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143,028 | 44f7627d7fa50dbc8c13e783d3b8378ceff9ce05 | A rare piece of artwork painted by Vincent van Gogh weeks before his death sold for $61.8 million Tuesday and a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti took in over $100 million at a sale kicking off New York City's fall art auctions of impressionist and modern art. Van Gogh's 1890 painting, 'Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies,' had expected to fetch between $30 million and $50 million at Sotheby's evening sale in Manhattan. Van Gogh painted the bouquet of wildflowers at the French home of his physician, Dr. Paul Gachet, in 1890. It's one of the few works the Dutch artist sold during his lifetime. Expensive taste: Vincent van Gogh's 'Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies' sold for $61.8million . It's mine! Wang Zhongjun, pictured, reportedly had the winning bid for the van Gogh painting . History: One of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, A. Conger Goodyear (seen center), acquired the van Gogh painting in 1928 . Whopping: Giacometti's 'Chariot' sculpture sold for $101million on Tuesday . The Wall Street Journal reported that Wang Zhongjun of Huayi Brothers Media Corp made the hefty purchase. One of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, A. Conger Goodyear, acquired the van Gogh painting in 1928. It remained in the family for decades and was on permanent exhibition at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo for 30 years. The most recent owner bought it around 1990. The auction record for a van Gogh is $82.5 million. The big-ticket auction at Sotheby's brought in $101 million for Giacometti's 'Chariot.' The rare 1951 bronze sculpture features an elongated goddess-like figure perched atop a wheeled chariot. The price almost broke the $104.3 million record for the Swiss artist. Amazing: Amedeo Modigliani's 'Tete' fetched $70.7 million, just topping the previous auction record for the artist at $69 million . The 1951 piece, embellished with paint to enrich the textural quality of the bronze, has been in the same collection for over 40 years. Giacometti made six casts of the 'Chariot'during his lifetime. The one sold Tuesday is one of only two painted examples. Aleko Goulandris reportedly sold the sculpture after purchasing it in 1972, a source told The New York Post. Another important sculpture sold at the auction was Amedeo Modigliani's 'Tete.' It fetched $70.7 million, just topping the previous auction record for the artist at $69 million. The deitylike elongated head was carved in 1911 and 1912 from a block of limestone scavenged from a Paris construction site. It had a presale estimate of $45 million. The auction house Bonhams, which is selling more than 700 items from the homes of Lauren Bacall, offered two Henry Moore sculptures from her collection on Tuesday. 'Maquette for Mother and Child: Arms' sold for $281,000, just over its pre-sale estimate high of $200,000, and 'Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt,' sold for over $1 million, topping its presale estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. The legendary actress' other artwork, jewelry and furniture will be offered for sale in March. All prices included the buyer's premium. The major fall sales continue Wednesday at Christie's. Among the highlights is a celebrated portrait of a Parisian actress by Edouard Manet. 'Spring' has a presale estimate of $25 million to $35 million. Legend: The auction house Bonhams, which is selling more than 700 items from the homes of Lauren Bacall, offered two Henry Moore sculptures from her collection on Tuesday . Sculpture: 'Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt,' pictured, went for over $1million . Collector's item: Another Henry Moore sculpture that formerly belonged to the Hollywood actress, 'Maquette for Mother and Child: Arms,' sold for $281,000 . | Van Gogh's 1890 painting, 'Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies' went for $61.8million on Tuesday .
Giacometti's 1951 sculpture 'Chariot' sold for $101million .
Both purchases were made at a sale kicking off New York City's fall art auctions of impressionist and modern art . |
66,209 | bbda8912fc57d684530833273204470ec2d71197 | (CNN) -- The number of women competing in the Paralympic Games has doubled in the last two decades, according to figures released by the International Paralympic Committee. While at the 1992 Barcelona Games only 700 female athletes were involved in events, London will see a record-breaking 1,513 female paralympians take the stage across 18 sports. Tine Teilman, Chairperson of the IPC Women in Sport Committee which helps to raise the profile and involvement of women in Paralympic Sport, said: "It is very encouraging that the number of female participants in the Paralympic Games has doubled during the last 20 years. "I am sure we will see many sportswomen through inspiring and exiting performances become strong role models for others." CNN has put together a list of eight inspirational women competing in the London 2012 Paralympics. Tatyana McFadden @TatyanaMcFadden . Country: United States . Event: Athletics . McFadden, 23, an eight-time world champion and Paralympics multi-medal winner, . She was born with spina bifida, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She spent the first six years of her life in a St Petersburg orphanage -- where she walked her hands because she didn't have a wheelchair -- before being adopted a visiting American. At 15, she qualified for the Athens games in wheelchair racing as the youngest member of the track and field team. It was her first international competition and she shocked everyone by winning a silver and a bronze. Four years later in Beijing, she picked up three silvers and a bronze. McFadden races in category T54 events, which are among those for athletes who race or throw from a seated position. Paralympic athletics classifications group competitors into classes that allow them to compete against those with similar impairments. This time she'll be competing in five T54 racing events: 100m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and the women's marathon. Finally after three Paralympics Games attempts, McFadden won her first gold on day five in London in the 400m T54 race. Sarah Storey @MrsSarahStorey . Country: Great Britain . Event: Cycling . The 33-year-old Briton, who was born without fingers on her left hand after her arm was caught in her umbilical cord in the womb, has already picked up two gold medals in track cycling at these games. Storey began her distinguished Olympic career as a swimmer, picking up two golds, three silvers and a bronze in Barcelona in 1992. She swam at the Paralympics in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens adding 10 more medals to her tally. She switched to cycling in time for the Beijing games, following a serious ear infection in Athens. She could bag two more medals before the games are over in road cycling, but her success has already been immortalized on a postage stamp issued by the UK's Royal Mail. Jessica Long @JessicaLong . Country: United States . Event: Swimming . At just 20 years old, Long is already a veteran paralympian. Long, who was born without any fibulas, ankles or heels and had both legs amputated below the knee at 18 months, began training in her grandparents' pool at the age of 10. She began her professional career aged 12 at the Athens games in 2004. The youngest member of the team, she wowed the crowds by taking home three gold medals. Four years later in Beijing, the gold rush continued: She won four golds, a silver and a bronze. Long is continuing her extraordinary run this games, winning gold in all three events she has so far competed in, with six more to go. Esther Vergeer @EstherVergeer . Country: Netherlands . Event: Wheelchair Tennis . There is little doubt about who the hot seed is in women's wheelchair tennis. World number one, Esther Vergeer, 31, has dominated the sport for the last three games. Not to mention her remarkable streak of 465 unbeaten singles matches, which spans almost a decade. Vergeer developed paraplegia when she was eight years old, following spinal surgery. During rehabilitation, she learned to play wheelchair tennis. In 2000, two years after she made her international debut, Vergeer won a place on the Dutch paralympic team for the Sydney games and went on to win two gold medals. She repeated her impressive accomplishment at Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008, she won gold in the singles event and silver in the doubles. Last year she told Athlete magazine: "If you don't try, it will never happen." A motto she appears to have taken to heart. Alexandra Rickham @ARickham . Country: Great Britain . Event: Sailing . Rickham was left paralysed after a diving accident in Jamaica. Ten years later, while studying in London, she tried her hand at sailing and fell in love with the sport. In 2007, she joined forces with fellow GB sailor Niki Birrell and the duo have gone on to win four world titles in a row in the two-person keelboat discipline. They placed a disappointing 5th at the Beijing games and this time round they are determined to bag a medal in the waters off Weymouth. April Holmes @aprilholmes . Country: United States . Event: Athletics . A Beijing gold medal-winner, Holmes has already picked up a bronze in London. Holmes' left leg was amputated below the knee following a train accident, and she mainly competes in T44 sprint events, for athletes who have an impairment that affects their arms or legs. Now 39, Holmes won a bronze medal in the long jump in Athens and winning her Beijing gold in the T44 100 meters race. She will be hoping for a gold in the T44 200 meters, after all, she once said: "Someone has to be great. Why not me?" Sarai Gascon @saraigascon . Country: Spain . Event: Swimming . The Spanish 19-year-old is a hot contender to take the place of celebrated South African paralympic swimmer, Natalie du Toit -- who will retire following London 2012. Gascon was born without a left hand or forearm, but took delight in getting in the water from the age of three. By nine, she had started competing internationally and took silver at the Beijing Paralympics when she was 15 years old. Last year at the European Championships, she won seven medals, but du Toit was not competing at the event and has already taken a gold from Gascon at these games -- in the Women's 100m Butterfly S9 class, for swimmers with physical impairments. A recent tweet from Gascon shows the elation a paralympian feels after winning a medal. She writes: "So happy! Silver medal with European record! :D Very happy for my "xico?" @josemari88 for 4th place medal!!" Gascon will have plenty more opportunities to take gold -- she's competing in six more races. Jessica Gallagher @JessGallagher86 . Country: Australia . Event: Long Jump, Javelin Throw . An impressive sporting all-rounder, Jess Gallagher set herself some even more impressive goals for London 2012. She is the first and only Australian woman to win a medal After winning Australia's first Paralympic Winter Games gold medal in 2010 in Vancouver, where she won the vision-impaired slalom, she is aiming to be the first Australian to win medals in both the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games. Gallagher, who was told at 17 that she was losing her sight, has so far come 6th in the javelin and so will setting her sights firmly on success in the long jump. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: What woman inspires you, and why? She could be another athlete, or a writer, an activist, or even your mom. Leave your suggestions, stories and memories in the comments section below and we'll feature the best on CNN.com. | A record 1,513 female athletes are competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games .
The number of female Paralympians have doubled in the last 20 years .
CNN takes a look at a few of the inspiring women aiming for gold .
We want to know the woman who inspires you. Tell us in the comments . |
38,322 | 6c5b9c68e7890f4b683e148ac62dace194b45b59 | By . Jill Reilly and Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 11:14 EST, 30 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:34 EST, 22 August 2012 . Shocking attack: Trevor Gray raped the woman after the pair had been out for drinks in Nottingham city centre the same night . A detective sergeant was jailed for eight years today for raping a mother in her home. Trevor Gray attacked the 43-year-old woman after the pair had been out for drinks in Nottingham city centre that night, after meeting through mutual friends. The Nottinghamshire detective forced the security chain on the front door of the mother of one’s house, climbed the stairs and attacked her as her child lay sleeping in a nearby room. At Derby Crown Court today, Judge John Wait told Gray: 'These are grave offences. 'You forced an entry into a home where your victim and her child were entitled to feel safe. 'You took advantage of her intoxication to rape her. She felt - and was - violated in her own home.' The jury took less than three hours to convict Gray yesterday of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. Judge Wait jailed Gray for eight years for rape, six years for attempted rape and four for sexual assault, to run concurrently. The victim told the court she could not recall much of their date, despite only having three glasses of wine and lemonade and a 'strong' vodka and Coke bought for her by Gray. She said she was shocked when Gray followed her out of a taxi outside her home. She invited him inside 'through courtesy', before asking him to leave after 15 minutes because she was going to go to bed. He left through the back door, saying he was going to get a taxi at the top of the road. Gray then sent a text . message to the woman from the street outside, which read, 'You are . harsh' and forced his way back in minutes later. The mother sobbed as she told the court her next recollection was of him being naked in her bed on top of her and raping her. Jailed: Gray was sentenced to eight years for rape, six for attempted rape and four for sexual assault, to run concurrently . She told the court she had felt unable to confront Gray because her young child was in the house at the time. Sentencing the father of two, who had separated from his wife just a month before the attack, Judge Wait said: 'You are intelligent and arrogant, you thought you would get away with it. You did not believe she would have the courage to complain or that if she did she would be believed. 'These are grave offences. You forced entry into the home where your victim and her child were entitled to feel safe. You took advantage of her intoxication to rape her. She felt and was violated.' The detective, who has served in the police for more 20 years, will now be removed from Nottinghamshire Police. Judge Wait said: 'I take account of your previous good record, your excellent service in sensitive roles within the police force and the high regard in which you were held by your colleagues. I take into account the fact that a sentence because of your profession will be harder for you to serve.' Relatives, friends and police colleagues were in court today for the sentencing. Many sobbed as he was jailed for eight years. Brutal: The 47-year-old has lost his job for forcing entry into the home where the woman and her child were sleeping and carrying out the attack . But Judge Wait added that Gray’s actions had had a 'catastrophic effect' upon his victim’s life. He said: 'She no longer feels safe in the home she had moved into with pride only eight weeks before. She cannot go to bed without feeling your presence in the room. Her life has been devastated.' Gray was told he will serve half of the eight-year sentence in custody and the remainder on licence. A restraining order was also put in place preventing him from contacting the victim either directly or indirectly and his name will be placed on the sex offenders’ register. The detective sergeant was suspended from duty on July 27 last year, four days after the attack, pending the outcome of the investigation. He will now also face misconduct proceedings, Nottinghamshire Police said. After the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Mick Windmill-Jones, of the force’s professional standards directorate, said: 'We expect our officers and staff to act with the very highest standards of behaviour, integrity and professionalism - on or off duty. 'When they fail to display these qualities and commit a criminal offence, they can expect, like any other member of society, to be arrested, charged and prosecuted in a court of law. 'Trevor Gray’s actions go against everything the role of a police officer stands for, which is ultimately to protect innocent people. 'We take all reports of sexual assault and rape extremely seriously and do everything we can to both support victims and ensure cases like this are brought to justice, regardless of who the alleged offender is.' The officer shook his head in the dock yesterday as he was convicted. The court was told Gray, of Watnall, Notts, had 'plainly intended' to have sex with the woman and she had 'upset' his plans. Steven Coupland, prosecuting, said: 'He tried to call her but she ignored his calls, and texted her and asked her to get him a cab. Grave offences: The judge said Gray had 'violated' the mother in her own home . 'Instead of him calling a cab himself, he decided to return to her address despite the fact it had been made plain he was being asked to leave. 'He rang the bell. He did not take the message. He found the door was not locked but had security chain on to make it secure. 'What he did was the force that chain. He went upstairs to where she was sleeping and went into her room. She woke to find he was on top of her.' Mr Coupland said the victim recalled he tried to get her to touch him intimately, before raping her - even though she told him to stop. Jurors were told the next memory the woman had was waking up at 5.30am to find Gray still in bed with her. The woman said Gray appeared to be unaware she was 'uncomfortable' - even when she asked him several times how he had got into her home. She eventually plucked up the courage to call him a taxi and, as he was leaving, spotted the broken security chain. She told the jury Gray said: 'Don’t worry, I’ll fix it', causing her to lose her temper and push him out of the house. Later that day, she told a friend her version of what had happened, then called Gray 'to go through the sequence of events'. However, she said Gray appeared 'cold', and when he asked her, 'Does this put you off me?', she hung up. The next day, she spoke with a police officer friend, who reported the matter to her superiors. Gray claimed he had returned to the woman’s home and found her door ajar before forcing his way in because he 'thought something might have happened to her.' He told the jury he 'fell back into his mode as a trained police officer and decided he would enter to save a life effectively', before finding the woman sitting up in bed awake. The court heard Gray, who was suspended after his arrest, told officers she had initiated sex, and the pair had 'parted on good terms' with a kiss on the doorstep the following morning. He said he had no idea anything was wrong until he received her call. The court was told the pair had met on a night out with mutual friends around a month before the attack on July 24 last year. They swapped phone numbers and exchanged 'jokey' texts before meeting for a drink. The woman said Gray appeared 'articulate, funny and pleasant', and they met again a few days later. However, the woman said that despite only having a few drinks, she 'could not remember much' of the evening', and just had a 'vague recollection' of being unable to understand why Gray got out of the taxi at her house. The woman added: 'I never invite people back to my house. Even if I have decided someone is OK, it is not something I do. I did not even find him attractive. 'I vaguely remember saying he needed to go, I needed to go to bed, and he needed to get a taxi from the top of the road. He went out the back door. 'My memory is of locking the door and putting the chain on. I remember being woken by the bell ringing lots and lots of times. I just ignored it and went back to sleep. 'The next thing, I was aware of a naked person. He was over me. I was in bed. I said "don’t do that". It was not what I wanted.' Gray had denied rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. | Derby Crown Court convicted Trevor Gray, 47, of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault yesterday .
He forced the security chain on the front door of victim’s house and attacked her as she slept .
Woman was forced to pretend 'nothing had happened' as her young child was in the house . |
268,340 | e7923e85e97e039eeb3b8ebd8c49f09df70fb029 | By . Mark Nicol . PUBLISHED: . 19:08 EST, 9 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:14 EST, 9 April 2013 . The name says it all: For more than 70 years the soldiers of Britain’s Parachute Regiment have been prepared to risk their all by dropping into the toughest of war zones. But now cost cutting means the Paras will no longer be trained to use their chutes, the Mail on Sunday can reveal. The regiment, whose most famous sortie during the Second World War was immortalised in the film A Bridge Too Far, has been targeted by Ministry of Defence accountants keen to reduce budgets. Skyfall: Paratroopers shown here dropping from a Hercules will no longer be trained to use their chutes due to MOD cost cutting measures . Until now, all recruits joining the 1,500-strong regiment have undergone intensive parachute training, including a requirement to complete eight jumps before being considered ready for battle. Soldiers have had to do at least two refresher jumps each year of their service to ensure that they remain fully trained for drops behind enemy lines. Now, just a handful of recruits will receive parachute training and hundreds of more experienced Paratroopers will not do the annual jumps required to keep them battle-ready. Revealed: Former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a Labour MP, said that parachuting is being phased out . Former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a Labour MP, revealed that parachuting is being phased out and in future most recruits will not see a chute or receive specialist airborne training. Jarvis, who led paratroops in battles against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2007 to 2008, said: ‘Our paratroopers in the second and third battalions, 2 Para and 3 Para, cannot jump any more because they are being denied training and resources. 'Every year there used to be huge parachuting exercises with around 800 paratroopers jumping together. 'Now only 80 troops are jumping in these exercises. Parachute training is being phased out to nothing.’ Senior military figures condemned the reduction in parachute training, arguing that recent operations by French and US forces have proved the value of paratroops. On January 29 this year, 200 French . paratroopers were dropped over the war-torn African state of Mali. They . landed at night, forcing Islamist rebels to relinquish control of . Timbuktu airport. And last . year US troops launched several missions into isolated areas of . Afghanistan by parachute to avoid Taliban forces who were ready to . ambush any soldiers travelling by road. Former . Chief of the General Staff General Sir Mike Jackson said: ‘Parachuting . should remain an essential capability in Britain’s defence because . dropping troops from fixed wing aircraft gives you strategic options . beyond that which can be achieved by helicopter. Paratroopers can operate effectively at night and can surprise enemy on the ground.’ Lieutenant . General Sir Hew Pike, who commanded 3 Para in the Falklands War added: . ‘For as long as the government states that it wishes to retain a . parachute capability they should bloody well pay for it. Celebrated: The Parachute Regiment's most famous sortie during the Second World War was immortalised in the film 'A Bridge Too Far' starring Sean Connery . 'Stopping recruits from completing their parachute training is completely unacceptable.’ MoD strategists point to the fact that the Parachute Regiment has not mounted a large-scale parachute drop for more than half a century. The last such mission was during the Suez Crisis of 1956. Last night an MoD spokesman admitted that the Army has reduced the size of the parachute force on short notice to 80 men. He added that parachute training had never formed part of basic training for Parachute Regiment recruits. The move coincides with the phased withdrawal of the RAF’s main transport aircraft, the Hercules – used by Paras for their jumps. | Parachute Regiment recruits will not undergo intensive training .
Experienced soldiers will not do annual jumps to stay battle ready .
Former officer and MP Dan Jarvis reveals plans to phase out parachuting .
Army reduces size of parachute force on short notice to 80 men . |
61,638 | af1961836ca021c21e4c5172ddda30ae71bad9c9 | By . Martin Delgado, Russell Myers and Sharon Churcher . PUBLISHED: . 17:03 EST, 23 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:34 EST, 24 February 2013 . Up to 3,000 Britons have poured up to £250 million of their savings into a controversial Caribbean property scheme which is facing the threat of legal action. Several investors say they fear financial calamity after being persuaded by pension advisers to put large sums into projects run by Essex-based Harlequin Property. It has promised to build 6,000 luxury villas in St Lucia, St Vincent, Barbados and the Dominican Republic. So far only 300 have been constructed. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued an ‘alert’ about the company and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been asked to investigate. Big Hitter: Tennis ace Pat Cash's name is used in promotions for the Caribbean property scheme run by Essex-based Harlequin Property, which is now facing legal action . The Mail on Sunday has discovered that: . Harlequin, however, points to its successful developments elsewhere and says its record-keeping is being improved. What they bought: An artists impression of the luxury Merricks Resort in Barbados . What they've got: How the site of the planned Barbados holiday village which drew in millions of pounds in deposits looked last week . David Ames, 61, who runs the company . with wife Carol, also 61, and son Daniel, 35, from a business park in . Basildon, strongly denies misleading investors. He says he has been . duped by contractors which are now the subject of legal action and that . all the projects will eventually be completed. But . Gareth Fatchett, of Regulatory Legal Solicitors, which represents a . group of Harlequin clients, said: ‘We have a serious concerns that the . advice to invest for most investors is seriously flawed. Many people . have invested all their pensions in Harlequin products. We have sent our . lawyers to Barbados and St Vincent to check out the land, accounting . and building progress. On all fronts we have concerns.’ Denial: David Ames who runs Harlequin Property denies misleading investors and says he was duped by contractors . In . October 2011, David Ames announced that work had begun on a ‘show . village’ for a new development, the Merricks Beach Resort, in Barbados. But a Mail on Sunday reporter who visited the site last week found a . plywood sign for a ‘luxury five-star resort’ mounted in a . rubbish-strewn field. A potholed farm track petered out at a partially . finished guardhouse. ‘I don’t believe this resort will be finished in my lifetime,’ said Clyde Mason, who lives nearby. Businessman . Paul Walton, who released £112,000 from his pension scheme for deposits . on two properties, said: ‘I just can’t see these properties being . built. I feel badly let down by Harlequin because no one is prepared to . give a straight answer.’ The FSA said: ‘We have seen an increasing . number of self-invested personal pension schemes whose underlying . investment is in an overseas property purchased through Harlequin . Property, a UK-based . . . sales agent that is not regulated by the FSA. 'The FSA expects advisers to have undertaken thorough due diligence on . the various developments being sold through Harlequin.’ Arnhim Eustace, a former prime minister of St Vincent, told the Mail on Sunday he had seen a 40-page complaint to the SFO. ‘I have been sent a copy of the submission which I understand was sent to the SFO,’ he said. ‘It is a 40-page document filed on behalf of people who want to get back their money.’ He added that the project also has been plagued by claims that Harlequin built part of the resort on land that it did not own and by complaints that contractors and suppliers have not been fully paid. ‘Two building companies and seven individuals have contacted me to say they were owed money,’ he said. ‘I appealed to Harlequin to pay them but with no result. These are people like a pineapple farmer, owed as little as 1500 (St Vincent ) dollars) for pineapples. He says he was paid only 300.’ A spokesman for Cash said: ‘Harlequin is licensed for a period of time to use the name of the Pat Cash Tennis Academy.’ Liverpool FC did not respond to requests to comment, and a spokesman for Townsend was unavailable. | Investors fear financial ruin after they were persuaded to part with cash .
Financial Services Authority issue 'alert' on Essex-based Harlequin Property .
Company promised to build 6,000 Caribbean villas but only 300 constructed .
Show village for Barbados resort 'a building site'
Liverpool Football Club, Australian tennis star Pat Cash and former Republic of Ireland footballer Andy Townsend have allowed their names to be used in promotions.
A businessman who put £112,000 of his private pension into two Harlequin projects says no one at the company will give him a ‘straight answer’.
A planned holiday village in Barbados which drew in millions of pounds in deposits is still little more than a building site.
Auditors say they can’t be sure Harlequin’s accounts are accurate because of ‘historic and ongoing problems’.
A former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines says local builders and suppliers have not been paid in full. |
102,418 | 0ff752ef740883474c56915284185e141e3b04c9 | Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The case of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbesset al Megrahi is "closed," Libya's transitional justice minister told reporters. "The entire world knows that Abdelbesset al Megrahi was tried in the Lockerbie case and he was convicted and then his case was appealed and he was convicted again," Mohammed al-Alagi told reporters Monday. "Then the Scottish authorities and the British government decided later to release him for humanitarian reasons. "As Libyan justice minister, I believe this case is closed and a man can't be tried twice for the same alleged crime," al-Alagi said. Al Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. All 259 people aboard and 11 people on the ground were killed when the Boeing 747, bound for New York from London, crashed in the town of Lockerbie, Scotland. Scotland's justice minister granted al Megrahi an early release in August 2009 after his attorneys and Scottish authorities said he was dying of cancer and only had three months to live. He received a hero's welcome in Tripoli, enraging many in the United States and Britain. And with the recent overthrow of longtime Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have called for al Megrahi to be sent back to prison. "They have assured us that they understand the sensitivities surrounding this case and they will give the matter the consideration it richly deserves," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters after a meeting with Libya's transitional leaders in early September. Jamal Ben Noor, a senior official with Libya's Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said Tuesday the government has not received any official request from Scottish authorities regarding the case. But he said Libya will cooperate if such a request is received from the Scottish or British government to reveal documents or provide access to individuals. Late last month, CNN's Nic Robertson found al Megrahi under the care of his family in his palatial Tripoli villa. He was bedridden, comatose, and surviving on oxygen and an intravenous drip. | Al Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 .
All 259 people aboard and 11 people on the ground were killed .
Scotland's justice minister granted al Megrahi an early release in August 2009 .
Politicians have called for al Megrahi to be sent back to prison . |
122,867 | 2acadaae39d81f5c3b29e464b8e9b22333b8f4d0 | Camden, New Jersey, has long been one of the most dangerous places in America, but recent police cuts combined with the highest unemployment rate in New Jersey have made the city even deadlier. This year there have been 39 murders in the city of 77,000 -- on pace to break the all-time record set in 1995. In 2011, the murder rate was ten times than that of New York City and 30 percent higher than New Orleans, Louisiana, the most dangerous large city in the nation. Squalor: The crumbling residential buildings of Camden have become a war zone of drug dealers and pimps . Streets of terror: A Camden police officer pats down a suspect. There were 13 homicides in the New Jersey city last month . Run down: Crack houses have sprung up amid the boarded-up factories and burned out houses . Camden was once a bustling industrial . town but drugs and alcohol abuse now run rife in an area that is . economically deprived. More than half of all children live below the poverty line. The city finds itself in the midst of . a drug war as unemployed young men with nothing to lose battle for . territory across the city. Large gang networks are competing with local drug deals and the results of always violent. Last month, 27-year-old Robert . Carstarphen was shot dead in an alley during a fight over drug dealing . territory between members of the Bloods street gang. The following day, . two more men were dead after a retaliation hit. The deaths brought the total number . of homicides for July to 13 - making the month the city's worst since . September 1949 when mass murderer Howard Unruh left the same number dead . in a shooting spree. One resident said: 'We don't have any real policing in Camden. They're just out here to pick up the bodies' Abject poverty: The unemployment rate in Camden skyrocketed from less than 9 percent to more than 20 percent during the recession. It has only fallen less than two percentage points doing the recovery . Abandoned: These homes are a health and safety risk, with many of them simply uninhabitable . Last year, there were 50 murders in . Camden, eight short of the record of 58 homicides in 1995. Most of the . murder victims this year were male, with the youngest a 16-year-old boy . and the eldest a 42-year-old woman. The . murder rate has been spurred on by massive cuts to a police force that . had already been dogged by corruption and too few resources. Thanks to massive state budget cuts . to poor cities like Camden, Newark and Trenton, the Camden Police . Department was forced to fire 168 officers in 2011 -- more than one . third of its police force. 'Many organizations had layoffs. In one day, we had a decimation,' Police Chief Scott Thomson told the Newark Star-Ledger. Depressing: Camden in New Jersey is now a sad shadow of its former self . Neighbourhood: People are scarcely seen on the city's streets which have become the second most dangerous in the U.S. Drop: The population has plummeted by more than 40 per cent from its 1950 level of 120,000 . As a result, arrests fell to less . than half what they were in 2009 -- when the city looked like it was . bringing the crime epidemic under control. According to the AroundPhilly blog on Yahoo, one . resident said: 'We don't have any real policing in Camden. They're just . out here to pick up the bodies.' Camden was once a major hub of manufacturing, with large plants from General Electric and RCA employing tens of thousands of workers. As those factories left, nothing replaced them and the city fell into ruin. Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin . Former glories: Echoes of a previous time are evident everywhere you go in Camden . Filthy: The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets . In the last decade, crack houses have . sprung up amid the boarded-up factories and burned out houses. People . live in fear of being robbed or shot as addicts roam the streets looking . to fund their habit. Most of the killings were gang members . involved in drugs although there were innocent victims including a . 39-year-old father of six who attempted to break up a fight. In the . 39 murder cases, charges had been filed in 17, according to police. There were 103 shootings in total from January to July this year. Camden has long been the poorest city in New Jersey, but the recession has made things worse -- and the situation is not improving. The unemployment rate was less than 9 percent in 2007. In may, it stood at 18 percent, leaving thousands of young men out of work and with few alternatives. Members of the local clergy have been . taking part in anti-violence walks on the streets to try to build . relationships and ease tension among the disenfranchised and the . vulnerable. Young people were becoming swept up . in the booming drug trade after being targeted by dealers as they face . lighter sentences if caught. Revered Heyward Wiggins III of Camden Bible Tabernacle told Philly.com: 'Right now, we are going to funerals of a . lot of victims of the violence in the city, but we would love to bring . about an atmosphere where we don't have to attend funerals.' Deserted: Camden has no movie theatres and the only supermarket is located outside of the city, away from the crime-ridden streets . Discarded: Empty bottles sit as a shrine on the location where a citizen was murdered . Back in the day: Camden, New Jersey, was a hub of manufacturing in industry for many decades . Style: Heavyweight champion of the world Joe Walcott and his wife are snapped strolling down Camden's Main Street during one of Joe's leisure days in 1951 . Decay: Camden, located opposite Philadelphia, is a shadow of the city it used to be . | 13 homicides in July - the most deadly month since a shooting spree in 1949 .
Murder rate was ten times New York City in 2011 -- and on pace to be even higher this year .
More than half of children live below the poverty line as city is ravaged by drugs .
Police department forced to cut one third of officers in 2011 and arrests dropped to less than half of what they were in 2009 . |
120,090 | 273528b71d7c571b33156fb5901d8f5597ef43cb | DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- A court in Dubai has sentenced two Britons to three months in prison for having sex on a public beach in the Muslim country. File image of one of the co-accused -- Vince Acors -- arriving at court in Dubai in September. After they complete their sentence, the pair will be deported. They also have to pay a 1,000 dirhams ($367) fine for public indecency. Police charged Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vincent Acors, 34, with illicit relations, public indecency and public intoxication after their arrest at a beach shortly after midnight on July 5. Both denied that they had intercourse. "The public (prosecutor) failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public," said the pair's lawyer, Hasan Mattar. He said the pair will appeal the verdict. Watch how case stirs up Dubai's bar scene » . The United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- where Dubai is located -- is home to thousands of expatriates and is among the most moderate Gulf states. Still, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom adheres to certain Islamic rules. More than a million British visitors traveled to the UAE in 2006, and more than 100,000 British nationals live there, according to the British Foreign Office. The country is in the midst of a building boom to position itself as one of the world's premier tourist destinations. It is already home to the world's largest mall, the world's largest tower, and -- despite being in the Middle East -- boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world. -- CNN's Caroline Faraj contributed to this report . | The two Britons will be deported after they complete their sentence .
The pair were arrested at a Dubai beach shortly after midnight on July 5 .
They were charged with with illicit relations, public indecency, public intoxication .
Although a relatively moderate Gulf state, Dubai adheres to certain Islamic rules . |
286,125 | fec28a9a5ef5588121ae7eda6ddfd5a92ba65a28 | London (CNN)British former pop star Gary Glitter has been found guilty of child sex abuse for crimes he committed more than three decades ago. The 70-year-old Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was convicted Thursday of one count of attempted rape of a girl under the age of 13, one count of having sex with a girl under the age of 13, and four counts of indecent assault against girls, two aged under 13 and two aged under 16. The six offenses were committed against three victims between 1975 and 1980. Glitter is due to be sentenced on February 27. Glitter was known as a "glam rocker" in the 1970s for his flamboyant clothes and performing style. He sold 18 million records with hits like "I'm the Leader of the Gang," "I Love You Love Me Love" and "Rock 'n' Roll." Detective Chief Inspector Michael Orchard of London's Metropolitan Police praised the courage of the victims in coming forward to police, years after the crimes were committed, in a statement after the verdict. "Paul Gadd has shown himself to be a habitual sexual predator, who took advantage of the star status afforded to him by targeting young girls who trusted him and were in awe of his fame," Orchard said. "His lack of remorse and defense that the victims were lying make his crimes all the more indefensible. I am pleased the jury was able to see through this." Glitter has been prosecuted previously on sex charges. In 1999, he admitted possessing child pornography and was jailed for four months. While living in Vietnam, he was convicted of sex offenses against young girls and jailed for nearly three years before being deported to England. Glitter is the latest celebrity to be accused or convicted of historic sex offenses. Radio and television star Jimmy Savile, who died in 2011 aged 84, was revealed after his death to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. British police say more than 200 victims -- aged between five and 75 -- have been identified. Last year celebrity publicist Max Clifford was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for assaults on girls, while Australian entertainer Rolf Harris was jailed for five years for indecent assaults against four girls. CNN's Ralph Ellis contributed to this report. | Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was convicted on six child sex abuse charges .
The former glam rocker has been prosecuted previously on sex charges . |
173,404 | 6c6a2121cb251e90ed6d6a59b353f6e93af988b8 | Incest laws could be scrapped in Germany after the government's ethics council said sex between brothers and sisters should be legal and is a 'fundamental right'. The council recommended that the right of 'adult siblings to sexual self-determination' was more important then the 'abstract idea of protection of the family'. It comes after the case of Patrick Stuebing, who was jailed for more than three years after having four children - two of which are disabled - with his sister Susan Karolewski. The German Ethics Council has suggested that sex between brothers and sisters should be legalised . Stuebing was put up for adoption as a toddler and only met his sister when he was 24 and she was 16. He was imprisoned for incest in 2008. He made an unsuccessful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in 2012 over his right to a family life - as he and Ms Karolewski were split up and three of their children were taken into care. The youngest was allowed to remain with Ms Karolewski. The German Ethics Council said in a statement that 'criminal law is not the appropriate means to preserve a social taboo', adding that the risk of disability to children is enough to warrant incest being illegal. the suggestion of decriminalising incest comes after the case of Patrick Stuebing, who was jailed for more than three years after having four children - two of which are disabled - with his sister Susan Karolewski . 'Neither the consequences for the family nor the possibility for descendants from such incestuous relationships can justify a ban under criminal law,' it said. 'Incest between siblings appears to be very rare in Western societies according to the available data but those affected describe how difficult their situation is in light of the threat of punishment. Patrick Stuebing, born in Leipzig, Germany in 1977, was fostered at the age of three after being attacked with a knife by his alcoholic father, and did not meet his mother or sister again until he was 23. He says his relationship with Susan Karolewski became incestuous six months after their mother died from a heart attack in 2001, and Ms Karolewski gave birth to their first child in October of that year, when she was 16. Two of their children have severe mental and physical disabilities, and another has a heart condition which required a transplant. Stuebing was sentenced to 10 moths in prison after his second incest conviction, and then a further two and a half years for his third conviction. 'They feel their fundamental freedoms have been violated and are forced into secrecy or to deny their love. 'The Ethics Council has been told of cases where half-siblings did not grow up together and have only met in their adult lives,' The Independent reported it saying. Despite saying that sex between brothers and sisters should be made legal, the council recommended that sex between parents and children should remain against the law. It is believed that incest increases the risk of children being born with disabilities, but the Ethics Council dismissed this as an argument for it being illegal, saying that couples with genetic defects are not banned from having children. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party have been quick to push away the idea of legalising incest. Spokeswoman Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker said that it would give out the wrong signal, telling Deutsche Welle: 'Abolishing criminal punishment against incestuous actions within a family would go completely against protecting the undisturbed development of children.' Around two to four per cent of Germans have had 'incestuous experiences', according to an estimate by the Max Planck Institute reported by The Telegraph. Incest is illegal in the UK and most of Europe, though sex between consenting adults who are related is legal in France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. | Council spoke of right of 'adult siblings to sexual self-determination'
Said this was more important than 'abstract idea of protection of the family'
Dismissed claim that incest causes disabilities as not having enough weight .
Argued those who have genetic defects are not banned from having children .
Comes after case of brother imprisoned for having four children with sister .
He was adopted, and pair met for first time when he was 24 and she was 16 .
Two of Patrick Stuebing and Susan Karolewski's children are disabled .
Stuebing failed in 2012 appeal to have his family brought back together . |
26,299 | 4a8ec9982f226fbf49f39db426bd9dbf8aadb796 | (CNN) -- The tea party-backed challenger who narrowly lost a Republican primary runoff in Mississippi to longtime Sen. Thad Cochran says he plans to file a legal challenge contesting those results "any day now." State Sen. Chris McDaniel said Friday on CNN's "New Day" that "the integrity of the process matters. We believe on that night of June 24 there were thousands of irregularities and we've already found thousands of irregularities in the process." McDaniel also defended his campaign's offer - announced Thursday - of rewards of $1,000 each for individuals providing "evidence leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in voter fraud." And McDaniel said "we condemn any racist comments what so ever," when asked by CNN anchor Kate Bolduan about a bizarre Cochran campaign conference call on Wednesday that included borderline racist comments by an unidentified caller who appeared to be a supporter of the challenger's campaign. Led primary, lost runoff . McDaniel narrowly edged Cochran in a June 3 primary, but with neither man cracking the 50% threshold needed to win, the contest moved to the runoff three weeks later, which Cochran won by fewer than 7,000 votes. His victory was aided by votes from African-American Democrats, who were actively courted during the runoff by Cochran's campaign and allied groups. According to Mississippi law, voters are not required to register with a political party, and anyone who doesn't vote in a primary election can cast a ballot in either party's runoff. Since the runoff, McDaniel has refused to concede and has repeatedly vowed to use every legal maneuver available to fight the results. McDaniel alleges that some Democrats who voted in the runoff had previously cast a ballot in their party's Senate primary. "Right now, we have found we have found more than 5,000 irregularities. There are more than 19,000 absentee ballots we still haven't seen yet," McDaniel told CNN. Disputed claims . The Cochran campaign disputes McDaniel's claims, and numbers. "The time has come now for the McDaniel campaign to put up or shut up. If they have hard evidence, bring it forward. But quit talking about exaggerated numbers that they know are not true," Cochran campaign spokesman and adviser Austin Barbour said Wednesday. After last week's runoff, McDaniel's campaign dispatched volunteers across Mississippi to investigate the results in the state's 82 counties. FreedomWorks, one of the anti-establishment groups that's been supporting McDaniel, dispatched activists to assist the campaign. Separately, a conservative outside group filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for full access to the voting records in the primary and runoff elections. Won't drag out . McDaniel said on "New Day" that the process "won't drag out too much longer. We have our people in the field. They'll be working all next week to find the additional irregularities that we believe are out there." McDaniel added that "after that, we'll have our evidence together and move forward." And he defended his campaign's use of reward money, "if fraud was committed." He added, "If vote buying took place as alleged, we have an obligation to find it and root it out once and for all. There's nothing wrong with that process. It needs to happen for the integrity of the election process." McDaniel pushed back allegations that he's contesting the runoff results to further his political career and pay off campaign debts. "We don't have any primary debt, not one dime," McDaniel told Bolduan, adding that what he's now doing is "bigger than a campaign, it's bigger than a candidate, it's bigger than me." 'Join us in the process' And he urged the Cochran campaign to "join us in this process. Why not go out there hand and hand and lets find the corruption if it exists." But that offer didn't fly with the Cochran camp. "It's obvious that Chris McDaniel doesn't care about the integrity of the process or he wouldn't be offering thousand-dollar bounties in e-mail fundraising blasts and flat out stating that the election was stolen and the election was a sham without any proof," Cochran spokesman Jordan Russell told CNN. "So I think he needs to spare me the 'why won't they join us in protecting the integrity of the process.' Chris McDaniel doesn't care anything about the integrity of the process. Chris McDaniel cares about staying in the spotlight." McDaniel condemns race comments . On Wednesday's Cochran campaign conference call, a person who appeared to be a McDaniel supporter asked "since black people harvested cotton, why is it OK to harvest their votes? Why is it OK to harvest the votes of black people?" Asked about those comments, McDaniel said "we condemn any racist comments what so ever. But bear in mind, we have no idea who that person is." He added, "You understand there are people out there we have no control over." If his legal challenge to the runoff results is turned down by the courts, McDaniel told CNN that "certainly we'll respect the court's decisions. As to endorsing or going forward with Thad Cochran or whoever else, I'm going to have to make that call after all this is said and done." 5 controversial moments in the Mississippi election . Mississippi tea party leader tied to campaign smear dead in apparent suicide . Blogger's arrest shakes up Mississippi Republican primary . CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report. | McDaniel tells CNN he plans to file legal challenge "any day now"
He says his team's found more than 5,000 voting irregularities in runoff vote .
McDaniel defends use of reward money, condemns any use of racist language . |
13,988 | 27aabb38628bda884f1bbf7d8d761425a563004e | (CNN) -- Hours after January 12's earthquake in Haiti, Drs. Claude and Yolene Surena were treating more than 100 wounded people -- not in a medical facility but outside their own Port-au-Prince home. City medical facilities were decimated or overwhelmed, and makeshift triage areas like the one in the Surenas' yard tried to keep patients alive long enough to get the next available hospital bed. Yolene called her daughter in Maryland to assure her the couple was fine and to make a request. "She was overwhelmed with patients," said Fabiola Surena, a 28-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant studying to be a physician's assistant. "She needed me to come help." Surena and eight U.S.-based relatives and friends -- all of whom were raised in or have relatives in Haiti -- went to the Surenas' Haiti home to assist the doctors, deliver food and first-aid supplies, and to see how their loved ones fared. Surena, who was granted time off from the Army, and her cousin Anne-Rene Louis have been documenting their trip on CNN's iReport.com. They talked to CNN.com by phone on Thursday, their seventh day in Haiti; the group planned to return to the United States this weekend. iReport.com: Fabiola and Anne-Rene's journey to Haiti . The nine, none of whom had any medical experience except for Surena, flew to the Dominican Republic and traveled by bus to Haiti's capital on January 15. At the Surenas' house, one of the few in the neighborhood that didn't collapse, patients were in bad shape. "I've seen crushed bones, fractures, dislocations, a lot of lacerations. We've had kids who lost digits," Fabiola Surena said. "We've also had people just suffering from just diabetes or high blood pressure, whose medication was stuck in their [destroyed] house, so they're going into diabetic comas." Many patients needed surgery, but the one surgeon assisting the couple had no post-school experience. The Surenas' home, stocked mostly with first aid and suture kits and over-the-counter medications, had "no surgical capabilities outside of sutures," Fabiola Surena said. Because surgeries couldn't be done immediately and infection was setting in, many patients would need amputation later. A few people died before Surena's group arrived, and one has died since, after being moved to a hospital, she said. iReport: List of missing, found | Are you there? Fabiola Surena dressed bandages and took vital signs. The other eight from the U.S. made sure patients took medication, sterilized tools and did small dressing changes. The crew also tried to find hospitals that could take the critical patients, she said. Patients rest on mattresses in the yard, covered by tents. Food, water and medical supplies, though bolstered by trips to the Dominican Republic and aid brought by others, are constantly low. The family eats whatever it serves to the patients -- perhaps rice, beans and tuna -- and sometimes it's just one meal, Surena said. "We're basically out of painkillers. We receive a lot of medication for adults, but not for kids, so children are barely getting painkillers at all," she said. Surena, who was born in New York but was raised in Haiti, says her feelings are difficult to put in words. "It can be very depressing," she said in Port-au-Prince, in and around which tens of thousands were killed in the quake. "After a while, you're looking at the things you can't do. ... Some people beg for water, and we don't have water for us to drink." "People look calm and try to go on with life and joke, but then a scared, panicked look comes over their faces when a helicopter flies overhead, because it sounds like an aftershock," she added. Full coverage | Twitter updates . Haitians took the wounded to the Surenas' house after the quake because they knew they were doctors. They also knew that Claude Surena, a pediatrician who heads the Haitian Medical Association and directs Rotary International's disaster preparedness committee for Haiti, sometimes sees patients at his home, Rotary spokeswoman Elizabeth Dwyer said. Besides tending to patients, the U.S. nine have connected with relatives to find out who survived. Not all the news was good. Louis, 25, of Orlando, Florida, said her parents' Port-au-Prince-area house collapsed during the quake, killing her grandfather and a maid. Also killed was the best friend of Louis' 18-year-old sister, she said. The sister, Soraya Louis, a U.S. college student visiting her parents' home, was trapped for a few hours in the rubble. She passed out briefly during the collapse, and she awoke to "everybody screaming," she said. "I heard footsteps overhead. People were walking on the bricks," Soraya Louis, a student at Connecticut's University of Bridgeport, said by phone from Port-au-Prince on Thursday. "I was crying and screaming for help." People dug her out after she helped them find her. She found a piece of wood, stuck it between bricks and moved it until someone saw it, she said. Impact Your World . Soraya Louis and her cousin were injured but are OK. Also escaping the collapse were one of her sisters and another friend; her parents were at work. Anne-Rene Louis arrived in Haiti in time for her grandfather's funeral January 15. By Thursday, many of the Surenas' patients had been sent to hospitals. Only about 20 remained in the yard. Claude and Yolene no longer tend to the patients during the day -- Claude was just named the country's coordinator for disaster medical care, and Yolene, who already worked for Haiti's government, is helping determine which hospitals are running and where more can be set up, Fabiola Surena said. Some of the U.S. nine went to work with Claude Surena on Thursday, helping to direct hospital workers to medical supplies, Anne-Rene Louis said. Though the nine plan to leave Haiti this weekend, some may return soon. Soraya Louis said it was a relief to see the group. "It's been hard for us here, and it feels good to know people are supporting us," she said. "Now our whole family is together. ... They give us strength every day." CNN's Katie Hawkins-Gaar, Nicole Saidi and Christina Zdanowicz contributed to this report. | Two doctors in Port-au-Prince turn their home into a makeshift clinic after quake .
Doctors' relatives in U.S., including their Army daughter, arrive to help .
Food, medical supplies remain constantly low, they say .
Survivor on being trapped: "I heard footsteps overhead" -- searchers walking on rubble . |
196,935 | 8ae37d35a59fecea5be7c07d73a31d6ad0f60e5a | (CNN)It's an almost too-perfect metaphor. This week brought news that a Republican member of Congress has decked out his office in the style of the mansion in "Downton Abbey," the BBC series that Americans -- struggling against income inequality of historic proportions -- somehow can't get enough of. Maybe it's because we can relate. The United States is fast becoming a real-life example -- or worse -- of the upstairs/downstairs inequality portrayed in the show. And it's Republican policies that got us there and are making it worse. On Monday, Ben Terris, a reporter from The Washington Post, toured the Downton-inspired office of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Illinois. Terris described the outer office: "Bright red walls. A gold-colored wall sconce with black candles. A Federal-style bull's-eye mirror with an eagle perched on top." "It's actually based off of the red room in 'Downton Abbey' " a woman at the front desk told him. An interior designer from a company called (no joke) Euro Trash showed the reporter Schock's private office. It's another red room, "[t]his one with a drippy crystal chandelier, a table propped up by two eagles, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and massive arrangements of pheasant feathers," he wrote. Schock's decorator said the choice to imitate Downton Abbey's ostentatious halls was made because the congressman is "fresh-minded and forward-thinking." Um, sure, for the 1870s maybe -- when the inequitable accumulations of the robber barons and the subsequent Great Depression were but a twinkle in our forward-thinking eyes. Now under some scrutiny for accepting the free services of the Euro Trash decorator (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate), Schock insists he's never even seen "Downton Abbey." But he's sure lived it -- if not in his brand spanking new aristocratic office than as a resident of the Republican Party. Here's "Schock-er": Income inequality in the United States right now is worse than in post-Edwardian England, the era depicted in "Downton Abbey." The richest Americans today take home a higher share of our nation's income than the aristocratic lords and ladies of 1920s England. What's more, low-wage employees -- such as fast food restaurant workers and Walmart cashiers -- take home a smaller share of our nation's income than the butlers and cooks did back then. That unequal reality is even more gaudy than Aaron Schock's office. And it is without question the direct result of Republican policies. Tax cuts for the wealthy and the deregulation of business have ensured that the share of wealth enjoyed by big business and the top 1% has continued to climb, even in the recession. In fact, the top 1% suffered only one-third of the income loss during the recession but have basically reaped all the gains of the recovery. Meanwhile, despite overall economic growth and the growth of worker productivity, most Americans have seen their wages stagnate or even decline. The working poor in America today may have wireless telephones, automobiles and indoor privies, but they still very much live in basement of the U.S. economy. When the Republican Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas cut taxes with a severity and speed never before attempted by any other state, he was actively cheered on by conservatives. His stated goal was to get the tax rate down to zero. The result? The economy in Kansas plummeted. Job growth has failed to keep pace with the national level. Giant revenue gaps led to drastic cuts in public services such as schools. Credit rating agencies even cut the state's previously stellar bond rating. And 100 Republican leaders in Kansas endorsed a Democratic candidate to replace Brownback as governor because, they said, Brownback's tax and budget cuts had so severely hurt the state's working class and middle class families. Narrowly re-elected, Brownback announced recently that he will now raise taxes in Kansas to fix the state economy. As if the failure of GOP anti-tax, anti-government economics hadn't already been proved by the record wealth and corporate profits at the top juxtaposed against record numbers of poor people and low-wage workers relying on food stamps, Kansas should be seen as the final nail in the coffin. Wealth from the top does not "trickle down" to the bottom to lessen inequality. It never has. It's time for Republicans to do more than talk. It's time they admit that their precious economic theories are actually the poison sickening our economy. Republicans in Congress might have a mini-PR scandal on their hands with the revelations about Schock's office. But it's the massive moral crisis that should be weighing on their shoulders, hearts and minds. Republicans need a new, populist economic theory that helps the majority of Americans and not just the elite 1%. But to get there, they'll need a fundamental shift of perspective and priorities to say the least. Maybe start with redecorating. | Sally Kohn: GOP Rep. Aaron Schock had his office decorated like "Downton Abbey"
She says it's the perfect metaphor for GOP policies that have brought U.S. inequality historically worse than in the "Abbey" era . |
183,905 | 7a375727c09f1c707f3eaf71c9299b023c1d0f8b | It’s been less than three months since Apple unveiled its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but rumours suggest the firm is gearing up for its next release already. Reports say Apple may hold two iPhone launch events next year, to release its iPhone 6S in spring, and its iPhone 7 in September. The iPhone 6S may even go on sale at the same time as Apple’s upcoming Watch. Reports claim Apple may hold two iPhone launch events next year to release its iPhone 6S (a successor to its iPhone 6 pictured) in spring, and its iPhone 7 in September. The iPhone 6S may even go on sale at the same time as Apple’s Watch . The claims were made by ‘sources in the supply chain’ to Jerry Miller from Stabley Times. Until 2013, Apple released one handset each year around September time. This included a new model one year, followed by a slightly modified 'S-version' the year after. Last year, however, it used its September launch event to announce two new devices - its flagship iPhone 5S and the ‘cheaper’ iPhone 5C. This was followed by the launch of its iPhone 6 and larger iPhone 6 Plus this year. The new schedule is expected to stagger the releases of two devices in 2015 to capitalise on sales. Apple could release the iPhone 6S to people who want to upgrade to a slightly cheaper model, before announcing its flagship iPhone 7 in the autumn. Until 2013, Apple released one handset each year around September time. Last year, however, it used its September launch event to announce two new devices - its flagship iPhone 5S and the ‘cheaper’ iPhone 5C (pictured). This was followed by the launch of its iPhone 6 and larger iPhone 6 Plus this year . The 6S may also be packaged together with the Apple Watch. ‘Our source says that Apple is hesitant about launching the iWatch in the spring of 2015 without a new iPhone to go along with it,’ explained Mr Miller. ‘[This] could give hesitant consumers an excuse to wait on buying both until the fall.’ The news comes as manufacturers revealed Apple has plans to kill off its iPhone 5C as early as next summer. Amidst the furore of the iPhone 6 launch in September, Apple silently killed off its Classic iPod. But it wasn't a drop in sales that brought about its demise, according to boss Tim Cook, instead it was blamed on a lack of mechanical parts. Speaking at the WSJD Live conference, Mr Cook said the tech giant no longer had access to the components needs to make the once iconic music player. And although sales for the product had fallen significantly in recent years, sourcing parts was the final nail in the coffin. Mr Cook added the firm could have redesigned the gadget with different parts, but it wouldn't have been cost-effective and would have involved a 'massive' task. Launching a phone in spring would mean there was still the same number of handsets in the range once the iPhone 5C was discontinued. The report, by Taiwan's Industrial and Commercial times, did not reveal the reasons behind the plans, but Apple has previously been known to discontinue models as they are replaced by newer versions. Sales of the 5C were also poor, compared to the company's expectations, and in January, research firm CIRP reports the model accounted for just 27 per cent of iPhone sales at the end of 2013. Manufacturers will begin winding down production of the handset from January, and are expected to pull the plug completely by the 'middle of 2015.' Apple launched its iPhone 5C alongside the high-end iPhone 5S in September 2013. It is similar in size to the 5S, but doesn't t have the Touch ID fingerprint scanner or the A7 processor seen in the more expensive model. It has a plastic case, is available in five different colours, and at launch, prices started at $99 in the US, on a two-year contract, or $549 and £469 when bought outright. The device was also the first Apple phone to be offered in the smaller 8GB model. Apple also recently killed off its iPod Classic. The news comes as manufacturers revealed Apple has plans to kill off its iPhone 5C next summer. Sales of the 5C (pictured at launch with Apple executive Phil Schiller) were lower than expected. Launching a phone in spring would mean there was still the same number of handsets in the range once the 5C was discontinued . When Apple’s online store came back online following its iPhone 6 event in September, this later model was missing from the iPod lineup. Apple did not make any formal announcement about ceasing the line at the time. Apple boss Tim Cook later said the firm could have redesigned the gadget with different parts, but it wouldn't have been cost-effective and would have involved a 'massive' task. 'We couldn't get the parts anymore, not anywhere on Earth,' explained Mr Cook. 'It wasn't a matter of me swinging the axe, saying "What can I kill today?" The Classic was the Apple’s first digital music player, and although the original debuted in 2001, there were six generations released up until 2007. Apple is said to be forsaking its iPhone 5C to focus on production of its high-end iPhone 6 range. | Apple traditionally releases its iPhone and iPads annually .
Sources in the supply chain said Apple is looking to halve this time frame .
The iPhone 6S may launch with the Apple Watch next spring .
This would be followed by the iPhone 7 in September or October .
Last week, manufacturers said they will kill off the iPhone 5C by summer . |
162,072 | 5d8d1c92af80ac43247a625f92c11512030b628e | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . Britain’s debts are increasing by almost £4,000 every second, campaigners will warn today as the spotlight falls on a catalogue of public sector waste. The Taxpayers Alliance warns public money has been ‘spent with impunity’ by councils, hospitals and Whitehall departments splashing out on celebrities, Christmas trees and costumes. The group is launching a War on Waste roadshow touring the country to highlight the scale of the challenge of balancing the nation’s books. Medway Council spent £4,000 hiring actor Brian Blessed to record an audio guide to play on its buses while Sandwell Council spent £4,000 hiring TV presenter Keith Chegwin for a St George’s Day event . Leicester City Council spent £6,000 hiring minor celebrities, including ex-BBC weatherman Des Coleman, X factor finalists MK1 (pictured) and Apprentice reject Melody Hossaini . The government insists major progress has been made in reining in spending, including saving £14.3billion compared to the final year of the last Labour government. The TPA warns that even in an age of austerity, £120billion-a-year is being wasted – which could be used to fund a £4,500 tax cut for every family. It includes £22billion on overpaying public sector pay and pensions, £20.6billion lost to fraud, £1.6billion in higher sickness rates in the public sector and £1.4billion on ‘overgenerous’ annual leave. But its Bumper Book of Waste also reveals details of the bizarre and extravagant spending of public bodies who often argue that cuts mean they are struggling to make ends meet, . Last year alone it emerged Leicester City Council spent £6,000 hiring minor celebrities, including ex-BBC weatherman Des Coleman, X factor finalists MK1 and Apprentice reject Melody Hossaini. Medway Council spent £4,000 hiring actor Brian Blessed to record an audio guide to play on its buses. The Public art gallery in West Bromwich closed last year after failing to attract enough visitors, despite costing some £72million . Manchester City Council blew £900,000 on hi-tech Christmas lights while Angus Council splashed out £3,000 on transporting and setting up seven Christmas trees. Over three years Cardiff Council spent £28,000 on biscuits. The Department for International Development used £4million on a scheme to develop an Ethiopian version of the Spice Girls. The Public art gallery in West Bromwich closed last year after failing to attract enough visitors, despite costing some £72million. The Forestry Commission spent £70 buying a bunny costume, the NHS spent £1,000 on a fat suit and one hospital bought steel giraffes for £8,000. Nottingham City Council spent £4,450 on an office Christmas tree . South Tyneside Council spent £214,000 trying to unmask a blogger called Mr Monkey. In previous years Nottingham City Council spent £4,450 on an office Christmas tree while Sandwell Council spent £4,000 hiring TV presenter Keith Chegwin for a St George’s Day event in 2009. TaxPayers' Alliance Chief Executive Jonathan Isaby will say: ‘Far too much taxpayers' money is wasted, keeping taxes high and taking precious resources away from essential services. It's time for a war on waste right across the public sector. ‘It would be nothing short of immoral to saddle the next generation with our trillion-pound debt mountain. We need to strip out wasteful and unnecessary spending and start living within our means again. ‘For too long taxpayers' money has been spent with impunity, with little accountability and not enough transparency. The War on Waste hopes to change that and remind those we trust with our money that we're watching how it is spent very carefully indeed.’ The roadshow will tour the country over the next few days, including stops at the constituency offices of David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. A spokesman for Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: 'As part of our long-term plan to rebalance the economy we are reforming Whitehall, tackling waste and making things more business-like. 'Last year we saved taxpayers £14.3billion, compared to Labour's last year in office, but there's so much more to do. 'Under Labour departments paid different prices for common goods such as paper and printer cartridges. We are making sure there's real central oversight over spending and have slashed what we pay on consultants, property and advertising.' | Campaigners claim £120billion is wasted every year by the public sector .
Taxpayers' Alliance roadshow to highlight council and Whitehall waste .
Town halls spent thousands on celebrities and Christmas trees . |
132,896 | 37d662e3bac7adf151212956f2792ea92a2ba520 | It may come as no surprise to many men, but proposing to your partner really is a stressful business, it has been revealed. One bridegroom to be has revealed he wore a heart rate monitor throughout his proposal day. He posted the resulting chart to Reddit - revealing a huge spike as he popped the question. Redditor Sesipikai wore a hear rate monitor throughout the day as the couple walked around Rome before he proposed in the Forum . The user, called Sesipikai, wore a heart rate monitor throughout his day in Rome. He also carried a GPS unit to track his location as the couple explored. By linking the two, he was able to create the graph above in Microsoft Excel, and add in exactly what the couple did on their big day. The user, called Sesipikai, took his girlfriend to Rome for the proposal. The chart reveals their entire day, from walking through the Colosseum to buying ice cream. The user also had GPs co-ordinates for their day, allowing him to map exactly how the heart rate tallies to their location. The proposal was planned to happen in the Roman Forum - and the heart rate begins to rise as the couple turn and start walking towards it. Unsurprisingly, when he begins speaking, his heart rate rockets - peaking at130bpm. He then relaxes - only to see another rise as she says yes. In fact, the rate only then begins to drop as the couple find a nearby bench to sit on. The user posted the image with a simple caption saying 'Wore a heart rate belt during my trip to Rome. 'Export data to xml file. 'Created a graph using MS Excel.' The chart reveals their entire day, from walking through the Colosseum (left) to arriving the the Forum (right) to propose . He also revealed his biggest fear while walking - losing the ring. 'I was so afraid of losing the ring, ' he admitted. 'Had my hand inside the pocket most of the day. That ring burns your pocket like there's no tomorrow. 'I have a new found respect for mister frodo after that day.' He also revealed he fluffed his lines during the proposal. 'I didn't start with the question, had a little speech planned, might have forgotten a couple of lines though' The chart stuck a chord with other users of the site, who added their own feelings. 'My heart beat like crazy for a solid ten minutes waiting on a private moment and knowing it could come any second,' one said. however, others were less kind, with one joking: 'I hear she's really good between the spreadsheets.' | Bridegroom to be wore heart rate monitor for entire day to see how proposal affected him .
As couple approached the Forum in Rome, where proposal took place, his heart rate rocketed .
After second increase as she says yes, it only begins to subside when the pair find a bench to sit on . |
198,778 | 8d4f019d54bf6d37692b5e5ecaf097556321b8ab | By . Simon Jones . Tottenham are monitoring developments with Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow. Mauricio Pochettino wants a young goalkeeper to challenge Hugo Lloris and the 23-year-old, who has also been watched by Liverpool, is on their list of potential targets. Spurs are determined to keep hold of Lloris and have refused all offers for the France international. Glove affair: Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow is being monitored by Tottenham and Liverpool . French fancy: Tottenham have warned they will refuse all offers for France No 1 Hugo Lloris . Lloris is highly valued and his presence . may also have a bearing on who Tottenham bring in as an understudy with . the likes of Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall unlikely to get a . significant run apart from in cup competitions should he join. Help the aged: Brad Friedel has signed a new contract and could become the Premier League's oldest ever player . Meanwhile, Brad Friedel has signed a new one-year deal with Tottenham - setting him on course to become the oldest Premier League player ever. Former Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge currently holds the record, having appeared aged 43 years, 4 months and 26 days. However, if Friedel appears for Tottenham on or after October 15, 2014 then he will break the record which Burridge set in the 1994-95 season in a 3-2 defeat against Queens Park Rangers. | Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow is being monitored by Tottenham and Liverpool .
Spurs are determined not to let Hugo Lloris leave White Hart Lane .
Brad Friedel has signed a new deal and could become the Premier League's oldest ever player . |
32,236 | 5bb712036c2f94563df4421ecc3d22b083024b54 | (CNN) -- Perhaps nothing illustrates the ambitions of the well-established Gulf carriers -- Emirates, Etihad and Qatar -- and Turkish Airlines so much as the swift expansion of their route networks. Turkish Airlines currently flies to about 253 destinations, and plans to add another 60 to its network in the next five years. Emirates, meanwhile, is rumored to have placed a record-breaking order for Boeing's 777X aircraft. "These carriers have a good modern fleet and can fly long distances, and because of their geographical position, they can connect anywhere from their hub to almost anywhere else in the world, either non-stop, or one-stop," says John Strickland, an independent transport consultant. When it comes to choosing what routes to launch, it happens that the region's major carriers have a carefully calculated strategy that can speak volumes about emerging markets. Slideshow: How drones will change your life . Breaking up America? Traditionally, the United States has been overlooked in favor of the European market by the Gulf carriers and Turkish. All that's changing as Etihad, Emirates, Qatar and Turkish Airlines all either introduced direct routes to the States last year, or else have some in the works for 2014. "They're really starting to shake up the U.S. market for the first time," says Brendan Sobie, a spokesperson for the Center for Aviation. Last year, Dubai launched a direct flight from New York City to Milan -- the first time in the airline's history a flight bypassed the Dubai hub (last year, Delta and Alitalia unsuccessfully sued the Italian government to block the Emirates route). In the next 15 years, the airline plans to double the number of U.S. destinations it flies into. Etihad will fly to four U.S. cities by the end of 2014, while Qatar Airways will be up to six. The expansion has not gone unnoticed by the American aviation industry. The U.S. trade group Airlines for America and the U.S. pilot union, Air Line Pilots Association International, have been the most ardent opponents of the Gulf carriers encroachment into the U.S. market, often joining Delta and United in lobbying Congress for protectionist policies. "It is interesting to see how the U.S. carriers and politicians are starting to respond," says Sobie. Read more: Why the Dubai Airshow is a gamechanger . Tapping Africa . In just a couple of years, Turkish Airlines has become the largest international carrier in Africa, flying into 39 destinations. At first glance, some of the African cities in their network might seem random -- why fly to Somalia? Their business plan underlines investment strategies for Turkey as a whole. According to the Center for Aviation many of the countries they serve, or are planning to serve, have a rapidly growing economy. In 2012, Rwanda's GDP grew by 8%, and Nigeria's by 6.6%. The continent also houses a wealth of natural resources. "The most important geographic part of the world over the next 100 years will be Africa. In this respect, any destination (we fly to) in Africa will create more effective results than, say, a destination in Europe," says Ali Genc, Turkish Airlines' senior vice president of media relations. Quiz time: Test your aviation knowledge . Building BRICs . Turkish Airlines and the Gulf carriers have been increasingly developing their network across Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) -- the nations widely viewed as the most promising developing markets in the 21st century. The importance of developing these routes is not simply to connect these emerging markets with the Middle East, but with each other. "Carriers like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar can access emerging markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America and connect them in a way that is meaningful to travelers, and that European carriers can't hope to copy," says Strickland. Budget carriers like Air Arabia and flydubai have become particularly attractive to cities and towns across Central and Eastern Europe. "Regionally, we're seeing a lot of interest in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)," says Sobie. "Air Arabia and flydubai is a good fit for the medium-haul, thinner routes that are high-yielding and growing, but can't support the widebody aircraft of Emirates," he adds. | Emirates, Etihad and Qatar are expanding into the U.S. marketplace .
Some airlines are working hard to block their entrance .
Turkish Airlines -- one of the fastest growing carriers -- has a massive network in Africa .
Connecting emerging markets to each other is goal of many Mideast airlines . |
79,913 | e28c1d85a78bd4950cb2faf8cb85e2a2150f1bbe | Fernando Torres is re-joining boyhood club Atletico Madrid after they outlined a deal with AC Milan that should see Alessio Cerci go in the opposite direction. Milan have confirmed on their club TV station that 'high level talks' have taken place and hope to reach a swift conclusion. Torres is on a two-year loan from Chelsea but has failed to impress and Atletico are convinced they can rekindle the player of old on his return to Spain. They will take over Milan's loan arrangement with Chelsea and sign Torres for an initial 18 months. Fernando Torres is re-joining boyhood club Atletico Madrid after they outlined a deal with AC Milan . Torres is on a two-year loan from Chelsea but has failed to impress since moving to the Italian club . Torres is re-joining boyhood club Atletico Madrid after they outlined a deal with AC Milan . Cerci, who joined Atletico for £13m in the summer from Torino, will go to Milan. Sportsmail reported last week that the deal had been discussed but there has been interest from other Italian clubs in Cerci notably from Inter Milan. He has yet to agree to the move despite it being provisionally agreed between the clubs while Torres is on holiday in the Maldives but has already given the proposal his blessing. Inter are pursuing loan deals for Arsenal's Lukas Podolski and Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj should they miss out to their city neighbours on Cerci. Cerci, who joined Atletico for £13m in the summer from Torino (pictured), will go to AC Milan in his place . | Fernando Torres looks set to re-join boyhood club Atletico Madrid .
AC Milan striker Torres, on a two-year loan from Chelsea, failed to impress .
Torres could go to Atletico with Alessio Cerci going in opposite direction .
Atletico are convinced Torres can recapture his form in Madrid . |
233,095 | b9c3dfbefa5a6c0b76f7323cd0d7ccd317f1a0e4 | By . Martha Cliff . The famously loud mouthed model, Janice Dickinson is hardly a shrinking violet but has the shameless American gone too far this time? The world's first supermodel had her 'sagging' 30-year-old boob job updated as part of E!'s new surgery programme Botched. The 59-year-old star decided that her breasts needed more surgery after they 'rippled' and were beginning to show their age with signs of sagging. Scroll down for video . Too much information? Janice Dickinson had her 30-year-old implants updated on Botched, a new TV show starting on E! Many doctors would have deemed Janice's botched boob job 'unfixable' but in the IN new series doctors tackle surgery mishaps and mistakes that other medical experts have dismissed. Janice is no stranger to surgery having had a facelift, browlift, breast augmentation, tummy tuck and fillers however, the ex-model said that her botched boob job had not put her off more surgery. Of her previous breast surgery she said: 'Sylvester Stallone paid for those, so I figured why not?' Janice decided to go in for more surgery after she noticed a 'ripple' begin to form around her implants . Demanding: Dr Terry Dubrow says that Janice was one of the most difficult patients he had ever had . Recovered addict, Janice, really struggled with her sobriety during the procedure . Janice consulted plastic surgeons Dr Paul Nassif and Dr Terry Dubrow (Dubrow is a fixture on The Real Housewives of Beverely Hills) of Botched when fixing her sagging breasts. Shortly after her first procedure Janice had noticed some 'rippling' occuring around the edge of her implants. Janice's breast implants were over 30-years-old well exceeding doctor's recomendations to have implants replaced every 10-15 years. According to Pagesix.com Dr Terry Dubrow was in shock with Janice's behaviour on the show. Dr Terry Dubrow was extremely concerned about Janice's demands for drugs whilst she was in the hospital . Shameless? The entirety of Janice's procedure was filmed for the new programme . Janice is no stranger to plastic surgery with her other procedures including a facelift, browlift, breast augmentation, tummy tuck and fillers . Doctors recommend having implants updated every 10-15 years, Janice's implants were 30-years-old . 'In my 25 years of being a board-certified plastic surgeon, Janice is by far the most difficult patient I have ever had,' Dubrow confesses. 'She is her breasts’ worst enemy.' During the programme Dubrow shows concerns for Janice's insisting on more pain killers, pointing out that after three days in the hospital most people would be on aspirin. 'I don’t give a s*** about most people' is Janice's response which prompts Dubrow to question Janice's sobriety referring to her drug-fueled past. 'The ex-addict is coming out,' the doctor explains 'We've got post-operative pain management problems … This is classic drug-seeking behavior.' Janice returns for another check-up, where she reveals she has no recollection of the previous week and is unaware as to whether she broke her sobreity or not. Six weeks following the operation Janice shows off her newly healed breasts in her photo shoot for her skincare line. The surgery saw a real improvement on the rippling that can be seen on Janice's previous breast augmentation (left) Within six weeks Janice's breasts had completely healed and she was ready to model for her own skincare line . The 59-year-old was so pleased with the results she couldn't help but strip off to display her new and improved bod . Janice was thrilled with the results of her procedure as she wore a cleavage hugging low necked dress at the end of the programme . | Surgery addict, Janice Dickinson has had yet more surgery .
Her 30-year-old implants had began to sag and ripple .
The entirety of the operation was filmed for E!'s new programme Botched .
Ex-addict Janice is worried she broke her sobriety during the procedure . |
268,165 | e7518ef300b3ecaf90adbf74b4690df4a48c7d25 | (CNN) -- After a year of tumultuous weather and global change, it should not be surprising that 2012 proved to be a transformative period for public opinion on energy. Changing attitudes on the most hotly debated topics matter a great deal because they set the course for future policy decisions. Taking a closer look at trends over the past 12 months hints at what to expect in several key areas of the U.S. energy landscape in 2013. Natural gas boom -- and controversy . Hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," has been around for more than half a century, but recently expanded rapidly because of advances in horizontal drilling deep underground. Despite this proliferation of new wells, 59% of Americans say they are unfamiliar with the term, down from 63% in March, according to the latest findings from the University of Texas at Austin's Energy Poll. Although the majority still does not seem to know much about fracking, a deluge of media attention to this controversial extraction technology has likely raised its profile significantly since last year. However, increased awareness is not synonymous with public approval. Among those familiar with hydraulic fracturing, support decreased from 48% to 41% over six months. Similarly, a December poll by Bloomberg reported that 66% of Americans would like greater government oversight of the process, up from 56% in September. When Matt Damon's new film "Promised Land" debuts in January, expect public recognition and heated debate over hydraulic fracturing to rise further. Climate change gets real . When Gov. Mitt Romney quipped, "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans" at the 2012 Republican National Convention, his audience burst into laughter. During the debates that followed, neither party's nominee mentioned climate change once as a policy priority. Weeks later, Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeastern United States, flooding many parts of New York City, New Jersey and other regions along the Atlantic Coast. Both candidates immediately canceled campaign events in the wake of the storm and Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama, citing his commitment to tackling climate change. After a summer of record-breaking drought followed by this single powerful hurricane in a major metropolitan area, attitudes shifted. In March, 65% of Americans surveyed said they thought that climate change was occurring. By September, after the summer drought, that number reached 73%, with the greatest gains among Republicans and independent voters. Earlier this month, The Associated Press-GfK poll followed up, reporting that after Sandy, 78% of Americans now say global temperatures are rising. Because weather can influence opinions on climate change, it's possible that a wet and stormy winter -- ironically, also exacerbated by climate change -- could push attitudes in the other direction. Regardless, in 2013 expect to hear less argument about whether the Earth is warming and a more serious policy discussion by elected officials across levels of government about how we might mitigate the effects of rising seas, changing ocean acidity, agricultural uncertainty and extreme weather events. Renewables gain ground . Renewable energy technologies have been available for decades, but 2012 may have been the tipping point for their wider adoption. There has been a significant increase in the percentage of Americans who say they are likely to buy hybrid or electric vehicles or use "smart" electric meters within the next five years. Most notably, between September 2011 and September 2012, the percentage of Americans who say they are likely to install solar panels at home increased from 21% to 28%. These trends may reflect changing attitudes on climate, media attention to energy during the election cycle, rising gas prices or cheaper, widely advertised new alternatives. Most likely, it's a combination of all these. What's clear is that we are now on the cusp of a renewables revolution with greater options and cost-saving technologies than ever. They are finally becoming more affordable, reliable and practical, with solar power at the helm. Still, it's important to note that as we ring in 2013, China, not the United States, has taken the lead on renewables. The big picture . Polls tell the story of how attitudes are shifting, but short of having a crystal ball, there is no way to unequivocally predict what major world events will influence our nation's energy future. For example, another nuclear disaster or offshore oil spill could play an enormous role in shaping the next generation of energy priorities. What can we count on in 2013? In the past year, the percentage of Americans saying they consider themselves knowledgeable on how energy is produced, delivered and used has increased from 24% to 33%. More are likely to seek added information about reducing their own energy use and a higher percentage rate energy issues as important to them. Amid economic uncertainty, volatile prices and global unrest, Americans are paying closer attention to the energy decisions that affect us all. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sheril Kirshenbaum. | Public attitudes shifted on key energy issues in 2012 .
Sheril Kirshenbaum says controversy has grown over natural gas fracking boom .
She says climate change, renewable energy are likely to be on agenda for 2013 .
Kirshenbaum: A turbulent year has increased public interest in energy issues . |
88,864 | fc350d7b2cbcfd021b25353acfad3308741ee034 | The early bird really does catch the worm… but he saves it for dinner. Blue tits, great tits and other small garden birds scout for food in the morning but only return to eat it in the late afternoon, a study found. The Oxford University researchers believe the strategy allows them to stock up on food while avoiding the clutches of predators. A full belly in the morning would slow them down in the hunt for food and make them easy prey. Early riser: A foraging Great Tit with a worm in its beak . So they search out food when lean and lithe and then dine in the evening to ensure they have a big enough store of fat to survive through the night. The ‘early bird’ strategy was revealed in an experiment in which over 2,000 birds were fitted with tiny radio tags which activated when they landed on feeders hidden in Wytham Woods, near Oxford. The feeders were moved around over the course of the day and the researchers noted when the birds landed on them. This revealed that the birds were much better at finding the feeders’ new locations in the morning. However, they waited until the afternoon to get tucked in. The researchers said the complex strategy acts as an insurance policy, with birds remaining light yet still able to get enough fat to survive the night. It is particularly important in winter when the risks of predation are high and just one day without food can make the difference between life and death for small birds. The Oxford University researchers believe the strategy allows the birds to stock up on food while avoiding the clutches of predators . Zoologist Damien Farine said: ‘Birds have to store body fat to avoid starving during the cold winter nights, but this can make them slower and less manoeuvrable so they are more likely to be caught by predators. ‘So there is a trade-off, where birds need to remain lean enough in order to “outrun” their predators, or at least the next slowest bird, during the day but also store enough fat to survive each night.’ Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, he added that the study shows that rather than ‘idly waiting’ to until the afternoon, the birds start searching out food in the morning. ‘Our results show these birds display very different patterns of food discovery in the morning and afternoon; very few new food sources were found during the afternoon, whereas nearly every new food source we put out during the morning was quickly discovered. ‘It supports the idea of an ‘early bird’ strategy of scouting for food early on so they can return to feast a couple of hours before dusk in preparation for a long winter’s night.’ | Study monitored behaviour of blue tits, great tits and other small .
birds .
Oxford University team believes strategy allows them to avoid predators . |
172,272 | 6af36de5cdf7e2d8089ae9c2782664a8719ea74e | By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 10:49 EST, 9 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:17 EST, 9 April 2013 . It looks as though a lumberjack got halfway through chopping down this tree and just gave up. But in fact the damage to this German birch has been caused by beavers. The large, flat-tailed, semi-aquatic rodents are more usually associated with North America after the European variety was practically hunted to extinction. Timber! A birch gnawed by beavers stands near Lengenwang, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The animals, once hunted to near extinction in Europe, have been reintroduced to the area . In Germany since 1979, however, there has been a programme to reintroduce the animals - resulting in the horrendous damage to this birch in Bavaria's Legenwang municipality. The animals like to snack on the bark of trees - particularly birch - resulting in this 'ringing' effect as they chew all the way around the trunk as high as they can reach. But although these pictures might suggest otherwise, beavers are in fact good for woodland habitats, even trees. Often regarded as nature's engineers, Beavers are known for building dams on rivers and streams, and building their homes - known as 'lodges' - in the resulting pond. Tough love: Although these pictures might suggest otherwise, beavers are in fact good for woodland habitats, even trees . Remarkably, the resourceful rodents . also build canals to float building materials that are too heavy or . unwieldy for them to haul over land. It's through this natural tendency to build waterworks that beavers are a benefit to the woodlands where they are native. Their . building efforts sponge up floodwaters, alleviate droughts and floods . (because their dams keep water on the land longer), lesson erosion, and . raise the water table, according to Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife. Beaver's constructions also act as the 'earth's kidneys' to purify water because silt collects upstream of older beaver dams, and toxic chemicals, such as pesticides, are broken down by microbes in the wetlands created. That means that water downstream of dams is cleaner and needs less treatment for human use. Conservation efforts: A photo issued by the Scottish Wildlife Trust of a beaver kit with an adult after the creatures were reintroduced to Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll, in recent years . Populations of Eurasian beaver are recovering, aided by conservation efforts, after the species was nearly hunted to extinction in Europe for its fur and for scent gland secretions once believed to have healing qualities. Because of these pressures, the beaver became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century. However, several thousand now live on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia, and they have been reintroduced in Scotland, Bavaria, Austria, Netherlands, Serbia, Denmark and Bulgaria. | Beavers were once hunted almost to extinction in Europe for their fur .
The damage to this tree comes after they were reintroduced to Bavaria .
Resettlement efforts are also taking place in the UK .
Beavers' extraordinary constructions are beneficial to woodland habitats . |
1,421 | 04154502f518e3994577a15ef4b1d9c0cd82d3d7 | By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 10:44 EST, 29 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:25 EST, 30 May 2012 . The family of a shopkeeper stabbed to death in a botched robbery have expressed their 'shame and sadness' after his killer was acquitted of murder, despite graphic CCTV footage of the moment a knife was plunged into his throat. Father-of-two Mahesh Wickramasingha was stabbed to death in a struggle with Sam Harrison, 19, after he attempted to foil a hold-up on his store in Huyton, Liverpool, last year. Harrison's ten-inch knife severed the Sri Lankan-born 30-year-old's jugular vein, stopping only when the blade struck his spine. Graphic: The footage seems to show Harrison, in black, walk into Stanley News, in Kingsway and plunge the weapon into Mr Wickramasingha's throat after a brief struggle . But a jury at Liverpool Crown Court accepted the teenager’s account that the killing was an 'accident' and agreed to a manslaughter charge after he insisted his victim had 'impaled himself' on the weapon. He was jailed for ten years, which means he could be out in just over four. Today Mr Wickramasingha's relatives hit out at the verdict, claiming graphic CCTV footage proves it was murder and that Harrison should be jailed for life. Speaking from Sri Lanka, his brother Manjula said: 'It should have been murder - nobody has given us correct justice for our loss. 'We feel shame and sadness. I am out of mind and my mother is crying. 'We look at the photo of Mahesh and into his eyes, and think about how Harrison has broken our family. Mahesh went to the UK to earn money, not to die.' Brave: Father-of-two Mahesh Wickramasingha, left, was stabbed to death in the struggle with Sam Harrison, right, after he attempted to foil a robbery on his store in Huyton, Liverpool . The eight-second CCTV footage, taken at three frames per second, seems to show Harrison walk into Stanley News, in Kingsway, on November 29, and plunge the weapon into Mahesh’s throat after a brief struggle. Today, Mahesh’s family, friends and the city campaign group Families Fighting for Justice demanded the case be reviewed. Mahesh had worked in Liverpool for a year after pawning his few belongings to buy his passage from Sri Lanka. He had a dream of earning enough money to educate his son Wenura, four, and daughter, Indika, 10, and build a home for his wife Dilmi, 28. But his life was ended when Harrison targeted the small shop in the hope of robbing a till to recoup some of the £530 he had blown in a nearby bookies. VIDEO: CCTV of the moment before the attack happened . | Shopkeeper Mahesh Wickramasingha was stabbed to death as he attempted to foil a robbery on his store in Liverpool .
Sam Harrison, 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for just ten years .
He told a court the victim had 'impaled himself' on blade .
Distraught family say the verdict should have been murder after CCTV shows knife being plunged into victim's throat . |
123,176 | 2b3aa7738a1e1d4e155f43b8b37e3d8361e5a6d7 | Washington (CNN) -- A convicted American terrorist plotter and his mother lost another legal round Wednesday in their efforts to hold accountable a former Bush administration official who issued legal memos supporting harsh interrogation techniques for suspected enemy combatants. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit from Jose Padilla and his mother, Estela Lebron, who claimed the man's constitutional rights were violated when he was held for years in solitary confinement at a military prison in South Carolina. The issue was whether John Yoo, who worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, deserved "qualified immunity" as a government official from such suits. A federal judge earlier had said the litigation could proceed. But a three-judge appeals panel disagreed. "Under recent Supreme Court law, however, we are compelled to conclude that, regardless of the legality of Padilla's detention and the wisdom of Yoo's judgments, at the time he acted the law was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable official would have understood that what he was doing violated the plaintiffs' rights," the court said. Padilla was originally arrested a decade ago on accusations he planned to set off radioactive "dirty bombs" in the United States. The Chicago native had been held for 3 1/2 years as an "enemy combatant" in military confinement, without being charged in that alleged plot. It was that detention that prompted Padilla in 2008 to file a civil lawsuit, alleging the administration's "unlawful" policies violated his constitutional rights as a U.S. citizen. He said he suffered severe physical and mental abuse during his years of isolation in military detention, and wanted to hold individual officials such as Yoo accountable. The Supreme Court in 2004 had heard Padilla's original appeal over his enemy combatant status, claiming he deserved a chance to contest his military detention on constitutional grounds. Supreme Court building to get face-lift . He was arrested in May 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he returned from overseas, where he had been living. He was detained as a material witness in the September 11, 2001, attacks investigation. President George W. Bush designated him an "enemy combatant" the following month and turned him over to the military. He was one of the few terror suspects designated by the United States as an enemy combatant since 9/11. Padilla was then held in a South Carolina naval brig before the government brought criminal charges against him. The Obama administration has since abandoned using the term "enemy combatant." The current White House has been criticized for continuing many of the anti-terror policies of the Bush administration, including military prosecutions of high-value suspected terrorists held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Obama Justice Department had supported Yoo. But some conservatives have also slammed President Barack Obama for his previous desire to close the prison facility in Cuba and prosecute terrorists in civilian federal courts in the United States. That policy has not been carried out due to congressional opposition. Three U.S. citizen cases, including Padilla's, as well as other appeals from foreign nationals held as enemy combatants at Guantanamo, have tested the government's power to interrogate captives without allowing them regular access to attorneys or the judicial system, on the grounds that they might pose a future threat or know about pending terrorist attacks. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit appeals court said it was unclear in the two years after the 9/11 attacks whether Padilla's alleged treatment in prison amounted to "torture." The legal advice offered by Yoo and other top administration lawyers was intended, said the court, to work through varying differences over interpreting and implementing the detention and interrogation policies. The judges in this appeal appeared to go out of their way to note concerns that Yoo's performance at the Office of Legal Counsel may have in fact amounted to professional "misconduct." But the panel said his compliance with department standards was not at issue in the current lawsuit. The Justice Department later released two reports on the interrogation memos produced by Yoo, concluding he "exercised poor judgment" but did not "knowingly provide inaccurate legal advice." Both reports were summarized in a footnote in the appeals judges' ruling. Yoo's lawyer released a statement saying the ruling "confirms that this litigation has been baseless from the outset." Miguel Estrada, who himself had been an unsuccessful nominee to the federal bench by Bush, said, "For several years, Padilla and his attorneys have been harassing the government officials he believes to have been responsible for his detention and ultimately conviction as a terrorist. He has now lost before two separate courts of appeals, and will need to find a new hobby for his remaining time in prison." After Padilla was released from military custody and transferred to federal civilian control, he was convicted on terrorism charges. In November 2006, he was added to an existing indictment in south Florida, which alleged Padilla and his co-defendants belonged to a North American terrorist support cell and intended to carry out jihad, or holy war, in foreign countries. Padilla and two others were found guilty in August 2007 of conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens and provide material support to terrorists. A federal court jury in Miami had deliberated for just under two days before handing down the guilty verdicts. Another federal appeals court ruled last fall the 17-year sentence given Padilla was too lenient, handing another legal victory to the Obama administration. A divided 2-1 panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said the federal judge presiding over the 2007 conspiracy trial did not properly take into account the former gang member's past criminal history when sentencing him. The current lawsuit is Padilla and Lebron v. Yoo (09-16478). | An appeals court dismisses a lawsuit filed by convicted terrorist Jose Padilla .
He wanted to sue John Yoo, who issued legal memos supporting harsh techniques .
The court says that "at the time (Yoo) acted the law was not sufficiently clear" |
193,444 | 8671360c5d830f38316ccc4f63362ded7a2d20a6 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 00:41 EST, 30 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:58 EST, 30 July 2013 . When these homeowners decided to spruce up their 'shabby' Grade II listed home with a lick of paint, they probably thought that their neighbours would appreciate their efforts. But Ann Kennedy and her husband Mark have learned the perils of a little DIY, after council officials ordered them to repaint their entire property because it is too pink. The couple insist that their 17th Century thatched cottage is exactly the same colour today as it was when they bought it 12 years ago. Ann Kennedy insists that her 17th Century thatched cottage is exactly the same colour today as it was when they bought it 12 years ago . Before the £1,000 paint job had even dried officials arrived threatening legal action unless the 'unauthorised' work was re-done in a subtler hue . However, town planners at Teignbridge District Council disagreed and ordered them to tone down their pink paintwork after a complaint from a neighbour. The row began in November 2011 after the couple's neighbours repainted their homes and they followed suit, giving their three-bedroom cottage a fresh new look. They looked back at photos of their property from 2001, when they bought it for £130,000, and settled on a similar shade. But before the £1,000 paint job had even dried officials arrived threatening legal action unless the 'unauthorised' work was re-done in a more subtle hue. Retired dance teacher Ann, 64, who has three grown-up children, applied for retrospective planning permission from Teignbridge District Council. This picture shows the cottage's condition when Ann and Mark Kennedy bought it 12 years ago . But the authority has denied her request and instead given the couple of Kennford, Devon, three years to repaint the entire house. Ann said: 'Everyone else had had their houses painted and ours was looking rather shabby. So we repainted it in its original colour - pink. 'Before the paint was even dry we had the council knocking on the door saying we had to change the colour. They said it wasn't in keeping with the area. 'I think they're totally wrong. It's a beautiful colour and it's been like that ever since we moved here 12 years ago.' The council insisted consent must be obtained before any alterations are made to a listed building that are likely to affect its character or appearance. A spokesman said: 'Teignbridge District Council's Planning Committee refused a retrospective application for the painting of a Grade Two listed cottage in Kennford. 'The cottage was white but was painted a pale pink 13 years ago. In November 2011 it was repainted a bright pink colour by the current cottage owner. 'It is this shade which is the subject of this decision.' | Ann and Mark Kennedy decided to paint their 17th Century thatched cottage .
Neighbour complained about colour and council ordered them to change it .
Couple say colour is the same as when they bought house 12 years ago . |
39,349 | 6f2c09423074c241f21c52a51e2dbef7d343fb1b | It seems the One Direction boys have another hit on their hands. But it's their perfume that's setting the tills ringing this time, . Their scent, Our Moment, launched at Harrods on August 25 and is set to earn the boys over £360,000 in its first week on sale in the UK, according to beauty and fragrance experts. The six-figure sum is calculated from . pre-orders plus sales of over 3,000 bottles . at Harrods in London in just two days. Sweet smell of success: The One Direction boys appear fixated by their perfume in a still from the advert for the scent . Escentual.com . CEO Rakesh Aggarwal said: 'Our Moment is predicted to sell around . 180,000 units in the first week alone, making it one of the fastest selling . fragrances of all time. Loadsamoney: Harry Styles withdraws some of the pots of cash he has earned this week . 'It’s certainly looking like it’s going to be the most successful celebrity perfume launch of the year and sales in America are expected to be bigger still,' says Aggarwal. On the basis of 180,000 sales of the most popular 30ml Eau de Parfum, which retails at £19.99, the turnover for the first week will come in at nearly £3.6m. Although the exact deal that the X Factor boy band struck with the perfume company is closely guarded secret, most industry insiders have estimated that Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson will personally earn around £2 for every 30ml Eau de Parfum bottle sold, which means the group is due to bank £360,000 in 7 days. The scent is due to go on sale at The Fragrance Shop on September 9. 'We launched the pre-order for Our Moment on August 1 and since then have taken over 20,000 pre-orders from across Europe,' says spokesperson Daniel Thompson. Winning! Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson Liam Payne, Harry Styles of One Direction at the MTV Video Music Awards last week . 'With such an interest we made the . decision that Our Moment will need its own warehouse to help keep up . with demand for what looks to be the biggest celebrity launch of 2013.' ' I found Our Moment very sweet and a tad . too heavy for daytime for grown-ups - and even an hour after first . spraying this, the smell still lingered over me like a huge cloud of . frangipani and candyfloss. I have nothing against frangipani, it's just . combined with everything else that the overall effect is a bit cloying.' Elsa McAlonana . Other . products and gift sets are to be added to the range in the next month, . just in time for the Christmas market which accounts for around 70 per . cent of annual fragrance sales, and the boys are expected to earn around . £2m from perfume sales over the festive season. Escentual.com boss Rakesh Aggarwal said: . 'I would anticipate turnover will top £10m for the range over Christmas . - which would see One Direction around £2m richer by the end of the . festive season, just from UK perfume sales.' With such hysteria surrounding the . launch, it's almost immaterial what it actually smells like. Fans are . buying into their favourite band, not following their noses. Check out our beauty expert's verdict in the box, right. Only time will tell whether it can beat . the best-selling celebrity fragrance of all time, White Diamonds by the . late Elizabeth Taylor - the scent brought in $75 million at retail in 2011, according to Euromonitor. Cheesy: Niall Horan fools around on the set of the advert for Our Moment. | The boys earn around £2 for every 30ml Eau de Parfum bottle sold .
More fragranced products being launched for Christmas . |
150,123 | 4e185d73868df8a7b7351a2af87fde85b9f39487 | Former Corrie actor Bruce Jones has been spotted looking worse for wear during a drinking session despite claiming on TV he was beating his battle with booze and depression. The star, who played the Street's resident drunk Les Battersby, was caught on camera leaving a pub just 36 hours before he appeared on ITV show Daybreak saying 'I feel great'. Mr Jones had headed to the drinking hole after he made a brief appearance on Keith Lemon's ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice, arriving on set at 8.30pm. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Caught on camera: Coronation street Star Bruce Jones was spotted leaving the Chancellors pub in West London just 36 hours before he told Daybreak viewers he was beating his alcohol demons . Revealing: Former Coronation Street Actor was seen leaving a pub just 36 hours before he told Daybreak presenters Aled Jones and Kate Garraway that he was overcoming his problems with alcohol and depression . The 60-year-old was then said to have visited the nearby Chancellors pub, leaving the West London establishment at 9.30pm, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. He then joined friends in the bar at . the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, where Celebrity Juice was filmed, . and was seen knocking back pints of Meantime beer. Mr Jones, who played Les Battersby between 1997 and 2007, was later heard telling his drinking partners that he feared he had been photographed leaving the Chancellors pub. Yesterday the father-of-four appeared on ITV breakfast show Daybreak, having been booked to chat about his battles with alcohol and depression. In the live interview with presenters Aled Jones and Kate Garraway, Mr Jones told how he felt he had turned a corner after hitting rock bottom in 2009 when he tried to kill both himself and his wife Sandra by drunkenly grabbing the wheel of the car as she was driving. He said: 'I feel great . actually. I think that moment was I'd been drinking all day and I was . supposed to go to North Wales with my wife and I'd had enough. Candid: The 60-year-old actor told viewers that he had turned the corner having been booked on the show to talk about his issues . Spotted: Mr Jones, who played drunken Les Battersby between 1997 and 2007, was seen leaving the pub after he filmed a cameo on Celebrity Juice on Wednesday . 'I love my wife, I love my wife . more than anything in the world, still do to this day, and I tried to . kill us both. I just grabbed the steering wheel and [thought], "If I'm . going, you're coming with me. I love you that much that you're coming . with me". 'I know it sounds stupid, but at . that moment in time, that's how I felt.' He added: 'My friends rallied round and I suddenly decided, it's got to end - either I've got to end or it's got to end - and "it", as it turns out was depression.' Mr Jones' Daybreak appearance followed an interview with Tyneside newspaper the Sunday Sun where he compared himself to troubled footballer Paul Gascoigne, 45, who is currently being treated for alcohol addiction. He said: 'Depression is as common as a cold. The more you do positive things, the better life gets. 'I thought: stop going to the pub, stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop blaming other people and blame yourself.' Mr Jones also gave Gazza advice on how to recover from his latest alcohol-related setback, and said that, like the footballer, he had suffered when fans had offered to buy him a pint. 'The only advice I would give to Gazza is get well,' he said. 'We can beat depression. I have beaten it.' Banned: Bruce Jones was given a three year driving ban in 2010 after he admitted drunkenly grabbing the wheel of a car driven by wife Sandra, pictured right . In 1998 Mr Jones was banned from driving for three years after he admitted being drunk behind the wheel. He also admitted to drink driving in 2010 following the incident in the car with his wife and was spared a prison sentence. It was his drinking that led to Mr Jones being axed from Coronation Street after 10 years on the show when he told fellow pubgoers about upcoming storylines. He has struggled to find acting work since leaving the show and has confesses to having blown his fortune and saddled his family with debt which lead to his £500,000 home in Cheshire being repossessed. Three years ago Mr Jones, who has been to rehab twice, was warned by doctors that more drinking could kill him. In an interview last year he revealed that he had drunk as many as 15 pints a day. Mr Jones' agent was today said to be away for the weekend and unavailable for comment on his client's recent drinking session. Fame: Bruce Jones is best known for playing layabout Les Battersby in soap Coronation Street . VIDEO: Watch Bruce Jones' appearance on Daybreak . Watch the full video here:http://www.itv.com/daybreak/showbiz/bruce-jones-depression . | Actor Bruce Jones photographed leaving West London pub .
60-year-old downed pints after filming Celebrity Juice .
Drinking session 36 hours before telling Daybreak viewers 'I feel great'
Star had compared himself to troubled Gazza in previous interview . |
168,556 | 66059cda1431466ec116c5cebe5d6c64e94defa2 | 19 Kids and Counting stars Josh and Anna Duggar have revealed that they are expecting their fourth child together. The couple, who were married in September 2008, announced the news on Anna's Twitter page yesterday evening, with the expectant mother telling her 62,000 followers: 'We are so excited to announce...we're pregnant! #4andCounting #BlessingfromTheLord @joshduggar #19Kids' Josh, 26, is the eldest of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's 19-strong brood and was the first of the children to start a family. Scroll down for video . 'We're expecting!' The couple shared their happy news on Twitter and in a video released by TLC . Four kids and counting: The couple already have three children . In a video released by TLC, both he and Anna expressed their elation at the happy news - and revealed that they waited until after Josh's sister Jessa's wedding to husband Ben Seewald last month to tell the family about the pregnancy. 'This time of the year, there's so many things we're thankful for,' Josh says in the video, while sitting alongside his pregnant wife and three children. 'From my sisters getting proposed to and married, to all the fans who are watching at home.' Anna then let slip the couple's exciting announcement, saying: 'One of the things we're really thankful for this season, is that we're expecting.' She added that, although she is struggling with morning sickness, she couldn't be happier about her fourth pregnancy. Start spreading the news: Anna revealed the couple's announcement on her Twitter account . 'Good things are happening': Anna, 26, who married Josh in September 2008 (pictured), admitted that she is struggling with morning sickness but insisted she didn't mind as it means her pregnancy is progressing . 'm having a lot of morning sickness so it is difficult, but it's good because I know good things are happening,' she said. 'After Ben and Jessa's wedding, we were still visiting with the family in Arkansas, and that was really exciting to get to share with the family the exciting news.' The couple already have three young children, a five-year-old daughter, Mackynzie Renée, and two sons, Michael James, 3, and Marcus Anthony, 1. Their fourth child is due just a few months after Josh's younger sister Jill is expecting her first baby with husband Derick Dillard. Happy families: Josh's younger sister Jill, 23, and her husband Derick Dillard revealed last month that they are expecting a baby boy in March . Lucky number three? It has also been rumored that Jessa Duggar, 23, is expecting her first child with husband Ben Seewald. The couple married on November 1 . Jill, 23, announced her pregnancy back in August and last month revealed that the couple are expecting a baby boy, who is due in March. 'I was really excited,' Derick, 25, told People. 'As a new dad, to have a firstborn son to be our first child and be the leader of his siblings, it is very special.' The two Duggar siblings may not be the only ones expecting new arrivals next year; last month, just three weeks after her wedding to Ben Seewald, it was reported that 22-year-old Duggar daughter Jessa may already be pregnant. 'They look at sex as a "present" from God and they couldn’t wait to "open it" on their wedding day,' a source told InTouch Weekly. 'I wouldn’t be surprised if Jessa were pregnant already.' Keep counting! Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have 19 children - and have admitted they would be open to having more . | 19 Kids and Counting star Josh, 26, is the eldest of Jim Bob and Michelle's children .
Anna, also 26, gave birth to the couple's first child in October 2009 .
Josh's younger sister Jill, 23, is also pregnant with her first child with husband Derick Dillard .
It has been rumored that Jessa, 22, who married husband Ben Seewald on November 1, may also be expecting . |
240,866 | c3d60d9680d95a5a56b4def093443ebf76e8f101 | A Detroit family is demanding justice for their daughter and sister — after the newlywed 25-year-old was tragically killed when a parolee leading cops in a high-speed chase broadsided her car. Francesca Vitale Weatherhead was driving to her job as a sales manager when the man ran a red light on his Ford Escape and struck her car on Oct. 6. Her accused killer: 27-year-old John McCallum, who has a mile-long rap sheet for a series of charges including break-ins, possession of weapons and drugs and larceny. Newlywed Francesca Vitale, 25, was struck and killed by an ex-con who had just been released on parole — and quickly returned to a life of crime. He was fleeing cops after yet another home break-in when he killed her . Francesca had recently married Matthew Weatherhead and was putting her husband through medical school. Wedding photos courtesy of Mishelle Lamarand Photography . John McCallum, 27, has a mile-long rap sheet that includes charges for break-ins, weapons and drugs . McCallum had been paroled not five months prior — despite being sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison on his latest break-in and drug possession arrest, the Detroit Free Press reported. He was fleeing Livonia police in the course of yet another home invasion. 'It just baffles my mind that someone with that history was even allowed out,' Kristina Vitale told the Free Press. 'He's being tried for his fourth serious offense? Does it take a life...to keep someone behind bars?' Mother Angela Vitale sobbed as she remembered her baby girl. 'Why, why was he let out?' she wailed. 'They should be held responsible — whoever let him out should be held responsible,' she told the Free Press. McCallum had first been eligible for parole in September 2013 but was held longer because authorities thought he needed to complete a violence prevention program. Yet he was released just months later. The Michigan Department of Corrections says McCallum 'successfully completed the program with a very positive overall assessment. 'However, predicting human beings' future behavior can be a very difficult task,' department spokesman Russ Marlan told the Free Press. 'Unfortunately, some of the individuals they parole end up not being successful and some end up hurting innocent citizens. 'I know personally that these cases have a significant impact on the individual parole board members involved — they anguish deeply over these cases.' The happy couple poses for engagement pictures . Francesca and Matthew Weather had just found a new house to start their lives together when she was killed . The day of her accident, Francesca had been traveling for work as part of her job as a sales manager for tobacco company Altria. She had just married Matthew Weatherhead in June, and was putting her husband through medical school at MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. To her family, Francesca was the 'angelic one,' they told the Free Press. 'My sister was my whole world — she was my everything,' sister Nina Vitale told the Free Press. 'I just want justice.' The two met at Michigan State University, where Matthew Weatherhead was going to medical school . The family says they harbor no ill feelings against the police officer who was chasing McCallum when the accident the happened. The cop has been heartbroken over the crash and had to take a leave of absence, the family says. 'I want her to know we don't blame her,' mother Angela Vitale told the Free Press. 'She was doing her job.' Francesca graduated from Trenton High School, where she played softball and was named homecoming queen, according to The News Herald. She went on to attend Michigan State University and graduated in 2010 with a degree in business administration and marketing. Francesca and Matthew were married in June, just months before she was killed in the horrific crash . | Francesca Vitale Weatherhead, 25, had just started her new life with husband Matthew when she was tragically killed in a car crash .
Her accused killer is John McCallum, 27, who was paroled five months earlier after a number of convictions for break-ins, weapons and drugs .
McCallum was fleeing from cops after an attempted break-in when he ran a red light and struck Weatherhead's car .
Her family is demanding justice and asking officials: 'Why was he let out?' |
75,106 | d4f28a51af3fd56dbafd357f0c64657b087b8502 | By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 00:38 EST, 6 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:00 EST, 6 March 2014 . The European Union has named 18 Ukrainians who will have their assets frozen including the country's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, his son and former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. The 28-nation bloc revealed the names of those it believes are responsible for embezzling state funds in Ukraine this morning. The list includes what appears to be Yanukovych's closest aides, including a former interior minister, justice minister, the prosecutor general, the head of the security services and Yanukovych's son. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . The European Union has named 18 Ukrainians who will have their assets frozen including the country's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych . The sanctions also target former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his son. The EU said yesterday it was freezing assets of Ukrainian officials held in the EU but did not name them pending the publication in the official legal journal today. Meanwhile, China has agreed with the United States that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected in its dispute with Russia, according to the White House. China is treading a cautious path in the Ukraine dispute, withholding criticism of strategic partner Russia while adhering to its traditional policy of not interfering in the affairs of other countries. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov (pictured) and his son will also have their assets frozen . President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, spoke to Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi about the Ukraine situation. A White House statement outlining what was discussed said the two officials reaffirmed the importance to U.S.-China relations of deepening 'practical cooperation to address regional and global challenges.' 'They also agreed that the United States and China share an interest in supporting efforts to identify a peaceful resolution to the ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine that is based on respect for international law and upholds Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the statement said. The United States has engaged in global diplomatic efforts to gather opposition against Russia's deployment of troops in the Crimea region of southern Ukraine. Obama spoke earlier to Prime Minister David Cameron. Vice President Joe Biden talked by phone with Latvian President Andris Berzins to underscore the United States' commitment to peace and security in the Baltic region. Yesterday a video emerged of the moment a UN special envoy was forced to take refuge after being threatened at gunpoint by ten to 15 men and told to leave Crimea. Dutch diplomat Robert Serry retreated into a café after the men told him they were under orders to take him to the airport and got into his car. Crowds gathered outside the café, some armed and some in paramilitary uniform, chanting ‘Russia! Russia!’ Mr Serry was escorted out into a vehicle which was immediately surrounded by 100 demonstrators, some waving Russian flags, before police pushed a way through and accompanied the vehicle to the airport . Mr Serry was forced to cut short his mission to the disputed region after being ordered to leave, UN officials said. Mr Serry was escorted out into a vehicle which was immediately surrounded by 100 demonstrators, some waving Russian flags and beating on the windows, before police pushed a way through and accompanied the vehicle to the airport. | 28-nation bloc says the 18 named are responsible for embezzling state funds .
The list of names was released in the early hours of this morning .
It includes a former interior minister, justice minister and head of security .
Also on the list is Yanukovych's son and Azarov's son . |
2,563 | 077513520791c6486a8978a92596e7a7f1b5db03 | Elena Vesnina, breezed through to the second round in just 53 minutes at the expense of Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner - and the Russian will pick up at least £43,000. The 27-year-old won 6-0, 6-4 to register the first victory of this year's Wimbledon Championships. But it wasn't all bad news for Mayr-Achleitner who receives £27,000 for her day's work. Easy day's work: Elena Vesnina on her way to victory over Patricia Mayr-Achleitner . Beaten out of sight: Mayr-Achleitner's (right) Wimbledon campaign was over almost before it began on Monday . Meanwhile, former US Open champion . Samantha Stosur became the first major casualty on the opening day at . Wimbledon as the Australian suffered a first-round loss. The 30-year-old was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer on Court Three, situated on the site of the old Court Two which became known as the 'graveyard of champions'. Wickmayer, supported from the stands by countrywoman and four-time grand slam winner Kim Clijsters, whose academy she trains at, clinched her victory with a classy forehand cross-court winner. For 17th seed Stosur, the result was the latest in a long line of Wimbledon disappointments and means that after 12 visits she still has yet to go beyond the third round. Stosur, who last week ended a working partnership with Briton Miles Maclagan, a former coach of Andy Murray and Laura Robson, said of her early exit: 'I don't feel like I played bad. There's only so much you can really be down on yourself about apart from losing.' She said of her hunt for a new coach: 'I think I still know what I want out of them. There's probably a handful of coaches that you might want to think about. They've probably all got jobs.' Shock: Yanina Wickmayer (left) eased to a straight-sets win over Samantha Stosur (right) on day one . Sloane . Stephens, the 21-year-old American, was a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon . in 2013 but made a first-day exit this time, losing what always looked a . tricky opening assignment against Maria Kirilenko. Russian Kirilenko, . who reached the last eight two years ago, prevailed 6-2 7-6 (8/6) on . Court 18. Stephens said: 'It feels like the end of the world now, but fortunately it's not. So that's a good thing.' She . suggested she was having problems behind the scenes, adding: 'There's . things that you guys don't know about, a lot of things that everyone . else doesn't see, but you have to work through it and you have to deal . with it. Sometimes you've got to be a big girl and just work through all . the things that are troubling you.' Japanese . 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm threatened an upset against an opponent . 18 years her junior as she swept ahead against Russian 22nd seed . Ekaterina Makarova. However from 5-0 ahead in the first set Date-Krumm's high standards began to fall and the veteran was beaten 3-6 6-4 7-5. Date-Krumm . said: 'She's top 20 and she is a tough player, a big fighter. If I lost . 6-1 6-1 or 6-1 6-2 or something like that then I would need to give up. 'But still I almost won, and my physical level is still not bad for 43 years old.' Out: Sloane Stephens (left) and Kimiko Date-Krumm (right) both made early exits at Wimbledon . | Russian Elena Vesnina takes just 53 minutes to progress to the second round and guarantee herself £43,000 .
Beaten Patricia Mayr-Achleitner takes home £27,000 despite her heavy defeat .
Samantha Stosur became the first major casualty on the opening day at Wimbledon .
Sloane Stephens and Kimiko Date-Krumm also crashed out . |
259,147 | db70800347b1ea0a7f75e85f8144a227cc748def | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 09:29 EST, 14 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:24 EST, 14 January 2013 . This was the dramatic moment when a ship sank today after hitting another tug boat, prompting fears that 200 tonnes of diesel could leak and pollute the English Riviera's finest beaches. As the decommissioned 260ft Moto Vessel Emsstrom went down off the coast of Devon this afternoon, engineers and seaman were onboard the Christos 22 and pumping water from it. Eight crew members were rescued after the Christos 22 - travelling from Germany to Turkey - was damaged by the vessel it was towing as it tried to anchor a mile off Hope's Nose in Torbay last night. Scroll down for video . Away it goes: This composite photo shows the Moto Vessel Emsstrom as it sank into the sea off Devon today . Danger: The Christos 22, pictured centre between two other tug boats, contains about 200 tonnes of diesel and is awaiting repairs before it can be towed to safety after taking on water off Hope's Nose, near Torbay, Devon . Sinking feeling: The Moto Vessel Emsstrom - which was being towed by the Christos 22 - lists in the sea after it damaged the tug boat in waters off Hope's Nose . Going down: The Moto Vessel Emsstrom eventually sank in the sea off Hope's Nose, near Torbay, Devon . Christos 22 had pulled into the . coastline in order to check a problem with the tow when it was hit, had a . 16-inch gash torn in its side and began taking on water rapidly. The . Moto Vessel Emsstrom, the decommissioned vessel being towed by the tug, . became separated and later sank. But that boat went down in deep . water without fuel on board, so it will not be a threat to shipping - and join other wrecks on the seabed as a diving attraction. A . Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: ‘Salvors are onboard the . tug Christos 22. Pumping operations continue to go well. Divers now . deployed to inspect and repair.’ She said the situation has become more stable after it was confirmed at first light that there were no reports of pollution. Spotlight: Eight crew members were rescued after the tug was damaged by a vessel it was towing . Location: The incident happened on Sunday night at around 8pm off Hope's Nose in Torbay, Devon . A Brixham Coastguard spokesman said: ‘The problem is this is happening quite close to shore and if this boat sinks there could be a big pollution problem. ‘There is a lot of diesel on the boat, and there's a good chance the diesel would leak if it sinks. It would contaminate the local beaches - all this part of the coast is a holiday coastline. ‘It is also a fishing area and would impact on the local birds and wildlife.’ He added that if the boat cannot be saved the Royal Navy ships will instead begin the ‘difficult’ task of pumping diesel out of the water. Two lifeboats have been at the scene with HMS Lancaster and the navy vessel HMS Severn and a second tug, the MTS Vulcan, is standing by. Sunday night: RNLI handout photo of RNLI personnel as they come to the aid of the troubled tug Christos 22 . Helping hand: The tug - travelling from Germany to Turkey - was damaged by a vessel it was towing . Troubled: Christos 22 had pulled into the coastline in order to check a problem with the tow when it was hit, had a 16-inch gash torn in its side and began taking on water rapidly . If the sinking Christos 22 cannot be saved Royal Navy ships will instead start pumping diesel out of the water. 'There is still potentially quite a big problem with 200 tonnes of diesel oil and some heavy oils on board. Realistically now we're just trying to keep the boat afloat and hoping there is no pollution' RNLI spokesman . Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) spokesman Mark Criddle said: ‘Our priority was making sure all the people on board were accounted for and that we could get them off if we needed to. ‘Both vessels have got problems, one is listing and the other has taken on a large amount of water. The engine room is almost flooded in the tug. ‘There is still potentially quite a big problem with 200 tonnes of diesel oil and some heavy oils on board. Realistically now we're just trying to keep the boat afloat and hoping there is no pollution.’ | Engineers and seaman onboard the Christos 22 off the coast of Devon .
Damaged by vessel it was towing one mile off Hope's Nose in Torbay .
Tug was going from Germany to Turkey; eight crew members saved .
Moto Vessel Emsstrom it was towing became separated and later sank . |
175,871 | 6fa7a00c3ac11901abd3b978b9003f236584e2d4 | For the 160-plus inmates at the U.S. prison camp here, each sunrise brings a new day that most would rather starve than endure. For the American troops who guard them, each day brings a daily rain of obscenities and filth -- sometimes physical as well as verbal. More than a decade after the first inmates arrived at the U.S. base where prisoners from the U.S. war on terror are being held, Guantanamo Bay is a facility in crisis. From the 700-plus detainees it once held, only 166 remain. Of those, more than half have been approved for transfers out, but languish as the Obama administration and Congress battle over whether to shut down the facility. A handful are facing trial before military commissions, a process that has been criticized as both inefficient and unfair. "The commissions are a joke," inmate Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani wrote to his lawyer in March. "If you lose you go to prison for life. If you win, you're held indefinately (sic) for life." Al-Afghani has been held in Guantanamo since 2008, transferred there after being held by the CIA. The Pentagon said he was one of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden's "most trusted facilitators and procurement specialists." More than half are on hunger strikes. Some will take liquid nutritional supplements, but about 30 are being force-fed -- a practice condemned by human rights groups and the American Medical Association. The military has brought in additional medical staff to manage the protest. Opinion: Stop force feeding inmates . Most of the inmates have been moved to two blocks, dubbed Camp V and Camp VI. For the most part, they look like a typical civilian prison, with two tiers of cells that face out onto a room full of metal tables. The air conditioning delivers a chilly blast when walking in from the muggy tropical air outside. The detainees used to be allowed to live communally, but that ended after a raid turned up homemade weapons. Now they're held in individual cells with heavy steel doors. They're allowed to watch movies and even some news programs in recliners in media rooms -- with their feet shackled to the floor. They're guarded by Americans, some of them not yet old enough to drink, who face a daily torrent of abuse. "They use extremely vulgar language towards females, and I've had a lot of experience with that, unfortunately," said one young woman who serves as a guard there. "Especially Caucasian females -- they do not like us at all." The military would not allow her to be identified, and even her nametag displayed only a number. But she says she's 21 and has already served a tour as a guard at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In Guantanamo, the prisoners call her a bitch. A whore. A slut. But worse than the name-calling is what the guards call "splashing" -- flinging urine or feces on the guards. It happens to someone "every single day" for the last month and a half, she said. "They'll say things like, 'I'll piss all over your face,' " she said. "They'll say, Oh, you've had shit thrown on you, been disrespected,' or 'Nobody wants you, you're trash now.' " The cell doors have what are called "splash boxes" through which food is passed. They're designed to minimize contact with inmates and reduce splashing, but they don't eliminate it. The walls and floors are quickly scrubbed down, but bits of feces are still visible stuck to the foam ceiling tiles in the units. The young guard said those "splashed" -- and she's been among them -- are sent to the camp hospital, notified of any diseases their assailant may carry, have their blood tested -- "and then you go right back to work." The prison camp opened in 2002. President Barack Obama came into office vowing to close the prison camp, and told reporters in April that he still wants to shut it down. Opinion: Terror threat from Gitmo prisoners is exaggerated . "I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," he told reporters in a White House news conference. "It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us, in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed." But Congress has forbidden the administration from moving the detainees to prisons stateside. The administration halted transfers of 56 inmates from Yemen in 2010 because of what Obama called the "unsettled situation" in that country, an al Qaeda hotbed. A handful of the detainees have faced trial before military commissions. Cases are pending against a number of others, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed organizer of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. But they're progressing at a glacial pace, while some low-ranking inmates who pleaded guilty have been returned to their home countries. "It's a bizarre, perverted system of justice where being convicted of a war crime is your ticket home," former Air Force Col. Morris Davis, once the chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, told CNN's "Amanpour" program Tuesday. "And if you're never charged, much less convicted, you spend the rest of your life sitting at Guantanamo." Davis quit his post in 2007, declaring that the prosecutions of several suspected terrorists had become "deeply politicized." The frozen status of the detainees has fueled the hunger strikes, which grew from about a half-dozen inmates at first to more than 100 now. "This is kind of the only option they have left, to say, 'Hey, we're still here. We are still your problem. Are you just gonna let us rot in here until the end of time?' " said Cori Crider, a lawyer who represents several detainees. About 30 of them refuse to take even liquid nutritional drinks and have to be fed through tubes shoved down their noses. The American Medical Association has criticized the practice, calling it a violation of the profession's core ethics. "Every competent patient has the right to refuse medical intervention, including life-sustaining interventions," AMA President Jeremy Lazarus wrote in an April letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The Pentagon says the feeding program is lawful and humane. But Capt. Robert Durand, a spokesman for the detention facility, acknowledges that the options for the administrators are dwindling. "If anybody's had a can of Ensure or Muscle Milk, it says right on it it's not designed to be a long-term, sole source of nutrition," Durand said. "So there are long-term consequences of getting all your meals through a liquid supplement." | More than half the 166 detainees are on hunger strikes .
Inmates routinely taunt and splash guards with urine and feces .
Obama says he still wants to close the facility . |
128,966 | 32a487bd8f1b1869e3accafd6623d73a9233e541 | Japan has expelled one of its top swimmers from the Asian Games after he was caught stealing a camera. Naoya Tomita, 25, the 200 metre breaststroke gold medallist from the 2010 Games, could face criminal charges over the theft of the camera, owned by a South Korean media organisation, team bosses said. Naoya Tomita, seen here competing in the 100m breaststroke at the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea has been expelled from the competition following the theft of a camera . Japan's chef de mission, Tsuyoshi Aoki (left), and headquarters official, Naoya Yanagiya (right) were forced to apologise for Tomita's actions . Surveillance cameras at the Games in Incheon, South Korea, captured Tomita putting the camera in his bag on Thursday after watching his team-mates compete. Officials said he admitted taking the camera. 'I can't recall anything like this ever happening before with a Japanese athlete at the Asian Games,' said Tsuyoshi Aoki, the head of Japan's delegation. 'It is a violation of the most basic code of conduct. Tomita could face criminal charges for the theft of the camera, which belonged to a Korean media organisation . 'We offer our deep apologies.' Mr Aoki said Tomita would have to pay his own airfare home. Tomita finished fourth in the 100 metre breaststroke and failed to win a medal at this year's Games. | Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita expelled from Asian Games after stealing camera belonging to Korean news organisation .
The 25-year-old admitted putting the camera in his bag after watching team-mates compete in Incheon .
Tomita has to pay his airfare home and could face criminal charges . |
88,017 | f9c10fab8db210c07cf11ed7234356ec0438b5d9 | (CNN) -- Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal has announced he is retiring from basketball after a 19-year career in the sport. The 39-year-old posted a link to a video on his Twitter account that confirmed he is to hang up his boots. In a brief message he said: "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." O'Neal has been dogged by injuries in the latter stages of his career and played only 37 games for the Boston Celtics this season after struggling with an Achilles tendon problem. He returned for two playoff games against the Miami Heat but managed just 12 minutes, and he told an ESPN reporter that he didn't want to let Celtics fans down. He was quoted by AFP as saying: "I really thought about coming back but this Achilles is very damaged and if I had it done the recovery would be so long we'd have the same outcome as this last year -- everyone sitting around and waiting for me. "I didn't want to let people down two years in a row. I didn't want to hold Boston hostage again. "I'm letting everybody know now so the organization can try to get younger talent. I would love to come back, but they say once the Achilles is damaged it's never the same. I don't want to take that chance." O'Neal won three titles with the LA Lakers after forming a devastating partnership with Kobe Bryant, and added to his haul with a fourth in 2006 when at the Miami Heat. With 28,596 points, O'Neal is fifth on the all-time NBA scoring list and is second only to Michael Jordan on the all-time list of NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards. He began his career in 1992 when the Orlando Magic picked him first in the NBA Draft. The following season he was named rookie of the year. He took the NBA scoring title in 1995 as he led the Magic to the NBA finals in 1995, but they were beaten by Houston. He won the accolade again in 2000, when the Lakers won the finals. | Shaquille O'Neal announces his retirement from basketball .
Known as "Shaq," O'Neal had a 19-year career in the sport, winning four NBA titles .
He has struggled with injury and played just 37 games for the Boston Celtics last year .
The 39-year-old is fifth on the all-time NBA scoring list . |
234,472 | bb8965c562627628bc1daf5fefee896d38a831d6 | A senior European Union official met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday, amid an uneasy political stalemate after days of clashes between police and protesters. Opposition leaders have demanded the resignation of the government and early elections. Yanukovych's presidential website reported his meeting with Commissioner for EU Enlargement Stefan Fule but gave no detail of what was discussed. Boxer-turned-opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said outside mediation was needed if any progress is to be made in talks between the opposition and government. "International mediators must be involved in any discussion of the crisis in Ukraine," he said. "Yanukovych decided to declare war on his own people rather than stop the confrontation and approach resolving the situation with common sense. He tries to keep power at a price of blood and destabilize the country. He must be stopped." Yanukovych and opposition leaders held a second round of talks Thursday, but they broke up without a resolution. Both parties decided to keep talking, however. Resolving the crisis, insists Klitschko, hinges on talks with the EU, especially with Fule. "Yesterday minimal steps were proposed. They cannot solve the crisis. That is why such proposals outraged people. At first, they demanded Interior Minister Zaharchenko and (Prime Minister Mykola) Azarov's government to resign, but now the core demand is resignation of the President. But he pretends as if nothing is happening," Klitschko said. In a Twitter post, the EU said foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and a European Parliament delegation are also planning to travel to Ukraine next week. Meanwhile, anti-government protesters worked Friday morning to strengthen barricades set up in central Kiev streets and seized a ministry building, Ukraine's official Ukrinform news agency reported. Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said early Friday that if protesters left the street where the violence has been focused, police would not seek to prosecute them. He also promised police would not use force against those rallying in Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan. Police torture claims . Claims of abuses by security forces have emerged. A video posted to YouTube, showing a protester made to strip naked apart from his shoes and kicked by police as he enters a van, has been widely circulated on Ukrainian media. Ukraine's Interior Ministry has apologized for the behavior of those shown in the footage and says it is investigating the incident. A 17-year-old who says he was taking pictures of the protests, Myhaylo Nyskohuz, told CNN he was tortured after he was seized by Ukraine's riot police, or Berkut. "They beat me on my legs and ankles, they sprayed my whole body with pepper spray and made me lie naked and sing the national anthem," he said, looking battered and bruised. "They stripped me and took me through a live corridor of around 40 or 50 riot police, and each one of them beat me." Nyskohuz's arm was broken, and he was stabbed in the thigh. Meanwhile, Yanukovych told a gathering of religious leaders that police were acting lawfully. "Today, the law enforcement bodies are working within their power, within the laws that oblige them to keep order," he said. He continued to call for the opposition to "sit down at the negotiating table." He further said that anyone who had participated in rallies, but not committed a crime, would get amnesty. "We agreed yesterday that after the parliament adopts the law on amnesty, all the people detained in the course of these actions, including the radical ones, but who haven't committed serious crimes, will be amnestied," the President said. Prime minister: Officers told to act within the law . Prime Minister Mykola Azarov declined Thursday to apologize for the violence unfolding during the Kiev protests and told CNN's Richard Quest that law enforcement officers acted within the law. Asked about Nyskohuz's case, Azarov replied: "Well, first of all, the law enforcement officers were given instructions and orders to act within the legislation and not to use any kind of weapon. "They do not have firearms with them, and those preliminary actions which they have to take -- when someone is trying, for example, to capture government buildings and institutions -- all those measures are not just analogical to those used in all the European states." Police were merely responding to an effort to overthrow the government, Azarov said, adding that Ukraine was not in Russia's pocket. Nyskohuz now faces a series of detention hearings to determine whether he will be jailed for taking part in the protests. The Interior Ministry said Friday that 281 policemen have been injured since the violence erupted Sunday. And as the protest movement spreads beyond the capital, 58 protesters were detained in Cherkasy, a city in central Ukraine, during an attempt to take over the regional state administration office, the ministry said. 'No to his resignation' The protests flared into violence Sunday as protesters braved the freezing cold to voice their anger about sweeping new anti-protest laws approved by parliament last week. Hundreds of protesters heard directly from Klitschko after the opposition talks with the President, which lasted more than four hours Thursday. "He said no to his resignation and Cabinet resignation," Klitschko told opposition supporters. "It does not make sense to negotiate with someone who intends to cheat." The sharp rhetoric was echoed by the President's press office, which issued a statement after the talks. "Unfortunately, for the second time, leaders of the opposition refused to declare the statement condemning extremist actions," it said. The President's statement went on to say that "negotiations will be continued." Sweeping anti-protest laws . The clashes are an escalation of weeks of largely peaceful public protests prompted by Yanukovych's decision in November to spurn a planned trade deal with the European Union and turn toward Russia instead. The controversial protest laws have sparked concerns they could be used to put down demonstrations and deny people the right to free speech. They include provisions barring people from wearing helmets and masks to rallies, from setting up tents or sound equipment without prior police permission, and from traveling in convoys of more than five vehicles without authorization. The protests have unfolded since November 21, when Yanukovych changed his stance on the EU trade pact, which had been years in the making. The demonstrators say an EU agreement would open borders to trade and set the stage for modernization and inclusion. Ukraine's government says the terms needed to be renegotiated to protect Ukrainians better. | EU Commissioner Stefan Fule meets with President Viktor Yanukovych .
Teenager says riot police beat him, made him strip .
58 protesters have been arrested in central city of Cherkasy, Interior Ministry says .
A second round of talks between protesters and the government ends without a deal . |
161,016 | 5c28feadfdc281809578d8f4836092b0679d5097 | By . Kate Lyons for Daily Mail Australia . Prominent economist Jeremy Lawson has warned that the Australian housing market is overvalued . The Australian housing market is between 20 to 30 percent overvalued, leaving Australia open to an international economic shock, warns a leading senior Australian economic expert. The overvaluation of the property market is fuelled by policies that make getting large home loans too easy, leading Australian economist Jeremy Lawson said. Mr Lawson is the global chief economist of British fund manager Standard Life and a former senior economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the OECD and adviser to former prime minister, Kevin Rudd. 'Overall financial conditions have probably been too loose and that has undermined longer-run financial stability,' he said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review. He stated that the boom in the property market is the result of increased money supply through easy monetary policy and a reluctance of institutions to implement macro-prudential tools, which aim to mitigate risk for the financial system as a whole, which was broadly considered necessary in the wake of the global financial crisis. Daily Mail Australia reported on Friday that there are now 417 suburbs in Australia with an average price of more than $1 million, a rise of 33 per cent in just one year. Mr Lawson also said there had been too much of a focus on credit growth, as the RBA has repeatedly stated increases of over six percent per year is not a matter of concern. Instead he said the RBA should focus on the ratio of household debt-to-income, which has increased to over 150 percent, which is just slightly lower than just before the 2007 financial crisis. Scroll down for video . The former fire station on 154 Somerset Street in Richmond, Victoria, is on the market with a price tag of $2.7 million . The house still clearly maintains elements of its former purpose with its bright engine red garage door and the interior original-style exposed brick walls . The 370 sq metre plot also has a huge well-lit, private courtyard for entertaining . 'A high debt-to-income ratio leaves households much more vulnerable to income and interest rate shocks,' he said. Mr Lawson warned that the Australian economy was too closely connected to Chinese trade and if China were to experience a sharp downturn, the Australian economy would suffer substantially. 'The painful choices governments will need to make at that time will make the ruckus over the May budget look like a minor skirmish,' he said. He also warned that while Australian debt metrics were good, Australia's structural fiscal position has deteriorated significantly over the last ten years and meaning Australia is 'very vulnerable to the next big global shock,' which he said could come about due to the breakdown of the relationship between the West and Russia. Michael Clarke's Lilli Pilli home went under the hammer this weekend. The five-bedroom contemporary Lilli Pilli home offers incredibly expansive views of Gannons and Turriel Bay in Sydney's south . Clarke paid $2.87 million for the home in 2006 and has renovated it since . Michael Clarke and his wife Kyly bought a Vaucluse home earlier this year for $8.5 million . | Australian economic expert says housing market is 30 percent overvalued .
Overvaluation could make Australia vulnerable to economic shock .
Household debt-to-income ratio has increased to over 150 percent . |
148,220 | 4ba40ce57e9026e323dbee7a1101702f8d0b9daa | Washington (CNN) -- Dashing the hopes of Democratic lawmakers Sunday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman signaled he would oppose a health care bill that includes a proposal to expand Medicare to people as young as 55. The independent Connecticut senator has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, that he would vote against the Medicare at 55 proposal. He also said he would oppose cloture and work with the GOP if it ends up in the final version of the bill, two Democratic sources told CNN Sunday. Unanimous Republican opposition so far means Senate Democrats need all 60 votes in their caucus, which includes Lieberman, to pass the sweeping bill. Earlier, on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Lieberman and moderate Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska cited necessary changes to the bill before they would vote for it. Lieberman outlined steps that he said would ensure the bill passes the Senate with support from Democrats and some Republicans. Forget about the government-run public health insurance option, Lieberman said, as well as the Medicare measure that was proposed last week as part of a package of alternatives to the public option. Lieberman's other conditions were eliminating a government insurance program focused on home health care for the disabled and strengthening cost-containment provisions. "We don't need to keep adding on to the back of this horse until the horse breaks down and we get nothing done," Lieberman said. A senior Senate Democratic leadership aide told CNN that the "Democratic leadership was shocked about how strident Lieberman was in his opposition to the Medicare proposal when he went on the Sunday shows." However, Lieberman spokesman Marshall Whitmann said the senator first informed Reid on Friday that he had concerns about the Medicare 55 buy-in and "reaffirmed it today." Reid spend the afternoon trying to get the 60 votes, according to the aide, who said Democrats still believe the Senate can produce a bill by Christmas but acknowledged that they might have to look elsewhere for the 60 votes. Nelson said he cannot support the Senate bill without tighter restrictions on federal funding for abortion. The Senate last week defeated an amendment proposed by Nelson and two other senators that would adopt the tougher language contained in the House health care bill. A compromise on the abortion language is possible, said Nelson, one of 10 Senate Democrats who negotiated in private last week to seek a compromise to the equally controversial public option. The negotiators reached a tentative agreement on alternatives, including the Medicare expansion to people 55 and older who lack health insurance, as well as allowing private insurers to offer nonprofit coverage under government supervision. Their agreement, hailed by President Obama and Democratic leaders as an important step forward, still must be analyzed for its total cost by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Several Democrats said Sunday they would decide on the compromise once they get the CBO analysis. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, also on "Face the Nation," signaled continuing opposition to any health care bill even if Democrats settle their differences. "We do not believe this bill, this nearly 2,100-page monstrosity, is real health care reform," McConnell said. Most Democrats support the public option as a nonprofit competitor to private insurers that would expand coverage and bring down prices. Republicans and some moderate Democrats, along with the health insurance industry, oppose the public option, saying it would be a first step toward a government takeover of the entire health care system. The fate of the health care bill could hinge on the votes of as few as one senator from each party. If Democrats can get 59 of their 60 caucus members to support the bill -- for example, by changing the abortion language to secure Nelson's vote -- they can focus on gaining the vote of moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who has signaled an openness to compromise. If the Senate eventually passes a health care bill, its version will have to be merged by a conference committee with the House version passed last month. The final bill would then need approval from both chambers before going to Obama to be signed into law. The president and Democratic leaders have said they want the bill completed this year. The Senate would need to finish its work this week to leave a realistic chance of meeting that schedule. CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this report. | Sen. Joseph Lieberman says he expressed his opposition to Sen. Harry Reid .
Lieberman's vote on health care is crucial to Democratic hopes of passing bill .
Connecticut independent also rules out government-run insurance option .
House has already passed health bill; any Senate bill would have to be merged with it . |
67,394 | bf351d36b5a249606e2482dbe45dd9fe30ebf7d0 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Identifying the world's finest airports is easy. Hong Kong International Airport, Singapore's Changi and Seoul's Incheon have topped the ranks of airport awards for the last decade. Sitting comfortably? Not at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, ranked by some as one of the worst. These 21st-century airports boast the best shopping, classiest restaurants, as well as features such as indoor pools, orchid gardens, and free wireless Internet. See world's best airports . The world's worst airports, however, are harder to pin down. It's a crowded field to choose from and the choice depends on what you class as bad. See our pick of the world's worst airports » . If it's for danger, then Baghdad International Airport, in the middle of a war zone, should rank pretty high. Lukla airstrip -- gateway to the Mount Everest region in Nepal -- is also a strong contender. Landing involves a hair-raising plummet onto an uphill airstrip cut into the side of a mountain. On takeoff, the airstrip comes to an abrupt end at the edge of a mountain cliff. What do you think is the world's worst airport? Sound off below . Watch CNN's Ayesha Durgahee examine what it takes to become Airport of the year in Hong Kong. » . In 2007, TripAdvisor asked travelers to rank airports according to how easy they are to navigate, the cleanliness of the lavatories and parking facilities. Based on these factors, the 2,500 respondents classed London Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare as the world's most hated. Yet neither of these major hubs appeared in Foreign Policy magazine's review of the five worst airports, published in 2007. The list here included the likes of Mineralnye Vody airport in Russia for its feral cats and daggers on sale in the departure lounge. Charles de Gaulle also gains little affection from those that pass through its interminable terminals. As Foreign Policy says, "visitors to Paris should expect more than the grimy terminals, rude staff, confusing layout, and overpriced food." Where was your worst airport experience in 2008? Which airport do you think is the most dangerous, uncomfortable or aggravating? Sound Off below . We're also looking for photos and video of your worst airport experiences. Send them to the Business Traveller page on CNN iReport . Here's your chance to grumble. | Travelers rank Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul airports as the world's best .
Which airports are the worst? Send your photos, videos to iReport .
Crowded terminals? Terrifying airstrips? Rude staff? Sound off below . |
162,694 | 5e5640249812db689691a6e1f4c9afca1a182a0e | (CNN) -- Inside the Kansas City home that Jovan Belcher fled, his baby daughter wailed, his mother was in hysterics and his girlfriend was quiet. Barely breathing. This is what the NFL linebacker left behind on Saturday in a rush of violence that left many wondering why. Few answers came from 911 tapes released this week by police. But the tapes provide a heartbreaking soundtrack of the fleeting moments the morning that police say Belcher killed his girlfriend Kassandra Perkins and then later turned the gun on himself just outside the front door of the Chiefs' practice facility. Opinion: Manhood, football and suicide . "Oh my God. Oh my God. Kasi," Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, bawled. "The baby is crying ... Please get the ambulance here!" "OK, we're on the way," the dispatcher said. "We've been on the way the whole time. How old is the patient?" "Twenty-two," the mother said. "Is she breathing?" the dispatcher asked. "She is still breathing but barely. Please hurry. I don't know how many times he shot her. They had been arguing ..." the mother said. "OK, she's been shot?" the dispatcher asked. KCTV: NFL will provide benefits to Belcher's daughter . Then moments later the mother seemed to direct her shouts to the wounded woman in the home. "You hear me? Kassandra! Hey!. Stay with me!" "Ma'am," the dispatcher said. "Listen. Is she awake?" "She's barely," the mother said. "She's just barely. She is moving when I talk to her." "OK," the dispatcher said. "Oh, God," the mother moaned. "Is she bleeding?" The dispatcher asked. "Yes, she is ...." But the rest of what's said was obscured by the screams of the young child. A police officer gets on the phone and tries to get information about Belcher from the distraught mother. The mother did not answer questions about the whereabouts of her 6-foot-2, 228-pound son, a standout 25-year-old starting linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, in a voice rising as the moments passed, the mother begged for an ambulance. "Ma'am, the ambulance is on the way. What's your son's name? What kind of car did your son leave in? Or was he on foot?" the officer said. There was no response. "Sounds like she disconnected," the dispatcher said. "I wanted to give her some bleeding advice also ... Ma'am, are you there?" But there was no response. And all that can be heard are the screams of the baby. Strong reactions on football player's murder-suicide . | Police: Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend, with their baby daughter in another room .
He then shot himself in front of coaches as officers pull up, police say .
Authorities release 911 tapes of the day of the shooting . |
90,669 | 009e4205ffbd76387157a721863a86a6b6416d39 | Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond finally resigned as Scottish First Minister today - but will not be replaced until after cheering on Scotland against the English in tonight's crunch football match in Glasgow. Mr Salmond officially stood down in a statement to Holyrood this afternoon, paving the way for new SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to take over tomorrow. In his last engagement as First Minister, Mr Salmond will attend tonight's clash with the Auld Enemy at Celtic's Parkhead stadium in Glasgow. Alex Salmond delivered his formal resignation statement as First Minister of Scotland in Holyrood today . After standing down he embraced his replacement Nicola Sturgeon, who will take up her position tomorrow . During a statement at the Scottish Parliament, Mr Salmond said it had been ‘the privilege of his life’ to serve in the role for the past seven-and-a-half years. Mr Salmond received a standing ovation from MSPs after delivering his final words, before being embraced by Ms Sturgeon. He said: ‘Any parting is tinged with some sorrow, but in this case it is vastly outweighed by a sense of optimism and confidence. Confidence that we will have an outstanding new First Minister. ‘Confidence in the standing and the capability of this chamber, and most of all confidence in the wisdom, talent and potential of the people of Scotland.’ In his final words to the chamber as First Minister he said: ‘Can I wish every member of this Parliament well, and wish everyone goodbye and good luck.’ He will remain in post until the start of Holyrood's business tomorrow afternoon, attending his final engagement as First Minister at the Scotland v England football match this evening. It comes after a new survey put support for the SNP at 45.8 per cent, compared with just 23.9 per cent for Labour. It is the highest ever lead recorded by the pollsters Survation. The poll for the Daily Record will pile pressure on Labour leader Ed Miliband – after finding just 2 per cent of Scottish voters completely trust Mr Miliband. The SNP’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: ‘This new opinion poll giving the SNP our biggest ever lead in a Survation poll for both Holyrood and Westminster elections is enormously encouraging. ‘It reflects all recent surveys in underlining the strength of the SNP vote, and is a further demonstration that Labour and the other Westminster parties are facing a major backlash in Scotland.' England and Scotland will face off tonight in tonight's clash at Glasgow Celtic's Parkhead stadium . Mr Salmond announced his intention to step down just hours after losing the independence referendum. At a press conference on September 19, he said that at the age of 59, after 20 years as SNP leader and seven years as First Minister, it was time to hand over the reins. ‘My time as leader is nearly over, but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream shall never die,’ he told reporters at the time. Since then, speculation over Mr Salmond's political future has led to suggestions he will return to Westminster, and he is expected to make his position clear in due course. He remains MSP for Aberdeenshire East, but he could stand for a seat in the House of Commons at the general election in May. Ms Sturgeon will be formally appointed as First Minister during a selection process at Holyrood tomorrow, and will be sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Thursday. At the party conference on Friday, her predecessor hailed her as a ‘woman of extraordinary talent’. Mr Salmond said: ‘Nicola, your contribution to where this party now stands has already been immense. Your future contribution - I have no doubt - will be to make history.’ | Mr Salmond officially resigned in a statement to Holyrood this afternoon .
Move paves the way for new SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to take over .
In final engagement as First Minister he will attend tonight's football clash .
England take on Scotland at Celtic Park in Glasgow at 8pm .
Comes as a new poll puts support for the SNP at 45.8% to 23.9% for Labour . |
139,819 | 40c85ee520661737077e0137b49e166fe80ce2ba | Show of force: A police officer armed with an assault rifle and a baton gun on the estate in Luton . With a heavily-armed policeman guarding the playground, assault rifle at the ready, it could be the scene of a terror alert. In fact, this is a routine patrol just yards from a suburban primary school. The show of force is designed to calm residents of an estate plagued by gang shootings. In the past four months there have been nine gun-related incidents in Luton linked to the Marsh Farm and Lewsey Farm estates. In the latest, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the back early on Saturday morning. He may never walk again. The violence has left law- abiding families so terrified they welcome the patrols, even if they risk scaring children. Faye Bell, 37, a mother of two, said: . ‘The armed police might seem heavy-handed to some people but to us they . are hugely reassuring. ‘It’s very sad that it has come to this but we need the police to be armed so they can protect our kids.’ The officers, with a dog unit, have . been patrolling the estate near the rundown Purley shopping centre all . week. Marsh Farm residents told the Daily Mail yesterday that the armed . patrols had given them the confidence to go outside. Shannon Read, 17, said: ‘I don’t really come out of my house at all so it’s reassuring to know these patrols are here. ‘I knew the lad who got shot on Saturday so it has been even more terrifying recently.’ Darren Putney, 46, added: ‘Some of . the children on the way to school or in the play area look frightened. ‘But the police need to make their presence known.’ The officers carry Heckler and Koch G36C assault rifles with 5.56mm calibre ammunition that can pierce body armour. A boy walks past an armed officer as police patrol the Marsh Farm Estate after a spate of shootings . They were introduced in response to . the threat of a ‘marauding’ terror attack, like the one in Mumbai . involving a gang of men with semi- automatic rifles. The officer . pictured also has a Heckler and Koch baton gun which fires ‘less lethal’ plastic bullets. He is likely to have a hidden personal protection weapon such as a Glock 17 pistol. Parents in Luton appear resigned to . the patrols. Lisa Conway, 25, a mother of three, said: ‘A Taser gun is . not going to be enough when you are dealing with armed gangs.’ Bedfordshire Police have also invoked . Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, allowing . them to stop and search without suspicion. Patrol: Armed police with a dog walk through the Marsh Farm estate in Luton after a spate of shootings in the Bedfordshire town . Reassurance: Bedfordshire Police say the patrols will be in place 'for the foreseeable future' to ensure local people feel safe and to prevent further crime . Assistant Chief Constable Andrew . Richer said: ‘Obviously we are concerned that there could be further . incidents and we are doing everything we can do to prevent it.’ A judge at Luton Crown Court yesterday condemned the gang violence. Kyle Beckford, 22, was sentenced to 24 years for killing Delaney Brown, 19, by driving a stolen BMW at him last year. Judge Richard Foster said: ‘Gang . culture gives its members a sense of belonging, of self importance ... There can be no excuse for the men of this town to live in this gang . culture.’ | Bedfordshire town suffers nine shootings in four month crime wave .
Police say armed patrols in place for 'foreseeable future' to deter violence .
Officers with guns and dogs will also be increasing searches to find weapons . |
139,476 | 405ac2a73a470e2b26e06ee040314f565f31823b | Scroll down for video . A fashion model has filed a $1 million lawsuit against a New York restaurant, claiming a stone that was in a salad she ate three years ago continues to affect her career. Carolina Rommel claims to have bitten into a rock that somehow got in her meal at popular Manhattan eatery Public while dining there in October 2011. It caused two of her teeth to crack and 'abnormal swelling' to her face, according to The New York Daily News. Rommel - who has appeared in campaigns for Abercrombie and Fitch, Macy's and Levi's - claims to have missed out on modeling work as a result and has had to have numerous painful procedures. Damage to her career: Carolina Rommel, who lists her age as 27 but public records say is 34, claims that a rock in her salad at Manhattan restaurant Public caused her two cracked teeth and abnormal swelling to her face . Scene: Public restaurant is a trendy modern American eatery located in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood . Rommel's lawyer, James McCarney, said the stone was in a warm lentil salad. 'As a high fashion model, plaintiff's physical appearance is essential to her ability to work,' the Manhattan Supreme Court says. However Rommel's Instagram account shows numerous snaps of her modeling shoots. McCarney said that waiters apologized to Rommel and offered compensation. However they never followed through. The suit has asked for unspecified damages. On the job: Rommel claims the incident caused her work. Her Instagram and Facebook are full of model shoots . Unspecified damages: The lawsuit has not listed how much compensation Rommel is seeking . However McCarney said 'this could run into seven figures'. Public is located on Elizabeth St in Nolita. According to AOL, the restaurant's owner questions the 2011 incident, saying it's unclear whether Rommel bit into a rock or a really hard lentil. In December, a customer at sandwich chain Pret A Manger, also in Manhattan, came across a dead frog in her salad. Popular: The model has worked for the likes of Abercrombie and Fitch and Levi's . | Carolina Rommel said the incident occurred at Public in Nolita in October 2011 .
Was eating with friends when she bit into a stone in her warm lentil salad .
Claims to have undergone corrective procedures since .
Suing for unspecified damages that are likely 'to go into seven figures' |
155,793 | 5561665fc103006ca34b0265a23f439b35a3285a | Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson died while preparing to set a world record for the most successful concert run, but he unknowingly set another record that led to his death. Jackson may be the only human ever to go two months without REM -- rapid eye movement -- sleep, which is vital to keep the brain and body alive. The 60 nights of propofol infusions Dr. Conrad Murray said he gave Jackson to treat his insomnia is something a sleep expert says no one had ever undergone. "The symptoms that Mr. Jackson was exhibiting were consistent with what someone might expect to see of someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period," Dr. Charles Czeisler, a Harvard Medical School sleep expert, testified Friday at the wrongful-death trial of concert promoter AEG LIve. The symptoms documented by e-mails among show producers and testimony from his chef, hairstylist and choreographers included his inability to do standard dances or remember words to songs he sang for decades, paranoia, talking to himself and hearing voices, and severe weight loss, Czeisler said. "I believe that that constellation of symptoms was more probably than not induced by total sleep deprivation over a chronic period," he testified. Propofol disrupts the normal sleep cycle and offers no REM sleep, yet it leaves a patient feeling refreshed as if they had experienced genuine sleep, according to Czeisler. If the singer had not died on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic, the lack of REM sleep may have taken his life within days anyway, according Czeisler's testimony Friday. Lab rats die after five weeks of getting no REM sleep, he said. It was never tried on a human until Murray gave Jackson nightly propofol infusions for two months. Translating that to a human, Czeisler estimated, Jackson would have died before his 80th day of propofol infusions. Murray told police he had given it to him for 60 nights before trying to wean him off it on June 22, 2009 -- three days before his death. Czeisler -- who serves as a sleep consultant to NASA, the CIA and the Rolling Stones -- testified Thursday that the "drug-induced coma" induced by propofol leaves a patient with the same refreshed feeling of a good sleep but without the benefits that genuine sleep delivers in repairing brain cells and the body. "It would be like eating some sort of cellulose pellets instead of dinner," he said. "Your stomach would be full, and you would not be hungry, but it would be zero calories and not fulfill any of your nutrition needs." Depriving someone of REM sleep for a long period of time makes them paranoid, anxiety-filled, depressed, unable to learn, distracted and sloppy, Czeisler testified. They lose their balance and appetite while their physical reflexes get 10 times slower and their emotional responses 10 times stronger, he said. Those symptoms are strikingly similar to descriptions of Jackson in his last weeks, as described in e-mails from show producers and testimony by witnesses in the trial. Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live, contending that the company is liable in his death because it hired, retained or supervised Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. They argue that the promoter pressured Murray to get Jackson to rehearsals while failing to get Jackson help despite numerous red flags warning that he was in trouble. Paris, Prince Jackson testimonies shown in Jackson death trial . AEG Live lawyers contend that it was Jackson who chose, hired and supervised Murray, and their executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous propofol treatments administered in the privacy of Jackson's rented mansion. A very long question . Czeisler was back on the witness stand Friday to answer a question that was asked just as court ended Thursday. Jackson lawyer Michael Koskoff asked his expert what may also be a record-breaker in a trial: a 15-minute-long hypothetical question. He was asked to render an opinion based on a long list of circumstances presented so far in the trial about Jackson's condition and behavior, including: . • That Murray administered propofol to Jackson 60 consecutive nights before June 22, 2009. • That Murray began to wean Jackson from propofol on June 22, 2009, and gave him none of the drug on June 23. • That a paramedic who tried to revive him the day he died initially assumed he was a hospice patient. • That show producers reported Jackson became progressively thinner and paranoid and was talking to himself in his final weeks. • That the production manager warned that Jackson had deteriorated over eight weeks, was "a basket case" who he feared might hurt himself on stage and could not do the multiple 360-degree spins that he was known for. • That show director Kenny Ortega wrote that Jackson was having trouble "grasping the work" at rehearsals and needed psychiatric help. • That Jackson needed a teleprompter to remember the words to songs he had sung many times before over several decades. • That show workers reported the singer was talking to himself and repeatedly saying that "God is talking to me." • That Jackson was suffering severe chills on a summer day in Los Angeles and his skin was cold as ice to the touch. Lawsuit evidence: Michael Jackson lost dance moves in last days . Jackson lawyers revised the question Friday morning after AEG Live lawyers objected to the information about Murray's nightly propofol treatments, since it was derived only from the doctor's statement to police after Jackson's death. The judge previously ruled that statement inadmissible. Instead, they brought up evidence that Murray ordered more than four gallons of propofol between April and June, which Czeisler said equaled 155,000 milliliters of the drug. An anesthesiologist uses between 20 and 30 milliliters to induce a coma for surgery, he said. The expert testified that his review of Jackson's medical records convinced him that the singer suffered a chronic sleep disorder that "was greatly exaggerated" while he was on tour or preparing for a tour. Jackson died just two weeks before he would have traveled to London for the premiere of his "This Is It" comeback concerts, produced and promoted by AEG Live. A lecture on sleep . Jurors appeared quite interested as Czeisler lectured them Thursday on his sleep research, including an explanation of circadian rhythm: the internal clock in the brain that controls the timing of when we sleep and wake and the timing of the release of hormones . "That's why we sleep at night and are awake in the day," he said. Your brain needs sleep to repair and maintain its neurons every night, he said. Blood cells cycle out every few weeks, but brain cells are for a lifetime, he said. "Like a computer, the brain has to go offline to maintain cells that we keep for life, since we don't make more," he said. "Sleep is the repair and maintenance of the brain cells." CNN Health: Sleep . An adult should get seven to eight hours of sleep each night to allow for enough sleep cycles, he said. You "prune out" unimportant neuron connections and consolidate important ones during your "slow-eyed sleep" each night, he said. Those connections -- which is the information you have acquired during the day -- are consolidated by the REM sleep cycle. Your eyes actually dart back and forth rapidly during REM sleep. "In REM, we are integrating the memories that we have stored during slow-eyed sleep, integrating memories with previous life experiences," he said. "We are able to make sense of things that we may not have understood while awake." Learning and memory happen when you are asleep, he said. A laboratory mouse rehearses a path through a maze to get to a piece of cheese while asleep. The area of a basketball player's brain that is used to shoot a ball will have much greater slow-eyed sleep period since there is more for it to store, he said. Players shoot better after sleep. The Portland Trailblazers consulted with him after they lost a series of East Coast basketball games, he said. He was able to give their players strategies for being sharper when traveling across time zones. He's worked with the Rolling Stones on their sleep problems, he said. Musicians are vulnerable since they are often traveling across time zones and usually "all keyed up" to perform at night, he said. Czeisler developed a program for NASA to help astronauts deal with sleep issues in orbit, where they have a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes. Other clients include major industries that are concerned about night shift workers falling asleep on the job, the CIA, the Secret Service and the U.S. Air Force, he said. Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live should have consulted a sleep expert like Czeisler for Jackson instead of hiring Murray -- a cardiologist -- for $150,000 to treat the artist. The trial ends its eighth week in a Los Angeles courtroom Friday. Lawyers estimate that the case will conclude in early August. | NEW: Expert says Jackson could've died within days even without overdose .
Jackson may be the only human ever to go two months without REM sleep, expert says .
Lab rats die after five weeks of no REM sleep, expert says .
Propofol deprives patient of vital REM sleep, Dr. Charles Czeisler testifies . |
70,617 | c83981887f3c0f5124ec9bcbf6bc563003a68aac | (CNN) -- Yong Nam was appointed Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Electronics effective January 1, 2007. Mr. Nam honed his strong business insight during his 30 years of experience with LG Electronics, LG Corporate and LG Telecom. He is well-known in the industry for his strategic outlook, in-depth IT experience and global perspective. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Nam served as Head of Strategic Business for LG Corporation and was responsible for overall strategic business initiatives. He directly supported the LG Group chairman on a variety of business issues, including telecommunications. Mr. Nam served as the President and CEO of LG Telecom from 1998 until 2006. Under his leadership, the company's revenue increased five-fold from $560 million to $2.6 billion, subscribers tripled from 2.1 million to nearly 7 million and profits grew to around $250 million in 2005. He was instrumental in introducing the world's first mobile Internet service, ez-i, and in commercializing mobile banking service BankON, now the number one convergence service in Korea. In 1997, he assumed additional responsibilities, overseeing the Executive Office for Strategic Projects, LG's corporate-level new business development arm. Later that year, he led the Multimedia Division of LG Electronics as Vice President and transformed the division into a profitable business within just one year. Mr. Nam joined the LG Chairman's Office in 1986. As a Special Assistant to the Group Chairman, he ran the in-house team that drove change management. He also led corporate-wide efforts to achieve operational excellence and redefine LG's strategic direction. Mr. Nam's career at LG began in 1976 when he joined LG Electronics in the overseas business planning division. As part of this role, he spent seven years in the U.S. in several management positions centered on marketing and sales, which helped him develop a global perspective on LG's business. Mr. Nam is a graduate of Seoul National University, and is fluent in English and Japanese in addition to his native Korean. He enjoys golf, reading and hiking during his leisure time. E-mail to a friend . | Yong Nam is the CEO of LG Electronics .
He joined the company in 1976 and spent time in the U.S.
He speaks fluent English, Japanese and his native Korean . |
15,712 | 2c9a95c8e8f35f4ba5f87922727ccb87762807bc | (CNN)When nature calls for male members of the House of Representatives, they only have to walk steps to answer. But for the some 100 female members, it's not so easy. The women have to walk off the House floor, through what is usually a sea of tourists in Statuary Hall to reach the ladies' restroom. That gender inequality among the nation's elected representatives, baffled Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, so much, that she wanted to show us as part of her exit interview before leaving Congress. "You have to go not only through Statuary Hall, and you have to go through kind of an anteroom, then you get down to the House of Representatives. So it's quite a ways," said Bachmann, motioning all the way across Statuary Hall towards the House floor, which you can't even see from the ladies lounge. (Note: Another ladies room was placed closer to the House floor at the order of House Speaker John Boehner in 2011.) Bachmann is known as a hard charging polarizing conservative - not so much as a feminist wanting to shine a light on how far women still have to go for parity in politics. But she knew the whole story of how even the original women's restroom came to be - thanks to former female Rep Lindy Boggs, wife of famous former Rep Hale Boggs , for making it happen. Officially, it is called the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Congressional Reading Room. "They said well, there's a broom closet over here off of Statuary Hall, " she said, pointing to what is now the ladies lounge. The piece of history Bachmann says fascinates her is that the current ladies room room was where former President, Rep. John Quincy Adams died in February of 1848. He collapsed following one of his famous anti slavery speeches in Statuary Hall, which was then the House floor. "He'd been president, and he was asked to run for Congress specifically to fight against slavery. And he was all worn out, as most presidents are, but he was so moved by slavery he came back," Bachmann said. "And for over twenty years, he stood over here, and every single day he stood up with his petition to stop slavery. And every day he was booed down and hated, hated, hated by his fellow Congressmen. Until finally at the very end of his life, he stood up again with his petition, and collapsed." She said the couch where Adams died is still in the ladies' restroom. "He was laid on a couch that's still in here - that was the same couch, it's obviously been redone, and he laid here for three days. Well now the interesting story is, this was a broom closet that no one knew, but on the wall is a bust of John Quincy Adams. And it said that he was serving here and he collapsed, he came, and it told the whole story about how he died on this couch while he was in the midst of fighting for slavery. That whole story was lost until this room was recovered," Leave it to the women, Bachmann said, to figure it out. Related: Michele Bachmann's not-so-quiet exit . | CNN's Dana Bash spent time with retiring Rep. Michele Bachmann on Capitol HIll .
Bachmann gave a tour of the Capitol and showed how far women used to have to walk to the restroom .
She pointed out that John Quincy Adams died in what is today the ladies' room . |
215,268 | a2aabc0d29d529b396140c381c5db343c3d6ab41 | (CNN) -- When President Barack Obama proclaimed the fight against income inequality is "the defining challenge of our time," you might have dismissed his words as the effort of a struggling president to revive his political fortunes. But anyone looking at the relentlessly expanding income gap can see that the problem is real -- and it is serious. The economy is gradually recovering from the Great Recession, but inequality continues to grow. In the first two years of recovery, the net worth of the bottom 93% continued to shrink, while the top 7% grew wealthier. The richest Americans are taking the biggest share of national income of any time since 1928. Rather than dismissing Obama's call as a political ploy, Republicans in the United States and other conservatives across the developed world, should take up the cause and make it their own. Rising inequality is the proven enemy of stability. And nobody benefits more from stability than the wealthy. This is their fight, too. If trends continue, the well-tended sources of wealth of the rich could get trampled by the march of popular frustration. The signs are already here, in the United States and Europe. A sense that unfairness permeates the system is what fosters extreme views, erodes the middle ground, and makes it increasingly difficult for government to function. From Occupy Wall Street to the Tea Party, populist politics is creating gridlock and producing a government that cannot address the country's problems. In Europe, the perception of unfairness has fostered extremist parties, such as the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party in Greece, with alarming echoes of the 1930s. Traditionally, inequality is the kind of issue that receives attention from leftist politicians and is shoved aside by those on the right, who expect free markets to work their magic, improving the lives of those who work hard and, by the judgment of some moral gauge, deserve to be rewarded. But it turns out that the invisible hand of the market, as economist Adam Smith famously described it, may have developed arthritis in recent years. Obama is right when he says this is undermining the very definition of what America means. The U.S. was the land of opportunity; the place where you could succeed regardless of where you were born. In the old days, America was the place where you could be born poor and rise on your own merits. Today, incredibly, researchers say upward economic mobility is easier in Canada and Europe than in the United States. This contract, the "American Dream," has meant that the U.S. was not, and still isn't, a land that is fertile for those seeking to sow class warfare. America was never a place where people hated the rich as much as they wanted -- and often succeeded -- in becoming the rich. But the stratospheric rise of incomes at the top is not just an American problem. And the search for solutions is a global pursuit. This is a time to debate and innovate; a time to find the causes of this stagnation of the majority and look for solutions. Unexpectedly, sedate Switzerland has started experimenting with some startling ideas. When Swiss voters heard that the Chairman of Novartis, a large pharmaceutical corporation, was going to receive some $78 million in severance, they mounted a campaign to ban "golden handshakes." They resoundingly approved strict limits on compensation in a referendum last March. It's worth noting that CEOs in Switzerland make an average of 148 times what the average workers make. In the U.S., they make 354 times more, according to the AFL-CIO. The most intriguing of all the ideas will come to the voters next year. Under a proposal spelled out in a referendum, every Swiss citizen regardless of income would receive a monthly check of $2,800 from the government. The notion of a guaranteed income is receiving enormous attention around the world. The idea defies traditional notions of government assistance and means-testing. Instead of a giant bureaucracy and complex programs breaking down assistance for food or housing, the government would make sure nobody lives in poverty, and presumably dismantle a host of welfare structures. In theory, minimum-income programs would reduce the incentive to work. But when a small town in Canada conducted a four-year experiment in minimum income, researchers say poverty disappeared, graduation rates went up, and hospitalization rates went down. This is just one proposal, and one that focuses more on poverty alleviation than on inequality. And inequality itself, not just poverty, is a key issue. An unequal society distorts democratic principles. Financial muscle amounts to political muscle. We have seen it in the United States, where campaign donations are reshaping the political landscape. You might think this is a great argument for the rich to keep the system exactly the way it is. Ironically, however, wealthy businesses use their money for political power, but populist politicians are able to tap into discontent and gum up the works. The business community hated the government shutdown, but the angry base, particularly on the Republican side, supported politicians who kept the government closed. The wealthy are more powerful than ever, but they risk losing control of the system if they allow it to continue along its present path. Self-interest may not be the most admirable reason to fight for justice and a better life for all, but it may just prove persuasive, even if it means heading the call of an embattled president. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Frida Ghitis. | Frida Ghitis Don't dismiss Obama's speech on inequality as a ploy; it's serious .
Ghitis: The richest have the biggest share of national income of any time since 1928 .
Conservatives should make ending inequality their cause, she says .
Ghitis: An unequal society distorts democracy, causes instability, promotes extremism . |
42,074 | 76b82dd3a8b9309b4a3124088a2c9c9bf805571f | Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- The Dominican consul general Wednesday rejected the claim from an American church leader that she thought her paperwork was in order when she attempted to take 33 Haitian children out of the country, saying he had told her it was not. "I warned her, I said as soon as you get there without the proper documents, you are going to get into trouble, because they are going to accuse you, because you have the intent to pass the border without the proper papers and they are going to accuse you with kids trafficking," Carlos Castillo said he told the group's leader, Laura Silsby, during a meeting Friday. Four hours later, Silsby and nine other Americans were turned back from the border. They were arrested and taken to a jail in Port-au-Prince. "This woman knew what she was trying to do was not legal," Castillo said. A CNN reporter attempted to get reaction to Castillo's comment from the jailed Americans, but they would not discuss the matter, responding to questions by singing "Amazing Grace" and praying. Told earlier that many of the children had living parents, Silsby said, "I did not know that." She added, "In our hearts, our intention was to help children that had been orphaned or abandoned by their parents." But the interpreters the group had used said the conversations between Silsby and the parents in the Haitian town of Calebasse made clear to them that Silsby must have been aware of the children's status. Full coverage of Haiti earthquake aftermath . SOS Children's Villages, an Austrian charity, said that it has determined that at least two-thirds of the children are not orphans. Authorities on Wednesday questioned a Haitian police officer who works at the Dominican Embassy about whether he provided illegal paperwork to Silsby and the other Americans to facilitate their efforts as alleged by interpreters who had translated for the Americans. The interpreters told CNN the Americans met at least twice last week with the officer, at the embassy and consulate. "He told them that he could help, and he was helping them with some paper," said interpreter Steve Adrien. "We did not meet him in a police station, but in the street in a car." The Americans met again with the man in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, near the Dominican Embassy, the translator said. Isaac Adrien, Steve's brother and another of the interpreters, said the group came away from the meeting with a document from the embassy that the Americans took with them to the border Friday in their unsuccessful attempt to cross. iReport: How you can help . A Haitian lawyer representing the Americans told reporters that the arrests themselves were illegal and that their clients had only been trying to help. They are to appear Thursday before the attorney general. The group, New Life Children's Refuge, said it was rescuing abandoned children by moving them to the Dominican Republic, where it was building an orphanage. At least some of the group are members of the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho. Several residents of the village of Calebasse, more than an hour from Port-au-Prince, told CNN they voluntarily handed over their children after Silsby told them she would give them a better life. Pastor Jean Sainvil told CNN he rounded up 20 children from a camp in the Delmas neighborhood of the capital. "I just got the word out that I am going to look for some children to be going with a group of missionaries," he said. Some of those who responded apparently included parents. "One of them turned five children over," he said. He said no money changed hands. The group has no experience running an orphanage, has not registered as an international adoption agency and has not filed with the U.S. government as a nonprofit. Church pastor Clint Henry was unfazed. "I believe that the kind of knowledge that it takes to begin an organization that works that way was in place," he told CNN. "The kind of employees that it takes to successfully run an orphanage, those were going to be hired." The matter drew attention Wednesday from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "It was unfortunate that, whatever the motivation, that this group of Americans took matters into their own hands," she said. The number of Haitian orphans taken to the United States -- those whose approval and paperwork had been in the bureaucratic pipeline at the time of the disaster -- stands at 578, with 44 others processed and awaiting transportation, said U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. CNN's Dan Simon in Meridian, Idaho; Karl Penhaul in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Jill Dougherty in Washington; and Fionnuala Sweeney in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to this report. | Dominican consul general: "This woman knew what she was trying to do was not legal."
Laura Silsby, 9 other Americans turned back from border with 33 Haitian children .
The U.S. church group is being held by Haitian authorities .
Haiti and Dominican Republic share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola . |
119,036 | 25b7c515fe17d74c2319d1cb12b24794e79f99f2 | By . Chris Pleasance . Tory minister Baroness Warsi has warned David Cameron not to try to 'out-Ukip' Nigel Farage's party in an attempt to woo voters back to the Conservatives. She also defended Cameron's 2006 description of Ukip supporters as 'fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists', saying 'I don't think I could have put it any better.' She acknowledged that the Eurosceptic party has drawn support from both Tory and Labour ranks, but added that a 'chunk' of supporters came from the far-Right. Baroness Warsi, a Tory minister, has defended David Cameron's 2006 remark that Ukip supporters were 'fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists' Speaking to the Huffington Post, she said: 'We're all being much more restrained and much more diplomatic' about Ukip, 'but I don't think I could have put it any better than the way the Prime Minister put it when he described them many years ago. 'Nigel Farage is trying to change his party and how successful he is in that will determine whether the label the Prime Minister gave (Ukip), all those years ago, sticks.' The rise of Ukip has caused concern among Conservative MPs who fear that their party will be punished at next year's general election as right-wing supporters defect to Nigel Farage. Ukip's hard-line over Europe has struck a particular chord with the public, leading Cameron to offer voters an in/out referendum by 2017 if the Conservatives win. However, Warsi warned against such tactics. She said: 'The one thing that no party can do is out-Ukip Ukip to win those voters back.' Lady Warsi, who was replaced as Conservative Party chairman by Grant Shapps, also defended her successor over the recent 'beer and bingo' Budget advert. Schapps was widely pilloried after posting an image on Twitter claiming cuts to bingo and beer taxes would 'help hardworking people do more of the things they enjoy'. Warsi, who was Conservative party chairman before Grant Schapps, also backed her successor over the controversial 'bingo' election poster, saying he shouldn't be held solely responsible . But Lady Warsi said: 'I think some of the attacks on Grant Shapps have been incredibly unfair because he's been made to carry the can of decisions which probably involved a whole load of other people before that poster came out.' Reports have suggested that Chancellor George Osborne had signed off the image, but Lady Warsi said: 'Well, I don't know that...but I'm not convinced (Mr Shapps) should carry the can for this.' Warsi, who is a senior minister of state at the Foreign Office and minister for faith at the Communities Department, also acknowledged that politics has a 'women problem' adding that the number of female cabinet members needs to increase - there are currently five. She added that you 'need a mix' of people in politics, achieved by 'surrounding yourself by people from lots of different backgrounds.' Lady Warsi also offered her assessment of progress in Afghanistan - with combat troops due to come home this year. She said the UK was leaving Afghanistan 'not having achieved that we said we would achieve over a decade and a half ago, but leaving it a much better country than we found'. | Baroness Warsi has spoken out against Nigel Farage's party .
She backed Cameron's description of Ukip supporters as 'fruitcakes'
Also said a 'chunk' of Ukip's support came from the far-Right .
Former Tory chairman also defended Grant Schapps over 'bingo!' poster .
She said it was 'unfair' he was having to 'carry the can' alone .
Poster said 2014 tax cuts on beer and bingo were for working people . |
256,571 | d813d208347a628fa56a999f253db500e7c44f44 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 13:56 EST, 7 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:56 EST, 7 June 2013 . Children as young as four have committed offences as serious as vandalism, theft and robbery, shock figures reveal today. A Freedom of Information request has revealed the disturbing catalogue of child crime dealt with by just one regional police force over the past two years. In one incident a pair of four-year-olds vandalised a car - leaving their parents to pay for the damage. Watch out for the cute ones: A Freedom of Information request has revealed the disturbing catalogue of child crime dealt with by just one regional police force over the past two years. (Stock image) In another, a seven-year-old was responsible for breaking into a shed while elsewhere a nine-year-old was caught committing a robbery. But no children were charged as they were under ten and therefore not deemed criminally responsible for their actions. Instead child offenders are normally subjected to curfews or referred to youth offending teams. The . figures, released by Nottinghamshire Police following a Freedom of . Information request, show that 83 offences were committed by under-tens . between April 2011 and April 2013. No children under the age of ten were charged as they are not deemed responsible for criminal actions. (Picture posed by model) Officers were called to incidents involving 94 children - including some repeat offenders. Roger Hopkins Burke, criminology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University said very young children who committed crime could be influenced by older youngsters. 'I think ten is too young but the worry is people assume you do things under the age of criminal responsibility and you get away with it - but that's not true,' he said. 'Some children are out on the street without adult supervision. 'It is about upbringing and what goes on in the family home.' Paddy Tipping, Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire Police., said the force was committed to dealing with youngsters outside of the courts. He said community resolutions are used in the hope children will accept responsibility and learn from their actions. He added: 'I'm not sure these numbers are surprising, given the size of Notts. 'The fact that very young children don't go to court doesn't mean that nothing happens. 'We know we need to keep young people away from court using early intervention. 'The action of the four year-old is not as important as what the copper says to the parents.' Sergeant Deb Barton, from Notts Police's youth issues division, said: 'What we are doing now is going back with the children to their parents, talking to the victims of the crime and saying, "this is what's happened, it needs to be put right".' | Shocking figures revealed by Freedom of Information request .
Crimes include vandalism, break-ins and robberies .
Under-10s can't be charged as they are not deemed criminally responsible . |
243,338 | c6ed6c980118ca1caf62fc957072dc4e282d0336 | (CNN) -- English football club Liverpool apologized Sunday after an opposing team's player complained of being abused by supporters. Oldham's on-loan defender Tom Adeyemi was visibly upset after an incident during Friday's FA Cup third-round tie at Liverpool's Anfield ground. A statement on the club's website read: "Whatever the outcome of what is now a police investigation, all of us are deeply sorry for what happened on Friday night and players and our club pass on our sincere regrets to Tom Adeyemi for the upset and distress he suffered as a result of the matter at hand." Merseyside police arrested a 20-year-old man from Aintree on "suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offense" and he was bailed Sunday. Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was last month banned for eight matches for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, and his club made a big show of publicly defending the Uruguay international before finally accepting the punishment earlier this week. Chelsea and England captain John Terry has been charged by police for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand, and will face a court case in February. Before the arrest on Saturday, former Oldham player Reuben Hazell claimed on social networking website Twitter that it was a matter of racial abuse. "After the game I went into the Oldham dressing room to catch up with my old mates and spoke to Tom Adeyemi directly about what the altercation with the fan was all about. He said he was racially abused by the fan. This is FACT," wrote Hazell, who now plays for Shrewsbury in the fourth division, one below that which Oldham competes in. Adeyemi, who has Nigerian ancestry, is on the books of his hometown team Norwich but the 20-year-old has yet to establish himself at the Premier League side. His loan at Oldham is due to expire this month, and he spent last season with fourth division Bradford. Oldham captain Dean Furman said Adeyemi's treatment during the 5-1 defeat at Liverpool was unacceptable. "He was abused and I'll leave it to Tom and the police to investigate that," Furman told BBC Radio Manchester. "What happened should not happen in the game. It has been highlighted over the last few months and it is an absolute disgrace. " In a separate development, a 21-year-old man was charged Saturday with racially abusing former Premier League star Stan Collymore on Twitter. Collymore, 40, played for a number of top clubs, including Liverpool and now works as a broadcaster and football pundit. He also campaigns publicly against racism. Northumbria Police said Joshua Cryer, of Jesmond, Newcastle, was charged with "a Section Five racial public order offense and a Section Five public order offense." He was bailed to appear before magistrates on Monday January 23. | Liverpool apologize to opposing player abused in FA Cup tie .
Man arrested following incident at Anfield bailed by Merseyside police .
Liverpool Friday accepted Luis Suarez's punishment for racially abusing an opponent .
Man charged with racially-abusing Stan Collymore on Twitter . |
198,065 | 8c62c946fd7213fd426863c7317d391f90f2f29c | (CNN) -- It may not be scenic and showy like Sydney, Australia's biggest city, but Melbourne is arguably the most rewarding of all Down Under urban destinations. The Lucky Country's second city is home to the buzziest bars, quirkiest cafes, best restaurants and most eclectic shopping, not to mention a stunning riverscape. Here are seven compelling reasons to visit Melbourne, as rich an Australian treasure, in its own edgy way, as Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef. Wining and dining . Even Sydneysiders, as those residents call themselves, don't disagree that Melbourne boasts Australia's most happening restaurant scene. A huge melting pot of Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and other Asian immigrants has made fusion cooking an authentic local cuisine, and there is a plethora of affordable dining as well as fancier restaurants. As the food will never disappoint, head for one of the most hopping neighborhoods on any given night and hit the bistros du jour. There are great eats to be had in Fitzroy, notably Cutler and Co.; St. Kilda; Prahran; Carlton and South Yarra as well as in the little "laneways" of the Central Business District. Here, the Press Club and Vue de Monde in the iconic Rialto building represent the top-end aristocracy, and MoVida is a rising star. Picnickers, self-caterers and those who just want to ogle the world's most beautiful food should not miss a trip to Prahran market, also good for otherwise hard-to-find Asian ingredients. Retail therapy . Retail therapy is where Melbourne's neighborhoods come into their own. Sure, there's good fashion shopping in the city center -- notably Bourke Street, Collins Place and Swanston Street -- but much more eclectic offerings are just a tram-ride away. Check out Fitzroy's Gertrude Street and Brunswick Street and South Yarra's Chapel Street and Greville Street for cool, kooky, elegant and vintage finds, respectively. Expect to be waylaid by stylish housewares as well as locally designed garments and great accessories. A couple of names to look out for are Dinosaur Designs in South Yarra, where they make fabulous resin and glass earrings, and Market Import in Armadale for highly original decorative items for the home. Hit the Queen Victoria Market or smaller South Melbourne Market if you prefer to pick through stalls piled high with junk and treasures rather than browse shop windows. If the choice seems too overwhelming, narrow them down with the help of one of several savvy shoppers offering guided tours to small groups of fashionistas looking for the inside track. Art to admire and to buy . Art is everywhere in Melbourne, on the street as well as in slick galleries selling everything from newly fashionable aboriginal art to contemporary Western-style paintings, sculptures and installations. Don't miss the Blender Studios, a gallery and studio space dedicated to nurturing up-and-coming art. The National Gallery of Victoria in the heart of downtown is a great place to get an overview of Australia's fabulous landscape tradition, but you'll want to hit the sidewalks to see what the cutting edge is up to. The "laneways" of the CBD are the place to gallery-browse -- head for Flinders Lane and Little Collins Street, then just follow your nose -- and eyes. Gallery tours are offered by Jane O'Neill, whose Art Series hotels -- the Cullen, Olsen and Blackman -- are aimed at the arty set. But there are street art tours, too. Whether their schtick is old-school graffiti, stencil art or "paste-ups," Melbourne's street artists are pioneers, and you may need a guide to help discover their best work. Getting caffeinated . The whole sophisticated Italian-Australian coffee movement started in Melbourne, which has so many iconic cafes, there's even a tour devoted to them. It starts at coffee-break time, natch, and guests move from one temple of caffeine to another with a reusable cup, tasting as they go. Food always comes into the mix in Melbourne, where most cafes have some little gourmet goody for a crowd drawn initially by the best beans and baristas but often lured to stay on by a little bit more. For those planning their own discovery tour, award-winners include Proud Mary in Collingwood (duck ravioli), Dukes in Windsor (ham and cheese toasties), Auction Rooms in North Melbourne, the Final Step in South Yarra and Seven Seeds in Carlton. Take in the water . The Yarra cuts its way through Melbourne and has thrown up a fabulous area for both nightlife and daytime strolling and grazing along its south bank. The new South Wharf Promenade has become the city's hottest drinking and dining destination, where hot names include the Sharing House, Meat Market and the Common Man. Although Melbourne feels like an urban, land-locked city, it actually has seaside life, notably in the delightful old suburb of St. Kilda, an easy tram ride from the city center. There's an interesting juxtaposition between the old-fashioned kibitzing cafes of Acland Street, where European retirees chew the fat every morning, and seafront joints like the Stokehouse, packed to the gills after sundown with the young downing pizzas and homemade cakes with a few frosties. Enjoy the architecture . Who needs an opera house that looks like a sailboat when your cityscape is punctuated by the best of 19th- and 20th-century architecture? The charm of Melbourne lies in a profusion of wonderful old buildings, including Victorian and Edwardian bungalows with porches and parapets edged in lacy wrought iron. There are also magnificent art deco edifices, like the Manchester Unity building on Collins Street and the nearby T&G building at the junction with Russell Street. Melbourne's art deco glory days center around the city's 1934 centenary, which generated a building boom cut short by World War II. When peace came, many iconic Victorian buildings were demolished in the rush for the new, but important relics of the old glory days include the Olderfleet and Rialto buildings, Block Arcade, the Gothic Bank, Hotel Windsor and a whole slew of government buildings. Stroll the streets on your own or enjoy an art deco heritage tour. Enjoy the great outdoors . Melbourne is surrounded by beautiful countryside, from the vineyards of the Yarra Valley to the laid-back beach towns of the Mornington Peninsula. Popular excursions include the resorts along the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island, home to thousands of tiny penguins that waddle out of the sea to parade to their homes in the dunes as dusk descends. There are also koalas on Phillip Island, but these shy little creatures can be seen much closer to town at the Healesville Sanctuary, where they live in beautiful, natural bush alongside other iconic Australian creatures including wombats, kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils and the amazing duck-billed platypus. | Melbourne is defined by a melting pot of immigrants .
Check out the national museum and galleries dedicated to emerging artists .
Coffee fans can enjoy a tour of the Italian-Australian coffee scene . |
181,747 | 775188fa459b79bfb84d02fdc123341cf20cb624 | Mobile app developers are collecting vast amounts of data from children online, including a person's location and even recordings of their voice, according to privacy researchers and consumer advocates. A landmark 2013 law aimed at protecting the privacy of America's youngest mobile consumers hasn't stopped the developers, it has been revealed. Whether mobile app developers seek parental consent first — as required by law — or pass the information on to advertisers isn't entirely clear. An attendee pis pictured playing Fruit Ninja at the Panasonic booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - apps like this one collects information from the user for advertisers . But if you prefer to stay anonymous, your options are limited: Wade through each mobile app's privacy policies to make sure you are OK with the terms, or stick the phone on 'airplane mode' to shut off the wireless connection and risk losing functionality. 'Kids are such a lucrative market, especially for apps,' said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. 'Unfortunately, there are still companies out there that are more concerned about generating revenue than protecting the privacy of kids.' Americans have traded vast amounts of personal data in exchange for the ease and functionality of fun mobile applications on their phones. But how is industry using that information? Chester and other consumer advocates allege that fast food chains are increasingly focusing advertising dollars on digital media, targeting blacks and Hispanics. They also warn that data from phones can be combined with offline information like home prices, race or income in ways that could violate fair lending laws. A new site, PrivacyGrade.org, found that many popular kids' apps like Talking Tom and Fruit Ninja collect information in ways parents wouldn't necessarily expect. Concerned in particular about industries' focus on kids online, the Federal Trade Commission in July 2013 expanded the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, to require app developers to get parental consent before collecting personal data on anyone younger than 13. That includes information like the unique identifying device on a phone, a person's phone number or a device's location. 'It's upped the ante for companies deciding whether they are going to market to kids,' said Michelle De Mooy of the Center for Democracy and Technology. 'And that's a good thing.' But with the number of smartphones expected to reach 3.5 billion in the next five years, according to Forrester Research, the mobile app and advertising industry has exploded. Regulators don't have an easy, automated way of analyzing the hundreds of mobile apps popping up each day. Since the updated regulation went into effect, the FTC has brought about only two enforcement actions against mobile apps. Last September, the commission announced that Yelp Inc. agreed to pay $450,000 and TinyCo. $300,000 to settle separate charges that their companies knowingly collected information on young children through their mobile apps. 'Our ultimate goal is compliance,' said Kandi Parsons, an attorney in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. But 'that doesn't undermine our desire to bring cases against companies that violate COPPA ... where we find violations, we will bring cases against mobile apps.' According to PrivacyGrade.org, which is run by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, scores of apps that collect information are still aimed at kids. For example, Fruit Ninja collects a phone's location, which could be passed on to advertisers. And Talking Tom, where kids can talk to and 'tickle' an alley cat using the touch screen, collects a child's audio recordings along with other information that can uniquely identify a phone. Whether these apps would violate COPPA would depend on a number of factors, including whether and how they seek parental consent. But because these apps collect information in surprising ways, PrivacyGrade.org gave them both D grades. Outfit7, the developer behind Talking Tom, said in a statement that personal information and recordings are never shared with advertisers. The developer says its app also complies with COPPA by providing 'appropriate gate protections ... to distinguish adults from minors and restrict sharing on social media,' according to the statement. Halfbrick Studios, which developed Fruit Ninja, said in a statement that it planned to release updates to Fruit Ninja and other apps to increase privacy protections. 'Parents and players are understandably cautious about the privacy aspects of online games, and the way their data is handled,' said company CEO Shainiel Deo. 'Creating a safe and secure app is no longer enough to answer consumers' needs for assurance. Developers must also ensure that permissions are clearly explained and easy to access at every applicable point in a game.' | Many game apps aimed at children are collecting data from children for advertisers .
This is happening despite the landmark 2013 law aimed at protecting America's youngs mobile consumers' privacy .
Parents should check each mobile app's privacy settings or put the phone on 'airplane mode' to protect their children . |
58,096 | a4ae9888a833fb76387d57f0f1928ca85857c9be | By . Daily Mail Reporter . UPDATED: . 11:33 EST, 8 November 2011 . A teenage ballet dancer was fighting for his life today - and feared paralysed from the neck down - after being mugged in a street attack. Talented Jack Widdowson, 19, suffered a suspected broken neck in the brutal late-night assault. His family at his hospital bedside have been told that Jack may never dance again after the attack in which his iPhone was taken. Talented: Ballet dancer Jack Widdowson, 19, is fighting for his life after being mugged in Cardiff. A member of a ballet company in Bern, Switzerland, he was visiting his student brother in Cardiff when he was attacked walking home from a night out . Jack is in a critical condition at the University Hospital of Wales with his family at his bedside . Jack, a member of a ballet company . in Bern, Switzerland, was visiting his student brother in Cardiff when . he was attacked walking home from a night out. He was in the city's docks area when it’s believed his attacker ‘befriended him’ - and showed him a short cut alongside a canal. Police say Jack was attacked moments later by the same man on the canal towpath. Other late-night revellers found him unconscious more than an hour later and dialled 999. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Davies, . of South Wales Police, said: 'This is an appalling assault while . Jack was out with his brother. 'They became separated when he was . walking home when he was joined by an unknown man. 'He was attacked and . his iPhone was stolen and is still missing' Jack was yesterday in a critical condition at the University Hospital of Wales with his family at his bedside. His father Dr Julian Widdowson is head of sports medicine at Premiership rugby club Bath. A family friend said: ‘Jack is a lovely and gentle young man - we are praying he is going to pull through.’ Jack's family, including his parents Julian and Celia, his sister and two brothers, are at his bedside. His brother Mark, 21, is a student in Cardiff and had been a semi-professional rugby player in France. Detective Inspector Shane Ahmed said: ‘This incident is appalling and a full investigation is under way to catch the person responsible. ‘Our thoughts are with the family of the victim, who are being supported by a trained family liaison officer at this difficult time. ‘Although the assault happened during the early hours of the morning, there may have been a number of people out, on their way to or from Cardiff city centre. ‘We're appealing for anyone with information to come forward.’ Police want to speak to a man described as of mixed race and wearing a white-striped polo shirt with a dark-coloured motif on the left breast, blue jeans and white trainers. Inspector Ahmed added: ‘I'm urging anyone who may have witnessed the pair walking in the early hours of Saturday morning. ‘We also want to hear from anyone who spoke to someone matching the description of this man in the nearby area, to contact us immediately.’ Jack, of Farmborough, near Bath, Somerset, started dancing in his early teens and later graduated from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire. He went on to perform with London-based contemporary ballet the AD Dance Company and later became an apprentice dancer at Bern Ballet in Switzerland. Jack had flown back to Britain from Switzerland after making a successful premier in the lead role of his ballet company the night before. His doctor father came back with him after his show success and said yesterday: 'We were so proud to see him the day before the attack. 'He left school in August and was thrilled to have been chosen as one of the youngest ever members of Bern Ballet Dance Company where he had the privilege to dance one of the lead roles in the company's winter production.' Dr Widdowson said the family had messages of support and good wishes from across the world. He said: 'This is a huge comfort to Jack and all the family as he fights for his life. 'We are all appalled by this unprovoked mindless violent attack in this great city where I was born. 'We continue to be by Jack's bedside hoping and praying for recovery.' Dr Widdowson said his son was a 'determined and strong-willed boy' who had worked hard to make the best of his natural talents. He said: 'Jack is a very entertaining person who is very well loved by all who know and work with him. He has a polite and easy manner with a great sense of humour. 'Jack has always been a good sportsman and represented his school hockey and rugby where he played prop. 'Jack has always been physically, mentally and emotionally strong which enabled him to pursue a career in dance. 'It also helped to survive a near-fatal episode of bacterial meningitis three years ago, then make a complete recovery, persevering with a punishing programme of rehab exercises.' Jack left Tring Park School in June after studying science A-levels and a vocational course in dance. He was school prizes for contemporary dance and choreography. Dr Widdowson added: "We would like to thank the member of the public who found him and made the 999 call. We would also like to thank all the dedicated professionals involved in his care." In 2008 his father noticed he had a chest rash at home and immediately diagnosed meningitis. In an interview earlier this year Dr Widdowson said: ‘Jack had been at a party the night before. ‘At first, when Jack said he felt ill in the morning I just thought maybe he had overindulged at the party and told him to take a couple of paracetamol. ‘His brother Mark was home so I told him to keep an eye on him. ‘Mark then rang to say Jack was talking nonsense so I decided to drive home. I went upstairs and discovered he'd been sick. ‘He just didn't look right and when I saw a rash on his chest I knew it was meningitis.' Dr Widdowson rang 999 and gave Jack penicillin. Jack suffered from cardiac failure and went into respiratory arrest and had to be resuscitated. The family was given bereavement counselling in the expectation that Jack would not make it. Three months later Jack had recovered, except for a slight tremor in his upper limbs, which he was able to control through dancing. Dr Widdowson described his son as a ‘determined young man with the ambition, strength of character and talent to succeed’. | Family told Jack Widdowson, 19, may never dance again .
'Jack is a lovely and gentle young man - we are praying he is going to pull through’ |
5,518 | 0fae8999dbe2909b4d00411b7ece9f2bd2ccaac8 | (CNN) -- Amid growing outrage over civilian casualties in Syria, there are ever more urgent calls to aid -- or at least protect -- the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. There is renewed talk of creating safe havens and humanitarian corridors inside the country. And those demanding tougher measures are again asking why events in Syria should not prompt Libyan-style intervention by NATO and its Arab allies. In Washington Tuesday, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said the United States "should consider all options, including arming the opposition. The blood-letting has got to stop." So far, the international community's response to the violence in Syria has been limited. There has been diplomatic censure, with envoys withdrawn or "recalled for consultations," and Syrian ambassadors expelled from several Arab states. A growing raft of sanctions is draining the Syrian regime's coffers but only gradually sapping its strength. This is not a country that has relied on international trade for its survival. An Arab League monitoring mission is in abeyance, after a much criticized few weeks on the ground that drew ridicule even from within its own ranks and fury (for its perceived complacency) from protesters. And back in November, France floated the idea of humanitarian corridors that would be protected by armed observers -- while ruling out military intervention. So far the idea has not gained traction. None of this amounts to the sort of pressure that will make the al-Assad regime buckle, especially when it perceives as divided both internal opposition and the international community. Compare the situation to that in Libya -- almost a year ago. As then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was about to unleash his forces on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the world came together in the shape of the U.N. Security Council to authorize international intervention and prevent a bloodbath. The French and British were prime movers behind U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973; the United States an enthusiastic supporter. Russia abstained, but at the time its ambassador noted that many questions remained "unanswered, including how it would be enforced and by whom, and what the limits of engagement would be." Russian later complained that a humanitarian mandate had become a blank check in support of the rebels. Perhaps in part because of the bad blood over Libya, the world body has reached no similar consensus over Syria. Rather, the opposite, with some of the harshest diplomatic language traded for years. To the United States, the vetoes were a "travesty." German ambassador Peter Wittig essentially said that Moscow and Beijing had Syrian blood on their hands. "China and Russia will now have to assume that responsibility in the face of the international public opinion and especially in the Arab world, the Arab citizens and, of course, in face of the Syrian people," Wittig said. Beyond the rhetoric, the vetoes had a more practical consequence. NATO officials have made it clear that the alliance cannot act, by enforcing a no-fly zone for example, without U.N. support. Writer Derek Flood, recently in Syria with elements of the Free Syrian Army, says NATO officials envision no role for the alliance in Syria this year. But they have not ruled out a "coalition of the willing" outside the NATO orbit. Both Russia and China are wary of any international action supporting protest against authoritarian rule. And Syria has been first the Soviet Union's -- and now Russia's -- key ally in the region after Egypt 'defected' in the 1970s. As it has for decades, Russia still supplies the Syrian government with weapons. One Russian analyst, Ruslan Pukhov, told CNN: "Once the Assad regime vanishes, we have zero influence in the region." According to Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, al-Assad has ably judged the "diplomatic red lines" to keep Moscow onside. There have been no massacres on the scale of what happened in Hama 30 years ago (when thousands were killed after a brief uprising against his father's rule) that might have forced Russia into a corner. The persistent drip of civilian casualties over almost a year has not unleashed a tide of irresistible outrage. Last weekend's casualties in Homs, which opposition activists said numbered in the hundreds, may have changed that. But what can be done? In Bosnia, the international community declared "safe havens" for Muslims but failed to protect them. The result in July 1995 was Srebrenica, the worst massacre in Europe since 1945, when some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim civilians were killed by Serb forces. Havens are only safe when protected against superior forces. Others support Sen. John McCain in arguing for arming the fledgling Free Syrian Army. Anne-Marie Slaughter, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, told CNN that is "the most likely [option], that the Arab League countries, Turkey and probably NATO as well arms the Free Syrian Army, gives them the means to fight back. "But then you've got a long and bloody civil war," Slaughter says -- reminiscent of Bosnia. Analysts say that even setting aside the lack of international will, successful intervention in Syria would pose problems not present in Libya: . Geography: Most regime targets in Libya were close to the Mediterranean coast and within easy reach of NATO air bases in Italy. Even so, NATO warplanes flew some 21,000 missions over nearly six months to enforce the no-fly zone, suppress air defenses and destroy command centers and armor. Military analysts say that, while no match for the best NATO members could summon, Syrian armed forces are better equipped and coordinated than anything Gadhafi could muster. Neighboring states: Few of Syria's neighbors would likely allow their territory to be used to pre-position supplies or military units. Certainly neither Iraq nor Lebanon, both countries with their own volatile sectarian mixes. The Hezbollah militia, strongly allied with Syria, remains powerful within Lebanon. The presence of foreign troops on Jordanian soil might have repercussions for a monarchy that already has plenty of problems domestically. Using Israeli territory would send the wrong message altogether. That leaves Turkey, a NATO member that has run out of patience with al-Assad. Last month, the Turkish foreign minister compared the Syrian president with former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, and on Tuesday Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned al-Assad -- pointedly in Arabic -- "What goes around, comes around." Turkey has military bases (Incirlik, Diyarbakir) close to the border that -- theoretically -- could serve as staging posts for intervention. But even for the Turks, there would be risks -- including a flood of refugees and possible retaliation by Damascus supporting the Kurdish terrorist group active in Turkey, the PKK. Topography: Libya was flat desert; there was little cover for regime forces and most of the fighting was along a narrow coastal strip. "Target acquisition" was relatively simple. Syria's physical geography is more challenging; and much of its northern border with Turkey and Lebanon is mountainous, with few major roads. Getting aid into any safe havens within Syria would be a logistical nightmare. The opposition: The Libyan rebels, for all their military shortcomings, quickly grabbed a swathe of eastern Libya and major air and seaports in Benghazi and Tobruk that became their resupply hubs. The Free Syrian Army (FSA), at best, controls a few neighborhoods in Homs and elsewhere. 'The FSA has established very small slices of liberated territory," says Derek Flood, who has just left Idlib province close to the Turkish border. He says the FSA is poorly armed; he was told the price of weapons on the black market has soared, "with a used AK-47 fetching as much as $2,000 - $3,000." Flood says the FSA in that area wants a 5 kilometer buffer zone inside Syria to provide protection from regime forces. Crucially, the regime retains control of Syria's frontiers, and its armed forces appear cohesive, according to analysts in the region. There have been military defections, mainly of low-rank conscripts, but not of entire units with their armor. Against all this and the political risks of western military action in yet another Muslim country, some argue there is a moral imperative -- as there was in Libya and Kosovo (done), Rwanda (ignored) and Bosnia (eventually.) Writing last month in The Atlantic, Steven Cook argued: "If there is no intervention and political will to stop Assad's crimes remains absent, the world will once again have to answer for standing on the sidelines of a mass murder." Cook -- a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations -- asked: "At what point in the body count is international intervention deemed to be an acceptably worthwhile option that can have a positive effect on the situation? After Assad has killed 6,000 people? 7,000? 10,000? 20,000?" Scholar Fouad Ajami agrees, telling CNN's Anderson Cooper: "Not just the Russians and Chinese, shame to the rest of us. There's abdication elsewhere, by the Turks nearby, abdication by the Arab League and Washington. Washington spent an enormous amount of time chasing after the false mirage [that] maybe we can get the Russians and Chinese on board." Some also argue that, despite the price, there would also eventually be a strategic gain: a post-al-Assad Syria would unlikely be as close to Iran as is the current regime and might also deprive Hezbollah of critical regional support. Others see the risks of international intervention as outweighing any benefits, with the danger that civil war would inevitably spill into Lebanon. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice preferred tighter and more coordinated sanctions, saying that "our strong preference is not to fuel what has the potential to become a full-blown civil war" by arming the opposition. Diplomats expect a new "contact group" on Syria to involve at least the United States, France, the Arab League and Turkey. "We think that the Assad regime is on its last legs, that the pressure is increasing, the economy is crumbling," Rice said. Syrians may already be discounting direct intervention by the West. In one YouTube video uploaded Tuesday from Homs, a doctor pleads for help from abroad. But he directs his message to the leaders of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. | The United Nations' response to violence in Syria differs from its response in Libya .
Geman ambassador: Blood on hands of China, Russia .
Al-Assad has ably judged the "diplomatic red lines" to keep Moscow on its side, says Tabler . |
83,874 | ede76765d99a416d0a353c858267e0be3ce44f53 | Floyd Mayweather Jr has claimed he was justified in talking about his ex-fiancee's abortion on social media because they are too famous to have privacy. Shantel Jackson, the undefeated boxing champion's former fiancee, filed a lawsuit claiming Mayweather had publicly humiliated her by posting a sonogram picture of her pregnancy online and claiming they broke up because she had an abortion. In legal documents, Mayweather lays out his defence, saying: 'Both parties are public figures. Abortion is a public issue.' Scroll down for video . Floyd Mayweather says he was justified in discussing ex-fiancee Shantel Jackson's (pictured with Mayweather) abortion on social media because they were a famous couple . Miss Jackson is suing Mayweather over the post as well as claims he beat her and threatened her at gunpoint . Earlier this year, Miss Jackson sued Mayweather for assault, battery, defamation and invasion of privacy, TMZ reported, but he is now attempting to have some of these claims dismissed. Legal files submitted by the boxer say: 'At age 37 I am an undefeated boxer. I have been the world champion in five different weight divisions.' He adds that when he met Miss Jackson 'she asked me to help her become famous' and that her own claim to fame was appearing in seven music videos. Because of his high profile, Mayweather says he was entitled to post details about every aspect of the relationship, including the break-up, on social media. He adds: 'Both parties are public figures. Abortion is a public issue. 'A public figure involved with another public figure in a public relationship can expect publicity, not privacy, about why it ends.' As well as the offending Instagram post, Miss Jackson claimed Mayweather also threatened to post naked photos of her on social media if she didn't take down a picture she posted of herself with rapper Nelly at a basketball game in April. Miss Jackson said her boyfriend of seven years had embarrassed and humiliated her with the Instagram post . She also claims that Mayweather threatened her at gunpoint and demanded she take her engagement ring off . Mayweather (pictured fighting Marcos Maidana) says the pair are 'public figures' and abortion is a 'public issue' In a tearful statement in September, Miss Jackson said: 'I have been embarrassed and humiliated more than I can ever imagine by Floyd, whom I once called my best friend and fiance.’ She added that she finally left him after seven years because she concluded he was abusive and would not change. Mayweather served two months in jail in 2012 after pleading guilty to reduced domestic battery charges stemming from a hair-pulling, arm-twisting attack on his former girlfriend, Josie Harris, while two of their three children watched. Miss Jackson stood by him through the case and visited him in prison, but after he was released she was physically assaulted, her attorney Gloria Allred said. The champion boxer allegedly twisted his girlfriend's arm, choked her and snatched her phone. The lawsuit alleged that in April 2013, the 37-year-old star athlete assaulted his fiancée once again and 'bent her arm, restrained her, and pointed a gun at her foot asking "Which toe do you want me to shoot?"' The husband-to-be then allegedly demanded that Jackson take off her 17-carat engagement ring at gunpoint. The lawsuit also accused Mayweather of arranging to have over $1million worth of Jackson's property taken from a storage unit. | Floyd Mayweather Jr defends discussing his ex-fiancee's abortion online .
Boxer says couple were 'public figures' so had no privacy to be violated .
Shantel Jackson is suing Mayweather for the offending Instagram post .
She also claims he threatened her at gunpoint, hit her and throttled her . |
105,721 | 1456beeac5edb929c38bcb384fac6f80089f4e6e | By . David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 19:19 EST, 30 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:00 EST, 1 October 2013 . Disgraced Toronto mayor Rob Ford joined local boy made good Drake at a press conference on Monday to announce that the NBA All-Star game is coming to the city in 2016. Since allegations surfaced back in May that Mayor Ford had been filmed smoking crack, he has been taking every opportunity to try and rehabilitate his damaged image. A month ago Ford 'beat' wrestling legend Hulk Hogan in an arm wrestling match and on Monday he couldn’t resist the opportunity to be pictured alongside one of the city’s favorite sons. Rapper Drake and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford were pictured together at a press conference to announce that the Toronto Raptors will host the 2016 NBA All-Star game . Photo op? Since allegations surfaced back in May that Mayor Ford had been filmed smoking crack, he has been taking every opportunity to try and rehabilitate his damaged image . It was also announced that Drake has a new role as ‘global ambassador’ for the city’s baseball team, the Toronto Raptors, and he will even have a voice in rebranding the team. The hip hop star is well known for his ‘nice guy’ image which is at odds with a number of other rap stars – and even the mayor of his hometown. While Drake looked every inch the lady’s man in his blue suit, it was in sharp contrast to the rotund Ford who was wearing an ill-fitting suit and constantly mopped at his sweaty brow. Social media was abuzz with people who couldn’t resist the opportunity to comment on Toronto’s very own version of the odd couple. Hot in here: Drake's sharp blue suit was in contrast to the rotund Ford who was wearing an ill-fitting suit and constantly mopped at his sweaty brow . Anything for cameras: In August Ford took part in a bizarre arm wrestling match against Hulk Hogan . ‘Toronto may be the only city on earth where the breakout rap star has a cleaner image than the mayor,’ tweeted @goldsbie. ‘Drake is to hip hop what Rob Ford is to healthy living’ chimed in @dcos9. While @seanjunor added: ‘Mayor Rob Ford spent the day with Drake. An album full of content emerged. Thug life mayor’ It was back in May when allegations first emerged that there was video footage in existence that showed him smoking crack. His supposed dealers tried shopping the tape to news outlets including Gawker and the Toronto Star, but neither could come up with the $200,000 requested. Crack scandal: A still from the video that was shopped around to news outlets in May, depicting the mayor smoking crack. The video has since disappeared . Social media was abuzz with people who couldn't resist the opportunity to comment on Toronto¿s very own version of the odd couple . Eventually Gawker lost contact with the person selling the video and when they resurfaced the source said it was 'gone'. The match-up with Hogan back in August may have been one attempt on Ford's part to draw attention away from the video. Then came Monday’s press conference to announce that Toronto will hold the league’s annual showcase for the first time. Tim Lieweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said the team is in the process of planning a major facelift that will include a new look and new colors in time for 2016. Drake will be heavily involved in the effort, which is expected to take the next two seasons. ‘I’m really out here with the people. I’m in touch with what they want to see,’ Drake said. ‘I really just want excitement for this team. I want us to be one of the biggest teams in the league.' Lieweke called this the beginning of a 'new age' for the Raptors. But the Raptors have a long way to go on the court. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2008. Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Uriji, left, Hip Hop artist Drake, center, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment President and CEO Tim Leiweke pose with jerseys after the announcement that the Raptors will host the 2016 NBA All Star game . | Toronto Mayor Rob Ford showed up on Monday at an event to announce that the 2016 NBA All-Star game will be held in the city .
He shared the stage with Toronto-born rapper Drake whose 'nice guy' image and good looks were in sharp contrast to Ford's demeanor .
The mayor was accused of being a crack-cocaine user in May when a group tried to sell a video of him smoking the substance .
Monday's conference was just the latest attempt to rehabilitate his image following on from a photo op last month when he arm-wrestled Hulk Hogan . |
202,046 | 91911c7bf97b1855b0c81e479094763899d1a08c | The U.S. Vogue editor unveiled her debut issue of the magazine in November, 1988 . It had featured Israeli model Michaela Bercu in a pair of jeans, an item of clothing that had never been worn on a fashion magazine cover previously . Anna Wintour shocked the fashion world in 1988 when she put a model on the cover of U.S. Vogue in jeans. It was her debut issue as editor of the fashion title and it was bold move to team casual wear with haute couture. Now, Ms Wintour, 62, has revealed that the unlikely look came about because Israeli model Michaela Bercu had been too chubby to fit into the Christian Lacroix skirt that matched the top in the photo. Unique: Anna Wintour's famous 1988 Vogue cover (above) featured the first cover model to wear jeans. The editor has revealed that she only put Israeli model Michaela Bercu in jeans because she couldn't fit into a skirt . The editor, who served as the unofficial inspiration behind the The Devil Wears Prada, wrote on the magazine's blog yesterday: 'Michaela was wearing an haute couture . Christian Lacroix jacket with a beaded cross, all very "Like a Prayer," and stonewashed Guess jeans. 'The jacket was actually part of a suit, but . the skirt didn't fit Michaela; she had been on vacation back home in . Israel and had gained a little weight.' She added that it didn't matter that the stunning model, who is now aged 45, did not fit into the skirt. Stylish: The editor, seen above in New York on May 7, said that the 1998 cover broke all the rules . 'In fact, it only served to reinforce the idea to . take couture's haughty grandeur and playfully throw it headlong into . real life and see what happened,' Ms Wintour wrote. The ever-impeccable editor admitted that the magazine's printers at the time had questioned her creative judgement. They had 'called up and asked with some consternation, "Has there been a mistake?" She added that the cover image was so 'unlike the studied and elegant close-ups that were typical of Vogue's covers back then, with tons of makeup and major jewelry'. 'I couldn't blame them,' she wrote. 'This one broke all the rules.' She continued: 'Michaela wasn't looking at you, and . worse, she had her eyes almost closed. Her hair was blowing across her . face. 'It looked easy, casual, a moment that had been snapped on the . street, which it had been, and which was the whole point.' Vogue has just released its enormous September issue with Lady Gaga on the cover, which celebrates the magazine's 120 years in the publishing industry. Ms Wintour said that working on the new issue helped conjure up past memories of the controversial cover that helped cement her place of power within the industry. She added that the cover was interpreted in all sorts of ways at the time. 'It was about mixing high and low, Michaela was pregnant, it was a religious statement,' she wrote. 'But none of these things was true.' She continued: 'I had just looked at that picture and sensed the winds of change. And you can't ask for more from a cover image than that.' The editor is said to be working with Sarah Jessica Parker in selecting the actress' wardrobe when she guest stars on the forthcoming season of Glee. The pair were spotted lunching in New York together just days after the announcement was made. Ms Jessica Parker will play an editor of Vogue.com in the hit show's fourth season, which premieres on September 13. | The U.S. Vogue editor unveiled her debut issue of the magazine in November, 1988 .
It had featured Israeli model Michaela Bercu in a pair of jeans, an item of clothing that had never been worn on a fashion magazine cover previously . |
40,835 | 732825db32748079edd97e905c3d67b926b1457f | By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 11:33 EST, 31 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:52 EST, 31 December 2013 . An elderly woman has been taken to hospital with burns after a suspected gas explosion and large fire ripped through her flat in west London. The woman was rescued by two men who suffered from the effects of breathing in smoke after the explosion and fire in the ground floor flat in Chiswick just after 3pm. Firefighters evacuated 40 residents from the three floor property and a structural engineer is currently inspecting the damage. Scroll down for video . Fiery: A still from amateur footage taken of the blast in Chiswick, west London . A woman was injured by the explosion and taken to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London . A spokeswoman for London Ambulance . Service confirmed that two men were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but did not go to hospital. There were no other injuries reported. Three crews were sent to the scene along with the air ambulance and a hazardous area response team, she added. London Air Ambulance earlier tweeted: 'Our . advanced trauma doctor and paramedic have been dispatched to an . explosion in Chiswick and are still on scene.' A spokeswoman for London Fire Brigade said a 'large fire' at a five room flat was being tackled by around 30 firefighters and the incident is ongoing. 'Initial reports suggested an explosion but we are still investigating,' the spokeswoman added. A fire crew outside the burning flat in Chiswick, West London, posted by Twitter user Benjamin Garside . Firefighters say the fire is now under control and an investigation is now underway . Three crews were sent to the scene along with the air ambulance and a hazardous area response team . Six fire engines were sent to the residential address following the call at 2.56pm, she said. The London Fire Brigade reported on Twitter: '30 firefighters are at the scene of a ground floor flat fire on Edensor Gardens in Chiswick. A woman has been rescued by a member of public. 'The fire in Chiswick is under control. A woman has been taken to hospital. The cause of the fire & possible explosion is under investigation. 'Around 40 people have been evacuated from the block of flats on Edensor Gardens. Structural engineer is on site assessing.' Meanwhile, earlier today a woman died following an explosion at a house in Crawley, West Sussex. Emergency services were called to a residential street at 12.30pm. Sussex Police said a woman in her 50s was treated by paramedics but died at the scene in Banks Road in the Pound Hill area of the town. The air ambulance at the scene. It is believed a five room flat was the site of the blast . A spokesman for Sussex Police said that it was not yet clear what had caused the explosion but that foul play had been ruled out. 'Damage is confined to the interior of the house and no other premises are affected," said the spokesman. 'A woman aged in her 50s was taken from the house, treated by paramedics but has sadly died at the scene shortly afterwards. There was not believed to have been anyone else in the house.' Police threw up a cordon around the danmaged house and closed nearby roads to allow emergency services access to the area and for the scene to be examined by forensic specialists. The body of the woman, who has not yet been named, was taken to a nearby hospital mortuary where a post-mortem examination was expected to be carried out tomorrow to establish the exact cause of death. An inquest was also expected to be opened and adjourned later in the week, to allow further inquiries into the tragedy to be completed. | An elderly woman was injured in the blast at a block of flats in Chiswick .
Two men suffered smoke inhalation after rescuing her just after 3pm .
Earlier today a woman died following an explosion in Crawley, West Sussex . |
122,752 | 2aa7c8da4e78e66b814ba018d38f29999e60de6d | Ian Thorpe, the five-time Olympic swimming champion, is gay. He came out during an emotional interview with Sir Michael Parkinson broadcast in Australia on Sunday. It turns out one of the most successful blokes in Australian sporting history likes other blokes. Whoever would have thought it? I bumped into Thorpe at the BBC’s Olympic Park studio during London 2012. He was an excellent pundit — knowledgeable, respected and flamboyantly over the top in his enthusiasm. Someone was complimenting presenter Gabby Logan on the handbag that was lying around the green room. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Thorpe open up in an exclusive interview with Parkinson . Bold announcent: Ian Thorpe revealed that he is gay during an interview broadcasted on Sunday . ‘Oh that’s not Gabby’s,’ said the make-up lady. ‘It’s Thorpey’s.’ We all smiled. Of course it was. The reaction to Thorpe’s interview has been similar: overwhelmingly positive and supportive, thank goodness, but underpinned by a shrug of the shoulders. Thorpe has not announced his sexuality, but merely confirmed what everyone thought they knew. It’s more revealing that the 31-year-old had to wait until his competitive career was over to reveal the blindingly obvious. Thorpe claimed he was heterosexual as recently as his 2012 autobiography and only now, after battling depression, has he felt able to admit the truth. A reported £220,000 incentive for joining Australia’s Channel 10, with the interview no doubt timed to attract maximum publicity just before the start of the Commonwealth Games, perhaps provided the final nudge. It is telling, though, that this acutely personal journey has taken so long to reach its public conclusion. All smiles: Thorpe (right) revealed his sexuality in a TV interview with Sir Michael Parkinson (left) Thorpe told lie upon lie until the web of deceit was too tightly spun for the truth to shine through. ‘What happened was I felt the lie had become so big that I didn’t want people to question my integrity,’ he said. ‘A little bit of ego comes into this. I didn’t want people to question that... have I lied about everything?’ Thorpe’s hesitance to tell the truth is understandable. He was only 15 when he won his first World Championship gold medal and soon he was too famous and too deep in denials to go back on his word. Don’t forget, he lives in a world where an Aussie rules commentator, Brian Taylor, feels able to use the phrase ‘big poofter’ on national television and then only offer a half-hearted apology at half-time. Ruthless: Parkinson (left) did not hold back when he sat down with former Olympic swimmer Thorpe (right) No holds barred! The tell-all interview aired on Sunday on Australian channel Network Ten . Our default position to describe athletes who do decide to talk about their sexuality is still to call them ‘brave’ or ‘courageous’, simply because they are still in the overwhelming minority. This is lazy and slightly patronising, because the many who remain silent are not weak, they are just more private individuals. Athletes do not have a responsibility to talk about their sexuality; only an obligation to do their job to the best of their ability — by winning matches or medals or whatever it happens to be. They have to do whatever is best for them during their short careers. If that does not include pandering to public interest about their sexual orientation, then so be it. Sport does, however, give athletes the opportunity and the platform to discuss their sexuality if they so wish; to become instant role models for youngsters who might be wrestling with the same feelings themselves. Nobody is saying it will be easy, particularly for a young man or woman already dealing with the pressures of sporting fame and fortune. Yet Thorpe turned down that chance, time and time again. He did not feel ready or able to seize it. The fact he finally has, after more than a decade as a public figure, makes it crass to simply shrug our shoulders and say ‘so what?’. Overnight, Thorpe has become Australia’s most successful gay swimmer. Or, to put it a better way, we can finally see Australia’s most successful swimmer in his true light. A good get! 'Ian has always been near the top of my list to interview,' Parkinson said . American hurdler Queen Harrison, 25, provided not one but two of the best quotes of the Glasgow Grand Prix this weekend.‘Every time I race I go out there to have FUN, run FAST, and look FABULOUS!’ she said, adding: ‘I think the UK crowds love me because my name is Queen.’ Brilliantly bonkers. Great Britain’s Under 20 basketball team progressed from the group stage of the European Championships for the first time — a huge achievement for a developing team sport shockingly bereft of elite-level funding. Meanwhile, the Government is apparently too busy handing over £7.5m to help set up GB’s America’s Cup team to notice. | Ian Thorpe reveals he's gay in interview with Sir Michael Parkinson .
Thorpe claimed he was heterosexual in his 2012 autobiography .
The 31-year-old Australian swimmer battled against depression . |
167,306 | 64617b7aa0a5a8821b849b419a5b662ff8eaf872 | Conakry, Guinea (CNN) -- Guinea's Supreme Court has ruled Alpha Conde the winner of a November 7 presidential runoff election, the court's president announced Friday in the country's capital city. The ruling wraps up a two-year transition to civilian rule after a military junta took power in December 2008. Provisional results that had been released by the west African country's electoral commission on November 15 put Conde ahead of his rival, Cellou Dalein Diallo, with 52.5 percent of the vote. The Supreme Court took two weeks deliberating fraud charges from both sides before upholding the provisional results of what has been viewed as Guinea's most democratic and transparent election in its 52-year history. "Mister Alpha Conde, having obtained 52.52 percent of ballots cast, is elected President of the Republic of Guinea," Mamadou Sylla, president of the Supreme Court announced to reporters at the Supreme Court office in Conakry shortly after midnight. Upon announcement, representatives from Conde's party rejoiced and cheered their victory but expressed their desire to repair the damages of a polarizing campaign marred by violence and intimidation. "We ask all Guineans to lend a hand so that together...we can participate in the moral, physical, institutional and political reconstruction of our country," Kiridi Bangoura, Conde's campaign director told reporters. Diallo, who had previously rejected the results--alleging the election was riddled with fraud that prevented his victory--took on a more conciliatory tone after the verdict. "Since the Supreme Court decision allows for no appeals, we can only accept the verdict given by the highest judiciary institution of the republic," Diallo told reporters at his home on Friday. The provisional results were met by riots and violence around the country. The prime minister subsequently declared a national state of emergency to deal with the violence. Analysts are worried about the potential of violence in Guinea spreading to neighboring Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, all of which are recovering from civil wars. Fighting broke out in the eastern Sierra Leone town of Kenema between Peul and Malinke after the Guinea election results were announced. "Sierra Leone and Guinea are only divided by what you call colonial boundaries between us. Most of the major ethnic tribes here you find in Sierra Leone also," Adikalie Foday Sumah, ambassador of Sierra Leone to Guinea told CNN recently, adding that ethnic tensions can easily spread across porous borders. The court decision on the election -- which was deemed "credible and transparent" by European Union representatives -- surprised few in Guinea's sprawling seaside capital. The new president--a 72-year old former lecturer at Sorbonne University in Paris--will face immense challenges ranging from creating employment to reforming the notoriously corrupt and abusive army in a country sharply divided along ethnic lines. | The decision ends a contentious post-election period that was marked with violence'
The Supreme Court in Guinea takes two weeks to make its decision .
Cellou Dalein Diallo, the challenger, concedes defeat . |
240,548 | c36491a8ccf4c6d3cf7f95dd7c50d8df2d833938 | Maria Sharapova had hardly stepped off court after her stunning triumph at Wimbledon 10 years ago when the phone of her long-time agent and business mentor Max Eisenbud started ringing off the hook. A star was born, one with a golden combination. Talented, articulate, driven and extremely photogenic — small wonder that the queue of potential sponsors equalled the line of those seeking her autograph. Eisenbud recalls how they took a hard-headed view: ‘After she won Wimbledon, her life changed. We were offered everything going but we didn’t want Maria to end up like Anna Kournikova.’ Scroll down for videos... It girl: Maria Sharapova has become a business marvel worth an estimated $150million . Golden girl: Maria Sharapova won the 2004 Wimbledon Championships as a 17-year-old . Ten years on, that appears to have been a wise course of action. Sharapova, while curiously not having added to her Wimbledon tally, is still winning Grand Slam titles but has also acquired riches beyond most athletes’ dreams. Kournikova, meanwhile, is largely forgotten. Only two weeks ago, Sharapova was posing with her second French Open title in front of the Eiffel Tower. She couples this with topping the Forbes list of highest earning female athletes. The 27-year-old Russian’s net worth is estimated at $150million (£88m) and her annual earnings at around $27m (£15.9m). Her dual success on and off the court is a phenomenon. As Sharapova admits, she had little idea what that 2004 triumph at the All England Club would bring. ‘At 17 you’re not too business- savvy,’ she tells me in her calm, matter-of-fact way. ‘My parents helped me and their support and understanding kept me realistic. ‘I lived in a very real world. I had just won Wimbledon but you go back to Florida and the barista is still making the coffee. One of the reasons I have been able to keep that success and carry on with all the things I do is that I love going on the court and love competing. ‘But I also have opportunities to do things that make me happy. If you don’t have that passion you are never going to be really successful. Things are always going to be a drag and pull you in so many directions when you are a 17-year-old who has won Wimbledon.’ Largely forgotten: Maria Sharapova's manager didn't want her going the same way as Anna Kournikova . French fancy: Maria Sharapova has won five Grand Slams including the 2014 French Open (above) Eisenbud played tennis on the American college circuit and graduated to become the manager of IMG’s junior talent programme. ‘I saw her play for the first time at Bradenton (Nick Bollettieri’s academy), aged nine,’ he says. ‘It was like when you look at that video of the young Tiger Woods. She practised non-stop for an hour and a half and didn’t even drink any water.’ He remains her manager and has helped her launch Sugarpova, her own sweets (Sharapova responds to questions about whether she should be promoting sugar products with the same disdain that meets inquiries about whether the yelp she lets out when hitting the ball is an attractive trait). ‘For the last four to five years she has wanted to own something herself,’ says Eisenbud of the burgeoning Sugarpova project. ‘We talked to a guy called Jeff Rubin who owns a successful candy business. He kind of blurted out ‘Sugarpova’ over dinner one night. ‘Maria is great at compartmentalising the tennis stuff and all the stuff off the court. She is going to be very successful in business when she is done playing. When she has 300 days per year to devote to it, it will be good, and she is putting all the foundations in.’ Eye of the tiger: While the Russian enjoys business opportunities, nothing rivals competing on the court . Sweet tooth: Business savvy Maria Sharapova has recntly branched out with her own line of confectionery . Asked when that day might come, he replies: ‘About four or five years, it could be less.’Sharapova has suffered injuries and gone through dips in form. Yet her love of competing sees her address her on-court career with an ability to shut out distractions. Eisenbud makes an interesting observation about how she maintains such focus: ‘Most of her friends are not in tennis. Some players meet someone for the first time and the next thing you know they are in their player box. But in there you want people who have been working with you in the trenches. She is firm about that.’ It was notable in Paris that Sharapova’s entourage amounted to three, no more than when she won Wimbledon 10 years ago. Her first time at SW19 was in 2002, when she lost the Wimbledon junior final: ‘I remember the junior final was on the Sunday, after the men had finished. I was one of the last people leaving and it was quite late and nearly dark, a bit eerie. Trappings of fame: Maria Sharapova is collected for the WTA party by F1 driver Mark Webber in a Porsche . Love match: Maria Sharapova is going out with fellow tennis professional Grigor Dimitrov . ‘I was driving away and thinking how special it is. I was upset because I’d lost and I was thinking about the match, but I looked back and thought, “How beautiful is this”, and that I couldn’t wait to be back and I’d really like to win it. ‘In 2004 it was a bit of a mess because our housing situation didn’t work out,’ she recalls. ‘We ended up staying with a family with three young kids. There were a lot of 6am wake-up calls from the kids. I still wonder how I coped and the morning after the final just holding my replica trophy with them in their garden like it was no big deal. ‘The final was surreal, something that as a young player you think of as the Mecca of tennis. I had horse blinders on, I didn’t think about anything. That’s why I was fearless. I took it as if I was playing on court No 20, although I was on Centre Court in front of thousands of people playing for the championship. No fear: Maria Sharapova remembers playing without worry when she won Wimbledon in 2004 . Early shower: Maria Sharapova crashed out in the second round of the Championships last year . ‘I’d got to the quarter-finals a couple of weeks before in Paris and that was a thrill for me. And with every match at Wimbledon I felt I was playing better. I remember the match against (Daniela) Hantuchova was one of my best. I got that form and didn’t let it drop. ‘Playing Serena in the final, it had been an accomplishment getting there, and I just went with it.’It is a surprise to her that she has not won again at the All England Club, but twice in Paris on clay to add to US and Australian Open titles, which for years her movement looked so unsuited for. It seems hard to believe that it was all 10 summers ago. ‘If somebody had asked me then if I would win all four Slams and be No 1, I don’t think I would believe it, because you almost believe at 17 that everything is such big luck,’ she says. ‘But here I am.’ | Maria Sharapova first won Wimbledon in 2004 as a 17-year-old .
Since then he net work has been estimated at $150m (£88m)
Sharapova has win five Grand Slams including the 2014 French Open .
Business savvy Rusian has launched her own confectionery brand . |
217,439 | a580ef19f927e42ec8970fd2d54eb6af7e13c5e3 | Rason, North Korea (CNN) -- As the sole Western journalist covering a unique bicycle race in North Korea last month, I was provided with a personal guide, a car with a driver and the promise that I was free to take any photographs I wanted. As a journalist, it seemed like an incredible opportunity to document a small snapshot of what North Korea was really like. However, the promise turned out not to be completely true. At the border, before going back to China, a group of security guards confiscated my camera and erased all images they thought were inappropriate, or did not portray the country in a favorable light. The North Korea I wasn't meant to see . But with the help of a computer expert in Hong Kong, I managed to get all the pictures back. Officially, I only had two restrictions to obey during my trip: No photos of the military or military facilities and all shots of portraits of Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il had to show their entire figures. And I was under no circumstances allowed to walk off alone. My guide, Ko Chang Ho, was surprisingly friendly and talkative. Contrary to the propaganda machine I was expecting, the 42-year-old father of two talked at length about his days as an English student in Pyongyang and his interest in international literature. His favorite author was William Shakespeare; the last book he read was Sir Walter Scott's classic novel, "Ivanhoe." We also talked about why the outside world has such a negative view of North Korea; something he was very sad about. He loved his country and I chose my words carefully. Many times I asked Ho if it was okay to take photos of police, guards, power stations, refineries, train tracks and other objects I suspected would be considered sensitive by the secretive regime. "Go right ahead," he would say with a smile. Driving though the countryside, I asked the driver to stop by the small villages. "No problem," said my guide. "Just be polite to the peasants. They are not used to Westerners with big cameras." Westerners race into North Korea -- by bike . By the finishing line of the cycle race in the city of Rason, I was running around trying to get good shots of the riders coming in as well as of spectators and the city itself. My guide had a hard time keeping up with me, but he never once told me to lower my camera or slow down. It was all very informal. After the race, I had a chat with the vice mayor of the Rason Special Economic Zone, Hwang Chol Nam -- who to my surprise spoke fluent Swedish after studying in Europe. And in the evening I sat down with a couple of young women from the local tourist office and had a conversation -- in Mandarin through an interpreter -- about relationships and everyday life in North Korea. They explained that although some North Korean marriages still were staged because of family ties to politics, almost all are today based on love. They said most of their friends and local teenagers are studying Mandarin to do business and network with the growing number of Chinese visiting the region. The following day, I had my first clash with the authorities. After breakfast I decided to go for a walk alone. While the guides and the other officials were busy, I walked out the hotel to the parking lot by myself. I didn't manage to get more than 10 meters before a uniformed guard saw me and led me back to the hotel lobby and told my guide that I had wandered off. The real setback happened just minutes before I was to cross the Tumen River and go back to China. At the border, a group of guards called me over and demanded to check my camera. Despite my objections, one of the guards erased picture after picture. I tried to look over his shoulder to see what he was deleting, but he kept turning his back to me so I couldn't see. Every time he hit the delete button, I felt the frustration build. My guide said they were erasing "inappropriate" pictures, with no further explanation. In total, 90 images were erased from the memory card. Behind the veil: A rare look at life in North Korea . I was annoyed but not surprised. Back in Hong Kong I got in contact with a small IT company that specializes in data recovery. After leaving me waiting impatiently for 24 hours, they finally got back to me. All the photos had been saved. "When they deleted the file on the card, they did not delete the whole file instantly, it just released the space of this file for future use -- the content is still there," Benjamin Wong, owner of Vector Data Recovery explained to me. Looking at the censored photos, I was surprised about the selection. Some were of angry looking security guards with scruffy barracks in the background, others of government officials going through our passports. I could just about understand that. But others were in my eyes harmless, even scenic. There was an old couple walking alongside the cornfields, a family out in the countryside waving from their house, and a mother cycling with her sleeping baby on a seat on the back of her bike. One photo showed a volleyball pitch next to the customs building by the border crossing. Why these images are not in line with North Korean image guidelines is for me a mystery. But so are a lot of things about the world's most isolated country. The North Korea we rarely see . | Journalist Johan Nylander covered an international bike race from China into North Korea .
Promised full access while in North Korea, guards later deleted 90 of his photos .
Nylander recovered the photos deemed offensive by government minders .
Deleted photos often showed North Korean security guards, peasants in the countryside . |
76,330 | d876a423d2fc53abc16bd00d4fb9dbe6b37f0540 | By . Nick Enoch . All young people should visit not just British war graves but German ones too to ensure that they understand 'where we come from', War Horse author Michael Morpurgo has said. The best-selling writer and former children's laureate also suggested that children need to be told personal stories about historical events such as the First World War because these are often too big for them to comprehend. Speaking today at a conference for schools on how to mark the centenary of the Great War, Mr Morpurgo said stories are able to get through to people in a way that history books are unable to do. War Horse author Michael Morpurgo said children need to be told personal stories about historical events such as the First World War because these are often too big for them to comprehend. Above, Joe Dormers and friend Emma Thorogood at the grave of his great-great uncle Edwin Soper, of the Gloucestershire Regiment killed in the Great War in 1917, at Passchendaele, buried at Oxford Road cemetery Wieltje in Ypres, Belgium . All young people should visit not just British war graves but German ones too to ensure they understand 'where we come from', said Mr Morpurgo. Above, children at a 60th anniversary service of remembrance at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, in the Netherlands in 2004, where veterans honoured comrades who died in WW2 . Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, in 1916 . At the same event, broadcaster Jeremy Paxman suggested people today lack the same 'sense of duty' that drove young men and women to fight in the First World War. Mr Morpurgo told delegates he wanted to inspire and alert young minds to what happened during the war because it was 'the critical moment of our times, it was the cusp of history'. 'I think it should be, I won’t say obligatory, but the minister of education in me says obligatory, for every child to go there and stand there and look at those graves, but not just our graves, to go to the German graves where actually they don’t go,' he said. 'Because they were sons and fathers just as our boys were. So I think that’s important because we are living in this world where we travel, we are European, we feel together with these people but it is important for us to know where we come from.' Corporal Stuart Gillies of The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland practises his bagpipes today in Loos British Cemetery during a rehearsal for a reburial ceremony in France . Speaking at a conference for schools on how to mark the centenary of the Great War, Mr Morpurgo (above) said stories are able to get through to people in a way that history books are unable to do . He also said that fiction and stories can teach people about different topics. 'Of course history has to be the basis of it, that’s absolutely the case, but it is the case also that the records that are left behind, that is the diaries, the letters home, those voices which speak from the heart, from the front to those who are loved at home, or simply jotted down, or the poems that they wrote, they have a way of getting through to us as a history book might not be able to do.' He added: 'What I’ve tried to do all my writing life and all my teaching life is to bring stories to children. And I think the critical thing about making stories that work for children is that the children have to somehow feel the reality of the story.' Mr Morpurgo said that teachers can stand in front of pupils and tell them about a major moment in history - such as the atrocity of the Holocaust. 'It’s all huge, it’s all too massive to comprehend such suffering and anyway for them, it was then, so whilst they might write an essay about it and somehow you’ve told them that story, you haven’t touched them, and you and I all know the way to touch them - they read Anne Frank. 'They go there and they know it then, and they care about it because they care about one person.' In a written statement for the . conference, organised by Wellington College and Wellington Academy, . David Cameron said that children must be taught to understand the . significance of the First World War and the debt owed to the generation . who fought in it. In a written statement for the conference, David Cameron said children must be taught to understand the significance of the First World War and the debt owed to the generation who fought in it. Above, a wreath of poppies at a cemetery in Ypres, Belgium . The Prime Minister insisted that pupils must learn why war broke out, what it was like for those involved and how the conflict helped to shape modern society. And he suggested that schools should not 'shy away' from teaching pupils about the realities of the conflict. He said that this year’s centenary will be a 'hugely important national moment' which will bring people together to reflect on the sacrifices made by many men and women. 'I want to put children at the front and centre of those commemorations, so that they too understand the significance of the conflict and the debt we owe that generation.' The Prime Minister said pupils need to learn why . war broke out, and how 'political alliances and rivalries' could have . such an impact on the lives of people around the world. He added: 'Visiting the sites where it took place is a sobering reminder of those realities. 'Seeing . the thousands of names that cover the memorials, the row upon row of . headstones, brings to life the scale of the sacrifice.' As . many people as possible should visit the battlefields, which is why the . Government is giving two pupils and one teacher from every state . secondary school the chance to go to the Western Front, Mr Cameron said. Paxman: Young lack 'sense of duty' and focus on 'personal pleasure' People today lack the same 'sense of duty' that drove young people to fight in the First World War, according to Jeremy Paxman. Modern life is all about the 'pursuit of personal pleasure', a concept that would have been alien to young people during the Great War, the broadcaster suggested. Speaking at a conference for schools on . the War, Mr Paxman said that this attitude is one of the reasons he . believes such a conflict will not happen in the future. People today lack the same 'sense of duty' that drove young people to fight in the First World War, according to Jeremy Paxman . 'There was what is notably absent now - another thing that I think makes this sort of conflict unimaginable in the future - there was a sense of duty,' he said. 'If you consider the way we lead our lives now, we lead our lives essentially in an atomised fashion, pursing personal pleasure. 'It’s all about personal choice; do what you want, please yourself. 'This was a world that was unknown to young people in 1914, 1915, 1916.' | Mr Morpurgo said stories .
can get through to people in a way that history books are unable .
to do .
Was speaking at conference for schools on how to mark centenary of WWI .
Jeremy Paxman: People today lack same 'sense of duty' that drove young people to fight in First World War . |
35,502 | 64e309025dfcedc2ab9b47ac1957d49dd58cdb77 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:52 EST, 4 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:26 EST, 4 December 2012 . There's nothing worse than having unexpected guests arrive when you haven't got any food in - so perhaps it's no surprise this eagle got a cool reception when it gate-crashed this gathering of cranes. The bird of prey didn't have a prayer if it thought it could steal some of the food the cranes had managed to scavenge in the snow. Normally used to being the predator, the eagle clearly didn't like having the tables turned, and flew away to safety. Where eagle dares: The birds clash in mid-air as the crane defends its food . Feathered friends... and enemies: Outnumbered three to one, the eagle is soon forced to flee the scene . Sorry - must fly! Having done its best to ruin the cranes' meal, the eagle makes its getaway... but not without crashing into one of its rivals . Japanese photographer Masatsugu Ohashi, . 41, was on hand to snap the white tailed eagle attempt to . take on a flock of Japanese red crowned cranes in Akan Hokkaido, . southern Japan. The . snow fall came as bad news for these birds as the berries . and fish they normally eat were covered, leaving them to battle against each other for . whatever they could find. The cranes blended in against the backdrop but a beautiful red colouring on the top of their heads helped them to stand out against the snow. The amateur photographer, who has been dabbling with photography for the past eight years, said: 'It was really interesting to watch these birds and see how they responded to each other during the battle. 'I was amazed and surprised to see how brave the cranes were when they defended themselves. 'It's usually the eagles who end up stealing fish so I was glad that the cranes came out top on this one and had a chance for them to get their own back.' Bird brain: The eagle didn't give up straight away and made several attempts to steal food from the cranes before taking the hint . Watch the birdie: The battle is over and the eagle flies away, defeated . | Eagle was scared off by a group of determined red crowned cranes .
Birds were fighting over fish in Akan Hokkaido, .
southern Japan . |
158,092 | 586879169d94674ff004b385b5b187fabf665101 | (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden, won't be there. As a matter of fact, neither will the heads of state from France or Canada. But the good news for Russian President Vladimir Putin is that FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be at the Sochi Winter Olympics. So far only Lithuania's president, Dalia GrybauskaitÄ— -- an outspoken critic of the Russian government -- has openly said that she is boycotting the games for political reasons. The Winter Games have been bedeviled by allegations of corruption leading to cost overruns and Russia's attitude towards homosexuality . However Blatter, who heads world football's governing body and is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), believes threats to skip the Games over Russia's anti-gay laws would be counterproductive. Gay rights activists have been protesting against the law which was passed in June 2013 which prohibits talking about homosexuality in front of children. The law has been widely criticized by Western leaders who have called it archaic and discriminatory, leading to politicians from around the world deciding to snub the Games. But Blatter, whose own organization is facing criticism for holding the 2014 World Cup in Brazil amid protests and domestic unrest says the opportunity for dialogue outweighs a boycott. "These two events (Sochi and the World Cup in Brazil) have one thing in common: they have both been misused as a platform for political disputes," he said in his column in FIFA's weekly magazine. "In the case of the Winter Olympics, this dispute is coming to a head with threats to boycott the Games. "Such a boycott would change nothing. On the contrary, it may be interpreted as a refusal to establish a dialogue on the issue, as was the case with boycotts of the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 or in Los Angeles in 1984. "I believe that such a major event presents a perfect opportunity to strike up conversations and cultivate contacts." Russian President Vladimir Putin has already stated that no athlete would face discrimination at February's Games while protestors will have designated zones in Sochi to make their protests. Blatter, the man who infamously said that racism on the pitch could be settled by a handshake, believes that by traveling to Sochi, it will allow issues such as homosexuality to be discussed in front of a larger audience. "It is also likely that unpleasant issues will be addressed, because FIFA's fight against discrimination does not end with the anti-racism campaign," he added. "We must fight every form of social exclusion. Anyone who decides to boycott the Winter Olympics in Sochi will be surrendering on this important issue, just as anyone running away from a problem will never be able to resolve it. "This reason alone is why it is important for me to travel to Russia." | FIFA president Sepp Blatter warns against boycott .
Swiss says boycott would be a form of "surrender"
Blatter says Brazil 2014 World Cup "misused as platform for political disputes"
Protestors have voiced opposition to Russia's anti-gay laws . |
281,331 | f86ab5c3a738fb2320dae5db45049920c583feda | Images of the Arctic ice shelf cracking up are an icon of the damage wrought by global warming. But a team of researchers from the Universite Laval in Canada have found evidence that one ice shelf might have broken up before, 1,400 years ago – long before industrialisation had any impact on the planet. A study of sedimentary material on the bottom of Disraeli Fjord in Canada, found evidence of what the team described as a ‘major fracturing event’ 1,400 years ago. Scientists believe the Ward Hunt ice shelf north of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, broke up and then re-froze 800 years ago . They believe at least one ice shelf, Ward Hunt north of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, the largest remaining ice shelf in the Arctic at 170 square miles, broke up and then re-froze 800 years ago. Ice shelves are thick platforms of ice which have been pushed out to see by the pressure from glaciers. They act as dams in fjords and result in sediment building up at the boundary between fresh water from the ice and salt water from the ocean. Researchers used carbon dating and other techniques to examine the sediment and were able to create a timeline of events. They found the ice shelf appeared 4,000 years ago staying whole for several thousand years before fracturing 1,400 years ago. They said it didn't fully re-freeze until 800 years ago. Melting: A chunk of ice is shown drifting after it separated from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf off the north coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's far north in 2008 . It began to shrink again almost 100 years ago and is getting smaller every year. Dermot Antoniadesa said: 'At this point, it doesn’t appear that the shelf ice around Ellesmere Island is any smaller now than it was during the previous period of warming, but because it’s still shrinking, it’s possible it could become, an 'unprecedented' event.' The team published the results of their survey in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ice shelves in the Arctic lost more than 90 per cent of their total surface area during the 20th century and are continuing to disintegrate rapidly. | Researchers think one Canadian ice shelf broke up 1,400 years ago and then re-froze . |
144,055 | 4646c329609308f3efb7b353baaf597b9ac23aa1 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A Chinese teenager who killed himself so his parents could afford to save his elder brother's life has been granted his dying wish... after doctors announced the surviving sibling is on the road to recovery. Brothers Honghui, 20, and Hongtao, 18, were bother struck down with Uremia, a symptom of kidney failure, within months of each other in 2010. Unable to afford the mounting medical bills, their parents, Chuanyou and wife Zheng Tingxia, sold almost everything they owned in search of two matching kidneys to save their son's lives. Then, as time was beginning to run out, Hongtao locked himself in his room and drank pesticide, dying an agonising death. In a heart-rending gesture of brotherly love, his body was found by a note, which included the words: 'Brother, when you are cured, please tell me and it will be enough for me.' Ultimate sacrifice: As a result of his elder brother's death, Honghui (pictured), 23, successfully had a kidney transplant and doctors say he will live . Brother's love: Shutting himself in his room, Hongtao wrote a short note to his family and then drank pesticide before dying and agonising death . Up . until summer 2010 life was good for Gao Chuanyou, his wife Zheng . Tingxia and their two sons. Both . boys were at the top of their class in school and the future seemed bright . as they put the finishing touches to the new house in the county of . Funan in Anhui province in the central of China. But then disaster struck when the eldest, Honghui, after a month of illness was diagnosed with uremia. Doctors told his parents that only a kidney transplant could save their son's life. But then, just as they were coming to terms with this disaster, Hongtao was diagnosed with the same condition. One step at a time: Father Gao Chuanyou (in background), 44, it is a bittersweet moment, telling local media, 'I wonder perhaps how we can afford to be happy with Gao Hongtao, but we will take it one step at a time.' Grief: Mother Zheng Tingxia lays flowers at her son's grave. His death prompted a flurry of donations, and after a two-year search, a match was found for his brother . The boys' father sold everything they had including their brand-new, almost-finished house and borrowed heavily travelling around the country to various medical institutes in a bid to find a solution. When the money ran out, teachers and friends of the two boys managed to raise another £10,000 for further treatment. But it was not enough. Doctors had hoped that a transplant from the parents might be suitable but the boys' father was not the right tissue match, while their mother fell seriously ill when she learned of her son's condition rendering her inadmissible as a donor. In the note he said: 'Having both of us is ruining you, I hope now that you will be able to concentrate on my brother and save his life. When he survives as I know he will, I simply want him to say to me I made it, and I will be content' Tragic sequence: The boys' mother stands in the family's home. Doctors had hoped that a transplant from the parents might be suitable but the boys' father was not proper tissue match and their mother fell ill rendering her kidney unusable . In order to continue the treatment to keep the boys alive, the parents even began begging on the street. Seeing his parents slowly falling into ruin and after learning that there was no tissue match, locked himself in his room, wrote a short note to his family and drank pesticide. There he died in agony. In the note he said: 'Having both of us is ruining you, I hope now that you will be able to concentrate on my brother and save his life. When he survives as I know he will, I simply want him to say to me I made it, and I will be content.' Moving: Doctors operate on Hongui. As soon as he gets out of hospital he plans to honour a line from his brothers final testament: 'Brother, when you are cured, please tell me and it will be enough for me' Dedication: Hongui is now recovering in hospital under the care of his father who sold everything to save his sons, including their brand-new house . Unfinished: The family had to sell everything, including the home they were building . His selfless act made headline across China and donations flooded in. Then, at the end of last yea, after a two-year search, a match was found. Honghui, now 23, has successfully undergone a kidney transplant and is expected to make a full recovery. But for dad Gao Chuanyou, 44, it is a bittersweet moment. He told local media: 'I wonder perhaps how we can afford to be happy with Gao Hongtao, but we will take it one step at a time.' | Brothers Honghui, 20, and Hongtao Gao, 18, both got kidney failure in 2010 .
Their father was no match and mother fell ill rendering her kidney unusable .
So father sold everything they had, including their home, to save his sons .
Then Hongtao drank pesticide in his room before dying an agonising death .
His note said: 'Brother, when you are cured, tell me and it will be enough'
Story made headlines in China, donations flooded in and transplant found . |
266,841 | e59efdc304ff0e4a4bf88b914cca3322606003eb | A luxury £60,000 Maserati car crashed into a packed London pub that is aptly called The Plough. Shocked drinkers watched as the sports car smashed into a blue Mercedes before careering into the front window of the popular bar on St John’s Hill. Three people suffered minor injuries when the cars crashed into the smoking area of the pub, which is near Clapham Junction station, on Friday night. A luxury £60,000 Maserati car smashed into a packed London pub which is ironically called The Plough. Pictured is the sportscar which crashed in to the venue on Friday night . Shocked drinkers watched as the vehicle smashed into a blue Mercedes before careering into the front window of the popular bar on St John's Hill, Clapham (pictured) Officers surrounded the pub - closing the road for two hours. Three people received minor injuries in the smash . Pictures from the scene show Maserati smashed in to the side of the building - with the front part of the vehicle crushed beyond recognition. Others show the bright blue Mercedes with the front end of the car in a state of total disrepair. Plough manager, John Suntram, said: 'For anyone out there it would have been very scary. 'Amazingly, everyone was okay and just a little shaken up. 'The window was made of safety glass so the car didn’t actually break through it but both cars were written off.' Police were called out to the incident at 8.10pm and the road was closed for two hours. The other vehicle involved in the crash - this blue Mercedes - was in a total state of disrepair following the smash . Firefighters and police (pictured) were called to the scene at 8.10pm on Friday night . Fire engines could be seen outside the pub for a number of hours, it is thought. A spokesperson for The Metropolitan Police said: ‘There were three walking wounded and only minor injuries were suffered, with cuts and bruises. ‘We are investigating the cause of the accident and so far no arrests have been made.’ According to its website, The Plough is an American-inspired bar that serves a host of international craft beers, an extensive cocktail menu and a selection of meals and snacks. | £60,000 sports car smashed into Mercedes outside busy south London pub .
Then careered into popular bar called The Plough in St John's Hill .
Three stunned drinkers suffered minor injuries during Friday night crash . |
206,556 | 976fe4ba7cc560d5309fd7d3e17e088747cb5380 | By . Joel Christie . Michael M. and John Kirby - both now in their 40s - claim that in the mid-1980s they were lured to the New York apartment of Stephen Brown and subjected to sexual abuse. While Kirby managed to escape just one encounter, then-prep school student Michael endured repeated and frequent assaults, so much so he came to consider it 'normal'. 'It seems to be that every area of my life is affected,' Michael told The New York Daily News. But now, some 30 years later, Brown, 62, is behind bars, after Kirby randomly spotted him going after children in Central Park. Caught: Stephen Brown, 62, was arrested on March 4 after allegedly planning to meet with a 12-year-old boy in New York and later found in the possession of 11,000 child pornography images. Investigators started looking into Brown after two men, claiming to be former victims of abuse, saw him acting suspiciously in Central Park . Michael M. and Kirby used a Nikon camera and a 300-mm. lens to snap pictures of Brown gleefully interacting with kids at the boat near the Central Park Children's Gate, where he strolled through each day, according to park employees. They turned the images over to police, who began investigating Brown. On March 4 they swooped on Brown, arresting him at the Inn on the Hudson in Peekskill, Westchester County, about 40 miles north of New York City, where he allegedly traveled 'to engage in various sexual acts' with a 12-year-old boy. He was charged with possessing 15 explicit photos — all shot by him — of a then-10-year-old boy, which investigators have confirmed is the same child he was meeting at the inn. He faces similar charges in Albany County, where he remains in custody, related to alleged conduct at his family’s upstate property. Authorities say they recovered over 11,000 illicit images from a variety of devices, with more expected to be found. 'Due to the quantity of child pornography that he’s possessed, what he was going to do to a 12-year-old child and the access that he has had to children in the past, both the NYPD and the state police are very concerned that there are multiple victims within the New York City and New York State area over the course of his lifetime,' said state police Senior Investigator Bill Gray, of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Seeking prey: Stephen Brown, seen here in his Facebook profile picture, would visit the boat pond at the Central Park Childrens Gate each day, according to workers. It was here bis two former alleged victims were able to get photos of him . Cliff David, who owns the boat rental stand in Central Park that Brown frequented, said he was always cautious of Brown's 'sick smile' and worried about what he was up to. 'I hoped and prayed it was only as far as I saw, because there was nothing I could do,' said David. Central Park Yacht Club leader John Tucker also said he would watch Brown intently and did not have a good feeling about him. 'We always kept an eye on him,' Tucker, 81, told The News. 'There were always suspicions from most of the guys.' Kirby, 41, and Michael M., 42, were students at the Allen-Stevenson school when they first ran into Brown at a luncheonette, which has since closed down. They would go there with friends to play video games. The boys, struggling with troubles at home and school, became easy targets for Brown, who soon invited both to his apartment on the Upper East Side. Brown was in his 30s at the time but told them he was a decade younger. A private school graduate, he lived off his family's wealth. Brown was arrested as he allegedly waited for a planned meeting for a 12-year-old boy in upstate New York. He was also in possession of 15 explicit photos of the same boy when the child was 10 . At the apartment they would listen to records, smoke cigarettes and joints and drink tall boys. 'I felt like he was my best friend, as Mike did,' Kirby said. 'So we had what seemed to be a very close friendship.' Michael M. agreed, saying: 'He was fascinating and he was fascinated in me. At least that’s how it seemed.' Kirby said he was 15 or 16 when he was abused. After sleeping on the apartment floor, the teen said he awoke to find his fly unzipped and the older man fondling him. It was the 'most horrible and uncomfortable feeling', said Kirby, who stopped the advance. Brown apologized and the incident was never mentioned again. For Michael M., the abuse allegedly began when he was 14 and was regular. Brown started introducing him to porn. 'He told me I could masturbate if I wanted to,' Michael M said. 'I don’t remember what his line was, but he took it to the next level and performed fellatio.' Even after Michael left for boarding school, the encounters continued on weekends and vacations. 'It was a thing that happened that was not spoken about, even when we were alone,' he said. 'It just sort of happened automatically every night.' 'In a lot of ways my life hasn’t progressed (since). 'It’s hard for me to say how. I’m still discovering that.' Kirby, now a father, said he hopes the story will reach other victims of abuse, and said he has a message for those people. 'I know you think he’s your best friend and a great guy,' said Kirby. 'But the fact is he’s really sick.' Any victims of sexual abuse should contact the Manhattan District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Unit hotline on 212-335-9373. | Stephen Brown, 62, was arrested March 4 in Peekskill, upstate New York .
He allegedly traveled there to meet up with a 12-year-old boy .
He was allegedly found in possession of 15 explicit images of the boy taken when the child was 10 .
Some 11,000 other illicit images were found at Brown's apartment, police say .
The investigation was sparked by two men - both now in their 40s - who claim to be Brown's child victims .
One of them saw Brown interacting with children in Central Park .
Together they secretly took photos of Brown and sent them to police, along with their story . |
248,136 | cd179e2170ca2afad9c00d4acdd972a6ead0dd7c | Washington (CNN) -- Soldiers placed small American flags at the graves of more than 260,000 service members in Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The United States Army's 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment has maintained the tradition, known as "Flags-In," at the cemetery since 1948. The regiment, also known as the "Old Guard," sent every available soldier to cover the 624 acre military cemetery, according to the Army. Arlington National Cemetery is located in Northern Virginia across the Potomac River from the nation's capital. Flags were also placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns by the Tomb Sentinels, and at the cemetery's Columbarium. The flags will be removed after Memorial Day. | The flag-placing tradition dates from 1948 .
Every available soldier from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment takes part .
A small U.S. flag is planted at the graves of service members in the cemetery . |
172,782 | 6b9f2f9c45dfb56f33ece45f1cc71392d77aa2b6 | A mother-of-nine who claimed £38,000 in benefits and demanded a bigger council house has had twins, adding an extra £1,400 to her taxpayer-funded income. Cheryl Prudham, 32, gave birth to Lacey-May and Lexi-Rose seven weeks ago, and was given a £200,000 five-bed council house to make room for her 10th and 11th children. Mrs Prudham now has five children with her husband, Robert, and six more from previous relationships. Scroll down for video . Mrs Prudham has previously admitted that her huge brood were not especially planned because she and her husband do not like using contraception . One of the . family's neighbours in Gravesend, Kent, said: 'It's disgraceful how they . keep having children and expect taxpayers to foot the bill. 'Hard-working families struggle and only have a couple of kids because they can't afford any more. 'No doubt their new house will be too small now,' they told the Sun. Speaking . when she was pregnant with the twins, Mrs Prudham said she would 'not . be made to feel guilty' for having children as she and her husband both . work part-time. They claimed £38,000 in benefits last year, but the extra child benefit will take the figure much nearer to £40,000. She also admitted her huge brood were not especially planned because she and her husband do not like using contraception. Mrs Prudham's nine older children are: George, 14, Jack, 13, Caitlin, nine, Maisie, eight, Millie, six, Madison, five, Leon, four, Lenny, two, and Lainey, one . Before the twins were born, the Prudhams had Leon, four, Lenny, two, and Lainey, one. Mrs Prudham also has George, 14, Jack, 13, Caitlin, nine, Maisie, eight, Millie, six, and Madison, five, from former boyfriends. Speaking after her bid for a new house last year, she said: 'In the past I have been on contraception but I got pregnant with the coil and the pill just doesn't settle well with me. 'We don't use condoms and me and Rob have never talked about it. 'I did rely on benefits before but I am motivated to be more than a mother.' And she admitted: 'I was surprised by the cost of our kids in the end.' The couple both started working 20 hours per week a week as carers before the baby is born. Neither pays any income tax because their earnings fall below the minimum threshold - earning them just under £1,400 a month. They then receive £400 child tax credits, topped up by £70 working tax credits, and their £123 a week rent is footed by the council. They already reportedly receive £7,326 a year in child benefit. Andy Silvester, from the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'There has to be a point where the state stops paying for people's children.' Last night the Prudhams refused to comment. | Cheryl Prudham has given birth to twins - her 10th and 11th children .
She claimed £38,000 in benefits last year and this will increase by £1,400 .
The family have had to move into a new council house to fit the new arrivals .
Mrs Prudham, 32, now has five children with her husband, Robert, 29 .
The mother-of-11 has six more children from previous relationships .
She said she was 'surprised' by the costs of raising her children . |
80,892 | e54305cda3bdce32c9163e34520d85bf29439334 | It was a turning point in the war, when only the bravery of The Few who took to the skies to defend their country stood between Britain and the might of Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe. But less than half of today’s secondary school pupils know the Battle of Britain was fought in the air, a poll has revealed. Only 62 per cent could correctly identify a photograph of Sir Winston Churchill, it found – but 92 per cent recognised a picture of Churchill the insurance dog. 'Oh yes'? More like 'Oh no': Over 90 per cent recognised the dog from the Churchill Insurance advertisements yet only a measly 62 per cent of the students polled could identify Sir Winston Churchill . More could identify Jedward, Wayne Rooney and Katie Price than their country’s wartime leader. Only a third of 11 to 18-year-olds know the Second World War began in 1939, according to a poll by former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, while only one in five knows what happened on D-Day. The survey of 1,000 children at secondary schools across Britain was commissioned to mark the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in London later this week. Its results will heighten concern about the quality of history teaching in our schools. It found that only 34 per cent of pupils – including 45 per cent of those aged 17 and 18 – knew the Second World War began in 1939. Only 39 per cent knew it ended in 1945, again including only 45 per cent of 17 and 18-year-olds. The RAF Bomber Command Memorial which will be unveiled in a ceremony attended by the Royal Family, including The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in London's Green Park on Thursday . Forty-three per cent knew the Battle of Britain was fought in the air, 29 per cent believed it was fought on land, and 8 per cent at sea. Twenty per cent admitted they did not know. Just 34 per cent correctly said the Battle of Britain took place in the 1940s, and only 11 per cent of these – about one in 27 of the whole sample – knew it happened in 1940. Only a fifth of children had any idea of what happened on D-Day, with the most frequent answer being the day the war ended. Eighty-six per cent correctly said there had been two world wars – but one in 20 thought there had been three. Nearly a third were unable to give any unprompted explanation of why Britain fought in the Second World War . And while 89 per cent identified Germany as an adversary during the conflict, only 15 per cent could name Japan unprompted. Nearly a quarter thought Britain’s enemies had included Russia, France, China, the USA, Australia or New Zealand. Only 61 per cent correctly named the USA as an ally of Britain’s in the . Second World War. One in ten thought our allies had included Italy, . Germany or Japan. More people could identify Jedward and Katie Price than Sir Winston Churchill . When the children were offered four different explanations for what Bomber Command is or was, only 36 per cent correctly said it had been part of the RAF. There was some encouraging news, however - 95 per cent correctly identified the Royal British Legion’s poppy, and 84 per cent knew what it signified. Lord Ashcroft, who made a £1 million donation towards the new Bomber Command Memorial, which is being unveiled on Thursday, said: 'It is sobering to find that so many children of secondary school age simply do not know important facts about crucial events in Britain’s recent history. 'My own father fought in D-Day, and I was keen to discover how much today’s young people know of what happened just 70 years ago. 'I don’t mean to criticise the children. We must all take responsibility for ensuring that what we know is passed to the next generation. These findings show we can never be complacent about our duty to remember. 'One of the ways we can do this is to build lasting memorials to those who have sacrificed so much to serve our country. That is the purpose of the Bomber Command Memorial, which I am proud to support. 'The Memorial is long overdue. Those who flew on countless missions over Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, many of whom were barely out of their teenage years, knew the odds were stacked against them, and many did not return. 'All of us should be thankful for the sacrifice they made to ensure that we can all live in a free society.' | 30 per cent more students recognised the dog from Churchill Insurance's advertisements than war leader Sir Winston Churchill .
Only a third knew World War Two began in 1939 and a fifth thought it ended on D-Day .
One in 20 thought there had been three world wars . |
87,357 | f7dba46c7c60ef61f68fb38fbf41afd196be630d | She has wowed the X Factor judges with her incredible voice and unconventional style but according to Chloe-Jasmine Whichello, 23, the latter has come at a price. The X Factor finalist is to appear in a new Channel 5 documentary in which she confesses to being a shopaholic and to running up huge bills in order to amass her designer wardrobe. Chloe-Jasmine, whose jazz version of Britney Spears' Toxic on Saturday night, was enough to see her through the first round of the X Factor, says she could quite happily shop all day and spends 80 per cent of her income on clothes. Scroll down for videos . Passion for spending: X Factor finalist Chloe-Jasmine Whichello has confessed to being a shopaholic . So marked is her obsession with fashion, her London flat overflows with items that are yet to see the light of day - as does her parents' Somerset home. 'I absolutely adore shopping,' explains the X Factor finalist. 'I’ve really developed a taste for style and an appreciation of fine tailoring and materials. 'In a dream world, I would shop at Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Givenchy. I love J Mendel, and anything from the Harrods international designer showroom is insanity. 'I love pieces that are works of art, that are beautifully crafted, that are bespoke, that are gorgeous, like pieces of music almost.' The would-be singer, who claims that being on the X Factor is 'my dream', also spoke of her love for modelling, waxing lyrical about getting to dress up for a living and meet big name designers. Plenty to choose from: Chloe-Jasmine has so many clothes, her London flat is practically 'overflowing' Splashing the cash: Chloe-Jasmine spends 80 per cent of her income on her wardrobe of designer clothes . 'As a model, I am so surrounded by clothes and fashion and style, and encounter so many different outfit changes a day,' she added. 'I get such a buzz out of working as well. It’s essentially dressing up, it’s quite a cool occupation. In my job you get to meet the designers working and grafting to create this fantastic item which is so inspirational to us mere mortals.' But her close encounter with the world of fashion has had a deleterious effect on her bank balance, with Ms Whichello admitting that she spends up to 80 per cent of her earnings on clothes. 'Having worked in the fashion industry for about seven years or so, I've become accustomed to being surrounded by beautiful things,' she explains. 'I can be in one store looking for the perfect thing for up to two-and-a-half hours. I would say that around 80 per cent of the money I earn goes on clothes. 'The vast majority of what I do earn, it goes on clothes. I’m not going to lie about that. I mean, obviously a girl has to eat. Big impression: The X Factor judging panel was left impressed with her performance on Saturday night . Expensive tastes: Chloe-Jasmine says her dream wardrobe would include lashings of Dior and Chanel . 'But I would rather not get a cab, and walk, and put that money aside for an incredible dress. I could quite happily shop every day, it just depends on how hard I work. It’s like a motivation for me to earn money really.' Ms Whichello has proved one of this year's most controversial X Factor contestants, with allegations of nude photos and being significantly less well-spoken than she claims dogging her footsteps. Nevertheless, she has consistently impressed the judges, among them Simon Cowell who on Saturday said that he thought she was 'a sweet girl but ditzy'. She has also won plaudits for her fashion choices, most recently the silver beaded flapper dress by high street brand Quiz worn for her appearance on Saturday night's show. No surprise then, that Ms Whichello says making a big impression is all part of her act. 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and clothes maketh the man,' she explains. 'The feeling when you walk into a shop, and it’s just filled with this abundance of fabulous attire, is inexplicable almost. High hopes: Chloe-Jasmine hopes to make her singing dreams come true via her appearance on the X-Factor . 'It’s like a crazy rush. And everything negative just melts away. It’s like a transportation down the rabbit-hole, you feel like Alice in this crazy wonderland.' And despite rumours of topless photos and orgies doing the rounds, Ms Whichello says the thing that really gets her heart racing is finding a stunning (and stunningly expensive) pair of shoes. 'It gets my heart rate up,' she admits. 'It’s quite frightening. I really do believe that shopping has some kind of addictive property, it releases hormones into our bodies which we can’t get anywhere else, it’s like a certain, special type adrenalin. 'It’s quite an incredible feeling when a garment makes you feel special and unique, it’s almost like it has secret powers. I believe the minute I stop shopping, the minute I stop caring about myself. 'Some people go to the gym, some people play badminton, some people play tennis, some people run, me, I shop, it is a sporting form.' | Chloe-Jasmine Whichello, 23, has confessed to being a shopaholic .
She admits to spending 80 per cent of her earnings on designer clothes .
Says that buying clothes is her motivation for getting up and working .
Appears on C5 documentary, Hey Big Spenders! Shopaholics Exposed .
Chloe-Jasmine appears on Hey Big Spenders! Shopaholics Exposed, Thursday night at 9pm on Channel 5 . |
112,687 | 1d63c2670c06e2093124d520bab3d1294e0299ff | By . Matt Chorley and Tamara Cohen . PUBLISHED: . 19:05 EST, 18 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 14:54 EST, 19 November 2012 . 'Bonkers': Mayor Boris Johnson, pictured today before a speech to business leaders, told his team the PM would be 'bonkers' not to hire Lynton Crosby . David Cameron’s new election guru has again been cast into the spotlight after it was claimed he branded Boris Johnson’s closest aides ‘****wits’ as he guided him to a second mayoral victory. An explosive new book about Boris Johnson’s campaign alleges Lynton Crosby - brought in by the Prime Minister to rejuvenate the Conservative's election prospects - launched the foul-mouthed and withering rant during his time at City Hall. The latest damaging allegations come as Labour today demanded the Prime Minister investigate claims recently appointed Mr Crosby launched an expletive-laden verbal assault about Muslims. The timing of claims by Mr Johnson's former political director, Alex Crowley, in his book Victory in London, are likely to prove uncomfortable for Conservative hierarchy. Yesterday it emerged he once claims the Mayor should concentrate on winning support from traditional Tories, not ‘****ing Muslims’. Labour frontbencher Michael Dugher today wrote to the PM calling for Mr Crosby to make a public statement about the claims. Yesterday Mr Crosby, whose tactics helped to win four elections for former Australian prime minister John Howard, said he had absolutely no recollection of using the phrase and that any suggestion he was racist was ‘mischievous’. But in his letter to Mr Cameron, Mr Dugher says: 'Mr Crosby has been given the opportunity to deny using these words, and has refused to do so.' The Labour party vice-chairman calls on Mr Cameron to 'fully investigate the claims that Mr Crosby used such appalling language against Muslims'. If true he should 'refuse to give someone with such views a role in your Party'. ‘I hope you agree that there can be no place for racist attitudes or language such as this in any modern political party,' Mr Dugher adds. Crosby, known as the ‘Wizard of Oz’ for masterminding multiple election victories in his native Australia, has been hired to focus on winning back core Conservative voters over the next two-and-a-half years. The appointment is intended to rejuvenate the party after its crushing defeat in the Corby by-election on Friday, and record low turnout in the police and crime commissioner elections. But some in the party fear Mr Crosby, who has a reputation as a right-wing attack dog, will alienate floating voters by taking a hard line on divisive issues such as crime and immigration, which backfired when he ran the 2005 election campaign of then Tory leader Michael Howard. Victory: London Mayor Boris Johnson with his then campaign manager Lynton Crosby on the Mayoral Election results night in 2012 . Former deputy party chairman Lord . Ashcroft warned he was a ‘distracting influence’ and a recipe for . ‘conflict and confusion’ while Mr Cameron’s former speechwriter Ian . Birrell said hiring him was a ‘regressive step’. But . Mr Johnson, whose two successful London mayoral campaigns were run by . Mr Crosby, has been urging the Prime Minister to snap him up, saying he . is ‘the best campaign manager I’ve ever seen’. Election: Mr Crosby will start work for PM David Cameron early next year. Critics worry about his reputation as a 'right wing attack dog' A . Treasury source said George Osborne – Mr Cameron’s election strategist . in 2010 – had been pushing for his appointment for months. The . source said: ‘George has always argued for this. It was George who got . Lynton into the Boris campaign in the first place and we need a . dedicated campaign manager.’ Mr Crosby will start work as campaign . manager early next year, initially part time, and it is understood he . will focus on day-to-day planning, while the Prime Minister and the . Chancellor will remain in control of policy and strategy. He is said to be on a salary of £200,000. Polls over the weekend gave Labour a 12-point lead, following the Tories’ loss of Corby – a key middle England seat vacated by Louise Mensch – to Labour’s Andy Sawford on a swing of nearly 13 per cent, and concerns expressed by backbenchers about a lack of focus in No 10. Tim Montgomerie, editor of influential website ConservativeHome, said Mr Crosby had ‘a good record of success and is perhaps the alpha male that Team Cameron has been missing since Andy Coulson exited’. Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps praised him as a ‘serious campaigner’. He added: ‘Lynton brings the kind of focus that’s required to manage campaigns and we have a big job to do to explain what’s going on.’ After the collapse of plans for boundary changes, the Conservatives will target 40 seats, half of which are held by their Lib Dem coalition partners, in 2015. Mr Shapps said: ‘I don’t really mind who the opposition is. We need to win those seats if we are going to form the next government and have an outright majority and do some of the things this country desperately needs.’ Boris Johnson said he did not recognise ‘any suggestion of abusive or offensive language’ from his staff and that the Conservative party had ‘done well to retain [Mr Crosby’s] services’. | Cameron faces call to investigate claims his new election guru Lynton Crosby ranted about Muslims when advising Boris .
Australian Crosby was dubbed the Wizard of Oz for a string of election successes, including Boris Johnson's .
David Cameron has hired him to run 2015 general election campaign .
But Labour is demanding an investigation into claims Crosby made foul-mouthed comments about Muslim voters during City Hall bid . |
113,336 | 1e4951cedfb8cb9ad659a1931dd264add3433d56 | Standing in a warm shower for a few minutes in the morning can be relaxing and reinvigorating. And for animals, that's no different. While most dogs are enthusiastic swimmers, they generally dislike being washed, however, this jovial pooch is a notable exception. Powerful: Tsubuan raises his head up as the powerful flow of water gushes down on him . The long-haired dachshund, which lives in Japan, appears to be thoroughly enjoying his doggy shower after his owner arranged for him to have one in the bathroom sink. The cute dog was named Tsubuan after a Japanese dish consisting of a red bean paste - similar to the colouring of his distinctive red fur. In the footage, posted online by the unnamed owner, the canine looks happy and satisfied as he enjoys the warm flow of water on his head and back. The dog raises his head up towards the spray, which gushes down his body. Content: The distinctive looking dog appears very content and comfortable having his shower . Enjoyable: Tsubuan seems to enjoy his doggy shower and he looks clean and fresh . | Adorable dog was called Tsubuan after a Japanese red bean paste dish .
Dog owner gives his dog a shower and films the amusing reaction .
Tsubuan looks like he is in heaven as he enjoys the powerful warm shower . |
87,755 | f90063f372bcc7952a085ae0ff5cf99461cdb136 | A 17-year-old P-plate driver is fighting for her life in hospital after her car collided with a bus carrying 35 high school students. The girl's Toyota Yaris and the privately chartered bus crashed into each other at an intersection at Kellyville in Sydney's north-west shortly before 12pm on Friday. She was trapped for more than 30 minutes at Memorial Avenue and Hector Circuit before emergency services were able to cut the roof off her car. Scroll down for video . A 17-year-old P-plate driver suffered serious injuries after colliding with a school bus at an intersection at Kellyville in Sydney's north-west shortly before 12pm on Friday . She was trapped for more than 30 minutes at Memorial Avenue and Hector Circuit before emergency services were able to cut the roof off her car . The girl was treated at the scene for serious head and abdominal injuries and was rushed to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition. The 67-year-old male bus driver and the group of Year 9 students from Oakhill College in Caste Hill were not injured in the collision. The bus driver was taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol tests. Memorial Avenue was closed in both directions between Windsor Road and Old Windsor Road. Detectives have established a crime scene to be forensically examined as they investigate the crash. The girl was treated at the scene for serious head and abdominal injuries and was rushed to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition . The 67-year-old male bus driver and the group of Year 9 students from Oakhill College in Caste Hill were not injured in the collision . The bus driver was taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol tests . Detectives have established a crime scene to be forensically examined as they investigate the crash . | A P-plate driver suffered severe head and abdominal injuries when her car collided with a school bus on Friday .
The crash occurred at an intersection at Kellyville in Sydney's north-west .
The 17-year-old was trapped for more than 30 minutes before she was cut free by emergency services .
She was rushed to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition .
The 35 school students and 67-year-old bus driver remained unharmed . |
81,939 | e835af7f614eb86fcb1aefb0d2b681ae6e275fb5 | The Egyptian prosecutor's office says evidence shows three suspects linked to al Qaeda targeted the U.S. and French embassies in Cairo, as well as an Egyptian army facility in the Sinai Peninsula, according to state news. The state-run Middle East News Agency, known as MENA, reported Wednesday that state prosecutors have evidence suggesting the alleged terrorists, who were arrested over the weekend, planned to detonate car bombs at the three sites. A source briefed by an Egyptian security official said Wednesday that he'd been told that France's embassy was allegedly targeted but was not told about the other diplomatic mission. Members of the alleged terrorist cell had 10 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, which is commonly used in bomb making, according to the source. Mubarak's retrial starts amid tight security . David Linfield, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, told CNN that he's aware of reports in Egyptian media that the American embassy was targeted but otherwise had no comment on the matter. And an Egyptian Interior Ministry spokesman refused to comment to CNN about the alleged targets. A prosecutor ordered one of those arrested, Mohamed AboulEla Aqida, to stay behind bars for at least 15 more days, rather than be put on house arrest, MENA reported Wednesday. The fate of the other two people detained was not immediately clear. The prosecutor's office pointed to new evidence that has surfaced linking Aqida to a leading figure of al Qaeda in Iraq named Daoud Al Asdi, as well as al Qaeda members in the Sinai Peninsula, according to MENA. He and others allegedly had gone beyond the planning stages and were getting ready to attack when Egyptian police arrested them, the source briefed by an Egyptian security official told CNN. A U.S. State Department travel alert issued Wednesday did not specifically mention this plot, though it did allude to a May 9 knife attack on a U.S. citizen. That American was outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, was asked if he was an American, then attacked. Egyptian police have a suspect in custody in that case, according to the State Department. The diplomatic alert also urged Americans "to avoid all demonstrations in Egypt, as even peaceful ones can quickly become violent, and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse." | Citing prosecutors, state news says those arrested targeted U.S., French embassies .
They planned to detonate car bombs there and in the Sinai, the report says .
Neither U.S. nor Egyptian officials comment on the reports .
A prosecutor orders one detainee to stay in jail 15 more days, says a report . |
111,075 | 1b3869c3f6c230dbbfbbdbcd507f89f3befa8976 | (CNN) -- After more than half a century involved in motorsport, and three decades at the helm of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone has no plans to quit just yet. In fact, the 81-year-old has told CNN that he will be in charge for as long as he lives. "It'll probably depend a lot (on) when I die," Ecclestone said ahead of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix when asked about his retirement plans. "You never know, do you, with these things. I mean, it's not my intention to do such a thing. If I thought I couldn't do all the things I do, then the answer would be then we'd certainly consider it. At the moment it's not quite like that." Ecclestone: Formula One teams agree to race until 2020 . Despite his age, Ecclestone is keeping himself very busy -- both personally and professionally. Earlier this month he announced his engagement to Brazilian Fabiani Flosi, 46 years his junior. He has also set his sights on further extending Formula One's global reach, having announced an agreement with the teams to continue racing under a Concorde Agreement until 2020. Austin, Texas will make its debut as grand prix venue in November, as the sport returns to the U.S. for the first time since 2007. India was introduced to F1 last year, with the Russian city of Sochi set to host a race in 2014 -- the same year the Black Sea resort will stage the Winter Olympics. "It's good to have an American base," Ecclestone said. "We are a world championship, so why not? We have races in other parts of the world so we should have maybe another race in America." On the possibility of France hosting a race for the first time since 2008, he added: "I think maybe the election that has taken place might have put that back a bit. When that all settles down I'm sure we'll get back on track -- literally," referring to Francois Hollande's recent presidential victory. "I think you will have to wait and see if we see more. Only time will tell." Should Formula One be so unpredictable? Ecclestone has been criticized for his determination to go ahead with the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, despite political unrest in the Gulf kingdom. But Eccleston cited the riots in London as an example of how social unrest does not necessarily mean a country should forfeit its right to host a race. "I'd hate to lose the British race, for a start," he explained. "We've seen what happened there at the end of last year, all those disturbances and all the other things that happen all over the world. "I don't know where we'd have to find a nice place to race where there is no problem. It wouldn't be easy." One arena F1 has not managed to enter is the Olympic Games, but Ecclestone revealed that talks over the seemingly far-fetched possibility have been held. "I spoke to the former president, Mr. (Juan Antonio) Samaranch, years ago about this and we decided it was wrong to have mechanical sport involved. In fact I discussed it with the new president (Jacques Rogge) a year ago. "They keep adding things in which I don't believe are Olympic things, so maybe it's possible. It would be nice to see it happen." The current F1 season's first five races have produced five different winners for the first time since 1983. A major factor in the sport's current unpredictability has been the new Pirelli tires -- the team which masters the rapidly degrading rubber usually emerges victorious. Seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher has been heavily critical of the tires, telling CNN they are like driving on "raw eggs," but Ecclestone praised the work done by the Italian manufacturer. "I asked Pirelli if they could make a tire that would only run for a third of the race, which is a lot more difficult than making a tire that will run the whole race. That's easily done; it can run five races if you like. "But to make one that will only run that distance is difficult. They've done a fantastic job and that's what has made this racing so exciting." When reflecting on his contribution to F1, Ecclestone was relaxed when asked if he has received enough credit for what he has given to the sport, responding: "I get what I deserve, I suppose." And what is it that keeps the Englishman going after so long at the forefront of an ever-expanding business? "Job satisfaction." | Bernie Ecclestone tells CNN he intends to run Formula One until he dies .
The octogenarian has been running the sport for the last 30 years .
Ecclestone hopes grands prix in France and a second race in the U.S. can be agreed .
The 81-year-old defends the decision to host a race in Bahrain last month . |
137,847 | 3e460c3021ea3f96a3c933e4aeb5402a6435cf46 | By . Nick Enoch . PUBLISHED: . 18:01 EST, 24 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:18 EST, 24 May 2012 . 'This book, Mamma gave me, that I might write the journal of my journey to Wales in it.' So began the first volume of a journal written in 1832 by Princess Victoria of Kent, aged 13. It was a diary that the young royal - later to become Queen and ruler of the British Empire - would continue to add to until her death in 1901. And now, her great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth has launched a website documenting Victoria's life in her own words. The monarch was handed a remote control in Buckingham Palace’s throne room yesterday, which she pointed at a screen to officially launch the website, www.queenvictoriasjournals.org - but revealed she had no plans to publish her own diaries. The site contains 40,000 pages of the surviving volumes of Victoria's journals, along with sketches and paintings she drew to illustrate them. The newly launched website www.queenvictoriasjournals.org contains scanned pages - some in Victoria's own hand - from the monarch's diaries . Princess Victoria's first diary entry outlined a trip to Wales in 1832 when she was 13; right, an entry from August 12 that same year . The Queen views some of the private journals of her great-great-grandmother, accompanied by curator of the Royal Collection, Lady Jane Roberts, during a reception to launch the Queen Victoria Journals Online project at Buckingham Palace yesterday . The first entry relating to Wales concerned a trip that was planned partly as a holiday, and partly as an opportunity to introduce the young princess to the nation to whose throne she was heiress. She wrote the passage as they travelled through Snowdonia. Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her Governess, Baroness Lehzen, wanted her to keep the diary to aid her education - that she might write well and observe what she saw. The Royal Archives, Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University and online publisher ProQuest scanned the pages - some in Victoria’s own hand and some edited and then transcribed by her daughter Beatrice after her death - for the six-month project, carried out to mark the Diamond Jubilee. When asked by Bodleian librarian Sarah Thomas if she herself wrote a diary, the Queen, wearing a summery floral printed dress, replied to laughter from those gathered to mark the launch: 'Mine’s not being published'. Dr Thomas said afterwards that she 'couldn’t resist' asking the Queen about her own journals, having been a part of the project. She added that it was 'an amazing honour' to work on the journals. She said: 'We have been motivated by the intrinsic value of these collections and the idea of sharing them. The site contains 40,000 pages of the surviving volumes of Victoria's journals, along with sketches and paintings she drew to illustrate them. Above, an entry from September 12, 1883; right, the front cover of volume 1 of Victoria's drafts . Last Scene Of The Charade At Chatsworth. This watercolour, one of many used to illustrate her journals, was painted by Princess Victoria on October 30, 1832 . Louis & Alice In The Railway Carriage. A pencil sketch of Princess Alice and her future husband, Prince Louis of Hesse, by Queen Victoria, drawn on December 12, 1860; right, Shrewsbury, a watercolour by the young royal, after Richard Westall . 'It amplifies the excitement we have in having Her Majesty herself come here, because it shows she has a real interest. She was obviously engaged. 'This is a part of history. It is such an exciting moment, when you can unlock history and make it publicly available. 'The eyes of the world are focused on the Queen and the Diamond Jubilee - and this is the other Diamond Jubilee.' In her diary, Victoria wrote of the scenes that greeted her during a parade to mark her own 60-year reign: 'Passed through dense crowds, who gave me a most enthusiastic reception. It was like a triumphal entry. 'We passed down Cambridge Terrace, under a lovely arch bearing the motto, "Our hearts thy Throne". 'The streets were beautifully decorated, also the balconies of the houses with flowers, flags, and draperies of every hue... The streets, the windows, the roofs of the houses, were one mass of beaming faces, and the cheers never ceased.' Writing on the website, launched alongside a Twitter account providing extracts from the journals, the Queen said: 'In this the year of my Diamond Jubilee, I am delighted to be able to present, for the first time, the complete online collection of Queen Victoria’s journals from the Royal Archives. From The Drawing Room Window, Muckross, a watercolour done in August 29, 1861; right, Landscape, watercolour practice sheet, painted c.1846 . T. Coutts & C. Campbell Watching The Deer. A pencil drawing of two ghillies lying in the undergrowth, by Queen Victoria on October 1, 1851 . 'These diaries cover the period from Queen Victoria’s childhood days to her accession to the throne, marriage to Prince Albert, and later, her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. 'Thirteen volumes in Victoria’s own hand survive, and the majority of the remaining volumes were transcribed after Queen Victoria’s death by her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, on her mother’s instructions. 'It seems fitting that the subject of the first major public release of material from the Royal Archives is Queen Victoria, who was the first Monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.' The Queen took a particular interest in a drawing of Victoria’s wedding head dress when shown the original pages from the diaries today. The launch was timed to coincide with the 193rd anniversary of Victoria’s birth today. She would perhaps have been interested in how the documents are now available on the internet - as she wrote, again on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee, of sending a message electronically. She wrote: 'I touched an electric button, by which I started a message which was telegraphed throughout the whole Empire. 'I really cannot say how proud I feel to be the Queen of such a nation,' she wrote in her journal. Left, the Queen at Buckingham Palace in the year of her Diamond Jubilee; right, the monarch in her carriage leads a procession driving through London during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 1897 . 'It was the following: "From my heart I thank my beloved people, may God bless them." At this time the sun burst out...' She had certainly envisaged them being read by others, writing on January 24 1843: 'Wrote in my journal, which I am vain enough to think may perhaps some day be reduced to interesting memoirs.' She also writes at length of her love for Prince Albert, describing her wedding day on February 10 1840: 'Albert repeated everything very distinctly. I felt so happy when the ring was put on, and by my precious Albert.' Above, the pair in May 1854 . Over the years, Victoria became a keen diarist, extensively documenting details of both public and private life. She underlined important words or phrases two or even three times, and liberally used exclamation marks. Her daughter, Princess Beatrice, spent 40 years transcribing the journals covering the period 1837 to 1901 - a total of 111 volumes. Victoria instructed her to modify the text, taking out parts that could offend other members of the family and other sections not suitable for publication. The originals were destroyed, in accordance with Victoria’s wishes. Other key events detailed in the diary include Victoria’s coronation, her entry for that day reading that she was woken by guns in a nearby park at 4am and then could not sleep because of the noise of the crowds gathered outside. She wrote: 'There were millions of my loyal subjects assembled in every spot to witness the procession. Their good humour and excessive loyalty was beyond everything. 'I really cannot say how proud I feel to be the Queen of such a nation.' She also writes at length of her love for Prince Albert, describing her wedding day on February 10 1840: 'Albert repeated everything very distinctly. I felt so happy when the ring was put on, and by my precious Albert.' Two days later, she wrote: 'Oh! was ever woman so blessed as I am.' Her sorrow at his illness and death are palpable, writing in her diary on January 1 1862, her first entry after his death: 'This day last year found us so perfectly happy and now!!.., . 'All these recollections were pouring in on my mind in an overpowering manner. Felt as if living in a dreadful dream.' Pam Clark, senior archivist at the Royal Archive, said she had learned a lot about Victoria while working on the project. 'She’s a natural writer, and a natural painter,” she said. 'She had a way with words and a way with her pen. It’s very exciting to see all this coming together.' The Twitter account @QueenVictoriaRI will be active during the Jubilee period. The online release of the diaries, which have been transcribed up to the year 1840, mark the start of a year-long programme to digitise work from the Royal Archive. | Wrote diary from 1832 until her death in 1901 .
Entry from January 1843: 'Wrote in my journal, which I am vain enough to think may perhaps some day be reduced to interesting memoirs'
Journals illustrated with sketches and paintings, also online, by Victoria herself .
Launch timed to coincide with the 193rd anniversary of Victoria’s birth .
Six-month project carried out to mark Diamond Jubilee .
Queen Elizabeth 'has no plans to publish her own diaries' |
156,153 | 55d7dab1522f5dbcc59765f62cf79af5071de2c2 | (CNN) -- A panel of Australian citizens is expected to set the tone Thursday for a planned constitutional referendum to better recognize the indigenous population that inhabited the vast continent long before Europeans settled there. The diverse group includes Aboriginal leaders, business executives, legal experts and members of the main political parties. It spent the past year crisscrossing Australia to gather opinions in order to provide recommendations to the government. "At the moment, the Constitution denies that there was a prior presence of Aboriginal people in Australia," said Mark McKenna, an associate professor of history at the University of Sydney. "They're pretty much invisible." The panel faces a daunting task -- changes by referendum rarely do well in Australia. Only eight of the 44 referendum proposals have passed in the country's history, with the last successful one in 1974. "This is a rare, once in a lifetime opportunity if the federal government proceeds to referendum," Megan Davis, director of the Indigenous Law Center at the University of New South Wales and an expert member of the panel said in an e-mail. Though it appears political parties support a change in the Constitution, they differ on the details. Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Labour government has said it is committed to holding a referendum on the subject during its current term or at the next general election. And the opposition Liberal Party has also voiced support for the measure. Politicians generally agree the existing wording of the Constitution could be improved. "It's bringing the Constitution into line with what everyone has pretty much accepted now," said McKenna, noting a key Australian High Court decision over land rights in 1992 that rejected the notion that Australia was "terra nullius," or "empty land" before the arrival of European settlers. In 2008, then-prime minister, Kevin Rudd, apologized for the state's mistreatment of indigenous people in the past, describing it as a "blemished chapter in our nation's history." But the Constitution is yet to clearly reflect that, with the original document, which dates to 1901, a product of its time. It took a narrow, 19th-century view of who is defined as a citizen with full rights and gave little thought to Aborigines. The Australian stance was similar to that of other nations such as the United States and South Africa. "At that time, it was thought that the Aboriginal people would die out," McKenna said. The indigenous population declined to about 93,000 in 1901, from between 300,000 and 750,000 in 1788. But the population subsequently recovered. In the 2006 Census, 455,031 people identified themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent out of a total national population of more than 21 million. A step toward updating the Constitution was made in 1967, when more than 90% of voters approved the removal of two references to Aboriginal people that were deemed negative. Many people feel, however, that the 1967 referendum left some unfinished business. While their numbers have increased, indigenous people have struggled to keep pace with the economic gains of the broader Australian population. "On all the major indicators -- be they economic, social, health or education -- Aboriginal people are way behind," McKenna said. The panel apparently intends to improve the constitutional standing. "The prime minister will be told that the Constitution needs to be changed and that this is backed by a majority of Australians," George Williams, a professor of law at the University of New South Wales and a member of the panel, wrote in an opinion article published Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald, a daily newspaper. There are two provisions that are still considered to have racist connotations: one that allows states to disqualify people of "all persons of any race" from voting at elections; and another that authorizes parliament to make "special laws" for "the people of any race." The panel is expected to recommend that removal of those two provisions, a move likely to receive broad political support. The delicate issue will be how to go about inserting a positive recognition of indigenous people's status into the document. Some commentators and politicians fear that any new provision in the Constitution that actively asserts indigenous Australians' rights to advancement could result in too much power for the courts. "Any proposal to include in the Constitution a measure that might open the door to endless litigation and judicial second-guessing of parliamentary decisions about what policies best secure the "advancement" of Aborigines, is not only undesirable in itself, it would surely spell the defeat of the referendum," George Brandis, a senior official who deals with the Liberal Party legal issues, wrote in an opinion piece last month for The Australian, a national newspaper. But if the proposed changes are too slight, they may disappoint Aboriginal leaders and other advocates of more significant measures. "Positive words and symbolic change will not be enough," Williams said in the Sydney Morning Herald. All sides recognize, though, that a lack of bipartisan support will prevent the referendum from succeeding. Even if the process results in a change that is more symbolic than legally binding, it may still have positive consequences. "Recognition of Indigenous Australians as the first people of Australia is a critical step to support the improvement of Indigenous mental health," the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists wrote in its submission to the panel. "The lack of acknowledgment of a people's existence in a country's Constitution has a major impact on their sense of identity, value within the community and perpetuates discrimination and prejudice which further erodes the hope of Indigenous people," the college said. | The diverse group includes Aboriginal leaders and business executives .
The panel faces a daunting task -- changes by referendum rarely do well in Australia .
Only eight of 44 referendum proposals have passed in the country's history . |
184,659 | 7b2fa78289e2aa6c1bba2289981cd110a3505a5c | Each week Sportsmail gather the ratings from our team of reporters to provide the best Barclays Premier League starting XI of the day. Saturday saw Chelsea take charge at the top as they got revenge against Newcastle United, and Manchester City slipped up as they were held by Everton at Goodison Park. But defenders were the main men on Saturday with Everton's John Stones and Crystal Palace's Scott Dann leading the way. So, here is our team of the day. GK - Petr Cech (CHELSEA vs Newcastle United) - 7 . The goalkeeper was to thank for keeping Chelsea from going behind in the first half, despite making only his second league start. Petr Cech was to thank for keeping Chelsea from going behind in the first half against Newcastle United . DEF - John Stones (EVERTON vs Manchester City) - 8.5 . Will be a mainstay of England's defence in years to come, an impeccable performance and calming presence on the back four. John Stones guards the ball against Manchester City's David Silva during their Premier League draw . DEF - Damien Delaney (CRYSTAL PALACE vs Tottenham Hotspur) - 8 . Immense at the heart of Palace's back-four. Showed sheer will to win. Damien Delaney of Crystal Palace slides in to tackle Kyle Walker during their win over Tottenham Hotspur . DEF - Scott Dann (CRYSTAL PALACE vs Tottenham Hotspur) - 8.5 . Will be a key man for Pardew and showed why on Saturday. Excellent. Crystal Palace's Scott Dann hugs Delaney after their important 2-1 win at Selhurst Park over Tottenham . DEF - Paul Konchesky (LEICESTER CITY vs Aston Villa) - 8 . Scored and earned Leicester what could prove a pivotal three points at the end of this Premier League season. Paul Konchesky scored and earned Leicester a pivotal three points in the Premier League on Saturday . MID - Oscar (CHELSEA vs Newcastle United) - 7.5 . Sent Chelsea ahead with a calm finish at the back post then played an exquisite back-heel flick to set up Costa for their second. Oscar was untouchable on Saturday as he scored and created Chelsea's second in the 2-0 win over Newcastle . MID - David Silva (Everton vs MANCHESTER CITY) - 8 . A joy to watch, had Everton in a panic every time he got possession. Played a different game to the others in laser blue. Silva was a joy to watch at Goodison Park and had Everton in a panic at times when on the ball on Saturday . MID - Philippe Coutinho (Sunderland vs LIVERPOOL) - 8 . Outstanding, so easy on the eye and terrorised hosts with his cunning runs. Man of the match. Philippe Coutinho runs with the ball during Liverpool's win over Sunderland as he won man of the match . MID - Jason Puncheon (CRYSTAL PALACE vs Tottenham Hotspur) - 7.5 . Looked unplayable at times and scored an excellent winner. Jason Puncheon looked unplayable at times and scored an excellent winner over Tottenham on Saturday . FWD - Saido Berahino (WEST BROM vs Hull City) - 7.5 . Won the game for West Brom 12 minutes from time and looked a threat whenever in possession. Looked every bit a £20million performance. Saido Berahino won the game for West Brom with his goal 12 minutes from time against Hull City . FWD - Romelu Lukaku (EVERTON vs Manchester City) - 7.5 . Took confidence from his equaliser against West Ham, played well. Denied a goal by terrific save from Hart. Romelu Lukaku took confidence from his equaliser against West Ham as he faced Manchester City . | Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was important in their win over Newcastle .
Everton's John Stones will be key to England's defence in years to come .
Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann will be a key man for new manager Alan Pardew and showed why on Saturday against Tottenham Hotspur . |
101,256 | 0e7f6737043a5edd8e6a2407d53d53eac77de259 | By . Rebecca Evans . The Turkish gardener who gunned down his British lover felt ‘humiliated’ after she failed to acknowledge their relationship in front of her family. Anne Bury was shot dead at point-blank range by Velli Acar hours after she celebrated her 56th birthday. Despite their relationship being over, Acar, 46, had turned up at her luxury villa while she was celebrating with her son and elderly mother. Her son asked: ‘Why is the gardener here?’, prompting Acar and Miss Bury to have a row over her failure to tell her family they were a couple. Portrait photograph of Anne Bury and gardener Veli Acar at his parent' house . Picture gardener Veli Acar 's facebook page with the comment Veli Acar seni cok seviyorum ben ok - I am in love with you ok always . He left but returned hours later, drunk and with a pump-action shotgun, with which he shot Miss Bury with four times. Her . only son Alex, 24, and mother Cecilia, 87, were also shot but survived . their injuries. Acar then handed himself in saying: ‘I killed my love . and now I am finished.’ In a . police statement, Acar said he was angry with Miss Bury for repeatedly . embarrassing him, adding: ‘She kept on humiliating me. I lost control . and killed her.’ The . qualified midwife had been having an affair with Acar, whom she employed . as a gardener at her holiday home in the Turkish resort of Dalyan, for . six years. But Miss Bury, from Swainby, North Yorkshire, ended it after he racked up vast debts. Acar’s . parents, Dursan, 77, and Muzeyyen, 66, said they viewed Miss Bury as a . daughter but knew her family were in the dark over the relationship. Mr Acar said: ‘This year Anne’s son came. He did not know about the relationship – he thought he was the gardener.’ Gardener Velli Acar's father Dursun spoke of his son's obsession with murdered mum Anne Bury, 56 (pictured left). Velli Acar, 46, was arrested Monday after the shooting . The home of Anne Bury in Dalyan, Turkey. She was shot on her fifty-sixth birthday. Her mother was also shot along with her son Alex who both survived the attack . Openly . sobbing as they spoke outside their bungalow in the tiny fishing village . of Dalyan, Velli Acar's dad Dursun said: 'It was like a crazy love. He . was completely obsessed with her.' And . to prove their point Acar's distraught parents showed reporters six . poster-sized copies of the same picture of Anne and Acar that . decorated the walls of their village home. 'These pictures prove how much he loved her,' said his dad Dursun. Adding: . 'He loved her so very much. She was his world. But we loved Catherine . too. We are so sad about this situation. We never thought he would do . something like this.' And . Velli's elderly mum, Muzeyyen, said: 'Catherine also loved Velli so . much. She treated us like her family. She was very affectionate and . would always hug and kiss us. She showed us respect and would greet us . in Turkish. I'm devastated.' Acar, 46, also shot her 24-year-old son Alex and mum Cecilia, 87, who both survived, with a pump action . shotgun at their luxury villa on Monday. Bloodstains at the foot of the staircase at murdered mum Anne Bury's home in Turkey . But . his Muzeyyen insisted Acar was not just a gardener to the Bury family. 'He wasn't the gardener. They lived together as husband and wife,' she . said. 'He's a very sweet and gentle boy. We enjoyed a glass of Raki together and would chat until the early hours,' said Dursun. Acar's parents said they had only seen their son briefly since the shooting. 'We were allowed five minutes with him at the jandarma station - we were all in tears,' said Muzeyyen. 'We still have absolutely no idea why this happened. It's destroyed both our families. Anne's dead, Velli's gone and we are left with broken hearts and no answers.' Acar, 46, was arrested on Monday after he blasted Anne, her son Alex and mum Cecilia with a pump action shotgun at their luxury villa. He's been remanded in custody pending the outcome of a police investigation. | Six poster sized copies of the same picture of Catherine and Acar decorated the walls of village home .
'It was like a crazy love. He was completely obsessed with her,' says gardener's dad Dursun .
Acar, 46, was arrested on Monday after he blasted Catherine, her son Alex and mum Cecilia with a pump action shotgun .
He felt 'humiliated' that she hadn't told family of relationship . |
182,765 | 78b0b1c0107891b00ae2bd3c6e978989959030da | London (CNN) -- A second batch of e-mails thought to originate from the UK research unit involved in the "Climategate" controversy in 2009 has been posted on the Internet. A file containing approximately 5,000 private e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU) was published online Tuesday, according to the university. The CRU said in a statement that there has been "no evidence of a recent breach of our systems," and they suspect the latest leak may have come from the original theft two years ago. "If genuine...these e-mails have the appearance of having been held back after the theft of data and e-mails in 2009 to be released at a time designed to cause maximum disruption to the imminent international climate talks," the CRU statement said. "As in 2009, extracts from emails have been taken completely out of context." The original theft and subsequent publication of around 1,000 CRU e-mails in November 2009 led to claims that climate scientists were manipulating or falsifying data to exaggerate the threat of global warming. 'Climategate' explained . But a seven-month UK review chaired by Muir Russell cleared the CRU and its director professor Phil Jones in July 2010. "We went through this very carefully and we concluded that these behaviors did not damage our judgment of the integrity, the honesty, the rigor with which they had operated as scientists," Russell said when the report was published. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report published last year also cleared climate scientists saying that their critics "routinely misunderstand or mis-characterize the scientific issues...and draw faulty conclusions on the state of the science." More recently, a report published by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project concluded that climate change is real. The leak comes just days before the latest round of United Nations climate talks which get underway in Durban, South Africa on November 28. | New email leak released six days before United Nations climate talks in Durban .
Around 5,000 private emails published on Internet on Tuesday .
UK climate unit believe that emails are from the same batch stolen in 2009 .
Climate scientists cleared of manipulating or falsifying data by UK and U.S. reviews . |
78,303 | de002027aa0e893f8fea6095b9d0c0f7c3d4e45b | (CNN) -- Have you ever wondered what on earth your wedding planner or florist was talking about when he or she used the word "dragee" or "grosgrain"? Before you get started with your planning, read our glossary of wedding terms to see what you need to know and brush up on before your big day. You'll be a wedding expert in no time! Fondant . A hard frosting made of sugar and water that's mixed together, cooked, and cooled. Like buttercream, it is traditionally used on wedding cakes. Dragees . Chocolate- and candy-covered almonds that are often served at wedding receptions or given out as favors. In many cultures, they represent fertility! Place Setting . The table service for a single diner: a napkin, salad fork, dinner fork, dessert fork, service plate or charger, soup bowl, bread-and-butter plate, butter spreader, dinner knife, teaspoon, soup spoon, water goblet, red wine glass, and white wine glass. Martha Stewart Living: The New Bridal Shower Rules (Toilet Paper Dresses and Awkward Icebreakers Not Included!) Charger . A large decorative plate that's placed under the dinner plate to bring color and texture to the table. Tablescape . Another word for table arrangement or centerpiece. It's most often used when each table has multiple components. Martha Stewart Living: 7 Old-School Wedding Rules You Can Break . Escort Cards . Printed cards that inform guests of what table they'll be seated at. They are typically displayed as guests enter the reception, or at cocktail hour. Martha Stewart Living: Common Wedding Traditions and Superstitions You've Never Heard Before . Place Cards . Printed cards that are placed at each seat at the reception to let guests know which chair they will be sitting at. Stationery Suite . A term to describe all of the stationery, including the save-the-dates, invitations, reply cards, reception cards, and any other invitation enclosures. Martha Stewart Living: 21 Gorgeous Engagement Rings of Real Brides . Vellum . Heavy, transparent paper that is often used as an overlay on wedding invitations. It can also be used for a variety of other things, including these favor boxes. Martha Stewart Living: Kate Bosworth's Wedding: Behind-the-Scenes Photos . Grosgrain . A silk or silk-like fabric with a ribbed appearance. It's often used in trims, belts, and handle wraps—like the one pictured above. Martha Stewart Living: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Got Married, Their Exclusive Wedding Photos . Dyeables . Shoes or fabric that can be dyed to match a specific color swatch. Any wedding terms you'd like explained? Let us know in the comments below. | Planning a wedding entails learning a whole new vocabulary.
A full place setting involves 14 different items, including silver, glass, china and linen.
Know the difference between an "escort card" and a "place card"?
Vellum isn't just for invitations; it can be crafted into boxes and decor as well. |
58,799 | a6c99f8ebd56b8c63e251748da2955b7da4a24d1 | Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- The prosecution and defense have made their cases, and now Judge Thokozile Masipa must decide: Did Oscar Pistorius intentionally kill his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp? Was it murder? She will begin reading her decision Thursday. The judge has to answer several questions to reach her verdict on the murder charge, one of four charges Pistorius faces. First -- and most important -- did Pistorius know Steenkamp was behind the door in his bathroom when he fired four shots through it on Valentine's Day last year, killing her? If the answer is yes, beyond a reasonable doubt, Pistorius knew he was shooting at his girlfriend, then the judge will find him guilty of murder. Later, she'll have to decide whether it was premeditated. If she thinks it was, he could be sentenced to life in prison. In South Africa that means he'll have to serve at least 25 years. If she thinks the murder wasn't premeditated, Pistorius could get a minimum of 15 years behind bars. But if Masipa is not convinced that Pistorius knew Steenkamp was behind the door -- if there is any reasonable doubt of that -- he will not be convicted of murder. Pistorius argues he made a mistake -- that he thought was trying to defend himself from an intruder. If Masipa accepts that as plausible, she will then have to decide if his mistake and his actions were reasonable. If she says they were not, she'll find him guilty of a crime called culpable homicide. There is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide in South African law -- Masipa will decide the punishment herself, taking South African precedent into account. And there's one final possibility. If the judge does not think the prosecution has proved its case -- if she believes there is a reasonable chance Pistorius made a reasonable mistake and responded reasonably -- she will find him not guilty, and Oscar Pistorius could be a free man. Masipa will make her decision with the assistance of two experts known as assessors. South Africa does not have jury trials. Lesser charges . Pistorius faces three other weapons charges in addition to the murder accusation. Two charges are related to allegations that he recklessly fired a gun in public -- once in a restaurant in 2012, and once out of the sunroof of a car in 2013. Pistorius denies both. The maximum penalty for each charge is five years behind bars. If he is convicted of either, he could face a lesser sentence, such as a fine or the loss of his gun license. The final charge is that Pistorius was found to have ammunition without a proper license when police searched his home after he killed Steenkamp. Pistorius says he was storing the ammunition in his safe for his father. The charge is potentially a very serious one. If he is found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison, though Masipa could opt for a lesser punishment such as a fine or the loss of his gun license. Oscar Pistorius trial closing arguments end . Who was Reeva Steenkamp? Who is 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius? CNN's Robyn Curnow contributed to this report. | Judge Thokozile Masipa must answer several questions to determine her ruling .
If Pistorius knew he was shooting at Reeva Steenkamp, he committed murder .
If he did not, the verdict hinges on whether Pistorius acted reasonably .
The sentence could be anything up to 25 years, depending on the verdict . |
252,021 | d22f9ded78c84d7393267119b3df55ab172083a7 | Beijing, China (CNN) -- About five to six men, armed with knives and cleavers, rushed into a college dormitory in southern China on Wednesday, wounding nine students -- one of them seriously, state media said. The pre-dawn incident is the latest in a series of knife attacks in the country in recent weeks. The men burst into a dormitory at the Hainan Institute of Science and Technology in Hainan province and hacked away at anyone they came across, the China News Network said. One student had his hand cut off, while eight others suffered varying degrees of injuries, the news agency said. The attack differed slightly from other recent attacks in that the victims were college students. Last week, a man was sentenced to death for attacking 29 kindergarten students and three teachers with a knife April 29, according to state media. Also last week, a man with a kitchen cleaver hacked seven kindergarten students and a teacher to death at a school in northwest China before returning home and committing suicide, state media reported. CNN's Jo Kent and Helena Hong contributed to this report. | About five to six men armed with knives and cleavers wound nine students .
Attack in southern China is latest of several attacks by assailants with knives or cleavers .
One student had his hand cut off, while eight others suffered various injuries . |
170,909 | 6933170957f7f1eb15365054ba87e4656c08f64b | By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 05:51 EST, 3 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:51 EST, 3 June 2013 . A new method of carrying out male circumcision without the need for surgery has been approved by the World Health Organisation. The PrePex circumcision device uses an . elastic band to cut off the blood supply to the foreskin until it dies . and falls off, or can be cut off painlessly. It is hoped the device will help to reduce the spread of HIV in Africa because being circumcised reduces a heterosexual man’s risk of becoming infected by 60 per cent. The PrePex device works by using an elastic band to cut off the blood supply to the foreskin which causes it to die meaning it falls off, or can be cut away painlessly. It takes two nurses just four minutes to fit the device . The technique does not require a general anaesthetic and is believed to be safer than surgery. The New York Times reports that the device can be put in place by two nurses who require little training, it only takes four minutes to apply, it is disposable, and there is no need for sterile conditions. It is also cheap compared to surgery and the device is easy to ship and store. The manufacturer also claims there are no needles involved and no loss of blood, the patient can return immediately to their daily routine, and it does not require the use of unsightly stitches or sutures. Circ MedTech, the social enterprise that created PrePex, claims that 25 million people have already died of AIDS and that another two million people are infected every year. In 2007, the WHO reported that male circumcision in high risk parts of African can reduce the risk of HIV infection by 60 per cent. The reason for this is that the . foreskin acts as HIV’s main entry point to the body during penetrative . sex between an uninfected man and an HIV-infected person. This is because the inner surface of the foreskin contains a higher proportion of the cells that HIV targets, such as T-cells. It is hoped that the device will slow the spread of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa as heterosexual men in high-risk areas are 60 per cent less likely to become infected if they are circumcised . It also has less keratin, a protein found in the skin, which has a protective effect. Circumcision can also reduce the likelihood of genital ulcers, which increase HIV risk by creating a break in the skin through which the virus can enter the body. In addition, any small tears in the foreskin that occur during sex make it much easier for the virus to enter the body. However, surgical circumcision requires surgeons working in sterile surgical conditions – something which is often not available in the parts of Sub-Saharan Africa where HIV is most prevalent. In 2011 UNAIDS, the US Government, the WHO, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Bank launched an action plan to carry out 20 million voluntary circumcisions by 2015. They believe this will save 3.4 million lives and US$16.5 billion in long term healthcare costs. Circ MedTech believes that the PrePex offers a ‘safe, simple and scalable’ way of achieving this goal. | The World Health Organisation has approved the PrePex device for use .
It works by using an elastic band to cut off the blood supply to the foreskin .
This causes it to die, meaning it falls off or can be cut away painlessly .
Takes two nurses four minutes to apply and doesn't need sterile conditions .
Is hoped PrePex will slow the spread of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa .
Men who are circumcised are around 60% less likely to become infected . |
169,855 | 67d4355a9068be8239d3537aa624dbfbf143e1ed | (CNN) -- If there's one thing we've learned about the CNN iReport community, it's that you all love to capture celestial events. Thursday's partial solar eclipse was no exception. The eclipse reached its height at 5:45 p.m. ET, NASA said, meaning the eastern half of the country should have gotten a view before the backdrop of golden twilight hues. People living in the Central Time Zone had the best view. As the moon clipped the sun, it appeared like a fingernail. Or, according to iReporter and independent journalist Georgianne Nienaber, like an iconic arcade game character. "The moon took a little chunk out of the sun, like Pac-Man," she said. Neinaber spent her evening in Sanibel Island, Florida, getting the perfect shot of the eclipse. Of course, staring at the sun is never a good idea, even during an eclipse. "Don't stare," NASA urged. "Even at maximum eclipse, a sliver of sun peeking out from behind the Moon can still cause pain and eye damage. Direct viewing should only be attempted with the aid of a safe solar filter." Greg Hogan of Kathleen, Georgia, attached his camera to a telescope with a solar filter in order to photograph the show. Hogan, who usually photographs the moon, started experimenting with sun photography this week. The effort was worth it, he said. "It was epic!" The above photos were snapped by iReporters across the country, all with the aid of filters or other creative methods of viewing the eclipse indirectly. Check out the gallery and share your own eclipse photos here. | Thursday's partial eclipse reached its peak at 5:45 p.m. ET .
People in the Central Time zone got the best view, NASA says .
NASA: Protect your eyes with special filters or indirect methods when viewing any eclipse .
Did you catch the eclipse? Share your best photos with CNN iReport . |
93,937 | 04c70b45d4f28956f8f6a6d628375ef10c03e90f | David Warner scored his second century of the match as Australia set the platform for a final-day push for victory in the first Test against India in Adelaide. The in-form opener added 102 to his first-innings 145, the second time in 2014 that he has scored two tons in a Test, having notched 135 and 145 against South Africa in March. The left-hander now has 1,061 runs in seven Tests this year, with six centuries and three half-centuries. David Warner celebrates as he reaches his second century on day four of the first Test in Adelaide . Australian opener Warner jumps in the air after hitting a century against India at the Adelaide Oval . Batsman Warner hits a shot on his way to another 100 for the hosts in the first Test on Friday . Warner (right) celebrates his century with Australian team-mate Steve Smith with the late Phillip Hughes' Test cap number 408 displayed on the pitch . Warner was not without some fortune on a niggly fourth day at the Adelaide Oval, though, as he was given out when on 63 only to be brought back as bowler Varun Aaron had over-stepped, an incident which saw tempers flare between the sides. The Australia opener also gloved a ball to the wicket-keeper down the leg-side but was given not out, while he was also dropped at gully by Murali Vijay on 89. Warner was finally dismissed in the final session, bowled round his legs attempting a reverse sweep at Karn Sharma, but Australia went on the offensive in the closing stages. Some late hitting from Steve Smith (52 not out) and Mitchell Marsh (40 off 26 balls) helped Australia close the fourth day on 290 for five with a lead of 363, which leaves India facing a likely battle to avoid defeat on day five. The tourists were earlier bowled out for 444 having resumed on 369 for five, with Nathan Lyon finishing with five for 134. The off-spinner was looking just as dangerous as he was the evening before and he snared Rohit Sharma caught and bowled for 43. Warner is bowled off a no-ball by India's Varun Aaron who celebrates before the wicket was chalked off . Warner (right) gestures towards India's Shikhar Dhawan after he was recalled to the crease . Shane Watson has words with the Indian players in the aftermath of the no-ball . India captain Virat Kohli (right) does his best to diffuse the situation between Warner (centre) and Aaron . Lyon also claimed the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma while Peter Siddle sent back Karn Sharma and Mohammed Shami - who led a late counter-attack with a quickfire 34 - as India were bowled out before lunch. That left Australia with a lead of 73 and they quickly set about adding to that advantage, making lunch on 32 without loss. The hosts lost Chris Rogers softly soon after the resumption, the opener sweeping Karn Sharma to Rohit Sharma at midwicket for 21, but his fellow left-hander Warner was motoring along at the other end. The batsman took a moment to applaud when news came through of Sean Abbott's figures of six for 14 for New South Wales in his first match since bowling the ball which killed Phillip Hughes, and Warner also took another moment to remember his former team-mate when he reached 63. Australia captain Michael Clarke walks from the field after being dismissed on day four . A tribute to Hughes with the number 63 can be seen from inside the scoreboard at the Adelaide Oval . Soon after Warner was trudging off, thinking he had been clean bowled by Aaron as he attempted a huge sweep. But Aaron had over-stepped his mark, and when Warner returned he mocked Aaron's celebrations as he echoed his screams of "Come on!" back at the bowler. That raised the temperature out in the middle and angry words were exchanged between the players more than once with the umpires forced to intervene - something that was repeated again later in the day. It did not rattle Australia however, and although Shane Watson (33) and captain Michael Clarke (seven) came and went, Warner - while riding his luck - brought up his 11th Test hundred and with the help of some late fireworks from Marsh, which included 24 off a Karn Sharma over, put hosts in a strong position to push for victory. | David Warner scored another century in first Test against India .
The hosts finished day four on 290 for five and have a 363-run lead .
Australia's bowlers earlier took India's last five wickets for 75 runs .
It was second time in 2014 Warner has hit two tons in a Test .
He now has 1,061 Test runs in just seven matches this year . |
133,540 | 38b14b0f0f94549e205e4017b906665cf957da66 | By . Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:05 EST, 6 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:38 EST, 6 August 2013 . A hot air balloon carrying an American family has crashed in Switzerland, killing the father and seriously injuring his wife and their two daughters. The craft came down in the hill town of Montbovon, to the west of the country, after colliding with electric power lines and plummeting 165 feet to earth. Medics rushed to the scene but were unable to resuscitate the 55-year-old father while his wife, also 55, and two daughters, 20 and 24, were taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Combing the scene: Swiss police officers inspect the gondola of the hot air balloon after it hit power lines and crashed . Tragedy: Police in the state of Fribourg say the 55-year-old man died at the scene when the balloon fell 165 feet after it crashed into an electric power line while trying to land at 8.35am . While none of their identities have . been released nor where in the US they are from, police said the family . were on holiday in the area, known for its rolling hills and stunning . natural beauty. Police are now investigating whether pilot error could be blamed for the crash, which happened at 8.35 this morning after a two-hour flight from the town of Chateau-d'Oex. The 65-year-old pilot also was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Survivors: The police said his 55-year-old wife and their two daughters, aged 20 and 24, have life-threatening injuries and were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital . Tragic: The balloon crashed in Montbovon near Chateaux d'Oex, Switzerland, at around 8.35 this morning . | The balloon crashed in town of Montbovon after colliding with power lines .
It was carrying American family of four who were on holiday in the area .
Police: Father, 55, was killed and his wife, 55, daughters, 20 and 24, injured . |
28,494 | 50d81f9cc376341a26938129b0cdc8f7b140cb79 | Mohammed Bashir, 26, wrote the offensive post while high on cannabis after speaking with friends about a break-in at his local mosque . A Muslim shopworker has avoided jail after calling for a man who broke into his local mosque to be beheaded, and offering a £1,000 reward for whoever carried out the deed. Father-of-two Mohammed Bashir, 26, was accused of a 'moment of madness' after posting a CCTV image of the culprit on trading site Gumtree, along with a note reading 'Reward, Beheading'. Bashir wrote the message while high on cannabis after a thief stole £4,000 from the Jamia Mosque near Oldham, Greater Manchester, where he is a member, on January 4. Oldham Magistrates' Court heard the mosque had posted the image on their own Facebook page asking for the criminal to be identified, but after smoking drugs with friends, Bashir decided to take things a step further. Angered by the break-in the day before, Bashir, who works in a nearby Morrisons, logged on to his Gumtree account and made the offensive post, before going to pick up his daughter from school. The court was told that when Bashir sobered up shortly afterwards he went to remove the advert, only to find that it had already been deleted by Gumtree. However the message had been online long enough for a panicked shopper to take a picture of it and send it to police, after which Bashir was arrested. He later admitted the incident to police, telling them he had 'acted stupidly', and adding that he had been chastised by the mosque, his family and his friends. Bashir was ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid work and pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 fine . In mitigation, defence lawyer Naila Akhtar said her client had been married for nine years and has two children aged 3 and 6. She said since Bashir’s arrest his name and address had appeared on an English Defence League website. Miss Akhtar said: 'Mr Bashir had admitted that this was a moment of madness and completely out of character. 'He has been condemned by the mosque, his family and his friends for his actions for which he has taken full responsibility. Oldham Magistrates' Court heard that Bashir offered the reward after a man broke into this mosque in Werneth, Greater Manchester, where he is a member, and stole £4,000 . 'Police have said that he has been fully cooperative and is deemed a low risk. He was not thinking of the impact this action would have especially considering the current climate. 'Police are satisfied that there is no level of extremism and his religious views are not at a level of concern.' Miss Akhtar added: 'He says he never takes drugs or alcohol but that on this occasion after smoking the cannabis decided to post the ad on Facebook using CCTV images from the mosque Facebook page. 'Mr Bashir works two jobs, seven days a week since he was 16, his manager even sees him as a son and she says this is totally out of character for him. 'After his job his main priority is supporting his children and his wife. His life has been considerably affected by his actions which has caused him great anxiety. Bashir said he tried to remove the post after 15 minutes, but discovered it had already been deleted. During that time a shopper had also discovered it, taken a picture, and sent it to police . 'His actions have even had a negative impact on the mosque he attends as well as others in the area. He accepts that this is his fault.' The court heard another of Bashir’s children Elizabeth died in 2013 after she swallowed a battery in a tragic accident. Passing sentence JP Kathleen Kershaw said: 'We feel that this was a moment of madness to which you showed a good response and was very cooperative with police. We hope that we do not see you again Mr Bashir.' Shortly after Bashir was arrested, the mosque removed the CCTV image and posted a message saying: 'We are all outraged at this despicable crime but we must act with cool heads and wisdom. 'The last thing we want is one of our own getting in trouble for something they may have said in (justified) anger.' | Father-of-two Mohammed Bashir, 26, was angered by break-in at mosque .
Had been smoking cannabis with friends before writing Gumtree advert .
Posted CCTV of suspected thief along with caption 'reward beheading'
Post was reported to police and Bashir was arrested and questioned .
He was today sentenced to 80 hours unpaid work told to pay £145 .
But he avoided jail after court heard he does not hold 'extreme views' |
211,932 | 9e734fba78283080a0334070f2cf09d834bfa5d4 | The Queen and Prince Philip looked relaxed as they attended a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the royal Sandringham estate in Norfolk today. Her Majesty wore a sky blue wool coat with a royal blue collar and matching pockets and trim, topping off the look with a blue hat. Prince Philip, wearing a dark grey suit and long brown overcoat, strolled to church with friends. Scroll down for video . The Queen wore a well-tailored sky blue coat trimmed with royal blue and a matching blue hat . Her Majesty attended the Christmas service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, on December 25 . The Queen was driven out of the church on the Sandringham estate where she has a private home . The Queen, 88, wore a diamond brooch on her coat and pearl earrings and was driven away from the church after the ceremony. Members of the royal family traditionally gather at Sandringham for Christmas and attend St Mary Magdalene, which dates back to the 16th century. Last year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the formal Christmas Eve celebrations on the house that has been a private home to the royal family since Queen Victoria bought it in 1862. Prince William and Kate also attended the traditional Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene. Sophie Wessex cut an elegant figure when she joined Prince Philip, 93, and Prince Charles and greeted well-wishes at the church on 28 December. The Queen and the royal family traditionally gather at Sandringham in Norfolk for Christmas . Prince Philip cut a dash as he strolled in a dark grey suit, a spotted tie and long brown overcoat . The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied a friend well wrapped against the cold in a swing coat and fur hat . The coming year is set to be a busy one for the monarch as she and Prince Philip are set to tour Germany in the summer. Last week Buckingham Palace said in a short statement: 'The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will make a state visit to the Federal Republic of Germany from 24 to 26 June. 'Her Majesty and His Royal Highness are visiting at the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck.' The tour will be the first international visit undertaken by the monarch since the state visit to France for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings last year. Kate Middleton and Prince William quietly celebrated her 33rd birthday on Friday at home with their son Prince George. Sophie Wessex joined the Queen Prince Philip, Prince Charles at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 28 . | Duke of Edinburgh joined Her Majesty at the estate's historic church .
The Queen wore a natty coat trimmed in royal blue with a matching hat .
Prince Philip appeared relaxed in dark grey suit and brown wool overcoat . |
225,634 | b02c6c851feda2f450183f162e2e2c9c51e8f1b3 | New Orleans (CNN) -- Waging war against historic flooding in eight Midwestern and Southern states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a spillway north of New Orleans on Monday in an effort to calm the rising Mississippi River. A crowd gathered near the entrance to the Bonnet Carre spillway to watch workers use cranes to slide open the gates to the flood control system. The spillway, like another that could be opened next week, is designed to divert floodwater away from New Orleans and slow the raging river to protect the low-lying city. Bonnet Carre is part of a system built after the devastating Mississippi River flood of 1927. While the river's highest levels may still be days away, a decision to open the second flood control structure -- the Morganza Spillway -- may not be, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said. People with property that would flood if the spillway is opened should not dally, Jindal warned: "My advice to our people is not to wait, to get prepared now." The Bonnet Carre spillway diverts water from the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico by way of Lake Pontchartrain. But opening the Morganza Spillway would flood populated areas and could put Morgan City, Louisiana, and other communities at risk. Col. Ed Fleming, the Corps of Engineers' district commander in New Orleans, said he has requested the authority to open the Morganza Spillway. Jindal said the Louisiana National Guard had asked for at least three days, but preferably five days, to evacuate those areas before the Corps opens the gates. Upstream in Memphis, Tennessee, residents and authorities had prepared all they could Monday as they waited for the Mississippi to crest at a near-record 14 feet above flood stage Tuesday morning. "It's sort of torturous," Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton Jr. said. "We've been waiting so long. It's hard keeping people's attention. It's warning fatigue, if you will. But we're ready for it." The river level stood at 47.8 feet Monday evening and is expected to crest at 48 feet, said Ryan Husted, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Memphis. President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state of Tennessee Monday, which will help direct federal aid toward recovery efforts in areas hit by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes since early April. The Mississippi is the highest it's been at Memphis since 1937, when it crested at 48.7 feet -- 14.7 feet above flood stage. That flood killed 500 people and inundated 20 million acres of land, said Col. Vernie Reichling, the Corps' Memphis District commander. The river covered the lowest parts of the city's historic Beale Street and had forced about 400 people from their homes Monday, Wharton said. Another 1,300 remained in low-lying areas, he said. Corps officials said levees protecting the area appeared to be holding up well, with only minor amounts of water seeping in from beneath or lapping over from above. "All of our levees were designed to withstand heights greater than what we're seeing today, although this height is significant," Cory Williams, chief of geotechnical engineering in the Memphis district with the Corps, told CNN affiliate WMC. "The levees have held up very well in this event." But local officials were taking no chances. "It's a very powerful river. It looks like it's running very slowly, but it has a very strong current," said Bob Nations, director of preparedness in Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes Memphis. "We still don't know (exactly what) the river might do." Nicholas Pegues, an East Memphis resident who lives near the Wolf River, said he's seen extensive flooding and homes left uninhabitable by the water as he's traveled through the region. "It's affecting daily life tremendously," said Pegues, a Shelby County elections' division employee who submitted photos of the flooding to CNN iReport. "It is pretty severe downtown. ... I know a lot of ... people have lost their homes." Wharton said the flooding had not yet caused major disruptions in the city, and he did not expect it to, even though National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff said it is possible the river won't fall below flood stage at Memphis until June. That's the problem in Missouri and southern Illinois, where flooding continues even though the Mississippi and Ohio river crests have moved south. In Murphysboro, Illinois, CNN iReporter Robert Icenogle said a swollen creek is inundating a church and bandshell while threatening to wash out telephone poles. "We cannot get to the park, which is underwater, or to other towns," he said. "Most of the roads are closed, plus the water sewage plant is getting sandbagged." If a nearby sewer plant is forced to shut down, "We won't have tap water to bathe in or drink," he added. Last week, the Corps intentionally breached a levee in Missouri as part of its effort to reduce the pressure on other levees, flooding 130,000 acres of agricultural land over the objection of state officials and some farmers. "I'm very sad. I look at that and I don't have a home," Marilynn Nally said, pointing to her flooded family farm. "I feel like we're having to suffer for somebody else." As the floodwaters worked their way south, the operator of a nuclear power plant in Port Gibson, Mississippi, expressed concerns that rising water could cut off an access road to the facility. However, there was no plan to shut down the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station and no immediate cause for concern, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Agency said Monday. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told CNN's John King the greatest risk will likely be from flooding around the powerful river's tributaries, rather the Mississippi itself. "Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst," he said. In Louisiana, where the river's crest is not expected to begin arriving until next week, Jindal added bears to the list of things residents need to think about. He said flooding could force some of the state's ursine residents from their homes and into populated areas. So far, 21 parishes have issued emergency declarations ahead of expected flooding, Jindal said. He said 400 National Guard troops would be active by the end of the day Monday helping prepare for the flood. Even with a forecast for record or near-record crests into next week and weeks of high water to follow, Corps officials say they expect nothing like the widespread and devastating flooding that occurred along the southernmost stretch of the Mississippi River in 1927. That flood began near Memphis in the fall of 1926 and did not end until the following August, according to the National Weather Service. It devastated the levee system, and flooded 165 million acres of land, sweeping 600,000 people from their homes. It came at a cost of 246 lives and the equivalent of nearly $624 million in 2011 dollars. As a result of that flood, the report says, Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928, which led to a massive public works programs to build a system of levees and other structures designed to hold back the river more effectively. The latest flooding in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys is largely the byproduct of torrential rains throughout the region. Over one two-week stretch, there was about 600% more precipitation than usual, Reichling said. The weather now appears to be working in the flood fighters' favor. Only minimal rain is expected over the coming days, with daytime temperatures forecast to be in the upper 80s and 90s through Thursday, at which point the water levels should begin to creep back down. Still, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told HLN's Vinne Politan that people around the river and its tributaries need to be careful and should not wait until they see water to take action. "It's going to be a tragedy on many levels. So many people are going to be displaced. They're going to be displaced for a long time and they may not have much of anything to come back to," said Jeff Rent. CNN's Greg Botelho, Marlena Baldacci, Phil Gast and Ben Smith contributed to this report. | NEW: "It's going to be a tragedy on many levels," says Miss. emergency management spokesman .
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens a spillway to protect New Orleans .
There's been flooding around Memphis, though levees appear sound, officials say .
The river near Memphis is expected to crest at a near-record 14 feet above flood stage . |
33,643 | 5fb35bf4a5d84c62ac7471723b4144545b680c70 | Washington (CNN) -- Russian bomber aircraft were spotted last week off Alaska and then within 50 miles of California, military officials said. Four long-range planes flew close to Alaska on June 4 where they were intercepted by U.S. F-22 fighter jets. Two peeled off and headed west, while the other two flew south and were identified by American F-15 fighters within 50 miles of the California coast. Details were confirmed to CNN on Thursday by the Defense Department and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S.-Canadian force. The United States believes the Russians were on a training mission, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said. The planes, which included Tu-95 Bear-H bombers and refueling aircraft, never breached U.S. air space, Capt. Jeff Davis, a NORAD spokesman, said. But they did enter the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone, which is an area extending 200 miles from the North American coast and is mainly within international airspace. Commercial and other planes must identify themselves when they fly through that zone. "They followed all the protocols and it was a very professional encounter on both sides," Davis said. "There was nothing that they were doing that was contrary to international law." NORAD intercepts Russian bombers in the defense zone about 10 times a year, Davis said, though usually not near California. Russian military planes were last intercepted off the coast of California on July 4, 2012, Davis added. Ukrainian official: Russian tanks have entered the country . CNN's Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond, and Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report. | Military officials say four bombers and a refueling plane involved .
They first flew near Alaska and then two were seen within 50 miles of California .
The planes never entered U.S. airspace, but did breach a coastal identification zone .
The Russian planes were intercepted by U.S. fighter jets . |
89,277 | fd681119714e2541a3315017ea0e2f44608c3868 | By . Richard Shears . PUBLISHED: . 00:14 EST, 6 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:09 EST, 6 February 2013 . At least five people were killed today when a powerful earthquake followed by a damaging tsunami struck the small Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands – where Prince William and his bride spent a holiday last September. The major 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Santa Cruz islands, which are part of the Solomons, just 250 miles from the private island of Tavanipupu, where Prince William and Kate enjoyed a brief visit five months ago. Waves of 1.5m struck the western side of the Santa Cruz Islands, smashing down at least three villages and destroying up to 50 homes. Scroll down for video . Villagers have fled for high ground after a quake struck the beautiful Solomon Islands . Hospital officials in the local town . of Lata said that five bodies – those of a boy aged about 10 and four . elderly people – had been brought in and many other people were being . treated for broken bones and cuts. 'We're expecting quite a few more casualties' said Mr Augustine Pilve, the hospital's director of nursing. Reports from the region, lying to the . east of the Solomons capital, Honiara, were still coming in last night, . but Mr Pilve said he believed hundreds of people around Lata may have . been affected by the tsunami which was stirred by the earthquake. The Solomons police commissioner, Mr . John Lansley, said police patrols were sifting through damaged villages . looking for dead and injured residents. 'Sadly, we believe some people have . lost their lives,' he said as the local hospital began counting the dead . who were being brought in. This was some of the damage a tsunami and an earthquake inflicted on the Solomon Islands in 2007 . This bulletin released by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center shows the area affected by the tsunami warning following a major earthquake measuring 8.0 magnitude off the Solomon Islands . When the quake hit, the Pacific . Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, noticing that waves had been . generated, put out a widespread alert throughout the South Pacific, . warning that a tsunami might strike the Solomons, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua . New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and . Samoa. The warning resulted in thousands, . including tourists, leaving their homes, hotels and places of work to . flee to higher ground – in case a large wave came sweeping in. In the Solomons capital, Honiara, . people stood on hilltops looking out to sea, 'trying to observe if there . is a wave coming in,' said Mr George Herming, a spokesman for the Prime . Minister. The earthquake was yet another . reminder of the undersea danger that exists for nations on the so-called . Pacific 'Ring of Fire', an enormous zone of volcanic instability that . encircles the Pacific Ocean. The 'ring' embraces Indonesia in the . west to the coast of Chile in the east in a 40,000 kilometre arc of . seismic violence that unleashes earthquakes and volcanoes around the . Pacific ring virtually daily. The ring is actually an . interconnected circle of cracks in the Earth's hardened upper crust . which are under constant pressure from molten rock below. Just how volatile – and dangerous – . the region is was demonstrated on December 26, 2004, when a 9.4 . magnitude quake struck off Indonesia, unleashing tsunamis that smashed . into Indian Ocean shorelines killing more than 220,000 people, including . 149 Britons, and left millions homeless. Royal entrance: Kate Middleton steps off the plane as her and Prince William arrive on Marau in the Solomon Islands . last September . Atenia Tahu, who works for the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp in Honiara, said most people were remaining calm. 'People around the coast and in the capital are ringing in and trying to get information from us and the National Disaster Office and are slowly moving up to higher ground,' Tahu said. 'But panic? No, no, no, people are not panicking.' Dr. Rooney Jagilly, the medical superintendent at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, said the hospital asked about half its 200 patients to leave and stay with families or friends as a precautionary measure because the hospital is located near the shoreline. Those patients who weren't mobile enough to move stayed, but the hospital remained ready to evacuate them. Jagilly said there had been no flooding and he hoped the hospital would return to normal on Thursday. He said his staff was ready to mobilize to Santa Cruz because the small hospital there has no doctor after the previous one recently died. An official at the disaster management office in Vanuatu said there were no reports of damage or injuries there. More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands, sending waves crashing into coastal villages. The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the 'Ring of Fire' - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur. The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday's quake struck 81 kilometers (50 miles) west of Lata at a depth of 28.7 kilometers (17.8 miles). | Solomons Islands likely to be the worst affected region in the Pacific .
Thousands of villagers head to higher ground as a precaution .
Prince William and Kate Middleton spent a holiday there last September . |
267,281 | e62a1dd426862dcd985223a534db0a50e3fd2ffa | Ed Balls distanced himself from Ed Miliband yesterday as he warned he would crack down on a controversial form of ‘tax abuse’ used by the Labour leader. The Shadow Chancellor twice declined to say whether Mr Miliband had acted morally in signing up to the so-called ‘deed of variation’ on his late father’s will that limited potential inheritance tax liability. Mr Balls vowed that Labour would be ‘the party that will crack down on tax planning.’ Scroll down for video . Shadow Chancellor: Ed Balls (pictured) vowed Labour would be 'the party that will crack down on tax planning' He also distanced himself from the Labour leader’s attempt to personalise the row about tax avoidance by branding individual Tory donors ‘dodgy’. In a further sign of Labour’s difficulties over tax, Mr Balls was embarrassed over a £1.6million donation from shopping channel tycoon John Mills, who gave the money in shares in order to reduce the tax bill. Mr Balls sheepishly described the donation as ‘tax efficient’, and suggested the tax saved was ‘small beer compared to what the Tories get up to’. Labour’s credibility on the issue was further rocked by a series of revelations about the tax affairs of other major donors, including businessmen Sir David Garrard and Dale Vince and business adviser Bill Thomas. 'Open question': Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps (left) has challenged Labour leader Ed Miliband (right) to publish the full details of a so-called 'deed of variation' Mr Miliband, who has positioned himself as a moral arbiter on tax avoidance, came under fire last week over revelations that his family used a deed of variation to limit potential inheritance tax on the family home 20 years ago. The Labour leader insists that he did not benefit from the arrangement and Labour said it was a ‘straightforward lie’ to suggest he had avoided tax. Deeds of variation are entirely legal, but were described as ‘tax abuse’ by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor. And Mr Balls yesterday ducked questions about whether his leader had acted morally, saying: ‘I think that Ed Miliband paid all the tax which was due.’ Asked whether a Labour review of tax avoidance would examine deeds of variation, Mr Balls told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: ‘We will look at every area of tax law.’ Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps last night challenged Mr Miliband to publish the full details. Wants more to be done: Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable told Sky News yesterday that HM Revenue and Customs was still not doing enough to track down and prosecute the 'big fish' Mr Shapps said: ‘Labour say one thing on tax avoidance, but do another. Last week Ed Miliband criticised the practice, but today Ed Balls has admitted that the party accepts “tax efficient” donations because they “need the money”. Senior Tories have rejected calls for taxpayer funding of political parties, despite controversy over tax avoidance by wealthy donors. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith (pictured right) said voters do not want to pay for electioneering. Conservative chairman Grant Shapps has said state funding of politics is ‘just about the last thing we need’, given the low esteem in which politicians are held by the public. Last week Nick Clegg called for a review of party funding, to take big money from donors and unions out of politics. Yesterday he was backed by Tory ex-chancellor Kenneth Clarke, who said the Conservatives must break their dependence on wealthy donors. David Cameron should ‘put on his tin hat’ and agree to state funding, regardless of any short-term public backlash, he added. But Mr Duncan Smith said France and Germany, where parties receive state money, ‘have all sorts of problems’. He added that taxpayers will ask ‘Why should I spend more money on politicians … particularly politicians I don’t even support?’ ‘There is an open question as to whether Ed Miliband avoided the full inheritance tax liability he owed by using a deed of variation. ‘Now that Ed Balls has said he will look at closing these schemes designed to reduce inheritance tax liabilities, Ed Miliband should publish this document to clear up this matter.’ The deal centres on a £2.4million Georgian terrace house in Primrose Hill. Following the death of Mr Miliband’s father Ralph in 1994, the house was left to his mother Marion. The family used a deed of variation to alter his will to give Mr Miliband and his brother David 20 per cent of the house each. Experts say this would have limited their potential exposure to inheritance tax. Mr Miliband sold his share to his brother in 2004, and said he paid capital gains tax on it. The Labour leader said at the weekend he is ‘not backing down’ in his campaign against tax avoidance but some Labour figures are nervous that the crusade could backfire if it sparks an examination of the tax affairs of big Labour donors and senior Labour politicians. The tax row erupted last week after a number of political donors were named as having accounts with HSBC’s private bank in Switzerland, which is mired in allegations of tax abuse. Mr Miliband accused the former Tory treasurer Lord Fink, who was named in the files, of tax avoidance, and suggested he was a ‘dodgy’ donor – a suggestion he later withdrew. Lord Fink initially threatened to sue, but later acknowledged he had indulged in legal tax avoidance of a modest kind. Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable told Sky News yesterday that HM Revenue and Customs was still not doing enough to track down and prosecute the ‘big fish’. Ed Miliband’s bid to make political capital out of the tax avoidance scandal was in free-fall last night, as Labour faced a string of allegations about the tax affairs of its own senior figures. Deputy Political Editor JASON GROVES reports on three donors and close advisers in the spotlight. Dale Vince . The green energy entrepreneur hit the headlines last week after it was announced he is to donate £250,000 to the Labour Party. But he was facing questions about his own tax affairs yesterday after it was reported that he has taken a £3.2million interest-free loan from his company Ecotricity. Tax expert Richard Murphy said the loan, revealed in the firm’s latest accounts, ‘looks to be a tax-avoidance arrangement’. A spokesman for Mr Vince, who has made a £100million fortune from wind farms, said company tax had been paid on the loan, and that Mr Vince (pictured below) had personally paid income tax on the ‘benefit in kind’. Dale Vince: The green energy entrepreneur, who has made a £100million fortune from wind farms, is to donate £250,000 to the Labour Party . Sir David Garrard: The property tycoon has an estimated fortune of £100million . Sir David Garrard . The property tycoon, who has an estimated fortune of £100million, has given more than £1.2million to Labour and lent millions more to the party. Yesterday it was reported that Sir David has had millions of shares in an offshore trust. When he sold his property firm Minerva in 1995, he transferred 16million shares to a Liechtenstein firm acting on behalf of his family trust, with a further 1.8million shares going to a trust company in Jersey. Tax advisers say offshore trusts can be used to avoid tax when the shares are later sold on. A spokesman for Sir David yesterday said there was ‘no irregularity or impropriety in the conduct of his financial affairs’, and that all his transactions had been conducted ‘in full view’ of the UK’s tax authorities. Bill Thomas: Labour's 'small business taskforce' chairman shot to prominence earlier this month . Bill Thomas . The former senior executive with an American computer firm is chairman of Labour’s ‘small business taskforce’. He shot to prominence earlier this month after Ed Balls struggled in vain to remember his name when the Shadow Chancellor was challenged to identify a single businessman who backs Labour. Mr Thomas was yesterday reported to be an investor in Invicta Film Partnership – a controversial scheme of a type that is under investigation by HM Revenue and Customs. Experts claim the schemes operate by funding loss-making films that can be set against tax. There is no suggestion Mr Thomas has acted illegally, and it is not known how much he invested. | Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls will not say if Ed Miliband acted morally .
Labour leader signed up to 'deed of variation' on his late father’s will .
Balls vows Labour will be 'party that will crack down on tax planning'
Labour faces allegations about tax affairs of its own senior figures . |
196,915 | 8adc9c731bcbad0c659983021d12da2849b5c8a0 | Mother-to-be Anne Clewlow was stunned when she received an ultrasound scan of her baby and saw this ghostly face alongside it staring back at her. Grainy markings next to the picture of her womb appear to form a giant human head with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears and neck. The alien-like face even appears to have a mop of dark-coloured hair. Guardian angel? Grainy markings next to the picture of Anne Clewlow's womb appear to form a giant human head with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears and neck . Despite the spooky appearance of the face, Ms Clewlow, 34, is treating it as a guardian angel who is watching over her unborn child. Ms Clewlow, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was nine weeks pregnant when she had the routine hospital scan for her second child. An operations manager, she said: 'When I had the ultrasound and looked at the screen, I didn't see anything unusual but when it was printed it was obvious. Spooked out: Ms Clewlow, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was nine weeks pregnant when she had the routine hospital scan for her second child . 'At first I brushed it off and thought it was just one of those things but after I looked at it a few times I couldn't deny there was nothing there because it is just so vivid. 'I don't think there is anybody I have shown it to who hasn't pointed it out. Some people have been a bit freak out by it. 'It looks like a bald man. I don't know anyone in my family who looks like that so I just think it is something of a guardian angel. 'Although I'm not religious I do think it could be something watching over my baby.' Ms Clewlow, who has a 10-year son, Ryan, is due to give birth to her second child in August. | Anne Clewlow was nine-months pregnant when she went for routine scan .
The image appears to form human head with eyes, nose, mouth, ears and neck .
Ms Clewlow is treating spectre as baby's guardian angel . |
193,026 | 85ec7a82ef17af9071be1de29f73d3c9c0164e03 | By . Sarah Griffiths . An British inventor has designed a new fridge that can keep live-saving vaccines cool for 35 days without power. The appliance is designed for use in the developing world where some remote areas have no electricity, power cuts can be frequent and vaccines are vital for healthy communities. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated a $1.4million (£836,000) to help fridge company Sure Chill further develop the potentially life-saving design. Scroll down for video . One cool idea: Inventor Ian Tansley (pictured left) developed the unique cooling technology . which uses water to keep supplies of vaccines cool in remote . medical centres (right). The Sure Chill fridges can keep its life-saving contents cool at a regular 4°C for up to 35 days - even if the temperature outside is as high as 43°C . At 4°C, water is at its heaviest and sinks. This explains why lakes can be frozen but fish can swim beneath the surface. The same concept is used to create the fridge that adapts its temperature naturally so it automatically cools to the optimum temperature - a constant 4°C even without power. Water surrounds a Sure Chill refrigeration compartment. When the fridge is hooked up to a power source, the water cools and forms ice around the compartment to leave only water at four degrees cooling the contents. However, when the power is turned off, the water warms and rises while the ice melts, so that only water at 4°C remains, cooling the contents of the compartment. Ian Tansley of The Sure Chill Company, based in Snowdonia, North Wales, developed the unique cooling technology which uses water to keep supplies of vaccines cool in remote medical centres. ‘The devices will allow vaccines to be stored safely in challenging environments with no power and ambient temperatures as high as 43°C,’ he said. ‘Conventional refrigeration technologies can put vaccines at risk of either freezing or getting too warm.’ ‘Our technology ensures that vaccines reach children in the best condition possible and has the potential to save the lives of countless children across the world.’ At 4°C water sinks and this scientific fact inspired Mr Tansley to create the new refrigeration system that adapts its temperature naturally so it automatically cools to the optimum temperature - a constant 4°C even without power. This temperature is perfect for storing food and vaccines. Changing lives: The $1.4million (£836,000) cash from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will enable the Welsh firm to start field trials in East and West Africa for the new coolers within the next year. Here, a different model is moved into place at a remote health centre . It works because water surrounds a Sure Chill refrigeration compartment. When the fridge is hooked up to a power source, the water cools and forms ice around the compartment to leave only water at 4°C, cooling the contents. However, when the power is turned off, the water warms and rises while the ice melts, so that still only water at 4°C remains cooling the contents of the compartment. The company said that its fridge has ‘its own internal and entirely natural energy store that maintains a completely steady temperature. The system can operate like this, without power, for days and weeks.’ The invention has received financial backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which aims to transform people’s lives who are living in poverty without access to adequate healthcare. The $1.4million (£836,000) cash injection will enable the Welsh firm to start field trials in East and West Africa for the new coolers within the next year. The firm already has 10-day vaccine refrigerators operating in over 30 countries - and is recognised by the World Health Organisation. It shipped 200 devices to the Philippines at the beginning of this year to help Unicef in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan. Good things come in small packages: The firm already has 10-day vaccine refrigerators operating in over 30 countries - and is recognised by the World Health Organisation. It is also developing a small vaccine cooler (pictured) that is more portable and could be taken to remote areas in an emergency . | An inventor in Snowdonia, North Wales, has received $1.4million (£836,000) from Microsoft founder Bill Gates to develop his Sure Chill fridge .
Appliance is designed for use in the developing world where power cuts can be frequent and some remote areas are without any electricity .
Fridge can store vaccines at 4°C without power for up to 35 days .
Technology is based on the fact that at 4°C water is at its heaviest and sinks . |
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