family.' | David and Lisa Stewart have seven children all aged under seven .
They say they can't understand why the local council won't rehouse them .
'It’s making me and my wife extremely depressed and it’s not healthy for the kids either', Mr Stewart says .
House has a third bedroom, but is filled with furniture in case they move . |
98,507 | 0ad8e5db7e94b7ed2b2dcb82345a665f7d876978 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Updated: . 11:06 EST, 13 October 2011 . Would-be time travellers could soon own their very own piece of film history - as the DeLorean car used in Back to the Future III goes under the hammer. The vehicle, used by Michael J Fox's character Marty McFly to travel from 1955 to the Wild West of 1885, is expected to fetch at least $600,000 when it is auctioned off in Hollywood. Only three of the seven DeLoreans used in the trilogy survive. For sale: The Delorean, used by Michael J Fox's character Marty McFly to travel from 1955 to the Wild West of 1885, is expected to fetch at least $600,000 when it is auctioned . Fans with slightly less cash to burn could be tempted by a $20,000 hoverboard, the flying skateboard used by Marty, in the second instalment of the film. Also on sale are Marty's jacket and the shirt worn by his crackpot mentor, Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd. The Delorean is currently in private hands and for 10 years was parked in an area of Universal Studios reserved for old props. It features a high-performance engine, roll bars and a switch on the dashboard that allows the rear tyres to spin while the car stays in place. Profiles in History, the auctioneer, said part of the proceeds would go to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Fox has Parkinson's disease. Marilyn Monroe's wedding ring from Joe DiMaggio and a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz will also be auctioned between December 15 and 17. Stars: Michael J Fox (left) on a hoverboard expected to sell for $20,000 at auction. A shirt worn by Christopher Lloyd (right), who also starred in the Back to the Future trilogy, is also going under the hammer . | Marty McFly's hoverboard expected to sell for $20,000 .
Marilyn Monroe's wedding ring from Joe DiMaggio also for sale . |
223,363 | ad2a8d064a5cd172919af94a7ba47f5fe40050d2 | Former Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi has caused a racism storm by claiming there are 'too many black players' in the country. 'I'm certainly not racist and my history as a coach proves that, starting from [Frank] Rijkaard,' Sacchi is quoted as saying in Tuttosport. 'But looking at the Viareggio tournament [a global youth tournament held annually in Tuscany] I feel like saying that there are too many black players, even in the youth teams. Former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi (pictured in 2009) claims that Italy is losing its identity . Sacchi (pictured with Michel Platini) also says that there are too many black players, even in youth teams . Kevin Prince Boateng was subject to racist taunts during a friendly in 2013 - and wore this jersey soon after . Boateng leaves the pitch during an AC Milan friendly against Pro Patria . 'Italy has no dignity, no pride. It's not possible that our teams should have 15 foreign players in the squad.' Sacchi later tried to clarify his remarks, saying: 'I've been misinterpreted, you think I'm really racist? 'All I said was I saw a game featuring a team who fielded four coloured players. 'My history speaks for itself, I've always coached teams with great players from every colour and I've brought in a lot, whether to Milan or Madrid. 'I only wanted to underline that we are losing our national pride and identity.' Sacchi was a hugely successful coach with AC Milan, winning the European Cup twice . 1985-1987 Parma . (Serie C1 title 1986) 1987-1991 Milan . (Serie A 1987-88; European Cup 1989, 1990; European Super Cup 1989, 1990; Intercontinental Cup 1989, 1990) 1991-1996 Italy . (World Cup runners-up 1994) 1996-1997 Milan . 1998-1999 Atletico Madrid . 2001 Parma . 2004-2005 Real Madrid (Director of Football) Former AC Milan boss Sacchi, 68, is widely credited with bringing 'Total Football' to Serie A, and made the comments at a ceremony for the Maestrelli prizes in Pistoia. Sacchi's last role in the game came as director of football at Real Madrid 10 years ago. Sacchi had two spells with Milan, and was praised for his contribution during his first stint in charge between 1987 and 1991. The Italian won seven trophies at the San Siro, including two European Cups and a Serie A title. He later coached the Italy national team between 1991 and 1996, leading them to the final of the World Cup in 1994, before taking charge of Atletico Madrid and Parma later in his career. Mario Balotelli, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Kevin Constant are just some of the players who have been subject to racist abuse from fans over the years in Serie A. Sacchi poses with Carlo Ancelotti (c) and Antonio Contre (r) at a ceremony in Florence last month . | Arrigo Sacchi reportedly made comments at ceremony in Pistoia .
Former AC Milan coach says Italy is losing its identity and pride .
Also claims that Italian youth teams feature too many black players .
Kevin Prince Boateng stormed off the pitch after being subject to racist taunts during AC Milan friendly with Pro Patria back in 2013 . |
203,590 | 938e3c84f13ad588e9e95ded9541da2ef61b05b5 | A thug who bit a Tesco worker's hand and fought with staff after jumping the queue during 'Black Friday' sales has been jailed for four months. Michael Anthony Dowd, 28, pleaded guilty after threatening to smash a female assistant's face in and then turning to punch a male member of staff. He was wrestled to the ground, but continued to kick out and then bit the hand of one of the staff members who kept him restrained until police arrived at the store in Salford, Greater Manchester. The 22-year-old had previous convictions for violence in 2012 and 2013 and was described as 'not quite right' by Tesco staff who restrained him at the sore in Fairhills, Irlam. Michael Anthony Dowd, 28, pleaded guilty after threatening to smash a female assistant's face in and then turning to punch a male member of staff . Dowd repeatedly claimed he had no recollection of what he had done and the Manchester Magistrates Court heard he had been intoxicated during the incident on November 28 last year. He pleaded guilty to assault and using threatening or abusive words and behaviour at an earlier hearing. Defence attorney Abigail Henry told the court her client had been drunk at the time of the incident and had since referred himself for help for his alcohol abuse. But District Judge Mark Hadfield told Dowd he had no option but to jail him because he had broken the terms of two previous suspended sentences for violence in the last three years. He was wrestled to the ground, but continued to kick out at the store in Salford, Greater Manchester . Stores across Britain were left looking like battlefields as shoppers fought to get the best bargains, pictured two women fighting over a discount TV . Sentencing Dowd to 16 weeks in prison, he told him: 'You were spoken to because a member of staff thought you were trying to queue jump. 'You responded in a manner wholly unacceptable. When a member of staff tried to intervene he was punched for his trouble. 'You have previous convictions for violent offences with suspended sentences in 2012 and 2013 and you breached both these offences.' Stores across Britain were left looking like battlefields as shoppers fought to get the best bargains on Black Friday - the busiest shopping day of the year. One Tesco branch in Manchester had to be closed just 36 minutes after opening due to fighting. Two other customers were arrested for public order offences by officers in Manchester, who dealt with some of the worst scenes of violence on the biggest day of discount shopping in the year. There were also reports of staff being left in tears in Cardiff, while another female staff member was apparently given a black eye following a melee in Stretford. Black Friday which fell on November 28 last year was the busiest shopping day in Britain last year . | Michael Anthony Dowd threatened to smash a female assistant's face in .
He punched a male worker in the face and bit another staff member's hand .
Dowd jumped queue for Black Friday sales on the busiest shopping day .
The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to assault and using threatening words .
He has been jailed for four months due to two previous convictions . |
180,212 | 7556027f742ee5d238ccb1a07a432b7b84a6ceaa | The fate of three U.S. citizens who have disappeared or been imprisoned in Iran was discussed during Friday's historic conversation between the two nations' presidents, a senior U.S. administration official said. U.S. President Barack Obama, during his phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, "noted our concern about three American citizens who have been held within Iran -- Robert Levinson, Saeed Abedini, and Amir Hekmati -- and noted our interest in seeing those Americans reunited with their families," the official said. Two of the Americans have been tried and convicted in Iranian courts, and the whereabouts of another have been unknown for more than six years. Here are the most recent developments in the stories of the detained U.S. citizens: . Bob LevinsonThe family of Levinson, a retired FBI agent, has been anxiously waiting for news, any news, about his fate since he vanished during a business trip to Iran in March 2007. When Rouhani, Iran's new president, arrived in New York, Levinson's wife and children were watching closely for a sign that efforts to find Levinson might move forward. During an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Rouhani offered little when asked what he can tell Levinson's family. "We don't know where he is, who he is," Rouhani said. "He is an American who has disappeared. We have no news of him." Yet, like former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Rouhani spoke of cooperation. "We are willing to help, and all the intelligence services in the region can come together to gather information about him to find his whereabouts," Rouhani told Amanpour. "And we're willing to cooperate on that." The State Department has said Levinson is believed to be held in southwest Asia. "We have every reason to believe that he's alive and that the Iranians control his fate," a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN, a departure from last year when the same source described Levinson as "alive and well." Questions about his health also remain unanswered. Levinson suffers from diabetes. Levinson's family said Rouhani's comments, while not directly acknowledging information about Levinson, "are consistent with the commitments made in the past, and [they hope] those promises turn into results." Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the State Department said Rouhani's comments about cooperation were welcome. "We look forward to hearing more specifics on how Iran can help in reuniting Mr. Levinson with his family in the United States as soon as possible." Both the State Department and Levinson's family deny he was working for the government when he disappeared. The family says Levinson was there on private business investigating cigarette smuggling. In January, the family released so-called "proof of life photos" they received a few years ago. The photos show him with long, unkempt hair and wearing an orange shirt. He is holding signs written in poor English, including one that reads. " Why you can not help me?" An FBI task force meets regularly to assess Levinson's case. "The FBI remains committed to doing all we can to bring Bob Levinson home safely to his family," a statement reads. This summer, the FBI began publishing ads in Farsi publications in Los Angeles and Washington, which have large Iranian-American populations, requesting any information about Levinson, to raise awareness, and advertising a $1 million reward announced by former FBI Director Robert Mueller in 2012. In November, Levinson will become one of the longest-held Americans in history passing the 2,454 days Terry Anderson spent in captivity before being freed by Islamic militants in Lebanon in 1991. Saeed Abedini . In a news release Friday from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, was quoted as saying she was "very grateful to President Obama for standing up for Saeed and for the other Americans who are held captive in Iran." "I urge President Rouhani, as I have done throughout this week, to release Saeed so he can return to our home and our family in the United States." The ACLJ is a conservative Christian law firm and advocacy group founded by television evangelist Pat Robertson. It has campaigned widely for Abedini's release. Abedini, a Christian pastor, was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this year, accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government. At the time he was convicted, his wife said Abedini had been arrested by Iranian authorities nearly 10 times before, and had agreed during one detention to stop supporting Christian home churches, and had subsequently taken nine trips to the Islamic republic before he was arrested again in July 2012. Amir Hekmati . Hekmati, a 29-year-old former U.S. Marine, has been jailed in Iran since 2011 and accused of being a CIA spy. Earlier this month, he said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that a confession he made nearly two years ago came under duress. Born in Arizona and raised in Nebraska before settling with his family in Flint, Michigan, Hekmati joined the Marines in 2001 out of high school. He finished his service four years later as a decorated combat veteran with tours in Iraq. Afterward, he translated Arabic as a contractor and helped train troops in cultural sensitivity. Hekmati's family said he had gone to Iran to visit his grandmother but was arrested in August 2011, accused by Iran's Intelligence Ministry of working as a CIA agent. In December 2011, Hekmati appeared on Iranian state television maintaining that he had been sent to Iran by the CIA, but in his letter to Kerry, published on September 11 in the Guardian, he said he had been held "on false charges based solely on confessions obtained by force, threats, miserable prison conditions, and prolonged periods of solitary confinement." "This is part of a propaganda and hostage taking effort by Iranian intelligence to secure the release of Iranians abroad being held on security-related charges," Hekmati's letter stated. The Guardian reported that the letter had been smuggled out of jail. Hekmati's family vouched for the letter's authenticity to CNN. | Presidents Obama and Rouhani discussed three Americans, administration official says .
Obama "noted our interest in seeing those Americans reunited with their families," official says .
Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati are serving prison terms .
Bob Levinson's whereabouts have not been known since he vanished in Iran in March 2007 . |
45,497 | 8034e868d2cbf975af43abee87ce0cb2b59a68db | By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . Super bugs from Earth could soon hitch a ride into space, arrive on the red planet and trick scientists into thinking they are Martians. This is according to Nasa researcher, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran, who has expressed serious concern that microbes may beat humans in the race to colonise Mars. Dr Venkateswaran highlights recent research that shows some bugs are more resilient than first thought and could use protective mechanisms to survive deep space flights. In a simulated Martian environment some spores in the study were able to survive at 1.5 years - and some had become even hardier than when they arrived. Pictured is a close up of of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores on aluminum before (left) and after (right) exposure to space conditions . Currently, spacecraft landing on Mars or other planets where life might exist must meet requirements for a maximum allowable level of microbial life. These acceptable levels were based on studies of how various life forms survive exposure to the challenges associated with space travel. ‘If you are able to reduce the numbers to acceptable levels, a proxy for cleanliness, the assumption is that the life forms will not survive under harsh space conditions,’ Dr Venkateswaran said. However, spores of Bacillus pumilus have shown high resistance to techniques used to clean spacecraft, such as ultraviolet radiation and peroxide treatment. Bacillus pumilus is a a rod-shaped bacteria that, on Earth, resides in soils and the root area of some plants. In one study, Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores were exposed for 18 months on the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). Pictured is the EuTEF attached to the Columbus module of the International Space Station during orbital flight . Nasa chiefs have said that sending a manned mission to Mars is 'necessary if the human race is to survive'. But the huge amounts of chemical rocket fuel needed to complete such a mission would require deep pockets – the launch costs alone would be more than $12 billion (£7 billion). Added to this is the time it takes. The space agency estimates that a round-trip human expedition to Mars would take more than four years using current technology. Rocket-powered fusion, however, could one day allow 30- and 90-day expeditions to Mars by making the trip more practical and less costly, experts claim. Scientists envision using a nuclear reactor to heat hydrogen to very high temperatures, which will then expand through a spacecraft’s nozzle to generate thrust. Recent advances in manipulating nuclear fusion could means that astronauts are now a step closer to our nearest planetary neighbour. When researchers exposed this hardy organism to a simulated Mars environment that kills standard spores in 30 seconds, it survived 30 minutes. For another study, Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores were exposed for 18 months on the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). ‘After testing exposure to the simulated Mars environment, we wanted to see what would happen in real space and EuTEF gave us the chance,’ Dr Venkateswaran said.‘To our surprise, some of the spores survived for 18 months.’ These surviving spores had higher concentrations of proteins associated with UV radiation resistance and, in fact, showed elevated UV resistance when re-exposed on Earth. The findings could provide an insight into how super bugs are able to survive in extremely hostile regions on Earth and how these microbes are affected by radiation. In another investigation, other spore-forming bacteria Bacillus subtilis were dried on pieces of spacecraft-quality aluminum and subjected for 1.5 years to the vacuum of space, cosmic and extra-terrestrial solar radiation and temperature fluctuations. Most of the organisms exposed to solar UV radiation in space and in the Mars spectrum were killed, but when UV rays were filtered out and samples were kept in the dark, about 50 per cent or more of those subjected to other space- and Mars-like conditions survived. After the study, Bacillus pumilus bacteria spores had higher concentrations of proteins associated with UV radiation resistance and, in fact, showed elevated UV resistance when re-exposed on Earth . A third study placed rock-colonising cellular organisms in the EuTEF facility for 1.5 years, further testing a theory of how organisms might move from one planet to another, known as lithopanspermia. In this scenario, rocks ejected from a planet by impact with, say, a meteor, carried organisms on their surface through space and then landed on another planet, bringing that life with them. For this investigation, researchers selected organisms especially adapted to cope with the environmental extremes of their natural habitats on Earth, and found that some are also able to survive in the even more hostile environment of outer space. The findings will also help prevent scientists from incorrectly identifying an organism that hitchhiked on the exploring spacecraft as a native of the planet, when in fact it was an invader. The findings could help prevent scientists from incorrectly identifying an organism that hitchhiked on the exploring spacecraft as a native of the red planet, when in fact it was an invader . | Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran says bugs are more resilient than first thought .
Spores of Bacillus pumilus have shown high resistance to techniques used to clean spacecraft, such as ultraviolet radiation and peroxide treatment .
When researchers exposed this hardy organism to a simulated Mars environment that kills standard spores in 30 seconds, it survived 30 mins .
Two other studies have shown that bugs could survive deep space flight . |
267,033 | e5e1231ef9c29c4eb8a4fb7e21847d18eff28917 | By . Kirk Maltais . and Associated Press . Actor Dwayne Johnson, otherwise known as wrestling legend 'The Rock', laid the smackdown on a video posted earlier this week by New Jersey Governor Chris Christies' PR team, demanding that his name and image be removed from the video. The video, entitled 'No Pain. No Gain', was a send-up of movie trailers for summer blockbusters, taking aim at pension reform in New Jersey. It was posted on YouTube on July 15. The title also was reference to 'Pain & Gain', a 2013 movie starring Johnson with Mark Wahlberg. Scroll Down for Video . Dwayne Johnson, otherwise known as 'The Rock' (pictured left) requested to have his image removed from a video posted by the PR team for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The video was a spoof of Johnson's 2013 movie 'Pain & Gain' (pictured right) Jabroni: Christie's video 'No Pain. No Gain.' was a spoof of Summer movie trailers regarding Chrisities' push for pension reform in New Jersey . Johnson soon reacted to being in the . clip, and the video was edited and re-released the next day with . Johnson's name and likeness removed. Despite Johnson being a registered Republican voter, and being friends with members of the GOP, Johnson says that he did not want to be associated with the content of the video. 'I know Gov. Christie. We've met a couple of times,' Johnson said in an interview Friday while promoting his new movie 'Hercules'. 'But in no way was I associated with what he had going on. He had his team of people around him who kind of put that together. I saw it. I was like well, I don't have anything to do with it, so now you've got to pull it down.' Can you smell what The Rock is cookin'? The clip of the Johnson walking away from a huge inferno used by Christies' video . The subtitle listing 'The Rock', making it seem as if Johnson participated in and endorsed Christies' video . The video consisted of dramatized cuts of Christie talking about a looming debt crisis in the state, over a soundtrack designed to mimic a big budget action movie. In the second half of the trailer, explosions are shown, one scene quickly showing Johnson walking away from the carnage. The name 'The Rock' is then shown after Chris Christies' in a series of titles similar to a movie trailer. Christies' office reposted the video the next day, with a tweet stating 'Unfortunately The Rock is on high demand & won't be able to appear in our Summer flick.' Johnson told CBS New York . that he had 'no hard feelings' about his inclusion into the parody . video. However, despite his affiliation with the GOP, he says that he's . friend with politicians on both sides of the aisle. Johnson as Hercules in his new movie. While not wanting to be included in Chrisitie's video, he said that there were 'no hard feelings' between him and the Governor . According to Johnson, in addition to friend in the GOP, both Obama (pictured left) and Clinton (pictured right) are 'good buddies' of his . Tweet from Christies' PR team, which included the edited video omitting The Rock . 'I have good friends who are politicians on both sides," he said in the interview. "Clinton is a good buddy of mine, Obama is a good buddy of mine. A multitude of people who are buddies.' The 42-year-old action star spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2000. Now, he says he's 'more patriotic"' than political. But he won't rule out a future run at elected office, saying he's 'learned never to say never.' Should Johnson choose to jump into politics, he would be following in the footsteps of other Republican actors-turned-elected representatives, such as Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Johnson's 'Hercules' is set to hit theaters July 25. | Johnson, otherwise known as WWE Superstar 'The Rock', requested to be removed from a video released by Christies' PR team .
The video, entitled 'No Pain. No Gain' was a knock-off of the 2013 movie 'Pain & Gain', which starred Johnson .
Johnson, a registered Republican, says that prominent Democrats Obama and Bill Clinton are also his 'good buddies' |
264,548 | e2aa4f02c13efdfacef5d280992c235dff09b756 | Singapore ranks as Asia's most innovative city in Asia-Pacific, according to a new survey by Solidiance, a strategy consulting firm based in the Southeast Asian city-state. Singapore ranks number one for innovation in the Asia-Pacific because "it has made dramatic and perpetual improvements for the past 25 years," said Solidiance, transforming itself from a trading port to high-tech and financial hub. After Singapore, the top five cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Auckland. The report examines six links between what a city has to offer and the amount of talent that relocates to that city: the availability of a skilled talent base; a strong higher education system; the livability of a city and environmental sustainability; technological advancement and government regulations that support financial freedom and global integration. With Singapore, the city has pushed an 'open door policy' welcoming professional talent from around the world. In 2000, 8% of the country's 4 million residents were foreigners. In 2012, the foreign population made up 14% of the city's 5.3 million people. Strong government regulations have provided for a structured and stable environment with which to conduct business, the report said. The World Bank ranked Singapore as the best place to do business in the world for 2013, unchanged from 2012. But to keep its top spot as best Asian city for innovation, Singapore needs to stay open to new ideas, new cultures, and new entrants, adds Solidiance. "Singapore has no other choice; it must adapt, stay opened and lead change if it is to remain relevant in the 21st century," says Damien Duhamel, Managing Partner Asia of Solidiance. Sydney scored highest in the categories of global integration, having a skilled talent base and for its technological advancement. Sydney has been able to attract a wide range of professionals from industrialists to artists and information technology experts, the survey found. Melbourne ranks as the third most innovative city in the Asia-Pacific because of its superiority in the human talent category. Half of the city's population comes from immigrant backgrounds, Solidance notes, and the city supports a "good level" of diversity acceptance. Hong Kong ranks fourth thanks to its technological and regulatory leadership. Solidiance points to the city's tech cluster of Cyberport, envisioned in 1999 and built to help develop Hong Kong's IT industry. However, as reported in local Hong Kong media, critics complain Cyberport has been a failure with office occupancy never reaching full capacity. Hong Kong is also known as one of Asia's most prominent financial hubs thanks to its regulatory framework and lack of corruption. In 2012, the city ranked at number 14 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Hong Kong also has the lowest tax rates in Asia -- 16.5% for corporations -- which attracts business to move and stay in the city. Auckland took the number five spot largely on its ability to attract skilled talent -- and its tolerance for diversity, the report said. The ease of doing business also expatriate to settle in the city. In the category of livability, however, bad infrastructure for public transport is one of the Auckland's largest detractions. | Singapore is Asia-Pacific's most innovative city, says marketing firm Solidiance in a new report .
City innovation report looks at six main categories including talent base, education, livability .
Singapore's foreign talent population jumped from 8% in 2000 to 14% in 2012 .
World Bank ranked Singapore as best place to do business for 2013 . |
244,034 | c7dc702ae40fc033a6c690cde10b154bb3e3022c | From Balenciaga to Chanel, Kim Kardashian has a wardrobe to boot, with designers bending over backwards to dress the star in their creations. While she has the most esteemed designers on speed dial and finally won plaudits in the fashion world - even landing a Vogue cover - one of fashion's most famous faces has revealed that wasn't always the case. Esteemed Givenchy designer, Riccardo Tisci, has revealed that he got 'killed' for dressing Kim before the style tide started to turn. Scroll down for video . Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, who is now a close friend of Kim Kardashian's, has revealed what it was like styling her when no one else would . Riccardo, who has long been a good friend of Kanye, told Details that while Kim is a 'sweet girl', she was accepted by 'nobody' in the fickle fashion industry. He explains that he worked with Kim as a favour to his good friend Kanye - and helped reinvent her. 'Kanye and me, we did it together,' he said. 'Every designer is dying to dress her now. I didn't care what people thought about Kim. 'In the beginning, I met her because of my respect for Kanye, and then I liked her a lot and we became friends. I got killed because of this. But I didn't care.' Riccardo said that while Kim is a 'sweet girl', she was accepted by 'nobody' in the fashion industry at first . Givenchy pleated plunging black gown . Shop the designer at Barney's... Visit site . She recently took the plunge and chopped off her trademark flowing raven locks, and it appears as though Kim Kardashian adopted the same notion for this sartorial offering whilst out in NYC. Putting her voluptuous curves on display in a pleated black Givenchy gown with a neckline that left very little to the imagination, Kim managed to keep her class intact with the inclusion of a chic silk black blazer completing the all-black ensemble. Proving she needs no help in regards to her pert chest area, Kim embodied the ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’ mantra in the floor-grazing chiffon creation, and despite not being as confident as the reality star, we wouldn’t mind a slice of her style. There's nothing wrong with keeping a classic black gown in the wardrobe as a safe bet! Although not available to buy online, you can still emulate Kim’s look across the price spectrum (just check the style edit below). Whilst we’ve got our eye on L'Agence's deep-V gown at Saks, we can't help but fall for Missguided's bargain creation at $85.50. We'll be styling ours with minimal black strappy sandals and a metallic clutch bag for our next big night out. Missguided Lace Insert Split Side Plunge Maxi Dress . Visit site . L'AGENCE Pleated Chiffon Deep V-Neck Gown at Saks Fifth Avenue . Visit site . Solace London Aeryn Maxi Dress at Shopbop (now reduced to $76.50) Visit site . Club L Maxi Dress with Scallop Lace Plunge at ASOS (now reduced to $51.36) Visit site . Riccardo went on to dress Kim and Kanye for their wedding and has decked her out in his garments plenty of times ever since. Riccardo is right; Kim's metamorphosis has been no mean feat, for while she might now be a firm favourite with designers, her initial foray into the fashion world was much more humble - as a stylist for Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. In fact, pre-fame, Kim also worked as a personal shopper and she would regularly be dispatched to pick out new outfits for the the heiress and film star. Despite her skills as a stylist, her own style left much to be desired. From bright gold dresses to garish satin, she rarely made a 'best-dressed' list in the early part of her career. Even as she started to make a name for herself, for a long time, Kim was shunned by the designers who now adore her. 'Kanye and me, we did it together,' he said of Kim's reinvention. 'Every designer is dying to dress her now. I didn't care what people thought about Kim' Riccardo dressed a pregnant Kim for the Costume Institute Gala in May 2013 . Just over two years ago, during a photoshoot for ELLE magazine at the end of 2012, many designers refused to lend their clothes to the reality star. Nicola Formichetti, artistic director at Diesel, styled the shoot and revealed at the time that calling in high-end samples was a 'challenge.' He said: 'People wouldn’t lend me the clothes. But that’s fashion snobbery.' Nicola, who is now good friends with Kim, revealed that the top designers didn't want their designs featured on a woman who had, 'less-than-model-like-proportions'' However, he rightfully predicted at the time, 'She's not the It Girl yet, but she will be.' It truly seems Formichetti's prediction has come true... Kim has become the ultimate fashion IT girl. So close has the designer become to the global stars, that he designed the couple's wedding outfits . The 34-year-old made sure to credit her favourite outfit - and designer - of the year recently by posting a snap on Twitter with the caption: 'This Givenchy look could possibly be my favorite look of 2014' Kim has spoken on many an occasion about the rapper and designer's influence over her wardrobe choices. Left, pictured at the GQ Men Of The Year awards in a daring custom-designed haute couture gunmetal skirt by Ralph & Russo, with an Atsuko Kudo latex bodysuit with Tom Ford heels, and, right, at Paris Fashion Week in Balmain, both in September . Her fashion highlights to date include being asked by Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of French Vogue, to cover her CR Fashion book. Kim was photographed for the cover picture by Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld and the shoot was art directed by Ricardo Tisci. It was a controversial choice at the time, but that worked in Kim's favour, as Carine later explained to Time Out. She said: 'She’s controversial, but so was Marilyn Monroe and I always like controversial people.' She went on to praise the reality star, saying: 'She was brave...with Karl Lagerfeld shooting. 'She had one guy for hair, one guy for make-up – no extensions or lashes – and for her it must have been like being naked, and she accepted everything. 'I don’t think normally she would wear those sort of clothes – I’ve never seen her in a Comme des Garcons jumpsuit or a basketball jacket, but she said yes to everything. 'She was the easiest model we’ve had. And when we put a mask on her face, she didn’t say anything.' Kim Kardashian, wearing a Lanvin blazer, and rapper Kanye West attend the Lanvin show as part of the Paris Fashion Week - one of many of the shows at which the power couple sat in the front row . Before she found global fame, Kim worked as Paris Hilton's stylist and personal shopper . It was following North's birth in 2013 that it became clear just how popular Kim was becoming with the world's biggest fashion houses though, from the flood of designers that sent clothes for her new arrival, all duly documented on Kim's Instagram page. From Givenchy to Celine and Maison Martin Margiela to Alexander Wang, Kim shared photographs of North's adorable new wardrobe, signaling to the world that the fashion supremos were finally beginning to accept her. The biggest coup came in April 2014 though, when she and Kanye landed a joint Vogue cover ahead of their May wedding. The news caused outrage among some of the magazine's subscribers, but the edition went on to be one of the biggest sellers of the year. That magazine sold 500,000 copies, beating both Beyonce and Michelle Obama's Vogue covers. Not her best: Kim was never known for her fashion choices and her previous wardrobe contained a number of garish outfits like the gold cocktail dress she wore at the Spike TV awards in 2008, left, and, right, in 2010 at the Lorraine Schwartz jewellery launch . | Riccardo Tisci says he was 'killed' for dressing Kim but he 'didn't care'
Explains he dressed her through respect for Kanye and now loves her .
Kim has seen her fashion star rise and she sits frow at the biggest shows .
The metamorphosis included a Vogue cover and job as face of Balmain . |
102,358 | 0fe9a49fdb90bc7a84936a60f1b783fd37fb9627 | For many people, heartbreak can lead to drowning your sorrows in comfort food and piling on the pounds. But when Taryn Wright split up with her husband she decided it was time for a positive change. The 31-year-old from Grays, Essex - who claims her unhappy marriage transformed her from a contented size 12 into a frumpy size 20 - embraced life as a single girl, losing seven stone in just one year... and dropping to a slender size six. Now that Taryn has lost all the weight and is a size six she is enjoying life as a confident single girl, and believes the reason she was fat was because she was married . She says: 'It was like I woke up one morning after I had been married a couple of years and suddenly realised that the old me was gone. This big, fat, miserable person was left in her place' The senior credit controller said: 'Being a wife made me fat - but being single made me sexy again. I was always happy with my figure until I got married. 'After the wedding, my life totally changed. But when I left my husband, I didn't even have to try to diet. Incredibly, the weight just fell off because I was single again. I won't get married again in a hurry - it made me fat.' Taryn was a size 10 when she met her market trader husband - who does not wish to be names - in a nightclub at the age of 23, and in true whirlwind romance style the couple moved in together just weeks later and married the following year in 2006. Taryn walked down the aisle in a size 12 dress weighing 9 stone, but after settling into married life her figure dramatically changed. Taryn was a size 10 when she met her market trader husband in a nightclub at the age of 23, but her weight quickly ballooned because she was miserable as a wife . She says: 'I wanted to show my husband I was trying to lose weight and look sexy again. But in secret, I was still eating pizza and chocolate when he was out because I was so bored and lonely' She says: 'It was like I woke up one morning after I had been married a couple of years and suddenly realised that the old me was gone. This big, fat, miserable person was left in her place. 'At first I just didn't understand why. I hadn't had any children and I didn't have any major issues with food. But it was when I sat and thought about how much my life had changed that I realised why I was fat. 'I'd gone from being an independent, fun-loving girl who enjoyed partying to staying in all the time, watching TV and eating takeaways. Life revolved around sitting on the sofa and deciding what to eat for dinner.' Taryn as a healthy size 12 on her wedding day, before she began eating out of 'boredom' during her marriage . Taryn said married life made it impossible to diet: 'Before our wedding, I found it easy to lose a few pounds. I would just skip a few meals and the weight would drop off me. 'But as a married woman, I had my husband to think about. I couldn't simply not cook a meal - sitting down to eat was pretty much the only thing we did together.' Fearing her marriage was already in trouble, Taryn felt prioritising her diet would only cause more problems. She says: 'The only thing we really looked forward to was a bottle of wine, a movie and takeaway at the weekend. 'I was worried that if I gave that up, we would have no connection at all so it was easier to push the upset about my weight aside and carry on as normal. 'Food was the glue keeping us together because we both loved our takeaways. It became my comfort - my way to get through the boredom.' As the cracks in her marriage grew, Taryn turned to food even more. She regularly treated herself to family-sized pizzas and garlic bread to forget about her unhappiness. Taryn admits: 'Neither of us wanted to say the marriage wasn't working. It was easier to buy a slab of chocolate and get stuck in to that than face the truth.' But the bigger Taryn got, the worse her relationship became. She says: 'I was sure my husband didn't find me attractive any more so I avoided being physical. 'I started dressing in baggy, frumpy clothes and felt like an old, middle-aged woman.' When she reached 15st, Taryn joined a slimming club in a last-ditch attempt to shift the pounds. She says: 'I wanted to show my husband I was trying to lose weight and look sexy again. But in secret, I was still eating pizza and chocolate when he was out because I was so bored and lonely. 'I was nothing like the woman I had been before - it seemed impossible to get below a size 20.' Fearing the old Taryn was gone for ever, she joined a gym and started working out four times a week. But because her marriage was still failing, she regularly turned to junk food to soften the pain. She says: 'I was just going round in circles. I knew I desperately wanted life to change but wasn't sure how to make it happen.' Taryn had been married for six years when the turning point came in January last year. BREAKFAST: Two bacon and egg McMuffins. MID-MORNING SNACK: Crisps. LUNCH: Leftover takeaway or Subway foot-long roll. SNACK: Crisps. Hot pastry. DINNER: Takeaway or a large home-cooked meal of pasta or jacket potato. SNACKS: Chocolates, crisps and dips. Cans of Diet Coke. BREAKFAST: Bowl of cereal at work, or bacon and egg roll. LUNCH: Sandwich on the go. DINNER: Cooks the same meals as before but just eats one portion. SNACKS: No snacks, no time to think about them or eat them. Still drinks Diet Coke. Taryn admits: 'Neither of us wanted to say the marriage wasn't working. It was easier to buy a slab of chocolate and get stuck in to that than face the truth' Taryn made the effort to reconnect with . her old friends and soon found that a busy social life had a dramatic . impact on her diet: 'Because I had things to do, I would just grab something healthy to eat on the way' She explains: 'It was a typical night. I had just got in from work and my husband had got up after a night shift and headed straight out the door. 'We barely looked at each other. I was home alone not knowing when he would be back and I had two choices - I could either open the fridge and start scoffing or pack a bag and leave.' She chose the latter. She says: 'I called a friend who agreed I could stay with her. Then I packed as much stuff as I could and called a taxi. I was scared but also relieved because I knew nothing would change otherwise. To me, our marriage had already been over for a long time.' Taryn made the effort to reconnect with her old friends and soon found that a busy social life had a dramatic impact on her diet. She says: 'Because I had things to do, I would just grab something healthy to eat on the way, like a sandwich or a wrap. Food was no longer the only focus of my life.' After just a few weeks of single life, Taryn was surprised to notice her clothes getting looser. She says: 'It was crazy. I'd not gone back to the slimming club or gym since leaving my husband but for the first time in years, I was actually losing weight.' When people started noticing her weight loss, Taryn would say it was because she had gone from being married to single. 'It was true,' she says. 'I could see no other explanation.' Taryn soon started divorce proceedings and the weight continued to fall off with no effort at all. In less than 12 months, she had managed to lose 7st and gone from a size 20 to a size six. 'Being a wife made me fat - but being single made me sexy again.' | Taryn Wright, 31, from Grays, Essex, was miserable in her marriage .
Was size 10 when she met her trader husband, 12 at the wedding .
Had never had a weight problem before being married .
During marriage she quickly ballooned to size 20 eating 'through boredom'
After leaving husband 'weight just fell off' without her even trying . |
50,731 | 8f8a77911f7b5274425b9faad89c7cf3f0c953c9 | A driver who flipped over his car and ejected his girlfriend onto the road faces manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. Kieran Duffy, 26, lost control of his Chevrolet pickup truck, which entered the center median on a highway outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, and began to rollover multiple times. The car, which was heading south around 12.30am early Saturday morning, rolled over to the northbound lanes and threw Amber Rae Evans, 26, who was believed not to be wearing a seat belt. Amber Rae Evans, 26, died after being thrown from a pickup truck while riding with her boyfriend Kieran Duffy on an Alaska highway . She was declared dead at the scene. Duffy told police that he had been drinking before the incident, which occurred near the town of North Pole, according to the Fairbanks News Miner. He 'showed multiple signs of being under the influence' according to state troopers' log of the event. The driver, who was wearing a seat belt, received only minor injuries. He is being held without bail. Friends paid tribute to Ms Evans on social media, changing their pictures to those with the deceased young woman. Friends on social media paid tribute to Ms Evans, who was originally from Florida but moved to Fairbanks. Duffy has been charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide and is being held without bail . The young woman was remembered as 'such a beautiful soul' by friends. It is believed that Duffy had been drinking before the incident and troopers said that he 'showed multiple signs of being under the influence' 'Amber was such a beautiful girl with a contagious smile that touched and inspired me and so many other for miles and miles,' Heather Lynn Oberland posted on Facebook. 'I just wish I would have made it to Alaska before this happened to see you one more time' she said of Ms Evans, who was originally from Florida. 'Such a beautiful soul,' Melody Underwood said. Duffy has requested to go to his girlfriend's funeral, though it is unclear if he will be released to do so. Manslaughter is a class A felony in Alaska and carries a possible prison term of 20 years upon conviction. Criminally negligent homicide is a class B felony and is punishable by up to 10 years. Alaska had 15 fatalities from drunk driving in 2012, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibly. | Amber Rae Evans was not wearing seat belt before 12.30am Alaska crash .
Boyfriend Kieran Duffy, 26, lost control and truck rolled over multiple times .
Driver 'showed multiple signs of being under the influence' troopers say .
Duffy charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide . |
198,040 | 8c59ae6241a52d0d84422b4dd11d45588c34d8ea | An American schooner missing for more than three weeks has failed to turn up during what officials have called the 'biggest search' ever conducted in the waters surrounding New Zealand. David Dyche, 58, was captaining Nina, a 70-foot yacht that Dyche, his wife, their son and four other crew members were sailing from New Zealand to Newcastle, Australia, when the historic vessel made contact with meteorologist Bob McDavitt asking how to get away from a storm on June 3. A message asking for further advice the next day was the last time anyone heard from the vessel. New Zealand Search and Rescue officer Neville Blakemore said his team turned up nothing in their extensive search for the schooner and that he has grave fears for the crew of the 85-year-old Nina. Captain: David Dyche was at the helm of the Nina when she disappeared three weeks ago . Without a trace: Rosemary Dyche told friends she was having 'the adventure of a lifetime' Trip of a lifetime: Rosemary and David Dyche's son, also named David, was traveling with his parents before starting university . Adventure: Captain David Dyche and Rosemary are both experienced sailors . 'The areas that have been searched . have been absolutely massive and the area searched is the biggest area . the Rescue Coordination Center of New Zealand has ever undertaken,' Blakemore told NBC News. 'The . comprehensive search by the Orion [aircraft] the last couple of days . has indicated that if the yacht was still afloat they would have seen it . in the search area. So we are assuming that it's not in the search area . and thus probably had a catastrophic event.' Dyche, his wife Rosemary, 60, and son David, 17, left Opua in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand aboard . the schooner on May 29. New Zealand meteorologist Bob . McDavitt says it was Nemeth who contacted him about the storm, asking, . 'The weather's turned nasty, how do we get away from it?' 'She was quite controlled in her . voice, it sounded like everything was under control,' McDavitt said, . adding that the call itself indicated she was concerned about the . conditions. Missing: Hope is fading for the seven people aboard the American schooner, Nina, which disappeared between New Zealand and Australia three weeks ago . Extensive search: Search and rescue workers scanned the waters all the way to the Australian coastline in their search for the missing yacht . Retired: Evi Nemeth is a retired Colorado University professor and computer engineer and the last member of the schooner's crew anyone has spoken to since June 4 . McDavitt said he spoke only briefly to Evi Nemeth, advising her to head south . and to brace for a storm with strong winds and high seas. The next day . he got a text, the last known communication from the boat: 'ANY UPDATE 4 . NINA? ... EVI' McDavitt said he advised the crew to . stay put and ride out the storm another day. He continued sending . messages the next few days but didn't hear back. Friends of the crew got . in touch with McDavitt soon after that, and alerted authorities on June 14. Blakemore didn't rule out the possibility of survivors but said the 'logical conclusion' is that the boat sank rapidly, preventing the crew from sending out an emergency SOS. He told NBC that the locator beacon onboard Nina was not activated by water pressure and wouldn’t start automatically if the boat sank. Sailing family: The Dyches had been sailing the Nina around the world for more than two years . Crew: A photo from David Dyche's Facebook page shows a young man who could be one of the missing crew members . Missing: A Facebook photo of a young woman aboard the Nina - it's not known if she's one of the missing crew members . Vanished: Maritime New Zealand called off its search in July, saying it had found no sign of the 70ft wooden vessel Nina . 'If the vessel got knocked over by a rogue wave it would have happened very, very quickly and they may not have had time to, to launch any life-saving equipment,' Blakemore said. Search and rescue teams are now looking for evidence of wreckage. Authorities say the storm three weeks . ago saw winds gusting up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour and . waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet). Kevin . Banaghan, who is spearheading search efforts by Maritime New Zealand’s . Rescue Coordination Centre, said that on June 14, a communications . search began in which rescue workers tried contacting the boat over . various radio frequencies and by contacting other vessels in the area to . see if they’d seen the Nina. Missing: The boat left the Bay of Islands, pictured, in northern New Zealand on May 29. Authorities say the last communication was on June 4, when the Nina was about 370 nautical miles west of New Zealand . This week, he said, rescuers escalated their efforts. An Air Force plane Tuesday searched the area where the boat disappeared. A second search by the plane Wednesday went as far as the Australian coast but again turned up nothing. The team is now weighing up other search options. Rosemary Dyche has been documenting the family's travels on Facebook. At the beginning of the trip in 2011, she wrote: 'I am now on an adventure of a lifetime going around the world with my Wonderful husband who is my best friend and our youngest son.' 'But I do Miss my 2 older sons Justin and Kevin and my grand kids Katelynn and Sean my mom. And all my friends. But we have to do it now while we can.' | New .
Zealand Search and Rescue has conducted an extensive search of the country's coastline and turned up no sign of the missing schooner Nina or its crew .
Rescue .
officers have 'grave fears' for the seven crew members .
The Nina hasn't been seen or heard from since asking for advice on how to get away from a .
storm on June 4 .
The .
crew did not send out SOS messages or activate the locator beacon - but .
rescuers say the boat could have suffered a 'catastrophic event' and .
sunk before they had time .
Despite fears, rescue .
officers have not given up hope of finding survivors and say it would be 'unusual' for the sturdy boat to sink in a storm like the one encountered . |
241,416 | c47ca8bfbbd790e9ddf43efb5a8c52712f6d8bd7 | Rampage: Truc Hyunh attacked a customer who complained about bad service before brandishing a butter knife at officers and kicking them as she was dragged away . An Idaho waitress was arrested after hitting a customer, threatening cops with a butter knife and then kick them as she was hauled out of a Vietnamese restaurant where she worked, police said. Truc Hyunh’s rampage Saturday afternoon at Pho 79, in Boise, started when a customer complained of bad service – she hit the customer in the face, authorities said. Hyunh, 29, told KBOI the wild waitress has a history of problems and that she spent three months in a hospital last year, they hope she gets help after this latest incident. ‘She hit the customer. I hear boom. I go out and tell her no no no,’ Pho 79 owner Henry Do recalled to KBOI. Police soon showed up, and officers noticed ‘physical evidence of the battery on the victim, including a bruise on the victim's jaw,’ according to a Boise Police press release. The cops confronted her in the kitchen and she pulled a butter knife on them, Do recalled. Do was standing in the doorway to the dining room and they were standing in a small area barely big enough for three people when she became aggressive, he said. Hyunh grabbed the knife, positioned herself in ‘a fighting stance and verbally challenged the officers,’ police said. Weapo0n of choice: Hyunh threatened police with this butter knife, according to Pho 79 owner Henry Do . Where it happened: At Boise Vietnamese restaurant Pho 79 . Grand exit: Hyunh reportedly kicked the officers who dragged her out of the establishment . They eventually convinced the mother of five to put the knife down and arrested her, but she repeatedly kicked police as she was dragged out, both Do and authorities said. She was charged with felony battery on a police officer, misdemeanor resisting arrest and obstructing an officer, authorities said. Both the customer and Do declined to press charges, but Hyunh was booked into the ADA County Jail and has yet to be released. Do said told KBOI she no longer works at the restaurant though. ‘If she come back? No,’ he said while shaking his head. | Truc Hyunh reportedly hit a customer in the face who complained of bad service .
She then brandished a butter knife at police and verbally challenged police, cops said .
Hyunh is also said to have kicked officers as they dragged her out of the restaurant . |
81,008 | e599c8d0914e1fbfd9e38cf9b642ae51922ea136 | Rape victims rarely press charges . because of social stigma . By . Sean O'hare . A 16-year-old girl has allegedly been raped on a Delhi bus on the same day a 23-year-old woman died after being gang-raped on one of the capital's buses. Protests gather momentum as tensions mount at the full scale of the country's problem in which rape is one of the most common crimes against women with one reported every 18 hours in New Delhi. The latest victim was the only passenger on the bus when an off-duty conductor allegedly attacked her for 45 minutes as the bus was driven around central Delhi. Scroll down for video . A woman displays a placard during a protest at the death of the 23-year-old gang rape victim, stating that Delhi is still unsafe . Protesters express anger at the fact that rape is one of India's most common crimes against women. Marital rape is now illegal in India but it is still widespread . Children pictured at a protest in Bangalore as a 16-year old claims she was raped in similar circumstances to that of a 23-year-old student who died after being gang-raped on a bus in Delhi . Rape is the one of the most common crimes against Indian women. So common, in fact that there is a euphemism coined for the public sexual molestation of women. In refererence to the biblical 'Eve', . 'Eve teasing' implies that women are responsible for the behaviour of their attackers. Rape victims rarely press charges . because of social stigma and fear they will be accused of inviting the . attack. Many women say they structure their lives around protecting . themselves and their daughters from attack. New Delhi is the rape capital of India with a rape reported on average . every 18 hours. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011. The attack echoes that against a . 23-year-old student who was cremated yesterday after she died from . injuries sustained when she gang-raped on a moving Delhi bus by six men. The . latest attack in India's 'rape capital' will fuel the protests which . have gripped the country since the gang-rape on December 16 and the . victim's subsequent death on Saturday. The 16-year-old girl claims she was raped by an off-duty bus conductor while an on-duty conductor and driver looked on. The . attack is believed to have stopped only when the driver became . disorientated by police barricades set up as a result of protests in . support of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim, and stopped to ask police . directions. Police spotted the traumatised girl in the back and came to her rescue. The victim boarded the bus at . Khayala near Subhash Nagar in west Delhi and was en route to Lajpat . Nagar. The accused has been identified as Ranjit Singh, . 32, a resident of Jhajjar. Indian hunger strikers (foreground) demonstrate following claims made by a 16-year-old rape victim and the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi . Demonstrators call for the perpetrators of violence against the women to be hanged . He was arrested by the police deployed at the . Mandi House picket and later sent to judicial custody. The transport . department has dismissed the accused as well as the driver and . conductor. In a . sickening twist, the girl is reported to have been running away from her . home in west Delhi after accusing her brother of raping her. She has now been sent to Prayas, a childcare home in Lajpat Nagar. The brother of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim cremated on Saturday believes she could have survived but the decision to take her to Singapore for life-saving treatment came too late. In an interview with the Indian Express . today, he also called for the death penalty to be handed down to the perpetrators. 'The fight has just begun. We want all the . accused hanged, and we will fight for that, till the end,' he said. The trainee physiotherapist was flown to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore four days ago - almost two weeks after she was raped by a gang of six men on a bus in Delhi. 'She could have been saved perhaps, but . the decision came late,' her brother said, adding: 'Mount Elizabeth Hospital had very high standards . of hygiene. They could have prevented the infection.' Tense: The body of a young woman who was gang-raped and brutally beaten on a bus in India's capital was cremated but her family say she could have survived . Poignant: White lilies could be seen in the back of the ambulance as the body was transported through the city . The woman's body was cremated . yesterday after an aircraft chartered by the Indian government brought . it back to Delhi from Singapore where she died on Saturday . while being treated for severe injuries. Her horrific ordeal has galvanised . Indians to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence with . mass demonstrations, candle-lit vigils and street protests with . placards, chants and road blocks. The Indian Congress has put forward plans for chemical castration and 30-year jail terms for all rapists following the attack. A draft Bill has been put together and will be finalised and handed to India's chief justice by the end of January. Meanwhile the victim's father has described his final conversation with his daughter in the Intensive Care Unit in Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. 'She said, "aap so jao, main bhi ab soungi" (you go to sleep, I will also sleep). Then she embraced my hand and slept as a tear dropped from the corner of her eye. Those were her last words to me. Thereafter, she never gained consciousness and didn't talk to any of us,' he said. Her mother was taken to hospital yesterday after collapsing while her daughter was being cremated. It has also emerged that the planned to marry her boyfriend, who was injured in the same attack, according to her neighbours. Aware: The body of the tragic student victim was cremated amid tight security, police said . Her brother paid tribute to her and her partner's bravery in the vicious attack. 'She was very strong. She always said one should never bear atrocities but fight against it. While she was admitted in hospital, she told me that she fought back as hard as she could. She was defending herself by beating and biting them. 'She thrashed them and kicked them too. They were boiling in anger by her defence so they decided to kill her. She told me that they were murmuring 'maar do ise' (kill her). They threw her considering she was dead. 'The boy was equally courageous like my sister. She told me that he guarded her until he became unconscious.' The girl and her boyfriend had spent the evening watching The Life of Pi at a multiplex . in the Saket district of Delhi when they were attacked on the bus home on December 16. It is thought he defended his girlfriend after she was . initially verbally abused by a group of six men. They . were then imprisoned on the bus by a gang for around an hour as . it was driven around Delhi. Their brutal assaults were hidden from view by the closed curtains on the bus. She was also abused with a rod, which . left her with horrific internal injuries. The pair were eventually . hurled naked from the vehicle as it was still moving. Rituals: After the body arrived at the airport, it was taken to the woman's New Delhi home, where police stood guard outside, for religious rituals before being escorted by police to the crematorium . 'They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi,' a neighbour told NDTV. 'We know that she was going to get married in February,' she said. 'The whole neighbourhood was excited about it.' Today's private ceremony took place with Indian riot policemen standing guard outside the cremation centre in New Delhi. Fearing the unrest amidst the public anger, the location and timing of the cremation was not disclosed, but it was held soon after the arrival of her body from Singapore on a special Air-India flight. Her distraught mother collapsed and was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital after her daughter's body was taken away. Premier Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, were at the airport to receive the body and meet family members of the victim who had also arrived on the flight. Tragic: The body of the young woman is moved into the funeral home by workers where she was embalmed before being flown home . Coffin: The casket at a funeral home in Singapore which carried the body of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim . After the body arrived at the . airport, it was taken to the woman's home in New Delhi for religious . rituals before being escorted by police to the crematorium. Security was tight, with no access to the public or media at the crematorium. Sheila Dikshit, the senior elected . leader of New Delhi, and junior home minister R.P.N. Singh placed . wreaths beside the body before it was cremated. Details about the girl's identity have not been released to protect the family. But The Hindustan Times newspaper described her as a dedicated student who tutored neighbours’ children to boost her family’s income . Solace: An Indian activist prays as she takes part in a candlelight vigil in Kolkata for the gang-rape victim . The parents had sold a plot of land nearby as well as land in their village in Ballia district of eastern Uttar Pradesh to fund their daughter's education. 'Now her elder brother, who is preparing for his engineering entrance exams, has no hope to continue his studies. The family had depended on her future career to see them out of their poverty,' a neighbour called Vimla told IANS. Indian police have charged six men . with murder in the December 16 attack, which shocked the country and . triggered protests for greater protection for women from sexual . violence. The six suspects face the death . penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India . and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual . crimes. Candles: Indian people light candles to pay tributes to the 23-year-old in Bhopal, India . | Victim endured 45-minute attack while driven around Delhi .
She was running away from home after being raped by her brother .
Off-duty conductor, 32, arrested .
Rape is one of most common crimes against women in India .
Number of reported rape cases rose by nearly 17% between 2007 and 2011 .
Rape reported every 18 hours in New Delhi .
Rape victims rarely press charges .
because of social stigma . |
47,186 | 84f74fabf0c4981eb01d6f24aeedb51f78793639 | Ebola hit New York on Thursday but, just the day prior, infected doctor Craig Spencer went bowling at a busy Brooklyn hotspot and Twitter users are demanding to know why. Social media in general lit up with angry rants, confused questions and darkly funny jokes as New Yorkers try to understand one thing: . Why did he go bowling? Scroll down for video . Went bowling: Dr. Craig Spencer went bowling in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn Wednesday and a day later was diagnosed with Ebola . Spencer went bowling at The Gutter in Williamsburg (pictured) while feeling 'fatigued' but before his fever began . Dr Craig Spencer rode the subway along with visiting a Brooklyn bowling alley, The Gutter, and the High Line park. It was revealed today that he had also eaten at The Meatball Shop in Greenwich Village and stopped at Blue Bottle Coffee on the High Line on Tuesday . Health officials Thursday night maintained that Spencer, 33, was not contagious before his fever started on Thursday morning. However, they've identified people who he was around on Wednesday or before as individuals who could be at risk. New Yorkers, concerned America's largest and densest city has been put at risk, are venting online. 'ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPATHY for a doctor who knows he's been in contact w/Ebola, goes bowling, takes 2 subways, has contact with girl, Uber. none,' tweeted @ericbolling, an example of the many angry responses to Spencer's decision to head to The Gutter in Williamsburg on Wednesday night. Cynical jokes about Ebola appearing in New York City also surfaced. Reactions to Spencer's decision to go bowling Wednesday ranged from anger to confusion to cynical jokes . Health officials say New York is safe, but the fact that Spencer is a doctor and still wasn't cautious enough to wait 21 days before spending time in crowds after dealing directly with Ebola patients has people worried . 'How did you get Ebola?' began a joke from @ianpatrickhines. 'You rented some bowling shoes on Wednesday night and had a scratch on your toe? That's back luck, man.' Ebola can only be transmitted through a sick person's bodily fluids, including sweat, saliva and vomit. Many online posters about Dr Spencer referred to him choosing Williamsburg, a neighborhood frequented by hipsters and other trend-starters, for his night out. Great,' tweeted @senorwinces. 'Now all the hipsters in Williamsburg get to brag about how they got Ebola before everyone else.' Cynical jokes were a popular way Twitter users used to cope with Ebola's appearance in New York . User @lisavikingstad seconded the joke: 'Ebola was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Seen dragging ppl to a friend's band & wearing thick rimmed glasses though its eyesight is FINE.' Dr Spencer, who had been working with nonprofit organisation Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, returned to the US on October 17. He reported to doctors on Thursday morning as having a 100.3-degree fever and diarrhea. He was quickly taken to an isolation ward at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, a designated Ebola center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will do a further test to confirm the initial results, has dispatched an Ebola response team to New York, and the city's disease detectives have been tracing Spencer's contacts to identify anyone who may be at risk. The city's health commissioner, Mary Bassett, said Spencer's fiancee and two friends had been quarantined but showed no symptoms. In the days before Spencer fell ill, he went on a 3-mile jog, went to the High Line park, rode the subway and, on Wednesday night, got a taxi to a Brooklyn bowling alley. Bassett said he felt fatigued Wednesday but not feverish until Thursday morning. Route: Dr Craig Spencer made several stops across New York on Wednesday night just hours before his diagnosis . September 16: Dr Craig Spencer flew to Guinea to treat Ebola patients as a member of the French organization Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers). October 14: Dr Spencer departed Guinea on a flight to Brussels. He reported no symptoms. October 17: He boarded a flight to the U.S. on Brussels Airlines Flight SN0501. Reported no symptoms. Arrived at JFK and was screened with no symptoms upon arrival. October 21: At 7 AM, he reported fatigue and exhaustion. No fever, vomiting, diarrhea. At around 3:00 PM, Dr Spencer visited The Meatball Shop for 40 minutes. The Meatball Shop is located at 64 Greenwich Avenue. Around 4:30 PM, he visited the High Line. Walked on High Line and stopped at the Blue Bottle Coffee stand (10th Ave & W 16th St) At around 5:30 PM, he got off the High Line at 34th Street and took the 1 train to the 145th Street station. October 22: At around 1:00 PM, Dr Spencer went running along Riverside Drive and Westside Highway . Around 2:00 PM, he went to pick up Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share at 143rd St and Amsterdam Avenue (Corbin Hill Farm) and picked up a box which he took to his apartment. At around 5:30 PM, Dr Spencer left for The Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with two friends. For his arrival at Gutter, he took the A train at 145th Street and transferred at 14th Street and took the L train to Bedford Avenue. Around 8:30 PM, Dr Spencer left The Gutter. For his return trip, he used Uber as his means of transportation. October 23: Around 10:15AM, he first reported a fever. At this point, he called Medecins Sans Frontieres and the New York City Health Department. He was immediately taken to Bellevue by FDNY EMS. | Dr. Craig Spencer went bowling at Brooklyn's The Gutter the night before his Ebola diagnosis .
Health authorities maintain that Spencer, who returned to NYC 10 days ago after working in Guinea, was not likely contagious .
But friends Spencer made contact with prior to Thursday have been warned they could be infected 'out of an abundance of caution' |
16,847 | 2fc103c33b2e5af7c787a7614915d9329b70aa2f | When Alex de Campi rescued Cathy from a kill shelter, the Pitbull was emaciated, had a severe eye infection and was covered in cigarette burns. But after three years in a loving home, the precious pooch no longer has skin problems, loves to swim and is a gentle playmate for de Campi's three-year-old daughter, Lorelei. Now, de Campi has penned an emotional message to Cathy's previous owners on Craigslist showing them exactly what they’re missing. 'She is truly an ambassador for her breed, even people who don't like pits will stop and pat her as she happily wags her tail. She loves to sleep in sunbeams, and is so happy to go on walks or swims she just wags her tail with every step,' she wrote. 'I am hoping Cathy can spend many more happy years with us. She really is the best dog. P.S. you can't have her back.' Cathy now . Thriving: Cathy the Pitbull was starving and burned with cigarettes when Alex de Campi took her in in 2011, but three years later she has become a healthy and loving dog . Cathy in 2011 . Abused: Cathy the Pitbull old was incredibly skinny and covered in cigarette burns when she was seized by animal control and taken to the kill shelter in 2011 . Damaged: When Cathy's owners were evicted on February 9, 2011, she was really skinny, had bad skin infections, had undergone a Caesarian and been burned with cigarettes (pictured) De Campi told MailOnline she posted the note out of concern, not animosity, for Cathy's previous owners. She doesn't know who they are. Cathy was taken to Manhattan’s Animal Care and Control on February 9, 2011, when her owners were evicted from an apartment on Catherine Street in New York. 'If they were evicted, they couldn't have been having a good time. New York can be a very cruel place. I just wanted to say that their dog made it out and she is ok,' de Campi, from New Hampshire, said. 'But then, maybe the people who owned her had found her on the streets and took her in or adopted her. You can't just assume that just because Cathy was in a bad condition in their care that they were bad people.' The mother-of-one said she has been inundated with messages of support from dog-lovers all over the world thanking her for her generosity after she posted the message two days ago. 'People seem to have been very charmed by her story,' de Campi said. Happy home . Happy home: Cathy the Pitbull is good-natured and gentle around children, including Alex de Campi's adorable three-year-old daughter, Lorelei (pictured) Gorgeous soul: Dog lover Alex de Campi (pictured) volunteers ay Red Hook Dog Rescue, a small special-needs dog rescue, and regularly fosters pooches . When de Campi first laid eyes on Cathy, she was shocked at what she saw. The pooch was so skinny, her bones stuck out. She could barely see due to an eye infection. The shelter named her Cathy because she was found on Catherine Street. 'She had been bred A LOT. She'd even had a Caesarian, judging by the scar,' de Campi wrote on Craigslist. 'They said at the kill shelter she was 12 years old. She also had a lopsided face and it looked like there were a few cigarette burns on her head/ears.' But it was Cathy's lopsided face that made de Campi fall in love with her. De Campi saw the dog's picture on an animal rescue Facebook page. Even though her daughter Lorelei was just six-weeks-old, de Campi decided to adopt Cathy through Rebound Hounds and save her from death. 'She looked so sweet...and like she could have a better life,' she said. De Campi, a talented writer and director, has never looked back - despite Cathy's heavy snoring. 'She is sleeping next to me as I type this, grunting with joy,' de Campi wrote on Craigslist. 'In fact, she sleeps on my bed every night. Your dog is an awesome dog. We love her so much. The past three years we've had with her have brought us (and her) so much happiness.' She said Cathy, now 15, loves to swim, go on long walks and socialize. She has also become best friends with little Lorelei, who was a newborn when Cathy was adopted. The Craigslist message . 'I have your dog': Alex de Campi described in chilling detail on Craigslist the horrors Cathy the Pitbull endured before she adopted her . 'You can't have her back': Dog lover Alex de Campi penned this Craigslist message to show Cathy's previous owners what they are missing . De Campi, who volunteers for Red . Hook Dog Rescue, regularly fosters dogs and helps find homes for dogs-in-need. She is also active on Facebook rescue pages for cats and dogs such as Urgent Death Row Dogs and Pets on Death Row. 'Whoever said you can't teach an old dog news tricks has never owned an old dog,' de Campi told MailOnline. 'Dogs are like people. Some people are born with silver spoons in their mouths and you just don't want to be around them. But then there are others that have come from nothing and really suffered and they're still the most generous people you can imagine. 'Not every abused dog comes right but it is in their nature to be loyal to their master and all they are looking for is kindness.' Cathy now . Loving bond: Alex de Campi's three-year-old daughter Lorelei (pictured) was just six-weeks-old when the pooch was adopted and the pair have become great friends . Beautiful: Alex de Campi said her Pitbull Cathy is 'truly an ambassador for her breed', with people often stopping in the street to pat her . Pure bliss: Alex de Campi said Cathy sleeps on her bed every night, even though the dog snores loudly . Water baby: Cathy has become a sociable dog who loves to swim . Playful: Cathy the Pitbull loves to sleep in sunbeams, go on walks and jump into the water . | Alex de Campi adopted Cathy the Pitbull three years ago .
Cathy's owners had been evicted and the severely abused dog was taken to a kill shelter .
De Campi, from New Hampshire, penned the Craigslist message to assure the former owners the pooch was OK .
She has been inundated with support from people all over the world . |
270,322 | ea1a0d0d7c4190056bcb8a219f56e94fef09ec89 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- People in big cities walk past them every day -- street performers, or buskers. Some are talented, some are not, and most aren't performing for a cause greater than themselves. But on Monday, 12-year-old Abby Miller was. Abby Miller sings for her friend Taylor Love outside Washington's Union Station on Monday. She was performing outside Washington's Union Station to help her 4-year-old friend, Taylor Love, who is suffering from cancer. Abby sat in front of the station with a couple of her friends, singing songs and strumming a guitar. Passers-by seemed to notice the girl's singing talent, stopping to listen in the chilly weather, with a few putting money in a bucket at Abby's feet. Abby said the money will help support Taylor's family. A few more stopped to write messages on "Love Notes," little cards designed to encourage Taylor Love through the tough time. "Her mom reads them to her before she goes to bed at night," Abby said. "Taylor gets excited for them and she loves getting them read to her because she likes knowing that people are supporting her and people are actually thinking of her." Taylor has neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects the nervous system. According to her Web site, she is in remission, but this type of cancer has a high risk of recurrence. There has been little research on the illness, of which there are about 650 new cases in the United States each year. Mike Gillette, a family friend of both Taylor and Abby, brought the two girls together. While raising money and support for Taylor is important, he said, he thinks Abby's outreach can help bring more critical awareness for the devastating disease. "She really wanted to reach people all over the country," he said. Gillette said he has taken Abby to do similar performances in the District of Columbia, New Jersey and Virginia, and estimates they've raised thousands of dollars and have gotten people to write several hundred "Love Notes." Abby does more than just raise money and awareness for her friend. Taylor's mother, Aimee, said that although Abby is eight years older than Taylor, the two see each other often and have a special connection that helps her get through her daughter's illness. "I think it's amazing for a 12-year-old Abby to be drawn to my daughter, who is 4 and wants to inspire other children," Aimee Love said. "The joy I see in Taylor when she sees Abby brings a light into my life." Taylor's family said her treatments are terribly painful. But Abby said Taylor has enormous character. "She's the most happy girl in the world, which I think is just incredible," Abby said. "She's so much fun to be around. She's a little 4-year-old girl but she's got a heart of like a thousand grown adults." Aimee Love said her daughter feels the same way about Abby. "It gives her someone to aspire to, someone to be inspired by," she said. | Abby Miller sings, plays guitar to help 4-year-old friend with cancer .
Abby collects donations, has people write notes of support for Taylor Love .
Taylor has neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects the nervous system . |
153,268 | 5209d769b8fb77686b0573f265a2b81048428915 | By . Rob Davies . PUBLISHED: . 17:15 EST, 27 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:11 EST, 28 May 2013 . Tesco will monitor the shopping habits of customers who want to slim and advise them on how to eat more healthily. The system will work by using Clubcard data to check whether shoppers are loading up on doughnuts, chocolate and pizzas. The supermarket giant said it wanted to play its part in battling the growing obesity epidemic. Data: Tesco are t use their Clubcard technology to evaluate what everyone is eating . Tesco boss Phil Clarke said he would draw on the vast database of customer information held in Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty scheme, which has around 16million members. Tesco hasn’t decided how it will use the information, but options include offering vouchers for healthier products and promoting a better diet via suggested recipes. ‘The information provided by Clubcard is invaluable,’ said Mr Clarke. ‘Our customers have told us they’d like help in choosing healthy options, so on an individual level, we want to see whether customers would welcome tailored suggestions for how they could shop more healthily.’ Mr Clarke promised that customers would need to ‘opt in’, rather than being bombarded by unwanted suggestions from the supermarket. ‘We won’t encourage healthier lifestyles by editing choices, but we can influence choice by making healthier options,’ he said. Unhealthy: They want to find out how many people are eating bad food such as pizzas, doughnuts and chocolate . Mr Clarke told The Grocer magazine that the scheme ‘could be a really innovative way of highlighting those healthier options’. The supermarket’s technology experts have built an online tool - dubbed the ‘healthy little differences tracker’ - that will measure how customers’ habits change as a result of the healthy eating drive. It is also expected to contribute data on customers’ eating habits to government research into obesity. Only anonymous data will be passed to health research organisations, unless customers volunteer to submit their details and waive their right to anonymity. Tesco, which has already teamed up with charity Diabetes UK to research diet patterns, said that some 65 per cent of its customers said their lifestyle isn’t as healthy as they would like. One other major supermarket, which asked not to be named because the plans are at an early stage, said it was conducting trials of new store layouts to encourage healthier eating. A source at the supermarket said it had drafted in behavioural psychologists to come up with ‘nudge tactics’ to coax shoppers into the fruit and vegetable aisle. Tesco’s plan to use Clubcard information to target obesity is part of its Tesco and Society campaign, a broader effort to show that the supermarket is contributing to British life. Britain’s largest supermarket has already met one of its targets by reducing the number of calories sold in its own-brand soft drinks last year by one billion. And Mr Clarke said that Tesco would also put pressure on food producers to follow suit. Campaign: Tesco want to encourage shoppers to eat a more healthy and balanced diet.They have suggested that they might offer deals on better food . ‘We want to take others with us, including suppliers,’ he said. Tesco has also thrown its weight behind government plans to introduce a universal label on the front of packaging, informing buyers of how much fat, sugar and salt they contain. And the supermarket has also stepped up efforts to reduce the amount of food that is wasted every day in Britain. Mr Clarke said last week that the average British family was wasting £700 of food a year. He said Tesco would help by cutting down on promotions that encourage customers to buy large amounts of food that has only a very short shelf life. Tesco’s campaigns on food waste and obesity come with the reputation of supermarkets at a low ebb, after horsemeat was found in food sold by a string of major retailers. | The system will use Clubcard data to check what shoppers are eating .
Tesco said it wanted to play its part in battling the growing obesity crisis .
Might offer vouchers for healthier products and promoting a better diet via suggested recipes . |
4,175 | 0c070fed61942d0ef2e4febb179ec5df82f69241 | By . Rebecca Brett . Nearly 900,000 Britons have been issued with a fine for motoring offences while driving on holiday abroad. One in 12 holidaymakers have been collared for breaking road rules on foreign trips in their own car, according to a survey. The findings sparked a warning for British travellers to get up to speed with little-known local laws including a Spanish ban on driving in flip-flops and a French restriction on satnav speed camera alerts. Laws in European countries include carrying a spare pair of spectacles in Italy, having a clean car in Russia and not wearing flip-flops to drive in Spain . The research comes amid a row over an EU Directive that will make it easier for police in Europe to trace errant British motorists whilst foreign drivers in the UK often escape scot-free. The research found the popularity of self-drive holidays across the English Channel has soared in the past two years. Nearly a quarter of the UK's 47.4 million adults have gone abroad by car - a total of 11.5 million British holidaymakers. But 80 per cent have been stopped for motoring misdemeanours or picked up a parking ticket - equivalent to 878,000 penalised abroad. The figure does not include Britons fined on fly-drive holidays in hire cars. The survey of 2,054 adults indicated that 4.4 million will set off from home on road trips abroad this year alone - 2.6 million more than in 2012 when just 1.8 million drove to their destination. 24% of the UK's 47.4 million adults have gone abroad by car, it's essential that British travellers get up to speed with little-known local laws in Europe before travelling . It found that men are much more likely to contravene local laws than women - 9 per cent did so compared to 6 per cent of women - and those aged under 25 are the worst offenders. 'There are lots of different laws when you drive in continental Europe and they vary from country to country,' Victoria Walton, Insurance company NFU Mutual's motor insurance specialist, said. SPAIN Fines for driving in flip-flops and ban on using DIY hands-free phone kits at the wheel . FRANCE Fines of up to Euro £1,200 for using a satnav with the speed camera location warning enabled and compulsory to carry a DIY breathalyser . GERMANY Illegal to stop on an autobahn, even when running out of fuel . ITALY Compulsory to park in the direction of traffic on that side of the road and carry spare pair of spectacles if needed for driving . RUSSIA AND BELARUS On-the-spot fine for driving a dirty car . CYPRUS Honking a horn near a hospital prohibited . DENMARK Mandatory to check under car for children hiding before driving off . LUXEMBOURG All cars must have windscreen wipers...even if they don't have a windscreen . SCANDINAVIA First region to make daytime use of headlights compulsory . 'You may not know that it is the law to carry a breathalyser in France, illegal to use a hands-free kit in Spain and compulsory that drivers who wear glasses carry a spare pair in their vehicle in Italy and Spain. 'British tourists are also at risk of serious fines if they drive wearing flip-flops or do not indicate on the motorway in Spain.' The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said holidaymakers face fines for driving a dirty car in Russia or honking their horn near a hospital in Cyprus and warned that travellers could even be arrested if caught unawares. 'It's easy to throw caution to the wind when on holiday but it's important to be aware of the local laws and customs before you set off,' FCO Minister Mark Simmonds said. 'Laws and customs vary widely from country to country. We want people to enjoy their holidays so we encourage them to be prepared.' Motorists also risk fines for driving without the minimum third party insurance required throughout Europe and advised travellers to check policies to ensure they are covered on the Continent. 'Anyone planning a self-drive trip to Europe this summer must check both their insurance and breakdown cover extends to European travel,' said Walton. 'Some policies do not provide this cover as standard. You risk being seriously out of pocket and, more importantly, breaking the law without the adequate cover.' One in twelve holidaymakers have been stopped for breaking road rules on foreign trips in their own car . The 2011 EU Directive is due to come into force next year after a ruling by the European Court of Justice overturned a UK opt-out. The clampdown gives overseas authorities the go-ahead to electronically access driver records at the DVLA to pursue fines which are currently only enforceable if drivers are stopped by a police officer. Britain fought it on the economic grounds that the cost of upgrading DVLA computers to enable instant exchange of registered keeper details and the expense of processing penalties outweigh the income generated from fines. | One in 12 holidaymakers fined for breaking rules on foreign roads .
New EU Directive will make it easier for police in Europe to trace Errant British motorists .
Other rules include carrying a breathalyser in France and spare pair of spectacles in Italy . |
234,412 | bb757860b0aa4053e893d0190273a83a43aa573c | As the players in blue shirts trudged downcast into the tunnel, manager Sean Dyche cut a path between them towards the far corner of the King Power Stadium where travelling fans were united in jubilation. For Burnley, who ended a goal drought stretching back to mid-August by twice coming from behind to draw — the point-saver arriving in the sixth minute of added time — this resembled a victory they are yet to savour in the Premier League. The two promoted sides have had vastly different starts in the top flight. While Burnley have four points from four draws, Leicester have scored 10 goals at home, a record that surpasses any other side in the League. VIDEO Scroll down to watch post-match reactions from Nigel Pearson and Sean Dyche . Ross Wallace curled in a free-kick in the 96th minute to claim a dramatic point for Burnley . The midfielder celebrates vociferous after netting the stunning last-gasp equaliser . Leicester (4-4-2): Schmeichel 5; De Laet 5, Morgan 6, Moore 5.5, Konchesky 6; Hammond 6 (James 78min, 5), Mahrez 7.5 (Knockaert 72, 5), Schlupp 7, Drinkwater 6; Vardy 7.5, Ulloa 6 (Nugent 63, 5). Subs (not used): King, Hamer, Wasliewski, Wood. Booked: Schlupp, Nugent. Booked: Schlupp, Nugent . Goals: Schlupp 33' Mahrez 41' Burnley (4-4-2): Heaton 6; Trippier 5 (Keane 86'), Shackell 5.5, Duff 5, Mee 5; Kightly 7.5 (Wallae 79'), Arfield 7, Boyd 6 (Sordell 67'), Ward 5 (booked 7mins); Barnes 5, Jutkiewicz 5.5 . Subs (not used): Gilks, Lafferty, Long, Hewitt. Booked: Ward, Arfield . Goals: Kightly 39' Wallace 90+6' Referee: Phil Dowd . Attendance: 31,448 . The conflicting ways Dyche and his opposite number Nigel Pearson greeted the final whistle reflected different expectations. ‘I thought it was much more a reminder of what we are about,’ said Dyche. ‘We started with a will and a demand. They were terrific from start to finish.’ Pearson, who enjoyed the high of a dramatic 5-3 win over Manchester United in Leicester’s last home game, was seething. ‘I’m annoyed,’ he said, acknowledging that Leicester, who had the lion’s share of the chances, missed a plum opportunity to climb to fifth. ‘We’re better than we were last season and they’re not as good,’ he added. ‘It’s disappointing because we should have won. It was a scrappy game, they didn’t come here to play fluid football, they came to be difficult to beat.’ Burnley have lifted themselves off the bottom of the table by being consistent in defence, with the exception of last week’s thrashing at West Bromwich. Goals, meanwhile, have been hard to come by. Their only other goal this campaign came in the 14th minute of the opening game of the season, a match they eventually lost 3-1 to Chelsea. So Michael Kightly’s strike, which levelled the score after Leicester’s opener, was very sweet after a wait of 10 hours and 54 minutes. However, it was three minutes too late to avoid breaking an unwanted club record set in the 1970-71 season of the longest spell without a goal. ‘I know we’re creating chances,’ said Dyche. ‘I thought we made a lot of good chances today but it’s the quality of the chances that are important. 'We’re trying to build the team and make it learn quickly. Leicester have been trying for this for years.’ Wes Morgan of Leicester City outjumps Ashley Barnes of Burnley in an aerial battle during the first half . Burnley's George Boyd (left) and Stephen Ward (right) challenge Leicester City's Dean Hammond (centre) for the ball. Jeffrey Schlupp of Leicester City scores the first goal of the game after 34 minutes . Schlupp celebates after breaking the deadlock at the King Power Stadium . MINS KM MILES . Leicester total 113.8 70.7 . Daniel Drinkwater 90 12.0 7.5 . Ritchie de Laet 90 10.8 6.7 . Jamie Vardy 90 10.7 6.6 . Burnley total 120.4 74.8 . Scott Arfield 90 12.6 7.9 . Ashley Barnes 90 12.4 7.7 . Stephen Ward 90 11.9 7.4 . Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League . Leicester’s deserved breakthrough came in the 33rd minute with a smart finish from Jeff Schlupp, for his first Premier League goal. Riyad Mahrez used his quick feet to confound Scott Arfield and squeeze a ball into the box which Ghana star Schlupp took sweetly, angling into the top corner of the net. Burnley made their mark when an Arfield cross found Lukas Jutkiewicz, who knocked the ball down with his head. Kightly swept into the box to drive the ball past Kasper Schmeichel. Dyche, who has acknowledged his side need to improve in front of goal, slung his water bottle towards nearby advertising hoardings and raised his hands above his head in applause before letting a few expletives fly. It had been a while. Leicester, who have lost just once at home in their last 19 games, took just one minute to restore their lead through Mahrez, who has experienced a swift rise at Leicester since arriving from French Ligue Two side Le Havre nine months ago. The Algeria international burst into the box to head in a cross from the excellent Jamie Vardy, who combined well with Schlupp in the build-up to the goal. But a trip by Matty James on Arfield late in added time resulted in a free-kick and substitute Ross Wallace stepped up to fire home into the top corner from 20 yards to dramatically earn a share of the spoils, to the delight of Dyche. But Burnley responded five minutes later as Michael Kightly (right) netted past Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel from close range . And the midfielder celebrated in vociferous fashion with team-mate George Boyd . But the lead lasted just two minute after riyad mahrez of Leicester City netted in the 41st minute to make it 2-1 . And he celebrated with fellow goalscorer Schlupp (right) and defender Ritchie De Laet . Jamie Vardy of Leicester attempts to climb over Jason Shackell of Burnley in a fierce aerial battle . A Burnley fan reacts in the away stand at the King Power Stadium with his side at 2-1 down . Former Brighton team-mates Ashley Barnes (left) of Burnley and Dean Hammond of Leicester challenge in the air for possession . Ross Wallace curled in a free-kick in the 96th minute to claim a dramatic point for Burnley . The midfielder celebrates vociferous after netting the stunning last-gasp equaliser . | Burnley midfielder Wallace came off the bench to score superb last-minute free-kick .
Foxes forward Jeffrey Schlupp had given the home side the lead after 33 minutes .
Michael Kightly levelled for the Clarets soon after before Riyad Mahrez put Leicester back in front .
But Wallace denied Nigel Pearson's side all three points by scoring a 96th-minute leveller . |
178,490 | 7315b507b2709785b5728a128b2cbb6434bf380a | Princes William and Harry may have become the poster boys of the Royal family but it's their grandfather who is considered a God in a remote South Pacific island. Prince Philip is worshipped in the tiny village of Vanuatu, where villagers believe the Queen's 93-year-old husband descended from their spirit ancestors. Villagers created the theory after meeting the Duke of Edinburgh on his visit there back in 1974 and this weekend saw Prince Philip's daughter, Princess Anne, return to Vanuatu. Royal visit: Her Royal Highness The Princes Royal arrived in Vanuatu yesterday, where she was welcomed by delegates at the Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conference' s Pacific programme . The 64-year-old Princess Royal, who was also on the trip forty years ago, yesterday landed in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, where she will be spending five days working. Princess Anne is president of Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue, which, according to its website, aims to strengthen the capacity of the region’s future leaders to manage challenges collaboratively, positively and creatively. God: Sikor Natuan, the son of the local chief, holds two official portraits of Prince Philip in the remote village of Yaohnanen on Tanna in Vanuatu. For in the South Pacific village of Yaohnanen on Vanuatu's Tanna island, Prince Philip is worshipped as a god . Praised: Sikor Natuan, the son of the local chief, holds a water damaged portrait of Prince Philip in a partially built monument to the British royal near the remote village of Yaohnanen on Tanna in Vanuatu . Local tribesmen believe he is the son of a mountain spirit and promised the people he would one day return to visit them - they hold a feast every year to celebrate his birthday and eagerly await his arrival. He may not have ventured back to the island, which is 9,834 miles from London, but Prince Philip regularly sends letters and pictures to the tribesmen. He even wrote a letter of condolence in 2009 when the tribe's leader, Chief Jack Naiva, passed away. Remote: Local tribesmen in Vanuatu, pictured, believe he is the son of a mountain spirit and promised the people he would one day return to visit them . Local life: He may not have ventured back to the island, which is 9,834 miles from London, but Prince Philip regularly sends letters and pictures to the tribesmen who live there . Meanwhile, it's been a busy few weeks for Anne, who arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday morning ahead of an international agricultural conference. The Princess Royal attended the 26th Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) at the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA). Princess Anne touched down at Brisbane airport on Tuesday morning to attend the conference which aims to share ideas about agriculture, food, and the natural environments of members of the Commonwealth. It runs for four days and HRH The Princess Royal will be attending for the entirety of the conference. Busy bee: Princess Anne landed in the South Pacific island fresh from a visit to Australia. Here, she is seen in Burpengary, north of Brisbane, on Thursday . The RASC was founded in 1957 by The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, and he was President of the society for half a century. Princess Anne then took over the role. The President of the RNA David Thomas is also the current vice-president of the RASC, and told the Brisbane Times his role means he has met the Princess Royal on many occasions. 'I think Princess Anne has always been a popular royal, she's very hard-working,' he told the publication. 'I think she's one of those people who are very approachable; my dealings with her have been completely delightful.' Royal duties: Princess Anne inspects a horse as she visits the Riding for the Disabled Association in Brisbane. The Princess was in Brisbane as guest of honour at the 26th Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth and visited charity groups during her four-day stay . | Princess Anne is president of Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue .
On four-day visit to Vanuatu, a remote South Pacific Island .
Locals believe Prince Philip is a god and have worshipped him for 40 years .
He visited in 1974 and regularly writes letters to the people there . |
239,042 | c17755e0e066d1dc8e3de0e0d93f35efe7711572 | It has become the Barclays Premier League fixture of the season... So Sportsmail invited JAMIE REDKNAPP, MARTIN KEOWN and GRAHAM POLL to discuss the big incidents from Manchester City v Chelsea. Head of Sport LEE CLAYTON listened in. KEOWN: Fernandinho’s absence is a big loss for City. I don’t fancy Martin Demichelis in midfield at all. In fact, it makes me think I might put my boots back on! There’s a chance for Chelsea here. How bold will they be? REDKNAPP: There will be a lot of people tuning in, hoping for Jose to fail in this game. After his unfair criticism of West Ham, the rest of football was looking on, saying: ‘OK, let’s see what you’ve got then...’ My dad thinks Chelsea win this. Not many others do. POLL: You can see the tension in the game and what it means to both teams. Vincent Kompany just got away with a strong tackle from behind on Samuel Eto’o, then screamed at his partner Matija Nastasic. I don’t recall you falling out with any of your defensive partners, Martin. Not much, anyway. Scroll down for video . On skis: Sportsmail imagines Chelsea winger Eden Hazard on skis . Brilliant: The Belgian was unstoppable in a crucial 1-0 win for the Blues at the Etihad . What a strike: Branislav Ivanovic scored the only goal of the game with a great left-footed strike in the first half . Jubilant: Ivanovic and the impressive Nemanja Matic celebrate the goal . KEOWN: Only occasionally! That was Kompany, the captain, feeling a little hot under the collar. This has the feel of a huge game. Ramires looks a threat on the break to me. City will have to deal with that. Remember that game in Barcelona when he was such a threat going forward? 15mins: No team have kept a clean sheet at City’s stadium since Birmingham in November 2010. Have Chelsea come to defend? ‘Are you West Ham in disguise?’ mock the City fans. REDKNAPP: I’m loving this start. It’s fast and furious but with quality. The passing is so crisp. Yaya Toure just set up a chance for David Silva, who should have scored. Sergio Aguero would have scored that. POLL: Interesting, that. Players are criticised for going down too easily, but Yaya stayed on his feet running into the box when there was close attention. He might have gone down. Beaten: Joe Hart was powerless to stop the powerful strike . Mixed emotions: Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini watch the action unfold . Ulucky: Matic sees a brilliant 30 yard shot rattle back off the crossbar . REDKNAPP: City work so hard without the ball. They hunt from the front. They press high and they have energy without the ball. You’d class David Silva as a luxury player, but he puts some miles in chasing the ball. They have a problem, though, because Demichelis is out of his depth in there. He’s not a midfielder. KEOWN: When Chelsea spring forward, City are missing the wheels of Fernandinho to cover and protect. They are exposed. Mourinho has set up a team to do a job at both ends of the pitch, but Eto’o doesn’t have the power he once had, which is a weakness for Chelsea. Imagine Luis Suarez in this team. Mourinho has been ruthless in his selection, leaving out Oscar, but Willian is making up for it with his energy. Agonising: David Silva lays on the floor after narrowly missing a late chance . Struggles: Yaya Toure failed to have the same impact without Fernandinho next to him . REDKNAPP: We talk about financial fair play, but Fernandinho’s value is going up with every Chelsea attack. Chelsea have just had a four-v-two situation and they are beginning to get a grip on the game. They have not come to park the bus at all. They’ve come to win. It really does look as though Mourinho has got his team selection spot on. 32mins: Ivanovic 1-0. REDKNAPP: Fantastic technique from Eden Hazard to set up that chance . . . he is becoming as important to this team as Suarez is to Liverpool. Or Aguero is to City. And he’s only 22. KEOWN: That goal was about intent, Jamie. Did you see there were five Chelsea players in attacking areas? The game plan is working perfectly. City need to get the ball into their front two more quickly. We haven’t seen enough of Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko so far. POLL: We haven’t seen much of any City players since the early exchanges. Nothing to do with officiating, but how poor are City? If Mike Dean was performing this badly, there would be outrage. Sliding in: Matija Nastasic makes a diving challenge on Ramires . Strong challenge: John Terry attempts to make a tackle on Zabaleta . Shoulder to Shoulder: Yaya Toure (left) attempts to wrest the ball from Willian . REDKNAPP: Dzeko got a little bang early on from John Terry and we haven’t seen much of him since. I can’t believe Chelsea are making Terry wait for a new contract, he’s getting better with age. He’s the best centre back in the country. Give him a new deal, before someone else does! The referee has given himself a problem, though. Four bookings and that Nemanja Matic yellow was so unnecessary. I don’t know why they do it. POLL: I disagree 100 per cent! Mike Dean has tried to be selective but that hasn’t worked. Now he’s trying to calm the game down with bookings. This is one of those refereeing performances that won’t be appreciated by fans — or former players, including you two — but Dean has tried to give individuals every chance to play football. He could have shown three early yellows but didn’t. When the tempo was increased he correctly cautioned four players and if that means a player is sent off for a second caution that is their problem and not his. 45mins: Chelsea 1-0 up at the break. Ineffective: Alvaro Negredo (left) was surprisingly taken off for Stevan Jovetic . Fish out of water: Demichelis struggled in his holding midfield role . REDKNAPP: Demichelis is like a fish out of water. He’s out of his depth in there and the game is passing him by. KEOWN: Jose’s game plan has been executed brilliantly. They have so much pace in midfield. My only criticism of Chelsea is that they should have scored more. With Demichelis in there, it’s like City are playing one in midfield. Yaya is brilliant, but he’s in no hurry to rush back, so the defence is wide open to numbers advancing. The team who win the title will be the team with the best balance. 60mins: Chelsea hit the woodwork for a third time... Dominating: Chelsea hit the woodwork three times on their way to victory . Like a Rolls-Royce: January signing Nemanja Matic was brilliant in the centre of midfield . REDKNAPP: If this was a boxing match, it would have been stopped. POLL: David Luiz is lucky to escape a yellow card for that challenge on Stevan Jovetic. You can’t say Dean has been been card-happy, Jamie! He called it right when Nastasic fouled Oscar, too. There is no reference to ‘last defender’ in law and it must be a clear and obvious goal-scoring opportunity denied. That wasn’t. Dean has been excellent. REDKNAPP: No, Matic has been excellent! When I saw the teams, I was surprised to see him there, but he’s looked like a Rolls-Royce. Right call: Referee Mike Dean was correct not to send Nastasic off for his foul on Oscar as it wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity . Twinkle toes: Manchester City struggled to handle Hazard's pace and directness . KEOWN: I can’t get carried away with Matic. He’s been very good, but Hazard is the one for me. If you put a pair of skis on Hazard, he’d win a gold at the Winter Olympics with his slalom-like dribbles. He’s my man of the match. His balance is beautiful and he’s cunning too. And Ramires is like a long-distance runner, the Mo Farah of the Chelsea team. Every Chelsea player has been on his ‘A’ game. That’s what Mourinho demands, that’s what he got. REDKNAPP: Chelsea have been magnificent. Jose has done a number on us all. That is what he does — he comes to life in these big games. Chelsea have kept clean sheets at United, Arsenal and City now, but this wasn’t just about defending, though Terry and Gary Cahill were superb. Let’s praise Mourinho for that. We don’t always give him credit, but this is a night when he deserves it. Job well done: Terry and Cahill celebrate at the final whistle . Dejected: Toure and Edin Dzeko leave the pitch off after a tough defeat . Final word: Jose Mourinho celebrates after a huge result in the title race . | Martin Keown: 'Every single Chelsea player has been on his ‘A’ game. That is what Mourinho demands, that is what he has got.'
Jamie Redknapp: 'If this was a boxing match, they would have stopped the fight.'
Graham Poll: 'Mike Dean called it right when Nastasic fouled Oscar too. That wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity.' |
258,438 | da7c7ebeb34a0f7607acddd6de30785cf6320812 | Play for England in the World Cup? I need to learn how to play union first! I hung up on Gladiator Russell Crowe the first time he called . I cried off after my debut as a fly-half ended in tears . I lived in an apartment owned by Russell Crowe and went to the beach every day... My time in Australia was a dream . Just as Sam Burgess’s rugby league career was about to take off with Bradford, he was forced to come to terms with the devastating news that his dad had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease. Sam was 15 when his parents sat the brothers down in the conservatory at home and Mark revealed he was seriously ill. Sam had never seen him cry, so his father’s emotion that day had a profound impact. ‘Me and my older brother went off and did some research on it,’ he said. ‘We realised then that it was really serious but, as a kid of that age, I still didn’t really understand it. I didn’t know how quick it would all happen. I just figured that as time went by, he would be all right; he’d overcome it. Sam Burgess' father Mark (above) was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease when the rugby star was 15 . Burgess lived with his father during the illness while his three brothers live with mother Julie . ‘I never believed he was going to die. I thought it was a myth. I thought that people can survive cancer, so my dad would survive that. My dad was my hero so I thought he would be able to beat it, but it moved fast. It’s a terrible disease. It’s an awful thing. ‘It was happening at about the time my senior career with Bradford was starting and it was literally about 18 months to two years from when they told us the news to when he passed. It went so fast.’ While the other three brothers lived with their mum, Sam lived with his dad and nursed him through the last stage of his life — carrying him upstairs to bed each night. With his modest wages, he had to pay the mortgage and the bills. Burgess had to deal with the death of his father during the early days of his Bradford career . Burgess tackles Leeds' Ryan Bailey during a Super League match in 2007 . That episode made him grow up fast. ‘I didn’t know anything else, so I didn’t feel that looking after my dad was a burden,’ he said. ‘I actually enjoyed it. It sounds strange, but we made the most of that time. ‘Going through that helped me become better at a lot of things. I learned not to take things for granted. It has made me stronger but colder, too, in a way. ‘My dad is in my thoughts every day. It was a tough part of life, but also a great part. I’ve got so many great memories of that 18 months with my dad. That’s why I can talk about it and smile. I know my dad would be proud of me.’ The 25-year-old believes the death of his father made him a stronger person . Burgess poses for a selfie with his mother Julie after the NRL grand final in Sydney . Julie Burgess poses with her Rabbitohs sons (from left) Sam, Luke, George and Tom . Sam Burgess is a Canterbury ambassador for rugby and training products. Sam is the face of the new Since 1904 fashion range to be launched by Canterbury in February 2015. For more information, visit www.canterbury.com . | Bath's Sam Burgess signs for Sportsmail .
Burgess reveals the death of his father made him stronger .
Mark Burgess was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease .
Rugby star lived with his father to nurse him through difficult time . |
230,044 | b5e6e0f8239df9116c3214f536de6bae8f1ed1f4 | By . Peter Allen . A French plan to 'commercialise' the D-Day commemorations by turning them into massive profits has been scrapped following angry protests. Broadcasters France Television and TF1 wanted to cash in on their exclusive live rights by charging media organisations hundreds of thousands of pounds to stream the footage live. This could have led to millions around the world, including veterans, missing out on coverage of the 70th anniversary of the Second World War invasion. The Prince of Wales salutes at the Glider Pilot Regiment Memorial at Pegasus Bridge, Normandy . Four agencies, including the Associated Press and France's AFP, which led the protests said they alone would have ended up with a combined bill equivalent to around £160,000 . Four agencies, including the Associated Press and France's AFP, which led the protests said they alone would have ended up with a combined bill equivalent to around £160,000. Philippe Massonnet, of AFP, said: 'The commercialisation of this historic event is shocking.' But French President Francois Hollande has now backed down, insisting that everybody can have the images at zero cost. A joint statement by France Television, which is public, and TF1, which is private, reads: 'For all foreign channels and agencies, given the exceptional nature of the event and at the request of the Presidency of the Republic, pictures will be available for free.' Veterans wait for the arrival of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall near Pegasus Bridge . The Duchess of Cornwall meets veterans near Pegasus Bridge during the D-Day Commemorations . Heads of state including the Queen and U.S. President Barack Obama will be among those attending the D-Day commemorations in Normandy on Friday, along with around 1800 veterans who were involved in the June 6th 1944 landings. The Queen was due to arrive in Paris this afternoon for a three day state visit to France, and will travel to Normandy for the day tomorrow. The Queen was due to arrive in Paris this afternoon for a three day state visit to France, and will travel to Normandy for the day tomorrow . | France Television and TF1 wanted to cash in on their exclusive rights .
Millions around the world, including veterans, could've missed coverage .
French President Francois Hollande has now backed down . |
252,328 | d2908b97a2cab2179dd10d29cf77f143a5e51455 | (CNN) -- The head of Australian soccer has vowed "to throw the book" at the men charged with match-fixing in a lower league competition -- which has been described as the worst such scandal in the country's sporting history. Nine people were arrested on Sunday, and six of them were charged in court Monday, including the coach of Victorian Premier League team Southern Stars, a group of his players and a Malaysian national. Five of those involved were British players who had been reportedly been offered to the Melbourne-based club at the start of the season on a non-payment basis. The Australian Football Federation (FFA) website said the arrests were made after it received data on suspicious betting patterns involving the Southern Stars in August, which it passed on to Victorian state police. "Integrity measures put in place by football have been effective in detecting this activity," FFA chief David Gallop told reporters Sunday. "From the FFA's point of view we'll initiate proceedings under our own codes of conduct. You can be sure that we will throw the book at them. "That means life bans on a worldwide basis." Police said more than $2 million had been bet on the team, which is bottom of its division -- a second-tier competition below the national A-League. Gerry Gsubramanian, 45, is accused of being the contact man for overseas betting syndicates who organized with the players the outcomes of matches. "He receives phone calls. He is given advice on how the Southern Stars players are to perform," Detective acting senior sergeant Scott Poynder told the court, according to the Australian Associated Press. "Video showed some of the players were doing some unusually poor play. For that work he received payment. Some of the bets are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars." Gallop said he had been told by police it was considered an "isolated issue." "This highlights the fact that lower league games, which aren't under the scrutiny of things like a global television broadcast, are potentially more susceptible to this kind of activity," Gallop said. "At this stage the police have indicated to us that they are looking at an isolated issue in Victoria and we need to be guided by the police in that regard." The controversy adds to a difficult year for Australian sport, which has been rocked by the drug scandals involving leading Australian Football League team Essendon as well as the country's rugby league competition. "This was flagged earlier this year by the Australian Crime Commission that there were links with organized crime, trafficking of performance-enhancing drugs and match-fixing," journalist Jim Wilson of the Seven Network told CNN's World Sport. "People were saying there's no match-fixing in Australian sport, and then this comes to light. It's a lower grade competition ... but it's the exotic betting and the middle-men involved that really sends shockwaves through Australian sport. "Bets from India, Asia, Singapore, China on these local teams. I think you'll find that there are other sports that will be investigated and are under the spotlight as far as the Australian Federal Police is concerned. "I don't think it's just limited to football in this country. This is disturbing for Australian sport in general." | Six people charged in Australian soccer match-fixing scandal .
Coach and players of Victorian league team among those involved .
Malaysian national accused of being contact man for overseas syndicates .
Journalist says scandal "is disturbing for Australian sport in general" |
101,588 | 0eed30eb7e8dffe8bdcb0147f128f0d79b90fd50 | By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 06:04 EST, 7 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:12 EST, 7 October 2012 . The families of murder victims could face compensation cuts under Government plans to slash spending by £50million. Unions and MPs have blasted proposals to cut a quarter of the £200m awarded annually by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The scheme awards compensation to more than 30,000 people each year who are seriously injured following violent crimes. Loss: Victims of crime could lose compensation under proposals to save £50m . Usdaw, a union that represents retail workers, claims the cuts proposed by the Government would mean almost 90 per cent of victims would see their compensation slashed or axed completely. The scheme was due to come into force on September 30, but was withdrawn when it was condemned in committee by both Conservative and Labour MPs. However, the Ministry of Justice is now re-considering the changes. Usdaw general secretary John Hannett said: 'We were very encouraged when the Government withdrew the revised scheme, particularly in light of the comments made by Conservative backbenchers, but unfortunately this now looks less like a rethink and more like a tactical retreat. 'Despite the Government continuing to suggest otherwise, the current scheme is already on a sustainable financial footing and not even the most seriously affected victims would receive a penny more from the revised scheme. 'On the contrary, half of victims would receive nothing in future and almost 90 per cent will lose out, including those most seriously injured and the children of murder victims. MP John Redwood (left) is one of a number of MPs who have criticised plans to cut compensation for crime victims. The CWU says postal workers have a right to compensation if attacked by dogs (right) 'We now fear any amendments to the revised scheme will be purely cosmetic changes designed to help ministers avoid future political embarrassment, rather than assist the thousands of innocent victims of violent crime who rely on it as a last resort for financial recompense.' Rob Flello, Labour Shadow Justice Minister and Conservative MP John Redwood also slammed the planned cuts. Mr Redwood urged the Government to 'think again', adding: 'I did not come into Parliament to see these things cut.' The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has added its voice to those objecting to the proposals. CWU Cardiff branch secretary and Wales TUC president Amarjite Singh criticised Government plans to cut compensation claims for everything below £5000. He claims this would hit injured postal and telecom workers hard. He said: 'On average 12 postal workers are attacked every day by dogs. The attack is always dangerous but often the victims also suffer from symptoms of trauma that last long after the event itself.' 'This is yet another Government attack on the most vulnerable members of our society.' However, the Ministry of Justice, said criminals would shoulder more of the financial burden to make up the shortfall. A spokesperson said: 'We are putting more onus on criminals paying for victim support services, and expect to see around £50m more a year come from offenders as a result. The Government continues to contribute £66m a year for victims services. 'Ministers have listened carefully to the concerns raised in Parliament and are considering their next steps in light of this. 'No decision has been taken.' | Plans to cut financial aid to crime victims savaged by MPs and unions .
Children of murder victims could lose out .
Ministry of Justice claims criminals will shoulder more of financial burden . |
132,854 | 37cba697e3f7b2f3dbbb98816b72f241a92f7c14 | By . John Drayton . Barcelona are considering a bid for Liverpool centre-half Daniel Agger, according to reports in Spain. Sunday's edition of Sport claims the Catalans are lining up a £12m offer for the Denmark international as they look to strengthen their defence. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Daniel Agger score an own goal against Roma . Who wants me? Liverpool centre-back Daniel Agger could be on his way to Barcelona in a £12m deal, according to reports in the Spanish press . Saying farewell: Denmark international Agger has been at Anfield since 2006 but is likely to be on the periphery of the squad next season following the arrival of Dejan Lovren . Rebuffed: Barcelona have seen an approach for PSG defender Marquinhos turned down . Ajax's Daley Blind, Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham are also being considered but Barca believe Agger, 29, represents the best value. The La Liga giants have seen an approach for PSG's Marquinhos rebuffed in recent days. Agger will likely find himself out of favour at Anfield next season following the arrival of Dejan Lovren from Southampton and a move to the Nou Camp could be appealing. | Barcelona need a centre-back and believe Agger represents good value .
Daley Blind, Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen also considered .
Catalan club have seen approach for PSG's Marquinhos rebuffed .
Denmark international Agger likely to be out of favour at Anfield . |
84,448 | ef972d0a185cad84b77810e4a2f701f037145823 | 300 vials of a new Ebola vaccine will arrive in Liberia today, to form part of the largest trial into the efficacy of the experimental drug . The first batch of an experimental Ebola vaccine has been shipped to West Africa, destined to help protect 30,000 people in Liberia. The shipment, of an initial 300 vials of the vaccine, marks the first to arrive in one of the three countries worst affected by the Ebola epidemic. The drug will form the basis of the first large-scale vaccine trial, with healthcare workers on the front line treating Ebola patients, among the first to receive the drug. It comes as the World Health Organisation said this week, the epidemic is showing signs of waning. But after ravaging three West African nations and spreading fear from Dallas to Madrid, it has hammered home the message that the world needs a better detective system for emerging diseases. Researchers hope to enrol up to 30,000 people to take part in the trial, a third of whom will get the vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline. The drug is currently being tested in five small phase one safety trials in Britain, the US, Switzerland and Mali and involving around 200 volunteers. Moncef Slaoui, GSKs global vaccines chief, said: 'The initial phase I data are encouraging and give us confidence to progress to the next phases of clinical testing, which will involve the vaccination of thousands of volunteers, including front line healthcare workers.' The drug uses a type of chimpanzee cold virus to deliver safe genetic material from the Zaire strain of Ebola, the strain responsible for the unprecedented epidemic in West Africa. Data so far show 'an acceptable safety profile' including in a West African population and across a range of dose levels, GSK said, adding it had now selected the most appropriate dosage for the Liberia trial. The World Health Organisation yesterday said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa appears to be waning but cautioned against complacency in an epidemic that has seen 21,724 cases reported in nine countries since it started in Guinea a year ago. Some 8,641 people have died, according to WHO data. Mr Slaoui stressed that GSK's shot, like other candidates from a NewLink Genetics and Merck collaboration, and from Johnson & Johnson and Bavarian Nordic, is still in development and can't be deployed unless and until it proves safe and effective. 'Any potential future use in mass vaccination campaigns will depend on whether the WHO, regulators and other stakeholders are satisfied ... and how quickly large quantities ... can be made,' he said. Professor Jonathan Ball, from the University of Nottingham, hailed the move as an 'important step' in the fight against Ebola. He said: 'In order to show that a vaccine works you have to perform phase III trials in those people most at risk from the infection. 'Make no mistake, this isn't an easy task; there are huge logistical hurdles to overcome. Scroll down for video . It comes as the World Health Organisation said the epidemic, which has ravaged Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, is showing signs of waning . 'Ebola virus infection has decimated what was an already under-resourced Liberian healthcare infrastructure, making delivery a tricky thing to achieve. 'These vaccines also need cold storage, which isn't always easy to guarantee. Also, recruitment to the trials will require a huge effort in social engagement and education.' Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, who is helping fund the new vaccine, added: 'This week we've heard encouraging news from West Africa, indicating that we may at last have reached a turning point in what has been the worst Ebola outbreak in history. 'The unprecedented speed at which the vaccine preparation has progressed would not have been possible without sheer determination and global partnership between national governments, funders, researchers and pharma companies, and agencies on the ground who have worked tirelessly to get this crisis under control.' Experts and politicians gathering at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos have focused on the epidemic, noting the risk posed by pandemic threats such as deadly strains of flu and drug-resistant superbugs. WHO director general Margaret Chan, said: 'Viruses do not need visas to get across borders.' She admitted the international response to future epidemics must be better co-ordinated. Her own organisation has been criticised for failing to move faster to tackle Ebola and has acknowledged that it lacked the staff and tools to fight the epidemic adequately early on. 'The whole world needs a new early-warning system for these diseases,' said Alpha Conde, the president of Guinea - where Ebola went undetected for three months in early 2014. | 300 doses of the GlaxoSmithKline drug are set to arrive in Liberia today .
Will form part of the largest-ever Ebola vaccine trial, with 30,000 volunteers .
Healthcare workers will be among the first to be injected with trial drug .
Has shown good results in smaller tests in UK, US, Switzerland and Mali . |
41,497 | 7512095787f277dc220a3beefd509804b81855dd | By . Chris Pleasance . and Ian Drury . Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused the Pope's compromise, saying that there were worse things than war, including 'the extinction of all that one believed in' Pope John Paul II tried to persuade Margaret Thatcher to stop fighting Argentina over the Falkland Islands, newly uncovered documents have revealed. The Vatican urged the Prime Minister to reach an ‘honourable compromise’ with the military junta in Buenos Aires over the future of the remote group of islands in the South Atlantic. But Mrs Thatcher defiantly rejected the peace plea, insisting there could be ‘no compromise between right and wrong’. The Pope asked Mrs Thatcher to 'compromise' with the Argentine government, fearing that defeat for Argentina would topple its right-wing government, allowing the Soviets to seize more power in the region. But a top-secret memo, released after 23 years, shows how the Iron Lady resisted, saying that the Argentines should 'go home and leave the Queen's people'. According to the Sunday Express Mrs Thatcher confessed that the war was a 'terrible evil' but not as terrible as 'the extinction of all that one believed in.' The Pope made the plea through Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, one of his most senior diplomats, who visited the UK ahead of the pontiff's arrival on May 28 1982. The 50-minute meeting took place in secret with no Cabinet ministers present at around 6.40pm. According to the memo, written by Thatcher's private personal secretary Sir Clive Whitmore to Sir Brian Fell, principal private secretary to the foreign secretary, the meeting was almost entirely devoted to the Falklands. Mr Whitmore wrote that the Pope had concerns over 'dangerous consequences' of a 'general' kind. The Holy See worried that toppling the Argentine government would allow the Soviets the opportunity to drive a wedge between the West and Latin America. The plea came just hours after British troops capture Goose Green, marking the first land battle of the war . Instead, John Paul II suggests that an 'honourable' compromise might suit all parties better. Just hours before the visit took place, around 500 British paratroopers from British Falklands Task Force recaptured Goose Green from 1,200 Argentinian soldiers, marking the first land battle of the war. While the victory was a resounding success for the military, it came at a cost of 17 British lives. | In May 1982, during Falklands War, Pope John Paul II visited Britain .
Before he arrived he sent senior diplomat to speak with Thatcher .
Asked for 'compromise', fearing Argentine government would collapse .
If that happened then the Soviets could try and seize power, he warned .
Thatcher said there was no compromise 'between right and wrong' |
82,590 | ea2d9a1e92fd44575dbfe912c21ee40e8b070821 | By . Bianca London . She's one of world's most famous supermodels and it's one of the high street's most iconic shops, so news of Kate Moss designing once more for Topshop had fashion fans in a flurry. While no date has been set for its release, Kate has been teasing fans with a few glimpses of her highly-anticipated new collection. Today, she was unveiled wearing one of her own outfits on the cover of Vogue's May edition and now Kate has taken us behind the scenes at Topshop to showcase some of her upcoming designs and the inspiration behind them. Grand reveal: Kate Moss, who last designed for Topshop in 2007, is the star of a new video giving a sneak peek of her upcoming range . Speaking in a video, the famously elusive Kate says: 'The first collection was seven years ago so I've grown up a lot and I learned a lot the first time around. 'This collection is a bit more sophisticated, everything in the collection is something that I would definitely wear and I can't wait to get my hands on it.' Quick glimpse: The video swiftly flashes to a rail packed with Kate's upcoming designs, which look perfect for festival season . What I wear: Kate explains that all the clothes are things she would wear herself and she can't wait to showcase them . As Kate shares her thoughts on the new range, the camera pans in on her mood board, which features snaps of the model over the years. Kate revealed that the tasselled waistcoat she is wearing on her Vogue cover was actually inspired by one she owned but lost. Inside the glossy fashion bible, . for her second shoot as contributing fashion editor, Kate also styled . model Freja Beha Erichsen. Mood board: Clearly Kate has been putting a lot of effort into her designs and has even taken inspiration from her favourite outfits, as well as her style icons . Deja vu? Kate's mood board is full of snaps of herself from by-gone parties (left) and is seems that she's recreated one look, showing the camera one of her new designs featuring glitzy stars (right) Freja wears a . leather waistcoat, chiffon top and shorts - all Kate's own designs for . Topshop - along with a leather corset from Jitrois. The . Croydon-born model last worked with the high street brand between . 2007-2010 and her new collection will be sold in 40 . countries this year. While the store are yet to reveal a definite release date, the landing page on their site reads: 'Supermodel, style icon and long-time Topshop friend, Kate Moss is back! 'The . fashion icon is returning to Topshop after a three-year hiatus and has . been working with stylist Katy England and Topshop creative director . Kate Phelan on a collection that's due to launch in May 2014. 'If you . fell in love with her floral tea dresses or her denim cut-offs from . Kate Moss' seasons past, we have no doubt you'll fall for what's coming . next.' Coming soon: While the store are yet to reveal a release date, the landing page on their site reads: 'Supermodel, style icon and long-time Topshop friend, Kate Moss is back!' Grown up style: Kate, modelling her collection in 2009, says she learned so much from the process and has grown up a lot since then . | Shows mood board with images of Kate at events over the years .
Looks very boho and festival-inspired .
Kate says she learned a lot from her previous ranges .
Wore new design on cover of this month's Vogue . |
8,860 | 18f966d31896594b241385d267287f503d97dfe4 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:48 EST, 18 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:20 EST, 18 November 2013 . A Minnesota doctor was shot and killed on Friday by a man he helped deliver 30 years ago. Dr Stephen Larson, 74, of Orono, was found dead inside his home Friday night from multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Sunday. The suspect, who was shot dead by police at the scene of the doctor's killing, was identified as 30-year-old Ted Hoffstrom, of St. Anthony, Minnesota. Write caption here . According to ABC News, the long-time Minneapolis obstetrician and gynecologist had assisted in the birth of Hoffstrom in 1983, but authorities have yet to give a possible motive for the killing. Officers responded just before 9pm on Friday to a report of an armed man outside Larson's home on the 1000 block of Heritage Lane. Shots were fired during a confrontation and the suspect was killed outside the home, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said. Larson was killed before police arrived on the scene and his body was found inside the home, authorities said. Scroll down for video... Murder: Dr. Larson of Orono, Minnesota, was found dead inside his home Friday night . Crime scene: It is alleged that Larson went to the doctor's house and shot him. The suspect was then shot dead by police outside the home in Orono, Minnesota . The doctor was home alone at the time of the shooting as his wife was out of town, according to the ABC. During his 33-year career, colleagues at OBGYN Specialists in Edina and Burnsville estimated he delivered thousands of babies and won numerous awards. ‘There is no way there is anyone who would have any ill will towards him,’ said one of Larson's partners at OBGYN Specialists, Dr Suzin Cho. Good man: One of Larson's partners at OBGYN Specialists, Dr Suzin Cho said there was 'no way' anyone would have bad intentions towards the deceased doctor . The alleged killer’s family posted a note on the front door of their home Sunday, asking people to respect their privacy as they grieve for their son. The aspiring lawyer had recently passed the Minnesota bar exam, according to St. Paul Pioneer Press. His family said his actions were shocking and out of character. ‘It is with great sadness that we extend our heartfelt prayers and sympathy to the family of Dr. Stephen Larson. Our hearts are broken for all of those affected by this tragic event, said the note from the Hoffstrom family. ‘We are shocked and saddened by this news, and many questions remain unanswered. We hope that the public will understand this is a very difficult time for our family. 'We are grieving the loss of our son, and ask that you please respect our privacy at this time.’ Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. | Dr Stephen Larson, 74, found dead inside his home Friday night from multiple gunshot wounds .
Suspect, Ted Hoffstrom, 30, an aspiring lawyer, shot dead by police outside the doctor's home .
The Minneapolis obstetrician/gynecologist had 'assisted in the birth of Hoffstrom in 1983'
Authorities have yet to give a possible motive for the killing . |
199,153 | 8dcf20a6f6e6d5d19bf4f23eb2678f74c0420c38 | The Seattle Seahawks have revealed that a good part of their defensive strategy at the Super Bowl came from the fact that they were able to decode Peyton Manning's hand signals on the field. Controversial corner back Richard Sherman said that he and his fellow defenders cracked the code that the Denver Broncos quarterback was using, meaning that they knew exactly what to expect for each play. 'We knew what route concepts they liked on different downs, so we jumped all the routes. Then we figured out the hand signals for a few of the route audibles in the first half,' he said. Scroll down for video . Cracking the code: The Seattle defense allegedly figured out what plays were associated with each of Peyton Manning's calls, meaning that they were able to prepare for them precisely each play . Reading the field: Manning reportedly changes his hand signals each game, but Seahawks' corner back Richard Sherman said that they were able to break the code during the first quarter of the Super Bowl . Not change enough: Though he only said 'Omaha' twice during the game, he did stick to his same hand signals throughout, meaning that the Seahawks were able to use their cracked code in all four quarters . If true, that would explain why the Broncos had so much trouble scoring, getting their only points on the board in the third quarter. 'All we did was play situational football,' Sherman told Sports Illustrated's blog The MMQB (The Monday Morning Quarterback). 'Me, Earl (Thomas), Kam (Chancellor)... we’re not just three All-Pro players. We’re three All-Pro minds.' The Stanford-educated football player, . who took criticism and was fined for his self-agrandizing speech . following the NFC Championship playoff game, later described the Super . Bowl as 'playing chess, not checkers'. Victorious: Richard Sherman got hurt during the game, but that didn't stop him from celebrating afterwards . New title: The Super Bowl loss means that Manning has taken over the title of 'most post season losses by a quarterback' which was previously held by Brett Favre . Manning's hand signals are known . within the league for being one of his common traits on the field, just . as the call 'Omaha' is associated with the 37-year-old. Manning . is so closely associated with 'Omaha' that 15 companies pledged to . donate $1,500 to charity each time that he said it during the Super . Bowl. Instead of his typical double digit mentions, he only said it twice during Sunday night's big game. (By comparison, Fox Sports reported that he said it 31 times during the AFC title game.) In . post game interviews, however, Manning and other Broncos offensive . linemen explained that the noise at MetLife stadium stopped some of . their verbal messages to one another. Hero's welcome: The Seahawks arrived back Monday ahead of the Wednesday parade in their honor . Home ground: Sherman, who is now on crutches, and the team arrived back in Seattle Monday morning . 'None of us heard the snap count,' Denver offensive lineman Manny Ramirez said. 'I thought I did and when I snapped it, I guess Peyton was actually trying to walk up to me at the time. I'm not 100 per cent sure. It's unfortunate things didn't go as planned.' As for the hand signals, Manning is said to change them every game but this time the other team was paying very close attention early on, explaining how they were able to thwart his plans in the first quarter. The other problem that plagued Manning was that he didn't switch up the system after realizing that it wasn't working. 'Now, if Peyton had thrown in some double moves, if he had gone out of character, we could’ve been exposed,' Sherman said. | Controversial defensive corner back Richard Sherman said that he and the other defenders were able to 'crack the code' on Manning's hand signals .
Said they figured out which plays went with which hand motions during the first quarter of the Super Bowl .
Sherman equated the game to a mental match, saying they were 'playing chess, not checkers' on the field on Sunday .
Seattle won 43-8 in a surprisingly low-scoring game for the Broncos . |
196,808 | 8ab16e29b7b9e29c8ddc20907a2eb583d71b8672 | Foreign aid will cost British taxpayers £1billion more than expected by the end of next year because the national income has risen, it was claimed last night. Included in the Autumn Statement are new figures which suggest the economy’s size has increased in several areas, according to the Financial Times. Therefore so has the UK’s aid commitment, which is to pay 0.7 per cent of GDP. The revelation is expected to trigger anger from Tory backbenchers, who are deeply opposed to increases to the aid budget while Britain is still struggling to pay off the deficit. Scroll down for video . Foreign aid will cost British taxpayers £1billion more than expected by the end of next year because the national income has risen. Pictured, British soldiers distribute aid packages in Zubayr in southern Iraq, 2003 . While other departments have seen their spending slashed over the past four years, foreign aid has been ring-fenced and was set to hit £12billion by the end of this year. Under the new calculations, it should rise to £12.4billion this year to meet the target – effectively giving the Department for International Development three weeks to spend another £400million. Next year, the aid budget would have to increase by £550million to £12.75billion. The findings come ahead of a vote in the Commons today in which Tory MPs will try to kill off a Bill to enshrine the foreign aid target in law so it must be followed by future governments. Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, said: 'It is completely idiotic to be spending so much money abroad when we are borrowing so much money' Last night, David Cameron conceded that the Bill may not get through and instead claimed it was more important that the UK gives this money to poor countries than pass laws about it. It is a remarkable change of tone from the Prime Minister, who declared earlier this year that the massive increase to the foreign aid budget was his ‘proudest achievement’ in government. Cabinet ministers are not expected to attend the Commons vote, which was forced by the Liberal Democrats, although all three parties officially support the Bill. Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, has tabled dozens of amendments to hold up the debate today. He said: ‘It is completely idiotic to be spending so much money abroad when we are borrowing so much money.’ If time runs out, the Bill will not be passed before the General Election. Even members of the Cabinet do not support the Bill, which Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called ‘bizarre’ when asked about it last month. Figures released by the Office for Budget Responsibility, seen by the Financial Times newspaper, show the UK’s national income is around £60billion higher than expected for this year. According to the newspaper, the OBR figures for 2015 increase the size of several economic sectors by £79billion – meaning an extra £550million in foreign aid, although the final figure is unknown. The budget for DFID has already been set for the next two years and it is understood other spending could be reclassified as ‘international development’. Last night, a Treasury spokesman said: ‘The Autumn Statement confirmed that we will meet the 0.7 per cent aid target in 2014. The amount spent on aid in 2014/15 has not been changed. The 2013 spending round set budgets for 2015/16, including maintaining ODA [official development assistance, a way of measuring aid] funding at 0.7 per cent of GNI [gross national income] in 2015. We are confident that existing spending plans are consistent with our aid commitments.’ | Revelation is expected to trigger anger from some Tory backbenchers .
They are deeply opposed to increases to aid while Britain is still lending . |
106,186 | 14f536f1fc01628e8f001d15bb650f55618094c5 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 07:44 EST, 12 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:01 EST, 12 October 2012 . A killer who stabbed his girlfriend's stepfather in front of his victim's family has been jailed for 11 years. Nicolas Warrender thrust a steak knife into 'unarmed and unsuspecting' Kevin Gaunt’s heart during the confrontation in June, after he mistakenly believed the 52-year-old had assaulted Hannah Gaunt, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Mr Gaunt, a grandfather, staggered into his kitchen and collapsed in a pool of blood on the floor as his distraught wife Carole begged 'don't leave me, please don’t leave me'. As her husband lay dying Mrs Gaunt was frantically trying to keep her four-year-old granddaughter, who she had been babysitting, away from the horror happening inside the house while calling for help. Warrender (left) turned up on Kevin Gaunt's (right) doorstep after he had been drinking with his girlfriend and stuck a knife into the popular man's heart . Warrender, 23, of Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, denied murder and was tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court. He claimed a knife he had been using to cut an apple had accidentally caused the fatal wound on Father's Day as he fended off an attack by Mr Gaunt. But prosecutor Robert Woodcock QC told the court how Warrender had 'armed himself' with the blade after he had been out drinking with his victim's stepdaughter Hannah, 20. On the night of the killing, the . couple had been out drinking while Mr Gaunt and his wife looked after . Hannah’s little girl at their home next door. After the night out a row erupted and Hannah was ordered out of her mother and step father’s home. She went back to her own house and Mr . and Mrs Gaunt locked their door for the night but moments later . Warrender turned up to confront his girlfriend’s step father. Mr Woodcock said: 'There clearly was some kind of scuffle between them. 'The result of it was that Kevin Gaunt was fatally wounded with one stab wound to the chest. 'The wound, say the prosecution, was . caused by the defendant Nicolas Warrender, in his misguided belief that . Hannah had been assaulted by Kevin Gaunt. Newcastle Crown Court heard how the 23-year-old had confronted the unarmed, popular grandfather . 'Before he went around to have it out . with Kevin Gaunt he had armed himself with a knife, a steak knife from a . block in Hannah’s kitchen, a weapon, say the prosecution, which he had . concealed, of which, say the prosecution, Kevin Gaunt almost certainly . never had sight of at all.' After more than five hours deliberation jurors rejected Warrender’s claim that what happened had been a complete accident while protecting himself and found him guilty of manslaughter yesterday. He was found not guilty of the charge of murder. Judge James Goss QC told him: 'You armed yourself with a sharp steak knife with a blade of over four inches and in the ensuing confrontation you stabbed Kevin Gaunt through the heart. 'I am quite satisfied you took the knife with you at least prepared to use it as a weapon if the need arose. 'You were significantly under the influence of alcohol, two-and-a-half to three times the limit for driving a vehicle. 'The offence was committed virtually on the victim’s doorstep to his home, in the presence of his wife and his wife’s granddaughter, a child who was clearly deeply upset by what took place. 'You have never acknowledged your crime and there can be no credit for guilty plea or remorse.' Toby Hedworth QC, defending while Warrender does have previous convictions for violence he has been out of trouble for over four years and has no history of carrying weapons. The grieving family of Kevin Gaunt has been left devastated by the death of the devoted dad and grandad. He left behind four children of his own as well as grandchildren. Speaking on behalf of the family, cousin Jason Gaunt, 38, said: 'Warrender has destroyed this family. We will never get over this. 'Kevin was a big strong man who loved his family. 'The conviction gives us some relief, although whatever happened in court can never bring him back or come anywhere close to stopping our pain. 'At least the conviction means there is one less person on the streets using a knife to sort out a row.' Mr Gaunt’s family said the hundreds of people who turned out to pay their respects at his funeral showed how popular and well thought of he was by so many. Mr Gaunt’s cousin Kay Thompson, 44, said: 'He would do anything for anybody, if you wanted anything done you just asked Kevin. 'As soon as you said you needed something it was done, it was never too much trouble for him, nothing was. 'He was always up for a laugh and was so popular and well known in the area.' | Nicholas Warrender mistakenly thought his girlfriend had been assaulted by her stepfather Kevin Gaunt .
Killer claimed he accidentally caused the wound after he had used the knife to cut an apple .
Row happened after Mr Gaunt had been babysitting his stepdaughter's child . |
73,548 | d0878e7deb234efa28761bb9457c71d9dfe1dc9b | A former nuclear engineer on Tuesday was convicted of murder for poisoning his wife with a lethal dose of nicotine in Southern California in 1994. Jurors in Orange County Superior Court found Paul Curry, 57, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his then-50-year-old wife, Linda, a district attorney's statement said. Curry killed his wife to collect more than half a million dollars in life insurance and benefits after she died, prosecutors said. He sedated his wife with the sleep drug Ambien before injecting her with nicotine, Ebrahim Baytieh, deputy district attorney for Orange County, said during the trial. Guilty: Paul Marshal Curry reacts beside his attorney Lisa Kopelman, a deputy public defender, as a jury declares him guilty on all counts in a Santa Ana courtroom on Tuesday . Almost got away with murder: It was 20 years before Paul Curry, 57, was found guilty for murdering his wife . Murdered: Linda was murdered by her husband in 1994 who sedated her with ambien and then injected her with a lethal dose of nicotine so he could gain $500,000 in life insurance and benefits . Curry's wife suffered from a series of health issues including anxiety, depression and stomach pain, Curry's lawyer, Lisa Kopelman, has said. A message seeking comment was left for Kopelman on Tuesday. But she insisted on Curry's innocence during trial. 'This case is all about conjecture, innuendo and suspicions, and that is not what guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is,' she said, according to City News Service. Curry and his wife met in 1989 when they worked at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in northern San Diego County. Curry had previously been married, but he left his former wife after she was rejected for life insurance, Baytieh said. Curry was arrested in 2010 in Salina, Kansas, where he had rebuilt his life and worked as a building official. "For 16 years, he thought he had gotten away with it," Baytieh told the Orange County Register, "and now he's going to prison for the rest of his life." Going to jail: Paul Marshal Curry was charged with and convicted of first degree murder and insurance fraud for the 1994 poisoning of his chronically-ill spouse in an attempt to collect life insurance monies . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Jurors in Orange County Superior Court found Paul Curry, 57, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his then-50-year-old wife, Linda .
He sedated his wife with the sleep drug Ambien before injecting her with nicotine to collect more than half a million dollars in life insurance .
'For 16 years, he thought he had gotten away with it,' Ebrahim Baytieh, deputy district attorney for Orange County, said during the trial .
Curry's wife suffered from a series of health issues including anxiety, depression and stomach pain . |
86,831 | f66b8dcedfd1436269b16402ade0e11a6a45cb57 | After Katy Perry posted a picture of her and Hillary Clinton, it only took Vice President Joe Biden a few days to one-up the former secretary of state. Perry had offered to write a "theme" song for Clinton's presidential campaign, should she decide to run in 2016, after the two met at a book signing in Los Angeles for Clinton's memoir "Hard Choices." Then Biden made his move: He invited the pop star to the White House, posed for a selfie with her and even got on the phone with her grandmother. "What a Q-T," Perry captioned the Instagram photo of her and Biden, who is a fan, a White House official told CNN. Perry's fans seemed to agree and less than 24 hours after it was posted, the vice presidential selfie beat out Perry's photo with Clinton by several thousand likes. That's a BFD, as Biden might say. It's not the first time Biden has trumped Clinton news with a little "news" of his own as speculation simmers about whether they will run for the presidency in 2016. When Clinton said she hadn't driven a car in nearly 20 years, Biden was quick to profess his love of American sports cars and even suggested that not being able to drive the new Corvette could be the one reason he doesn't run for president. "I'd like to get that Z06 from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds," Biden said in February. And then Clinton tried to climb out of the hole she had dug by saying her family was in debt and "dead broke" after leaving the White House. Oh yeah? Dead broke? Well the vice president doesn't even have a savings account, Biden said just a day after Clinton reignited the controversy over her wealth. "Don't hold it against me I don't own a single stock or bond," Biden continued. "Don't hold it that I have no savings account." While the Bidens' investments are listed in his wife's name, the vice president does in fact have several savings accounts. But that's not the point, jabbin' Joe would say. Remember instead that he was listed as one of the poorest members of Congress when he was a senator. And then there's their new BFF Katy Perry. Oh, Hillary -- you just met her and her posse? "I've known them for like seven years ... so, just a little bit longer. I've just known them for a really long time ... so, longer. So, just better friends." Wait -- that's not Biden. It's a quote from Penelope, the absurdly competitive Saturday Night Live character played by Kristen Wiig who has an overpowering urge to outshine everyone around her. The back and forth between Clinton and Biden even prompted Jon Stewart to call a "Poor-Off" to settle the would-be-rivals' competing claims. "Don't hold it against me but my clothes are made of old curtains" Stewart as Biden said. Stewart even nicknamed the veep, Joe "I'm-allergic-to-money" Biden. But the polls show Clinton is the clear frontrunner among Democrats for 2016, with Biden a distant second. While they're both considering their options, Biden's got to keep himself in the headlines. And apparently letting Clinton set up his punch lines has helped Biden flaunt his qualities and accomplishments. Like travel. Clinton has touted her travel credentials -- 112 countries and nearly 1 million miles -- during her whirlwind book tour. But the day Clinton's book was released, Biden brought up his own encounters with world leaders and the frequent flier miles he has racked up as vice president -- more than 900,000. Close enough. | Beyond the Katy Perry primary, Biden has apparently picked up on other Clinton comments .
After Clinton said she hasn't driven in over 20 years, Biden played up his love of cars .
Biden played up his 'modest' means after Clinton was slammed for playing down her wealth .
As Clinton touts her extensive travel, Biden also stressed his frequent flier credentials . |
269,686 | e94ba606529fc98fa2b899f32ae911b8810724fc | Patients have a ‘human right’ to be told if they have dementia, the new head of the NHS has declared. GPs should always seek to diagnose the illness and not make the assumption that sufferers would rather stay in the dark, said Simon Stevens. He warned that there was an ‘attitude of fatalism’ about dementia in the NHS – and society – with both patients and doctors thinking ‘nothing could be done’. Scroll down for video . Human right: NHS chief executive Simon Stevens (pictured) said dementia patients must be diagnosed . Mr Stevens is now issuing new guidelines for family doctors which set out the importance of diagnosing dementia, which is characterised by failing brain functions such as memory loss. Figures suggest that 850,000 Britons have the syndrome but half have never been formally diagnosed. And in some GP surgeries only 13 per cent of patients with the condition have been given a diagnosis – fewer than one in seven. The low figure is partly because patients and their relatives are reluctant to tell doctors about dementia symptoms because they assume it is just old age – or pointless because there is no cure. Some GPs are also unwilling to send elderly patients for scans as they want to protect them from the news that they have an illness for which there is no treatment. But Mr Stevens said that once patients were diagnosed they could be offered medication to help stave off symptoms as well as crucial support and advice. Devastating: Some 850,000 Britons are thought to have an undiagnosed form of dementia (posed by model) Addressing a conference of the Alzheimer’s Society in London, he said: ‘Let’s face, it there has been an attitude of fatalism about dementia which says, “there’s nothing much that can be done and therefore I’d rather not know because when I do, no good can be done”. That is the wrong way of thinking. ‘Medication does help many people become more themselves for a useful period of time. ‘There’s an opportunity for individuals and families to maximise joyful activities, plan and mitigate against potential difficulties and crises. It’s increasingly important that we diagnose and code patients with early dementia so that their risk of deteriorating may be understood when they go into hospital. New guidelines: Mr Stevens was named the new chief executive of NHS England earlier this year . ‘Most importantly of all, it seems to be a basic human right for patients to know about their own medical condition.’ Mr Stevens, who took up the post in April, added: ‘We’re moving away from the concept of protecting patients from the diagnosis because nothing can be done and towards offering timely diagnosis for patients. ‘We should respect the decision of patients and their families to present themselves at a time that is right for them. But that should not excuse inaction on the part of the National Health Service.’ The Government says that by next year, two thirds of dementia patients will have been given a formal diagnosis. Yet Professor Alistair Burns, the NHS’s national clinical director for dementia, told the conference there were some surgeries in England where the rate was just 13 per cent. He said he would be visiting these practices to find out why they are failing to diagnose so many patients. One GP based in West Lincolnshire said she was reluctant to tell patients they had dementia because there was so little support and treatment on offer. The doctor – who did not give her name – said: ‘I’m not against diagnosing early, it’s just what do I do afterwards.’ There is no cure for dementia, although there are a handful of drugs available on the NHS which can temporarily slow its progression by a few months. Last year the NHS gave GPs new incentive payments for increasing diagnosis rates. All suspected dementia patients must be referred to memory clinics. The NHS now compiles diagnosis data for every surgery and compares the figure to the number that would be expected given the surgery’s population. | Comments made by incoming NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens .
GPs should never assume patients are better left in the dark, he said .
He is issuing new guidelines warning of 'fatalistic' approach to dementia .
Figures suggest 850,000 Britons have undiagnosed form of the disease . |
220,968 | aa0b00b200b8e145ae7092362614c1a987a64097 | Washington (CNN) -- It was one of those behind-the-scenes moments that a reporter covering the Tea Party rarely gets to witness. About 1:35 a.m. Thursday, a man ran up to a Tea Party Express bus, approaching from the left, waving his arms and shouting something that none of us on the bus could understand. I was sitting in the "sidekick seat," a leather perch near the driver with a clear view. The three-bus caravan had just rolled into Washington, hours ahead of the final rally of the "Just Vote them Out" tour -- the movement's third national event since coming together a little over a year ago. The bus I was on carried about 14 weary travelers: Tea Party leaders and activists, journalists and Casey the dog, a small girl with floppy ears belonging to Tea Party Express Chairman Mark Williams. We had just arrived after a grueling trip from Boston, Massachusetts, where Sarah Palin rallied a crowd of thousands on Boston Common, and were blocks away from our destination. The bus was hard to miss, wrapped full-on in a Tea Party advertisement. Apparently, just the sight of it made the man angry. As he rushed us, shouting all the way, the bus driver cautiously slid open his window. "This country is at war," the man screamed into the slightly opened window. The driver quickly slammed it shut. No one on the bus, including me, could understand what point the man was trying to make. The activists dismissed him as a drunk. But one thing was very clear: The Tea Party had once again attracted attention from one of its many critics. In fact, the Tea Party movement has earned plenty of detractors as it has traveled cross-country labeling President Obama a "socialist" and blasting what it says is big government run amok, while invoking the Constitution's sanctity. Agitators have thrown eggs at the buses. Ray March, one of the drivers, told me that a semi-truck driver tried to run his bus off the road. Now there was a late-night ranting as the conservative activists rolled into the nation's reliably liberal capital. On the drive to Washington, the activists had aimed their ire at cable news channels, news sites or blogs they felt were biased against the Tea Party movement. They praised outlets they felt cast the movement in its right light. From what I saw, the bus' TV system was tuned to one news outlet in particular. Hint: It wasn't CNN. As for creature comforts, space was a commodity. Seating was at a premium. Virtually every seat was spoken for. Four bunk beds were loaded with stuff. One guy slept on the floor next to one of them, in the middle of the narrow walkway that attached the front of the bus to the back. Everyone stepped over him to get by. Work spaces were virtually nonexistent, with laptops and BlackBerrys competing for space with kitsch and curling irons. Hanging over the toilet in the cramped bathroom was a sign with a stern warning: "Liquids only." Every once in awhile, a refrigerator would fly open -- spilling items out. Still, despite the long trip, tempers never flared and pleasant conversation was not hard to find. The activists seemed to get along with each other and were accommodating to journalists. I mostly sat in the front of the bus. But I also spent time in the back, working out of a cramped space with the other journalists embedded for the trip. Crammed into a U-shaped area with a small desk slab, we all did our work: I wrote stories, an editor and reporter team from Los Angeles-based Pajamas TV did on-camera reports and a Fox News radio reporter did live spots. He scripted a line about Tea Partiers "partying like it was 1773" in one of them, a reference to the year of the original Boston Tea Party. We all laughed at that one. In the front of the bus, Casey was lounging comfortably. The pooch sat on one of the leather bench sofas along the window for most of the trip. It was a nice spot, considering that our Boston to Washington trip, expected to take about 7 hours, actually took more than 10 hours. Multiple bathroom breaks and food stops had prolonged the trip. At one point, as I was interviewing Williams, he mentioned Casey, put a laptop in front of her, and said she likes to blog from the bus. | CNN's Shannon Travis travels with Tea Party Express Thursday night .
Just the sight of the bus made one man mad, Travis says .
Despite long trip, tempers never flared and conversation was pleasant, Travis says . |
119,411 | 2640b5c2876e935e134656375466dfae738c6f03 | By . David Kent for MailOnline . Mark Robins has emerged as a major contender for the Blackpool manager’s post as chairman Karl Oyston continues his search to replace Jose Riga. Sportsmail understands that Oyston met with the former Huddersfield Town boss late on Monday afternoon. Blackpool declined to comment when contacted. Robins left the Terriers after their opening day Championship mauling by Bournemouth but is keen to get back into management quickly. Former Huddersfield and Barnsley manager Mark Robins has met with Blackpool owner Jose Riga . Blackpool defender Donervon Daniels collides with his own goalkeeper Joe Lewis vs Wolves on Saturday . And that even extends to shipwrecked Blackpool, who have become the basket case of the Football League. Oyston has courted Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett and Owen Coyle in recent weeks, both spurning the opportunity to take over. Riga’s future at Bloomfield Road has looked bleak for the last six weeks, with Oyston beginning the search for his eventual successor at the beginning of August. Current Blackpool boss Jose Riga (right) celebrates earning the club's first point of the season vs Wolves . The Belgian has a broken relationship with his employers after major disagreements over transfer policy and the club’s training facilities. Riga will not resign however, leaving Oyston with the task of trying to find a new man while still having one in the job. Blackpool host Watford on Tuesday and Riga will take charge. They picked up their first point of the season against Wolves at the weekend. | Jose Riga still employed as Blackpool manager despite owner Karl Oyston's well-documented search for his replacement .
Mark Robins latest to meet with Oyston to discuss the job .
Robins was sacked by Huddersfield after opening day defeat . |
221,835 | ab2531b71a5c39e0361e45778c690a7aa84e9454 | Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie’s names will forever be etched on the scoresheet that immortalises Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Liverpool, but few would argue it was keeper David de Gea who had the biggest hand in the result. The Spanish keeper was outstanding as he tormented the Reds with eight official saves – six of them were match-changing and four were in one-on-one situations that should have favoured the player with the ball. Former Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina, who is now at Bayen Munich, said Liverpool wouldn't have lost were it not for De Gea and that his countryman was the best on the pitch 'by miles'. Former United custodian Peter Schmeichel had one word - 'brilliant'. David de Gea celebrates Manchester United's third goal but it's his saves that most helped beat Liverpool . De Gea raises his arms in triumph after making six saves and winning man of the match on Sunday . Here is how De Gea thwarted Brendan Rodgers' strikerless plot that saw false No 9 Raheem Sterling come face to face on a number of occasions with the keeper and come off second best. The introduction of a recognised front man at half-time didn't even help, with Mario Balotelli's efforts also drawing athletic stops from the impenetrable 24-year-old. 1) 12th minute . Raheem Sterling is slips in behind the United defence and Adam Lallana delivers a no-look through ball into his path. One-on-one with De Gea, Sterling tries to shoot to the far post but can't beat the keeper's outstretched left leg. Rooney scores at the other end 25 seconds later. De Gea's left leg saves from Raheem Sterling for the first time after a slick through ball from Adam Lallana . The Spanish keeper covered his near post and Sterling attempted to go to his left without success . 2) 23rd minute . Sterling turns Phil Jones inside out to bring himself one-on-one again with De Gea, who makes himself big and saves with his right thigh. After turning Phil Jones (left) with a slick turn Sterling shoots into a big De Gea's right thigh . 3) 51st minute . Sterling swoops on a shocking pass back to De Gea. The Liverpool speedster appears to have him beaten but keeps his feet, forces Sterling to take one more touch than he’d like to before showing his agility and saving with his right leg. Sterling is thwarted again, this time after picking up a poor back pass to De Gea . 4) 67th minute . Sterling finds Balotelli in the box and the Italian hits his side-footed shot first time with substantial power – De Gea's gloves tip the ball onto the cross bar. A raw display of reflexes from a stopper at the top of his game. Balotelli blasts his first-time shot shot goalwards but De Gea tips it onto the crossbar . 5) 82nd minute . Balotelli again gets a chance in the box courtesy of Sterling and shoots off balance through the traffic of two defenders right in front of De Gea. The keeper takes is easily though, diving low to his right and holding onto the ball to prevent further drama. 6) 85th minute . Balotelli is again found by a piercing through ball, this time from Lazar Markovic, and the Italian really should score. But again De Gea is up to the task. Balotelli can't beat De Gea one-on-one after a sensational through ball from Markovic . De Gea gets his angles spot on again as Balotelli is denied late on and confirms his clean sheet . Balotelli and De Gea come together at the end of the match . | David de Gea recorded six saves as Manchester United beat Liverpool .
Former keeper keeper won the game for United, says Pepe Reina .
Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie scored in 3-0 win . |
202,933 | 92baf3ac24199dd87e8f35f957eccee5881208f8 | By . Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 15:00 EST, 9 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:37 EST, 9 July 2013 . Freed: Addam Swapp pictured on July 3, 2013, just before he was released from prison after 25 years . Polygamous leader Addam Swapp, who bombed a Mormon church building and sparked a 13-day standoff in 1988 that left a corrections officer dead, was released from prison on Tuesday after more than 25 years behind bars. Swapp, 52, was accompanied by family members as he left Sanpete County Jail three months after members of the state board of pardons and parole approved his release, saying he had shown remorse for leading the standoff in Marion. At his September parole hearing, Swapp apologized and said he planned to join his wife Charlotte and wanted to use his freedom to live peacefully and 'be a blessing to my fellow man'. 'I desire when I get out of prison to live my life in such a manner that my family, friends, neighbors and community would find my presence in their lives a benefit and a blessing,' Swapp said in a written statement, according to a transcript of the hearing posted online by The Salt Lake Tribune. Swapp said he was a different man after serving time in state and federal prisons for manslaughter, attempted murder, possessing a bomb and other offenses. 'My core beliefs have completely changed,' he said. 'I am completely opposed to the violent acts I committed which got me sent to prison.' The standoff began after Swapp detonated 87 sticks of dynamite at a Mormon church building in Kamas on January 16, 1988. Swapp claimed it would lead to the overthrow of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and resurrect his father-in-law, John Singer, who was killed by police at the Marion compound in 1979. Authorities said Singer was fatally shot when he pointed a gun at officers trying to arrest him over his refusal to send his children to public schools. Singer, 48, was a practicing polygamist and blamed the LDS church for his legal problems after he was excommunicated. Undated picture: Jonathan Swapp, left, and Addam Swapp, right, enter a Coalville, Utah courtroom, where Addam was being tried for bombing a Mormon church building and shooting a correction's officer . Left: Addam Swapp, front, with Vickie Singer, middle. Addam married two of Singer's daughters and they had nine children holed up with them in the standoff and right, Addam Swapp in custody . Swapp claimed he had a revelation that Singer would return to life on the ninth anniversary of his death, which was barely two weeks away. Swapp, who went on to marry two of Singer's daughters, holed up in Singer's compound following the bombing. Nine children were among the 14 people barricaded with him in a log cabin. More than 100 officers surrounded the property after following tracks in the snow. Throughout the standoff, officers flashed bright lights and circled in noisy snowmobiles in the middle of the night to psychologically weaken members of the Singer-Swapp clan. They resisted by shooting out police floodlights and used a lantern and mirrors to flash a crude Morse code message, 'Cops not telling truth.' Shortly after dawn on January 28, 1988, the showdown ended in a gun battle. Lt Fred House, a dog handler with the state corrections department, was killed after he was struck by a bullet between armored plates in his flak jacket. House was shot by Singer's son, John T. Singer, who was released from prison in 2006 after serving time on state and federal charges that included manslaughter and attempted murder. Swapp was shot in the arm and chest during the shootout and waved a white towel through the doorway to surrender. The shootout was later recounted in a made-for-TV movie. Bizarre: During court appearances, Swapp donned a buckskin coat fashioned by his wives that featured Indian signs, geometric symbols and a flag designed by his deceased father-in-law . Addam Swapp hugs one of his sons during a 1988 court hearing in Salt Lake City: At his recent September parole hearing, Swapp wept and issued a long apology, including statements directed at the House family . During court appearances, Swapp donned a buckskin coat fashioned by his wives that featured Indian signs, geometric symbols and a flag designed by his deceased father-in-law. He told the Salt Lake Tribune at the time that he believed God had chosen him to gather American Indians for the second coming of Christ. John Singer, he said, would be resurrected and unite lost tribes of Israel. Swapp served 17 years in federal prison before starting a state sentence in 2006. Officials opted to house him in Arizona rather than Utah because of his ties to a state officer's death. At his September parole hearing, Swapp wept and issued a long apology, including statements directed at the House family, the Tribune reported. Ann House, the widow of Fred House, sent a letter to the parole board accepting his apology and saying she felt he had been imprisoned long enough. 'Breaking down of my wrongful beliefs and replacing them with truly Christ-centered beliefs has been a long, slow process,' Swapp said in his statement. 'The end result is that I have come away with a complete change of heart and a radically new way of looking at life.' | Swapp detonated 87 sticks of dynamite at a Mormon church building on January 16, 1988 .
Thought it could help resurrect his father-in-law John Singer who was killed in 1979 .
Said he had a revelation that Singer would return to life on ninth anniversary of his death .
Married two of Singer's daughters .
Nine children were barricaded with them in the standoff .
Lt Fred House was shot dead .
Parole board said he had shown remorse after he wept and issued apology to family of Fred House . |
133,000 | 37f8ba57be941c95bde63fcd40658b908f70984a | Washington (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, fiscal deal maker? That's the latest incarnation of the congressman from Wisconsin, who has glided between his role as fiscal wonk to 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate to potential 2016 presidential candidate. Ryan was one-half of the bipartisan duo that unveiled a budget deal Tuesday evening that would set spending levels for the next two years -- just days before a deadline to settle the matter. "This agreement makes sure that we don't have a government shutdown scenario in January. It makes sure we don't have another government shutdown scenario in October. It makes sure that we don't lurch from crisis to crisis," Ryan said. Budget deal aims to avert another shutdown . The compromise deal is significant in large part because agreement was reached -- not an easy feat amid deep partisan divides in Congress, where lawmakers have failed to reach a budget accord numerous times since 2011, including one instance that led to a 16-day government shutdown in October. Low profile . After being on the losing presidential ticket, Ryan kept a low profile. He even remained largely silent in October while Republicans and Democrats battled over a federal shutdown and how to move forward on a government funding bill. His reticence was more noticeable because the prominent fiscal matters front and center now highlight his area of expertise. He is known in Congress as the budget wonk, the expert on the federal government and spending. His colleagues look to him for guidance. In recent years, he unveiled controversial budget blueprints that dramatically cut spending and altered entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. His budgets, titled "Path to Prosperity," became the defining documents for Republican fiscal policy. Silence shattered . Ryan slowly started to reinsert himself when his party was flailing during the government shutdown. He broke his months-long silence with an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal in October, where he implored both sides to sit down at the negotiating table. Patty Murray emerges as bipartisan figure after budget deal . After the government reopened, Ryan appeared to take his own advice. As head of the House Budget Committee, he led negotiations with his counterpart in the Senate to reach a government spending deal for the remainder of fiscal year 2014. While the budget did not address the benefit programs -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- that Ryan wants to reform, it did avert another government management crisis. With the announcement of this deal, Ryan has reemerged to be a central figure within the GOP. Now the more pressing question is: Will the GOP still follow him? The dilemma . As recently as last year, Ryan was considered a tried-and-true conservative. He was able to bridge the gap between the two dividing components within the GOP. He both won the praise of tea party supporters and had the ears of party leaders. That's because Ryan is a true conservative. Twenty years ago, he worked for the conservative organization Empower America, which later became FreedomWorks. Since then, the organization has successfully morphed from a group that promoted traditional fiscal conservatism and neoconservative foreign policies into a limited-government tea party-aligned group. But his support might not be in lockstep. FreedomWorks sent an advisory to Republican lawmakers Tuesday urging them to vote against Ryan's deal. And many Republican members have already panned the deal. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, said he would not vote for it because it "raises spending. There's no way around it." The budget deal in plain English . "I don't know how a deal is good for conservatives or for America if the spending is going to go up," Huelskamp said on CNN's "Crossfire." Republican strategist and former Mitt Romney spokesman Ryan Williams has said that Ryan's October op-ed shows that he's "the adult in the room." "He felt that it was important for him to speak up to address the seemingly never-ending stalemate that we're witnessing in Washington," Williams added. 2016 ambitions? While speculation only grew louder that Ryan would run for the Republican presidential nomination, with trips in recent months to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first presidential nominating states, a high-profile role in Congress -- especially as a deal maker -- could be both a political risk and benefit. It will depend on the mood of the country and the influence of the Republican right. CNN's Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report. | U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan was the 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate .
He is chairman of the House Budget Committee .
He announced a budget deal that would avoid a government shutdown in January . |
203,496 | 936a39daee2f82573cc4c8965fac370dcd01b0e5 | Sergey Bubka, the former Olympic pole vault champion from Ukraine, has confirmed he will stand against Sebastian Coe for the presidency of the IAAF. Bubka is, like Coe, currently a vice-president of athletics' international governing body and has long coveted the chance to succeed long-standing president Lamine Diack, who steps down in August. The 51-year-old, who made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee in 2013, said: 'I am seeking the IAAF presidency to give something back to the world of athletics which has given so many opportunities to me throughout my life.' Sergey Bubka, the former Olympic pole vault champion from Ukraine, will stand for the IAAF presidency . Bubka, who won Olympic gold in 1988, said encouraging young people's interest in athletics and 'clean sport' would be his priorities. He added: 'I have been honoured to serve athletics alongside Lamine Diack, with my colleagues and friends. 'Now that Mr Diack has decided to step down as president, I wish to build upon the progress achieved by the IAAF under his leadership to ensure that the sport of athletics and its governing body are world-class and an example to others with regard to governance, transparency and ethics. 'We also need to provide greater grassroots support to inspire the next generation of athletes; we need to better engage with young people and build new audiences; and we need to ensure protection of clean sport.' Seb Coe (left) will also stand for the presidency when Lamine Diack (right) steps down in August . Bubka, pictured here at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, said he wanted to engage young people in athletics . | IAAF president Lamine Diack will step down in August 2015 .
Sergey Bubka has announced his decision to stand for the presidency .
Seb Coe will also run for president when Diack steps down .
Both men are currently both vice-presidents of the IAAF . |
64,550 | b75001bfeacacad3ad19c6f4131aaab295b03d24 | By . Sami Mokbel . Follow @@SamiMokbel81_DM . Manchester City are confident they have not broken UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations by taking Frank Lampard on loan. The 36-year-old midfielder has signed a two-year contract with emerging MLS side New York City — one of Manchester City’s sister clubs. But the American side do not enter the league until next March so Lampard will play for the Premier League champions until January. VIDEO Scroll down to see Arsene Wenger: Lampard loan raises FFP suspicions . Confident: Man City don't believe they've broken Financial Fair Play rules with Frank Lampard loan signing . New deal: The midfielder join New York FC on a two-year deal after being released by Chelsea . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger raised doubts at the weekend over whether Lampard’s loan — given the club he is contracted to — adhered to the FFP rules to stop clubs spending more than they earn. City failed UEFA’s FFP tests last season and must include five home-grown players in a restricted 21-man Champions League squad — of which Lampard will be one. However City, who are close to breaking even this year, are steadfast in their belief that they have not bent UEFA’s regulations in their move for Lampard. UEFA rules state Lampard’s loan move falls inside the FFP guidelines provided City pay the former Chelsea midfielder’s wages, which they insist they will. Although Manchester City, New York City, Melbourne City and are all owned by holding company City Football Group — who also own shares in Yokohama Marinos — they are run as standalone businesses. With that in mind, City believe the relationships with their sister clubs are no different from feeder club arrangements — for example Chelsea’s agreement with Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem. Suspicious: Arsene Wenger has raised concerns over the Lampard deal . City do not see loan arrivals from New York, Melbourne or Yokohama becoming a regular occurrence. They feel the main benefit of the partnerships will be for the club’s talented academy players to be loaned out. Meanwhile, Monaco defender Ricardo Carvalho has spoken of his surprise at Lampard’s move to City. Carvalho, who spent six seasons at Stamford Bridge with Lampard, said: ‘I’m a supporter of Chelsea so of course I would prefer to see him back at Chelsea rather than in a City shirt. But you have to respect his decision.’ | Lampard set to play for Manchester City on loan until January .
Club confident the deal hasn't broken Financial Fair Play regulations .
Midfielder signed a two-year contract with New York City this summer . |
254,885 | d5e8662fe1378f2eb63b6ec8e60da377eec779cc | By . Simon Boyle . and Caroline Graham . With a bitter legal row escalating and his carefully crafted public image hanging by a thread, X Factor boss Simon Cowell insists he is ‘smitten and very much in love’ with the New York socialite carrying his child and has vowed: ‘I’ll do the right thing.’ The rattled reality TV star faced a barrage of abuse this week from close friend Andrew Silverman, who accused him of shattering a perfect family by fathering a child with his glamorous wife Lauren. But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Cowell, 53, has promised to support his lover ‘emotionally and financially’ and insists he is committed to forging a long-term relationship with the brunette. United: Cowell and Lauren pictured last August on holiday together . It is understood his support will include bankrolling her costs after her estranged husband launched a divorce case against her in which he labelled her ‘inhuman’. A close friend of Cowell’s, speaking with his permission, has told how the star has promised to stand by Mrs Silverman, who is said to be desperate for marriage. The confidante said: ‘Simon and Lauren are smitten with each other – they’re looking forward to the baby. They started as friends, but their friendship became stronger and they fell in love. 'I have never seen Simon so excited by something that isn’t related to his work. Becoming a father seems to have put things in perspective for him.’ Simon Cowell with, from left, Mrs Silverman and friends Sinitta and Rachel Roy . But the star faces accusations that his . apparent transformation to family man is a cynical stunt to protect his . image in America. After the news of the pregnancy broke, it was suggested that Cowell would merely look after the baby financially and put a roof over Mrs Silverman’s head. The sudden turnaround from this stance to saying he will play an active role as a parent comes amid fears the scandal could destroy his popularity, particularly in America where he is the face of family television. He launched a third series of the X Factor USA for Fox TV last week. His senior advisers fear the scandal could be damaging in America’s conservative and religious heartland. Insiders claim Fox executives will be watching the saga unfold ‘very closely’ fearing potential damage to their brand. Pepsi, which sponsors the X Factor, could also argue he has brought its brand into disrepute. Cowell’s deals with Fox TV have made him the highest-earning personality on U.S. television. He makes approximately £60 million a year from The X Factor in salary and intellectual property rights, according to business magazine Forbes. One source said: ‘You have got to be aware that the only thing that matters to Simon is Simon’s reputation. Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman get close on Cowell's yacht in front of her husband Andrew . ‘Yes, he wants to do the right thing. Yes, he wants to earn money. Yes, he wants to honour his commitments. But ultimately he wants to protect his reputation – and mostly his reputation in the US.’ Ever since Mrs Silverman told her husband about the baby, on July 10, a vicious propaganda war has been played out behind the scenes. However, last night a close friend of the new couple, New York fashion designer Rachel Roy, insisted the romance was real. Ms Roy, who joined them on the Slipstream super-yacht where they first met, said: ‘What I know for sure is that when they are together they are the happiest I have ever seen them.’ Andrew Silverman spotted arriving back at his house in New York following the news that his wife is expecting Simon Cowell's baby . Rachel, who took the now infamous photograph of Cowell and Mrs Silverman cuddling on board the boat, added: ‘This is not a case of opposites attract. Simon and Lauren are similar in so many ways, they have many shared interests and values. They laugh at the same things, love the same foods, music and simply enjoy each other’s company in a way that best friends do.’ Cowell’s close friend added: ‘He’s told Lauren and her family that he will do everything he can to support them all while she and Andrew work out their divorce matters. Simon respects what she thinks.’ The Mail on Sunday understands the X Factor star is planning a yacht getaway with Mrs Silverman after completing his latest TV commitments. Mr and Mrs Silverman had a £2 million pre-nuptial agreement. The businessman is understood to be determined to hold on to his cash, claiming that his wife will be well provided for by Cowell. The Mail on Sunday has also learned that the agreement included a ‘no-cheat’ clause, which Mr Silverman is likely to attempt to use. The source said: ‘If the divorce court agrees with Andrew that Simon and Lauren had an adulterous affair, Andrew won’t have to pay any alimony beyond what was set out in the pre-nup’. The businessman is also bidding for full custody of their seven-year-old son, Adam, and plans to accuse his wife of being a poor parent. But a friend of Mrs Silverman insisted yesterday that the New York housewife is a fantastic mother, and claimed Cowell was not the cause of the marriage split. Mrs Silverman is ‘outraged’ by her husband’s anger and claims he was seeing other women, it was claimed last night. Website TMZ cited unnamed sources close to her who claimed: ‘She hooked up with Simon partly because Andrew was cavorting around the world and partying with girls on various continents. It was a mutual understanding.’ Lauren Silverman snuggling with Simon Cowell on his yacht believed to be taken in January 2013 . She is also vowing to fight her husband’s claim for custody. TMZ said: ‘Andrew wants full custody but Lauren is saying no way in hell will he get that. Lauren says she wants prime custody and will fight tooth and nail to get it.’ Cowell’s friend added: ‘She was still technically married – but the truth is her marriage was irreparably damaged when she and Simon became an item. She’s totally in love and almost obsessed. She really wants to marry him, but who knows if she will get him down the aisle. ‘Her and Andrew’s marriage was never made in heaven and they argued a lot right from the start.’ Andrew’s parents Eleanora and Allen are understood to have frowned on their future daughter-in-law from the beginning – and even boycotted the couple’s 2003 wedding at New York’s St Regis hotel because they considered her a ‘gold-digger’. Yesterday, Mr Silverman was with his estranged wife at their £2.5 million home in Bridgehampton, New York. The source added: ‘He went there for the sake of his son. ‘He wants to try and keep things as normal as possible for Adam.’ By MATT SANDY . Andrew Silverman owns a casino in Panama where locals say prostitution is rife . The cuckolded husband of the socialite carrying Simon Cowell’s baby owns a casino in Panama where locals say prostitution is rife. Andrew Silverman is a strait-laced property developer in New York, writes Matt Sandy, but he also owns a 300-bedroom hotel and casino in Panama City, said to be the largest in Central America, that has become a hub for sex workers. Andrew and his brother Alexander bought the Veneto Hotel and Casino in a £39million deal in 2007through their company, Silver Entertainment. The decision to invest in Panama City, where prostitution is legal, is curious, given its reputation as a low-rent Las Vegas-style ‘Sin City’. Their ambition was to turn the hotel, which has 42 casino tables, into a high-end property they couldthen sell to a major hotel chain for a profit. In the meantime the casino teems with prostitutes. Hotel workers, tourists and the prostitutes themselves all confirmed to The Mail on Sunday that the Veneto has a more lenient policy on soliciting than some other high-end hotels in Panama City. When this newspaper visited the 18-storey complex on Friday evening, at least 30 prostitutes were openly soliciting for business on the casino floor, while tourist police and security guards stood by and watched. There is no suggestion that the hotel is involved directly in prostitution, or that the Silvermans endorse it. | Cowell has promised to support his lover 'emotionally and financially'
He insists he is committed to forging a long-term relationship .
The star has been accused of trying to protect his image in America . |
256,018 | d765ea5170078d986d196853cbf61318627f2f07 | The running of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix remains a threat as organisers are still unsure of the impact Typhoon Phanfone will have on Suzuka and the surrounding areas. The typhoon has been building over the Pacific Ocean throughout the week and is expected to bring rain and heavy winds to the track - which could severely challenge the race. With the lights due to go out at 15:00 local time, there is little room for pushing the start back, as dusk falls fairly soon after the end of the grand prix. L-r: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas after qualifying in Japan . Nico Rosberg (left) with his crew members on the way to taking pole in the Japanese Grand Prix . An FIA spokesman explained why the race could not be moved, with Sunday morning or later on Saturday night originally mooted as potential options. 'The timing for the organisers to change the time the race is held has passed,' he said. 'We will see what is going on in the morning. If that is a storm, what are you going to do? The safety of the people, the spectators has to logically be the most important thing.' The situation is ever-changing, with the typhoon upgraded from a category one hurricane up to a category four inside 12 hours. It has also been at 'super typhoon' levels after reaching winds of 150mph and the FIA is in constant contact with their forecasters. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg takes the acclaim after clinching pole position in Suzuka . Ferrari's Fernando Alonso walks out from his pit after the qualifying session . Championship leader Lewis Hamilton makes his way around the Japanese circuit . 'Our team are monitoring at all times,' the spokesman added. 'Everyone is trying to make sure the race can go ahead - but it will go ahead only if conditions in and around the circuit are safe.' There remains the possibility that the race could run behind the safety car if the weather was bad enough to warrant it - with half-points also an option should the entire race not be able to be completed. Either way it adds another intriguing factor into the title battle between Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton ahead of what will prove to be an interesting day. | Organisers still unsure the impact Typhoon Phonfone will have on Suzuka .
Could severely challenge the race and the FIA are considering moving the start time .
Spokesman said: 'Our team are monitoring at all times'
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took pole position in qualifying .
Lewis Hamilton three points clear of his team-mate at the top of the drivers' standings . |
6,797 | 134c90cd68ad3f321302549aee937744b22a2980 | (CNN) -- A dramatic confrontation in Hong Kong between Michael Bay's film crew and men who wanted money might be better set in a Jackie Chan movie. The street vendors allegedly became violent when Bay refused to quadruple the payment they would get for the disruption caused by filming for the fourth installment in his "Transformers" film franchise. "Yes, some drugged up guys were being belligerent asses to my crew for hours in the morning of our first shoot day in Hong Kong," Bay said in a posting on his website Thursday. "One guy rolled metal carts into some of my actors trying to shake us down for thousands of dollars to not play his loud music or hit us with bricks." Bay, 48, is in Hong Kong filming "Transformers: Age of Extinction" starring Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz, which is due in theaters next June. "Every vendor where we shot got paid a fair price for our inconvenience, but he wanted four times that amount," Bay wrote. "I personally told this man and his friends to forget it. We were not going to let him extort us. He didn't like that answer." The man returned an hour later, "carrying a long air-conditioner unit," according to Bay. "He walked right up to me and tried to smack my face, but I ducked threw the air unit on the floor and pushed him away." Police officers providing security for the production "jumped on him," Bay said. "But it took seven big guys to subdue him. It was like a zombie in Brad Pitt's movie 'World War Z.' He lifted seven guys up and tried to bite them. He actually bit into one of the guard's Nike shoe. Insane. Thank god it was an Air Max, the bubble popped, but the toe was saved." Faithful to the over-the-top action and special effects of any Bay production, it ended with an army. "It took 15 Hong Kong cops in riot gear to deal with these punks," Bay said. "In all, four guys were arrested for assaulting the officers." A Hong Kong police spokeswoman identified two people arrested as brothers with the surname Mak and ages 27 and 28. She said the men demanded that Bay give them 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, which is about $12,000 in U.S. currency. The younger Mak brother, who was charged with blackmail and assault on a police officer, was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of his injuries, the spokeswoman said. The older bother, who complained that he was not feeling well, was arrested on a charge of common assault and assaulting a police officer, she said. Three police officers suffered minor injuries, the spokeswoman said. While Bay did not acknowledge any injuries in his statement, the police report said the director suffered a facial injury but didn't go to a hospital. "After that, we had a great day shooting here in Hong Kong," Bay said. CNN's Judy Kwon in Hong Kong contributed to this report. | NEW: Bay: "Some drugged up guys were being belligerent asses" to Transformers crew .
NEW: "It was like a Zombie in Brad Pitt's movie 'World War Z,' Bay says"
The director is in Hong Kong filming the fourth installment of 'Transformers' franchise .
Charges against the men include extortion and assault . |
37,191 | 6967fc649222601ee53639e06ed40a5f71d17ba5 | By . Harriet Arkell . PUBLISHED: . 05:59 EST, 10 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:52 EST, 10 April 2013 . A married teacher appeared in court yesterday accused of repeatedly having sex with a 14-year-old former student. Sixth-grade English teacher Daniel Reilly, 36, used cellphone code names to keep the affair between him and his former student a secret from his wife and her family, Queens prosecutors said. Ex-Marine Reilly is accused of having sex at least 10 times with the girl in his apartment in Forest Hills, New York, when his wife and their new baby daughter were out. English teacher Daniel Reilly, 36, is alleged to have had an eight-month affair with a 14-year-old former pupil . Yesterday he was arraigned and released on $30,000 bail paid by his lawyer wife Annemarie, who attended the court and listen to the charges with her mother. If convicted, he faces seven years in prison. Court documents suggested that their most recent tryst took just days before Reilly was arrested at Intermediate School 237 in Flushing after his alleged victim's mother alerted the school. The prosecutor told Queens Criminal Court that the alleged relationship began last year after he pursued the girl, who originally just wanted to be friends with him. He is alleged to have begun texting her last August before inviting her to his apartment when his wife and 11-month-old daughter were out. Reilly, who faces statutory rape charges, is said to have given the girl a code-name to use so that her parents would not discover the affair, while he used another code for her so his wife Annemarie would remain in the dark. Intermediate School 237 in Flushing, New York,where Daniel Reilly was a sixth-grade English teacher . The prosecutor said: 'The defendant planned on keeping the affair secret', according to a report in the New York Daily News. It said the relationship was only discovered when the victim's sister discovered texts from Reilly on her sister's cellphone. She told her parents, who alerted IS237, where the girl is no longer a student, and they hauled him out of class while they rang police. The $61,000-a-year teacher, who served as a sergeant in the Marines between 1996-2000, is said to have no history of disciplinary problems since he began working as a teacher in 2007. Queens DA Richard Brown told the New York Post: 'This case is particularly disturbing. Schools should be safe havens for children. 'Instead, this defendant is accused of sexually preying upon one of his former students and rendezvousing with her at his residence.' Schools chancellor Dennis Walcott said: 'As I've said before, this is totally unacceptable. We have no tolerance for that. 'Keep your hands off our students.' Reilly is said to have been honorably discharged from the Marines in 2000, and is a popular teacher at the school where he has taught for six years. He is charged with second-degree rape, criminal sexual acts, and endangering the welfare of a child, and is due back in court on May 6. A victim order has been issued on behalf of the teen. | Daniel Reilly, 36, faces rape, child endangerment, and sexual abuse charges .
English teacher and ex-Marine taught girl at IS 237 in Flushing, New York .
His lawyer wife Annemarie and mother-in-law in court for arraignment .
Father-of-one jailed for $30,000 but could face seven years jail if found guilty . |
124,734 | 2d38ba01fcdc4a8f7a882450f61ea11ead18f4cb | (CNN) -- As driving snow enveloped him and the temperature sank towards zero, Songezo Jim must have wondered if all that hard graft to realize his dream was worth it. But not even the extreme weather conditions that blighted the Milan-San Remo cycle race could tarnish the pride the 22-year-old felt at becoming a pioneer for his sport in South Africa. Eight years previously, a wall of color and noise had transfixed him as Cape Town's biggest bike race snaked through the Khayelitsha township where he lived. It was the first time he'd seen or heard of competitive cycling, and it started a journey that would end with him becoming the first black South African to participate at the sport's elite division, on the International Cycling Union's World Tour. And all the wind, rain, snow and ice thrown at him during Italy's famous 298-kilometer race couldn't wash away the elation Jim felt at etching his name in the history books forever. "I've never been that cold in my whole life," Jim told CNN's Human to Hero series. "It was snowing, it was wet and the rain kept coming down. "I was riding with my eyes closed at some points because there was no visibility with sunglasses, but when you took them off the snow went into your eyes. "While the racing and weather was so hard I was thinking, 'Why am I doing this, this is horrible.' But then I thought, 'This is what I've dreamed about. I would not want to be anywhere else in the world.' "It was unbelievable but I told myself I'm just going to keep on going." Tragedy took Jim from his home in Mthatha near the east coast of South Africa to the Western Cape as a teenager, but it would prove to be the place his sporting dream crystallized. After losing both his mother and father in the space of two years he moved 1,200 km to Khayelitsha, the country's largest township, to live with his aunt. Soon after the sight of those 35,000 riders sweeping past his home had ignited in him a desire to discover cycling, he was introduced to the Velokhaya project, which aims to help disadvantaged kids become champions on and off the bike. Jim was desperate to throw himself into competition right away. There was just one problem -- he had no idea how to cycle. "When I actually saw people riding, to me it was like 'Why are these people riding bikes? What's going on here?' and then I actually joined them," he explained. "But when I did it was weird because I didn't even know how to ride a bike because I never knew anything about bikes." It is no surprise that despite the treacherous conditions in his first World Tour race, Jim's dedication to the cause was absolute. After some promising junior results, and finishing third in the African Championships in 2012, he swapped his home in South Africa for the Italian town of Lucca, near Pisa, in order to train harder and smarter. By the end of his Milan-San Remo appearance the cold had taken such a grip on him that he had to be helped out of his cycling threads by the director of his MTN-Qhubeka team, Africa's first pro-continental outfit. He was not able to finish the race, which was shortened due to the weather, but he had played his part in helping teammate Gerald Ciolek to claim victory. "It was just an unbelievable feeling, especially for me to be part of the team," Jim said. His passion for the sport has helped in his battle to overcome the traumatic events that visited him at such a tender age. "For me to lose my parents at a young age, it was one the biggest challenges I've had to face in my life," he said. "To grow up without the support of a parent, it was very difficult, but then I actually got to know the sport of cycling, that's when I decided, 'OK I just have to do this.' "No-one is able to ride the bike apart from you -- even if my parents were there they wouldn't ride the bike for me -- so at the end of the day it just depends what you want in life. "There's no point feeling sorry for yourself and people are not going to feel sorry for you. I decided I just have to do what I have to do because I love the sport." Jim's feats have not gone unnoticed back in South Africa, and press interest in him has been extensive. It'll go through the roof if he fulfills his ultimate ambition to make it to the Tour de France. With his profile rising like his career, he hopes he can now prove an inspiration for other kids with similarly challenging lives in the townships of South Africa and encourage a wave of interest in the sport. "There are very few black cyclists that are in the sport," he said. "The first reason is this sport is really expensive. "In order to become a cyclist, it requires you to be dedicated and your family to be behind you because you have to buy bikes, helmets and shoes. "Second of all, if I could go back to me, at the age of 13 you don't even know what cycling is and you don't even know there's a sport that exists that's called cycling. "At least now there are more people recognizing me so when I go back to Eastern Cape they ask me questions and I start to tell them everything. "It's improving but there's still a lot that needs to be done. It would be great for me to see a lot of black South Africans in the sport." | Songezo Jim is the first black South African to compete in a World Tour cycling event .
The 22-year-old took up sport aged 14 after his parents died but didn't know how to ride .
As part of MTN-Qhubeka team, Jim participated in last month's Milan-San Remo race .
He wants to improve so that he can take part in the Tour de France in 2015 . |
166,813 | 63b4933e88fecf09a67a965e76fcd9db633fa291 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 05:31 EST, 23 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:05 EST, 23 November 2012 . Despite being ridiculed when they first appeared, wedged wellingtons have quickly become must-have footwear. Prima ballerina-turned-Strictly judge Darcey Bussell is the latest famous name to be seen sporting the waterproof boots with raised heel, while walking her dogs earlier this week. The wedge boot has the Queen’s seal of approval, too, with Royal warrant-holder Hunter selling its own version. The Royal warrant-holder Hunters sell wedged wellies, right, for £115, but the Queen, left, has not been spotted wearing them yet, preferring to stick to the flat-heeled variety...for now . As well as Bussell, celebrities . snapped wearing the funky footwear, known for their leg-lengthening . properties, include Kerry Katona, Tulisa, Sadie Frost, Halle Berry, . Nancy Del'Ollio and Katie Price. The . style first came to the fore in 2010 when a group of entrepreneurs . pitched the idea to BBC2’s Dragon’s Den, receiving an impressive £65,000 . investment from retail guru Theo Paphitis, who hailed their designs . ‘practical and stylish’. Wedge wellies are making a comeback.....just ask former ballerina Darcey Bussell . Their WedgeWelly brand now . boasts a massive range of colours, sizes and patterns, including a . wide-calf version and a shorter Chelsea-boot style. The shiny black Legend Unique boot, selling for £40 a pair, was the one favoured by Strictly’s Darcey. Hunter’s all-black Melrose Tall Wellington costs £115, while the high-heeled Fulbrooke Tall Wellington is yours for £125. In fact, they’re so stylish, it seems a shame to let them get covered in mud. Hunter, the Queen's boot-maker, sells the Fulbrooke heeled wellington, left, for £125, while ASOS sell a pink wedge welly for £40, right . Nancy Dell'Ollio keeps her grey wedge wellies dry at Glastonbury with some help from a festival friend . | Royal warrant-holding boot-maker Hunter sells wedged and heeled wellies .
Darcey Bussell, Nancy Dell-Ollio, Tulisa and Katy Price love wedge wellies . |
211,671 | 9e1aa90a1684a3f22d5492fd12d7d52643b271c6 | By . Joel Christie . An all-day end-of-term college party ended in a brutal bloodbath early Tuesday, with five people in their late teens and early twenties stabbed to death inside a student house in Calgary. Police were called to the home in the residential neighborhood of Brentwood about 1.20am, with paramedics declaring three men dead at the scene. One woman and another man later died in hospital from their injuries. Police have arrested a suspect in the multiple murder case, with canine units tracking down a man in his 20's who had fled the scene, with the Calgary Sun saying he is the son of a 'senior police officer'. Scroll Down for Video . Gruesome: Police remove a body from the scene of multiple stabbings in northwest Calgary, Alberta, on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Three men died inside the house and one woman and another man were pronounced dead in hospital . The killings happened at a house party celebrating Bermuda Shorts Day . Police investigate a container in the driveway of the house in northwest Calgary . A police officer assesses what is believed to be a cell phone at the scene on Tuesday . The suspect has not yet been charged, but Calgary police said officers are not seeking any other people in relation to the crime. 'The name of the offender will be released once charges have been laid,' police said in a statement, according to CTV Calgary. Officials are still working to notify the next of kin of the victims and will not be releasing their names until autopsies are performed. 'Multiple witnesses' are currently being interviewed, police said. It is not known whether the five victims were students at the University of Calgary, which is just a few blocks from the scene. Police said the gruesome scene was a college party. 'The party had been going for several hours and there were a few dozen people there, it would be fair to say,' police spokeswoman Emma Poole told NBC News. 'We believe it was a college party because it was the last day of classes and the University of Calgary is just blocks away. Lots of students live in this area.' The college also put a statement on its website saying it was 'mourning the loss of five young people killed early this morning in Brentwood'. A police officer talks to a man and two women near a house where five people were stabbed in the early morning hours in Calgary . Police investigate the scene of a multiple fatal stabbing in northwest Calgary, Alberta, Tuesday, April 15 . 'The identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed by Calgary Police Services. Once details are confirmed by Calgary Police Services, the university will provide a further statement.' CTV Calgary reported that was the University of Calgary student union’s annual 'Bermuda Shorts Day' to mark the last day of classes. Neighbors said the students who rent the house had been partying throughout the day without incident. Doug Jones, who lives across the street from the house, says about a dozen students appeared to be having a barbecue in the backyard in the evening. 'It was like a normal gathering; it wasn’t loud, it wasn’t unruly,' he told the TV station. 'Around dusk, they moved inside, and then we didn’t really hear anything.' 'We woke up this morning to yellow tape in the back alley here. I was in shock when the reporters told us what happened.' | Three men pronounced dead at a house in Brentwood, Calgary, about 1.20am Tuesday .
One woman and another man later died in hospital .
Police canine units track a male suspect in his 20's who fled the scene .
No charges have been laid but police are not looking for other suspects .
Party was for 'Bermuda Shorts Day' for the University of Calgary, celebrating end-of-term .
Dozens of people had been drinking at the house - just blocks from the campus - from daytime on Monday . |
236,813 | be84c53175e5d863e7122059c172bfd4bb9e6beb | A 72-year-old woman has been sentenced to 420 hours of community service and three years' probation for trying to cut off her husband's penis. Virginia Valdez pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon over the 2011 attack on Cesar Valdez, then aged 62, at their home in Palm Springs, California. The victim said he accepted the plea deal so he could 'move on' but slammed the justice system for not taking his case seriously because he is a man. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Escaped jail: Virginia Valdez, 72, got 420 hours of community service and three years' probation for trying to cut off her then-husband's penis using industrial kitchen scissors during a bitter divorce in 2011 . Discrimination? The victim Cesar Valdez, 64, and his attorney Gloria Allred (pictured together) spoke out brandishing an identical pair of scissors to say the case would have been heard earlier if he weren't a man . 'There is no doubt in my mind that had I been the aggressor and not the victim my case would have been heard much sooner. 'I am here in front of you today to emphasize that male spouses can also be victims of domestic violence, but in some cases, men are afraid to talk for fear of ridicule or for fear of being labeled as some sort of freak or a wimp,' he said. The couple of 32 years were going through a divorce when Mrs Valdez attacked Mr Valdez. Mr Valdez called the police after his . wife's brutal assault as he screamed with pain and tried to stop the . bleeding using bathroom towels. Attack: Mrs Valdez attacked Mr Valdez at their home in Palm Springs in 2011 while they were estranged . 'I am here in front of you to emphasize that male spouses can be victims of domestic violence,' Mr Valdez said . 'Bitch tried to cut my d*** off,' he told an operator, according to the arrest warrant. Mrs Valdez had been 'massaging the intimate areas of the victim such as his testicles and inner thigh' when she stopped suddenly, telling him she was going to brush her teeth. But instead she grabbed a pair of scissors and savagely cut at her husband's penis and 'disfigured the victim's genitals'. Gloria Allred, who represented Mr Valdez, appeared with the victim outside court to address reporters, brandishing a pair of kitchen scissors. 'This is what was used on his penis,' she said. 'There was a lot of blood coming out of his penis as a result of her attack on him.' Allred added: 'He feels that if he had been a woman victim of domestic violence that the case would not have been permitted to be delayed for so long and that the punishment for Virginia would have been harsher.' Mrs Valdez, who had faced a potential nine-year jail term, refused to speak to reporters. The former couple are now embroiled in civil suits against one another. Sergeant Kyle Stjerne told the Los Angeles Times that Valdez tried to pick the best tool for the job, adding: 'They were more heavy duty than the standard office scissors.' Mr Valdez was treated at the local hospital for non-life-threatening wounds and was released later that evening while 5ft 4in Mrs Valdez was detained. | Virginia Valdez, 72, attacked Cesar Valdez, 64, with scissors in 2011 .
The couple of 32 years from Palm Springs were going through divorce .
Mrs Valdez escaped jail with community service and probation .
Mr Valdez believes case wasn't treated seriously because he is male . |
196,585 | 8a69d616c3da2426e4df837a611b8176ccefa67c | Founder: Wikipedia chairman Jimmy Wales and his Wikimedia Foundation have changed the way the site works in order to attract new contributors . Wikipedia is in decline according to experts after it was revealed that the numbers of the site's volunteer editors has shrunk by a third since 2007. The crowdsourced information site, which gets at least 10 billion hits every calendar month, depends on the contribution of volunteers to regulate content which is uploaded by the public. But fewer and fewer people are bothering to manage the online encyclopedia after a raft of changes made by the Wikimedia Foundation, which funds the infrastructure of the site. In a bid to combat online vandalism and spoof entries, Wikipedia has begun using programs instead of people to automatically delete suspicious content. As a result, a lot of users' hard work and genuine knowledge was erroneously censored by bots. According to a new study from the University of Minnesota, the deletion tools are just one aspect of the site's intended modernisation ideas which have disenfranchised loyal 'Wikipedians'. Another unpopular move by the Wikimedia group came when they changed the way content was uploaded to the site. Whereas an uploader once had to be familiar with the language of the site, called 'Wikitext', to properly upload entries, now someone with next to no web editing experience can post articles live. The Wikimedia Foundation changed the content editing system to something which is similar to a word processor. Good cause: Wikipedia has tried to empower more people by make the site more user friendly, but the changes have angered loyal 'editors' who feel are frustrated at the lowering of standards . They hoped that new users would be encouraged to contribute as a result, but more experienced editorial staff have become frustrated at the ease with which spoof articles can now be added. The result is the steep decline in the numbers of Wikipedia editors, which one expert believes could be the beginning of a perpetual 'decline phase.' One editor, speaking to the tech website Raw Story said, 'it’s like they keep lowering . the bar, then asking us to limbo. At a certain point, you’re tripping . over the stick instead of walking under it.' Aaron Halfaker a university Grad student at the University of Minnesota, who has published extensively on the decline said: 'I categorize from 2007 until now as the decline phase of Wikipedia'. His report established that when the new controls began to take effect, the likelihood of a new participant’s edit being immediately deleted has steadily climbed. Biased: A lack of new editors on the site means there are more articles on subjects like computer games and porn then there are women's literature and feminism . Over the same period, the proportion of those deletions made by automated tools rather than humans grew. Unsurprisingly, the data also indicate that well-intentioned newcomers are far less likely to still be editing Wikipedia two months after their first try. The allegations of a downward spiral has been rejected by Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. Ambitious: Wikipedia's aim has been to attract keen young 'reporters', but the plan has backfired (picture posed by model) She said that dropping 'Wikitext' would attract a new type of uploader to the site, which she called 'eager cub reporters.' Gardner said: 'The Wikipedians remind me of the crusty old desk guy who knows the style guide backwards' 'But where are the eager cub reporters? You don’t get the crusty old desk guy out at three in the morning to cover a fire. 'That’s for the new guy, who’s got a lot of energy and potential. At Wikipedia we don’t have a sufficient influx of cub reporters.” | Changes by Wikipedia to modernise the site have disenfranchised loyal 'Wikipedians', claims study .
Volunteer editors believe that in making changes to its systems Wikipedia has been 'lowering the bar' |
211,918 | 9e6d4294312636b3dd99da6319d4ee97381c7359 | Washington (CNN) -- Twenty-one-year-old Erica Ruiz plans to graduate from college in the spring with a degree in psychology and continue on to graduate school. Her family is from Mexico, but she and her two brothers were born in the United States. "My parents always encouraged me to go to college and get educated because they didn't get the opportunity," she said of her mother and father, both farm workers. Ruiz is part of a recent increase in the number of Hispanics attending college in the United States -- a figure that spiked last year and even surpassed that of young blacks, according to a study released last week by the Pew Hispanic Center, part of the Pew Research Center. In 2010, approximately 1.8 million Hispanic students aged 18 to 24 were enrolled in college, the study showed. In the same age group, there were 1.7 million African-American students enrolled, although when students of all ages were counted, blacks outnumbered Hispanics. Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data, the researchers found that in 2010, Hispanic enrollment surged by 24% over the previous year. For that same time period, college enrollment for blacks and Asians also increased, but not as dramatically as that of Hispanics. Although the enrollment of white students decreased to 7.7 million, the study showed, whites still make up the vast majority of college students. Researcher Richard Fry, who worked on the Pew study, attributes the gains in Hispanic enrollment to the overall population increase of Hispanics and an increase in the number of Hispanics graduating from high school, making them eligible to go to college. "Improving the educational attainment of young Hispanics would improve the long-term socioeconomic prospects of the nation's largest minority group," Fry said. "It would not only be beneficial for Hispanics themselves but would also raise the education and skills of the nation's future work force." Raul Gonzalez, the legislative director for the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights and advocacy group, noted that "a spike does not a trend make." "We are hoping that this carries through to be more of a trend," Gonzalez said of the findings. Gonzalez gives some credit for the gains to the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind law. "It's been about a decade of the No Child Left Behind policy. We are one of the few groups that still likes that law," he said. "I don't think it's coincidental that (the increased Hispanic enrollment is) coming at a time when a cohort of kids has gone through a school career under No Child Left Behind." There was a 4% decline in college enrollment among young whites since 2009, the largest drop since at least 1993, the study showed. This is at least partly due to a decrease in the 18- to 24-year-old white population. Ruiz said she sees her college education as part of the American dream, and she's encouraging her brothers to take advantage of their educational opportunities as well. | A larger Hispanic population and better high school graduation rates boosted college enrollment .
Whites are still the largest group enrolled in college, but since 2009 there's been a drop .
No Child Left Behind credited with helping Hispanic gains, advocacy group says . |
199,823 | 8eaf5f109b9840a120e627188265d4922bd10468 | A man who discovered that the son and daughter he raised into their teenage years were not his has been awarded £25,000 in damages after suing his ex-wife for deceit. Richard Rodwell was a loving father to Adam and Laura until his marriage to their mother Helen broke down. After the divorce he paid regular child maintenance for more than four years, from his salary as a factory manager. Happy family: Adam and Laura are all smiles during a swimming session with loving 'father' Richard. Both children were fathered by different men . But in 2008 Mr Rodwell ordered DNA tests after hearing rumours about his daughter’s paternity – and the results showed that each child was fathered by a different man. Following the results, the children cut off all contact with him. He claims his ex-wife turned them against him. Yesterday, Mr Rodwell’s solicitor, Roger Terrell, said: ‘The court treated it as akin to bereavement, awarding a similar sum to the one you would receive if your child died in an accident, which is £11,800. 'I heard whispers, so I needed to know' ‘I think in this case, the county court judge went further than that because of the level of deceit and the fact that Mr Rodwell’s new wife is too old to give him children, so he has lost his chance of fatherhood.’ Speaking for the first time about the controversial case, Mr Rodwell, 46, from Peterborough, said: ‘It’s like a bereavement because I have lost the children I believed were mine. ‘I treated them both as if they were my own. I was there at their births, went to their Nativity plays and helped them with school homework. ‘I can’t stop thinking about the children as they were my life. I always wanted children and grandchildren and now it’s too late in life for me. ‘The children were the most important people in my life, and now they have gone. Wedding day: Richard with Helen at King's Lynn Register Office in June 1990. After the couple divorced in 2004, Helen was granted custody of the children and Mr Rodwell paid a total of £15,600 in maintenance . ‘But I had to do the DNA tests. There was a whispering campaign going on that the children weren’t mine and I needed to know. I couldn’t live with the uncertainty any longer.’ Mr Rodwell started dating Helen, now 44, in 1989 when they were both fruit-packers at a factory near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. They moved into a caravan together and in 1990 married at King’s Lynn Register Office. They had 60 guests at the reception at a village hall. 'She has never even said sorry' Laura was born in 1992, with Mr Rodwell present at the birth and signing the birth certificate. Two years later Adam was born, with Mr Rodwell still having no reason to suspect that Helen had been unfaithful. Mr Rodwell said: ‘My life seemed complete. We had moved into a house, I was happily married, had a good job and two healthy children – what more could I want?’ But by 2004 the marriage was struggling. Mr Rodwell explained: ‘Helen was disappearing for several days without telling me where she was going. I only found out from used train and coach tickets I discovered. ‘I would collect the children from school as usual and walk into the house and it would be empty with no note or anything. Helen would go to places such as Newcastle or Manchester, and if I asked why she had gone there she would say, “Nothing to do with you.” ’ So sad: Richard and his second wife Trudi. His relationship with Laura and Adam has 'all gone' When the couple divorced in 2004, Helen was granted custody of the children and for the next four years Mr Rodwell paid £300 a month maintenance for both children. His total bill was £15,600. Four years after the divorce he began hearing rumours that Laura, now 20, was not his daughter. Mr Rodwell said: ‘People said Laura didn’t look like me and that Helen had been seeing a teacher who lived next door on the caravan park. ‘I confronted Helen on the phone but she insisted I was Laura’s father. Finally I said I wanted DNA testing.’ The DNA test was done by mouth swab and when the result came back Mr Rodwell was stunned. He said: ‘When I saw the letter stating that I wasn’t Laura’s father I just broke down. ‘When I phoned Helen we had an argument and she just said, “What did you expect.” She didn’t even say sorry.’ Mr Rodwell didn’t tell Laura but he described in court documents how her attitude changed towards him. He said: ‘She didn’t come to see me and if I saw her in the street she would make obscene gestures with her fingers and on one occasion even kicked my car.’ Laura also posted a cruel message on Facebook that read: ‘I hate you so much, I reali [sic] loved you so when you called me your little angel I take it you was just saying it and you start all that after 16 years you have ruined mine and adams life I hope your happy for what you have put us through!!’ Mr Rodwell also decided to have a DNA test done to check Adam’s paternity. ‘I still have no idea who is Adam’s father,’ he said. ‘For nearly 17 years I cared for Laura as my daughter and for Adam for over 14 years and now it’s all gone. It’s so sad. ‘I would have been happy to have a close relationship with them as a stepfather but Helen wouldn’t allow this and told them to keep away from me.’ Mr Rodwell was awarded compensation in 2011 of £12,500 for each child, and costs of £25,000. He also won a court order forcing his ex-wife to move out of the marital home, which is now up for sale for £119,995. Mrs Rodwell yesterday declined to comment. | Richard Rodwell was a loving father until his marriage broke down .
After he heard rumours his children were not his own, he ordered DNA tests .
Results showed each child was fathered by a different man .
Following the revelations, his children cut off all contact with him . |
34,516 | 6217c1af472903beb294db2ad39c739d281ff3f4 | Smiling for the camera, they look like typical newlyweds enjoying a boat trip during their honeymoon. But within weeks Shasta Khan, 38, and her husband Mohammed, 33, ditched their westernised lifestyle and became terrorists intent on plotting to murder members of the Jewish community on British soil. A court heard the couple planned to use chapati flour, bleach and Christmas tree lights to make a bomb and carried out reconnaissance for targets. Couple: . Mohammed and Shasta on their honeymoon in Turkey. A satnav from her . Peugeout 305 showed the couple had been on multiple trips to Jewish . populated areas around Manchester looking for targets to attack . Convicted: Shasta Khan, 38, left, and her husband, . Mohammed Sajid Khan, 33, right, bought substances and equipment from . supermarkets to assemble an improvised explosive device. Both will be sentenced tomorrow . Their activities were discovered only . by chance when police were called to a domestic disturbance at their . terraced home in Oldham. Officers who searched the property . discovered propaganda glorifying Osama Bin Laden, guides to bomb-making . and a video from 2004 of British hostage Ken Bigley being beheaded in . Iraq. Yesterday British-born Mrs Khan, who . has an 18-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, screamed and wept . as she was convicted of engaging in preparation for terrorism and two . counts of possessing information useful for terrorism. Terrorism: Interior and exterior pictures of the couple's house in Oldham, Manchester. Prosecutors said behind their 'apparent normality of daily life' the couple planned to carry out 'jihad at home' after becoming radicalised . She was cleared of a third count of . the latter charge. Her husband had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing . to preparation for acts of terrorism. Both will be sentenced today. Manchester Crown Court heard that Mrs . Khan, who ran a hair salon, met her husband on the ‘Single Muslim’ dating site in July 2010 after turning to religion following the . breakdown of her two previous marriages. She agreed to marry him just three . days after they met and they enjoyed a honeymoon in Turkey, but within . weeks she got rid of her westernised clothes and stopped watching TV . soaps, which he claimed were a ‘bad influence’. Instead, the couple . tuned into Al Qaeda-inspired propaganda online. Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, said . behind their ‘apparent normality of daily life’, unemployed car valeter . Khan and his wife were planning an attack, with the most likely target . being an Orthodox Jewish area of Prestwich, North Manchester. Chemicals used in Mrs Khan’s work, such . as bleach, left, acetone and peroxide, were capable of being . transformed into explosives. Right is a digital frequency radio used in reconnaissance missions . But their plans were foiled in July . last year, when police were called to the couple’s home following a . family row during which Khan attacked his father-in-law. One of Mrs Khan’s brothers told . officers: ‘We have something I think may be interesting to you. I think . he’s a homegrown terrorist.’ Mrs Khan agreed to ‘spill the beans’ about her husband’s activities, but evidence later came to light which . proved they were both in on the plans and she too was arrested and . charged. Among the items found by police was an . article from an Al Qaeda magazine, entitled ‘Make a bomb in the kitchen . of your Mom’, which also offered a step-by-step guide on how to create . an explosive capable of killing ‘at least ten people’. Mrs Khan told the jury her husband was a ‘racist’, who said she did not believe in Allah because she mixed with white people. But the jury rejected Mrs Khan’s version of events and agreed with the prosecution case that the couple were acting together. Found by police: Seemingly innocuous and innocent items like these Christmas tree lights, bulbs and a battery found at the address had a more sinister purpose the jury was told. This was one of the most significant finds . A close-up of the electrical items found in the Maplin bag. Ground-up fire lighters, safety goggles, a funnel, needles and syringes were also part of the paraphernalia found a the couple's address . This post it notes found at the house made references to a Tokarev gun and right, this metal pan was found in the rear garden. Shasta Khan told the jury she had no involvement in terrorism or her husband’s activities . | Shasta Khan and her husband also had beheading videos, bomb-making guides and bleach at their home .
Police found the terror-related material after being called to a domestic dispute at their house .
A satnav showed they had been on multiple trips to Jewish populated areas looking for targets . |
222,962 | aca56810e3d9da6c706b0fc6794ac6d95457c979 | (CNN) -- President Obama has decided to move ahead with a variety of gun control measures, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein has proposed a new assault weapons ban. While Washington debates new proposals on gun control, attention also needs to focus on obstacles to effective enforcement of existing gun laws, including the ban imposed by Congress on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives creating a federal database of firearms transactions. A discussion of the origin of that ban, which was initially enacted in response to a proposal made when I served as the assistant Treasury secretary overseeing the bureau, is useful to a better understanding of the dynamics of the debate over specific gun control proposals. Sadly, both then and now, logic often loses out. Early in 1978, the proposal we developed was relatively simple: Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers would file reports of sales of firearms with the bureau, but to avoid the argument that the bureau was impermissibly creating a national registry of gun owners, retailers would not be required to list the name of the retail purchaser. The rationale for creating a centralized firearms transaction database was twofold. First, it would speed up the ability to trace guns found at crime scenes, since even with the less sophisticated technology then available, such traces would still be able to be done virtually instantaneously. Gun control advocates march as nation reels from school shootings . Second, and even more significant, it would allow the bureau to analyze the flow of firearms to identify potential diversions to the illegal gun market. For example, if a hundred handguns a week were going to one dealer in a small town in Virginia, that would suggest the possibility that guns were being sold illegally by that dealer to individuals smuggling them to New York or other states. By allowing this kind of analysis, the bureau could target investigative resources on dealers mostly likely to be violating the law. Proceeding with what can only be described as youthful naiveté, the day the proposed regulations were published, I convened a briefing for interested parties, including the NRA and other anti-gun control groups. After all, none of these proposals would in any way alter the rules relating to gun ownership. The hope was that understanding the limited nature of the proposal would mute their opposition. I was very wrong. We had to withdraw the proposals, and Congress punitively reduced the bureau's budget and ultimately banned it from creating such firearms transaction databases. The opposition to the proposed regulations was intense, with opponents writing hundreds of thousands of often angry letters, both to Treasury and to members of Congress. Little of the opposition, however, focused on the actual proposals themselves. One common thread to the opposition was the "slippery slope argument," which argued that the regulation would create a centralized list of all gun owners' names -- which it would not have done -- or would lead to the creation of such a list, which would then enable the government to seize everyone's weapons and put us on a path to dictatorship. Gun violence measures? Would they work? After all, it was argued, this is what the Nazis had done. Another often-used argument was that what we were proposing would not stop all criminals from securing or using firearms, and therefore it was not something worth doing. Arguments like these prevent an honest discussion of any proposal to address the problem of gun violence in America. The assumption that any regulation of firearms sets us on the path to confiscation of weapons is not only ludicrous on its face, it ignores all political reality. And, if the test for any proposal is whether it totally solves the problem being addressed, then no action would be taken addressing so many of society's important issues. Why require the use of seat belts if wearing a seat belt does not always save a life in an accident? Why prohibit people from carrying guns onto planes if it doesn't eliminate all risk of hijacking? Why prohibit providing assistance to terrorists if it doesn't stop all terrorist acts? Why require tests for the issuance of driver's licenses if it doesn't stop all accidents? We require these regulations because they address problems that need to be addressed and because if these regulations can save some lives, they are steps worth taking. So it should be with the gun debate. No proposal, or set of proposals, will ever stop all gun crime. But the 1978 proposals could have stopped some illegal sales of guns by renegade dealers. And things like forced waiting periods for gun purchases, requiring background checks for firearms buyers at gun shows and a ban on assault weapons would certainly save some lives. NRA chief: Obama makes 'mockery' of American freedoms . Maybe it is thousands of lives over time; maybe it is hundreds. But isn't every life saved worth it? Would it not have been worth it if even some of the lives lost at Sandy Hook could have been saved because the shooter did not have an assault weapon? Gun control is not the total answer to the problem of mass shootings, but it plainly needs to be part of any meaningful response. Let's hope that this time the debate on gun control will be a more sensible one. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Richard Davis. | Richard Davis: Modest gun control proposals become focus of attacks .
He served in Carter administration, proposed firearm transaction database .
Even though plan wouldn't have listed gun owners, it was quickly shelved, he says .
Davis: Let's make sure reasonable steps don't fall victim to irrational opposition . |
153,489 | 5257b92a4b3395c31b9485d90f2574dd1b2eb7a0 | More details have emerged about a bizarre and malicious assault incident at Boston airport at the weekend, in which a 26-year-old Harvard student fell into a women's bathroom naked through the ceiling before running into the hallway and biting the ear off an elderly man. Cameron Shenk was arraigned Wednesday on charges that include attempted murder, assault and battery on a person over 60, and lewd and lascivious conduct. The economics student at Harvard Extension School, who has no history of mental illness, allegedly took his clothes off, crawled into the ceiling, fell and then assaulted three people - the 84-year-old man and two troopers. Outside court his father offered a cryptic explanation for his son's wild behavior, suggesting Shenk may have been under the influence of something, according to WHDH. Scroll down for video . Refused bail: Cameron Shenk, 26, appears at his arraignment at East Boston Municipal Court on Wednesday on charges that include attempted murder, assault and battery on a person over 60, and lewd and lascivious conduct . Bizarre behavior: Police say the 26-year-old Shenk fell through the ceiling of a women's bathroom at Boston's Logan airport at about noon Saturday . Stripped off: He had allegedly sneaked into the bathroom, undressed inside a stall and climbed into the ceiling crawl space. Police say he then fled the bathroom and assaulted an 84-year-old man . 'Dangerous': He has been ordered held without bail pending a hearing next week . Derek Shenk, who flew into Boston to appear at his son's arraignment, said afterwards: 'It was a singular event. The best analogy that I can say is that we could all learn a lot from Snow White. If you're given an apple, sometimes it really does contain poison.' It is unclear exactly what Mr Shenk was alluding to with his analogy. Cameron Shenk accessed the roof by sneaking into the women's bathroom about noon on Saturday. After stripping, he climbed up into a crawl space, but the roof gave way and he fell back down. Police say he then fled the bathroom and ran into the 84-year-old bystander in the hallway. 'And (he) began choking that man with his cane,' prosecutor Emily Hamrock said in court Wednesday. 'JetBlue employees came when they heard the commotion and tried to break up the incident and in the process this defendant leaned in and bit off a large part of that elderly man's ear.' Shenk was finally subdued by two troopers, but allegedly assaulted both in the process while trying to fight them off. Ceiling: The roof of the women's bathroom (pictured) gave way after Shenk climbed into a crawl space . Shenk was naked and bleeding at the time. 'He is truly remorseful about what happened here, particularly with regard to the gentleman who was injured as a result of his conduct,' Shenk's lawyer, Frank O'Brien, told . Shenk was has been ordered held without bail. A hearing to determine whether he is dangerous to the public is scheduled Monday. The elderly victim is still recovering from the attack. Shenk was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital following the incident. Cameron Shenk, 26, who sneaked into the women's bathroom at Boston's Logan Airport before climbing into a ceiling space naked, was treated in Massachusetts General Hospital . Shenk, whose motive remains unknown, allegedly struggled with troopers who arrested him at the airport (pictured), injuring one of them . | Cameron Shenk, 26, charged with attempted murder, assault and lewd and lascivious conduct .
Took his clothes off and climbed into a crawl space in a women's bathroom at Logan Airport on Saturday .
Fell through the roof and suffered injuries .
Fled into hallway and attacked an 84-year-old man, biting off 'a large chunk of his ear'
Shenk's father cryptically said his son was 'given a bad apple like Snow White' |
14,311 | 2896f04f75197a6cf9818efcf64fa893512fc17b | London, England (CNN) -- Kraft's fresh bid for suffered a double blow Tuesday as the improved offer was dismissed by the British candy company and criticized by billionaire investor Warren Buffett who controls an influential stake in the U.S. food giant. Buffett said he had voted against Kraft's plan to issue new shares as part of a cash and stock offer worth approximately $16 billion, warning it would hurt shareholders, Fortune reported. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company owns 138 million Kraft shares, making it the largest shareholder in the foodmaker with a 9.4 percent stake. But in a statement, he warned Kraft's move for Cadbury risked undervaluing Kraft stock. "Kraft stock, at its current price of $27, is a very expensive 'currency' to be used in an acquisition," Buffett said. "In 2007, in fact, Kraft spent $3.6 billion to repurchase shares at about $33 per share, presumably because the directors and management thought the shares to be worth more." Earlier, Illinois-based Kraft said it would use the proceeds from the sale of its U.S. pizza business to Nestle to increase the cash element of its Cadbury offer. Under Kraft's offer of a partial cash alternative, Cadbury shareholders could receive cash as well as Kraft shares if they accept Kraft's deal. "Kraft Foods is doing this because of the desire expressed by some Cadbury security holders to have a greater proportion of the offer in cash," Kraft said in a statement. The maker of Jell-O, Cool Whip, Oreo cookies and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese also extended the Cadbury offer to February 2. The original bid had expired Tuesday. Cadbury, which rejected Kraft's previous two deals, rejected the new offer Tuesday. "Kraft has once again missed the point," a Cadbury spokesman told CNN. "Despite this tinkering, the Kraft offer remains unchanged and derisory, with less than half the consideration in cash." There had been rumors that Swiss firm Nestle, which already has a chocolate and confectionery unit, would step in and make its own offer for Cadbury. But Nestle put an end to those rumors Tuesday by issuing a statement saying it had no intention to make an offer for the British company. Instead, Nestle said it had bought Kraft's frozen pizza business in the United States and Canada for $3.7 billion. The unit includes brands like DiGiorno, Tombstone, and California Pizza Kitchen. "The acquisition brings leadership in the frozen pizza category, where Nestle only had a minor presence until now, and builds on Nestle's existing pizza know-how and operations in Europe," Nestle said in a statement Tuesday. "It is a natural fit with Nestle's focus on delivering convenient, premium, wholesome and nutritious frozen food for consumers around the world." Nestle already had a presence in American frozen food aisles with ready-meal brands like Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, and Hot Pockets. The proceeds from the sale allow Kraft to offer more cash to Cadbury shareholders -- an additional 60 pence (96 cents) per share, Kraft said. Kraft originally offered Cadbury shareholders 300 pence ($4.81) and 0.26 Kraft shares for each share of Cadbury they own. Kraft said it will announce more detailed terms by January 19. | Kraft raises offer, extends deadline in takeover bid for Cadbury .
Kraft shareholder Warren Buffett says he voted against Cadbury offer .
Illinois company sells U.S. pizza business to Nestle to fund revised offer .
UK candy maker Cadbury rejects offer, says terms remain "unchanged, derisory" |
80,578 | e4643a697ee43343beeb59b7ba119a93afa85c0a | Since the Toulon Tournament was launched in 1967, a raft of top class players have progressed from games in small stadiums to become world stars. Whether the youngsters at this year's edition can progress like the greats who have gone before them remains to be seen but one thing is certain, whichever nation lifts the trophy on June 1 will have a squad full of quality. With England beginning their campaign against Qatar this afternoon, Sportsmail have cast an eye over the other competing nations and selected a soon-to-be-famous five. Highly-rated: Chelsea value Lucas Piazon (right, on loan at Vitesse) and he could shine in Toulon for Brazil . Country: Brazil Age: 20 Club: Chelsea Position: Forward . Piazon . has barely been seen at Stamford Bridge over the past 18 months since . making his sole Barclays Premier League appearance against Aston Villa . but do not dispute how highly Chelsea value him. He is under contract . until 2017 and has been away gaining experience, first with Malaga and . then last season at Vitesse Arnhem, for whom he scored 11 times in 29 . appearances. Versatile and gifted, he can play in a number of attacking . positions and is an exciting prospect. Other Brazilians to note are . Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain and Vasco de Gama striker Thalles. Available: Contract discussions between PSG and Rabiot (right) have stalled, alerting Arsenal . Country: France Age: 19 Club: Paris Saint-Germain Position: Midfield . It . has been noted by clubs in the Barclays Premier League, most notably . Arsenal, that Rabiot is currently at loggerheads with Paris St Germain . over a new contract and a clutch of admirers would be willing to pounce . if given the chance. Technically gifted and energetic, Rabiot’s . potential at PSG was spotted by former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who . promoted him to the senior squad in 2012. Spent the second half of last . season at Toulouse but made more than enough appearances to pick up his . second Ligue 1 medal. Gold reserve: Joao Teixeira is a star for Liverpool's second team and will be the 'technician' for Portugal . Country: Portugal Age: 21 Club: Liverpool Position: Midfield . Hailed . by Brendan Rodgers as 'the outstanding performer in our reserves' in . the New Year, Teixeira was promptly given his debut in the Barclays . Premier League by the Liverpool manager when coming on as a substitute . in 3-2 win over Fulham. Liverpool bought him for £800,000 after he had . starred for Sporting Lisbon during their 3-0 victory at Anfield in the . 2011 NextGen Series. Fits the description of being a 'technician' and . shows great poise in possession. Will be a key man for Portugal, who . opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Mexico on Wednesday. International: Club Brugge's Nicolas Castillo has already made his full international debut for Chile . Country: Chile Age: 21 Club: FC Brugge Position: Striker . Football . is flourishing in Chile and Castillo has already made his way into . European football. Enjoyed a successful time at the Under-20 World Cup . last summer, when he scored three times including a penalty against . England in a 1-1 draw in Antalya, and his sharpness of mind and clinical . finishing has secured him a first senior cap, too. Started Chile’s . opening game against France in Toulon but was powerless to prevent the . hosts running out 3-0 winners. Speed: Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (left) is known in France for his explosive pace . Country: France Age: 21 Club: Paris Saint-Germain Position: Striker . Jean-Pierre . Papin, Thierry Henry and Djibril Cisse are some of the French players . who have finished the Toulon Tournament with the award for top . goalscorer and Bahebeck has made the perfect start to this year's . competition, scoring twice in the 3-0 win over Chile. He was a key part . in the France side that won last year’s Under-20 World Cup and while he . has spent time away from PSG in the last two seasons, with loans to . Troyes and Valenciennes, Bahebeck is touted in France as having a big . future. He can also operate with speed on the wing. | Tournament started on Wednesday with wins for France and Portugal .
England's youngsters begin their campaign against Qatar on Thursday .
Piazon will want to impress Chelsea and earn himself first team football .
French star Adrien Rabiot has been linked with Arsenal . |
190,813 | 8314a25c46713ad1ef4531e3ecb4f5078f4265a0 | Members of a German motorcycle gang have arrived in the besieged Syrian city of Kobane to fight against Islamic State militants who have been attacking the city for the past four weeks. Leaders of the Cologne-based Median Empire Motorcycle Club, which has strong Kurdish links, have posted images of their riders posing in the city - some of them carrying weapons. The news comes just after three members of a notorious motorcycle gang from the Netherlands were told they had not committed any crime by travelling to Kobane to join the fight against ISIS. Leaders of the Cologne-based Median Empire Motorcycle Club, which has strong Kurdish links, have posted images of their riders posing in the besieged Syrian city of Kobane. They are there fighting ISIS terrorists . Images of the Median Empire Motorcycle Club emerged on the group's Facebook page, and showed the heavily tattooed riders with rifles slung over the shoulders. In a shot of the Germans huddled together, the gang's logo - a sinister looking white face on a black background - could clearly be seen on their leather vests. The image was captioned: 'Our boys were in Kobane today and told me today they were shot at but nothing happened. They are okay.' Four days earlier, the same Facebook user wrote: 'While others blabber and blabber, our boys are at the front fighting.' The gang's official Facebook page says the riders have travelled to the Middle East to distribute aid, and several images show them handing out food to Yazidis in what looks like a refugee camp. Defence: A biker from the No Surrender gang in the Netherlands, identified only as Ron (right) poses alongside a Kurdish soldier in Syria after going to fight against ISIS . Elsewhere of their Facebook page, the Median Empire Motorcycle Club praise the notorious Netherlands based No Surrender gang, three members of which have also travelled to fight in Kobane, according to its leader Klaas Otto. Last week a Dutch prosecutor told the members that they will not be prosecuted for going to fight abroad, because such actions are only illegal if you are fighting troops from the Netherlands. Public prosecutor spokesman Wim de Bruin said: 'Joining a foreign armed force was previously punishable, now it's no longer forbidden. You just can't join a fight against the Netherlands.' While several countries including Britain have taken steps to stop their citizens joining ISIS, joining the Kurds is generally permissible because they are not considered a terrorist organisation. However, anyone going to fight ISIS would be banned from joining the Kurdistan Workers' Party, who run several of the brigades fighting ISIS, because they are considered to be terrorists. Blast: A US-led airstrike on a Syrian gas facility in Kobane killed at least eight people this afternoon. It had been held by militants from the Islamic State terror group, who expert Justin Bronk believes has made fatal errors in its attempt to capture the city . Fire: Flames rise over an ISIS-held building inside Kobane following American and Arab airstrike this evening . Dutch citizens fighting on the Kurdish side would of course be liable to prosecution if they committed crimes such as torture or rape, De Bruin said. 'But this is also happening a long way away and so it'll be very difficult to prove,' he added. Video footage apparently from a Kurdish broadcaster shows an armed European man with Kurdish fighters saying in Dutch: 'The Kurds have been under pressure for a long time.' There are estimated to be around 70,000 Kurds living in the Netherlands, most of whom are political refugees who fled from Turkey and the Middle East looking for work. An ISIS propaganda video released last week featured a German militant who threatened any Western soldier who travels to fight in Syria. Identified as Abu Dauoud al-Almani steps in front of the camera and speaks in German, subtitled in English. An ISIS propaganda video released last week featured German militant Abu Dauoud al-Almani who threatened the life of any Western soldier who travels to fight against the Islamic State in Syria . Syrian Kurdish refugees in Turkey watch as American and Arab warplanes carry out airstrikes on their hometown Kobane this evening . Al-Amani claimed the video is being shot in the Syrian town of Dabiq and urges Western nations to send their armies to fight ISIS because 'We have been waiting for you for over 1,400 years.' He also urges his fellow Muslims in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to join ISIS. Al-Almani is far from the first German citizen to embrace radical Islam. Former rapper Denis Cuspert spent several years as a major player in the Berlin hip hop scene under the name Deso Dogg before embracing radical Islam and travelling join ISIS in Syria. It is understood Cusbert now calls himself Abu Talha al-Almani and leads a unit of German-speaking ISIS terrorists operating under the name 'The German Brigade of Millatu Ibrahim'. It is not known whether Abu Dauoud al-Almani is a member of Cuspert's militant unit. Islamic State militants have publicly beheaded two of their own fighters after they were accused of 'banditry' and spying on behalf of the Syrian government. The executions took place in the Syrian city of Al-Bukamal after the two men were arrested by members of the terror group's police force and brought before a Sharia law court. One of the men was successfully tried on charges of 'banditry and robbing Muslims' money', while the second man was convicted of 'spying and embezzlement', with both being sentenced to being beheaded in the centre of Al-Bukamal, which is on the Euphrates River near the border with Iraq. Horror: The executions took place in the Syrian city of Al-Bukamal after the two men were arrested by members of the terror group's police force and brought before a Sharia law court . News of the executions came from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group monitoring violence in Syria using sources on the ground. The first man, they said, was convicted of 'banditry and robbing Muslims' money' - a charge likely to have been linked to the practice of money lending or usury. The second militants was accused of 'dealing with the regime and throwing electronic chips to keep track of Mujahedeen,' according to the Observatory. The use of the phrase 'electronic chips' is understood to refer to small geolocation devices that can be hidden inside ISIS-held buildings or vehicles belonging to senior militants. The devices can then provide Syrian regime warplanes with detailed information on which to base a bombing raid. | Members of Cologne-based Median Empire Motorcycle Club are in Kobane .
Riders seen posing with weapons in battle to defeat Islamic State jihadists .
Gang's official Facebook page says its members 'are at the front fighting'
Median Empire Motorcycle Club has links to Kurdish community in Germany .
News comes just days after members of Dutch motorcycle gang were told they had not broken law by travelling to Syria to fight against ISIS . |
177,427 | 71ae23d40f99255e0a3d2b585630e72f001be6fb | A 35-year-old father who died of an aggressive brain tumor handled his death with humor - by comparing his battle with the disease to a living a double-life as Spider-Man. Aaron Purmort, from Minneapolis, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2011, and died this week - but not before writing his own obituary along with his wife, Nora. The piece, published Sunday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, phrased his life in terms of Peter Parker's famous alter-ego, with cancer as the villain he tried to defeat. 'Spider-Man': Aaron Purmont's obituary, published Sunday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, compares him to a superhero who fought cancer . Documented: Nora Purmont, above with Aaron, wrote a blog detailing her husband's struggle with the disease . It described his death as the result of 'complications from a radioactive spider bite that led to years of crime-fighting and a years long battle with a nefarious criminal named Cancer, who has plagued our society for far too long.' 'Civilians will recognize him best as Spider-Man, and thank him for his many years of service protecting our city. Together: Nora and Aaron, who is holding Ralph, are pictured above dancing at a friend's wedding . 'His family knew him only as a kind and mild-mannered Art Director, a designer of websites and t-shirts, and concert posters who always had the right cardigan and the right thing to say (even if it was wildly inappropriate).' The piece then goes on to describe his career, his childhood and his family, including his son, Ralph, who is almost two. The obituary says he will grow up to 'avenge' him, and Ralph now associates his father with the superhero. Speaking to MailOnline about the obituary, Nora said: 'Living with cancer is no battle - you show up and hope you don't die is the battle. 'What sets Aaron apart is not just the obituary but literally the entire way he lived his life. He had this unbridled joy about him. 'We spent so much time in hospital, where mostly other people are in terrible moods and feel sorry for themselves, and Aaron didn't feel spend one second of his entire 35 years on earth feeling sorry for himself. 'When we were writing this we were laughing so hard, we had to take some parts out... We had so much fun these past three years. 'A lot of the stuff we went through was pretty terrible but it didn't feel as bad as it looked'. Nora said Ralph, who will have his second birthday in January, now associates her father with Spider-Man, a comic-book figure his father loved well into adulthood. She said: 'The night that we told our family Aaron was going into the hospice, Ralph walked over, crawled between us, hugged Aaron and just kept saying 'I love you, Papa. I love you, Papa''. 'I don't know what he knows - but I think he knows enough. Yesterday was the first time he asked me 'Where's Papa?' Together: Nora said that the optimism with which Aaron lived his life is in keeping with the style of the obituary . 'I said 'He's in your heart now, and he's in my heart. You won't see him with your eyes any more put you can feel him here. He just kept patting his heart and said 'OK!'' 'And when he sees Spider-Man he says 'Papa!' - which is all Aaron ever wanted'. During the progress of Aaron's disease, Nora, whom he married after the diagnosis, kept track of their life together on her blog. In a post describing his last moments, she wrote: 'It ended today at 2:43pm, in the middle of a run-on sentence, my head on his heart and my arms around him in a hospital bed built for one, but perfect for the two of us.' Family: The obituary mentioned that the couple's son, Ralph (center), will 'avenge' his father . 'One quiet second': Nora Purmont movingly described her husband's last moments in a recent post - before revealing how the two co-wrote his obituary . 'He breathed out, and I readied for the sharp inhale that would follow 8-10 seconds later, rattling through his body. It never came. 'That's how it ends. One quiet second.' After the obituary was published today, she described how the two of them had agreed the text of the obituary towards the end of his life. She said: 'Before [he] died, we had time to sit down and write his obituary. I've never laughed and cried more in one sitting, but I'm so glad we got to do this. I love this man so damn much.' The family has also started a crowdfunding page to raise money to support the family in the future. | Aaron Purmort, 35, was diagnosed in 2011 and died this week .
He and his wife Nora co-wrote obituary which was published Sunday .
'Reveals' that he is Spider-Man and has battled villain named Cancer .
Then describes his real life, and adds their son, Ralph, will 'avenge' him .
Nora had written a blog charting family's struggle with the disease . |
270,164 | e9e3b310b84e26a419841a3dc1656fb109a18a74 | (CNN) -- Mexico celebrates its bicentennial Wednesday, an event known as "El Grito," the shout for independence first credited to a Catholic priest who demanded freedom from Spain. For many Mexicans today, though, it's a quiet shout of despair. The country is mired in a bloody drug war that has seen more than 28,000 people killed in less than four years. The economy has barely begun to rebound from the global downturn, which hit Mexico harder than most Latin American countries. Tourism, a major lifeblood for the nation, is drastically down because of the violence and a flu pandemic last year that began in Mexico. And oil revenues, long a rich sustenance for the nation's economy, also have suffered a major collapse. Despite government efforts to hold a vast celebration that one leading newspaper called part Disney and part infomercial, many Mexicans are just not feeling it. "The climate in which we're living in this country does not lend itself to a real celebration," said Adrian Jesus Garrido Gomez, who owns a car rental company and chauffeur service in Villahermosa, the capital of southeastern Mexico's Tabasco state. Garrido sounds leery of the nearly $232 million (about 2.97 billion pesos) the government says it has spent on celebrations in Mexico City. The lavish events Wednesday night will feature a parade, fireworks and a show that has merited visits by five Latin American presidents and dignitaries from 50 nations. "They are grabbing it as an effort to make us forget everything that is happening in the country," Garrido said. "It's more of a distraction." That distraction does not seem to be working. "Mexico is downbeat," said Peter Hakim, president emeritus of the Inter-American Dialogue, a non-partisan policy institute in Washington. "People are nervous about the future." Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, sees Mexico at a crossroads. "It's a time of soul-searching," he said Wednesday. It's also a time of anxiety for authorities, who want to make sure the festivities go off without any major incidents or violence from the nation's organized crime groups. A bombing at a Grito celebration two years ago in Michoacan state left eight dead and more than 100 wounded. More recently, narcotrafficking cartels have taken to setting off car bombs, an unprecedented event in the nation's drug wars. Authorities have dispatched more than 14,000 police and troops to the streets of Mexico City to guard the peace. More than 2 million people are expected to throng the streets of the central city to watch the parade. Mexico formally recognizes its independence day each September 16 -- Thursday -- but the major celebration traditionally begins the night before. Close to midnight, President Felipe Calderon will make the symbolic shout "Viva Mexico" in the city's Plaza de la Constitucion, better known as the Zocalo. It is one of the largest plazas in the world. The shout pays tribute to a priest who called for sparked Mexico's struggle for independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810. Other cities have canceled celebrations. Juarez, the most violent city in the country, is one of them. Celebrations also were canceled in Tabasco state. That's probably a good thing, Garrido said. "You can't openly go out and celebrate," he said. Besides the security concerns, there's another reason Garrido does not feel like celebrating -- the economy. Rain and recent storms have washed over much of Villahermosa, damaging the tourist trade upon which the father of two young boys relies for his chauffeur and car rental business. "The little that I make goes to pay bills," he said. Gone this year, he said, is the usual trip over the holiday to visit his wife's parents in nearby Veracruz. "We're going to have to do it in a more simple way," he said. Despite the problems and the worries, Selee says Mexicans will rally around the flag this week. "By tonight, people will celebrate," he said Wednesday morning. "When people around the country shout, 'Viva Mexico,' they will come together with pride about Mexico." But how long will that last? "People will put aside their differences for 24 to 48 hours," Selee said. Some might say it's not much of a reprieve for a country celebrating 200 years since it first tried to gain independence. | The 200-year anniversary comes amid drug-war deaths and a slumping economy .
Some residents see lavish celebrations as an attempt to try to distract the population .
Analysts see Mexico as "downbeat" and "nervous" |
90,584 | 0083c608fda52619571ce47b9a86eee0ceefbb7c | Southampton manager Ronald Koeman was more satisfied by his side's performance against Stoke than their annihilation of Sunderland last week. Saints continue to make a mockery of the doom merchants, with this 1-0 win moving them back up to second in the Barclays Premier League. Sadio Mane's first-half strike proved the difference as they secured a fourth successive victory at St Mary's, although Stoke made them work for it. Ronald Koeman congratulates Saido Mane after his match winning goal against Stoke . The Saints moved up to second in the Premier League table to silence their pre-season doubters . It was a far cry from last weekend's 8-0 humbling of Sunderland, but manager Koeman was actually more impressed by this display. 'It was difficult because we didn't kill the game,' the Dutchman said. 'We created eight good chances and you know if you don't score the second one it's difficult. 'Stoke put everything in, changed the system after an hour and with the physical strength that they have it was difficult. 'Football is strange because the first half was much better than last week. I think it was one of the best first halves of the season. 'In the second half we lost sometimes too easy our position. 'They didn't create a lot, we deserved our win but it was a difficult one, more difficult than last week and maybe more nicer to win like this than last week because the lads showed great character and great ambition again. 'We had a great support of our fans and a great win.' Mane repaid his manager's faith in recalling him by scoring the winner in the first half . Mame Biram Diouf is tackled by Nathanial Clyne on the edge of the area as Stoke chase an equaliser . While the scoreline was not as sweet as last week's, it offered match-winner Mane the chance to make up for last week's disappointment. The Senegalese summer signing thought he had scored the eighth against Sunderland, only for his first goal for Saints to be harshly stripped off him by the Premier League's dubious goals panel. 'I heard it yesterday and I explained to Mane and his reaction was okay,' Koeman said. 'Maybe that was the reason he came to the bench and to say this one they will not take it away again. 'He had a great performance - he's fast, he's a good player but his defending attitude is important for the team.' Mane thought he had scored the final goal in Saints' 8-0 drubbing of Sunderland before it was chalked off . Mane gave Stoke a torrid time in the first half but, like his team-mates, was unable to make the same impact after half-time. City boss Mark Hughes was pleased by the way his side responded to a one-sided opening period, but knows that 45 minutes cost them. 'From our point of view, we're a little bit disappointed with the first half, really,' he said. 'We didn't really ask enough questions of Southampton, made it a little bit too easy, showed them a little too much respect, I would suggest, which is understandable to a certain extent given their exploits last time out here. Mark Hughes was disappointed with how his players reacted to a dominant first half from Southampton . 'I think that was the case in the first half. They caused us a few problems at set plays and obviously from one of the ones we didn't deal with it dropped handily for them and they've been able to dispatch the winning goal. 'Second half, I thought we were a lot better. We made a change very early on, got Mame Diouf on, and that gave us a threat in behind and that stretched the game. 'It allowed us to control of the game and in the second half I thought we were the better side, but we never really created those clear-cut chances we need to get back on level terms.' | Southampton defeated Stoke City 1-0 in their Premier League clash .
The Saints moved above Manchester City to second in the table .
Ronald Koeman more satisfied than after 8-0 drubbing of Sunderland . |
35,722 | 657cad633e18a3cf9e777457e8ea9bd0dc17046f | By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 08:57 EST, 6 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:32 EST, 6 September 2013 . Barack Obama is to meet gay activists during his G20 visit to Russia in what is being viewed as a snub to Vladimir Putin's controversial new equality laws that outlaw 'homosexual propaganda'. As Obama prepared to meet Russia's civil society leaders, including some gay activists, after meeting leaders at the G20 summit, about two dozen activists rallied in St Petersburg to protest against the law. In June, Putin signed a bill that classified 'homosexual . propaganda' as pornography and provides for fines and arrest for those . making it accessible to minors. Uncomfortable friends: Barack Obama meeting with gay activists during his G20 visit to Russia is seen as a direct snub to Vladimir Putin's controversial new equality laws that outlaw 'homosexual propaganda' The same legislation gave the national . government the authority to detain gay or 'pro-gay' foreigners for up . to 14 days, and then to expel them from the country. The laws also have caused some concern among athlethes who will be heading to Russia for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Today's rally went on peacefully under the close watch of several hundred riot police, who separated the protesters from a few dozen anti-gay demonstrators at the G20 summit. Participants held placards with signs such as 'Stop homophobia in Russia' and chanted 'Putin lies' - a reference to the Russian president's denial that the new law infringes gay rights. Homophobic: In June, Putin signed a bill that classified 'homosexual propaganda' as pornography and provides for fines and arrest for those making it accessible to minors . One of the protesters, Kirill Kalugin, said police protection of the rally was a 'show intended for the Group of 20 leaders'. The law has already been enacted on a series of occasions throughout Russia in recent weeks. Last week police seized a painting of Vladamir Putin wearing women's underwear from a gallery, saying the satirical display had broken the law. The painting entitled 'Travesty' by Konstantin Altunin, shows President Putin wearing a tight-fitting slip and brushing the hair of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is wearing knickers and a bra. Gay propaganda? Last week police seized a painting of Vladamir Putin wearing women's underwear from a gallery, saying the satirical display had broken the law . Police swooped on the Muzei Vlasti (Museum of Authorities) in St Petersburg on the night of August 26 confiscating several art installations, including 'Travesty' which are to be checked for extremist propaganda. A picture of the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill I, with his torso covered in tattoos, and two others poking fun at lawmakers who have backed legislation banning so-called gay propaganda, were also confiscated, gallery staff said. | President Obama is in Russia to meet world leaders of the G20 summit .
In June, Putin signed bill that classes 'homosexual .
propaganda' as porn .
It provides for fines and arrest for those .
making it accessible to minors .
A small demonstration took place in St Petersburg in protest of bill . |
50,134 | 8dcbfd20f083c79e18b0c196c13f7c385941dda2 | Sunderland striker Ignacio Scocco has completed his move back to former club Newell's Old Boys. The 29-year-old, known as 'Nacho', has returned to Argentina following a short, but disappointing spell on Wearside. Scocco joined the club from Brazilian outfit Internacional for £3.2million in January, and is understood to have left for slightly less after failing to score in his eight appearances for the Black Cats. Flop: Ignacio Scocco has left Sunderland to join former club Newell's Old Boys . A club statement said: 'Striker Ignacio Scocco has completed a move to Argentine club Newell's Old Boys. 'Scocco, who joined Sunderland in January, has signed a five-year deal with the South American club for an undisclosed fee.' The confirmation from Sunderland comes after Newell's Old Boys revealed on Wednesday that Scocco was returning to the club. His departure came as head coach Gus Poyet's hopes of welcoming a new addition took a turn for the better with the news that Chelsea full-back Patrick van Aanholt is close to completing a move to the Stadium of Light. It is understood the Black Cats are hopeful of striking a deal for the 23-year-old Holland international within the next 24 hours after becoming increasingly frustrated in their pursuit of Fiorentina defender Marcos Alonso. Dutch of class: Van Aanholt seen here playing for Vitesse (left) and the Holland national team (right) this year . Depleted:Gus Poyet know he faces a race against time to get players in before the start of the season . Indeed, club officials were hopeful of including Van Aanholt in the party heading off for a pre-season training camp in Portugal on Friday. The Dutchman, who came through the ranks at Chelsea while sporting director Lee Congerton was at the club, has spent the last two-and-a-half seasons on loan at Vitesse Arnhem. He has made only nine senior appearances for the Blues and has been sent out on loan to five different clubs, including a month at Newcastle in 2010. However, he has indicated that he feels his future lies away from Stamford Bridge, and Sunderland are keen to take advantage of his hunger for regular first-team football. Van Aanholt's capture does not necessarily preclude a continuation of efforts to land Alonso, who proved a key player on loan last season, but it would provide a welcome boost for Poyet, whose hopes of sealing a permanent deal for Fabio Borini are also yet to be realised. In addition, the Uruguayan has confirmed his interest in compatriot and Atletico Madrid midfielder Cristian Rodriguez. On the radar: Poyet's compatriot and Aletico Madrid winger Cristian Rodriguez . Poyet told the Sunderland Echo: 'This has been out for a few days and this week I had a chat with people in Uruguay, who are obviously desperate for Rodriguez to come with us. 'It's ongoing. At the moment, it's a possibility, but it's no more than that. 'He's a player that I admire a lot because he's got power, desire and experience playing with the top teams. 'He wants to play football, he's desperate to be playing week in, week out. 'There are plenty of positives, but there is something you need to do (agreeing a deal) before having a player like that available.' | Ignacio Scocco leaves Sunderland to return to Argentina with Newell's .
Scocco only arrived in January and made just eight appearances .
Gus Poyet hopeful of landing Chelsea left back Patrick van Aanholt .
Poyet frustrated in his attempts to sign former loanee Marcos Alonso .
Poyet targeting fellow Uruguayan Cristian Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid . |
277,974 | f41d52f1b106baaf41d42c54eeba8a010946be30 | By . Cindy Tran for Daily Mail Australia . and Aap . South African cricketer Dale Steyn admits he hasn’t yet forgiven the Australian skipper Michael Clarke after their heated on-field spat during the Cape Town Test. Lifting the lid on the lingering bad blood between the pair, Steyn intimated he's never been more deeply offended by a personal sledge made by Clarke in the final moments of Australia's bitter series victory back in March. Clarke claims he apologised to Steyn immediately after the match and admits he was 'out of line' for overstepping the mark during a post-match press conference. South African cricketer Dale Steyn admits he hasn't yet forgiven the Australian skipper Michael Clarke after a heated on-field exchange during the Cape Town Test in March . But Steyn clearly hasn't accepted Clarke's remorse as genuine. South Africa and Australia stayed at the same hotel in Harare during the one-day tri-series, but the pair never spoke one word to each other before Clarke returned home through injury, missing Saturday's final won convincingly by South Africa. Steyn didn't mince words about his attitude towards Clarke since the explosive incident and what it would take to bury the hatchet. 'I don't take many things personally, but what he did say to me I did take personally,' Steyn said after claiming man-of-the-match honours in the tri-series final win in Harare on Saturday. 'I know he apologised in the media and I should be playing this down. 'But the day he comes and shakes my hand and says 'I really mean what I said' and behaves like the way he should, maybe then I will (forgive him). 'But for right now, he's not here so I'll wait until I get to Australia.' Steyn intimated he's never been more deeply offended by a personal sledge made by Clarke in the final moments of Australia's bitter series victory back in March . Clarke and Mitchell Johnson of Australia consult the umpire after a review decision for the wicket of Vernon Philander of South Africa during day 5 of the third test match between South Africa and Australia at Sahara Park Newlands in Cape Town . Clarke claims he apologised to Steyn immediately after the match and admits he was 'out of line' for overstepping the mark but Steyn clearly hasn't accepted it . Steyn's comments sets up another heated battle when South Africa tour Australia for more limited overs matches in November. Especially given Clarke feels he's already adequately apologised for the incident which occurred while Steyn was batting desperately to try save the Test. The Australian skipper intervened while Steyn was having words with James Pattinson, prompting the Proteas star to blow up in response - although the exact nature of Clarke's sledge is unknown. Clarke claimed before leaving Harare that he believed he had set the record straight with Steyn. 'I would hope Dale and I have a good enough relationship. I'm pretty sure he would front me if he still had an issue with me,' he said nine days ago. 'I think my apology at the time was well taken and respected by Dale.' Steyn's comments sets up another heated battle when South Africa tour Australia for more limited overs matches in November . Clarke returned to Sydney on Tuesday from the team's one-day series in Zimbabwe, after aggravating a hamstring injury . Clarke said he didn't believe the two teams had fallen out, but also conceded Australia wouldn't be losing any sleep if South Africa were holding grudges. 'If no player in their team wants to talk to anybody in our team I don't think it's going to bother anyone,' Clarke said. 'But I would like to think there's always that play hard on the field but off the field have a beer (attitude).' The teams did share a drink after Saturday's ODI final, and Australian coach Darren Lehmann says he wasn't aware of an ongoing issue. But chief antagonists from the Test series Clarke and David Warner weren't present and from the Proteas' perspective, relations are at an all-time low between the teams off the field. Only one South African player, Alviro Petersen, ventured into the Australian sheds for a customary post-match beer after the Test series. | South African cricketer Dale Steyn admits he hasn’t yet forgiven the Australian skipper Michael Clarke after their heated on-field dispute .
Steyn intimated he's never been more deeply offended by a personal sledge .
Clarke claims he apologised to Steyn immediately after the match and admits he was 'out of line'
Steyn's comments on Saturday sets up another heated battle when South Africa tour Australia in November . |
251,282 | d13e231983bb3093f06569100d6caf63f71aa005 | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 01:30 EST, 26 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 05:48 EST, 26 February 2014 . The U.S. government has fined Asiana Airlines $500,000 for its response to the San Francisco plane crash after making families of the victims use an automated phone system to find information. Even once the airline set up a proper hotline, it would take five days before the South Korean airline connected with the families of all 291 passengers. Asiana's response to the deadly crash last summer near San Francisco earned quick criticism for its disarray. Asiana Airlines has been fined $500,000 for breaking laws requiring prompt and generous assistance for the loved ones of crash victims following the incident in San Francisco . Three people died and dozens were injured on July 6 when Asiana Flight 214 clipped a seawall while landing at San Francisco International Airport . It was yesterday fined $500,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is the first time federal officials have concluded that an airline broke laws requiring prompt and generous assistance for the loved ones of crash victims. Three people died and dozens were injured on July 6 when Asiana Flight 214 clipped a seawall while landing at San Francisco International Airport. One of the victims, a 16-year-old girl, apparently survived being ejected onto the tarmac, only to be run over by a fire truck. Many families live in South Korea or China, meaning the airline was their main source of information on the crash half a world away. 'The last thing families and passengers should have to worry about at such a stressful time is how to get information from their carrier,' U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a prepared statement. Many families live in South Korea or China, meaning the airline was their main source of information on the crash half a world away . The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the crash . In a statement, Asiana has said the airline 'provided extensive support to the passengers and their families following the accident and will continue to do so' Under a consent order the airline signed with the department, Asiana will pay a $400,000 fine and get a $100,000 credit for sponsoring conferences and training sessions through 2015 to discuss lessons learned from the situation. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Asiana spokeswoman Hyomin Lee said the airline 'provided extensive support to the passengers and their families following the accident and will continue to do so'. Asiana said in the consent order that its response was slowed because the crash occurred on a holiday weekend when staffing was short. Ye Meng Yuan, left, 16, was hit by a fire truck after the Asiana plane crash. She died along with her schoolfriend Wang Linjia, right . The airline said it was not alone among foreign airlines with 'few trained employees to attend to post-accident responsibilities'. Asiana argued that it recovered quickly, noting that within a few days of the crash it had assigned a special representative to each passenger and family, flown in family members from overseas and provided professional crisis counseling. The consent order also laid out findings from the Department of Transportation's investigation. These included: . Congress required carriers to dedicate significant resources to families of passengers in the late 1990s, after airlines were roundly criticized for ignoring desperate requests for information after crashes. Last fall, the AP reviewed plans filed by two dozen foreign airlines and found cases in which carriers had not updated their family assistance plans as required. Since AP's story, several airlines have updated their plans with the Department of Transportation. Among them is Asiana's bigger rival, Korean Air. Under a consent order the airline signed with the U.S. Department of Transport, Asiana will pay a $400,000 fine and get a $100,000 credit for sponsoring conferences and training sessions through 2015 to discuss lessons learned from the situation . Many airlines invest in crash preparedness and family assistance planning, but a minority are 'using lip service and euphemisms in their plans', said Robert A. Jensen, whose company has contracts with hundreds of airlines to help after an accident. 'It's time that some of the airlines that have been flying under the radar be held accountable,' said Jensen, CEO of Kenyon International Emergency Services. 'Somebody finally got caught.' The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the crash. Family members of some passengers have sued the airline in federal court. | Three people died and dozens injured in crash at San Francisco on July 6 .
Families were made to use an automated phone system to find information .
Once hotline was set up, it took five days for airline to speak to all families .
Asiana generally 'failed to commit sufficient resources' to help families; it wasn't until five days after the crash that its employees were meeting all responsibilities under U.S. law. The airline lacked translators and personnel trained in crash response.
It took Asiana more than 18 hours to staff a reliable toll-free hotline.
The law requires family notification as soon as practical, but Asiana had contacted just three-quarters of families within two days. It would take five days to contact every family. |
33,785 | 6013b6df4c6a8ef3d0dfceb4e3d72e058f8efbfb | A rare car that was the first to top 100mph in the UK and bought second-hand for just £115 is now expected to sell for up to £180,000 at auction. Murray Ferguson, 83, was shocked when he found out the 1920 Vauxhall E-type 30-98 which his brother Ian bought in June 1952 was so valuable. There are only around 30 of the early sidevalve 30-98s known to have survived and the car is one of only two with its type of coachwork, made by Grosvenor Carriage Co.Ltd, of Kilburn, London. Classic: The 1920 Vauxhall E-type 30-98 is set to make Murray Ferguson a huge profit when it sells . Mr Ferguson's 30-98 is now set to fetch between £150,000 and £180,000 at a Bonhams auction at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire, on September 6. Mr Ferguson, who is a retired farmer, said: 'My brother died a few years ago now, but I bought the car from him for a couple of hundred pounds long before that, in 1962. The Vauxhall 30-98, one of the greatest sports cars of the twentieth century was the first in the UK to top 100mph in production form. Fitted with a 4,525cc side-valve four-cylinder engine, producing 90bhp, this Vauxhall was made in two basic types, E-type and the more powerful OE-type, built between 1923 and 1927. The Autocar magazine went on to say: ‘Few cars have such graceful lines yet suggest unlimited strength allied to speed… and very, very few can take a corner stiffly with absolute certainty as this one can.’ Source: www.vauxhall.co.uk . 'He got it running pretty well, and I did a bit of restoration, but it is all completely original and kept just as it was. 'I put it up for sale because I thought why not? It's not quite equipped for busy modern roads as much as it used to be. 'I was surprised to hear it was worth so much. It's a great car, a very rare one, which brought me and my brother a lot of happiness." A spokesman for Auctioneer Bonhams said: 'Although the complete history of this car is not known, it was first registered in Westmorland and it is believed that in its early days it was owned by the Lings family of Bollington, Cheshire.' Around 1930, it was passed to a Mr Jeffreys and served the King and Country in World War Two, being used for service with the Home Guard in its native north country. In 1952, it was bought by Ian Ferguson for £115 from a small garage in Manchester. Since then, it has scarcely travelled outside of Happisburgh, Norfolk, where Murray Ferguson lives. Roll up: There could well be a lot of interest when Murray Ferguson's car goes up for auction at the National Motor Museum . | Vauxhall E-type 30-98 was bought for just £115 in 1952 .
There are only around 30 cars of its kind out there . |
216,463 | a43dc697e077ad709d3db4eb7f2b5caf95495053 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:14 EST, 11 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:39 EST, 11 December 2013 . Andrew Kearns has lost his damages action for wrongful dismissal against Glencore UK Ltd . An oil trader sacked because he was said to be not in a fit state after a heavy night out in Singapore has lost his damages action for wrongful dismissal. Andrew Kearns, 38, was employed by Glencore UK Ltd from January 2009 until October 2010, when he was summarily dismissed for serious misconduct after missing a series of meetings on the business trip. Contesting the action at London’s High Court, Glencore said he failed to attend critical meetings in the morning, at lunchtime and in the afternoon of October 11 and it was the latest in a series of alcohol-related incidents. Mr Kearns agreed that he was out until 4.30am drinking with colleagues, but said it was not to greater excess than anyone else and the business meetings later that day did not require his compulsory attendance. Mr Kearns, of Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, received a signing-on bonus the equivalent of 325,000 US dollars (current value £202,000) when he joined the company and was on an annual salary of 225,000 US dollars (£140,000) plus other benefits. Mr Kearns, a married father of three, was not in court to hear Judge Richard Seymour QC make a costs order against him on the higher indemnity basis, with an interim payment due of £150,000. He said: 'This claim was ludicrous - it should never have been advanced.' At the start of the trial, the judge threw out the most valuable part of the claim - in respect of share options - as 'hopeless', leaving only the wrongful dismissal element which was worth £12,000 maximum. 'In those circumstances, this is about as abnormal a case of this type that one could imagine. There was no conceivable justification for any claim being made at any point.' Glencore’s counsel, Jonathan Cohen, had told the court that 'context is everything'. 'This is an industry where a mistaken decimal point might result in losses of a very substantial nature. An employer cannot be expected to allow an employee who allows himself to become inappropriately inebriated to remain in the workplace.' Asking for his client's costs today, Mr Cohen said: 'Mr Kearns was dishonest in his evidence. He sought to deny the inevitable. Mr Kearns was habitually drunk and that was the reason he so egregiously failed to perform the duties required of him. 'It was in Mr Kearns’s power to remedy his behaviour. When he went on that conference, he could have chosen not to go out until the early hours and get drunk and to turn up to the meetings he was required to, but he chose not to do that.' Contesting the action at London's High Court, Glencore said he failed to attend critical meetings and it was the latest in a series of alcohol-related incidents . He said that Glencore had made an offer to Mr Kearns earlier for him to discontinue the case, with each side paying its own costs. A relevant factor was Mr Kearns’s failure to accept the help Glencore offered, involving a doctor and a consultant who was a world expert on drug and alcohol addiction. Instead, he spent the next afternoon, when he should have been at work, in the pub. Mr Kearns, a married father of three, was not in court to hear Judge Richard Seymour QC make a costs order against him on the higher indemnity basis, with an interim payment due of £150,000 . 'This was a slap in the face for Glencore. This litigation is a slap in the face for Glencore. 'Mr Kearns has lost his job because of his own behaviour, his own very bad behaviour. 'Glencore did everything they could to help him during the employment until they got to the end of their tether. The tether would have been considerably shorter with the majority of employers. His dismissal was richly justified. 'Notwithstanding that, Glencore has then been forced to spend the best part of £400,000 defending a hopeless claim brought by someone who does not realise how tolerant Glencore were and how much they did to help.' Mr Cohen said that Mr Kearns’s absence record was 'appalling', being late or absent for at least 20 per cent of his service in London. His non-attendance at the conference was the final straw and he found himself between a rock and a hard place. Glencore’s case was that he was too drunk to attend while Mr Kearns’s was that he was not drunk, but stayed in bed as he had consumed too much and deliberately chose not to attend at least one of the meetings. Either way he was in repudiatory breach of contract. In his ruling, the judge said that Mr Kearns was an unsatisfactory witness, inclined to contest what, on the evidence, could not seriously be contested and to minimise the extent of his alcohol consumption and its consequences. He took no steps to limit his consumption or seek help but simply continued on his existing path, paying no regard to the adverse effects for Glencore. His approach could be summarised as 'doing it his way'. 'If, which I doubt, Mr Kearns did not simply sleep through the meetings which he missed, but consciously decided not to attend them, that in itself amounted to repudiatory breach of the contract which Glencore was entitled to accept by dismissing him summarily.' | Andrew Kearns was summarily dismissed for serious misconduct .
Glencore said he missed a series of critical meetings on a business trip .
The company said it was the latest in series of alcohol-related incidents .
Mr Kearns had made a claim for wrongful dismissal against Glencore . |
116,316 | 2222672bfa71e3195355f41a8b91a48cee8c6df9 | (CNN) -- Walk into Lisa Nasser's kitchen most evenings and you're greeted by rich aromas that indicate an exceptional cook is at work on a delicious creation. Colleen Doyle, editor of the "What to Eat During Cancer Treatment" cookbook, prepares tuna-bean salad. Cooking is Nasser's passion, but she left the kitchen and the cooking to others for six months in 2006 when she, like her mother before her, learned she had breast cancer. Numerous rounds of chemotherapy left her spent. "I didn't have the energy to go shopping, bring in the food, prepare the food. I needed to rest, to sleep," she recalls. Nasser's experience isn't unique. According to the American Cancer Society, more than a million Americans will undergo cancer treatment this year. For cancer patients, nutrition is especially important, but many find that they are too tired to cook, or the food tastes bad, or they are too nauseated to eat, or they have painful mouth sores -- or all of the above. To coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, the American Cancer Society has released a cookbook called "What to Eat During Cancer Treatment." Colleen Doyle, registered dietitian and editor of the cookbook, says the book is full of recipes and eating strategies that patients with all types of cancer can adopt to help deal with the unpleasant side effects of treatment. Chemotherapy, radiation and drug therapies often leave patients with nausea, diarrhea, constipation, mouth sores, taste alterations and unintentional weight loss. "One of the things we did was organize recipes by the symptoms that they might be experiencing," Doyle says. "A lot of cancer patients going through chemo -- no surprise -- feel nauseous around those times when they are getting chemo. And so we talk to them about eating foods that are kind of bland; think about avoiding really spicy foods, any kind of Mexican foods, things with lots of flavors, things with lots of herbs and spices." See recipe samples from the cookbook » . That certainly was the case with Nasser. "I wanted pasta or rice dishes, anything that was bland," she says. Doyle says it's also helpful to eat small frequent meals when battling nausea and to recognize that for some, the odor of cooking foods can be unsettling for the stomach. "If you have somebody who cooks meals for you, it might be helpful for you to be in a totally different part of the house when they're cooking if you're going through a period where the smell of food really bothers you," says Doyle. Nasser was fortunate enough to have friends and neighbors deliver meals to her house. Once her nausea started to subside she was able to be more adventurous in what she ate. "I remember calling a friend saying I wanted grape leaves. I remember wanting that tart lemony flavor and only hers were going to do it," she recalls. Watch Doyle cook in the kitchen » . It turns out that tart, strong flavors help with another nagging symptom of cancer therapy: altered taste perception. Like Nasser, some patients experience a metallic taste that will not go away. For others, food might seem tasteless, as if the taste buds have stopped working. For those problems, the cookbook offers recipes like tuna-bean salad that help wake up the taste buds and mask the metallic taste. "This dish is full of lots of different flavors: strong flavors in the red peppers, the onion, the celery and the tuna itself. ... It also has a real tangy vinaigrette that can help kind of [push] that flavor quotient up a bit," says Doyle. Doyle also suggests marinating meats in Italian salad dressings, or mustard or barbecue sauce, and trying strongly flavored foods such as cranberries, sauerkraut or pickled vegetables. Cooking with glass pans instead of metallic cookware and using plastic utensils instead of silverware might also make a difference. Patients undergoing cancer treatment can also suffer bouts of constipation or diarrhea. One of the best strategies to ease constipation -- a common side effect of chemotherapy, anti-nausea and pain medications -- is to eat foods high in fiber, such as vegetables, fruits (including dried fruit like prunes, raisins or apricots), beans and nuts. What if diarrhea is a problem? "There's a real concern about becoming dehydrated. So be sure you're drinking plenty of fluids and that those fluids don't have caffeine," says Doyle. Broths, diluted juices, sports drinks -- even Popsicles or gelatin -- can help get some liquid into the system. Foods such as applesauce, rice and bananas can help slow down the digestive tract, as can oatmeal and canned peaches or pears. Avoid greasy, fried or very sugary foods because they can be irritants. Thanksgiving marks four years since Nasser's days of chemotherapy drips and intravenous needles. Her health today is excellent and neighbors are once again making excuses to stop by during dinnertime in order to bask in the inviting aromas and sample the rich sauces bubbling up from deep pots on her stove top. Nasser, who didn't have the benefit of the cookbook when she was sick, hopes to use her copy only as inspiration and not as a tool for providing relief from the side effects of cancer treatment. "Hopefully I won't need it for that. And if I do, I'll now know what to do," she says. | For cancer patients, nutrition is important, but many have a hard time eating .
American Cancer Society has new cookbook: "What to Eat During Cancer Treatment"
Cookbook contains recipes to help with treatment side effects .
Recipes aim to combat metallic taste, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, mouth sores . |
241,561 | c4a770d13fb46ab6d6890f39abc0c39e9648bc13 | By . Simon Cable . PUBLISHED: . 07:21 EST, 1 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:55 EST, 1 May 2013 . He formally killed off his showbiz persona after a failed TV comeback. These days Michael Barrymore is Michael Parker, garden centre worker. The 60-year-old – once one of Britain’s top entertainers – has reverted to using his real name and helps out stacking shelves and shifting sacks of compost. Career change: Disgraced TV star Michael Barrymore has been found working for free in a garden centre in Essex . Dirty work: The former TV host has shown he's not afraid of getting his hands dirty as he works at the centre in Brentwood . He said: ‘I don’t get paid for it. I help out because I enjoy gardening. People come over and wish me well. Sometimes I walk around with them to show them the plants.’ The former TV star, who works three days a week at Tomlins in Brentwood, Essex, added: ‘I stack the shelves and often I’m wheeling around heavy sacks of compost.’ Barrymore’s programmes, including Strike It Lucky and My Kind Of People, were watched weekly by millions in the Eighties and Nineties. But his star crashed to earth in 2001, when the body of Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found in his swimming pool during a party. The day after his death, Barrymore checked into the Marchwood Priory in Southampton, commonly used by celebrities with addictions and depression. Flower arranger: Barrymore told shoppers he has started working at the store because 'I enjoy gardening' Before and after: As the star has been found . stacking shelves, left, it marks a much less glamorous career since his . heyday as a host on Strike It Lucky, right . A police investigation led to no charges and an inquest recorded an open verdict, but Barrymore never recovered from the affair and in 2003 he was axed by ITV. In May 2004 he filed for bankruptcy after receiving a ‘surprise’ tax bill, reported to be in the region of £1.4million. The entertainer, who once signed a £2million deal with ITV, recently said that he finally dropped his stage persona after an unsuccessful comeback attempt when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006. The recovering alcoholic has since admitted he came close to taking his own life. Easy work: Michael looks more relaxed than he has in over a decade as he undertakes his new role as a garden centre assistant . Signing for the fans: The comic was in a jovial mood during a recent night out with friends . He said: ‘My real name is Michael Parker – Michael Barrymore is dead. Although I have been a couple of times to the jumping-off point, I didn’t kill myself. If I had, it would have completed the story. ‘I don’t have to do what I’ve been doing since I was eight, which is making people laugh to deflect things. It’s the first time I’ve ever got to know me.’ He blamed ‘a conspiracy’ for destroying his TV career and spoke of his regrets over the way he treated his wife Cheryl following his decision to come out as homosexual in 1995. He said: ‘I never shy away from the fact that I’m an alcoholic and that I have had my problems, but I’ve never murdered anybody. I’ve never got up in the morning and thought I’ll harm someone. I’ve just had an extraordinary sequence of events that have been on public display that I’ve had no control over.’ In 2009 it emerged that Barrymore was working as an odd-job man in an Essex garage. | Barrymore works at the garden centre in Brentwood, Essex for free .
The former comic is at the centre up to three days a week to help out a friend .
He works part time simply because he loves gardening . |
95,674 | 06f82b7325d68eac40f1a5598e035e26f8d39324 | (CNN) -- The thought came to Don Walker during that most quintessential of American outings -- a baseball game. Caught in a crush of people on his way into Atlanta's Turner Field, he couldn't help but think about what had just happened in Boston -- sports fans crowded into a small space, a bomb tucked into a backpack, and then death. Not that it stopped the Morgantown, West Virginia, man from enjoying his Atlanta vacation. "You just watch things more closely," he said. Americans are doing a lot of that these days, especially after Monday's attack on the Boston Marathon, where three people died and more than 180 were wounded when a pair of bombs exploded near the finish line: . • A palpable sense of fear and confusion played out in the nation's capital, at a Senate office in Michigan and on television screens across the country as authorities scrambled to deal with a spate of suspicious package reports. The first floor of Washington's Hart Senate Office Building was evacuated at one point. Among the concerns were letters that initial tests suggested contained ricin, eerily echoing fears raised by letters containing anthrax mailed to lawmakers after the 9/11 attacks. Capitol HIll Police Chief Terry Gainer acknowledged "a bit of anxiety" in a letter to senators. "The bottom line of this multifaceted event was a positive one," Gainer wrote. "The packages were not dangerous; they contained nothing hazardous; and the person of interest was, while interesting, not particularly harmful although terribly disruptive. He was admonished but released." Gainer added, "This is the price of an open campus. The suspect in the ricin case, Paul Kevin Curtis, was arrested at his home in Corinth, Mississippi, on Wednesday. He has been charged with making threats against the president and sending threatening letters, the Justice Department said Thursday. Terrorists make us lose sight of the real dangers . • In Oklahoma City, an unattended rental truck set off momentary panic Wednesday before police sounded the all-clear. The incident happened nearly 18 years ago to the day after Timothy McVeigh set off a devastating bomb outside a government building there, killing 168 people. • And then there's New York, where nervous residents of that normally steely city made nearly four times as many suspicious package calls the day after the Boston bombings than they did in a typical day the year before, New York police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday. Vigilance is what authorities call it. "Always looking for a way out" is what Linda Simmons of Douglasville, Georgia, calls it. But it's not just Boston that's put her in that mindset. It's the September 11 terror attacks. The bloodbath last year at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. The Newtown, Connecticut, school shootings. "All of it, everything that's happened," she said. The reaction is understandable, said Michelle Majewski, a professor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The kind of mayhem unleashed Monday in Boston reminds us, she says, of things about which we'd rather not think. "That we're all vulnerable," she said. That vulnerability is something police recognize all too well. Law enforcement stepped up security across the country in response to the Boston bombings. Hundreds of National Guard troops remained on duty in Boston on Wednesday, backing up police. As did many other cities, perennial terror target New York ramped up its security measures and will keep them in place, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday, "until we learn more about what actually happened in Boston." In London, authorities vowed to take another look at precautions for the big marathon scheduled there this weekend. But security experts will tell you it's just not possible to prevent every bomb, every gunshot, every tragedy -- especially not when it comes to large outdoor events, such as road races. The impact of heightened security on travelers . "It's extremely challenging because it's not a secure environment," said police Cmdr. Noah Johnson of Tempe, Arizona, where an annual charity run in honor of slain Army Ranger Pat Tillman is scheduled for Saturday. "We can't put fences around it; we can't put an officer every 2 feet," he said. "So we rely on every set of eyes out there." So, as it often does in a free society, it comes down to us, to that word, to vigilance. "Remain vigilant. You have to," said Mike Brooks, a law enforcement analyst for In Session and HLN and a former detective in the intelligence division for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. But security experts worry that down the road, many Americans may weary of maintaining such a high level of cautiousness. "We as a country tend to lull ourselves into a false sense of security over the passage of time," said Andy Lamprey, vice president of the security firm Andrews International and a former Los Angeles Police Department senior SWAT supervisor. The interest in the Boston terrorism case "will last for a few days and perhaps a week, and then it will become a distant memory for most people," he said. It happened after the September 11 attacks. A month after them, nearly six in 10 Americans were worried that they or someone they loved would become a victim of a terrorist attack, according to a Gallup Poll at the time. By 2011, the number had fallen to a little over one in three -- nearly what it was at its lowest point before the 2001 attacks. "It's the old story about crying wolf and eventually people turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to it. They get weary of hearing it," Lamprey said. "It's very difficult to remain at that heightened state of awareness. You can't do it all the time." In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, runners will head out this weekend for a half-marathon. Sure, race director Gloria West told CNN affiliate WBAY-TV, they'll think about security just that much more. Boston will be on their minds. But they won't be deterred, she told the station. "We want to send a message," she said. "We can't all go home and stay in our houses." CNN's Miguel Marquez contributed to this report. | NEW: Police chief acknowledges "a bit of anxiety" on Capitol Hill .
Americans are looking over their shoulders after recent U.S. violence .
But the violence won't stop many from going out and living .
Events such as Monday's bombings remind us that "we're all vulnerable," professor says . |
136,626 | 3cbf78c17b8cc34dfd04f156fa16903c3d5c4c68 | Many conspiracy theorists unhappy with the official account of the assassination of John F. Kennedy have pointed to evidence they believe shows that the president was shot twice, from different directions. Now a new documentary has come up with a new twist on the conspiracy theory, claiming that a Secret Service agent was the man who fired that shot... by accident. JFK: The Smoking Gun claims that George Hickey, a Secret Service man riding in the car behind Kennedy, accidentally fired his weapon on November 22, 1963. What really happened? Secret Service agent Clint Hill stands on the rear bumper of JFK's car as Jackie bends over her husband moments after he was shot as they drove through Dallas, Texas . It alleges that a cover-up was then carried out to save the blushes of the agency whose main role is to protect serving and former U.S. leaders - leaving the many loose ends that have long raised suspicions. It is said that as much as 75 per cent of the American public do not believe the official account of the Kennedy assassination. The new documentary is based on the work of Colin McLaren, a veteran Australian police detective who has undertaken a four-year investigation into the killing. His theories are based on the work of Howard Donahue, who spent two decades probing the assassination and whose work was presented in the book Mortal Error: The Shot That Killed JFK, by Bonar Menninger. Both Mr Menninger and Mr McLared spoke yesterday about the film at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles, California. He wanted people to feel close to him: President Kennedy asked to travel in an open-top car while officers were told to slow right down to allow the crowds to see the first couple . Central to their case is the claim that Agent Hickey and his Secret Service colleagues had been out partying the night before Kennedy's motorcade drove through Dallas. To compound the problems the hungover agent faced, McLaren says he has found evidence that Hickey had not been properly trained to use the AR-15 gun he was carrying that morning. 'It was his first time in the follow car, his first time holding the assault weapon he was using,' the Huffington Post reported McLaren as saying. The theory is that as the assassin . opened fire, Hickey grabbed his own gun. But when the whole motorcade . shunted to a halt, the agent was jolted by the sudden stop and . accidentally pulled the trigger - firing a bullet straight at the back . of Kennedy's head. Mr . McLaren said he believes Agent Hickey's AR-15 was loaded with different . from the ammunition used by Lee Harvey Oswald, who the Warren Commission . declared in 1964 to be the lone gunman in the assassination. That, he . claims, explains what they believe are the different ballistic profiles . of the two bullets that struck Kennedy. The first description of the shooter was broadcast at 12.35pm. At 1.51pm officers reported Lee Harvey Oswald had been apprehended . Oswald was himself assassinated before he could stand trial over the killing. Mr Menninger insisted that they do not believe that Agent Hickey intentionally fired at Kennedy. Rather, the Huffington Post reported him as saying, 'this was a tragic accident in the heat of the moment.' But the pair do allege that the government moved swiftly, with the help of Kennedy's brother Robert, to cover up the Secret Service's involvement and save the agency from embarrassment. Agent Hickey, who died two years ago, said in his witness statement given the day after Kennedy's assassination that after he heard the gunfire he did indeed rise to his feet and load and cock the AR-15, but did not fire it. He said: 'At the end of the last report I reached to the bottom of the car and picked up the AR 15 rifle, cocked and loaded it, and turned to the rear. 'At this point the cars were passing under the over-pass and as a result we had left the scene of the shooting. I kept the AR 15 rifle ready as we proceeded at a high rate of speed to the hospital.' Mr Menninger's book, which was published in 1992, claims that it was a shot from Agent Hickey's gun that actually killed the president, citing evidence which appeared to show that Kennedy was hit by two different kinds of bullet. AR-15 rounds are encased in thin copper and tend to break up upon impact, as did the shot that struck Kennedy in the head. A 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano bullet of the kind known to have been fired by Oswald, on the other hand, would not break up when it hit the target. Agent Hickey sued Mr Menninger in 1995 over the allegations contained in Moral Error, but the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that he had taken too long after the book's publication to file his case. Rufus W. Youngblood, the agent in charge of the Secret Service detail protecting Vice President Lyndon Johnson on the day, also denied suggestions that Agent Hickey fired his weapon. In an interview with the Georgia Tech alumni magazine in 1992, just prior to Mortal Error's publication, he labelled the theory 'ridiculous'. 'I don't think any Secret Service guy fired his weapon down there that day. I could look ahead and see [George] Hickey, an agent in the president's follow-up car, who had the AR-15 [rifle]. He stood up and looked, but didn't see anything to fire at,' he said. President Kennedy pictured hours before his . assassination: It is said that as much as 75 per cent of the American . public do not believe the official account of the assassination . given by the Warren Commission . JFK: The Smoking Gun will be broadcast on the Reelz Channel on November 3. A spokesman for the network said: What makes McLaren's investigation different than those that came before it is the fact that he had all the evidence, facts and eyewitness testimony from fifty years ago as well as modern forensic technology. 'McLaren’s findings are a far cry from the fanciful conspiracy theories that usually surround this assassination. 'His case is methodically constructed from simple logic and available evidence using time-tested investigative techniques to solve the crime; including key archival photographic evidence, medical reports and bullet science.' | Film alleges that Agent George Hickey accidentally shot Kennedy in the head .
It is based on the work of veteran Australian police detective who has spent four years investigating the assassination .
The government then covered up the Secret Service role, it is claimed, to save the agency from embarrassment . |
231,141 | b745d425c92a836364c2f926d58b05cecc9fb1bf | By . Helen Collis and Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 03:13 EST, 13 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:44 EST, 14 August 2013 . Jailed: David Kwiatkowski, a former travelling lab technician, reached a plea agreement after being accused of infecting dozens of patients with hepatitis C through contaminated needles . A hospital technician who knowingly infected 47 patients with hepatitis C has reached a plea agreement that will jail him for around 30 years instead of the nearly 100 he could have faced if convicted in a trial. The travelling technician is accused of using hospital painkiller syringes and returning the contaminated devices to the shelf. He told investigators he had been stealing . drugs for more than a decade and was 'killing a lot of people,' according to the plea agreement filed Monday. Without the agreement, David Kwiatkowski . faced prosecution in the states of New Hampshire, Kansas, Georgia and . Maryland. The document, drawn up by prosecutors in a New Hampshire federal court, . revealed that across these states Kwiatkowski had infected patients with the same strain of the virus that he had. The document also contained new revelations that he was fired from two Michigan hospitals and resigned from two others before beginning his traveling temp career. Thirty-two patients in New Hampshire . have been diagnosed with the strain of hepatitis C carried by . Kwiatkowski, who worked at 18 hospitals in seven states before being . hired in New Hampshire in 2011. There have been seven cases in Maryland, . six in Kansas and one in Pennsylvania. One of the Kansas patients has died, . and hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that can cause liver . disease and chronic health issues, played a 'contributing role,' the . plea agreement said. The plea agreement includes details of . an interview Kwiatkowski gave investigators in New Hampshire after his . arrest in which he said he knew he'd been diagnosed in 2010 but . continued to 'swap out' syringes of the painkiller fentanyl. He said he had been stealing drugs . since 2002 and estimated that he had swapped syringes at least 50 times . in New Hampshire, at least 30 times in Georgia and more than 20 times in . Kansas. Under the plea deal, Kwiatkowski would avoid criminal charges . in the latter two states. Kwiatkowski has been jailed since his arrest in Massachusetts in July 2012, when he was accused of stealing drugs from Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab, in New Hampshire, and replacing them with blood-tainted saline. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Kwiatkowski has been jailed since his arrest in Massachusetts in July 2012, when he was accused of stealing drugs from the cardiac catheterization lab at Exeter Hospital, New Hampshire, pictured, and replacing them with blood-tainted saline . If convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to up to 98 years behind bars. He agreed to plead guilty to 14 federal drug theft and tampering charges he faced in exchange for a lighter sentence of 30 to 40 years in prison. Kwiatkowski's attorneys did not immediately respond to emails or a phone message left at their office Monday night. A hearing on the plea agreement is set for Wednesday. Linda Ficken, of Andover, Kansas, is among those Kwiatkowski is accused of infecting. Ficken, 71, said Monday she's glad he pleaded guilty but wishes the sentence were longer. 'It should've been life, since he gave us potentially a death sentence,' she said. More than a year after Kwiatkowski's arrest, Ficken said, she is still angry at Kwiatkowski and at the system that let him move from job to job after he was fired over allegations of drug use and theft. After Kwiatkowski's arrest, two of his previous employers confirmed that he had been fired over drug allegations. But several new incidents emerged in Monday's court filing. According to the plea agreement, Kwiatkowski was fired from a Michigan hospital in 2004 after failing a drug test and was fired from another that year for gross misconduct. He resigned from two more Michigan hospitals while under investigation for drug use. | David Kwiatkowski admitted stealing drugs since 2002 and swapping new syringes with his contaminated ones in hospitals across seven states .
A total of 47 patients have been infected with his strain of hepatitis C .
One patient has died; the hep C infection played a 'contributing role'
Plea agreement means he will serve around 30 years in jail - far less than the 98 years maximum sentence if convicted at trial in each state . |
67,681 | bff97775f1bc55769f37ee827c45c4245eaf7427 | By . John Drayton . Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj made his Belgium debut on Monday night in the Red Devils' rampant win over Luxembourg, with Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku bagging a hat-trick. Januzaj, 19, committed himself to . Belgium last month despite being elibile for Albania, Kosovo, and even . England in time for the 2018 World Cup. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Adnan in his first senior training session for Belgium . Salute: Lukaku scored his first ever hat-trick for Belgium in the win over Luxembourg . Red Devil: United man Adnan Januzaj opted to play for Belgium last month . Trebled: Romelu Lukaku bagged a hat-trick in Genk against Luxembourg . Icing on the cake: Tottenham's Nacer Chadli celebrates after scoring the fourth for Belgium . Januzaj said after the game : ‘It's my job to play one touch, to dribble, to entertain the crowd a bit.’ 'I wasn't under much pressure. I'm used to playing in front of 80,000 at Manchester United. I am happy with my debut.’ Belgium manager Marc Wilmots admitted, however, that a starting place in the side is not a guarantee for Januzaj. 'He . gives us an extra dimension,' said Wilmots, but warned Januzaj was . still far off getting his spot. 'He faces a lot of competition.' Lukaku opened the scoring after three minutes, finishing well after being teed up by Marouane Fellaini. Joachim . equalised from long-range for Luxembourg on 13 minutes, but Lukaku . regained Belgian's lead 10 minutes later after a defensive mix-up. Power: Romelu Lukaku piles through the Luxembourg defence in the first-half . Aware: Luxembourg's Aurelien Joachim (right) passes Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne . Former club mates: Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne share a moment after the third goal . Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld (Vanden Borre 46), Vermaelen (Van Buyten 46), Kompany, Vertonghen (Lombaerts 77), Witsel (Defour 46), Fellaini, Eden Hazard (Chadli 46), Mirallas (Januzaj 46), De Bruyne, Lukaku (Origi 61). Subs Not Used: Mignolet, Bossut, Mertens, Dembele, Ciman, Kaminski. Goals: Lukaku 3, 23, 53, Chadli 71, De Bruyne 90 pen. Luxembourg: Moris, Janisch, Chanot, Philipps (Holter 83), Mutsch, Schnell, Jans, Krogh Gerson (Turpel 88), Bensi, Joachim, Da Mota Alves (Laterza 77). Subs Not Used: Joubert, Hoffmann, Bastos, Payal, Martino, Deville, Schinker. Booked: Philipps, Mutsch. Goals: Joachim 13. Att: 16, 000 . Ref: Tom Harald Hagen (Norway). United . star Januzaj made his debut, coming on at half-time as Marc Wilmots . ringed the changes, with Vincent Kompany and Eden Hazard rested among . others. And Lukaku, who was . on loan at Everton last season, sealed his treble by running past two . defenders and driving low into the net. Tottenham's Nacer Chadli added a fourth, finishing well after good work by the hosts down the right. And . the Premier League dominance shone through again, with former Chelsea man Kevin . De Bruyne slotting home a penalty late on to complete the rout. 'It was a good performance,' said Lukaku. 'What makes me happy is that we performed as a team.' Belgium had Sammy Bossut in goal, who would normally be the fifth-choice keepers but because of injuries and an extended rest for No 1 Thibaut Courtois, he had a winning debut. Simon Mignolet was still suffering from a sore muscle in his hip and Wilmots decided to rest him. Belgium play Sweden on Sunday and Tunisia on June 7 in its final warm-up games ahead of leaving for Brazil. Play it safe: Chelsea's Eden Hazard attempts to get an effort in, but was rested at half-time . Tussle: Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini (centre) in action against Luxembourg's Chris Philipps . Passionate: Belgium's fans get behind their team ahead of the pre-World Cup friendly . | Chelsea striker Lukaku bags his first hat-trick for Belgium .
Tottenham's Nacer Chadli and Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne complete rout .
Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj comes on for his first Belgium cap .
Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen, Marouane Fellaini and Kevin Mirallas also star . |
25,686 | 48c04ac4091bd54c0524b416cfcf139923918c26 | Tragic: Bounkham (left) and Alecia Phonesavanh's (right) toddler son Bounkham Jr (center), called Bou Bou, was injured in a botched SWAT raid on a relatives home earlier this year . The parents of a toddler who was left disfigured after being hit with a stun-gun grenade in a botched drug raid while he slept in his crib are speaking out after a grand jury decided not to bring up charges in the heartbreaking case. Alecia and Bounkham Phonesavanh's youngest son Bounkham Jr, called 'Bou Bou', was just 18-months-old when a SWAT team burst through his bedroom and threw a flash-bang device at his sleeper crib, in the hunt to find a drug-dealing cousin who didn't even live there. Now, after several surgeries to address the boy's serious injuries, the family is left with over $1million in medical bills that the county has refused to pay. 'Before this we didn’t owe anybody anything,' Mrs Phonesavanh recently told ABC News. 'And now after all this, they have completely financially crippled us.' And that wasn't the only tragedy the family experienced last year. The Phonesavanhs and their four children were only in Georgia because their house in Janesville, Wisconsin burned down that spring, leaving them homeless. They moved in with Bounkham's sister in Cornelia, Georgia while looking for a new home back in Wisconsin, all crammed into the garage, converted into a bedroom. They had just found a new home and were planning to move back to Wisconsin when the SWAT raid happened in the early hours of May 28. The SWAT team was looking for Mr Phonesavanh's 30-year-old nephew Wanis Thonetheva, who an informant said was selling methamphetamine from his mother's house where the family was staying. Drug agent Nikki Autry secured the 'no-knock' warrant, which allowed her team to search the house without notifying the owners. Heartbreaking: In October, a grand jury decided not to bring up criminal charges related to the raid, which left Bou Bou with burns to his face and chest and a collapsed lung (pictured before the raid on the left, and after on the right) Scarred: Bou Bou spend five weeks in a medically-induced coma and continues to recover from his injuries. His parents say they now owe more than $1million in medical bills, which the county has refused to pay . Damage: A SWAT team was carrying out a 'no-knock' warrant to arrest Bou Bou's drug-dealer cousin the night of the accident . Wrong house: But his parents say they didn't see 30-year-old Wanis Thonetheva at the house the entire time they were staying there . Police reports show that it was Habersham Deputy Charles Long who threw the 'flash-bang' grenade that landed in Bou Bou's pack-and-play. Innocent: Little Bou Bou pictured in happier and healthier times . Mrs Phonesavanh says she immediately heard her baby start screaming, and she went to grab him but was stopped by police, with Deputy Jason Stribling stepping in to pick up the child. 'I kept telling him, "Just give me my son. He's scared. He needs me." The officer wouldn't. And then he walked out of the room with [Bou Bou] and I didn't see him again.' She says they wouldn't even let her see her child before taking him away in an ambulance, and only said at the time that he was fine and just lost a tooth. But Mr Phonesavanh got a clue about the real extent of his son's injuries when he noticed a pool of blood by the baby's crib. The couple were held by police for two hours, and when they showed up at the hospital, they found Bou Bou in a serious condition with burns on his face and torso and a collapsed lung. Bou Bou was in such poor condition that doctors at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital put him into a medically-induced coma for five weeks. Meanwhile, police arrested Thonetheva a few hours later without incident. He pleaded guilty to selling meth and is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Georgia prison. Mrs Phonesavanh still doesn't know why drug agents thought Thonetheva was at the home. She says while her sister-in-law feared her son had stolen things from the house, they never saw him the entire time they were living there. 'They messed up,' Mrs Phonesavanh said. 'They had a faulty search warrant. They raided the wrong house.' While her son was still healing in the hospital, both Agent Autry and the judge who signed the warrant resigned from their positions, and later the task force that organized the raid was disbanded. However, the family is now left reeling by the fact that a grand jury investigating the raid decided not to bring up criminal charges in the case, though they admitted the work was 'sloppy'. And the family hasn't received any compensation from the county since a Georgia state 'gratuity' law protects local governments from having to pay. The family still has the option to file a civil suit however, and there is also an ongoing federal investigation. The Phonsevanh's have three other children including 7-year-old Emma, 5-year-old Mali and 3-year-old Charlie. They have set up a webpage to bring justice for their baby, which can be reached below. All together: The couple have three other children together including 7-year-old daughter Emma, 5-year-old daughter Mali and 3-year-old daughter Charlie . | SWAT team conducted raid on Cornelia, Georgia home where the Phonesavanh family were staying with relatives in May .
Months prior, the family of six's home in Wisconsin burned down, leading them to move in temporarily with Bounkham Phonesavanh's sister .
On May 28, family was sleeping when local authorities conducted raid on the home searching for Mr Phonesavanh's meth-dealing nephew .
Bounkham Jr, called Bou Bou, was hit with a stun-gun grenade and left with burns to his face and chest and a collapsed lung .
Parents say they never even saw nephew, 30-year-old Wanis Thonetheva, at the house during their stay .
Grand jury decided not to bring up criminal charges related to botched raid, and Bou Bou's parents are left paying for $1million in hospital bills . |
225,887 | b07ecffa2869e15ec9e2020f0960b1f2fc97edba | Baghdad (CNN) -- At least five people were injured when bodyguards for a top Iraqi official opened fire on stone-throwing Sunni demonstrators Sunday, the country's interior ministry said. The clashes broke out after Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq arrived to address crowds protesting in a plaza in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been there for nearly a week, demanding that the Shiite-led government stop what they call second-class treatment of Iraq's Sunni residents. Some demonstrators Sunday called for al-Multaq, who is Sunni, to submit his resignation to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Protesters chanted, "Leave! Leave!" and threw stones at him, witnesses told CNN. The deputy prime minister's bodyguards opened fire in an attempt to disperse the crowd as protesters hurled stones at the stage, Anbar provincial council member Suhaib al-Rawi told CNN. A protester with a gunshot wound was among five people injured, al-Rawi said. Details about the other injuries were not immediately clear. Sunnis largely boycotted Iraq's 2005 elections, leading to the emergence of a Shiite-led government. The move left the once-ruling minority disaffected, which contributed to years of bloody insurgency and sectarian warfare. The arrest of a group of bodyguards for Iraq's Sunni finance minister fueled a surge in protests last week in Ramadi, about 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, and in several other Iraqi cities. On Friday, protesters carrying flags dating back to the Saddam Hussein regime took to the streets in the predominately Sunni Anbar province, blocking a vital highway that connects Iraq with Syria and Jordan. The demonstrations were called by tribal leaders and Sunni scholars, protesting against what they decried as unjust practices of Maliki's government. Protesters demanded the release of detainees they said were held without charges. They called the government corrupt and accused it of unfairly targeting Iraq's Sunni community. "We don't want your food, your water and your medicine," one scholar told the crowd. "We want our rights, our dignity." In the wake of the protests, al-Maliki has defended his government. "Nobody in Iraq has privilege over others," he said Friday, calling for increased dialogue. "When we want to express an opinion, we have to do it in a civilized, humane and patriotic manner," he said. "It is not expected to express your opinion by cutting off roads, steering strife and sectarianism, fighting, bragging about wars and dividing Iraq." CNN's Mohammed Lazim reported from Baghdad, Salma Abdelaziz and Yousuf Basil wrote the story in Atlanta. Catherine Schoichet and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | Clashes break out after Iraq's deputy prime minister arrives to address protesters .
Some demonstrators called for him to resign and threw stones at the stage, witnesses say .
The violence comes after nearly a week of protests .
Sunni demonstrators say the government is treating them like second-class citizens . |
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