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224,315 | ae72b312428b5d883dd01dffa2bd126040d87f40 | Editor's note: Junot Díaz's novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. (OPRAH.com) -- It wasn't that I couldn't write. I wrote every day. I actually worked really hard at writing. At my desk by 7 a.m., would work a full eight and more. Scribbled at the dinner table, in bed, on the toilet, on the No. 6 train, at Shea Stadium. I did everything I could. But none of it worked. My novel, which I had started with such hope shortly after publishing my first book of stories, wouldn't budge past the 75-page mark. Nothing I wrote past page 75 made any kind of sense. Nothing. Which would have been fine if the first 75 pages hadn't been pretty damn cool. But they were cool, showed a lot of promise. Would also have been fine if I could have just jumped to something else. But I couldn't. All the other novels I tried sucked worse than the stalled one, and even more disturbing, I seemed to have lost the ability to write short stories. It was like I had somehow slipped into a No-Writing Twilight Zone and I couldn't find an exit. Like I'd been chained to the sinking ship of those 75 pages and there was no key and no patching the hole in the hull. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, but nothing I produced was worth a damn. Want to talk about stubborn? I kept at it for five straight years. Five damn years. Every day failing for five years? I'm a pretty stubborn, pretty hard-hearted character, but those five years of fail did a number on my psyche. On me. Five years, 60 months? It just about wiped me out. By the end of that fifth year, perhaps in an attempt to save myself, to escape my despair, I started becoming convinced that I had written all I had to write, that I was a minor league Ralph Ellison, a Pop Warner Edward Rivera, that maybe it was time, for the sake of my mental health, for me to move on to another profession, and if the inspiration struck again some time in the future...well, great. But I knew I couldn't go on much more the way I was going. I just couldn't. I was living with my fiancée at the time (over now, another terrible story) and was so depressed and self-loathing I could barely function. I finally broached the topic with her of, maybe, you know, doing something else. My fiancée was so desperate to see me happy (and perhaps more than a little convinced by my fear that maybe the thread had run out on my talent) that she told me to make a list of what else I could do besides writing. I'm not a list person like she was, but I wrote one. It took a month to pencil down three things. (I really don't have many other skills.) I stared at that list for about another month. Waiting, hoping, praying for the book, for my writing, for my talent to catch fire. A last-second reprieve. But nada. So I put the manuscript away. All the hundreds of failed pages, boxed and hidden in a closet. I think I cried as I did it. Five years of my life and the dream that I had of myself, all down the tubes because I couldn't pull off something other people seemed to pull off with relative ease: a novel. By then I wasn't even interested in a Great American Novel. I would have been elated with the eminently forgettable New Jersey novel. Oprah.com: The real meaning of your "true calling" So I became a normal. A square. I didn't go to bookstores or read the Sunday book section of the Times. I stopped hanging out with my writer friends. The bouts of rage and despair, the fights with my fiancée ended. I slipped into my new morose half-life. Started preparing for my next stage, back to school in September. (I won't even tell you what I was thinking of doing, too embarrassing.) While I waited for September to come around, I spent long hours in my writing room, sprawled on the floor, with the list on my chest, waiting for the promise of those words to leak through the paper into me. Maybe I would have gone through with it. Hard to know. But if the world is what it is so are our hearts. One night in August, unable to sleep, sickened that I was giving up, but even more frightened by the thought of having to return to the writing, I dug out the manuscript. I figured if I could find one good thing in the pages I would go back to it. Just one good thing. Like flipping a coin, I'd let the pages decide. Spent the whole night reading everything I had written, and guess what? It was still terrible. In fact with the new distance the lameness was even worse than I'd thought. That's when I should have put everything in the box. When I should have turned my back and trudged into my new life. I didn't have the heart to go on. But I guess I did. While my fiancée slept, I separated the 75 pages that were worthy from the mountain of loss, sat at my desk, and despite every part of me shrieking no no no no, I jumped back down the rabbit hole again. There were no sudden miracles. It took two more years of heartbreak, of being utterly, dismayingly lost before the novel I had dreamed about for all those years finally started revealing itself. And another three years after that before I could look up from my desk and say the word I'd wanted to say for more than a decade: done. Oprah.com: 4 writers answer "What makes you you?" That's my tale in a nutshell. Not the tale of how I came to write my novel but rather of how I became a writer. Because, in truth, I didn't become a writer the first time I put pen to paper or when I finished my first book (easy) or my second one (hard). You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway. Wasn't until that night when I was faced with all those lousy pages that I realized, really realized, what it was exactly that I am. Oprah.com: 11 ways to find your calling . By Junot Diaz from O, The Oprah Magazine, November . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2010 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Junot Diaz almost quit writing years before he won a Pulitzer Prize .
He had 75 good pages but couldn't write anything else he liked .
After putting away hundreds of filled pages, he tried to think of other professions .
Says a writer is someone who can't stop writing -- even though no hope, no promise . |
180,712 | 75ee67349d16a48fe69fff29ac6a622740e4bd41 | By . John Hall . PUBLISHED: . 04:56 EST, 3 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 06:31 EST, 3 March 2014 . This is the dramatic moment an osprey dives through the air with its folded its wings tightly behind its back, before crashing into the water to catch its lunch. Known as the fighter jet of the animal kingdom, the streamlined bird was photographed as it plunged into El Dorado Park Lake in Long Beach, California in pursuit of a fish. Ospreys have a wingspan of nearly two metres and can reach speeds of 80 mph when hunting. Ready to kill: Known as the fighter jet of the animal kingdom, the streamlined bird was photographed as it plunged into El Dorado Park Lake in Long Beach, California in pursuit of a fish . Aerodynamic: Ospreys have a wingspan of nearly two metres and can reach speeds of 80 mph when hunting . Crash: The osprey, which is also known as a sea hawk, crashes into the water and grabs the fish in its talons . Nicknamed the sea hawk, this ultimate aerodynamic killing machine folds its wings behind itself mid-dive in order to achieve the speed and precision of a dart. Photographer Viet La, 57, from Ontario in California, took the photographs last month. He said; 'The bird was going very fast - it had to move quickly to catch the fish...He managed to catch his lunch, then he emerged from the water and sat on a nearby branch to eat it. 'You can tell just how fast it was going by how blurry the background of my photo is,' he added. Paul Stancliffe of the British Trust for Ornithology said: 'Ospreys are fish specialists, feeding on virtually nothing else.' Underwater: Photographer Viet La said: 'The bird was going very fast - it had to move quickly to catch the fish' 'Osprey hunt fish by circling over water. Once a fish is spotted below the surface they dive and plunge feet-first into the water to grab the fish in their talons,' he added. Ospreys are unusual in that they appear almost all over the world as a single living species with, for example, hardly any genetic difference between one bird in Alaska and another that lives in Kenya. The Osprey is the second most widely distributed raptor species, after the Peregrine Falcon. In the British Isles the birds are scarce breeders and live primarily in Scotland, with smaller numbers in England and Wales. Ospreys became extinct in the British Isles in 1916 after aggressive egg and skin collection in the Victorian era, but were recolonised in Scotland in 1954 and reintroduced to the Lake District in 1996. | Osprey was photographed hunting in El Dorado Park Lake in California .
The bird crashed into the water at speeds of up to 80mph to catch a fish .
Tucked wings tightly behind back to increase speed before hitting water . |
51,713 | 926db6b5faca46f5bc350e16f8c20dee16d358e5 | By . Louise Boyle . A former homeless woman's attempt to pull a 15,000lb truck failed today but still raised thousands of dollars for women in poverty. Lia Grimanis, from Toronto, appeared on the Today show to try to pull the massive truck through Rockefeller Plaza in three-inch high heels - and in the process, a few expletives slipped from her lips live on-air. Ms Grimanis was aiming to set the Guinness World Record for the 'heaviest vehicle pulled in high heels by a female' by dragging it for 16 feet and 4 inches (or 5 meters). Scroll down for video . Lia Grimanis attempted to pull a massive truck through Rockefeller Plaza on Monday morning in three-inch heels while the Today show presenters looked on along with cheering fans . Lia Grimanis attempted to pull a massive truck through Rockefeller Plaza on Monday morning in three-inch heels . Pull! The 42-year-old failed in her world record attempt on Monday but still managed to raise thousands of dollars for charity . The world record hopeful gave herself the extra challenge by trying to pull the 15,000lb truck uphill in three-inch heels from Aldo . After checking that the truck was in . neutral and with the Today show presenters lined up to cheer her on, Ms . Grimanis began her attempt. However, although the wheels of the truck rolled forward a little, she was beaten by the slight gradient of the plaza. The . 42-year-old grimaced in pain and slid back and forth in her Aldo heels . with the truck harnessed to her back and holding on to a tow rope. After trying for several minutes and exclaiming 's***' a few times live on-air, Ms Grimanis shook her head and gave up the challenge. However despite the failed challenge, Walmart announced that they . would keep their promise to donate $25,000 to New York charity Women In Need which helps homeless women get . back on their feet. The 42-year-old sued a tow rope to help pull herself forward in her world record challenge . The 42-year-old had a friend to cheer her along as the Today show presenters look on in Rockefeller Plaza . Lia Grimanis speaks to Matt Lauer on Today following her record attempt which raised $25,000 for charity . Ms Grimanis told Today that . she first realized that she was able to pull heavy loads when she got a job as a rickshaw . driver. She said that pulling up to eight people in the back of a rickshaw showed her how strong she could be. The 42-year-old, who was a formerly homeless high-school dropout, has become a successful businesswoman in her native Canada. She runs a non-profit organization Up With Women which provides housing and employment opportunities for women trying to get out of poverty. Ms Grimanis' truck-pulling feats are part of her fundraising efforts. In December, she broke the Guinness World record for the 'Heaviest Vehicle Pulled 100ft By A Woman' by dragging a 17,000lb transport truck. At the time of her record, she said: 'As a survivor of homelessness and violence in the home, I wanted to show women who are struggling that anything is possible, and that we are all stronger than we think we are.' | Lia Grimanis, who was once homeless, now pulls trucks to raise money for other women in poverty .
The 42-year-old let a few expletives slip as she made the record attempt - which were broadcast live on-air .
Although she failed in the Guinness world record, she still raised $25,000 for New York charity Women In Need .
In December, she broke the Guinness World record for the 'Heaviest Vehicle Pulled 100ft By A Woman' by dragging a 17,000lb transport truck . |
149,402 | 4d343e9797291470b581b55e284e9e169c415639 | A celebrity psychic has sacked her husband and son-in-law from their roles in her management team after they were filmed threatening and hurling homophobic abuse at a sceptic who was handing out leaflets outside her shows. Sally Morgan's husband, John Morgan, and son-in-law, Daren Wiltshear, were caught on camera by Mark Tilbrook as he stood outside a London theatre distributing leaflets that questioned whether psychics really could speak to the dead. Mr Morgan was shown approaching Mr Tilbrook, 30, and threatening him with violence if he did not leave, saying: 'I'm gonna knock you out sooner or later... 'So f*** off before I do you.' Scroll down for video . Sceptic Mark Tilbrook, right, was handing out leaflets outside Sally Morgan's live show when he was threatened . The psychic's husband John Morgan is seen on footage filmed by Mr Tilbrook hurling homophobic abuse at him . Menacing: When Mr Morgan threatens to attack Mr Tilbrook, he is joined by son-in-law Daren Wiltshear, above . Last night Mrs Morgan, 63, who styles herself as 'Britain's best-loved psychic' and who gave readings to the late Princess Diana, announced she had sacked her two family members after seeing the footage. She gave the news in a statement on her website, saying Mr Morgan and Mr Wiltshear will 'have nothing more to do with my business', and adding: 'Right now I honestly have no idea what is going to happen to my marriage.' The video, which has just been released to coincide with October being 'Psychic Awareness Month', was filmed outside the Shaw Theatre in north London in April this year, shortly before Mrs Morgan gave one of her 'Psychic Sally: On The Road' shows. Mr Tilbrook, who was handing out leaflets entitled 'Look After Yourself' to audience members attending in the hope the psychic might contact dead relatives, said he had a video camera because Mr Morgan had been 'threatening and abusive' at the two previous shows he had leafleted. The footage shows the psychic's husband coming up to him and telling him he was taking legal action against Mr Tilbrook. When Mr Tilbrook refused to leave, saying he was doing nothing wrong, Mr Morgan launched into a tirade of abuse, saying: 'I'm gonna knock you out one day because you are a nuisance... The tape, which was uploaded to YouTube, began showing Mr Morgan telling Mr Tilbrook he was suing him . But the encounter quickly soured, with the psychic's husband threatening Mr Tilbrook with physical violence . As Mr Morgan continues to threaten Mr Tilbrook, he is joined by his son-in-law and Mrs Morgan's tour manager . 'One day you're gonna be lifted and you'll disappear somewhere.' He went on: 'You're a prat and I'm losing my temper, because I'm gonna knock you out sooner or later. 'So f*** off before I do you.' He is seen continuing in this vein, becoming increasingly agitated despite Mr Tilbrook's refusal to fight back, saying: 'I'm gonna hit you in a minute. I'm gonna knock you out.' At this point, Sally Morgan's son-in-law, then tour manager, Mr Wiltshear, approached and added: 'I've seen him do it and you really don't want him to do it.' Mr Morgan, who also threatened to 'flatten' Mr Tilbrook, hurled homophobic abuse at him as well, saying: ''You're a poof as well - we know all about your life.' He added: 'You know, you look pale. Are you on drugs or has someone s****** you too much? 'One of your boyfriends been ** **** ****?' Mr Tilbrook put his footage, which he says bears at 2012 date stamp because he used a 'cheap camera', on YouTube, where it has had more than 120,000 views. 'You look pale': The abuse becomes homophobic, as Mr Tilbrook is accused of sleeping with various men . Initially Mrs Morgan apologised for the remarks made on the tape, and in a statement she put out on Friday accused Mr Tilbrook of 'persistent hounding', saying her husband had reacted 'angrily' because of his 'ever-growing concern' for her safety. However last night she published another statement, saying: 'I have come from a family background that has always been very accepting, many of my friends are gay and I have always felt happy that I am often referred to as a gay icon through my work. 'I am utterly ashamed and devastated at the behaviour of my husband John and son-in-law Daren, and neither of them will have anything to do with my work, my business, and right now I honestly have no idea what is going to happen to my marriage.' Enigmatically, the statement concluded: 'There will be many more important decisions being made over the course of this week.' Mr Tilbrook told MailOnline today that his leaflets were not specifically about Sally Morgan, saying: 'I just wanted those who were attending a psychic show to have all the information they needed to make an informed choice about whether psychics have real powers or whether they just appear to have them.' He added: 'From the very first time I was handing out leaflets on the street, John Morgan harassed and threatened me - telling me to "F*** off before I floor you". 'Not once did I ever approach him, and I would have preferred it if he had just left me alone.' Mr Tilbrook said Mr Morgan's behaviour was 'inexcusable', and said he was angry that Mrs Morgan had initially 'inferred what happened was justified because I was somehow "hounding" them.' He added: 'The reaction from Sally Morgan's team has been totally unjustified and threatened my right to free speech.' Mrs Morgan did not reply to MailOnline's requests for a comment. | Sceptic Mark Tilbrook was handing out leaflets outside psychic's live show .
His leaflets questioned whether psychics really could speak to the dead .
Husband of 'Psychic Sally' approached and was 'threatening and abusive'
John Morgan told Mr Tilbrook 'I'm gonna knock you out sooner or later'
He was joined by son-in-law Daren Wiltshear, who said 'I've seen him do it'
Mr Morgan made more violent threats and hurled homophobic abuse at him .
'You look pale. Are you on drugs or has someone s****** you too much?'
Mrs Morgan, who gave readings for Princess Diana, has now sacked both .
She said: 'They will have nothing more to do with my business or shows' |
33,466 | 5f308e37b75943d60050e5e6030df617eeb53e8e | Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. military has everything it needs to strike ISIS inside Syria and is awaiting President Barack Obama's authorization to do so, U.S. military officials tell CNN. For weeks, intelligence and military targeting specialists have been working around the clock on a list of targets. It's expected the list will be presented to the President one more time, with some analysis of the risks of bombing inside Syria, as well as possible rewards in terms of destroying and degrading ISIS, according to the officials. It is most likely that the target list will be broadly described to the President, with some analysis about what would be accomplished. Presidents generally do not review each and every target before a strike. The broad guidance is given and then the military selects the time, date, place -- after the President makes the political decision to proceed. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday that he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey signed off on plans to strike ISIS in Syria. He said Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, briefed Obama on Wednesday on the plan for striking ISIS in Syria. "CENTCOM's plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria -- including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel said. "Our actions will not be restrained by a border that exists in name only." Obama is "actively" reviewing options and has "offered guidance" to the Department of Defense about the target sets that he's reviewed, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said last week. But Earnest said that Obama is not signing off on each strike. "These are very difficult operational decisions that will have to be made on a case-by-case basis. Many of them don't rise to a presidential level, to the level of the commander in chief," Earnest said. House approves plan to assist Syrian rebels . In the "old days," there were literally target "folders." The military would thumb through a sheaf of classified papers detailing the target, and what aircraft and bombs would be used to strike it. Nowadays, it's all computerized, of course. The goal, if not the process, is largely the same. The United States has been flying drones over Syria, looking at areas where ISIS operates. The drones are looking for personnel, equipment depots, training camps, and the locations of the group's leaders. U.S. officials tell CNN if top leadership can be located, they will be on the target list to strike. If past strike procedures against terrorist leaders in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia are used again, the President would preauthorize strikes against the leaders, by name, and then they would be hit when located. The anatomy of ISIS: How the 'Islamic State' is run, from oil to beheadings . Intelligence is also collected by intercepting cell phone calls and monitoring social media sites that ISIS frequents. All of this is being repeatedly collected over a period of days because the Washington also wants to see any patterns of movement. Many of the targets are mobile, so they have to track them repeatedly. Intelligence also has to be collected on any regime forces, or air defenses in the area where the U.S. will fly. One important challenge: figuring out where civilians are located. Intelligence indicates ISIS has been moving into towns, hoping to blend in and keep safe from potential U.S. airstrikes. Iranian leader rips ISIS, questions U.S. willingness to 'sacrifice' in terror fight . All of this data is assembled for each target. Then the U.S. Central Command determines which type of aircraft and which type of bomb is best to strike the target. Strikes are expected to use precision-guided weapons in order to minimize collateral damage, especially in towns and villages. Those type of weapons can even be used to hit a precise part of a building rather than destroy an entire structure. Each target on the list will include an assessment of the risk of flying into that area of Syria and hitting it, but also an assessment of how the destruction could impact ISIS. The Pentagon is looking for targets to make a significant impact on ISIS, not just destroy small groups of personnel or weapons, military officials tell CNN. Kerry says Syrian President is using chlorine weapons . | Military officials are prepared to strike, waiting on President Obama's go-ahead .
Obama is "actively" reviewing target lists and has "offered guidance" to the Pentagon .
The U.S. has been flying drones over Syria, looking at areas where ISIS operates .
If top ISIS leaders can be located, they will be on the target list to strike . |
256,136 | d78fa27b5193f029094c1c42c990b3c3c8c575e1 | A Canadian prisoner was photographed apparently smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol while incarcerated. QMI Agency reported Michael Simoneau-Meunier, who is spending time inside the Bordeaux prison in Montreal, was snapped in the photos and uploaded them to Facebook. Simoneau-Meunier captioned the photos 'Xo and blunt living da jail life.' High times: Michael Simoneau-Meunier published these photos of himself apparently smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol while behind bars . Look at me! Simoneau-Meunier has also published a number of shirtless selfies to his Facebook page . The news service pointed out 'Xo refers to his $250 bottle of cognac and blunt is slang for a marijuana joint.' Simoneau-Meunier has a history of run-ins with the law, according to the Canadian news service. The inmate has also been sharing shirtless photographs of himself online, QMI agency noted - and one such snap was published as recently as Wednesday. Several of Simoneau-Meunier's Facebook friends like the image and seemed to comment on it positively. The news service, citing a source, revealed 'inmates [at Bordeaux] are smuggling in cellphones faster than guards can confiscate them.' The Journal de Montreal reported that multiple Bordeaux inmates have been posting shirtless selfies online. The newspaper reported that Simoneau-Meunier has already been sentenced for various charges and 'is jailed awaiting sentencing for a robbery.' Between 2007 and 2013, prison personnel recovered 567 cell phones at Bordeaux, the newspaper revealed. Three men broke out this year using a helicopter, according to The Journal. What's going on? Bordeaux prison, where Simoneau-Meunier is incarcerated, saw 567 cell phones recovered over six years . | Michael Simoneau-Meunier, who is spending time inside the Bordeaux prison in Montreal, was snapped apparently smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol while incarcerated .
He captioned them 'Xo and blunt living da jail life'
Simoneau-Meunier has a history of run-ins with the law .
The inmate has also shared shirtless photographs of himself online - and one such snap was published as recently as Wednesday .
Multiple Bordeaux inmates have reportedly been posting shirtless selfies .
Between 2007 and 2013, prison personnel recovered 567 cell phones at Bordeaux . |
199,578 | 8e59e9efd48eadd80a5b45e5cec2ac486aa1d8ad | (CNN) -- Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who is serving time in prison for crimes committed during his rule, was taken to a hospital, Panamanian police said Sunday. He was moved to the Panama City hospital because of hypertension and a possible stroke, they said, citing his medical team. He is 77. Noriega returned to Panama late last year, nearly 22 years after U.S. forces forcibly removed him from office. He previously served time in French and American prisons. He was convicted in absentia in Panama, where officials want Noriega to face justice in the killings of Hugo Spadafora, his political opponent, and at least one other person. For almost 20 years, Noriega was a major player in a country of critical regional importance to the United States because of its location on the Panama Canal, the key strategic and economic waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on the narrow isthmus linking the Americas. Amid growing unrest in Panama, then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in December 1989, saying Noriega's rule posed a threat to U.S. lives and property. Noriega fled his offices and tried to seek sanctuary in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. He surrendered in January 1990 and was quickly escorted to the United States for civilian trial. Noriega was indicted in the United States on charges of racketeering, laundering drug money and drug trafficking. He was accused of having links to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's notorious Medellin cartel and, in the process, amassing a multimillion-dollar fortune. He was convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes in the United States. While in U.S. custody, he suffered from prostate cancer and a stroke. In 2010, a French court sentenced Noriega to seven years in prison for laundering 2.3 million euros ($2.9 million) through banks there. A French court authorized his extradition to Panama. | Manuel Noriega was moved because of hypertension, possible stroke, police say .
He was transferred from prison, where he was sent for crimes committed in office .
Noriega returned to Panama late last year after 22 years in French, U.S. prisons . |
33,015 | 5dc7fa52bb6f86fa759bccaa2efe932026b3b684 | By . Deni Kirkova . PUBLISHED: . 12:39 EST, 12 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:05 EST, 13 December 2013 . A great-grandmother who was the oldest member of the Royal British Legion and held the record for being the world's oldest paraglider has died at 106 years old. Peggy McAlpine from Stirling, Scotland, was 104 when she became the world's oldest paraglider. At 101, Daredevil Peggy, as she became known, enjoyed a ride on a powerful Harley Davidson motorcycle. And years earlier she celebrated her 80th birthday doing a bungee jump. Scroll down for video . Daredevil Peggy McAlpine, who has died at 106, pictured on her 105th birthday in October 2012 . But Peggy's fun-filled life of extreme pursuits and daring exploits came to an end last Friday December 6 when she passed away at her adopted home of Karaman, Kyrenia, in northern Cyprus. Peggy, who had two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, died of pneumonia following a bout of flu. The Scot's late husband Thomas, who died of cancer in 1980, was a member of the wealthy McAlpine construction business family. Peggy had a colourful life and her daughter Elizabeth Forsyth, 77, was caught up in the scandal . surrounding the costly collapse of his Polly Peck business empire as an employee of jailed tycoon Asil Nadir. Peggy, 100, gives a thumbs up as she paraglides off a 2,500ft mountain peak in Kyrenia, Cyprus, October 07 . Today the Royal British Legion in London confirmed Peggy was their oldest member. An RBL standard bearer from the Legion's branch in Kyrenia, northern Cyprus, will attend her funeral in Karaman tomorrow. Peggy, born in October 1907, had revealed she ‘loved heights' from a young age. She recalled her first time on an aeroplane was as the passenger of aviation pioneer Sir Alan Cobham in the late 1920s. Highlighting her passion for ‘danger', Peggy entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2007 for being the oldest person to take part in paragliding at the age of 100. Peggy with daughter Elizabeth, far right, granddaughter Fiona, centre, and great-granddaughter Megan, left . Her record was broken in 2011 by 101-year-old American womant Mary Allen Hardison. But Peggy, despite being wheelchair-bound, was determined to get her record back and in April 2012 she leapt from a 2,400ft peak in the Kyrenia mountain range in northern Cyprus. She was in tandem on a paraglider with pilot Ozgur Gokasan after helpers carried her from her wheelchair to be attached to him. Peggy said at the time: 'I enjoyed every minute of it. It was better than the last time. I would certainly like to do it again - especially if anyone takes my record.' Her adventure was recorded on video and posted on YouTube and she celebrated with a glass of champagne. Peggy said she first got a taste for extreme sports at the age of 80 when her grandchildren talked her into trying bungee jumping at a show in Essex. 'I climbed to the top and looked down and saw the people like ants and my heart sank,' she said. 'But I'd gone so far, I couldn't stop. So I stepped on the platform and drew up my courage and leaped from the top.' Peggy's friend Keith Lloyd, 72, a fellow member of the RBL in Kyrenia, commented on her passing. 'She was a very warm lady but also very feisty. She never lost her sense of humour and bubbly nature even when she was confined to a wheelchair,' he said. Peggy with Major Brian Thomas, chairman of RBL in Kyrenia, on her 105th birthday last year . 'She had a wonderful retirement, full of adventurous pursuits. 'I . remember after her frist paragliding record was broken she said to her . daughter Elizabeth, ‘Well, we can't have that, can we?' Of course, she . went and did it again and regained her record. 'I knew Peggy for 10 years. She lived in a beautiful house in the village of Karaman and was very happy there. 'She was one of the early members of the Kyrenia branch of the Royal British Legion. 'She felt very happy to be part of an organisation which is the only one in northern Cyprus to have the Queen as its patron.' A spokesman for the Royal British Legion in London said: 'Peggy was our oldest member based on those whose dates of birth we know of. We were very sad to hear of her death.' Major Brian Thomas MBE, chairman of the Kyrenia branch of the RBL, said: 'Peggy was such a well loved woman, a truly remarkable person. She had so much spirit. 'We are expecting more than 200 people to attend her funeral.' He said she was the oldest known member of the RBL although there may be 'one or two' elder ones from World War One who have no record of their exact dates of birth. Peggy became involved with the RBL in Kyrenia through her son-in-law Mike Forsyth, who was in the RAF. | Peggy McAlpine, from Stirling, Scotland, died of pneumonia following flu .
Great-grandmother was 104 when she become world's oldest paraglider .
Celebrated her 80th birthday by doing a bungee jump .
Scot was the oldest confirmed member of the Royal British Legion . |
92,467 | 02ef8f84d72f3c4404766486ac64ef7757eeec9a | By . David Kent . Arsenal have expressed an interest in Manchester City central defender Matija Nastasic. Arsene Wenger will move for a new centre-half if captain Thomas Vermaelen leaves for Manchester United. And Nastasic is on the Gunners’ radar as they make plans for the exit of Vermaelen. Talented: Matija Nastasic impressed for the champions Manchester City last season . On his way: Could Nastasic have played his last game for Manchester City? The Serbia international was watched extensively by Arsenal scouts during his time at Fiorentina, but City moved quickly to snap up Nastasic in 2012 as he developed a reputation as one of the best emerging defenders in Europe. Despite missing out to City, the North London club remain keen on Nastasic and are set to revive their interest should Vermaelen leave. Nastasic’s future at the Etihad Stadium is unclear this summer due to the pending arrival of Eliaquim Mangala from Porto. Roma are also interested in Nastasic, 21, who could cost £16million. Experience: Thomas Vermaelen is still a top player on his day . Frustrating: Vermaelen has endured his fair share of injury woes over the last few years . VIDEO Vermaelen could join Manchester United . Whether Vermaelen completes a move to Old Trafford remains to be seen, with the Gunners far from convinced about selling their skipper. The Belgium international has less than 12 months on his existing deal meaning he can leave on a free transfer next summer. But Wenger knows letting Vermaelen go, particularly after the departure of fourth-choice centre-back Bacary Sagna, would leave him alarmingly short of options in the position. It is understood Wenger would give serious consideration to a player-swap deal with United. Wenger has shown firm interest in United central defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in the past, and may look to include either in a deal for Vermaelen. | The Gunners will look to snap up the Serbian defender if skipper Thomas Vermaelen departs the club .
Matija Nastasic is believed to be valued at around £16million .
Roma are also interested in the talented centre-half . |
103,495 | 117601c1758c277b8488741dac9271c2c1df624f | The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that human genes cannot be patented. But in something of a compromise, all nine justices said while the naturally occurring isolated biological material itself is not patentable, a synthetic version of the gene material may be patented. Legal and medical experts believe the decision will have a lasting impact on genetic testing, likely making varieties more widely available and more affordable. The overriding legal question addressed was whether "products of nature" can be treated the same as "human-made" inventions, allowing them to be held as the exclusive intellectual property of individuals and companies. The broader issue involved 21st century conflicts over cutting-edge medical science, the power of business and individual legal rights, and how their convergence might influcence decisionmaking over how people and medicine manage the prospect and reality of certain diseases, like cancer. The issue has deeply divided the scientific and business communities. But it was a blockbuster celebrity, actress Angelina Jolie who brought it to the public in announcing last month that she underwent a double mastectomy following a genetic test. The Supreme Court case involves Myriad Genetics, a Utah-based company that was sued over its claim of patents relating to two types of biological material that it identified -- BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations are linked to increased hereditary risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Since Myriad owns the patent on breast cancer genes, it was the only company that could perform tests for potential abnormalities. It says 1 million patients have benefited from its "BRAC Analysis" technology, and that about 250,000 such tests are performed yearly. An initial test catches most problems, but the company also offers a second called BART to detect the rest, a diagnostic that can cost several thousand dollars. Jolie had Myriad's breast cancer test. Plaintiffs and testing . Among those challenging the Myriad patents were sisters Eileen Kelly and Kathleen Maxian. Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. The initial BRCA test proved negative, meaning her family members were not likely at risk. But Maxian later developed ovarian cancer. The second BART testing proved positive, meaning the siblings carried the cancer-causing mutation all along. Money was not an issue for them, but Kelly and Maxian, along with a coalition of physician groups and genetic counselors say Myriad has not made the BART tests widely available for patients without a strong family history of these kinds of cancers. Breast cancer survivor Lisbeth Ceriani was another plaintiff. She faced having to pay thousands for Myriad's test to see if she had a mutation for ovarian cancer. Because of cost, she waited 18 months before she could afford it, learning she carried a mutation, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented plaintiffs. All sides agree the science of isolating the building blocks of life is no easy task. Myriad has said it has spent several years and hundreds of millions of dollars in its research. But the issue of patenting has divided the scientific and business communities. A history of patent protection . In the past 31 years, 20 percent of the human genome has been protected under U.S. patents. On one side of the Myriad case, scientists and companies argued patents encourage medical innovation and investment that saves lives. On the other, patient rights groups and civil libertarians countered the patent holders were "holding hostage" the diagnostic care and access of information available to high-risk patients. Outside the court during oral arguments in April, several protesters held signs, such as "Your corporate greed is killing my friends" and "My genes are not property." The patent system was created more than two centuries ago with a dual purpose. One is to offer temporary financial incentives for those at the ground floor of innovative products like the combustible engine and the X-ray machine. The second is to ensure one company does not hold a lifetime monopoly that might discourage competition and consumer affordability. All patent submissions rely on a complex reading of applicable laws, distinguishing between abstract ideas and principles, and more tangible scientific discoveries and principles. The Supreme Court ruling . The Supreme Court has long allowed patent protection for the creation of a new process or use for natural products. Whether "isolating" or "extracting" genes themselves qualifies for such protection became the central argument. The justices took the position offered by the Obama administration -- DNA itself is not patentable but so-called "cDNA" can be. Complementary DNA is artificially synthesized from the genetic template, and engineered to produce gene clones. Use of this protein-isolating procedure, known as "tagging," is especially important in mapping and cataloguing the vast human genome. "Genes and the information they encode are not patent-eligible under [federal law] simply because they have been isolated from the surrounding genetic material," said Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the 9-0 court opinion. "Myriad did not create anything," said Thomas. "To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention." But Thomas said, "cDNA does not present the same obstacles to patentability as naturally occurring, isolated DNA segments." See also: Supreme Court backs DNA swab after arrest . Reaction to the decision . The American Civil Liberties Union said the decision represents a major shift in patent law and overturns established policy. "Today, the court struck down a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation," said Sandra Park, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "Myriad did not invent the BRCA genes and should not control them. Because of this ruling, patients will have greater access to genetic testing and scientists can engage in research on these genes without fear of being sued." Dr. Harry Ostrer, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of genetic and genomic testing at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said the decision will not undermine the genetically engineered drug industry and expects the costs of tests to fall. "I'm thrilled. We can offer BRCA 1 and 2 testing to low-income women without concerns about how it will be paid for," he said. Jolie also hoped for a meaningful impact. "I hope that this ruling will lead to more women at risk of breast cancer being able to get access to gene testing and to take control of their lives, not just in the U.S. but around the world -- whatever their means and whatever their background," she said. Peter D. Meldrum, president and chief executive officer of Myriad, said in a statement the company believed the court "appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA" The ruling, he added "underscored the patent eligibility of our method claims, ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward." Investors in Myriad were pleased with the ruling with the stock soaring as much as 9% before settling back but still higher. The case is Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (12-398). 2009: How human genes became patented . 2009: ACLU sues over patents on breast cancer genes . | Unanimous ruling a compromise; court says synthetic material, cDNA, can be patented .
Actress Angelina Jolie drove attention to the issue involving breast cancer .
Issue was whether "products of nature" could be treated similarly to human inventions .
Company at center of case says decision upheld a key claim on synthetic DNA . |
56,519 | a02c1c3679ec680bd7e157f73ac64f353d934c9d | A body pulled from Lake Washington has been identified as that of Richard Sweezey, 67, who vanished while out on his boat more than two years ago . A body pulled from Lake Washington has been identified as that of a man who vanished while out on his boat more than two years ago. Richard Sweezey, 67, was last seen leaving Seattle's Queen City Yacht Club in his yacht on July 20, 2012 . Police began an investigation after his boat was found grounded later that day. When King County Marine Unit Deputies searched the boat, a 48-foot 1965 Chris Craft Roamer, they found it unoccupied. 'When deputies got there they found that nobody was in the boat but there was a generator inside there that was running, and a tool that was hooked to it via an extension cord was hanging over the side of the boat and into the water,' King County Sheriff's Sergeant Cindi West told KOMO at the time. The King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian 1 Helicopter, the U.S. Coast Guard and Seattle Police Marine Patrol all participated in a search for Sweezey's body but without finding anything. After the investigation was called off, Sweezey’s friends and family raises tens of thousands of dollars for their own search of the lake, using sonar technology. But that too proved unsuccessful. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later classified Sweezey’s death as an accident. Sweezey left behind a wife, Rae Ann Engdahl, and two step-children, Jeremy and Kinley. When King County Marine Unit Deputies searched the boat, a 48-foot 1965 Chris Craft Roamer, in July 2012 they found it unoccupied . | A body pulled from Lake Washington has been identified as that of Richard Sweezey who vanished while out on his boat more than two years ago .
He was last seen leaving Seattle's Queen City Yacht Club in his yacht on July 20, 2012 .
Friends and family had previously raised money for sonar technology to search the lake - but it proved unsuccessful . |
89,036 | fcab740605473918648bc0a08bb9517fe3f0a4c1 | Giovanni Simeone wants to be known for his skills and not as the son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone after impressing in a two-goal performance for Argentina's Under 20 side. Argentina crushed Ecuador 5-2 in their opening match of the South American Under 20 championship in Uruguay on Wednesday with striker Simeone helping himself to a brace. 'I had a hard time trying to make my team mates understand I'm not a different (type of) person, I haven't come here because I'm the son of (someone famous),' the Madrid-born 19-year-old told the Argentine site Ole. Giovanni Simeone wants to be known for his skills and not as the son of Atletico Madrid's manager . Simeone forces Ecuador under 20 goalkeeper Edinson Recalde into a save on Wednesday . AGE: 19 . HEIGHT: 5ft 11in . POSITION: Striker . CLUB: River Plate . HONOURS: Argentina Primera Division, Copa Libertadores . 'I'm trying to show my skills and personality,' added Simeone, who has already had first division experience with River Plate, where he made his league debut in August 2013. Argentina are looking to qualify for the world under-20 championship they have won a record six times. The top four teams in the tournament that ends on Feb. 7 will go through to the May 30-June 20 world championship in New Zealand. The winners will also qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, unless hosts Brazil are champions, in which case the runners-up will go through with them. Simeone scored a brace in their South American Under 20 championship opener against Ecuador . Diego Simeone's time as a manager has enhanced the already-impressive reputation he had from playing . | Giovanni Simeone scored a brace as Argentina Under 20s beat Ecuador .
Simeone said he wanted to be known for his talent and not his family .
The 19-year-old is the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone .
Simeone Jnr plays for Argentine giants River Plate . |
181,463 | 76edeebd0aaa8b573f557f01472e86d9f4eed191 | Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho claimed the emotions almost rendered him speechless after helping his side secure the title. The Brazilian played a key role in City's second Barclays Premier League success in three seasons after joining the club from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30million last summer. A slight niggle meant the 29-year-old had to make do with substitute roles in the last four games but he was on the field as City beat West Ham 2-0 in their final match to clinch the title at the Etihad Stadium. Proud: Fernandinho described Man City's Premier League title win as amazing . Fernandinho said: 'Today was amazing, by the fans, the club, the team - everyone was concentrated to get the result. 'In that moment you don't know exactly what you say because the emotion is so high. 'To win the Premier League is amazing, and in the first season it is doubly amazing. 'I am so happy, I am so glad to help my team, and I am so proud to play for this team.' New boy: The midfielder joined from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer and has won two medals already . Fernandinho was City's top target last summer and although there was plenty of wrangling over the fee with his Ukrainian club, he feels his decision to move has been fully vindicated. Fernandinho has not only enjoyed double success with City, after the Capital One Cup win earlier in the season, but won a recall to the Brazil side in time for the World Cup. He said: 'I think I made the right decision to come to England and Man City. 'I always say in football and life you have to win the title, and Man City gave me the chance to win the title. I am so happy for that. 'The players deserved it. We worked very hard and today was the best way to win the title. 'In the game we played very good football and we deserved that.' Busy: Fernandinho will now travel with Man City to Abu Dhabi before turning his attention to the World Cup . Fernandinho will now be travelling with the rest of the squad for a short post-season trip to Abu Dhabi, but he intends to enjoy a break before turning attention to the World Cup in his homeland. He said: 'I need some days off to recover the mind and the body but I will be ready for the World Cup.' Meanwhile, defender Micah Richards has hinted that he could leave the club this summer. Richards, a regular in the title-winning side of two years ago, has been unable to reclaim a place since losing the right-back slot to Pablo Zabaleta in an injury-hit 2012-13 campaign. He does have one year remaining on his contract but, at 25, may now feel the time is right to move on. Richards tweeted: 'Thanks for everything city fans! I love u and always will u made me what I am today. 4 trophies from a struggling premier league side!' Time to go: Micah Richards could leave City after becoming frustrated at his role in the squad . | Fernandinho delighted to help Man City win Premier League .
Brazilian has no regrets over leaving Shakhtar Donetsk for Premier League .
Ready to prepare for World Cup with Brazil after short break .
Micah Richards could have bid farewell to Man City in emotional tweet . |
282,065 | f95f8a4df931da085e0fff6fe1b1a685c5a709ed | We’ve all wished someone from the future could send us tomorrow’s lottery ticket numbers. While it may seem wishful thinking, a physicist from Cambridge University believes that, in theory, it could be possible. He argues that if a thin wormhole stays open long enough, people might send messages instantly through time using pulses of light. Wormholes are theoretical tunnels that create shortcuts in space-time. A study in May from Dr Luke Butcher at Cambridge University argued that if a thin wormhole stayed open long enough, people could send messages through time using pulses of light, or photons . Space-time can be warped and distorted. It takes an enormous amount of matter or energy to create such distortions, but theoretically, distortions are possible. In the case of the wormhole, a shortcut is made by warping the fabric of space-time. Imagine folding a piece of paper with two pencil marks drawn on it to represent two points in space-time. The line between them shows the distance from one point to the other in normal space-time. If the paper is now bent and folded over almost double - the equivalent to warping space-time - then poking the pencil through the paper provides a much shorter way of linking the two points, in the same way a wormhole would create a shortcut. The problem with using wormholes to travel in space or time is that they are inherently unstable. When a particle enters a wormhole, it also creates fluctuations that cause the structure to collapse in on it. The latest study suggests there are unusual-shaped wormholes than may be able to stay open longer than normal. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but the theory of wormholes being used to send objects through time was first suggested by Albert Einstein's calculations. Wormholes are theoretical tunnels through the fabric of space-time that can create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. The problem with his theory is that, if wormholes exist, they don’t stay open long enough for a human, or even a single particle of light, to pass through them. But a new study at Cambridge University suggests that some wormholes are capable of staying open long enough to send messages backwards and forwards through time. In 1988, physicist Kip Thorne at the California Institute of Technology suggested that wormholes might be kept open through the use of a negative energy, known as Casimir energy. According to modern physics, the vacuum is full of fluctuating electromagnetic waves of different possible wavelengths which creates a vast amount of energy, normally invisible to humans. Between two parallel plates in a vacuum, some energy waves would be too large to fit through creating a negative Casimir energy. Einstein believed worm holes could open up a window into a different era. The problem with his theory is that, if worm holes exist, they don't stay open long enough for anything to pass through them. But a new study at Cambridge University suggests unusually-shaped wormholes could stay open longer than normal . Professor Luke Butcher’s recent paper builds on that theory by suggesting that if a wormhole is a lot longer than it is wide, the amount of Casimir energy naturally present inside it would be enough to allow it to stay open longer than normal. ‘My approach was to see if the wormhole itself – because it has a tube-like structure - could create the same effect as the plates,’ Dr Butcher told MailOnline. ‘My calculations showed that if a wormhole is very long compared to how wide it is, you can get negative energy created in the centre of the wormhole. ‘It’s not quite the right sort to keep the wormhole stable – which is what I’d hoped - but it does mean the wormhole collapses very slowly.' The wormhole would be open just long enough, Dr Butcher suggests, to send a photon through to the centre. The worm hole would be open just long enough, Dr Butcher suggests, to send a photon through to the other side. Because the ends of a wormhole can exist at different points in time, if Professor Butcher's theory proves correct, a message could be sent through time . Because the ends of a wormhole can exist at different points in time, if Professor Butcher’s theory proves correct, a message could be sent through time. Dr Butcher warned a lot more work needs to be down to confirm his theory. For instance, scientists still need to find out whether a pulse of light large enough to transmit a meaningful message can get through a collapsing wormhole and whether the pulse can actually escape the wormhole completely. ‘More calculations need to be done away from centre closer to mouths to see if the theory holds true,’ added Dr Butcher. ‘I would also like to look at the opposite case. 'Could a very short and fat worm hole be able to send messages through time? ‘This is all very much theoretical, but the possibilities are intriguing.’ | Wormholes are theoretical tunnels that create shortcuts in space-time .
If a message entered a wormhole, it could reach the future or the past .
But wormholes are thought to collapse before a message could get out .
Dr Luke Butcher argues if a wormhole is longer than it is wide, the amount of negative energy inside would allow it to stay open longer than normal .
Long enough, he claims, to carry a single particle of light through time .
In theory, this photon could carry a message to a distant past or future . |
248,653 | cdbef1cda929732dfc2bedaad6494d7136c9520f | The stage curtains maybe open, but this abandoned theatre has not put on a single show for decades. There is a huge hole in the ceiling and the seats, that years ago would have been full, are now eerily silent as the long ago abandoned venue, slowly decays. These haunting pictures were captured by urban explorer and photographer Nicola Bertellotti and tell the story of a once-loved buildings across Europe which have been left to succumb to the forces of nature. Scroll down for video . Faded glory: This was once a bustling auditorium but now there is a huge hole in the ceiling and rubble covers the remains of the wooden seats . His adventures have seen him explore once opulent villas, churches, and homes, which have been left abandoned for decades, and are finally bowing to the ravages of time. Mr Bertellotti has slipped into hundreds of buildings across Europe to snap pictures of the crumbling ruins before they are reclaimed by nature or vandalised beyond recognition. He says his research is directed towards the aesthetics of decay and is brought to light through his photographic lens. Mr Bertellotti's work is permanently on display in the Arte a Colori gallery in Colle di Val d'Elsa, Italy, or can be viewed at www.nicolabertellotti.com . Eerily silent: This once grand former home appears a shadow of its former self with dust and dirt covering the floor and green moss growing on the walls . Hive of activity: The workers have long left and this once busy factory which is now slowly decay as water seeps in through the roof . Reclaimed by nature: Long since abandoned by humans Mother Nature has slowly started to reclaimed the space . Forbidden places: Hidden away from the view of human eyes photographer Nicola Bertellotti captured this stunning image . This may not be on the usual tourist trail, but the urban explore discovered this crumbling staircase inside one of Europe's rotting homes . Faded glamour: The murals may have lasted the test of time, but the structure is slowly crumbling around them, in this villa in Italy . Beauty in abandonment: Where others see ruins that should be pulled down, photographer Nicola Bertellotti finds a ghostly beauty . Hidden gems: The extravagant furniture left behind gives a hint of what life was like within these walls before they were left to crumble . Stunning: The Chambre du Commerce in Belgium is a huge draw for urban explorers. The building, in Antwep, was erected in 1872 as a reconstruction of a 1531 Stock Exchange. It ceased being used in 2003 after failing to meet fire safety regulations and lay abandoned for seven years until a series of renovation plans were put forward. A private investor wants to turn the building into shops, a grand cafe, restaurants and a luxirous hotel. Industrial beauty: Despite the years and natures efforts to reclaim it, this industrial building appears to have remained strong . Not so grand piano: The music room in a decaying building still has an air of faded glamour that gives a hint to its past . All that remains: This was once a popular bowling alley has been left in disrepair after the last customers left . Glimpse into the past: These beautifully painted blue ceiling are still visible in an abandoned Polish castle . Untouched by humans: A wooden shed stands alone in the centre of this massive cylinder that has been left empty for years . Holy site: The altar and a number of pews remain in this crumbling church that has not held a service for decades . Frozen in time: The wine glasses, vases and jugs, remain but plants are threatening to take over this house . Abandoned: A rusting single chair is all that is left to show that humans once occupied this space . Photographer Nicola Bertellotti has uncovered breathtaking and bizarre sites on his travels across Europe as he explores empty buildings . Left in a hurry: Books and papers left behind by the previous owners can still be seen scattered across the floor. A gnome has also been left on the fireplace . Urban decay: Window frames, broken glass, crumbling bricks, and rubble, cover the floor of this abandoned building . Italian Photographer Nicola Bertellotti enjoys capturing symbols 'of a lost time that you aspire to find,' he says on his website . In his series of images he brings forgotten places back to life through the lens of his trusted camera . Life through a lens: A rotting mansion that was once home to a wealthy family but is now covered in dust and decay . Road to nowhere: These cars covered with rust, leaves and moss have not driven their owners anywhere in a very long time . Golden aged: Only the very brave would dare to scale this crumbling spiral staircase that now leads to nowhere . Creepy site: The mattresses and the pillows remain but you would not get a good night sleep inside what appears to be an abandoned hospital . Falling to pieces: This building has been left a skeleton of its former glory and is now slowly crumbling . Palatial past: The wall paintings and intricate floor tiles give a hint that this was once a grand home for someone . Empty: With its balconies, arches and domed ceilings this church in Poland has not seen human life for many years . Grand staircase: Urban explorers are the only ones brave enough to scale these stairs now after years of being left to rot . Remains of life: A single bath tub is all the remains in this house that was once a treasured family home . Cooling off period: This central energy cooling tower in Belgium stopped working many years ago, but remains standing . Video courtesy of Trevbish.co.uk . | Photographer Nicola Bertellotti has been exploring abandoned buildings across Europe taking pictures .
He captures the crumbling ruins before they are reclaimed by nature of vandalised beyond recognition .
The photographer has explored ruins in Poland, Belgium and Italy as part of his vast photographic research . |
261,214 | de4d3413268c8d9c8a4215126916a0d78de8de4f | For years, Nicole Hulbig collected beloved pets and rescue dogs from all over the country and promised to train them to be therapy dogs for PTSD-stricken soldiers and disabled children. Her pledges turned to ash this week after authorities found 37 bags of badly-decomposed dead dogs in her barn near Clarksville, Tennessee, along with 39 canines that were barely alive - covered in their own filth, locked in a cages that were too small and deprived of food and water. The horrific discovery on Thursday follows animal control officers removing four rotting dead puppies locked in cages from another home she lived in. Hulbig, 29, has been arrested on 12 counts of animal cruelty and outraged dog owners are demanding she face even tougher penalties. Shocking: Nicole Hulbig, 29, has been charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty for the dogs found at home homes in Tennessee . Before and after: One owner who left her dog Max in Hulbig's care said he dropped from 90lbs (left) to 55lbs (right) since February . This is Max shortly after he was returned to owner Leah Patterson. Patterson says he is recovering after his horrific ordeal . The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle reports that Hulbig ran RRR Service Dogs, which claimed to be a non-profit organization that rescued unwanted dogs and trained them to be service animals. Among the dogs that she took her were three dogs brought to the U.S. from Afghanistan by a California attorney and a German Sheppard owned by a disabled veteran. Their owners say Hulbig promised to retrain them and make them less aggressive. Now, the dogs are believed dead - among the countless dozens piled into bags and left to decay in her barn. 'I think they’re dead,' California lawyer Amy Konstantelos told the Leaf-Chronicle, speaking about the three dogs she had rescued from Afghanistan. 'I think they’re in one of those bags, and we’ll never know which one.' Hubig's husband, Eric Hubig, was also charged with animal cruelty for the four dead puppies found at a home he had rented with his wife . Hubig did provide proof that she had trained some dogs at her orgnaization. She posted this picture on her now-defunct Facebook page . Hulbig told authorities that the dogs died after a wave of distemper, a virulent canine virus, struck the kennels. Since authorities have no proof that the animal died from neglect or cruelty, she cannot be charged for any of their deaths. However, Hulbig and her husband Eric Hulbig can be charged for four dead puppies that were discovered in a former home. Authorities say they were locked in cages and left to die without food or water when the couple abandoned the home. Despite the tragedy, there is some good news. Some of the surviving dogs have been reunited with their owners who turned them over to Hulbig. One of those is Leah Patterson, who left Max in Hulbig's care in February after she promised to give him better training. She found him on Thursday among the surviving dogs that were seized from her barn. 'They bring him out, and I literally hit my knees crying,' he told the Leaf-Chronicle. 'I didn’t believe it was him. He was 89.6 pounds, and now he’s 55 pounds. Another week or two and the vet said he would have been dead.' | Nicole Hubig, 29, ran RRR Service Dogs, which claimed to be a non-profit rescue organization that trained service dogs .
Officers found bags full of badly-decomposed dog remains and cannot even tell how many of the animals died .
Hubig claims they died from the distemper virus .
Police cannot claim they died from neglect, so Hubig will not be charged in relation to the dog remains . |
136,565 | 3ca92902e5e5ea7761356e5836ef7a1aabfcab08 | (CNN) -- Baseball great Nolan Ryan, president and chief executive officer of the Texas Rangers, was to undergo medical tests Monday after being hospitalized a day earlier, the Rangers said. Ryan was hospitalized in Houston, Texas, "for what is believed to be a recurrence of the heart condition which he has previously experienced," the team said in a statement. He was taken to the hospital Sunday after experiencing discomfort Sunday at his home in Georgetown, Texas, the statement said. Ryan expects to be released in a few days, the Rangers said. During 27 years in the major leagues, Ryan threw a record 5,714 strikeouts while playing for the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. In 1999, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which says he had "a blazing fastball that approached 100mph and a work ethic like none other." CNN's Matt Cherry contributed to this report. | Nolan Ryan was to undergo medical testing Monday .
He went to the hospital on Sunday after experiencing discomfort .
Problem believed to be recurrence of heart condition, team says . |
266,024 | e491a4b56fe4b709d22363f793eee6842c1f6938 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Thursday sent a civil nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates to the Senate for ratification, but its passage remains uncertain, thanks to a recently disclosed video. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape. Senior U.S. officials said lawmakers critical of the deal could use the video, which shows a member of the UAE government's royal family torturing a man, to argue the United States should not have such nuclear cooperation with a country where the rule of law is not respected and human rights violations are tolerated. The senior officials said the Obama administration deliberately held off sending the deal to Congress for ratification because of fears some lawmakers would try to use the video to undermine the agreement. But the administration felt comfortable sending the agreement to Congress at this time, officials said, given that there has been little reaction to the release of the video except for a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month from U.S. Rep. James McGovern -- the Massachusetts Democrat who co-chairs the congressional Human Rights Commission. Watch how the video came to light » . McGovern expressed "outrage and concern" and asked Clinton to "place a temporary hold on further U.S. expenditures of funds, training, sales or transfers of equipment or technology, including nuclear, until a full review of this matter and its policy implications can be completed." He issued a statement Wednesday after Obama signed the agreement, saying he would not support the deal until the UAE addresses his "very grave concerns" about its human rights record. In the video, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates, whose leaders also run the federal government. The government has since arrested the sheikh, pending a full investigation. The video emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against the sheikh. The men, former business partners, had a falling out, in part over the video. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh's U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute. The U.S.-UAE pact is similar to one the United States signed last year with India. Under it, Washington would share nuclear technology, expertise and fuel. In exchange, the UAE would commit to abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency inspection safeguards. The small oil-rich Gulf nation promises not to enrich uranium or to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear bombs. A statement issued Thursday by the State Department said the deal will "serve as a model for responsible nuclear energy development" in the Middle East. "The UAE agreement contains the strongest nonproliferation conditions of any negotiated by the United States," the statement said. Of special note, it said, is the UAE's commitment to obtain nuclear fuel from reliable and responsible suppliers rather than pursue indigenous uranium enrichment and reprocessing, fuel cycle activities that pose the most serious proliferation risks. This commitment "is reflected within the agreement as a legally binding obligation on the part of the UAE," the State Department said. The civil nuclear agreement was signed in January by the Bush administration, but had to be recertified because it was not approved before Obama took office. The deal is part of a major UAE investment in nuclear energy, and the government has already signed deals to build several nuclear power plants. UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said his country will "seriously consider" U.S. companies to implement the program. The United States already has similar nuclear cooperation agreements with Egypt and Morocco, and U.S. officials said Washington is working on similar pacts with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan. The United States has praised the UAE's development of nuclear energy, a stark contrast to criticism of Iran, which is suspected of attempting to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. But UAE's ties to Iran have caused concern. Iran is among the UAE's largest trading partners. In the past, the port city of Dubai has been used as a transit point for sensitive technology bound for Iran. Dubai also was one of the major hubs for the nuclear trafficking network run by Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who admitted spreading nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya up until the year 2000. He was eventually pardoned by the Pakistani government. Such ties contributed to stiff opposition in Congress to the failed deal for Dubai Ports World to manage U.S. ports. Some in Congress have expressed concern that the new deal could fuel an arms race and proliferation in the region. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has said she was "deeply disappointed" the United States signed a "flawed agreement." "Transferring nuclear technology and know-how to this unproven partner is inconsistent with the administration's expressed commitment to the pursuit of stronger nonproliferation controls," Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement after Obama signed the agreement. "The UAE's long history as a conduit for Iran's nuclear weapons program, its failure to fully implement effective export controls, and the danger of expanding nuclear facilities and expertise in the Middle East make this agreement a dangerous precedent." She introduced legislation earlier this year that would prevent the agreement from going into effect until the president certifies that the UAE has met a number of conditions regarding export controls and terrorist financing. | Obama sends nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates to the Senate .
Recently released video shows member of UAE royal family torturing a man .
Co-chair of congressional Human Rights Commission opposes deal . |
9,140 | 19e0bec2f73b2be9e423a8f1639aa7a374554474 | If it was up to Kanye West, we'd all be strutting around in flesh-coloured body stockings next season. As ridiculous as it may sound, that may well be the case as the musician-come-designer has received an abundance of praise for his range for Adidas from fashion editors, authorities, and influencers. The collection made its way down the runway on the first day of New York Fashion Week yesterday, comprising of full body stockings, see-through skin-coloured crop tops and visible nude pants. It's certainly a new take on underwear as outerwear - one certainly not for the faint hearted. Scroll down for video . Deni Kirkova, 24, from London, stepped out on a London High Street to find out what the reaction from onlookers would be . She wore a High Street makeshift version of the types of outfits seen on the Kanye West X Adidas catwalk, right . The Kanye West Adidas Fall 2015 collection received an abundance of praise from fashion elite - but do the public agree it's a hot look? To win praise for his fashion is certainly a step forward for Kanye - now Femail are testing whether his clothes will be as popular with the public. Writer Deni Kirkova, 24, from London, trialled the full flesh-coloured body stocking look, stepping out on a London High Street to find out what the reaction from onlookers would be. She paired an American Apparel bralet (£12.50), crop top (£10), leggings (£14) and - of course - a £6 pair of pants, from Marks & Spencer, worn over the top, all in a beige flesh tone, topping off the look with a Kim K style parka jacket from Topshop. Speaking about her outfit, and whether she thought it worked, Deni said: 'The problem is visible pants. It's quite funny to walk around dressed like this now, and it's a bit of a laugh, but I wouldn't dare go out like this seriously. 'A nude crop top and leggings, though, could work. You'd have to tone this down a notch to take it from catwalk to High Street. 'I'm quite surprised that people on the street generally liked my outfit to be honest - some fashion know-it-alls praised how bold it was, noting the Kanye influence, and said that the jacket and lipstick went well with the all-nude look. 'Some though, of course, said that the pants were too much.' Deni paired an American Apparel bralet, crop top, leggings and pair of M&S pants worn over the top, all in a beige flesh tone, with a parka . Deni's look was inspired by Adidas Originals x Kanye West Yeezy collection seen in New York on Thursday. The designer's wife Kim Kardashian, 34, turned up wearing an ensemble from the range. She liked the look so much, she even posted an Instagram photo of herself, adding: 'My look for the Yeezy show!!!!!! Yeezy head to toe!!!!!' Critics similarly seemed to enjoy Kanye's latest fashion offerings with Vogue saying: 'Kanye West's New collection with Adidas lives up to the hype.' He had the fashion bible's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, and top designer Alexander Wang sitting front row. Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian showed up to the event wearing a brown body stocking with a grey crop top and a camo jacket . Everyone from builders to couples and fashionistas to old ladies seemed to like the bold look, much to Deni's surprise . Everyone from builders to couples and fashionistas to old ladies seemed to like the bold look, much to Deni's surprise . The problem for Deni was visible pants. 'It's quite funny to walk around dressed like this now, but I wouldn't dare go out like this seriously' A review posted on the fashion magazine's website said: 'Hems were raw and frayed, tops billowy, bottoms either skintight to slide into newly unveiled suede stiletto boots or cinched and ready to be tucked into aforementioned Boosts. 'There were immaculate flak vests and officer sweaters that looked like they’ve actually taken shrapnel, and everything was said to be unisex... On display, in rigid lines of expressionless youth, it was at the very least satisfyingly instigative for a line of sportswear.' Refinery 29 noted that Kanye's collection probably would sell well saying: 'It was a lineup of oversized jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters, and leggings, interspersed with Vanessa Beecroft-esque nude-colored underwear. 'A camo parka that Kim Kardashian also wore was a highlight, and we thought the oversized backpack was a clever accessory that'll probably make it into a healthy stack of editorials.' Kanye claims that he wanted the collection to be made up of 'solutions based clothing,' saying, 'I don't want the clothes to be the life, I want the clothes to help the life.' It is also thought that it will have a relatively low price point compared to other designer clothes meaning the pieces can be snapped up by his fans. Now that the fully nude spray-on look has won approval from fashion darlings and the man on the street, will you be trying it out? Deni says maybe a nude crop top and leggings could work - without the pants. You'd have to tone this down a notch . The show is the first time Kanye has received praise for his attempts at fashion design . Kanye's collection featured baggy coats which sat over the body-stocking . Models stood in an army-like formation wearing their outfits designed by the rapper . | Kanye launched his debut collection of nude body suits and crop tops for Adidas at New York Fashion Week .
Wife Kim Kardashian arrived wearing the daring designs and critics have praised the collection of sports-wear .
Femail takes the style from catwalk to High Street to see if a real woman can pull off underwear as outerwear look .
Sent writer Deni Kirkova to test the trend and captured the public's reaction on camera (it may surprise you!) |
12,774 | 243547162d6f1769ecfecb230e255a707cfccbb5 | McKayla Maroney rose to fame as one of the world's most talented gymnasts - but she sealed that fame with a disastrous fall in Olympic competition which cost her the chance of a gold medal. That embarrassing tumble, and the way the athlete failed to hide her anger, has been a gift to online comedians, who have turned photographs of the very public event into a hilarious new meme. Maroney missed out on the Olympic gold medal on Sunday after falling on her second attempt in the women's vault finals. Disaster: This meme showcases the moment McKayla Maroney saw her shot at a gold medal run away from her . Foul mood: The gymnast's angry expression on the podium has proved fodder for internet jokes . Consolation: Maroney looked no happier as she talked to her coach after her embarrassing fall . After an almost flawless first attempt, the 16-year-old landed her second vault on her heels and her legs quickly skidded out from under her as a look of shock crossed her face. Maroney was attempting a move called the Amanar when her dreams of a gold medal came unstuck. The . Amanar is one of the toughest manouveres in the sport and . comprises a roundoff onto the takeoff board, followed by a back . handspring onto the vault and then 2.5 twists in the air before landing. Her . first attempt went according to plan. She got great height off the . table and her form was perfect in the air, with legs pencil-straight, . and her body tightly coiled. Faces: Maroney's expressions, from the joyous to the stoic, are the subject of a series of new internet memes chronicling the gymnast's journey in the London games . Ta-da! Maroney strikes a proud pose after after completing her routine on the vault during the artistic gymnastic women's qualifications on July 29 . Jaw-dropping: A hilarious meme has been made out of the iconic McKayla Maroney photo that left judges in shock, using a Nicki Minaj song . Apathy: Maroney's blank look is part of a new meme campaign from photos of the gymnast . She . took a hop on her landing, and came down out of bounds. But even with . that 0.3 deduction, she still scored 15.866, including a whopping 9.666 . for execution. Another vault like that, and the gold was hers. But . it wasn't to be as she appeared to land the second one on the back of . her heels, and her feet slid forward and she dropped to the mat. Blunder: McKayla Maroney, pictured, failed to land her dismount in the women's vault final today . Not your vault: Maroney looks stunned after she took a fall during the vault . Stink-eye: Maroney stares down gold medallist Sandra Izbasa of Romania after the upset during the vault competition . In the zone: While Maroney's stunning performance on the vault last week clinched her team's place in history, she will probably best be known for her facial expressions, from the joyous to the sulk . The crowd gasped, and Maroney, who rarely makes errors in training or in competition, was stunned. Maroney . was considered all but a lock for the gold medal, which would have . given the U.S. women three in the first three gymnastics events. While Maroney's stunning performance on the vault last week clinched her team's place in history, she will probably best be known for the look on her face, from the joyous to the irreverent sulk. More than a dozen images paraded by BuzzFeed.com captured Maroney in all her glory. No hugs for me kthnxbye: McKayla Maroney looks annoyed as Izbasa hugs Maria Paseka of Russia . In one, a judge's jaw drops as she plants her feet on the mat. In another, she is fuming about the failed vault that had her landing in a sitting position. It didn't get better after she was awarded a silver medal instead of the coveted gold, as Maroney rolls her eyes and shoots daggers against her rivals in subsequent photos. Disappointed: Maroney was honest about her feelings, saying she was disappointed but happy with her silver medal . No consolation: Maroney, pictured left, is comforted by a coach after losing the gold medal . Maroney appeared extremely unimpressed as she stood on the podium next to beaming gold medallist Sandra Izbasa of Romania and Maria Paseka of Russia, who won bronze. She took to her Twitter page to vent her frustration, saying: 'Disappointed on how today turned out, but everything happens for a reason!! #no regrets.. Plus, the silver medal is actually pretty sick.' Had Maroney not fallen, she would have easily won gold because of the degree of difficulty in her vault. Disappointed: U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney, left, watches the score as Romania's Sandra Raluca Izbasa, right, secures gold . Unimpressed: Maroney, pictured, looks distinctly unhappy as she accepts her silver medal on the podium . | Maroney, thought to be a shoo-in for Olympic gold on Sunday, came out with the silver medal after devastating fall .
Her facial expressions now the subject of the latest internet memes .
Last week, the 16-year-old led Team USA to their first gold medal since 1996 . |
69,811 | c5e779b3c8c927fd209450635682cb115dcd299e | By . Lucy Osborne and Jack Doyle . PUBLISHED: . 07:32 EST, 12 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:51 EST, 12 December 2013 . Nicky Suddons, 26, was originally jailed for seven sex attacks on women and girls in Manchester carried out during a two month reign of terror back in 2004 . A notorious rapist used a knife to launch a savage sex attack on a woman walking her dog – after he was let out of prison for a day on ‘work experience’. Nicky Suddons was jailed for life aged 17 for a rape and six other serious assaults on women and a girl aged 13. But granted day release from his ‘open’ jail he assembled a ‘rape kit’ containing a knife, balaclava and rubber gloves. He even included condoms to stop police tracing him through DNA. Left unsupervised during his lunch break, he tried to rape a woman in her 50s as she walked her Labrador in woods near Grantham, Lincolnshire. His victim was only saved because the dog turned on Suddons. After he was found guilty of attempted rape in just an hour yesterday, the judge described the case as ‘very worrying’. Judge Sean Morris said: ‘You may wonder what on earth was going on. Someone gets life and they are out wandering around Grantham.’ Last night Justice Secretary Chris Grayling ordered an immediate probe into what happened. Mr Grayling said: ‘This is a truly horrifying case and one that needs to be investigated thoroughly. ‘I’m determined to get to the bottom of what went wrong and to take forward any lessons learnt from the reviews I have commissioned. ‘In future when people are released on temporary licence I want to see them tagged so we can better monitor where they are and where they have been.’ After his initial crime spree in his teens, Suddons, now 26, became known as the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ rapist, after the area of Manchester where he carried out his attacks. He committed seven sex attacks on women and girls in 2004. The former lifeguard – who boasted about his attacks on social media sites – said he carried out the knifepoint assaults for kicks and regarded himself as ‘untouchable’. The judge in the case warned he had ‘an extremely high risk of reoffending’ and described him as a ‘highly dangerous young man’. Suddons collected together a 'rape kit' including a balaclava, rubber gloves, condoms and a Stanley knife and went on to attempt to rape a middle-aged woman after disappearing from his work placement and going to Queen Elizabeth Park where he lay in wait for a victim . Suddons was given a life sentence with a minimum term of just four . years, making him eligible for release around four years ago. In . December last year, the Parole Board ordered he be moved to North Sea . Camp open prison. It also ordered that, because of his age when . convicted, he must be given work experience during the day. From . March he was let out to do painting and decorating work on a church . property in Grantham. Each day as part of his work placement, Suddons . was granted an hour’s unsupervised lunch break. During this time he was . able to walk unmonitored through the riverside park that is popular with . mothers and their children. On June 28 during his unsupervised . break, he walked half an hour to nearby Queen Elizabeth Park to attempt . his horrific assault in broad daylight. His victim told Lincoln Crown . Court she turned around to find herself face to face with a masked man . brandishing a knife. As she fell to the ground and screamed, he stood . over her and warned ‘don’t scream’. She told the jury: ‘My eyes were . fixed on the knife and the mask. His thumb was on the Stanley knife as . if the blade was ready to be flicked.’ He only backed off as the dog . lunged – and was caught by a passer-by. Outlining the contents of the . ‘rape kit’, David Outterside, prosecuting, said: ‘What was on his mind . was rape. This time he was prepared and absolutely determined not to be . caught. He was caught red-handed.’ Suddons admitted attacking the woman but denied he intended to rape her. He remains in custody and is due to be sentenced. He . had an earlier conviction in 2002, when he was 14, for assaulting a . 12-year-old girl. He was jailed for life by Manchester Crown Court in . 2005 after admitting one rape and six sexual assaults on victims aged . between 13 and 28. Last night local MP Nick Boles said: ‘It is extremely . troubling when convicted criminals are released on some form of . probation and are in a position to go on committing crimes. ‘I make . no criticism of the church, who weren’t responsible for acting as . jailers. But we need to be sure they are properly supervised. There must . be appropriate checks to ensure prisoners are properly rehabilitated . before they are allowed into the community.’ It is the second recent . high profile case involving a life sentence inmate from North Sea Camp . in Lincolnshire on work placement. In October 2012, Lee Cyrus went . on the run after being let out on day release for work, committing five . counts of exposure, wounding with intent, unlawful wounding, affray, . aggravated burglary, robbery and burglary. He is due to be sentenced at . the Old Bailey this month. | Nicky Suddons originally jailed for sex attacks on women and girls in 2004 .
Was ordered to serve minimum four years as he was 17 at time of offences .
Allowed out to carry out painting and decorating work ahead of parole .
While out he put together a 'rape kit' of balaclava, glove and knife .
He lay in wait for victim in a local park - whose dog attacked him and he fled .
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has now ordered an 'urgent review' |
12,766 | 242c50a749fe607d1a652db0e06f453d5d7f80f4 | From a four-bedroom bungalow in Atlanta all the way to a tiny studio apartment in New York City, these are examples of just some of the properties on the American market that will set you back less than $125,000. The list, compiled by real estate website Zillow, shows that citizens can buy a spacious family home with a stylish interior for a relatively low price. On the flipside however, in cities such as San Francisco, the confined, dinghy apartments on offer are an indication of how property prices are skyrocketing in some metropolitan areas. The collection of budget homes is revealed as the National Realtors Association confirmed house sales across the country fell to a nine-month low in January. Bargain: The homes where you get more for your money includes a blue, wooden-fronted three-bedroom and one bathroom house in Richmond, Virginia, which costs just $109,000 . Cut-price: This three-bedroom bungalow on a tree-lined street in Waco, Texas, will set buyers back $110,000 . The homes where you get more for your money include a blue, wooden-fronted three-bedroom and one bathroom house in Richmond, Virginia. According to the real estate agent. the $109,000 house is nestled in the Historic Highland Park and comes with hardwood flooring, a family room and a spacious dining room. Another is a three-bedroom bungalow on a tree-lined street in Waco. Texas. The description says the property 'needs updating' but the space inside means there is room to experiment - all for just $110,000. However in San Francisco, first time buyers will have to fork out $127,000 for a dinghy studio apartment. It is described by Realtors.com as 'luxury city living at its best' and is aimed at first time buyers. There are little luxuries in the condo, but some of the lower level apartments boast outdoor patios. Similarly, a $109,000 studio in Harlem, New York City, boasts short walks to the nearest Subway stations and is listed as being 'small' but in 'good condition'. The property markets in both cities, along with Los Angeles, have become virtually unstoppable. A budget of $130,000 in the Big Apple may only be enough to purchase a sought-after parking space, let alone a house. In San Francisco, if prospective buyers want to purchase a home in the richest third, they will have to spend more than $860,410. Landscaped community: In Colorado Springs, Colorado, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom property is just just shy of $110,000 and even has a rear deck and garden . Even though many residents opt to rent apartments rather than buy family homes, landlords are raising rent by 12 per cent in San Francisco and 9 per cent in New York - which means many low-income buyers are priced out of both sides of the market. For the same price of the tiny apartment in Harlem, prospective buyers can get their hands on a two-bedroom and two-bathroom suburban property in Colorado Springs in a 'beautifully landscaped setting'. It also boasts an rear deck overlooking a garden and ample parking to entertain visitors. It is listed at $109,900. For $125,000 there is also an adorable 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom bungalow in Atlanta, Georgia, described by realtors as inviting and stylish. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, $100,000 will land you a spacious two-bedroom and one-bathroom home where you can 'entertain guests' with ease. The description reads: 'Have an indoor soiree in the spacious living room or bring the fun outdoors to the private fenced backyard and covered patio.' A century-old, three- and 1.5-bath home in Louisville, Kentucky, costs only $120,000, while a three-bed, two-bath bungalow in Fort Wayne, Indiana - with enough room for a basketball hoop next to the garage will set buyers back just $115,000. Confined: This dinghy studio apartment in San Francisco, meant for first time buyers, is listed at $127,000 and is described as 'city living at its best' Small: This $109,000 studio in Harlem, New York City, boasts short walks to the nearest Subway stations and is listed as being 'small' but in 'good condition' Suburban: This quaint $100,000, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, two-bedroom, one-bath home is is perfect for entertaining, according to realtors, with a covered patio and spacious interior . It was revealed on Monday that US existing-home sales slowed to their lowest pace in nine months in January, despite very low mortgage interest rates, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Total sales of used homes fell 4.9 percent from December to an annual rate of 4.82 million units, with the fall in both the single-family unit category and in condominiums. Sales were 3.2 percent higher than a year earlier, but January 2014 was marked by a sharp downturn in economic activity when wide swaths of the eastern half of the country endured repeated severe winter storm. 'January housing data can be volatile because of seasonal influences,' said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. 'But low housing supply and the ongoing rise in home prices above the pace of inflation appeared to slow sales despite interest rates remaining near historic lows.' Quaint: This two-bedroom and one-bath home in Fresno, California, is described as 'well-maintained' and is situated on a spacious lot . Great outdoors: This two-bedroom and one bath home in Spokane, Washington, is said to be well-suited to nature lovers, because of its proximity to the Centennial Trail and Spokane River . Total inventory of used houses for sale increased slightly in the month, and unsold inventory equalled a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace. The median price for an existing home was $199,600, 6.2 percent more than in January 2014. Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets called it 'clearly a disappointing report.' 'There were fewer sales of singles (-5.1 percent) and condos (-3.5 percent) although the former is still above levels a year ago.' The real estate brokerage Redfin recently reported that sales of properties costing more $1 million climbed 9 percent year-over-year, based on data from the July to October quarters. Overall sales slipped 1.2 percent. This three-bed, two-bath bungalow in Fort Wayne, Indiana - with enough room for a basketball hoop next to the garage will set buyers back just $115,000. Historic: This century-old, three- and 1.5-bath home in Louisville, Kentucky, costs only $120,000 . 'Inviting and stylish': This four-bedroom home in Atlanta, Georgia, is on the market for $125,000 . | Homes located in places such as Waco, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky .
Some have gardens and room for a basketball hoop on their garages .
Properties in larger cities, however, are far less glamorous and more confined .
Comes as National Realtors Association announces a slow down in sales . |
236,428 | be06ab8d0633e2daa15a6111f72cacda2ce4f27a | The rates of U.S. children affected by attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are skyrocketing, according to a recent report, but experts caution that the latest numbers require a bit of decoding. That information shows that 11% of children aged 4 to 17 were diagnosed with ADHD, a 16% increase since 2007, the last time that researchers at Centers for Disease Control (CDC) did a comprehensive survey for the prevalence of the neurobehavior disorder. The rise was especially dramatic among boys, with an estimated 1 in 5 boys in high school diagnosed with ADHD. What's more, about two-thirds of the children diagnosed were treated with stimulant medications that can improve attention but also come with side effects. Are rates truly climbing at such an alarming rate? Possibly. But many experts believe that's unlikely. The data was collected by the CDC and analyzed and reported by the New York Times; the CDC plans to publish its own report on the data in the coming months. TIME.com: Are ADHD medications being overused? To start, the information on ADHD rates came from parents reporting on the diagnosis for their children during telephone interviews. Such reports are useful but not as reliable as the verified diagnoses from medical or school records, says Dr. William Barbaresi, director of the developmental medicine center at Boston Children's Hospital. Second, such records-based data suggests that ADHD rates among children may be somewhere between 7.5% and 9.5%, with boys at the higher end of the range, not 11%. In its previous round of analysis, CDC found that ADHD diagnoses rose by 22% between 2003 and 2007, based on the same telephone surveys of 76,000 families in the United States, climbing by an average of 3% to 6% each year between 2000 and 2010. But the latest figures, which included responses collected between 2011 and 2012, show a far higher prevalence that hints at classrooms full of hyperactive and impulsive kids. "By definition, ADHD requires that symptoms have to have a significant effect on life," says Barbaresi. "To say that a tenth of all children have a biologic condition that affects their life enough to call it a disorder just does not make sense." TIME.com: Teens taking ADHD drugs to get good grades . If that's the case, then a significant proportion of these children may also be mistreated with medications that they don't need. "This report and others raises questions about whether we may not be overdiagnosing ADHD and overusing medications," says Dr. Thomas Power, director of the center for management of ADHD at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. That could have serious implications for children's long term mental and physical health, since ADHD drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall have been linked to dramatic weight loss and suppressed growth. And some experts have voiced concern that early use of the behavior-modifying drugs could alter the natural arc of children's social and creative development. TIME.com: New ADHD guidelines include kids as young as 4 . The apparent rise in the prevalence of ADHD highlights several shortcomings in the way that not only ADHD, but mental health issues in general, are diagnosed and treated in the United States, says Barbaresi. Most children are labeled with the disorder by their pediatrician or family doctor, who aren't always trained in providing the in-depth evaluation that a reliable diagnosis requires. "Symptoms are not and should not be sufficient," says Ruth Hughes, CEO of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). "The symptoms have to occur every day for a long period of time, and, more importantly, these symptoms have to lead to major disruption or impairment in at least two areas of a person's life, such as at school or in relationships." While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently provided an updated guideline on the criteria for a proper ADHD diagnosis, including reports not only from parents but from teachers and other daycare personnel about a child's hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive behavior, not all physicians have the time to carefully collect and vet the input from these sources. TIME.com: Teens' use of ADHD drugs up sharply . In addition, in order to properly identify a child affected by ADHD, Barbaresi, for example, conducts a medical and psychological assessment that takes several hours and requires the child and the parents to complete questionnaires about how the child responds to different situations, which factors seem to trigger hyperactive behavior or inattentiveness, as well as how disruptive these episodes are to the child's daily activities. Unfortunately, most insurers do not reimburse for such evaluations, and that pushes already busy doctors to take the path of least resistance -- prescribing medications such as Ritalin or Adderall. "That's the big elephant in the room -- pediatricians and the family practitioner are being asked to sort out a complex situation in an inadequate amount of time without access to data from psychological assessments they need to make these fine distinctions," says Barbaresi. "So it's a set-up for inappropriate decisions to be made." And those include not just mis-diagnosis and over-medication of children but mistreatment and even under-diagnosis in some situations. In rural and urban areas, where mental health services are scarcer and more stigmatized, rates of ADHD diagnoses are slightly lower than in affluent areas, and children in these areas are less likely to be treated properly. That could have implications for the long-term health of these children, since studies also show that about 60% of children with ADHD have a learning disability, and that 60% will go on to develop another mental illness by age 19. So a proper diagnosis of ADHD doesn't just provide opportunities to treat behavior problems, but potentially mental illnesses as well. That's why "it's clearly inappropriate to do these superficial assessments," says Barbaresi. TIME.com: Nearly 1 in 4 who seek treatment don't have ADHD . Being too quick to diagnose the disorder also means doctors may be bypassing effective, non-drug treatments that may benefit many children, especially the youngest. The AAP recommends that children younger than 6 start with behavior therapy before beginning medications, but writing a prescription is far easier than monitoring a series of sessions that involve training and a commitment of time and effort from parents and family members. "The problem we face is that behavioral, psychosocial and non-pharmacologic interventions are not sufficiently available to people," says Power. "When I talk to pediatricians and primary care physicians, they tell me they don't want to be diagnosing ADHD as often as they are, and they don't want to be using medications as often as they are, but they don't have many other options available. It's difficult to get kids into mental health treatments and psychosocial treatments that they believe many of these children and their families need." These programs are designed to assess what factors trigger and sustain inappropriately impulsive and hyperactive behavior, he says, by involving parents and helping them to modify environmental factors or interactions with their children to modify their behavior. Playing and engaging more directly with children on a regular basis, for example, tends to calm them down, and setting limits and educating children about the consequences of their actions can also help. In groups that Power has conducted with his patients, parents have reported that such behavioral interventions are effective in improving children's relationships with their parents as well as with their teachers and classmates in school. But these programs don't work in a vacuum, and ideally, parents, doctors and teachers should coordinate their efforts to ensure that the appropriate behavior is being positively reinforced among children with ADHD. "The best treatment is a combination of parent training, behavioral intervention, school interventions, and medication where needed," says Hughes. All too often, current therapies aren't taking advantage of the full power of this recipe. This article was initially published on TIME.com. Understanding the rise in ADHD diagnoses: 11% of U.S. children are affected . | A recent report shows the rate of U.S. children with ADHD is rising .
Some experts say it raises questions about whether we are overdiagnosing ADHD .
And some children may be treated with medications they don't need, experts say .
Under-diagnosis may also be a problem in some areas . |
280,273 | f712c2a07578db8bbb1a134eed7da98ab19fdf6c | By . Daily Mail Reporter . UPDATED: . 09:34 EST, 19 September 2011 . Twin girls born joined at the head have been successfully separated by British doctors. Rital and Ritag Gaboura, who are 11 months old, survived at odds of one in 10million. They had four complex operations at London’s Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Little miracles: Sisters Ritaj (left) and Rital Gaboura after their successful operation . The sisters, who were born in . Khartoum, Sudan, were brought to Britain for the procedures by their . parents Abdelmajeed Gaboura, 31, and, Enas, 27, who are both doctors. By the time they arrived, Ritag’s heart was already failing. The girls were separated over four . stages. Two initial operations took place in May, before tissue . expanders were inserted in July and the final separation was attempted . on August 15. The parents had approached children’s . charity Facing the World for help, and the organisation funded and . arranged their separation. The girls suffered from the rare condition of craniopagus, and the surgery was carried out by a team led by David Dunaway. A statement from Facing the World said: ‘Within days the twins were back on the general ward interacting and playing as before. Joined together: The twins were born with their heads fused, a rare condition that only one in 10million survive . ‘Their laughter and delight in the world has been an inspiration throughout the months of worry. ‘Very soon, their parents will be able to fulfil their dream of taking home two healthy, separate daughters.’ The girls’ parents said: ‘We are very thankful to be able to look forward to going home with two separate, healthy girls. 'We are very grateful to all the . doctors who volunteered their time and to Facing the World for . organising all the logistics and for paying for the surgery. ‘We feel very lucky that our girls . have been able to have the surgery that they needed, but we also know . of other children who need complete sponsorship and families who are . searching for someone to help them.’ Conjoined twins are extremely rare, . occurring in only one in every 100,000 live births. They are three times . more likely to be girls. In nearly three-quarters of cases, the twins are connected mid-torso. Just 4 per cent of cases involve fused skulls, and most are stillborn or do not survive longer than 24 hours. Rital and Ritag were born with one of . the most serious forms of the condition as they shared blood vessels . and there was significant blood flow between their brains. Ritag supplied half her sister’s . brain with blood and drained most of it back to her own body to . re-oxygenate – meaning her heart was doing most of the work for both of . them. Any significant drop in blood pressure during surgery could have caused brain damage. While both girls are as alert as they . were before the operation, it could be years before their parents and . doctors discover if they have suffered any long-term problems. * To donate to Facing the World visit www.facingtheworld.net . | Rital and Ritag Gaboura underwent four complex operations . |
227,108 | b2133558b706354da03b6dd1285f5374136ff723 | (CNN) -- FBI K-9 dogs hit on items around the southern Arizona home of a missing 6-year-old girl on Monday, prompting authorities to take over the house, a police chief said. Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor said Monday night that the "specialized K-9s (were) flown in" to help in the case of young Isabel Mercedes Celis, who was reported missing on Saturday morning. The dogs "did alert on some things that caused us to go back" to the house, said the chief. While they've described her disappearance as suspicious, local authorities have not identified any suspects in Isabel's case nor have they indicated what they believe may have happened to her. They have launched an extensive search in a 3-mile radius of the girl's home, where she lives with her parents and two older brothers, as well as contacted all registered sex offenders living nearby. Villasenor said on Monday morning that authorities had combed through the area "at least three times now," with neighbor Cynthia Mort vouching that they'd "searched inside and outside every home in the neighborhood." The girl's small stature -- at 3 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 44 pounds -- makes it critical to leave no stone unturned, given that she may be in any number of places. "We ... are checking every corner, every nook and cranny that could possibly hold a child," Tucson police Sgt. Maria Hawke told CNN's sister network HLN on Monday . Isabel was last seen by family members when she went to bed at 11 p.m. Friday. When her father went to wake her at 8 a.m. Saturday -- a half-hour after her mother had gone to work -- he said the girl was nowhere to be found, according to police. A screen was found removed from one of the house's windows. Hawke said the missing screen "could be suspicious" and indicate someone broke through the window to get into the residence or get out, though she stressed "there's nothing conclusive at this point." Villasenor did not specify what the FBI K-9 dogs hit on, or the possible significance. He did say that, because of their reaction, authorities sought and obtained a search warrant to occupy the house. He said they asked for a warrant "just to make sure everything is done correctly," not because the family at the center of the case isn't cooperating. Hawke said the family left voluntarily. "We have asked the family if they would be willing to leave so that we can avoid any potential evidence contamination, ... (and) they have agreed to do so," the police sergeant said. One street away from one of Tucson's busiest thoroughfares, the Celis' home is in a neighborhood of largely middle-class, single-family residences. A fence and wall surround the yard of the house. Mort described Isabel's family as "wonderful, caring people." "They are always helping, you always see them together," said Mort, who has lived next door to Isabel's grandparents for the past 25 years. "They are very, very loving. I couldn't imagine anyone in this family doing anything to anyone." She added that Isabel's disappearance has rocked the community, leaving "everybody ... totally distraught." "We're just afraid to let our children out," Mort told HLN. "We're terrorized." | Isabel Mercedes Celis, 6, was reported missing Saturday in Tucson, Arizona .
Police call her disappearance suspicious, but no suspects have been named .
FBI K-9 dogs raise alarm, leading police to get a warrant to occupy the girl's house .
A neighbor says community members are "totally distraught" and "terrorized" |
228,737 | b42b48ad1545870b554ff28d09adb8c9cc5ed299 | By . Julian Robinson . Adolf Hitler's birthplace is set to become an integration centre for immigrants while the Berlin bunker where he died has already become a booze shop . The birthplace of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler is to be turned into an integration centre for immigrants as it was revealed the bunker where he met his end has become a booze shop. Austrian officials keen to end a growing row over the future of the house where the infamous chancellor was born in the town of Braunau am Inn and are close to a deal with the owner to convert it for its proposed new use. The move comes after it emerged that the air raid bunker where he ended his life and where the Third Reich came to an end has been turned into a beer emporium. The City . Service Berlin booze store is just yards from the bunker where on April . 30, 1945, Hitler and his new bride Eva Braun ended their lives with . gunshots and cyanide thirty feet underground. Hitler spent the first three years of his life in what was then a local pub in Braunau am Inn during the 1890s. His parents rented rooms so that his father could carry out his job as a customs official at the nearby Austrian German border. The Hitlers left three years after Adolf's birth and in 1938 it was bought by the Fuhrer's private secretary Martin Bormann. After World War II, the building was rented by the Austrian Republic in 1952 and until 1965 it was the home of the public library and later a bank. The current row over the house started when the Mayor of Braunau Hannes Waidbacher from the conservative People's party (OeVP) said publicly that they didn't need another monument to the evils of war. He had added that the Fuhrer had 'only lived there for three years anyway'. The . mayor added that there was already a memorial stone outside the . building and said he felt that the local community had already done . enough to remember the past, and there was therefore no need to feel . pressurised to turn the property into something similar. Adolf Hitler's birth place in the northern Austrian city of Braunau am Inn could be turned into an integration centre for immigrants . In Berlin, a beer emporium has opened up close to the spot where Hitler died in a bunker in 1945. A plaque has been installed nearby informing passersby about the area's history . But after the international headlines that it generated the council partially backed down and said it had backed the idea of turning the house into a place where minorities would be helped to integrate which included language courses for children who were not native German speakers, and other community integration projects. The council confirmed that the humanitarian aid organisation Volkshilfe had been asked to take over managing the integration and language courses that will be offered to immigrants. After that a Russian MP said he was planning to put in a bid to buy the house so that 'every trace of fascism is wiped off the planet'. MP Franz Klinzevitsch from the ruling United Russia party said he had even started collecting the £1.7 million that he estimates he needs and is being supported in the project by the Russian Communist Party. But the house is not for sale, and the current owner who gets a monthly rental from the Interior Ministry had reportedly been difficult over exactly what use the property could be put to. But there is now optimism that the latest proposals will be accepted ahead of a deadline on Friday. Meanwhile, a beer emporium owner in Berlin says he intends to put up an informative plaque outside his store - next to the bunker site where Hitler and Eva Braun ended their lives. Bernd Herbrich, manager of the beer emporium, intends to put up his own to inform customers that they are buying a slice of history along with their beer . The City Service Berlin booze store, run by Bernd Herbrich, is just yards from the bunker where on April 30, 1945, Hitler and his new bride Eva Braun ended their lives with gunshots and cyanide thirty feet underground . Hitler's bunker was reduced to rubble in 1945. In the years that followed it fell under the death strip of the Berlin Wall during the years of the Cold War and later a car park was built over it having been filled with concrete by the East Germans . Bernd Herbrich said: 'Although tourists . find their way here, not everyone in the city knows that the bunker was . here. 'I . was born after World War II but I have heard the stories from my . parents and grandparents. 'I imagine what happened 70 years ago, and . there is much blame, but I cannot be responsible for those events. 'I'm a . man of another generation, I see no problem to talk about the history, . and cannot see why other Germans have.' The bunker . was the air raid shelter for Hitler's chancellery which he had to . retreat to in early 1945 as the Soviet Red Army advanced on land towards . the capital and the bombers of Britain and America pounded it into . brickdust from the skies. The bunker was the air raid shelter for Adolf Hitler. He retreated there in early 1945 as the Soviet Red Army advanced on land towards Berlin . The bunker was overrun by Russians days . after Hitler's suicide and the charred corpses of him and Eva were found . in a shell hole in the garden outside. Stalin ordered that the corpses . be secretly removed and buried in East Germany. They had several . secret burial places over the years before being dug up one final time . in 1970, the bones burned and crushed, and the ashes dumped into a . river. The bunker was in the death strip of the Berlin Wall during . the years of the Cold War and later a car park was built over it. It had . been filled with concrete by the East Germans. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Integration and language courses to be giving at dictator's birth place .
Future of Adolf Hitler's first home has been at centre of debate for years .
It comes as beer emporium is opened up at site of bunker where Hitler died . |
132,521 | 375e7ddb95445141822606fc9cbd6929ab9ccc96 | By . Tom Gardner . PUBLISHED: . 07:20 EST, 26 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:21 EST, 26 August 2013 . This Porsche is unlikely to leave anyone trailing in its wake at the traffic lights. In fact, it could lay claim to being the slowest vehicle ever made by the famed German sports car marque. This rare Porsche tractor boasts a 38 horsepower engine, a top speed of 15mph and takes over a minute to go from 0-15mph. In stark contrast, Porsche's fastest . model, the 553-horsepower 911 Turbo S sports car, can hit 200 mph and . charges to 62mph in just 3.1 seconds. But that's unlikely to deter petrolheads from bidding on the 55-year-old farmyard machine when it comes up for auction. Pulling power: The rare 55 year-old Super 308 tractor is expected to fetch around £20,000 when auctioned . The sleek, two-tonne tractor was built by the German motor firm in 1958 six years prior to the launch of their iconic 911 model and was used as an agricultural workhorse. It is likely that the single-seat tractor was exported to work on crop farms where its narrow design that allowed it to squeeze between narrow rows of produce. The Diesel Super 308 Traktor, powered by a three-cylinder air-cooled 2,625 cc engine, boasts Porsche's unique hydraulic coupling system. Sleek: This Porsche tractor is powered by a three-cylinder air-cooled 2,625 cc engine . Slow lane: This Porsche has a top speed of just 15mph and takes over a minute to reach it . The revolutionary coupling between the engine and gearbox allowed for smooth clutchless gear changes, reducing wear on the transmission components. Diesel Super 308 Traktor . Top speed - 15mph38 horsepower0-15mph in one minute2.4 litre engineOne seaterCost - unknown due to its raritySecond handFuel - diesel . Porsche 911 Turbo S - 2013 (pictured below) Top speed - 200mph560 horsepower0-62mph in 3.1 secsBi-turbo 3.8-litre flat six engineTwo seaterCost - £142,000Fuel - petrol . It has clutch and brake pedals and a hand-operated throttle situated under the rounded cowl, plus two small headlamps. After a lifetime of hard work it underwent a full restoration in 2003 and was bought by its late owner, an enthusiastic collector, five years ago. It is expected to fetch upwards of £18,000 when it goes under the hammer. John Polson, motoring expert at auctioneers Bonhams, said: 'Porsche are better known for their luxury sports cars rather than their tractors but the quality is just as you'd expect from them. 'With it's top speed of 15mph this rare tractor is a world away from a classic 911 and is probably the slowest vehicle Porsche ever made, but it is a real collectors' item. 'It has been lovingly restored and we expect there to be a lot of interest in this auction.' Ferdinand Porsche founded Porsche in 1931 in Stuttgart, Germany, initially offering car development and consulting. The . company's first projects was to design a car for the German public on . behalf of the German government - and the result was the Volkswagen, now . known as the Beetle. At the same time the company developed its first tractor, the Volk Schlepper. Pedigree: It may have a Porsche badge, but this tractor is no performance car with a top speed of only 15mph . The company went from strength to strength, launching its own 356 sports car in 1948. Between 1956 and 1963, more than 125,000 Porsche tractors were built and enjoyed the same reputation for quality engineering as their road-going relatives. The tractor will be sold by Bonhams at Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hants, on September 7. Porsche Diesel Super 308 Traktor - 1958 . | Rare 55-year-old machine takes more than a minute to react top speed .
Two-tonne tractor was built by the German motor firm in 1958 six years prior to the launch of their iconic 911 model .
Diesel Super 308 Traktor is powered by a three-cylinder air-cooled 2,625cc engine .
Single-seat tractor is expected to fetch upwards of £18,000 when auctioned at Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hants, on September 7 . |
205,536 | 961157cccd77888796b13a72b59fbd84bc221264 | By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 14:25 EST, 18 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:14 EST, 19 August 2013 . An artist is making a big impression with his tiny pieces of art. Roy Tyson specialises in creating unique images and installations using miniature figures. Often he uses everyday props and taxidermy to create a humourous scene designed to be fun and intriguing. Big ideas: Miniature forensic officers closely examine cigarette butts in this piece by Roy Tyson called CSI Essex . Roy made this tiny figurine push a cart of peas along a road in this piece called Harvest . Big ambition: Two golfers have a go at hitting this ball in Anything's Possible by Roy Tyson . In one piece, tiny forensic officers examine cigarette butts while in another fishermen cast their lines into a drain. All of the miniature figures, affectionately known as Roy's People, are hand painted to give them personality and charm. The 26-year-old, from Stanford-le-Hope, in Essex, buys the figures and paints them before taking their pictures. The pictures have been displayed in exhibitions and are on sale. Under attack: Shooters take aim at this helpless snail in this piece by Roy Tyson . A tiny figurine looks through binoculars at wildlife including a bee in a flower bush . Passengers wait at a miniature bus stop before climbing on to a Scorpion as their mode of transport . Roy Tyson buys the figures and paints them before taking pictures of them in an unusual setting . Talented: What started as a playful hobby for Roy Tyson is now a full time role and he sells some pieces for more than £100 . Roy Tyson is an artist making a big impression with his painted figurines . He recently told the Essex Echo that . street art is his biggest influence. He said: 'I like Banksy and the way . he uses street art. 'For me, the street art I do is just . looking at things that are every day and seeing how little people can be . used to make these things look funny. 'It makes objects look different, . it’s a mixture between things that are going on in the world and things . that just pop into my head.' To find out more visit Roy's Facebook page. | Roy Tyson creates images and installations using miniature figures .
The 26-year-old from Essex paints the figures before taking their photos .
The tiny figures have affectionately became known as Roy's People . |
269,288 | e8d128d8ab2d1d99a3913050b55058eb5ad73e7b | Britain's youngest competitive bodybuilder has revealed that the secret to his muscular body is down to sibling rivalry. Cosmo Taylor, 15, from Inverness, Scotland, has competed in a major national competition and is more likely to be honing his abs in his local gym than gaming on his Playstation. But Cosmo's unusual passion for the sport is something that runs in the family with his sister and father providing healthy competition for the young athlete. Scroll down for video... Cosmo Taylor (right) is Britain's youngest competitive body builder and he says the secret to his honed body is stiff competition with his sister Bronwyn who is a prize-winning powerlifter . Bronwyn, 19, is a prize-winning powerlifter and Andrew, 47, is a bodybuilder. And while the brother and sister duo continually push each other to improve their personal bests, Cosmo admits that there is some bubbling sibling rivalry between the pair. 'I'm very competitive with Bronwyn.' says the 15-year-old. 'If she's going to do 12 reps on something, I'll do 15. It's a sibling thing.' At just 14 Cosmo took part in his first national competition in Aberdeen in November 2014 . As well as his sister providing plenty of stiff competition, Cosmo's father Andrew, left, is also a body builder . Andrew says that when the siblings visit the gym together they will often challenge one another . Their father says that although Bronwyn is lighter than Cosmo she is probably stronger and provides a fair amount of competition for her younger brother . Cosmo also admits that although his family offers him plenty of support their competitive streak can also become a nuisance. 'My dad and sister were a big inspiration, but sometimes my sister can be a big irritation.' And the rivalry has not escaped the attention of dad Andrew who says that he often sees the siblings go head to head while working out. The siblings with their mum Florence (centre) with the pair's daily diet which includes plenty of protein . 'Sometimes in the gym there can be a competitive edge to them, depending on who's working what particular exercise that night, and if they both happen to be working the same exercise, they will feed off each other.' He added that although Cosmo is heavier than his sister that does not stop her from providing some stiff competition for her younger brother. 'Bronwyn being that bit older, although she's a girl and lighter than Cosmo, she will often just reel Cosmo in,' he said. As a competitive family, their living room is littered with trophies from the family's achievements . 'She'll let him go so far, but then she pulls it right back because she's got a lot more experience than Cosmo. 'Pound for pound she's probably just as strong and in a lot of events she's still actually stronger than Cosmo, something that Cosmo finds difficult to accept at times. But that's just the way it is because Bronwyn does tend to catch everyone out with the way she looks.' Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and porridge oats . Mid-morning: Roast chicken and salad . Lunch: Chicken, pork, steak or fish with vegetables and brown rice . Dinner: Chicken, pork, steak or fish with salad and sweet potato . Andrew added that you shouldn't be fooled by Bronwyn's feminine looks. 'She's very slim, slender, tall, elegant, but you put weights on the ground and she will outlift most people, even Cosmo, and that's something he's got to live with for a little while.' Bronwyn, who competes at national and international powerlifting events, works for the family's removals business - and Cosmo is more than happy to lend a hand when he can. She says: 'Doing removals keeps me mobile but I wouldn't class it as training, it's a different type of strength but it allows me plenty of free hours to pursue my interests that I wouldn't have with a nine to five job.' Cosmo, who started training informally at the age of 11, competed in his first show, the Silver City Classic Bodybuilding in Aberdeen, in November 2014, and has plans to enter more competitions in the future. Cosmo says that he is enjoying all the attention his muscles receive at school . The siblings combines muscles come in handy for lending a hand in the family's removal business . But for now Cosmo says that he is enjoying the attention that his super-sized muscles bring him at school. 'Some people want to see my abs, see my arms, they think it's really cool. Some people even want me to be their personal trainer! 'I think it's quite funny, but they're always supportive, asking me if I've got any events coming up, there's a really good atmosphere.' And while some people have expressed concerns about Cosmo competing at such a young age, he is adamant that he is not putting himself at risk. 'I've been training for almost four years now and I've been injury free. If you're going to do something stupid, that's how you're going to injure yourself. It's the same with any sport.' | At 15 Cosmo Taylor is Britain's youngest competing bodybuilder .
His sister Bronwyn, 19, and his dad Andrew, 47, also powerlift .
Cosmo says it is the competitive edge that strives him to work harder . |
85,967 | f3d07208d0059d738fc7788a4ce813309b677d7b | By . John Drayton . Footage of England goalkeepers Joe Hart, Ben Foster and Fraser Forster in training will bring encouragement to supporters all over the country. Roy Hodgson's three chosen ones between the sticks were in action at St George's Park on Thursday ahead of the pre-World Cup friendly with Peru at Wembley, and looked fresher than ever in a grueling training routine. The three keepers were forced to make a . low save to their left before jumping back up to deny the rebound to . their right with an acrobatic stop, which all three performed superbly. Getting down: Joe Hart dives low to his right in part one of the routine . Acrobatic: He then gets straight up and saves superbly to his right . No 1: Joe Hart focuses in training with the England team earlier in the week . Manchester City's Joe Hart is England's No 1, and is entering his third major tournament with the squad. England started with Rob Green as goalkeeper in South Africa in 2010, but soon changed to David James after the then-West Ham goalkeeper's blunder in the opening game against USA. Foster is set to be his understudy, while Forster may be forced to kick his heels before England go to Brazil and during the tournament. Pecking order: Fraser Forster will be hoping for even the slightest opportunity in Brazil . Up high: Ben Foster replicates Joe Hart's superb stop at St George's Park . | Goalkeepers Hart, Foster and Forster look up to speed in training .
Foster and Forster will attempt to challenge Roy Hodgson's No 1 Joe Hart .
England face Peru in a friendly at Wembley on Friday night . |
70,626 | c83f373499df28d7198533aacf30735f0e808cca | By . Sophie Jane Evans . He split from his long-term girlfriend Cressida Bonas just two months ago. But now, Prince Harry seems to have bounced back after reportedly kissing a former Miss Edinburgh. The 29-year-old royal was spotted 'in a clinch' with Camilla Thurlow, 25, at the exclusive Tonteria nightclub in Sloane Square, central London. Scroll down for video . 'Clinch': Prince Harry (left) was reportedly seen kissing Camilla Thurlow (right) at Tonteria nightclub in London . The pair apparently had 'a few drinks' and kissed in front of friends at the Mexican bar, club and restaurant, which is owned by Harry's best friend Guy Pelly and frequented by the royals. A source told The Sun: 'They looked very cosy and kissed more than once. But they are not serious in any way. They're just two young people having a good time.' They added: 'It's probably unlikely they will see each other again - they are both very busy.' Miss Thurlow - who shares her first name with Harry's stepmother, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall - works for The Halo Trust, a mine clearance charity with which Diana, Princess of Wales was heavily involved. Charity work: Miss Thurlow - who shares her first name with Harry's stepmother, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall - works for The Halo Trust, a mine clearance charity with which Diana, Princess of Wales (pictured) was heavily involved . Support: Prince Harry, who was patron of the charity until March this year, is pictured visiting one of its sites in 2010 (left). Miss Thurlow shares the same first name as his stepmother, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (right) The charity, which conducts humanitarian landmine clearance and ordnance disposal operations, was made famous by Diana in 1997 when she visited a minefield in Angola. The prince himself later become a patron of the charity, but left in March this year. Miss Thurlow, from Dumfries, studied at the £7,300-a-term Fettes College in Edinburgh, where she gained 9 A*s at GCSE and 3 As at A-level. Exclusive: Tonteria nightclub in Sloane Square is owned by Harry's best friend, Guy Pelly . She later earned a First Class honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science at Loughborough University, before becoming an assistant manager at fashion chain Abercrombie & Fitch. Her current work with The Halo Trust involves acting as a project officer in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her alleged 'clinch' with Harry was reportedly spotted during a World Cup-themed party, in which bare-chested men waved sparklers and tequila shots were delivered on a train. It comes just a day after the Prince's ex-girlfriend Cressida was seen sporting a huge smile on her face as she headed home from the Rosemary Branch Theatre following her latest performance. The 25-year-old dressed down for the occasion in a blue outfit and covered her top half with a bright blue T-shirt, while carrying her possessions in a black handbag. She also opted for comfort in her choice of shoes - donning a pair of white trainers. It was Cressida's first play since she split from Harry in April following a two-year relationship. Ex-girlfriend: It comes just a day after Cressida Bonas (pictured) was seen sporting a huge smile on her face as she headed home from the Rosemary Branch Theatre after her latest performance . Friends of the pair confirmed their separation to the Daily Mail, just a month after she attended an official engagement with him for the first time. At the time, a friend insisted that the break-up was ‘very much an amicable one’ and that they had parted as friends. | Prince Harry spotted 'in clinch' with Camilla Thurlow, 25, at Tonteria club .
Pair reportedly 'had a few drinks' and kissed in front of friends at venue .
Comes two months after the Prince split from girlfriend Cressida Bonas .
Miss Thurlow, from Dumfries, works for landmine charity, The Halo Trust .
Charity was made famous by Harry's mother Diana following visit in 1997 .
She is also a former Miss Edinburgh and was an assistant shop manager . |
170,761 | 6903e337955190dd728b46fe33309b9778b130ad | We all enjoy a good wedding but Jen Glantz loves them so much she's decided to make a living out of the special day - as the world's first professional bridesmaid. The 26-year-old came up with the idea after taking on the duty at all her friends' weddings. And she proved so good at it, she decided to offer up her services to strangers. New Yorker Jen made the unusual decision to become a professional bridesmaid after performing the duty three times for friends and family . Jen, pictured left, performs bridesmaid duties at the wedding of good friend Alli Blum in New York . Jen, who promises she can get guests off their seats, shows off her dance moves at the wedding of friend Mel Sutliff in Florida . Jen (Second from right), pictured at the wedding of friend Mel Sutliff, will also arrange bridal showers and hen parties as part of her professional bridesmaid service . For a small fee, Jen promises to get guests dancing as well as help write the speeches. She'll even lift the bride's dress when she needs to go the loo. 'I've always loved weddings and I love being a part of them,' says Jen, from New York. 'My favourite thing is watching the bride walk down the aisle. It's the moment she's been building up to over a mad year of planning, rehearsals, the bridal shower and the hen do. 'It's such a lovely moment and it's such a wonderful feeling to be part of that.' She adds: 'I think there's something so special about two people promising to spend their lives together - I love witnessing that first hand.' She also has an ulterior motive - she's keen to find a groom of her own. She hopes that attending more weddings will increase her chance of finding Mr Right - much to the delight of her mother. 'I'm always trying to catch the bouquet," she says. 'I am quite shy with guys and I've never been close to going down the aisle myself. 'My mum says I'll be able to meet eligible groomsmen at all these weddings and she's thrilled.' Jen, right getting ready to be bridesmaid at a friend's wedding in Florida, says she hopes attending lots of wedding will increase her own chances of finding Mr Right . Jen started by advertising her services on classified website Craigslist. And within a just a few hours she was inundated with messages. 'I said I could help carry the bride's dress and lift it when she needs to do things like go to the bathroom,' explains Jen. 'My services also included filling the dance floor as well as planning the hen do and the bridal shower. 'Right after I posted the ad my inbox blew up and it was crazy. 'I received responses from women in the UK, Australia, Vietnam, Turkey and Israel.' Jen admits she was taken aback by the huge demand. 'There were so many reasons for having a professional bridesmaid,' she explains. 'Some said their friends weren't very good at helping to plan the big day, others said their best friends were too far away to come to their wedding. 'Some people just didn't have any close friends.' Jen, here hugging a friend at the wedding of friend Mel Sutliff, has already received responses from women in the UK, Australia, Vietnam, Turkey and Israel . She adds: 'I was pretty shocked - I thought people would think I was crazy but women seem to really like the idea. 'It's the men who think I'm mad. They don't really know what goes in to being a bridesmaid and what hard work it actually is but I hope this will educate them.' Jen has yet to put a price on a day of her bridesmaid services . Jen, who has been a bridesmaid three times for friends and family, currently has two weddings booked in September this year with total strangers in New York who are paying her expenses - including travel and the dress. But she is yet to set a price for a day of bridesmaid duties. She says: 'It's all a matter of what the budget is and what the couple can pay me. 'I don't think having a professional bridesmaid should necessarily be expensive and I want to be able to work with all sorts of budgets." As business booms, her surreal line of work has been compared to Hollywood film, 27 Dresses, where actress Katherine Heigl plays a wedding nut. 'A lot of people say my life is very much like the film," she says. 'My wardrobe is pretty full at the moment but I can see it being overrun with bridesmaid dresses in all colours and shapes.' And, like the film, Jen hopes her story will have a happy ending too in the form of a wedding of her own. 'I really would like to find Mr Right,' she admits. 'I just hope it's not a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride.' | Started advertising her services on Craigslist for small fee .
Has received requests from UK, Australia, Vietnam, Turkey and Israel .
Now booked in for two strangers weddings in September .
Is yet to set a price for a day of bridesmaid duties .
Jen will help get guests dances, write speeches and hold the dress .
Hopes attending more weddings will help her find Mr Right . |
283,855 | fbc13895cd910e5edccfb18a320b21c4496bde79 | Marseille has become the focus of emergency French government talks after the son of a football boss was gunned down in the street on Thursday in the city's latest gangland killing. Adrien Anigo - whose father, Jose Anigo, is the sporting director of Olympique Marseille - was the second person in a day to be killed in the region of the southern port city - and the 15th murder since the start of the year. The 30-year-old was shot dead in the middle of the day by two men on a motorbike while he was getting out of a rented Renault Twingo. Shooting: Police and forensic experts investigate the scene where Adrien Anigo was murdered . The killing is being seen as part of a worrying and increasing gangland culture in a city rife with drugs and political corruption - even in the year it holds the title of European Capital of Culture. Last month, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault ordered . 130 extra riot police and 24 investigators to Marseille, which has France's second-biggest population and a . large immigrant community. Authorities say AK47s are available in the region for €500 each, and that execution-style killings - described by the state prosecutor as . Marseille's 'regrettable speciality' - are becoming increasingly common. Anigo, a restaurant owner, had been under investigation by police over armed robberies of jewellery stores and involvement in a local gang. Gunned down: The 30-year-old son of Olympique Marseille's sporting director was shot dead by men on a motorbike as he was getting out of his car . Investigation: Anigo was already under investigation by police and was due to appear in court over armed robberies of jewellery stores . Bloodbath: The men who shot Adrien Anigo fled the crime scene on a motorbike . He was due to appear in court, having been jailed in the past before being released because of a judicial error, according to French media. The father-of-two suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, as he was targeted by the men who fled the scene. His killing came hours after gunmen shot a 24-year-old as he arrived for work in the town of La Ciotat, some 20 miles from Marseille. Jose Anigo, the director of one of France's oldest and most popular clubs, grew up on a poor estate before becoming a player at Marseille. He has denied having any mafia or crime links of his own, telling the Journal du Dimanche two years ago: 'The street sucked in my son, but that's got nothing to do with anyone but the justice system.' Popular: Olympique Marseille, with players such as Andre Pierre Gignac, pictured left (with Eric Abidal of AS Monaco, right) is one of the best-loved clubs in France . Crisis: The incident, which took place in broad daylight in front of passers-by, was the second in a day - the first involving a 24-year-old man gunned down by masked motorbike men at La Ciotat just outside Marseille . Tourist numbers have risen sharply in Marseille in the past six months, with the city aiming to attract 10 million visitors this year as it holds the Capital of Culture title. Officials have had some success at cracking down on drug-smuggling, particularly the heroin trade, but it is still a hub on the cocaine route through Europe from Africa. The death toll has not reached last year's total of 24 gang killings in the Bouches-du-Rhone area including Marseille. However, unemployment remains above the national average, with more than 20 per cent of Marseille residents below the poverty line and more than 40 per cent youth unemployment in some parts of the region. Marseille's right-wing major Jean-Claude Gaudin has accused politicians in France of 'Marseille-bashing'. Crackdown: A suspect is led away by police as part of an anti-drugs operation in the city, which has seen the deployment of around 150 extra officers, including riot police . 'Chicago of the South': High unemployment, particularly among young people, is blamed for the persistent drug trade in the city . Dead end: Poor housing estates are said to be focal points for an underground economy of drug deals between youths with few prospects . French interior minister Manuel Valls called on political parties to unite to solve this crime issue in the city. He said: 'I understand the anger of the Marseille people but we need time [to act] against drug-trafficking and daily delinquency.' Marie-Arlette Carlotti, a government minister competing in the Socialist primary race to choose a Marseille mayoral candidate next year, said 'real mafia networks' must be neutralised. 'We have to find out where the money is, the white collars, because there are bosses in all this, even if the mafia is less well-organised than it was in the past,' she said. 'We have to look at exterior signs of wealth, trace the networks to their bank accounts in protected places.' Marseille's drug trade became famous . in the 1971 Hollywood film The French Connection, named after the . postwar heroin gangs in the city. By the late Sixties, about 80 per cent of heroin in the US was trafficked from Marseille. Enforcement: Government officials hope a heavy police presence will neutralise mafia-like networks in the southern French port city . Gangland: AK47s are said to be available in the city for a few hundred euros . | Adrien Anigo, son of Olympique Marseille boss Jose Anigo, gunned down in French city .
Shooting is 15th murder in region since start of this year .
Marseille's mayor and officials call for end to in-fighting to solve gangland crisis in city .
French Prime Minister last month ordered 130 police officers and 24 investigators to crack down on Marseille drug trade . |
33,497 | 5f43c3db85393d73b57174a6e3c72884cf1402e6 | (CNN) -- The White House indicated Wednesday that a report and a photo from the controversial low-altitude New York flyover by a 747 plane used as Air Force One could be released soon. A 911 caller on the day of the flyover said, "There's a plane falling. There is a big aircraft falling like 9/11." Earlier, White House officials had said that there were no plans to release photos to the public. But the tone seemed to change on Wednesday. "The report, I believe, will be concluded at some point this week. We'll release its findings and release a photo," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during his daily press briefing. The review, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, will focus on "why that decision was made and to ensure that it never happens again," Gibbs said. The flyover, officials said, was a training mission -- it was also a government-sanctioned photo shoot. Military officials also estimate that the mission and the photo shoot, aimed at updating file photos of Air Force One -- cost $328,835 in taxpayer money. But they said "the hours would have been flown regardless, and the expenses would have been accrued on a different mission." The photo shoot, which President Obama said he was "furious" with, happened on April 27. The image of a low-flying plane accompanied by an F-16 fighter jet sent some New Yorkers into the streets and into a panic -- reminding them of the tragic 9/11 attacks on the city. Building evacuations also took place across the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey. Read more of Obama's reaction . White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera later apologized for the flyover. Witnesses reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River. Watch the plane fly over Manhattan » . A YouTube video showed people standing in a parking lot, watching the plane approach. As it nears, they begin to run. "Run, run!" said one person. "Oh my God," cried another. A 911 call, released later by the Hudson County Sheriff's Department in New Jersey, illustrated the fear and panic felt by residents since the 9/11 attacks. "There's a plane falling. There is a big aircraft falling like 9/11," a man says to the operator. "Everybody is running and people are crying and panicking." CNN iReporter Tom Kruk, who saw the plane and took a photo, called the sight of the aircraft low in the sky "unsettling." Mayor Michael Bloomberg was visibly angry last week. "I'm annoyed -- furious is a better word -- that I wasn't told," he said, adding that the decision by the White House Military Office and Federal Aviation Administration to withhold details about the flight were "ridiculous" and "poor judgment." But according to Air Force Capt. Anna Carpenter, local law enforcement agencies and the FAA had been notified of the exercise. New York Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne confirmed that department had been alerted about the flight "with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it." That decision riled local media. "Given that we are not big on reminders of 9/11, we could have done without the whole thing. But the FAA outdunced itself by asking the NYPD to keep the photo op a secret, as if no one would look up and say, 'What the hell?' " the New York Daily News said on April 28. The New York Post, in its editorial on the same day, said: "The FAA had long preferred to keep passengers ignorant of these dangers. Better to have people panic, it seems, at the sudden sight of low-flying aircraft over Lower Manhattan. ... Someone needs to straighten out these folks -- quick." The controversy had some questioning President Obama's declaration of a new era of openness, who on January 21, said: "The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over." So why, exactly, didn't that initially apply to the photos? An advocate for government disclosure said it should, and that it's "silly" and "absurd" to withhold them. Watch more on the photo flap » . "These are public records because they were done on government time, with government resources, and government personnel," said Patrice McDermott of openthegovernment.org. In New York, news that the photos might not be released reignited public outrage over the incident. "It doesn't seem right," said Kurt Wallin from New Jersey. "If we spent the money to have these photos taken, they should be available for the public to see." Emily Ritter from Park City, Utah, added: "I feel like maybe they're covering it up because it's been seen in a bad light already ... maybe they are still worried about their image and don't want to be seen in a bad light." CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report. | NEW: White House says it intends to release flyover report, photo .
A plane used as Air Force One was taking part in official photo shoot, FAA says .
The controversial flyover cost taxpayers $328,000 and has riled politicians, public . |
128 | 006684f2e2fa98b707502c549ab1a0ea0d22a3db | Gordon Brown gave Labour rising star Chuka Umunna ‘the hairdryer treatment’ in a blistering phone call after the shadow business secretary publicly blamed him for Labour’s struggles on the economy. Mr Brown attacked the shadow cabinet minister for an interview he gave criticising the former Labour leader’s failure to confront Britain’s ballooning deficit in the run up to the 2010 election. Mr Umunna said Mr Brown’s refusal to even talk about Government ‘cuts’ was still costing Labour support, because it made the party look like it did not care about the deficit. Labour are currently 25 points behind the Tories on which party is best for the economy. Scroll down for video . Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna (left) and Gordon Brown (right) clashed on the phone over Labour's record on the economy . But the remarks sparked a furious response from Mr Brown, MailOnline has learnt. The former Prime Minister told Mr Umunna that he should not accept Tory claims that Labour was spending too much before the last general election, a senior Labour source revealed. The source said: ‘He still cannot accept Labour was running a structural deficit. Even after all this time he won’t accept that he was wrong – it’s unbelievable.’ The deficit – the difference between Government spending and how much it raises in taxes each year – was more than £160 billion in 2010. Labour blamed the huge borrowing splurge on the global recession – because the Government was forced to withstand a huge hit on tax revenue as people lost their jobs, while at the same time increasing spending on benefits. But analysis has since revealed that the ‘structural deficit’ – the amount of borrowing needed even when the economy is growing normally – had grown to more than £100 billion in the last year of the Labour government. In an interview with GQ magazine, published this month, Mr Umunna said Mr Brown’s refusal to face up to the deficit was still hurting the Labour Party. He said: ‘My view is that the seeds were sown under the last government and Gordon - for whom I have a lot of respect - his refusal to use the word “cuts” in trying to frame the economic debate as investment versus cuts gave the impression we didn't understand that debt and deficit would have to be dealt with.’ Shadow chancellor Ed Balls (left) and the Labour leader Ed Miliband (right), who were both Treasury aides under Gordon Brown, have defended the party's record controlling Government spending . A source close to Mr Umunna confirmed the pair spoke in a telephone call after the interview was published earlier this month. The source said: ‘It is something they disagree on. ‘Chuka’s argument has always been that pursuing the line that it was Labour spending versus Tory cuts allowed Osborne to make the whole election debate about deficit reduction. They spoke and that is definitely still his view.’ A spokesman for Mr Umunna said: 'Chuka and Gordon are both members of the PLP - or course they speak to each other on a range of issues. Chuka has great respect for Gordon.' It is understood that on this occasion Mr Umunna initiated the call. Conservative MP Henry Smith said the confrontation between Mr Brown and Mr Umunna revealed a 'divided' Labour Party. He said: 'This shows a Labour party still in denial about the record deficit they left behind and with no plan to deal with our debts and ensure a more financially secure future for Britain. 'Brown’s intervention begs the question who’s in charge of a clearly split and infighting Labour leadership team.' | EXCLUSIVE: Source reveals extraordinary call by ex Prime Minister .
Mr Umunna blamed former PM for Labour's economic credibility problem .
He said Mr Brown 'gave impression we didn't understand debt and deficit'
Former Labour leader confronted Mr Umunna in an angry call afterwards . |
166,426 | 6337d844026e850797c73537f8283153d9e989a6 | (CNN) -- Shezanne Cassim, an American who was jailed in the United Arab Emirates after posting a video that parodied Dubai teens, returned to the United States on Thursday and sharply criticized the authorities who imprisoned him. "I did nothing wrong," Cassim said in Minneapolis. "There was nothing illegal about the video, even under UAE law. I was tried in a textbook kangaroo court, and I was convicted without any evidence." For months, Cassim said, he and others apprehended in the case didn't know why they were behind bars. "We had no idea of what our crime was. We had no idea how long we'd be in prison for. We weren't actually told what our crime was until five months later, after we were taken in," he said. "Even then, we heard rumors of the charges, and they kept on changing." In December, Cassim was sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of about $2,700. The charges were not read in court, but the country's main English-language newspaper reported that Cassim was accused of defaming the UAE's image abroad. UAE officials would say only that Cassim "was charged under the UAE's penal code" and was "entitled to the fair trial protections contained in the UAE's constitution." Cassim said the reason behind his detention was clear. "Due to the political situation there, they're scared of democracy. They wanted to send a message to the UAE public, saying, 'Look what we'll do to people who do just a silly YouTube video, so imagine if you do something that's actually critical of the government.' It's a warning message, and we're scapegoats," he said. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that after getting credit against his one-year sentence for time served and "for good behavior," Cassim was moved to a deportation facility for processing. According to his family, Cassim, of Woodbury, Minnesota, ended up serving nine months in prison -- more than half of those before being charged -- before his recent move to a deportation facility. He had moved to Dubai in 2006, after graduating from college, to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers. His family says the 29-year-old was arrested in April after uploading a 19-minute video that pokes fun at a clique of Dubai teens influenced by hip-hop culture. In the 1990s, the label "Satwa G" was given to a group of suburban teens who were known to talk tougher than they really were. Cassim's video depicts a "combat school" in the Dubai district of Satwa, where these "gangsters" are trained. The training includes how to throw sandals at targets, use clothing accessories as whips and call on the phone for backup. Shervon Cassim said his brother made the video "just for fun." | NEW: Shezanne Cassim has returned to the United States .
NEW: He says he wasn't told about charges or sentence .
He was arrested after posting a video making fun of Dubai teens . |
47,828 | 86f5fd8d264d3a8bbab81874ddf8f10203abaa51 | A homeless man was shot dead by police after he hit two officers with rocks and refused to put down other stones, authorities have said. Police Chief Bob Metzger told a news conference that officers had used a stun gun on Antonio Zambrano-Montes in Pasco, Washington, but it had no effect. He added because of Zambrano-Montes's 'threatening behavior', police fired their guns. Metzger said he did not know whether a weapon was found. But multiple witnesses say the man was running away from the scene when he was killed at about 5pm on Tuesday. Scroll down for video . Erika Zambrano holds a photo of shooting victim Antonio Zambrano-Montes outside the city hall building in Pasco, Washington. He was shot and killed by Pasco police officers during a confrontation on Tuesday . They told the Tri-City Herald the man had run about half a block when he was killed about 5pm on Tuesday near the Fiesta Foods store. The 35-year-old's last address was a Pasco homeless shelter, according to Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel. He was an orchard worker raised in Michoacan, Mexico, who had lived in Pasco for the last ten years and didn't speak any English, the Tri-City Herald reported. His cousin Blanca Zambrano told the newspaper: 'He was a kind person, family-oriented. He was hardworking.' The shooting occurred after officers responded to a report of a man throwing rocks at cars at a busy intersection near a grocery store. Dario Infante, 21, of Pasco, recorded video from a vehicle about 50 feet away as the scene unfolded. He said he decided to start recording when he saw an officer trying to use a stun gun on the man. Infante said he saw the man throw a few rocks at police officers but he didn't see him hit any officers. Five 'pops' are audible shortly after the video begins, and the man can be seen running away, across a street and down a sidewalk, pursued by three officers. Police investigate the scene of an officer involved shooting at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Lewis Street in Pasco, Washington . As the officers draw closer to the running man, he stops, turns around and faces them. Multiple 'pops' are heard and the man falls to the ground. 'He didn't throw any rocks after he started running,' Infante said. Several dozen people gathered at Pasco City Hall yesterday afternoon to raise concerns about the shooting. The ACLU of Washington also issued a statement, calling the incident 'very disturbing.' The group's executive director, Kathleen Taylor said: 'Fleeing from police and not following an officer's command should not be sufficient for a person to get shot,' She added deadly force should be used only as a last resort. Pasco residents, pictured from left, Angel Morgan, five, and his brother Jose Morgan, six, and Alex Gonzalez, four, and his brother Angel Gonzalez, eight, gather around a candlelit vigil yesterday in memory of Antonio Zambrano-Montes . Ben Patrick told the newspaper police fired at the man as his back was turned. 'I really thought they were just going walk up and tackle or tase him,' he said. 'But they opened fire. His back was turned.' Patrick's wife, Shannon, also said the man was running away. The shooting happened in front of her young children. 'He turned around to take off running and the cops just shot him,' she said. 'All he was trying to do was walk away.' Other witnesses heard officers give the man orders to stop and drop the rock. They said the man refused to listen. Metzger has identified the three officers involved in the shooting. They were placed on leave for the investigation, a standard practice. The Tri-City Special Investigation Unit, which will not include Pasco police, will investigate. Investigators are looking at cellphone video of the scene that has been posted online. Carlos Sanchez, who witnessed the shooting from the grocery store parking lot, also said it looked like the man was running away from officers when he was killed. 'They started shooting and they kept on shooting him,' he said. The case is the fourth fatal shooting involving a Tri-City police officer in Pasco in the last six months. Officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in all three previous cases. | Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, was shot dead for his 'threatening behavior'
But multiple witnesses report he was running away when he was killed .
It's the fourth fatal shooting involving a Tri-City police officer in Pasco in the last six months .
Officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in all three previous cases . |
154,887 | 542b992130cac47ec389fc1494791919a4201e99 | (CNN) -- Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela as South Africa's president 14 years ago, says the ailing revered statesmen will pull through. "I know the doctors who are working with him are very good people, very good doctors and I am quite certain, I am quite certain that, one of these days, Madiba will go back home," Mbeki said over the weekend, calling Mandela by his clan name. Mandela, 94, is considered the founding father of South Africa's modern democracy. He has been hospitalized in Pretoria since June 8 for a recurring lung infection -- a legacy of his years of imprisonment under South Africa's now-defunct apartheid regime. Mbeki is the second president in South Africa's post-apartheid era ushered in by Mandela. Mbeki served from 1999 to 2008 after Mandela emerged from prison in 1990 and became the nation's first black president four years later. Jacob Zuma currently serves as president. "What the government has been saying is that his condition is critical but stable is correct. But I think we need to add to that that indeed his health is improving. The medical care that he is receiving is in fact excellent and as I say, I am quite certain that one of these days the doctors will agree that he can go and stay at home rather than in hospital. Certainly that is our hope and our wish, but I think that is what will happen," Mbeki said. Mandela became an international figure while enduring 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid, the South Africa's system of racial segregation. A court document released recently revealed that Mandela's health had declined so sharply on June 26 that his family was considering whether to take him off life support. The next day, however, Zuma announced that Mandela's condition improved from critical to critical but stable. | Thabo Mbeki says Nelson Mandela's "health is improving"
Mbeki succeeded Mandela as president; he thinks "Madiba will go back home" |
245,800 | ca2656d9e0a1ac850a89cd5a5cc8a698c6f2990a | (CNN) -- A Nigerian militant group has claimed responsibility after a car loaded with explosives rammed into the United Nations' building in the capital, killing 23, a government spokesman said Monday. The suicide attack Friday shattered windows, set the building ablaze and left gaping holes on the walls. Radical Muslim sect Boko Haram, which aims to enforce a strict version of Sharia law, has claimed responsibility, said Reuben Abati, the government spokesman. Eighty-one people were injured, he said. The attack targeted a building that housed 26 U.N. humanitarian and development agencies, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week. The Liberian and U.S. embassies are also nearby. "This was an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others," Ban said. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan described the suicide bombing as "barbaric, senseless and cowardly" and intensified security around the capital. The capital of Abuja has experienced a series of bombings in recent months. In June, a car blast killed at least five people at the police headquarters in the city. A month later, at least three people died in an explosion near a church outside the capital. The number of casualties could have been higher if services had still been going on, according to a police spokesman. The attacks on the church and police station may have been the work of Boko Haram, the nation's officials said this year. Africa's most populous nation is divided between a largely Christian south and a Muslim north. "Boko Haram" translates loosely as "Western education is forbidden/sinful." The group holds all government authority in contempt and wants to establish a Sharia state in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram has been running religious schools for years, but did not rise to national prominence until it attacked police stations and prisons two years ago. In retaliation, security forces launched a fierce crackdown that destroyed the group's camp and led to the arrest of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf. He died in police custody. | Boko Haram claims responsibility for the blast .
Nigeria's president says the bombing was "barbaric, senseless and cowardly"
The capital has suffered a series of bombings in recent months .
Ban: "This was an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others" |
146,773 | 49cc00a26c40598e5a49f02c2a51c763ce249d70 | A husband has been jailed for life after strangling his wife in a 'cruel and merciless' attack because he wanted to 'shut her up'. Mark Dyson, 55, killed his wife Carole, who had cared for him for more than 25 years, before walking to a nearby hospital and confessing that 'something terrible' had happened. His constant moaning left both of them at the end of their tether and he eventually snapped when his wife refused to wait for him to get up when the couple were due to go out, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Mark Dyson, 55, killed his wife Carole, 53, because he wanted to 'shut her up'. Mrs Dyson, who had cared for her husband for more than 25 years, was murdered in a 'cruel and merciless' attack, a judge said . Judge Mr Justice Holroyde said the terror, pain and anguish suffered by Mrs Dyson, 53, during the attack was too 'terrible to contemplate' - and that she stood no chance against his 'murderous attack'. After killing his wife, Dyson walked to nearby Chorley Hospital and told staff 'something terrible' had happened. Admitting the murder to police officers, he said he had 'wanted to shut her up'. Mr Justice Holroyde said: 'You did so by cruel and merciless strangulation. 'You are bigger and heavier than her, she stood no chance of defending herself against your murderous attack, which was plainly intended to kill her.' Officers forced their way into the couple's home in Adlington, Lancashire, on April 29 and found the lifeless body of Mrs Dyson lying on a bed. Police officers forced their way into the couple's home and found the lifeless body of Mrs Dyson lying on a bed . Family and friends left flowers and tributes to the Mrs Dyson outside their home in Adlington, Lancashire . A post-mortem examination by a Home Office pathologist found the cause of death was asphyxiation . A post-mortem examination by a Home Office pathologist found the cause of death was asphyxiation. The judge said it was estimated that Dyson applied pressure to her throat for 30 to 60 seconds or more. Dyson had suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the death of the couple's 15-year-old daughter, the court was told. He also had a rare condition which caused him to believe he was in constant pain. He said he had been in pain for some time and his wife had been 'nasty' to him. After the sentencing on Wednesday, Det Insp John Roy, of Lancashire Constabulary's Major Investigation Team, said: 'I welcome the fact that Mark Dyson has admitted the murder of his wife, which has at least spared the family the pain of a trial. 'This is a tragic case and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Carole Dyson.' At the time of the murder, neighbours in the quiet residential street where the couple lived expressed their shock at the death of Mrs Dyson. Audra Ashton, 47, who left flowers at their house, said: 'To me, she was a lovely woman, absolutely fantastic. 'She had pride in her house and was always out cleaning the windows and cleaning the door.' Dyson was given a life sentence and will serve at least 14 years before he is eligible to apply for parole. | Mark Dyson strangled his wife, Carole, because he wanted to 'shut her up'
Mrs Dyson, 53, had cared for her husband for more than 25 years .
He throttled her for at least 30 seconds in a 'cruel and merciless' attack .
After the murder he walked to a hospital and confessed what had happened .
Dyson, 55, admitted murdering his wife and was jailed for life . |
120,084 | 273310e399d85e79a73e8df301747c80498325b4 | Created: . 09:17 EST, 22 April 2014 . A Saudi prince has been accused of killing 2,000 birds that are on the verge of extinction while on a safari holiday in Pakistan earlier this year. Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud - who is commonly known as Fahd bin Sultan - is said to have killed 1,977 near-extinct houbara bustards while on a 21-day trip to Chagai in Pakistan's Balochistan province in January. An earlier version of this article wrongly included a photograph of HRH Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who had no connection with the hunting trip. At risk: Hunting in Pakistani sees the global houbara population shrink by between 20 and 30 per cent annually. Houbaras are highly valued by Arab royals, who consider their meat to be an aphrodisiac . An additional 123 bustards - which . are covered by laws to protect endangered species - were slaughtered by . members of the prince's travelling party, bringing the total killed to . 2,100. Fahd bin Sultan, 63 . -the governor of Saudi Arabia's Tabuk Province and the second eldest son . of late Crown Prince Sultan - is accused of hunting illegally in . protected areas, according to a report by Karachi-based Dawn News. The website claims to have seen a . document titled ‘Visit of Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud . regarding hunting of houbara bustard' which they say was prepared by . Jaffar Baloch - a divisional officer in the local forest and wildlife . department. The report . allegedly says the prince and his party hunted for 21 days - from Jan . 11, 2014 to Jan 31 - and had been granted special permits by the . Pakistani federal government which allow important visitors to bypass . laws preventing the hunting of houbaras. These . permits still require the recipient to kill no more than 100 birds over . a 10-day period however, and only allow them to do so in certain areas. It is not known if Fahd . bin Sultan or any or his party will face punishments for violating the . rules over how many birds they killed and for hunting with falcons . outside the specified areas. Houbaras are highly valued by Arab royals, who consider the meat to be an aphrodisiac. For decades sheikhs have travelled to . remote areas of Pakistan in time for the bird to make its winter . migration from Central Asia. India banned the hunting of houbaras in early 1979. The ongoing hunting in Pakistan has seen global houbara numbers fall to around 110,000 - with that figure decreasing by between 20 and 30 per cent every year. After a particularly aggressive hunting season last year, Pakistan introduced an interim ban on killing the birds. The move proved popular with local environmental campaigners who have grown tired of Arab sheikhs flouting hunting laws, but the Pakistani government appears to have subsequently eased the restrictions, issuing at least 33 houbara hunting permits already this year. One reason they are likely to have done so is because Arab royals bring a huge economic boost to the poor regions in which they hunt. They are said to travel in a convoy of private jets while on safari, with some transport planes given over purely to falcons and hunting equipment. The sheikhs also make large donations while travelling in Pakistan's poor rural areas - paying for new schools and mosques to be built, as well as funding the repair of rundown roads and airports. An earlier version of this article wrongly included a photograph of HRH Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who had no connection with the hunting trip. We apologise for the error. | Fahd bin Sultan is said to have killed 1,977 houbara bustards in 21 days .
He had been granted a permit to kill a certain number within a small area .
But it is claimed he far exceeded his allowance and hunted in banned zone .
Arab royals have long hunted houbara, considering its meat an aphrodisiac .
Bird is covered by protection laws but Pakistan can grant special permits .
Hunting sees global houbara population shrink by 30 per cent annually .
An earlier version of this article wrongly included a photograph of HRH Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who had no connection with the hunting trip. We apologise for the error. |
253,771 | d477745243c826ddae58be21b85d4cd033dbb097 | (The Frisky) -- Actress Amanda Seyfried has been pretty candid about her disdain for dieting. She recently spoke up on The Huffington Post site about how unfortunate it is that near starvation is often necessary for success in Hollywood: . "I clearly like being fit, but it's not thin without a hell of a lot of work -- I run and I exercise a lot and then I eat...I'm not going to deny that I don't think about it every day, it's always on my mind. I have to stay in shape because I'm an actress. "It's twisted, but I wouldn't get the roles otherwise. If I'd been bigger, I don't think they would have cast me for 'Mamma Mia'! If I have to diet, it's salad with protein, salmon and broccoli, no dessert. But what kind of life is that?" Yeah, what kind of life is that? I'm eating dessert for breakfast right now and feel pretty OK about it, but for people whose chosen profession is acting, it's a big issue. Here are a few celebs who have whined about this unfair standard of beauty. Sandra Bullock says she is paid to be thin . Sandra Bullock once said, "People ask, 'How do actresses do it?' Um, they pay us to do this in order to look good on film," Bullock confessed to InStyle. When she was younger, Bullock did some yo-yo dieting and says of her mentality at the time, "I'm going to get really fat. Then I'm going to complain about how fat I've got, then I'll have to go on a diet, then I'll complain about being on a diet. It's just a vicious circle. I've been a junk food junkie most of my life." The Frisky: Learn from Sandra Bullock's up/down love life . Beyonce was "dying" to be thin . When Beyonce had to drop 20 pounds for "Dreamgirls," she did a Master Cleanse, and said this about it in FHM magazine: "I lived on water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days. It was tough; everyone was eating and I was dying. "After that I ate waffles, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, french fries, everything I could find. That was the best time of my life. I've gained twelve pounds." "Baywatch" babe Nicole Eggert says being skinny is "unrealistic" Former "Baywatch" and "Celebrity Fit Club" actress Nicole Eggert fought back against tabloid criticism over her weight gain, telling ThatsFit.com, "to maintain this Hollywood figure is really, really unrealistic. Is your heart healthy? Is your mind healthy? Do you feel good? That's it. Period. This skinny-minnie-waify look that has taken over is unrealistic." But, just in case, she lost all that weight and is pimping that QuickTrim stuff Kim Kardashian is so fond of. The Frisky: Amanda Seyfried's raunchy tattoo . Demi Moore doesn't call herself "thin" Demi Moore also had her share of body issues and hopes she hasn't passed them on to her daughters. She told Vanity Fair, "When I was living that idea that if I was thinner I would be better and more accepted and more attractive, I stopped looking at it as being thin or skinny... I have three daughters with three very different types of bodies... I just try to encourage them to find the beauty in who they are and what they have, as opposed to focusing on what they're not. I want them to know that being thin does not equate to happiness." Demi Moore schools Kim Kardashian on "pimping" Jennifer Aniston's lost it for "Friends" When she started her career, Jennifer Aniston was told that she needed to lose 20 pounds to be on "Friends." She managed to lose the weight but complained about it publicly: "You're damned if you're too thin and you're damned if you're too heavy. According to the press, I've been both. It's impossible to satisfy everyone and I suggest we stop trying." InStyle.com: 9 summer films you'll want to see . Celebrity men complain, too . Men aren't immune to the weight game. Ricky Gervais recently spoke out in response to suggestions that he lost weight to "kick start his film career." Gervais said to The Telegraph: "The Hollywood pressure is that you do have to be of a certain standard or a certain type. I see everyone doing it, even good character actors. I think, 'Why are you starving yourself?' I remember when a newspaper said, 'He's lost three stone for Hollywood.' "I went, 'No, I haven't lost three stone and I would never do it for Hollywood. I did it 'cos I work out and I wanna be fit.' And that annoys me." Kelly Osbourne: Being fat was worse than drugs . Kelly Osbourne made a really good point when she told Us Weekly, "I took more hell for being fat than I did for being an absolute raging drug addict. I will never understand that. Now I've actually read in some magazines that I'm too skinny. You can never ever ever win." Why is it so much worse to be fat than risking your life daily with drugs? Jessica Simpson beaten up over 10 pounds . After the mom jeans debacle, Jessica Simpson shared her feelings on weight with Oprah Winfrey: "The fact I was famous last year for gaining 10 pounds is ridiculous and really sad... Just the pressure that women feel to be thin... The pressure that the media puts on women is so unfair, and so disgusting." TM & © 2010 TMV, Inc. | All Rights Reserved . | Sandra Bullock says, "They pay us to do this in order to look good on film"
Jennifer Aniston was told she needed to lose 20 pounds to be on "Friends"
Kelly Osbourne says she took more heat for being fat than for being a drug addict . |
55,252 | 9c8b3e63196b83c526378270e4c193e5bbeec4f8 | By . Emily Crane . Time-poor golfers who struggle to fit a round into their busy lives have come up with a novel way of working on their swings - playing with fluorescent balls under spotlights in the middle of the night. The specialised LED golf balls are used by Sydney-based company Light It Up Golf which regularly hosts after-dark events across the country in a bid to make the sport more accessible to generations that are otherwise too busy. Light It Up Golf owners, Brad and Joel McIntosh, set up thousands of custom lights around nine hole golf courses and light up pins and holes to help golfers navigate their way in the dark. Time-poor golfers are now playing with fluorescent balls at night to juggle a round of golf with busy work and family commitments . The Castle Hill Country golf club is lit up with colourful neon lights . The fluorescent game of golf could be mistaken for a Pet Shop Boys concert . 'We basically make the golf course come alive at night,' Brad McIntosh told Daily Mail Australia. 'The night golf concept brings a lot more fun to the sport. It's that wow factor.' Mr McIntosh said they created the company a year ago after seeing a massive decline in golf membership across Australia over several years. 'A lot of people had gone away from golf because of work or family and people don't tend to come back to golf until their 50s,' he said. 'That's the main issue we saw... time-poor people,' he said. 'Younger people don’t even have time to play. At least with (Light It Up Golf) it's after work and they can play once a week if they like.' Joel McIntosh from Light It Up Golf shows off his glowing golf balls . Light It Up Golf owners, Brad and Joel McIntosh, set up thousands of custom lights around nine hole golf courses and light up pins and holes to help golfers navigate their way in the dark . The specialised LED golf balls are used by Sydney-based company Light It Up Golf who regularly host twilight golf events across the country . The team spent two years developing the concept, which involved creating an LED-based golf ball that lights up for 11 minutes when it hits a club or the ground. 'In 12 months we've run over 50 events across Australia and the feedback has been more than what we expected,' Mr McIntosh said. 'Clubs are getting 30 to 40 new members at the golf clubs from our events. 'At one event, we had four people come from 300km away just to play. People are lining up to play.' The latest event was held at Castle Hill Country Club in Sydney on Friday. Mr McIntosh said they created the company a year ago after seeing a massive decline in golf membership across Australia over several years . 'The night golf concept brings a lot more fun to the sport. It's that wow factor,' Mr McIntosh says . The company was created a year ago after seeing a massive decline in golf membership across Australia over several years . | Golfers are using LED golf balls from a Sydney company to play at night .
Light It Up Golf host twilight golf events across Australia to get people playing golf again .
They use thousands of custom lights on the course and have specialised pins and holes to help navigate the dark .
Co-owner Brad McIntosh said people have moved away from golf because of increasing work and family commitments . |
125,088 | 2db1d901da623d1fc38e299fe1a1d6a98968fafb | By . Emma Reynolds . These spectacular pictures of Niagara Falls show its natural beauty lit up with brilliant neon lights. The cascading curtain of water looks particularly magical at night, with the spray glowing bright pink, blue and yellow against the dark sky as it crashes into the river below. Photographer Rajeev Nair, from Connecticut, US, captured the extraordinary pictures of the annual light show by spending hours at the world famous landmark. Rainbow at night: The famous waterfalls that straddle Canada and the US emit a remarkable glow in the ethereal pictures . Pink passion: The vibrant colours make the water look like silk and the spray like clouds of light . Electric dreams: Photographer Rajeev Nair waited for his moment to capture the majesty of the famous tourist attraction turning turquoise . Purple haze: The natural wonder of the waterfall is emphasised by the astonishing display . He said: 'I have always dreamt of taking such photos - I have a special interest in waterfalls and seascapes and Niagara Falls provided me with a great opportunity to fulfil my interests. 'I think the Niagara light show is one of the most beautiful attractions and I was determined to capture it in my lifetime.' Mr Nair, 34, waited patiently each night for the right moment to get the perfect images of the illuminations, biding his time until an hour after sunset to photograph the beautiful blue hour. He said: 'Taking the pictures at this time helped to create the silky effect of the falls due to the long exposure. Golden memories: The lights look like sunbeams despite the late hour as the droplets spring into the night air . Spice of life: The foremost of Niagara's three waterfalls is almost obscured with pink, while another can be seen shining in yellow in the background . Phenomenal power: More than six million cubic feet of water falls over the crest every minute in high flow . 'This way you can also capture all the details of the light falling on the Niagara Falls. 'After taking a couple of photos, I started to get the desired effect and composition. Then it was just a matter of taking pictures at each change in the colour.' Mr Nair, who works as a financial reporter, used a Canon Rebel T2i camera and an 18-55mm kit lens to achieve the remarkable shots taken from beside the American Falls - one of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara. The magnificent illumination of the falls has been organised by local authorities since 1925. It is constantly changing, as each of of the falls glows in a rainbow of colours to complete the vast, awe-inspiring sight. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m3) of water falls over the crest every minute in high flow, straddling the border of the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York. | Each year, the astonishing illuminations make the vast landmark glow against the night sky .
More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m3) of water falls over the crest every minute in high flow .
Photographer waited hours to capture the silky effect of the cascading water .
The remarkable falls lie on the border between Canada and the US . |
156,602 | 567a520c5d8af088f04958219de02ba5a75183d5 | Barcelona pass master Xavi admits being frustrated by his lack of playing time this season, but he is determined to fight his way into Luis Enrique's plans. The 34-year-old was linked with a summer move to Qatar or the United States before deciding to stay at the Nou Camp where he has been an integral part of an all conquering team - winning seven La Liga titles and three Champions League titles during his career. The veteran midfielder has only started a single league game this season, but insists he is happy at the club and respects his manager's decisions during what is a transitional season. Barcelona playmaker has been unable to force his way into the Barcelona team this season . The Nou Camp legend (R) admits he is 'not happy to sit on the bench' but will fight for his place . Xavi insists he will respect the decisions of manager Luis Enrique (R) as he ushers in a new era at Barca . Speaking at a promotional event for adidas, he said: 'I want to play as much as possible and change my situation, but the team comes first and it's the coach who decides. 'It's been a hectic month and I'm going to fight in order to continue to be an important part of this team. I'm not happy to sit on the bench. 'Now it's down to me to cope and enjoy the playing time that I get. It isn't a dramatic situation for me and I'm trying to turn it around so that I feel more useful. I'm happy that I stayed at Barca.' Xavi has enjoyed a successful career with Barca, wining seven league titles and three Champions Leagues . The 34-year-old played during Barcelona's 3-2 loss to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League midweek . The Spain international accepted he is not guaranteed a starting place but is not considering alternatives beyond this season. 'I didn't make any prior agreements with Luis Enrique regarding my role,' he added. 'I'm not thinking about anything else. I don't have any targets. 'I just want to enjoy what comes and hope the team continue to win.' | Xavi Hernandez has lost his starting place at Barcelona this season .
Spain international has started only one game in Spain's La Liga .
The 34-year-old insists he respects the decisions of manager Luis Enrique .
Xavi was linked with moves to Qatar or United States in the summer . |
224,307 | ae715e6661d1a01a1d49bf45d3e17663010552c5 | By . Jamie Mcginnes . PUBLISHED: . 07:07 EST, 15 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:06 EST, 15 June 2012 . A three-year-old South African girl who suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body in an accident at a family barbecue is recovering after being given a new layer of 'cloned' skin. Doctors did not expect Isabella 'Pippie' Kruger to survive after she was seriously injured on New Year's Eve when a container of fire lighting fluid exploded at her home in Johannesburg. This week, little Pippie underwent a groundbreaking operation that saw 41 pieces of skin flown in from America to be grafted onto her back, face, chest, arms and legs. Groundbreaking: Dr Ridwan Mia (pictured left) and Anice Kruger push three-year-old Isabella 'Pippie' Kruger into surgery . As part of a pioneering procedure, new skin was grown in a laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, using cells harvested from Pippie's body. 'Everything went quite smoothly,' said Dr Ridwan Mia, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who performed the surgery on Pippie in a Johannesburg hospital. Dr Mia said he did not hold out much hope for the toddler's survival when he first met her in January. 'She had swelled to three times her size from her injuries,' he said. Under the knife: Anaesthetist Hazir Mukkadim (pictured left) checks Pippie Kruger during her pioneering surgery . Pippie has been in hospital since being admitted in January and during that time has battled pneumonia and kidney failure, as well as suffering several cardiac arrests. Doctors finally stabilised her so that this week's complex skin transplant surgery could be carried out. Dr Mia and his team used enough skin during the surgery to cover a mat and stapled it in pieces onto Pippie's wounds. On her face, doctors used absorbent stitch material instead of staples. The new skin had been created by cloning two samples of skin taken from one of the few parts of Pippie's body that escaped injury thanks to a diaper she was wearing at the time of the accident. Anxious: Little Pippie Kruger suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body after an accident at a barbeque at her home in Johannesburg, South Africa . The samples were sent to Genzyme laboratory in Boston where the skin was 'cloned' using mouse cells as a 'scaffold'. The procedure has been used many times in America and Europe, but rarely in Africa, Dr Mia said. On Monday evening, a special courier arrived from Boston with a stainless steel container carrying about 30 to 40 grafts of Pippie's new skin. Thin, delicate and almost transparent, the skin was taken to a Johannesburg hospital by ambulance from the airport. The skin needed to be grafted onto Pippie within 24 hours of leaving the laboratory. 'It was like clockwork the way the skin arrived on time,' said Dr Mia. Hoping for a quick recovery: Pippie Kruger's parents Erwin and Anice shown with son Arno . As Pippie was wheeled out of the surgery, her father Erwin Kruger expressed his relief to reporters. 'Everything looks great - it's fantastic,' he said. The little girl's mother, Anice Kruger, who has been by her daughter's bedside since the accident, looked equally relieved. For a week after the operation, Pippie will be wrapped in foam and protective dressing. She faces two immediate challenges. The first is ensuring that she remains free of infection. The second challenge is to prevent the new skin from sliding off and not taking. Skin grafts are delicate and prone to tearing. Doctors will have to keep Isabella sedated to minimise the risk of tearing. Bronwen Jones, founder of the Children of Fire, a local charity dedicated to providing medical treatments for young burn survivors, considers Pippie to be one of the luckier burn victims. She said survival in South Africa often depends on victims' proximity to a hospital and whether they are properly equipped. While there are no reliable statistics, Ms Jones estimates that around 15,000 children are seriously injured every year. In impoverished areas, the use of candles, paraffin stoves and open fires are often the causes of fire, particularly during the winter months. Tembisa Hospital, in the Gauteng province of South Africa, currently has 12 children in their burns unit. In the case of Pippie, access to medical care at an early stage as well as her parent's ability to raise money through social networking sites have all helped ease the burden. Dr Mia will be able to tell whether the skin has successfully taken after two weeks but he is optimistic given Isabella's determination. 'She is a fighter,' he said. | Doctors did not expect little Isabella 'Pippie' Kruger to survive after the horrific accident at a family barbecue in Johannesburg, South Africa .
She underwent a groundbreaking operation .
that saw 41 pieces of skin flown in from America and grafted onto her back, .
face, chest, arms and legs . |
204,567 | 94d66104d4c4885289bef6d189ee93f4fe0906f9 | By . Kerry Mcqueeney . UPDATED: . 11:30 EST, 22 October 2011 . A man who owns a website claiming to 'name and shame' allegedly underperforming solicitors has lost his slander action against the chief executive of Law Society - after claiming his own reputation had been damaged. Rick Kordowski had sued Desmond Hudson over a brief exchange between Mr Hudson and Professor John Flood in which methods used by Mr Kordowski - who runs the Solicitors From Hell website - were described 'criminal'. The comment was made as Mr Hudson and Professor Flood were leaving the BBC studios in July this year after taking part in Radio 4's You and Yours. Rick Kordowski runs the Solicitors From Hell website, which 'names and shames' allegedly underperforming solicitors . The conversation, as posted by Prof Flood on his weblog, went: 'As I came out of the BBC yesterday with Des Hudson, the chief executive of the Law Society, he said Rick Kordowski was a criminal. I reminded Des that the police didn't think so. He wasn't happy.' Mr Hudson's case was that he did not say Mr Kordowski was a criminal but told Prof Flood that Mr Kordowski's methods of collecting payment to remove comments from the website amounted to criminal behaviour. His defence to the claim at London's High Court also included a plea of justification. Mr Kordowski, who had originally claimed £1 million damages, then applied for summary judgment in his favour and a declaration that Mr Hudson's statement was false and defamatory plus an apology and £10,000. Striking out the claim as an abuse of process, Mr Justice Tugendhat said it was not a case for summary judgment as there was a conflict of evidence and it was impossible for him to say that the defence had no real prospect of success. He added that, although the allegation of criminality was in principle very serious, the alleged wrong in the present case was of a relatively low level of seriousness. Mr Kordowski lost his slander action against Desmond Hudson (pictured), chief executive of the Law Society . He concluded that it would not be just to allow the case to proceed, given that the words complained of were spoken to a single person and that there was no evidence of any real or substantial harm to Mr Kordowski. Mr Kordowski, who claims he is bankrupt, now faces a £14,000 costs bill. It is not the first time Mr Kordowski has appeared in the press. Last year a female solicitor who discovered defamatory postings about herself on the Solicitors From Hell website won her battle to have the allegations removed from the site. Anna Mazzola, a solicitor with London law firm Hickman Rose, won the rare ‘interim injunction’ against Rick Kordowski, who runs the website. Mr Justice Edwards-Stewart granted the order against Mr Kordowski in the High Court following an application by barrister Guy Vassall-Adams who represented Ms Mazzola. Mr Vassall-Adams argued that the . material about Ms Mazzola on the website - www.solicitorsfromhell.co.uk - . was undoubtedly defamatory and that there were no grounds that it might . be true. Mr Kordowski had not pleaded a proper . justification defence, or produced evidence to support the allegations, . but had simply argued that they might be true, and there was also . evidence of his intention to continue publishing the defamatory . material, Mr Vassall-Adams said. The barrister explained that . Solicitors From Hell was a ‘grievance website’ which allowed members of . the public to post anonymous complaints about solicitors, and he said . that Mr Kordowski had published serious defamatory allegations without . checking their truth or accuracy. He added that Mr Kordowski, who . represented himself in court, asked for payment from solicitors in . return for removing articles from the website. Postings: The homepage of the Solicitors From Hell website, which urges people to name and shame solicitors publicly . Similarly, in a another case last . June, solicitor Scott Eason of Eason Law in the North East, brought a . libel action against Mr Kordowski. Mr Eason said he launched his libel . action because he felt so strongly about the allegations published and . could not allow them to remain on the internet. Mr Kordowski had refused to take the . allegations down without payment, Eason said, adding: 'As a matter of . principle, I refused to pay Mr Kordowski any money and he left me with . no option but to issue libel proceedings against him.' Subsequently Mr Kordowski removed the . material from his website, sent Mr Eason a personal apology, and gave an . undertaking not to re-publish the allegations. | Rick Kordowski's methods described as 'criminal'
Desmond Hudson successfully defends slander action . |
66,692 | bd24f706b8098f04092ee34d004bf603a57fd9e9 | (CNN) -- North Carolina officials have pulled the license of one of 15 clinics in the state specializing in abortions, with the state citing alleged health and safety violations found during a recent inspection. Femcare medical clinic in Asheville was cited for 23 different violations, including failing to clean operating beds, using tape to hold the gas delivery system together, and not have a resuscitator available for patients. The clinic's license was suspended Wednesday, some two weeks after the inspection. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory last week signed a law requiring all abortion clinics to be held to the same standards as outpatient surgical centers this past Monday. North Carolina governor signs abortion bill into law . But the state Department of Health and Human Services said the Femcare inspection was part of a routine facilities check, and the passage of the state's recent abortion bill had nothing to do with the clinic's closure. In a news release, the state agency described what it called "egregious violations of existing rules that revealed an imminent threat to the health and safety of patients" at the Asheville facility. In a statement, Femcare said, "Since the state's last site visit in August 2006 there have been no changes in our operating protocols," and went on to say, "We expect to be in compliance soon with the required standards and will return to serving our patients as soon as possible." Watch: Speaker heckled over N.C. abortion bill . | The state cites 23 violations of regulations at a clinic in Asheville .
The clinic says it expects to be in compliance soon .
State agency says suspension was not related to a new law for abortion clinics . |
30,495 | 56b2a42aebcb1e92add89ebab3f3fda63526b036 | By . Chris Brooke . PUBLISHED: . 16:43 EST, 2 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:37 EST, 3 September 2012 . Caribbean dream: Scott Brown with his bride Rachel on their wedding day in September 2009 in the Dominican Repulic. She asked for a divorce on Christmas Day last year . After Scott Brown held his nerve to win £50,000 on Deal Or No Deal, he was determined that his estranged wife should not get a penny. But with only four months before the TV gameshow was screened and she found out about his windfall, the father-of-two knew he had to spend it fast. The 33-year-old sign manufacturer and fitter said he used £15,000 to clear all the debts he and his wife Rachel, 29, had from credit card bills, loans and bank overdrafts. After setting aside almost £2,000 to cover legal fees for his divorce, he bought clothing, toys and household items for their two young children. Mr Brown also used some cash to ‘live off’, having being signed off from work because of ‘depression’. But he admits he spent most of the rest on ‘having a good time’, including an iPad, a holiday in Mexico and the outlay of £4,000 on a second-hand X-type Jaguar estate car. The final part of his winnings went days before his own August 21 deadline to pay for an electrician’s course, so he could start a new career. As it turned out, Mr Brown was right to suspect that his wife, who he says asked him for a divorce on Christmas Day last year when he allegedly found she had been having an affair with a truck driver she met over the internet, would want to cash in on his lucky break. As soon as the Channel 4 programme was broadcast, she went to court in a belated bid to ensure she received a share. The case went before a district judge at Doncaster County Court last Thursday, when Mr Brown was ordered to detail in writing how the money was spent; an injunction imposed days earlier ordering him not to spend his winnings – if any remained – was kept in place; and the case was adjourned. The couple, who are in the process of getting divorced, neither looked at or spoke to each other throughout the brief hearing. Outside court, Mr Brown told the Daily . Mail how the show, presented by Noel Edmonds, changed his life when he . was at his lowest ebb, saying: ‘I was over the moon to have won that . amount. I was told Rachel could lay claim to it so I decided, “She is . not getting a penny”.’ Moment of triumph: Scott Brown appearing on Deal or No Deal . Host Noel Edmonds on Channel Four's Deal or No Deal, where contestants can win up to £250,000 . Mr Brown married customer services adviser Rachel in the Dominican Republic in September 2009. The couple already had one child, now aged six, and decided to have another baby, now 22 months old. The family moved to rent a bigger house near Doncaster but their debts began to mount. Mr Brown said his wife told him late last year she ‘didn’t love him any more’ and by the time he found out he was going on the gameshow in April, Mr Brown had moved out and was sleeping on the floor of his cramped parents’ house. He said he was ‘absolutely disgusted’ by his wife, saying: ‘How does she have the right to this money? My life has broken apart, I can’t see my kids every day any more and I have lost everything I have worked for over 11 years.’ Mrs Brown refused to comment. On Deal Or No Deal, contestants pick one of 22 sealed boxes containing hidden amounts of cash ranging from 1p to £250,000, then eliminate the other boxes one by one. Mr Brown gambled by turning down offers of £22,250 and £13,000 from the show’s mysterious ‘banker’ to ‘deal’ and quit the game, instead carrying on until the end to win the £50,000 in his box. | Scott Brown cleared £15,000 debts, spent £4,000 on a second-hand Jaguar and put £2,000 aside to pay for divorce legal fees .
Wife Rachel took him to court as soon as the episode of Deal Or No Deal was shown on TV .
Mr Brown had been sleeping on the floor at his parents' house after the couple split . |
85,746 | f3343b1d2cc2725c3f8bbe14dc113a671e5162b6 | By . Richard Shears . PUBLISHED: . 05:49 EST, 29 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:31 EST, 29 July 2012 . He practically lived in the water, so friends of surfer Ben Linden, who was torn apart by a great white shark, said it was fitting they should say farewell him in the sea today. Scores gathered at a beach in Perth to paddle out a short distance in memory of 24-year-old Mr Linden who was attacked by the 15ft shark while surfing off a beach 100 miles to the north of the city. Lying across their surfboards, his friends – including members of a band he played for – and family members paddled out a short distance while a further 200 people remained on the beach. Tribute: Family and friends held a beach and sea memorial for 24-year-old surfer Ben Linden . Those who gathered under a picturesque blue sky were able to sign a surfboard and write messages on it before it was brought into the water. Then they formed a ceremonial . ring and cast flowers in the sea, while a bagpipe player gave a . rendition of Waltzing Matilda from the sand dunes. Mr Linden’s savage death shocked Western Australia because he was the fifth fatal shark attack victim off the coast in just 10 months. Among the mourners gathered on the beach was Mr Linden’s godfather, Reverend John Hewitson, who said he was amazed at the large number of people who had turned out for the moving ceremony. Couple: Surfer Ben Linden with his girlfriend Alana Noakes who gave a moving tribute to him at the memorial . Dangerous waters: There have been numerous shark attacks on the western coast of Australia . ‘Many people have been touched by this tragedy,’ he told the crowd. ‘Today in Ben’s life and death we celebrate that love conquers death, life conquers fear, peace transforms terror. ‘And that through Ben’s life we are challenged to stay stoked and to live and love abundantly.’ Mr Linden’s girlfriend, Alana Noakes, who stood with Mr Linden’s elder sister Kelli, told the crowd on the beach: ‘Two weeks ago I lost the love of my life, my best friend, my rock, my inspiration. ‘But I am so grateful to have spent the last eight years creating memories and savouring every moment of being with Ben. ‘I am honoured to have grown up with . him and most of all to have been loved by him. It is because of this . that I am the luckiest person in the world.’ Mr Linden’s sister said that riding the waves was going to be more lonely now. A . letter written by one of Mr Linden’s best friends, Peter Tuckey, who was . unable to be at the gathering, was also read out: 'We never know . when our clock is going to stop ticking,' the letter read. 'But if we did, we would live life to the fullest and Big Red was a living flagship of this statement. 'Let the sweet sounds of the ocean be your tune forever brother.' Deadly: Mr Podmore pokes his spear gun in the direction of the shark as its eye glistens in the water . The shark which killed Mr Linden, fondly known by his friends as 'Big Red', has not been . caught.The cabinet maker was killed near remote Wedge Island, . Divers . Dave Richards and Nathan Podmore were also attacked by a shark when . they went spearfishing off the western coast of Australia two weeks ago. The episodes have cemented the west coast's reputation as the world's deadliest shark attack zone, according to The Independent. Jet skiier Matt Holmes, 23, said he was towing a surfing friend along when he saw the attack. 'I . just took my mate straight to the shore and went straight out and there . was just blood everywhere and a massive, massive white shark circling . the body. ‘By the time I got out there half of him had been taken. ‘I tried to lean off the side and . pull him on the back, but as I did that the shark came back and nudged . the jet ski to try to knock me off. ‘When I came back the second time, he took the rest of him. ‘I just thought about his family and if he had kids. I just wanted to get him to shore. I gave it everything I had.’ In Australia as a whole, an average of one person a year is killed by sharks. But Martin Garwood, a senior aquarist at the Sydney Aquarium, said . the spike in attacks is probably the result of human population growth . and the increasing popularity of water sports in isolated locations, . rather than a rise in shark numbers. Video: Eyewitness Matt Holmes talks about the attack... | Friends and family form ceremonial ring and throw flowers in sea .
Bagpipe player gives rendition of Waltzing Matilda on the beach . |
61,634 | af17e484a0eae872d5d194d6c99d3e7444af752d | By . Lydia Warren . A 19-year-old model who posed nude and filmed graphic footage at her old Catholic high school has been sentenced to 45 days in jail. Valerie Dodds, known as Val Midwest online, said she was just going to treat the time at Lancaster County Jail, Nebraska as 'a really bad vacation'. 'I feel like I'm harmless as to what I . did, and they are definitely bringing the hammer as far as the . sentencing goes,' she told KETV before she reported to jail on Wednesday. She also sent out a tweet, saying: 'Jail bait baby'. Controversy: Valerie Dodds, 19, was charged with indecent exposure for taking nude pictures and footage at her old Catholic high school after classmates ridiculed her for wanting to model nude . Last June, Dodds was charged with indecent exposure after posing nude on the football field and inside Pius X High School and masturbating on campus. She said it was a way to get back at her former classmates and teachers who scorned her dream of working in the adult entertainment industry. She had attended the school before transferring to another school for her senior year. 'Everyone in my high school had something nasty to say to me when I started my website and so this is my tribute to all of you,' she wrote on her website, where she shared the racy footage and images. But days after baring it all, she received a ticket for trespassing and public nudity. 'Why would you give me a ticket for public nudity if I'm trespassing onto private property?' she asked. Trespassing: Dodds is pictured climbing over the fence at her former high school last June . Dodd's website manager, Shane Harrington, . added: 'It may be wrong, and some people may not agree, but I always . believe if you're attacked, you defend yourself.' After Dodds received a ticket, St Pius X school said in a statement that they would pursue the case if she had done anything illegal. 'We constantly follow our school's motto: . To Restore All Things In Christ,' the statement said. 'To that end, we are praying for the . young lady and her family, and we stand ready to offer forgiveness and . support should she seek it.' Not giving up: After her initial citation, she returned to the school - this time wearing nothing but stickers . 'A bad vacation': Dodds, who works under the name Val MidWest, posted this message before going to jail . Pose: She is fighting the sentence, which her lawyer says is the longest he's heard of for indecent exposure . But Dodds added on her website: 'The school has already had an all school . prayer for me and I am getting bombarded with crazy emails from . teachers, priests and friends. 'But f*** em I am going to keep getting . naked. I think I was born to do this, I have never had so much fun in . my life and it's just starting out. I can't wait to see what it's like . in a couple years from now.' Dodds' lawyer said her sentencing is the longest sentence he's heard of for indecent exposure. A district court judge will hear her appeals case next. Shunned: Dodds, pictured, said that her former friends have not been supportive of her career choice . | Valerie Dodds is fighting the sentence, which her lawyer says is the worst he's ever heard of for indecent exposure .
Last June, she posed naked and filmed graphic footage on the campus of her former high school, which is Catholic .
She said it was as a way to get back at her classmates and teachers who scorned her for wanting to work in the adult entertainment industry . |
117,889 | 243678e24e7fb9926fbd318d349e11fc391046aa | (CNN Student News) -- April 16, 2010 . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . • Blacksburg, Virginia • Iceland • Kyrgyzstan . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Some fast facts to get us going today: I'm Carl Azuz. This is CNN Student News. Fridays are awesome! Today's show is out of this world, or at least, that's where it starts. First Up: Space Strategy . AZUZ: Space. What parts of it are we going to explore? How much money are we going to spend to get there? President Obama has a new strategy that answers those questions. He talked about it in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center yesterday. The president says he is 100 percent committed to NASA and its mission. He's proposing that the agency get an additional $6 billion over the next 5 years, with a goal of sending humans to Mars by the 2030s. But under this plan, what you won't see is this: people walking on the moon. President Obama's strategy would cancel plans to send astronauts back there. He says, "We've been there before. There's a lot more of space to explore." Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon, agrees with the president. But Aldrin's NASA crewmate, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, disagrees. He's part of a group of astronauts that have criticized the president's plan. Other NASA officials argue that the proposal could cost thousands of people their jobs. The president believes it's a way to move forward. U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This is the next chapter that we can write together here at NASA. We will partner with industry, we will invest in cutting-edge research and technology. We will set far-reaching milestones and provide the resources to reach those milestones. And step by step, we will push the boundaries, not only of where we can go, but what we can do. Mine Safety . AZUZ: The president's also ordering a review of mines that have bad safety records. This comes after last week's tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. President Obama has criticized the company that owns the mine, specifically because of its safety record. The company called that criticism "regrettable" and said the president may be misinformed about the mine's safety record. Meantime, the governor of West Virginia has asked all of the state's miners to show up for work today. But instead of producing coal, he wants them to spend the day re-evaluating safety procedures. GOV. JOE MANCHIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: What better honor can we give those fallen miners than to say we're gonna dedicate this day, re-evaluate, have seminars, re-inspect. And those that have repeated violations will be heavily inspected. That's all we can do in honor of those miners, so that we never have another family or miner go through this. Tea Party Rally . AZUZ: Switching over to politics, the Tea Party movement is getting ready for the midterm elections coming up in November. The group has released a list of "heroes and targets." The "heroes" on the list are candidates that the Tea Party plans to support in the elections. The "targets" are anyone that the group would like to see voted out of office. Of course, lists are not the only way that the Tea Party gets its message out. Rallies are the group's bread and butter. This one in Washington, D.C. yesterday was wrapping up a three-week tour across the U.S. The timing: no coincidence. Yesterday, of course, was Tax Day, and the group is opposed to what it sees as government overspending. VA Tech Remembrance . AZUZ: In Blacksburg, Virginia and all over the U.S., people are taking time today to honor the victims of a deadly shooting. It happened on the campus of Virginia Tech University three years ago today. Police say a student at the school went on a shooting spree, killing 32 people before killing himself. Today, Virginia Tech and the local community are holding memorial ceremonies like this remembrance run from last year. Candlelight vigils and a community arts project are also scheduled to mark the day. Word to the Wise . TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise... dormant (adjective) temporarily inactive, or in a state of no external activity . source: www.m-w.com . Iceland Volcano . AZUZ: A volcano in Iceland had been dormant for more than 180 years. But then a few weeks ago, this started. The volcano is erupting, and some scientists say it could last for more than a year. That's about how long it went the last time this happened. That was back in the 1820s. This time, the impact is being felt all across Europe. Here, you see London's Heathrow Airport, planes on the ground. Where you don't see them is in the sky. The UK is not alone in this. More than half a dozen countries canceled flights yesterday; up to 6,000 total across the European continent. The problem is ash. When the volcano erupted, it sent this huge cloud of smoke and ash high up into the air. If a jet were to fly through that, it could cause the plane's engines to shut down. So, that's why there are so many cancellations. Rob Marciano looks at how weather and winds are playing a part in all of this. ROB MARCIANO, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: The way the weather pattern is set up right now -- and Iceland, obviously, to the north -- but we've got this funky upper air pattern about 30,000 feet, which is where that ash went to, up where the jets fly. And it's scooting around towards Scandinavia, back through parts of the UK and also into other parts of Western Europe. Here is the, here it is on the infrared satellite picture. You see it right there kind of heading this way. That's the cloud itself. Kyrgyzstan Unrest . AZUZ: Major political change in Kyrgyzstan. The president of the central Asian country has resigned. Kurmanbek Bakiev left for neighboring Kazakhstan yesterday after he was forced out of power last week. This was all part of a deal between Bakiev and Kyrgyzstan's new government. Russia, the United States and several international groups helped in the negotiations. Kyrgyzstan's temporary government told the U.S. State Department that it plans to hold elections in six months. The U.S. says it hopes that Kyrgyzstan will become a model for democracy in the region. The country is important to the U.S. because there's a military base there. And that base supports NATO operations in Afghanistan. Shoutout . MATT CHERRY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: As we wrap up National Library Week, today's Shoutout goes out to all the librarians out there! Where would you find the largest library in the world? Is it in: A) Athens, B) London, C) Washington, D.C. or D) Cairo? You've got three seconds -- GO! Washington, D.C. is home to the U.S. Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Escape to Charity . AZUZ: Mackenzie Bearup's collection isn't quite that large, but she has rounded up more than 30,000 books. And just like a library, her goal is to share them with other people. Who she shares them with, and why, are what make Mackenzie a CNN Hero. (BEGIN VIDEO) MACKENZIE BEARUP, CNN HERO: I was in the fifth grade when I hurt my knee. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready? BEARUP: Yeah, I'm ready. The doctor diagnosed me with reflex sympathetic dystrophy. When something touches it, it's like a bomb goes off in my knee. Even though I've tried many different treatments, the only thing able to get my mind off the pain was reading. Do you guys like to read? My pediatrician told me about a home for abused children. Any child being in horrible pain like this, they need something, and something that I knew that helped me was books. OK. This is called "Screaming Millie." But the people in these shelters are just like you and me. They need things to get their mind off of whatever they're going through. I put flyers in mailboxes and I set up a Web site. Thank you so much for donating. My original goal was to get 300 books. Before I knew it, I had 3,000 books. My total right now is 38,000 books. And I've delivered books to libraries and reading rooms in 27 different shelters in six states. And take as many books as you want. If one child finds a love of reading through books I've given them, then that will help them in school and just turn their life around entirely. I really think that reading can do that for someone. (END VIDEO) Promo . AZUZ: Unless you're a librarian, there is one -- and only one -- way to get a Shoutout on our show. Teachers, you head to our home page, CNNStudentNews.com, it's whatyou are looking at right now. Now, in the Spotlight section, which you see, click on that iReport link. And once you get there, hit the "share your story" button to upload a picture of your school. That's it! That's all you gotta do. So start today at CNNStudentNews.com, and be on the lookout for your Shoutout. Before We Go . AZUZ: Before we go, we are bringing you the ultimate in extreme sports. Get ready to shred... with your fingers? Well, why not. No helmets, no pads, no problem, right? It's called fingerboarding; it's kind-of like skateboarding. Maybe not like skateboarding. Everything's scaled down to size. But these guys are trying to land jumps and kick-flips, just like those of you who skateboard. It may look a little strange; maybe it's just the next generation of boarding. Goodbye . AZUZ: I mean, after all, it seems like the perfect sport for the digital age. We're sure they won't get board with it. I don't know. We won't have any more puns; we're just sitting here, spinning our wheels. Hope you have a great weekend. We'll see you next Monday. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz. | Discover why some famous astronauts disagree about a new space proposal .
Find out how a volcano in Iceland is affecting flights across Europe .
Hear how one teenager is giving back through a massive book drive .
Use the weekly Newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on CNN Student News . |
262,824 | e06a9c647d764eea754fc6dfc4c989bedec452a2 | (CNN) -- This isn't the first time critics have called New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a bully. But now the man many consider a Republican presidential frontrunner is on the defensive, scrambling to distance himself from an erupting political scandal that threatens to tarnish his image well before the 2016 elections. E-mails that surfaced Wednesday suggest top Christie appointees orchestrated traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta to punish a local mayor who wouldn't support him at the polls. Lane closures around approaches to the country's busiest bridge snarled traffic for days in September in Fort Lee, New Jersey -- a problem the governor and his administration had originally blamed on a mishandled traffic study. In response to the e-mail firestorm, Christie said Wednesday that he was misled by staff. He called the conduct outrageous and said he knew nothing about it. "This behavior is not representative of me or my administration in any way," he said, "and people will be held responsible for their actions." Even if he had nothing to do with the traffic snarls, the allegations could have serious consequences for Christie, analysts said. "There's something about this that's so petty and so vindictive and it feeds into this narrative that he's a bully. ... He's going to have to find some way to defuse this to prove he doesn't run a shop like that," said CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, a former adviser to several U.S. presidents. It's a defining moment for Christie, CNN Chief National Correspondent John King said. And how he deals with the situation in the next two days -- from whether he fires anyone to what he says -- will be key. "If he handles it decisively and then he sits down and calmly answers questions and doesn't berate the reporters who ask them, then he has a chance to be a leader who dealt with a crisis and he moves on," King said. "But if that perception starts to stick in, that's not a presidential temperament. And that's bad for him nationally in his perspective. It's bad for him as he starts his new term in New Jersey. And it's bad for him with the audience he needs to care about most politically long-term at the moment, and that's the Republican base that he wants to make him their nominee." Does this mean Christie's presidential ambitions are dashed? "Not necessarily," Oxford University historian Timothy Stanley wrote in an opinion piece for CNN.com. "He's a resourceful politician and it's still many months before campaigning starts in earnest. But now his opponents have a stick to beat him with. Best of all, it's an anti-government stick. If Republicans stand for anything right now, it's opposing the ability of government to mess with the individual's life -- and here we have a classic example of politicians taking revenge on each other at the expense of the average citizen." Political commentators from both sides of the aisle immediately recognized the potential for credibility questions, particularly around Christie's explanations in recent months about the traffic jams in Fort Lee and previous comments rejecting suggestions of political mischief. "He's already cemented a narrative as something of a bully," said S.E. Cupp, a Republican political strategist and CNN "Crossfire" host. "If this was happening in his administration, I don't think it would shocking." But, she said, if it "turns out he's lying about what he knew or whether he ordered it -- that's going to be the worst, the most damaging. Because his authenticity is his calling card." It's important to ask how much Christie knew, Gergen said, but the reality might be more complicated. "Sometimes the boss does not order something," Gergen said, describing the Nixon White House during the Watergate scandal. "I don't know whether Nixon ordered Watergate, but I can guarantee you that people who carried out Watergate thought that's what he would have wanted. There's an environment in which you find yourself sometimes on staff when things don't have to be said. You sort of know." 'Time for some traffic problems' The correspondence, subpoenaed by Democrats investigating the matter and spiced with tough Jersey political talk and expletives, is the most damaging evidence so far supporting their assertions the move was orchestrated because Fort Lee's mayor, a Democrat, didn't endorse Christie's re-election. Mayor Mark Sokolich said the traffic mess created serious hardships for commuters and other residents, and impacted public safety in his community. The exchanges began three weeks before access lanes to the bridge were closed, causing heavy traffic backups between September 9 and 13, two months before Election Day. "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs, said in an e-mail to David Wildstein, then the highest-level appointee representing the state at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge connecting the two states. "Got it," Wildstein replied. In another message about school buses with students onboard caught in the traffic jams, Wildstein writes, "they are the children of Buono voters," apparently referring to Barbara Buono, Christie's Democratic opponent in last November's gubernatorial election. Those cited in the series of e-mails and text messages did not respond to requests for comment or to verify the communications. Wildstein, who has left his job, is expected to appear at a legislative hearing on Thursday. Read the e-mails . Democratic New Jersey Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski said the e-mails call into question the integrity of the governor's office. Christie, he said, "has a lot of explaining to do." "I do not believe the governor called the Port Authority and said, 'Close some lanes.' But I did say I hold him responsible for the atmosphere. Now finding that that atmosphere existed in his own office is what I find really troubling," Wisniewski said. Christie's name did not appear in the e-mails, he added. Emergency services disrupted . Sokolich told CNN's "The Situation Room" the e-mails suggested that political motives behind the lane closures have led him to believe that Christie is more clued-in than he's admitted. "I'm rooting that the highest elected official in the state of New Jersey isn't involved. But I'm beginning to question my judgment," Sokolich said. The mayor raised the issue of public safety being compromised. A letter by his emergency services coordinator, Paul Favia, on September 10 obtained by CNN cited "new traffic patterns" around the bridge's toll plaza that were backing up traffic in Fort Lee. "This new traffic pattern is causing unnecessary delays for emergency services to arrive on scene for medical emergencies," Favia said, citing one case in which paramedics rushing to aid an unconscious elderly woman suffering a heart attack were held up and had to meet the ambulance transporting the victim at the hospital instead of at the scene. She later died. Details surrounding the woman's death haven't been released. But the situation could deepen Christie's political woes, Gergen said. "If a woman died here," Gergen said, "he's in deep, deep trouble." Other documents raise questions, too . Controversy tarnishes Christie's image -- opinion . Democrats swarm . Christie is now campaigning for fellow GOP governors as chairman of the Republican Governors Association and is seen as prime political target for national Democrats. They rarely attacked him during his re-election campaign but are now becoming more aggressive with the bridge controversy unfolding. "These revelations are troubling for any public official, but they also indicate what we've come to expect from Governor Christie - when people oppose him, he exacts retribution. When people question him, he belittles and snidely jokes. And when anyone dares to look into his administration, he bullies and attacks," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair, in a statement. A source close to Christie said "there will probably be some sacrificial firing and that'll be it." CNN's John Crawley, Jake Tapper, Paul Steinhauser, Alan Silverleib, Stephanie Kotuby, and Dana Davidsen contributed to this report. Watch The Lead with Jake Tapper weekdays at 4pm ET. For the latest on The Lead with Jake Tapper click here. | NEW: Gergen: "It feeds into this narrative that he's a bully"
NEW: King: "If that perception starts to stick in, that's not a presidential temperament"
Top aides to Gov. Chris Christie communicate about lane closures to George Washington Bridge .
Christie says he knew nothing about what transpired; mayor says e-mails raise credibility questions . |
279,788 | f670be1fca4fdccd15b79e875100f99c342d8ac7 | David Moyes has taken a bold step into the relatively unknown by moving to Real Sociedad but there is more than enough talent, history and potential at the club to make it the perfect coaching comeback for the former Everton and Manchester United manager. Sportsmail's Spanish football expert Pete Jenson tells us why... David Moyes is back in management with Real Sociedad after his difficult tenure at Manchester United . The playing squad . In November the league table is still capable of lying and the truth is there is no way Real Sociedad are the 15th best team in Spain. They have already beaten both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid this season and the group of players that David Moyes inherits will be enough to give them a top-half finish in his first season. The club sold Claudio Bravo to Barcelona in the summer but Enaut Zubikarai is an experienced stand in. Geronimo Rulli, the big summer signing from Estudiantes in Argentina, is waiting to return from a broken finger suffered in pre-season and 23-year-old Enrique Royo is a hugely talented keeper waiting for his chance. At the heart of the defence, Inigo Martínez is still only 23 and Moyes should be able to guide him back to the sort of form that made him many people’s tip to become a fixture in Spain’s squad and earn a move to Barcelona. Yuri Berchiche signed in the summer from newly-promoted Eibar, and at 24, has a bright future at the club . Carlos Martinez, pictured here tackling Mario Mandzukic, will help provide the defensive stability for Moyes . Saturday November 22 . Deportivo La Coruna (A) (17th in La Liga) Sunday November 30 . Elche (H) (18th in La Liga) Thursday December 4 . Real Oviedo (A) (3rd in Segunda B) Sunday December 7 . Villarreal (A) (8th in La Liga) Sunday December 14 . Athletic Bilbao (H) (11th in La Liga) Around him there is stability with Alberto de la Bella, Carlos Martinez, Mikel Gonzalez all having been at the club, and very often in the same back four, for the last four seasons. De la Bella is currently out with an achilles problem but Yuri Berchiche is an able replacement who signed in the summer from newly-promoted Eibar and at 24 is another one with a future at the club. The central midfield pairing is usually Markel Bergara and former Real Madrid and Queens Park Rangers midfielder Esteban Granero but Ruben Pardo is the diamond in the rough – an Under 19 European champion with Spain he was on Real Madrid’s wish list two seasons ago but Sociedad resisted and now all it needs is for Moyes to help the 22-year-old fulfill his enormous potential. Markel Bergara (right) lines up alongside ex-Real Madrid and QPR man Esteban Granero in central midfield . In the line of three behind the striker Moyes will have plenty of talent to call upon. Carlos Vela usually plays centrally and top scored last season with 16 league goals. Club stalwarts David Zurutuza and Xabi Prieto are good soldiers who will stand up to be counted. The pair have played almost 400 games between them for the club and Prieto’s set-piece delivery will be another weapon Moyes can use to the team’s advantage. Sergio Canales is another who has lost his way but if the still-only-23-year-old midfielder, for whom Real Madrid paid £4million when he was just 18, can regain form and fitness, then Moyes will have one of the most gifted players in the division at his disposal. Former Arsenal striker Carlos Vela (right) scored 16 times for Real Sociedad last season . Leading the line, Imanol Agirretxe will work hard as a loan striker and Iceland centre forward Alfred Finnbogason, signed in the summer from Heerenveen in Holland where he scored 29 goals in just 31 games, will give Moyes a more physical option. Boardroom backing . There will not be huge amounts to spend. Real Sociedad are a selling club and if Moyes manages to bring the best out in players such as Inigo Martinez and Pardo then the club will be tempted to cash in again. But what he will benefit from is one of the best youth academies in Europe. The Zubieta sports city has so often been the foundation of the club’s success. There was a time around a decade ago when the attention switched to foreign signings but the club paid the price ending a 40-year run in the top division with relegation in 2007. It took them three seasons to come back but with a team built on youth they finally won the second division in 2010 and Moyes will be entrusted as the keeper of that youth team tradition. Anoeta Stadium holds 32,000 - buoyed by Moyes' arrival the fans will rally behind them for the next home game . Manchester United (2013-14) P 51 W 27 D 9 L 15 WP 53% . Everton (2002-13) P 516 W 217 D 139 L 160 WP 42% . Preston North End (1998-2002) P 234 W 113 D58 L 63 WP 48% . History and support . The club’s Anoeta Stadium holds 32,000 and although performances were, in the main, poor last season the average was still in excess of 22,500. Buoyed by Moyes’ arrival they will get behind the team in the next home game against Elche and fill the ground for the Basque derby on December 14. Another British former manager, Chris Coleman, used to complain about how the running track around the pitch affected the atmosphere but that won't stop them creating a cauldron for their visit of their local rivals. It is Spain’s ‘friendly derby’ perhaps the closest La Liga has to the Merseyside meetings Moyes managed during his decade at Goodison Park. The Real Sociedad fans have endured a tough campaign so far, but will still be hoping for a top-half finish . Expectations . Real Sociedad were champions in 1981 and 1982 and they also finished runners-up in 2003 but times have changed and the fans know that. The annual budget is just south of £50m and financially it is not just that they struggle to live with the big two, they are also some way behind Atletico Madrid and Valencia. Playing well, competing for a Europa League place and improving the players he has will be how Moyes is judged. If he develops players and keeps the club in the top half of the first division with attractive football then he will not be questioned. No-one will expect trophies – a repeat of his results record at Everton will keep everyone happy. John Toshack coached the club for 322 games winning 126 of them and lifting the Copa del Rey in 1987 . Wales boss Coleman (pictured in 2007) was the last British manager to have taken charge of Real Sociedad . And topping Toshack? John Benjamin Toshack, as he is always referred to in Spain, coached Sociedad for 322 games winning 126 of them and lifting the Copa del Rey in 1987. The man he really wants to beat however is Alberto Ormaetxea, who won those two leagues. They were called the Humble Champions and even made the European Cup semi-finals. With Spain legend Luis Arconada in goal and fellow internationals Jesus Satrustegui and Roberto Lopez Ufarte in attack they took on Barcelona and Real Madrid and managed back-to-back titles. In their current state back-to-back wins would be nice – Moyes can do that with victory over Deportivo Saturday week when his adventure begins at 10pm, local time. | David Moyes has been announced as Real Sociedad manager .
Moyes' new job at Real Sociedad could be the perfect coaching comeback after his difficult tenure at Manchester United .
He inherits a squad 15th in La Liga, but they are a better team than that .
Real Sociedad are a selling club but benefit from a brilliant youth academy .
The club won back-to-back championship titles in 1981 and 1982 .
But such is their current state, consecutive victories are hard to come by .
Follow David Moyes' start at Real Sociedad here .
David Moyes will be officially unveiled as boss on Thursday . |
263,260 | e0fbd9b1671ed16844fb46eba02715e14d9244b4 | By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 06:15 EST, 17 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:40 EST, 17 August 2012 . A floating robot has been deployed to track great white sharks in the Pacific as part of efforts to understand the giant predators. The 'wave glider', which from above looks like a yellow surfboard, picks up signals from tagged fish up to 1,000 feet away in the ocean and then sends their positions to researchers via a satellite transmitter. The location of sharks are relayed to researchers via a special iPad app, and they can also see maps and even video from the glider . Scientists have only a hazy . understanding of where great white sharks, portrayed as ferocious . killers in films like 'Jaws', swim in the oceans. The new robot will give insights into their movements, they say. 'Here we are in the 21st century and scientists have just put a rover on Mars,' said Barbara Block, a marine sciences professor at Stanford University in California in charge of the project. Researchers Dr.Barbara Block & Keith Kreide examine the waver rider robot, which can track nearby sharks and sent the results to an iPad . 'And we don't understand what is going on in the oceans,' 'We will send a wave glider out to follow the sharks.' In one eight-day test, the glider, made by California-based Liquid Robotics and which moves at less than walking speed, made 200 detections of 19 individual sharks. Wave Glider on the water, with its solar panels and communication mast. It can roam the seas looking for great white sharks to track . The glider, about 7 feet long with solar panels above and a wave-power system below, could also give clues to other tagged creatures ranging from mako sharks to tuna and salmon. It can only notice creatures that have been previously tagged by scientists with tiny battery-powered acoustic transmitters that bleep once every two minutes. Thousands of creatures carry the tags, Block said. The glider, and listening buoys in fixed positions chained to the seabed, are building on a previous project for the tagging of Pacific predators, which was part of an international census of marine life from 2000-10. Fixed bouys with solar panels are also used to listen for sharks . Block said that scientists already knew that great white sharks wandered across the Pacific from North America, often all the way to Hawaii. There were also mysterious gatherings, including in one mid-ocean area dubbed the 'white shark cafe'. Unlike the fixed buoys, the gliders can monitor such 'ocean wi-fi hotspots'. The researchers are setting up an app, 'Shark Net' allowing people to track the fish. Block hopes to extend the ocean observing network down the west coast of the United States, likening the region to a 'blue Serengeti' as rich in wildlife as Tanzania or Kenya. The glider is lowered into the sea, where it searches our signals from nearby tagged sharks . | Floating robot can spot sharks who have been electronically tagged .
Researchers use a special iPad to view great white's movements . |
212,796 | 9f8d6bfeb6bc6fec4235f72a10a87f17e5761674 | (CNN) -- U.S. ties with Egypt go deeper than aid, America's top diplomat said Sunday. "Let me make it clear here today: President Obama and the American people support the people of Egypt," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. "We believe this is a vital relationship." Kerry's visit marked the highest-level U.S. official trip to Egypt since former President Mohamed Morsy's ouster in July. And it came just a day before Morsy is expected to make his first court appearance as he stands trial on charges of inciting violence. Kerry's trip to Egypt was his first time in the country since the U.S. suspended significant military aid to Egypt over the bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, whose political arm backed Morsy. After meeting with Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, Kerry pushed for reforms as he defended the U.S. decision to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance. "It's not a punishment," Kerry said. "It's a reflection of a policy in the United States under our law." The move was the culmination of months of debate within the Obama administration about how to respond to the coup that removed Morsy from power. But on Sunday, Kerry described the aid as "a very small issue." "Our hope is that we can make the progress we need on democracy, the rights of people, the protections of people, the ability of the country to have its civil society strengthened and restored, and then we will march together hand in hand into the future, with Egypt playing the vital role that it has traditionally played in this region," Kerry said. Kerry stressed that U.S. humanitarian support to Egypt continues, in addition to counterterrorism efforts with the military and work to ensure safety in the Sinai Peninsula. While in Cairo, he hosted a meeting with civil society organizations, including faith-based groups, human rights advocates, and youth and labor organizations, "to discuss how Egypt can continue on its path to political and economic reform," a senior State Department official said. The aid suspension last month roiled Egyptian officials. Fahmy told CNN's Christiane Amanpour at the time that the decision raised concerns about the U.S.-Egypt relationship. "This has been a relationship that has a continuity to it, especially on strategic issues like military cooperation. And any disruption in that continuity raises concerns. ... This is a very important relationship to both countries, and we need to work to enhance it, because it serves both sides," he said. Kerry's visit to Egypt was the first stop on a 10-day trip to the Middle East, Europe and Northern Africa. He left Cairo on Sunday for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. CNN's Jim Sciutto contributed to this report. | Secretary of State John Kerry visits Egypt a day before Mohamed Morsy's trial starts .
Kerry's visit is the highest-level U.S. trip to Egypt since the coup that ousted Morsy .
He pushes for reforms and defends a decision to suspend significant military aid .
"It's not a punishment," Kerry says . |
32,102 | 5b6058f114f9f9bcdf2f1e5bc9b388ee7f6fde2b | By . Amanda Williams . PUBLISHED: . 08:41 EST, 11 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:55 EST, 11 June 2013 . The victim has been named locally in Kingston as 28-year-old electrical engineer Colin Bolton, although formal identification is yet to take place . A man bled to death on the street in front of a horrified crowd outside a flat where he is believed to have been stabbed, it has been claimed. It is believed a fight had broken out at the flat, where is said to have been visiting his girlfriend. A 44 year old man has today been arrested - 70 miles away in Portsmouth. The victim has been named locally in Kingston as 28-year-old electrical engineer Colin Bolton. Metropolitan Police said they were still awaiting formal identification of the victim. It is claimed he bled to death on the pavement outside an address in Kingsnympton Park, Kingston, as a group of neighbours watched in horror. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said they had arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of murder 70 miles away in Portsmouth, Hampshire. The arrested man was also injured and taken to South London Hospital for treatment where he remains in police custody. A post mortem examination is due to take place today at Kingston mortuary. The victim's relatives had been informed of his death but a formal identification has yet to take place, said the spokesman. Scenes of crime officers, dressed in forensic boiler suits, were continuing to examine the flat and surrounding area where he died. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the Homicide and Serious Crime Command had been informed of the death and had launched a murder investigation. 'Police were called at around 6.20pm to reports of a man stabbed at an address in Kingsnympton Park, Kingston-upon-Thames,' said the spokesman. 'Officers, the ambulance service and London's Air Ambulance attended the scene but the man, aged 28, was pronounced dead at the scene . 'A 44-year-old man was arrested this morning in Portsmouth on suspicion of murder. 'He remains in custody at a south London hospital.' Scenes of crime officers, dressed in forensic boiler suits, were continuing to examine the flat and surrounding area where he died . Paramedics from an air ambulance pulled him from the property and worked on the man’s body in front of stunned families but had to give up the fight to save his life after failing to stem the horrific blood loss. Forensic officers then cordoned off the scene and started combing for clues after the murder on Monday night. 'I saw the medics working on him. The blood was just pumping out of him,' said Stephen Beard, aged 49 years, a neighbour at the Kingsnympton Park estate said. 'There were loads of people around just watching, including children, but the police didn’t move us away. 'It was pretty bad. It went on for ages and there were kids running around.' Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | The victim named locally in Kingston as 28-year-old Colin Bolton .
It is claimed he bled to death on the pavement after visiting his girlfriend .
A 44-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder in Portsmouth . |
230,173 | b60cfdd372e09697431868a782393d329334b932 | A woman was thrown out of a French opera house after cast members objected to her wearing a Niqab (file picture is not of the woman involved) France's Socialist government today pledged to toughen up its anti face-covering law after a veiled Muslim woman was ejected from a major Paris opera house. In an incident which has divided opinion in the city's liberal arts community, cast members performing La Traviata 'objected strongly' to the presence of a woman in the audience wearing a niqab-type veil. 'A singer spotted her in the front row during the second act,' said Jean-Philippe Thiellay, director of the Bastille Opera, which was opened by Socialist president Francois Mitterand in 1989. 'Some performers said they didn't want to sing,' said Mr Thiellay, who confirmed that she was kicked out. There has been a ban on Muslims covering their face in public in France since the introduction of a law in 2011. Women living on housing estates on the outskirts of major cities like Paris are regularly criminalised with a fine, but this is the first incident of someone being ejected from an artistic venue. So far unnamed, she is believed to be a well-off woman from a Gulf State, and was attending the performance with a friend. Referring to a security guard, Mr Thiellay said: 'He told her that in France there is a ban of this nature, asked her to either uncover her face or leave the auditorium. 'The man asked the woman to get up, they left. It was unpleasant getting her to leave. 'But there was a misunderstanding of the law and the lady either had to respect it or leave,' Scroll down for video . But other opera lovers in a city historically renowned for its tolerance were less impressed. 'What possible harm could a woman sitting quietly in the audience with face covered do to anyone?' said Guy Laurent, a regular at the Bastille Opera. 'The woman would clearly have felt utterly humiliated by what happened – French culture should be more tolerant. Cast members performing La Traviata at the Bastille Opera opera house in Paris objected to the veiled woman in the audience. It is not suggested that either of the performers pictured were among those who complained . There has been a ban on Muslims covering their face in public in France since 2011. It is not suggested that either of the performers pictured here on stage at the opera house were among those who complained . A singer spotted the veiled woman in the front row of the opera house which was opened by Socialist president Francois Mitterand in 1989 . 'It is not the job of theatres to enforce petty laws.' The incident happened on October 3, but it is only now that it is becoming a national polemic. Technically the woman now faces a fine of just over £180, although there is not thought to have been any police involvement. The woman and her friend were not refunded any of their ticket price. Choice: Security at the Bastille Opera opera house in Paris asked the woman to uncover her face or leave . A spokesman for France's Ministry of Culture today said it was 'producing a new set of rules' to make sure the so-called 'burka ban' was better enforced in theatres, museums and other public institutions. France,which is home to some five million Muslims, was the first European country to ban the full-face Islamic veil in public places. Belgium followed suit soon afterwards, but there is no veil ban at all in Britain, despite calls by a minority of right wing MPs for one. | Cast 'objected strongly' to woman in the audience wearing a niqab-type veil .
Security guard asked her to either uncover her face or leave .
Ban on covering the face in public in France was introduction in 2011 .
The incident has divided opinion in the city's liberal arts community . |
80,006 | e2c66e0eb7b40d9a6994466e3a23e638f8e2e714 | Washington (CNN) -- A beloved giant panda will leave for China early next year to the disappointment of millions of fans in the United States. Washington's National Zoo will say goodbye to 4-year-old Tai Shan as he makes his way to a breeding base in southwestern China. He'll leave during the first quarter of 2010, according to the zoo and Chinese state-run media. Tai Shan -- on loan from China -- was born at the National Zoo to pandas that also are borrowed from China. His father, 11-year-old Tian Tian, and his mother, 10-year-old Mei Xiang, are due in China in December 2010, according to the Xinhua news agency. "While we're proud to send off a healthy panda to be part of China's breeding program, we will indeed miss him dearly," the National Zoo's Web site said of Tai Shan. He has more growing to do, however. "Although Tai Shan has the build of a grownup male panda, we still have to wait for about two years before it is sexually mature," said Li Desheng, deputy director of the management office of the Wolong National Natural Reserve in Sichuan province, according to Xinhua. Tai Shan will never be released into the wild, but there is the hope that his offspring could be, the National Zoo said. "Since we partnered with them 10 years ago, the Chinese have more than doubled their cub production, which means they're about to reach the significant goal of having 300 pandas in captivity," the zoo said on its Web site. "By reaching the target of 300 pandas, collectively we will ensure that the giant panda in captivity is demographically and genetically secure. It will be a huge conservation achievement." The United States has 13 pandas on loan from China, according to Xinhua. The three in Washington and one each in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Diego, California, are due to return to China next year. Though Tai Shan has lived in Washington, his fans have followed him online for years, via the National Zoo's Pandacam. They've oohed and aahed as he's frolicked, had milestone exams and grown -- from less than 2 pounds at birth to more than 200 pounds at his peak weight. | Washington's National Zoo will lose panda in 2010 .
Tai Shan was born to pandas who were also on loan from China .
Tai Shan is being sent to a breeding base in southwest China .
China nearing goal of having 300 pandas in captivity . |
152,489 | 51115272b10bf7dad08be890da66769c74ed33d9 | An outspoken pro-Israel politician caused outrage across France today by comparing the mutilated corpse of a Palestinian child to ‘Halal meat’. Jacques Renaud, the right wing deputy mayor affiliated to the UMP opposition, portrayed the killing of an infant in the Gaza Strip as being similar to animals being slaughtered according to Islamic ritual. Mr Renaud's comment came as thousands prepared to take to the streets of Paris in a pro-Palestine demonstration which many fear will lead to violence. Scroll down for video . Mr Renaud's response to the tweet, which has been deleted from his account, but has been re-tweeted by several Twitter users . Jewish . groups have accused anti-Semites of hijacking the rallies, while . thousands of Muslims taking part say they are being unfairly labelled as . extremists. Mr . Renaud, 66, who is also a successful businessman, wrote on Twitter: . ‘Great support to all the attacked Jews of France, we are in the 21st . Century, a bit of humanity and civility would be welcome.’ A . critic responded by tweeting a picture of a decapitated child, . referring to the Israeli army having killed more . than 200 children during its assault on Gaza. In response to the image Mr Renaud replied: ‘It’s Halal meat, I suppose.’ Halal is Arabic for permissible, and refers to food which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. Halal meat is a big issue in France, where the five million plus Muslim community regularly complains about government attempts to outlaw it. Mr Renaud is a firm supporter of Israel and regularly takes to Twitter to attack Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza. Stephane Piednoir, the UMP mayor of Montreuil-Juigne was on holiday so not able to respond to his assistant’s words, but a spokesman said there would be ‘grave consequences’ if the comments turned out to be true. Mr Renaud was not available for comment. Pro-Palestinian protesters hold a giant Palestinian flag during protests in Paris today against violence in the Gaza Strip; officials fear the protest could lead to further violence . A banned pro-Palestine march ended in violence on Saturday, and on Sunday a synagogue in a northern suburb of Paris was threatened by a mob of rioters. Despite the street violence, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said tonight’s protests could go ahead, with security stepped up across the capital. Mr Cazeneuve said: ‘I have given specific orders to security forces so they can quickly intervene if any anti-Semitic acts are committed.’ Anti-Semitic chants are banned under French criminal law and – to date – there has been no evidence of any being used on the marchers. | Jacques Renaud warned there will be 'grave consequences' over remark .
His comment came as thousands prepared to protest in Paris .
Security told to 'quickly intervene' if any anti-Semitic acts occur at protest . |
29,047 | 527ded01708ddf1a7a696b44a156243ffb94ff80 | Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- Police were searching Tuesday for a gun used in the fatal shooting of a top regional politician, killed in a brazen attack in broad daylight that has shaken Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy went to the northern city of Leon to attend the funeral of the politician, Isabel Carrasco, 59, who had held various regional posts in Rajoy's ruling conservative Popular Party. Officials say two women, a mother, 55, and her daughter, 35, were arrested soon after the shooting Monday in Leon, and the suspected motive is revenge. The daughter was let go in 2011 from a provincial government office headed by the slain politician, and she recently had pay disputes with the office while working as an outside contractor, officials said. In addition, the two suspects are the wife and daughter of a senior national police officer in the small nearby city of Astorga. He told investigators that he was in possession of his police-issued firearm, and it was not thought to have been used in the shooting, officials said. Carrasco was walking on a pedestrian footbridge around 5 p.m. local time when shot. She collapsed and died at the scene. Other people were in the area, including a retired national police officer, who helped lead police quickly to the suspects, who had fled, and by some accounts, threw the gun into the river below. The search for the gun includes the river and other areas, officials said. Tests on the hands of the two suspects have not revealed who may have fired the weapon. Officials did not immediately say what caliber or type it was. Carrasco was walking to the Popular Party's provincial headquarters and was due to attend a campaign rally that day for the European Union parliamentary elections on May 25. Campaigning across Spain for that election was suspended Monday and the only face-to-face debate between the conservative and opposition Socialist Party candidates was postponed from its scheduled time on Tuesday evening. Firearms are difficult to obtain legally in Spain, and fatal shootings are uncommon. In the northwest town of Vilagarcia de Arousa, a Socialist councilman was forced to resign late Monday after posting a comment to her Facebook page regarding the death of Carrasco that was widely deemed inappropriate, a town spokeswoman said. | Popular Party politician Isabel Carrasco, 59, was shot and killed Monday in Leon .
Officials say a mother and her daughter were arrested soon after the shooting .
Suspected motive is revenge; the daughter had been fired and had pay disputes, officials say .
Tests on the hands of the two suspects have not revealed who may have fired the weapon . |
202,018 | 9189d6ff41dd0c6cf543f0f310b56d4bc9ed9a3e | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 03:53 EST, 29 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:01 EST, 29 May 2012 . Eight-hour battle: Forty-stone Russell Parkin was rescued from his flat days after Britain's fattest teen Georgia Davis (pictured) was freed in similar cicrumstances in a £100,000 operation . Seventeen firefighters and paramedics battled for eight hours to free a 40-stone man after he fell ill at home. Russell Parkin, 41, was dragged downstairs from his second-floor flat in a giant bowl-shaped 'sledge' by 15 men before being lifted into a reinforced ambulance. Two doors had to be removed so he could be squeezed outside, screened by a tarpaulin for privacy. Paramedics were called to Mr Parkin's home in New Eltham, South East London, at around 8pm on Saturday, but had to draft in the fire service for extra help. It wasn't until 4am when neighbours said they were woken by the sound of the sled bumping down the stairs. A neighbour told The Sun how the former security worker had ballooned recently after living on a diet of Indian takeaways and food delivered by Tesco. They said: 'He struggled to get anywhere. He needed a five-minute rest after climbing the first of two flights of steps to his flat.' Another neighbour said the emergency workers weren't sure how to get Mr Parkin out, adding: 'They wanted to remove his front window and have him lifted out. 'But they said they'd need to remove the brickwork underneath too as it would be impossible to lift him over that.' Mr Russell, who lives with his girlfriend Lorraine Ward, 41, was yesterday believed to be in a nearby hospital, although his condition was unknown. The rescue comes days after 63st Georgia Davis was freed in a £100,000 operation in which the walls of her home had to be knocked down. Georgia, dubbed Britain's fattest teen, was winning her fight for life yesterday after a spate of medical problems brought on by her weight. Huge resources: The operation to free Georgia from her home in Aberdare, South Wales, is thought to have cost around £100,000 . The 19-year-old is in a 'stable condition' after doctors gave her emergency treatment for a series of obesity-related ailments. After four days on a specialist ward, she is recovering well and getting over the trauma of being cut from her bedroom. Her mother, Lesley, 57, and stepdad Arthur Treloar, 73, have been feeding her fresh fruit at Prince Charles Hospital, in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales. And she been inundated with messages of support from well wishers around the world who are urging her to beat over food demons. A spokesperson for the hospital said: 'Georgia is still undergoing investigations and receiving treatment from a range of health professionals. 'We are pleased to advise that her clinical condition is stable.' Today, it emerged that she had moved away from home in a desperate bid to lose weight. She started a new life on a healthier diet by sharing a flat with a friend. But a friend said Georgia returned home to look after her sick stepfather. Neighbour . Friend Jade Tarrant, 19, said Georgia was just 18st after going to fat camp and how she wanted to have more control over her diet away from home. Jade said: 'I always knew it was going to get this bad if she went home again. 'She’d came to live with me because of all the stress. Being with the mum and her step dad got so stressful. 'She just wanted a break - she wanted to some girly time. She would have lost weight if she stayed with me because I like my salads and I could have got her on it. 'But she missed her mum and stepdad. She ended up going back and putting her own health at risk.' Georgia is suffering from complications including diabetes, kidney failure, and problems with her spine, joints and skin. Doctors and obesity experts have put her on a 2,000 calorie a day diet in desperate bid to help her shed the pounds. And the teen, who has a Body Mass Index is 142.3 - people with a BMI of over 30 are classed as obese - is said to be recovering well. A friend of the Georgia's family said: 'I just hope that she gets better and that I'm thinking of her. 'I know a lot of people feel the same as me you can just see the support from all the letters she's had. 'We really want to help her get through this, to get her out of bed and back on the track to a normal life.' It is said that Georgia had been struggling with the guilt of dumping a mystery boyfriend. Britain’s fattest teenager Georgia Davis moved away from home in a desperate bid to lose weight - but returned to her parents to balloon from 18stone to 63stone. | Russell Parkin, 41, dragged down stairs by 15 men .
Two doors had to be removed to squeeze him out .
Comes days after £100,000 rescue of Georgia Davis .
63st teen winning fight for life after emergency care . |
252,946 | d3601c109e375fc64edb02073327b2986c3616c5 | (CNN) -- Move over, baseball, we have a new American pastime: analyzing the pregnant and postpartum bodies of women. To entertain the "post-baby body" headline hungry masses, we've standardized the sport of maternal shape evaluation into a fun competition called The Pregnancy Hunger Games! This ongoing pageant will encourage expecting and new mothers to not compromise when it comes to their sexiness. Good news, baby carriers: The biological process of making people does not have to lower your general hotness. The rules for Pregnancy Hunger Games are simple: . 1. You do not have permission to show for the first three months. Let's throw out the phrase "Eating for two" and replace it with the more accurate, "Benefiting from lean proteins, for two." 2. Do not gain weight in your face. 3. Do not gain weight in your arms. 4. After the first three months, you are permitted to rock a small honeydew melon-sized bump. How cute are you? This is not a rhetorical question or compliment. How cute you are is something you need to think about before leaving the house. Fitted empire dresses will help people realize that you're pregnant, not spiraling. 5. After the first six months you may upgrade to a medium sized, conservative, aesthetically respectful, perfectly round watermelon tummy. Wow, you're getting big.... 6. At seven months, please go into hiding, as you are making everyone uncomfortable. 7. After baby is born you must post an Instagram selfie featuring a makeup-free (ie. foundation, matte powder, earth-toned eyeliner and tinted lip gloss with a touch of blush) you and your new baby. A little cleavage never hurt anyone. Those newly banzoongaed mammaries aren't just for the baby -- they can easily take you from an 8.5 to a 9.25. 8. Emerge five weeks later with no signs of having given birth in single-digit-sized skinny jeans. 9. Burn your maternity clothes in the kitchen sink with an accelerant like nail polish remover to remove the temptation to backslide. The leader of the Pregnancy Hunger Games pack is currently Kate Middleton. The photos of her "oopsie my shirt" moment while playing volleyball shot her up to first place. We like Duchess Kate for being stylish, friendly, and down-to-earth but we love her for looking fabulous despite being a mother. In second place we have Maria Kang, the 32-year-old mom and fitness personality whose Facebook post recently sent the Internet into a frenzy. "What's your excuse?" she bravely asks mothers to consider. She's right. Think about it: Beyonce was back onstage wearing a sequined onesie just a few months after birthing Blue Ivy. Nobody was ready for that jelly, but we sure gobbled it up! More advice: stop eating jelly. Sugar. Model, mom, and reality show participant Kim Kardashian is raring for third place with her recent Instagram booty pictorial, but you regular moms have a chance at unseating her with your own smoldering bods if you're willing to put in the effort. Contestants: Once your baby has arrived, please take the necessary steps to preserve your sexiness to be considered for a trophy. Was your labor complicated? The good news is that C-sections heal! Ask your doctor whether or not the blade cut through your abdominal muscles. Relay this information to your trainer so that they can put together an accurate, gentle but also aggressive exercise plan. If you had a vaginal delivery, we expect more from you. Even if you experienced tearing, those down-there tissues should have healed within a few weeks. If they're taking longer, focus on your arms! Lift 5-pound weights to get ready for the evening-wear portion of the pageant. Being a good mother and loving partner is interesting, but we'll be evaluating how your shirt falls across your midsection, so avoid carbohydrates during your "babymoon." Hungry? Whether you're standing in front of the fridge or about to order in a restaurant ask yourself: WWGD (What Would Gwyneth Do?). Make the right choice. The right choice is lettuce and vinegar in case you're still confused. Breastfeeding is a fantastic way to nourish your young and passively burn calories. If you're having trouble, hire a lactation consultant. She can help you find the ideal latch to optimize the rate at which your baby sucks the fat out. Late-night feedings are also a wonderful time to bond with your baby and do some squats in the moonlight. Each time you get out of bed, engage your core. Now, juggling your little blessing along with a new diet and workout routine will be hard. It's OK if you feel like you're failing as long as those feelings don't affect your 24-karat smile, oh yeah CREST WHITESTRIPS, EVERYONE. Contestants, please report to your local weigh-in and submit your most recent notarized FULL-BODY* Facebook profile photo. During the elimination round we'll take your Body Mass Index to keep the judging scientific. Childcare will be provided. Good luck! *Nice try . Bunmi Laditan is the author of "The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting." Follow her on Twitter at @BunmiLaditan and follow CNN Living on Facebook and Twitter. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bunmi Laditan. | Humor writer Bunmi Laditan: Expectations of new moms to bounce back are farcical .
Kate Middleton and Kim Kardashian have displayed svelte physiques soon after pregnancy .
Laditan: In a 'Hunger Games'-style competition, new moms would need to get fit quickly . |
125,292 | 2df70faf57ba5e24c2c5ccb16581f3e84b6edfc8 | By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 10:36 EST, 9 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:05 EST, 9 October 2013 . If changing channels on a TV isn't exciting enough with a traditional remote, a company has created a control that is an exact replica of Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver. Designed by The Wand Company, users can program the screwdriver using specific movements to turn electric appliances on and off, switch TV channels, and control volume. It was created using 3D scans of the original gadget used in the show by former Doctor David Tennant. London-based The Wand Company has created a remote control that is an exact replica of the tenth Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver, pictured. Users can program the screwdriver using specific movements to turn electric appliances on and off, switch TV channels, and control volume . The sonic screwdriver was first introduced in 1968, and was used . regularly by the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. It . was written out of the series in 1982, but featured briefly in the 1996 Doctor . Who TV Movie before making a full return in 2005. It is a multifunctional tool used by the Doctor, although its most common function is picking locks. It can also scan people, aliens and other objects. Throughout the series there have been different versions of the sonic screwdriver, depending on which Doctor was using it. In the BBC TV series, Doctor Who uses the gadget to pick locks, perform . medical scans, remotely control other devices and more. The Wand Company wanted to build an exact likeness of the tool but the BBC told it they no longer had any in storage. The company then contacted Tennant who agreed to lend them his sonic screwdriver, kept as a souvenir from his time on the show. It can be programmed to control any infrared appliance and has a built-in motion sensor to detect individual movements. Each battery-operated remote comes with a set of default movements but these can also be personalised. For example, users could flick the screwdriver up to increase volume, or anti-clockwise to turn a device off. The sonic screwdriver was first introduced in 1968. The remote control design, based on the tenth Doctor David Tennant's screwdriver, will be available from October and costs £69.95. Fans can also buy the screwdriver used by eleventh doctor, Matt Smith, for £59.99, pictured . The Wand Company wanted to build an exact likeness so contacted former doctor David Tennant who agreed to lend them his screwdriver, pictured . The Wand Company co-founder Richard Blakesley, 38, said: 'We phoned David's agent the next day he came back and said 'That's fine, David says you can borrow it'. 'This is entirely down to David Tennant. We'd heard he was a nice guy, but there's nice and then there's bending over backwards to help somebody you've never heard of.' The Wand Company took hundreds of photographs and 3D image scans of the device before returning it to the actor. The screwdriver used by Tennant - the tenth Doctor - will be available from October and costs £69.95. Fans can also buy the screwdriver used by eleventh doctor, Matt Smith, for £59.99 . Blakesley and business partner Christopher Barnardo, 48, have previously turned other famous gadgets into remote controls, including Harry Potter's wand. In 2010 they turned down the offer of £200,000 from Duncan Bannatyne after demonstrating their Harry Potter wand on Dragon's Den. | Designers used the original gadget owned by former doctor David Tennant .
The remote control is said to be an exact likeness of the BBC sci-fi tool .
It can be used to turn electrical appliances on and off and change volume . |
194,780 | 88234574ae4837e6ecb968a75882d06ac7966d0d | An iPhone belonging to an Oklahoma man that went missing in October 2013 was returned to its owner this month - after it was recovered in Japan. Farmer Kevin Whitney told KFOR the story of how his phone fell into his grain pit in Chickasha, Oklahoma and went around the the world. 'I had it in my pocket and I bent over to work on a copper bottom door and it fell out of my pocket into my grain pit and went up the elevator,' he said. Scroll down for video . Owner: Farmer Kevin Whitney said his phone fell into his grain pit last year . 'I thought "I'll never see that phone again,"' Whitney also said. KFOR reports that Whitney's phone - which was hidden inside 'a bin full of 280,000 pounds of grain' - eventually reached Japan. Whitney told the affiliate station he recently received a phone call that his phone was recovered. 'The man on the other end said, "Is this Kevin Whitney?" I said "Yeah, this is Kevin." He said, "Did you lose a cell phone?" I said "Yeah, I lost a cell phone last fall."' Whitney's phone was returned by a Japanese grain mill worker, KFOR reported. Adventure: Whitney's phone went all the way from Chickasha, Oklahoma, to Kashima, Japan . Reunited: Whitney is seen with his once-lost iPhone . | Kevin Whitney lost his iPhone when it fell into his Chickasha, Oklahoma grain pit in October 2013 .
Whitney's phone then reached a different .
Oklahoma grain facility, went through both the Arkansas and Mississippi .
rivers, reached Louisiana then was transported to Japan .
He said he recently received a phone call that his phone was recovered . |
72,849 | ce97ac3d71ecc8e0d4f1c6f8f62be774e222d833 | Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella apologized on Thursday night and said he was wrong for saying that women don't need to ask for a raise and should just trust the system to pay them well. Nadella was blasted on Twitter and in blog posts for his comments, which were made earlier on Thursday at an event for women in computing. He had been asked to give his advice to women who are uncomfortable requesting a raise. His response: 'It's not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along.' Not asking for raise, he added, is 'good karma' that would help a boss realize that the employee could be trusted and should have more responsibility. Scroll down for video . Foot in mouth disease: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sparked a controversy by advising women against asking for raises . But his comments caused an uproar online, and Microsoft posted a memo from him on its website. In it, Nadella said he answered the question 'completely wrong' and that he thinks 'men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it's deserved, Maria's advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.' His interviewer at the event, Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and a Microsoft director, had told him she disagreed, which drew cheers from the audience. She suggested women do their homework on salary information and first practice asking with people they trust. Still, his comments at the event, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, underscored why many see technology companies as workplaces that are difficult to navigate or even unfriendly for women and minorities. Tech companies, particularly the engineering ranks, are overwhelmingly male, white and Asian. Courting controversy: Nadella, left, made the gaffe while being interviewed by Microsoft board member Maria Klawe, right, at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing . Criticized for their lack of diversity, major companies say they are trying to address the problem with programs such as employee training sessions and by participating in initiatives meant to introduce girls to coding. Twenty-nine percent of Microsoft's employees are women, according to figures the Redmond, Washington-based company released earlier this month. Its technical and engineering staff and its management are just 17 percent female. That's roughly comparable to diversity data released by other big tech companies this year. 'Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap,' Nadella wrote in his memo to employees. The gaffe came towards the end of a Q & A session conducted by Maria Klawe, a member of Microsoft's board of directors, who asked Nadella for an advice for women who are not comfortable asking for a raise. 'It's not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise,' he responded, reportedly sending murmurs of indignation through a crowd of 500 women sitting in the audience. 'That might be one of the initial 'super powers' that, quite frankly, women [who] don't ask for a raise have,' he continued. 'It's good karma. It will come back.' Klawe disagreed with Nadella's career advice, urging women to be tough negotiators when it comes to asking for compensation. To emphasize her point, Klawe, a well-regarded computer scientist, told the audience how she settled for a salary $50,000 lower than she had deemed appropriate when she was offered the position of dean of engineering at Princeton University, Bloomberg reported. Satya Nadella did not have to wait long for a reaction to his words of wisdom as Twitter lit up with highly critical posts. Backtrack: Nadella quickly took to Twitter to apologize for his 'tone-deaf' remarks . 'That @satyanadella thought that was reasonable advice says volumes about how little @Microsoft understands and wants to solve the problem,' wrote Sarah Milstein, CEO of Lean Startups Productions. Alahha Woods tweeted at Nadella: 'This can't be positively spun.' The recently appointed CEO of Microsoft quickly went into damage control mode Thursday afternoon, tweeting to his followers: 'was inarticulate re how women should ask for raise. Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias.' He then followed up by releasing the text of a company-wide email addressing his gaffe, in which he readily admitted that he answered Maria Klawe's question about raises 'completely wrong.' Contrite: Nadella later sent a company-wide email admitting that he answered the question about raises 'completely wrong' 'Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. 'I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it's deserved, Maria's advice was the right advice. 'If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.' Nadella's controversial and arguably tone-deaf remarks come a week after Microsoft released figures showing that the company's staff was about 29 per cent female, and that 17 per cent of employees occupying position of leadership within the company were women. | Satya Nadella made the gaffe at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing .
He later issued an apology on Twitter, saying he was 'inarticulate'
Microsoft’s leadership is only 17.3 percent according to latest figures .
Women make up almost 45 percent of the non-tech jobs at Microsoft, but only 17 percent of the tech positions . |
263,451 | e13a84d09fc4db5f8692f4876ae5c6a498fcc2cd | After Black Friday saw people fighting in the aisles and having to be restrained by police as they clamoured for the latest deals, experts predict Britain's enthusiasm for a bargain will continue on Cyber Monday as it is likely to be the biggest shopping day of the year. Around six million people are expected to log onto the internet tomorrow and spend around £650million on the latest pre-Christmas deals. Retailers hope the success of Black Friday will continue, with some stores already notching up record sales - such as Amazon which sold 5.5m items on Friday at a rate of 64 purchases a second. Scroll down for video . Online shoppers are expected to spend £650m on Cyber Monday after the popularity of Black Friday. Amazon has already listed bargains, with Ultrasport UmovE HD 60 Sport and Action Camera ill (left) cut from £119.99 to £69.99 and a UTC by Orla Kiely Buttercup Stem Printed Nylon Zip Shopper cut from £58.33 to £37.99 (right) A man's Accurist Quartz Watch with Black Dial Chronograph Display is reduced from £125 to £49.99 (left), children's Trunki ride on suitcase is to be slashed from £33.99 to £23.90 (centre), Seksy by Sekonda Women's Quartz Watch with Silver Dial Analogue Display has been reduced from £59.99 to £29.99 (right) for Monday . Cyber Monday is likely to be a calmer affair as it is confined to online purchases, but sales traditionally outstrip those of Black Friday. Recent years have seen online shopping figures consistently peaking on the first Monday in December, thought to be a combination of the last payday before Christmas falling on the previous Friday and a weekend spent browsing the shops before buying online. Experian and the Interactive in Media Group (IMRG) predicts £649million will be spent during this year's Cyber Monday. Amazon, will continue its success of the last week by releasing 'lightning deals' every 10 minutes on Monday on items such as Sennheiser Headphones, Harry Potter Hogwarts Collection on DVD and ruby jewellery. This year the online retailer has hired 13,000 extra staff to deal with pre-Christmas demand and predicts this year's Cyber Monday could still outstrip Black Friday sales. Last year sales on Monday were higher than those on Black Friday. And as Amazon beat its 2013 Cyber Monday record of 4.1million on Friday this year, the retailer is hopeful for another record day. A spokeswoman for Amazon said: 'Cyber Monday has been the biggest day of the year for internet retailers but the incredible success of Black Friday means that it will have to be a huge day for that to be the case this year. 'We are ready for whatever the day brings with thousands of members of the Amazon team across the UK prepped and ready to pick, pack and deliver the millions of items that will be ordered.' While some retailers such as Tesco remained tight-lipped about Cyber Monday deals, Amazon has already released some details of upcoming discounts. Stores are hoping the success of Black Friday, which led to record sales, will be repeated on Cyber Monday . Dyson also confirmed there will be discounts of more than £100 on some hoovers. Peak times for sales are forecast to be from 12pm until 2pm and for tablet users from 5pm to 6pm, likely to be during the journey home. Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon, Xavier Garambois, said: 'Ever since we introduced Black Friday to the UK in 2010, sales have increased year on year but this year really has surpassed all of our expectations.' John Lewis, which saw traffic to its website increase by 306 per cent between midnight and 8am on Monday, confirmed it will not be taking part in this year's Cyber Monday. A spokeswoman said Black Friday led to 'unprecedented levels of customer interest', with an iPad mini the most popular item. During the morning the retailer sold a Nutribullet - the latest health craze that breaks down food into its most nutritious form - every 30 seconds. Stores are also likely to be spending the weekend preparing for the increased demand, as the websites of John Lewis, Argos and Tesco all temporarily crashed on Friday. Visitors to the Currys website were also left waiting up to an hour to see online deals. Other stores will be continuing their Black Friday deals over the weekend and into Monday. ASOS is offering 20 per cent off every purchase until midnight on Monday and Marks and Spencer is continuing a 30 per cent deal on some items. Amazon has employed 13,000 extra staff to deal with the pre-Christmas rush this year and after posting a record Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales could exceed this making its Peterborough warehouse even busier . However experts are also warning customers to watch out for deals that appear more attractive than they are - with some items on sale for cheaper prices months earlier. Jim McLauchlan, chief executive of price tracker website zeezaw.co.uk told the Sunday Times: 'Many Amazon offers are genuinely attractive bargains but other more general discounts, while pretty reasonable, could have been obtained for less in the least few months. It may not be the cheapest time to buy.' Cyber Monday will complete a successful weekend for the high street. On Saturday footfall in Oxford Street was seven per cent higher than the year before. Jace TyrrelI, deputy chief executive of the New West End company, said: 'We're set to make £220 million across the West End for Friday, Saturday and Sunday - up between 5 to 10 per cent on last year.' Cyber Monday will be a far quieter affair than Black Friday where fights broke out, police had to be called, and a woman pinned herself to bag a cut-price 40" television at an Asda superstore in Wembley in London . Mr Tyrrell predicted that while shoppers would be returning to work on Monday, they would continue shopping online. The busiest shopping day on the high street often falls two days before Christmas Day, however Mr Tyrrell suggested this weekend would be the biggest trading weekend of the year. 'The nature of shopping is gifting,' he said, 'Whereas as you get closer to Christmas it becomes closer to groceries.' This year's Black Friday caused chaos on the high street - with police called to a Tesco store in Wigan and 11.37pm - before it had even opened - following reports that several hundred customers were trying to break down the doors. In Manchester another Tesco had to be closed 38 minutes after it opened because of customers fighting. Shoppers were predicted to have blown £1.1billion on the high street, working out at £2million per minute during the nine hours of trading, according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research. | Experts predict Cyber Monday could see more sales than Black Friday .
Shoppers stormed stores on Friday, with police called in to stop fights .
Around £650m is expected to be spent online by 6m people tomorrow .
Amazon recorded 64 sales a second which could increase on Monday .
It has employed 13,000 extra staff to deal with the pre-Christmas rush .
Staff expect Cyber Monday sales could outstrip Black Friday records . |
21,934 | 3e514100a2fd4b9d6530163c8d380b7d51b75f30 | (CNN) -- An Italian appeal court has overturned former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's convictions for sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power. A panel of judges convicted Berlusconi of both charges in June 2013, sentencing the flamboyant billionaire tycoon to seven years in prison and barring him from holding public office. Prosecutors had argued that Berlusconi had sex 13 times with underage dancer Karima el Mahroug -- known as "Ruby the heart-stealer" -- and abused his position when he intervened in May 2010 to get her released from jail, where she was being held on charges of theft. They said Berlusconi paid el Mahroug and other young women performing stripteases and erotic actions at "bunga bunga" parties. Berlusconi said the parties were normal dinner gatherings where no one misbehaved. He denied the charges against him and his attorney told reporters at the time that he would appeal the convictions, arguing that it had not been a fair trial. The billionaire media tycoon claimed he had persecuted by leftist magistrates. "There are still people who use the penal code as a weapon in their ideological battles," he said last year. On Friday, Milan Court of Appeal presiding judge Concetta Locurto read his acquittal verdict live on Italian television. Locurto said Berlusconi, 77, had been acquitted of the charge of abuse of office because the "the act did not take place" and from prostitution with a minor because the "facts do not constitute a crime." Milan's prosecutor can appeal the verdict to Italy's Supreme Court, which would make a final ruling in the case. Berlusconi, who served on and off as prime minister between 1994 and 2011, is arguably one of the most colorful and controversial figures in the lively history of Italian politics. For years, he has been entangled in fraud, corruption and sex scandals that have often reached Italian courts. Berlusconi was handed a four-year community service sentence last August -- commuted to a year -- for tax fraud at Mediaset, the large commercial broadcaster that he founded. He is is serving that sentence at a hospice near Milan -- where he was for today's acquittal in the Ruby case. | Prosecutors said Berlusconi had sex with underage dancer called "Ruby the heart-stealer"
Berlusconi appealed his 2013 conviction and Milan's Court of Appeal acquitted him Friday .
Judge: One alleged act "did not take place"; the facts of another "do not constitute a crime"
Acquittal can be appealed to Italy's Supreme Court, which would make a final ruling . |
226,037 | b0b78633e5785fbb34ca163b262505d0519ebbef | Casually sipping a juice drink – with his high-visibility vest beside him on a table – a police officer chats to a colleague in the cafe of a health food store. It is in a burglary hot spot and a short distance from the scene of the 2011 Tottenham riots. But they are not two constables taking a break after pounding the beat. They are sitting in what passes for a police station in the constituency of Crime Prevention Minister Lynne Featherstone. Last week the delighted Liberal Democrat MP announced the opening of the police 'contact point' in her local branch of Planet Organic as 'great news'. Planet Organic Store in Muswell Hill, north London, is now a police contact point where the public can meet officers and report crimes . It is intended to replace the police station in Muswell Hill, which closed in 2013 after more than a century of service to the community. The new facility is supposed to offer all the services that would normally be provided by a police station, including receiving crime reports, giving advice to victims, processing witness statements and handling driving licences and insurance documents provided by motorists after accidents. But when The Mail on Sunday reporters observed the 'contact point' over two evenings last week, the police officers had no desk, no private area where they could speak to members of the public in confidence, no means of logging on to the police national computer, and they appeared not to have official forms. In the entire time the officers were there, not one offence was reported to them. Their only 'customer' during the first two-hour session was a passer-by who recognised one of the PCs from a dog-attack inquiry a year ago and popped in for a chat. A PC on duty at a Costa coffee shop in Leytonstone, east London, with a few leaflets to give to anyone who approached him . As she left the store, the woman remarked to her husband: 'If they spent two hours walking the streets it might be more useful.' This is the reality of policing in 2015 as forces struggle to cope with a 20 per cent budget cut imposed by Home Secretary Theresa May. Hundreds of police stations have closed, with the public offered a part-time service – dismissed by critics as a 'cops in shops' gimmick. The officers deployed at the Muswell Hill branch of Planet Organic relieved their boredom by perusing the shelves of antioxidant vegetable juice, vegan tofu and sea salt bathing crystals, or trying out the store's 'reverse osmosis de-ionising' water filter. One told an undercover reporter: 'If we weren't here, we would either be on the beat or visiting people at home, following up crime incidents that have been reported.' The contact point is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 6pm and 8pm, and on Saturdays between 1pm and 3pm. Campaigners say it should be a matter of shame for Ministers that the local police station, which closed two years ago and is being sold to developers, has been replaced by two PCs occupying borrowed space in the high street for just six hours a week. To give Ms Featherstone credit, she campaigned vigorously against the closure. But in her message to constituents last week, she welcomed the latest development as a victory. 'Residents will once again have a local contact point where they can meet local police and trained volunteers, and among other things will be able to report crimes, get crime prevention advice and hand in or collect lost property,' she wrote. Hundreds of police stations have closed, with the public offered a part-time service – dismissed by critics as a 'cops in shops' gimmick . However, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has exposed her claims about the service now offered as wildly unrealistic. Undercover reporters who watched the police deployment at Planet Organic on Wednesday and Thursday found the scheme to be badly organised and virtually useless in terms of combating crime. There was no Metropolitan Police logo on display outside the store, and the only indication that the premises had been designated a 'contact point' was a small notice posted above head height just inside the entrance. No senior police officers were present and the shop seemed unprepared for the constables' arrival, leaving them in the embarrassing position of having to ask the store manager where they should sit. John Hajdu, chairman of the 700-member Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Association, said: 'It looked like they were two policemen on their break. There has been virtually no publicity. A proper service should have been put in place, not this sort of half-hearted measure.' On Thursday evening – the second day of the initiative – the officers brought crime prevention leaflets which they laid out on a table. None was taken. Store manager Amit Fridman said: 'I'm quite happy to have them here – it deters shoplifters.' Crime in the area has increased and the nearest 24-hour police station is four miles away. There is one closer, but it shuts on Sundays and Mondays, and after 6pm. Official figures for Haringey borough, which includes Muswell Hill, show violent crime in 2014 rose from 4,514 offences in the previous 12 months to 6,296; rape cases from 135 to 180; robbery from 926 to 1,019; and domestic burglary from 1,979 to 2,180. The run-down building that was Muswell Police Station for 100 years. It was shut down in 2013 . Officers deployed at the Muswell Hill branch of Planet Organic relieved their boredom by perusing the shelves of antioxidant vegetable juice, vegan tofu and sea salt bathing crystals . The Mail on Sunday visited a similar initiative in East London last week. There a uniformed police officer sat for an hour in a Costa Coffee outlet at a Tesco supermarket in Leytonstone without speaking to anyone for the entire time. He had to leave an hour before his shift was due to end when the cafe closed for the night. The three-times-a-week service has been operating since the local police station closed last October. West Yorkshire Police advertises a 'cuppa with a copper' at a cafe in Leeds. But critics say it is wrong to expect a woman who, for example, has been sexually assaulted to tell a police officer or volunteer about her ordeal in a coffee shop, where others may overhear, and there are no support services on site. A police review of the 'contact point' scheme last year found that makeshift police desks in supermarkets, libraries and community centres were being used by an average of just one person a week and failed to offer good value for money. Figures from the watchdog, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, show that in 2009-10, there were 1,218 police counters across England and Wales where people could report crime. By the end of next month, 264 are due to be shut down. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We remain committed to the delivery of contact points as part of our Wider Access strategy.' A spokesman for Ms Featherstone said: 'We will continue to work with police to ensure the service is helpful and effective for residents.' The closure of disused local ‘nicks’ may be bad for victims of crime but has been welcomed by imaginative developers. In Cumbria, Egremont police station is being turned into a hostel for the homeless – and given more than £100,000 by the Police and Crime Commissioner, who is at the same time cutting back on officers. The Boutique Spa in Kent has two branches, at Orpington and Beckenham, based in former police stations. Owner Rachael Polyviou said: ‘They are just really attractive old buildings.’ Demolition work recently began on a large police HQ in Leeds that is to become a branch of supermarket Aldi. And in the Bristol suburb of Redlands a Victorian police station is now an infants school. Architects kept white-tiled cells in the basement and turned them into a library. Overall, one in five police stations has been closed to the public since the last Election. | Hundreds of police stations have closed in wake of 20% budget cuts .
Police 'contact point' has opened in a Planet Organic in north London .
Officers had no desk and no way of logging on to police national computer .
No offences reported to them on two nights and they had no official forms . |
131,121 | 358eabb292255fad995217cf43fa10319b96ec1f | Master trainer Freddie Roach is torn between urging Manny Pacquiao to land the first-round knock-out which both believe is possible here or taking his time so as not to scare off Floyd Mayweather. Either way Roach expects the PacMan to stop New York’s Chris Algieri but there is more at stake in Macau’s sold-out Cotai Arena than the world welterweight title. Pacquiao has to win to keep alive the chance of finally meeting Mayweather in what could become a billion dollar super-fight. But if he does so in devastating fashion then Floyd the Money man might shy away from jeopardising his unbeaten record. Freddie Roach (left) wants Manny Pacquiao to set up a showdown with Floyd Mayweather . Pacquiao (centre) poses ahead of his world welterweight bout with Chris Algieri in Macau . Roach wants Pacquiao to eventually take on Floyd Mayweather (left) in what would be a mouthwatering clash . Roach says: ‘Manny tells me he can KO this guy in one round and I believe him. He is back to his best of a few years ago. But if he looks sensational we may frighten Floyd out of fighting us.’ To complicate matters even further, Pacquiao is overdue a knock-out to reinforce his counter-claim against Mayweather for the mythical title of best pound-for-pound boxer on earth. The Philippines Congressman has not stopped an opponent since he sent Ricky Hatton to hospital in Las Vegas with sudden, scary ferocity. The confidence that he can do so now is not only based on Algieri’s comparative inexperience as a late-comer to the prize-ring following a successful kick-boxing career. That barren spell as far as KOs are concerned has coincided with Pacquio’s rediscovery of God and Roach was concerned at times by his star pupil’s apparent reluctance to risk inflicting serious harm upon another human being. But now Roach says: ‘The old Manny is back.’ Pacquiao (right) walks away after knocking down Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas in 2009 . Pacquiao's last knock out was Hatton in 2009 - leaving the Brit needing hospital treatment . Freddie Roach is unsure if Pacquiao (second right) should go for a first-round knock against Chris Algieri . Pacquiao (right) has impressed veteran trainer Roach, who believes he will have too much for Algieri . Pacquiao (left) and Chris Algieri (right) of the United States pose ahead of their world welterweight fight . Here are the stats ahead of the bout in Macau on Saturday (Pacquiao first): . Age: 35/30 . Weight (probable): 10st 4lbs/10st 4lbs . Height: 5ft 5in/5ft 10in . Reach: 67in/72in . Chest normal: 38in/40½n . Chest expanded: 41in/44in . Biceps: 13in/14in . Forearm: 12in/11in . Waist: 30in/31in . Thigh: 20in/21in . Calf: 13in/13½in . Neck: 15½in/16in . Wrist: 8in; 6½in . Fist: 10in/12in . Record: W56, K0s 38, L5, D2/W20, K0s 8, L0, D0 . Supporting evidence for that has come in their final work-outs in the gym at the Venetian Hotel and Casino. Pacquiao has looked even faster than in his recent fights. Most significantly, his punches seem to have regained their former snap and power. At coming up 36, he says: ‘I feel young, like I did in my 20s. I feel stronger. I’m hitting harder and, yes, the old aggression is back.’ If he is right then for Algieri, a 30-year-old medical graduate who plans to become a doctor when he quits the ring, it may be a case on Sunday morning of physician, heal thyself. Pacquiao has agreed to come down three pounds from the welterweight limit for this fight against a light-welter world champion. Yet, curiously, the undefeated Algieri is the bigger man. Most intriguingly he is five inches the taller at 5ft 10in and has a four-inch reach advantage. If he stays at a distance behind his left jab it may take Pacquiao time to catch up with him. Pacquiao would prefer him to trade punches - ‘to simplify my job’ - but does not expect him to do so. Algieri (right) is five inches taller than Pacquiao and also has a four-inch reach advantage . Nor does Roach, at least not for long. He says: ‘The first time Manny hits him with a left he’ll run. The second time Manny hits him with a left, it will be over.’ Algieri sounds ready to heed the warnings saying: ‘Why should I exchange with one of the greatest fighters of all time? If I can keep away from his punches while scoring with my job, why not?’ There speaks a man as sensible as his academic achievements suggest. But Roach says: ‘Unfortunately for this boy he’s in over his head. And not even the best men Manny has fought have been able to stop him getting inside for long. His college degrees will not help him here.’ Pacquiao has said his 'old aggression' is back ahead of his bout with Algieri at the weekend . Pacquiao celebrates his victory over Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas in April . Algieri has the courage to put up a fight, as he proved when rising from two first down knock-downs against Russian hard-man Ruslan Provodnikov to win his world title over 12 tough rounds. But Roach points out: ‘Although Provodnikov can hit, Algieri has never been hit by anyone with Manny’s power. As for his own punching, he can’t crack an egg.’ Algieri, with his blue-eyed good looks of a male model, has the Chinese girls swooning over him in their thousands here. But for my money, shortly after midday Sunday local time in the world’s busiest casino, he is the one likely to fall faint, in the fifth or sixth round. Pacquiao v Algieri will be televised live in Britain on BoxNation late this Saturday night. VIDEO Pacquiao ready to fight 'undefeated' Algieri . | Manny Pacquiao takes on Chris Algieri in Macau on the weekend .
Freddie Roach undecided on whether Pacquio should KO Algieri .
But Pacquiao has not knocked an opponent out since Ricky Hatton in 2009 .
Roach thinks Floyd Mayweather is scared of a showdown with Pacquiao . |
108,539 | 17f2c536ee615d8391cb7c15b36afb0efbfa50a9 | This is the Transfer Column, where Sportsmail delivers the very latest news, gossip and rumours from around the football world three times a week. In this column, Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao could be available to Man United for £12.5million, Spurs, in turn, want United left-back Alexander Buttner and Arsenal are in a three-way battle with Barcelona and Juventus for goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Manchester United have been encouraged to bid for Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao with the Spanish club prepared to take a 50 per cent hit on the £25million fee they paid for him. Coentrao was the subject of a loan bid from United at the 11th hour of the summer transfer window. The deal fell through but the player has endured a tough time suffering a hamstring injury while with the Portugal national side and losing his father in November. He is eager to make a fresh start and a move to Old Trafford appeals. The main man? Man United are being urged to bid for out-of-favour Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao . United will not move for Leighton Baines in January. Manager David Moyes remains a fan but Everton's £15million valuation and Baines's age, 29, do not make good business sense. Baines would have to ask for a transfer for the deal to have any chance of being revived and that will not happen. Everton will now look at fresh talks over a new deal for the England international. United's concern over Coentrao is the fact he hasn't played many games, having appeared just four times in La Liga this season. However, he returned to training yesterday and is fit to play. No longer required: Everton's Leighton Baines is not Manchester United's principal left-back target . United have watched Alberto Moreno at Sevilla, who Real Madrid also like, and Domenico Criscito at Zenit St Petersburg while Luke Shaw of Southampton is a talent they would like to sign. Chelsea, though, are in the driving seat for Shaw and he will likely stay at Southampton until the summer. Tottenham also like Coentrao but have made enquiries over United's left-back Alexander Buttner who Moyes is willing to let go on loan with a view to a permanent deal. Patrice Evra could yet sign a new contract at Old Trafford but remains in the sights of Monaco and Paris St Germain. Prank: Talk of a £30m offer from Man United for Atletico's Koke (right) has been dismissed as a prank . Meanwhile, reports of a £30million United bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke have been dismissed as a prank. Stories suggested a deal had been agreed between the two clubs on December 28, the Dia de los Santos Inocentes which is Spain's version of April Fool's Day. Arsenal are keen on German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen but will have to move quickly if they want to sign him. The 21-year-old is close to agreeing terms with Barcelona to replace Victor Valdes, while Juventus have also approached his advisors as they consider a successor for Gianluigi Buffon. Ter Stegen has been impressive at Borussia Monchengladbach where he is under contract until 2015. Arsenal expect to lose Lukasz Fabianski next month with Schalke favourites, Wojciech Szczesny has been in good form but Arsenal are planning ahead and they recognise the potential for a lot of new recruits from the Bundesliga. Serge Gnabry, who Arsenal brought in from Stuttgart, may be allowed out on loan over the next few weeks depending on injuries. Wigan's German manager Uwe Rosler is among those keen to take the 18-year-old winger. In demand: Borussia Monchengladbach's 20 year-old keeper Ter Stegen, right, is wanted by Arsenal, Barcelona and Juventus . The future of Manchester City striker John Guidetti could become clearer later today with Stoke City and West Ham United keen. The 21-year-old is in demand after battling back to fitness following injury and a debilitating virus. He scored 20 goals in 23 games while with Feyenoord in 2011-12 and a queue of clubs, including Malaga, Real Betis and Lazio are among clubs those keen to take him on loan. Out of the picture: Man City's John Guidetti (second right) is a January loan target for Stoke and West Ham . However, City and his representatives want him to realise his potential in England and are talking to Stoke City and West Ham about a deal until the end of the season. Both clubs are keen to explore options in the loan market and Guidetti could prove great value if he recaptures the form he showed in Holland. City are reluctant to let other players leave in January with Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia and Joleon Lescott all subject to interest at home and abroad. Striker Edin Dzeko is wanted by both Milan clubs and Valencia among many others and if anyone bids £25million then City may yet contemplate a deal but a summer exit is more likely. Goal threat: West Ham are considering moves for Roma pair Marco Borriello and Nicolas Burdisso . West Ham, meanwhile, have several other . striker targets. They were due to hold a meeting with Roma's sporting . director Walter Sabatini at the weekend who is looking to offload Marco . Borriello and Nicolas Burdisso but the meeting was put off with Fulham . and Tottenham reputedly speaking to Sabatini instead. Juventus director Beppe Moratta is also in London as they look to find buyers for Mirko Vucinic and Fabio Quagliarella. Juve are also keen to sign a winger. A deal for United's Luis Nani looks unlikely but they have asked about Chelsea's Kevin de Bruyne and Real Madrid's Angel di Maria also. Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien could leave Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window. Essien's agent Fabian Piveteau, who represents the former Ghana international, told French radio that a number of 'major European clubs' have been notified of the 31-year-old’s availability with his freedom to play in the Champions League an added attraction. 'Essien could leave Chelsea this winter,' Piveteau told RMC. 'Several major European clubs playing in the Champions League were informed and the situation should settle down within the next 10 days. Lack of opportunities: Chelsea's Michael Essien could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge in January . 'You should know that Michael was not on the list of players who can play in the Champions League with Chelsea, so he is free to play in the competition with another club.' Essien, although a favourite of Jose Mourinho, has struggled to make an impression on Chelsea's first team this season. Chelsea, meanwhile, are continuing to gather information on Radamel Falcao at Monaco. Mourinho has made no secret of wanting a striker, with Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa also in his thinking. Coincidentally, Monaco have also expressed an interest in Costa who Atletico insist is not for sale until the summer despite the player carrying a £32million buyout clause. PSV Eindhoven have confirmed they tried to sign Chelsea's Thorgan Hazard on loan. Hazard is on loan at Zulte-Waregem but the younger brother of Eden could join Anderlecht when the transfer window reopens. Loan star? PSV Eindhoven have confirmed they want Chelsea's Thorgan Hazard, brother of Eden, on loan . Which former young Premier League player has been given an allowance by his agent in a bid to stop his frivolous spending? The final straw came when the player in question bought himself a brand new car for £26,000, even though he doesn't drive. The father of Manchester City's Sergio Aguero has poured cold water on speculation linking the striker to a move to Barcelona. There has been much clamour in their native Argentina for Aguero to link up with Lionel Messi at Barcelona. City would also move for Messi if they felt there was a chance of him leaving Spain. However, the two friends will come face to face in the Champions League next year. Leonel del Castillo, Aguero’s father, said: 'I would like to see Sergio and Messi playing together, but there is nothing at all. 'Sergio and Leo always speak and more after the Champions League draw. They're good friends, like laughing and they're already joking between them ahead the City v Barça clash. Going nowhere: Sergio Aguero's dad has poured cold water over rumours his son is off to Barcelona . 'We will see two great games. I don't know if I will visit Messi's home, but I will go to hotel for sure to say hello to him. I think it will be a 2-0 in England and at least a 0-1 in Barcelona. I love Messi so much, but I want my son's team to win.' Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has derided talk that Ilkay Gundogan is close to a move to Real Madrid. The Germany international has 18 months left on his contract and is admired by Manchester United and Arsenal. Although the player's father recently claimed that Carlo Ancelotti's side are to make a move for his signature, Watzke said: 'If we believed everything in the Spanish media about players supposedly leaving us, we would have to worry about getting a team together. We do not know from Ilkay or his father [who is also his agent] that he wants to leave.' High achiever: Borussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan is staying put in January, his dad has said . FC Groningen want to open talks with Liverpool about a deal to sign Krisztian Adorjan on a permanent basis. Adorjan has been on loan at Groningen and the Dutch club had to let Liverpool know before April if they wanted to buy the 20-year-old. Adorjan has impressed in the Eredivisie and Groningen are hoping to tie up a deal in the region of £200,000. Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis and chairman Steve Parish were among spectators at Charlton Athletic versus Sheffield Wednesday yesterday. Pulis has a budget of around £15million to spend and ideally wants a goalkeeper, centre-back, midfielder and two strikers. Palace have enquired about Ali Al Habsi's progress from injury while the likes of Stoke's Peter Crouch and Matthew Etherington remain on their list of targets. Everton's Nikica Jelavic and Blackburn's Scott Dann are also players Pulis likes . Sunderland's on loan striker Connor Wickham scored for Wednesday at Charlton and is available but did little else to impress. Charlton's Dale Stephens and Jordan Cousins may have caught Pulis's eye though. Wanted man: Huddersfield are the latest team to show an interest in Bradford forward Nakhi Wells . Huddersfield Town are the latest club to show interest in Nahki Wells of Bradford City. The League One club want to sell the striker for £3million as he approaches the last 18 months of his contract and Huddersfield are interested should Celtic or others firm up interest in James Vaughan with a sizeable bid. | Manchester United are being encouraged by Real Madrid to bid for left-back Fabio Coentrao .
Tottenham have made enquiries about Man Utd left-back Alexander Buttner .
Arsenal are considering a move for Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but face competition from Barcelona and Juventus .
West Ham and Stoke would like to sign Man City striker John Guidetti on loan .
Chelsea's Michael Essien could well leave the club this January .
Sergio Aguero's dad has denied his son is set to swap Man City for Barcelona to join up with Lionel Messi . |
94,226 | 051db16cbfec4c3a7b4967eab8127fbb3a828a9f | By . Rachel Quigley . PUBLISHED: . 05:22 EST, 2 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:05 EST, 2 April 2012 . Employees at a McDonald’s in Maryland are outraged at a co-worker who claims she won a $105million Mega Millions jackpot which she is not planning on sharing - despite the fact they had pooled their money for tickets. Workers at the fast food outlet bought a number of tickets together for the biggest lottery in world history but Mirlande Wilson, 37, claims she separately bought one of the three tickets nationwide that will split a record $656 million payout. 'We had a group plan, but I went and . played by myself. [The ‘winning’ ticket] wasn’t on the group plan,' Wilson told The New York Post. Lucky winner? Mirlande Wilson, who says she bought the winning ticker with her own money rather than the pooled money with coworkers at McDonald's . Not Happy: Davon Wilson, left, and Suleman Ousman Husein McDonald's workers who were in the Mega Millions pool with 13 co workers, including Mirlande Wilson . Not happy: The Maryland McDonald's where Mirlande Wilson works and took part in a pool for lotto tickets for Friday's Mega Millions Jackpot . Lucky store: The Millford 7-Eleven where Wilson said she bought the winning ticket with her own money and not the pooled money - it will received a cash bonus for selling one of the winning tickets . Celebration: The Milford store is proudly displaying that they sold one of the winning tickets though the person who bought it has yet to come forward . 'I was in the group, but this was . separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket,' the single mother . of seven said as she and her fiancé left her home. The . Haitian immigrant who has seven children claimed she had hidden the . winning ticket and would present it to lottery officials today. A Kansas man was struck by lightning hours after buying three Mega Millions lottery tickets on Thursday, proving in real life the old saying that a gambler is more likely to be struck down from the sky than win the jackpot. Bill Isles, 48, bought three tickets in the record $656 million lottery Thursday at a Wichita, Kansas grocery store. On the way to his car, Isles said he commented to a friend: 'I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the lottery. Later at about 9:30pm, Isles was standing in the back yard of his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a boom -- lightning. 'It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles said in a telephone interview on Saturday. 'It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat.' Isles said doctors wanted to make sure his heartbeat was back to normal. He suffered no burns or other physical effects from the strike, which he said could have been worse because his yard has a power line pole. But later she started to backtrack saying she wasn't sure whether she had won or not. 'I don’t know if I won. Some of the numbers were familiar. I recognized some of them,' she said. 'I don’t know why' people are saying differently. 'I’m going to go to the lottery office today. I bought some tickets separately.' With winning tickets also sold in Illinois and Kansas, a single Maryland winner would get an after-tax lump sum of $105 million, or $5.59 million a year for 26 years. Wilson’s co-workers — who make little more than $7.50 an hour — are furious at her claims she bought the winning ticket with her own money. 'She can’t do this to us!' said . Suleiman Osman Husein, a shift manager and one of 15 members in the . pool. 'We each paid $5. She took everybody’s money!' A . man identifying himself as the boyfriend of a McDonald’s manager named . Layla, who was part of the pool, said Wilson bought tickets for the . group at the 7-Eleven in Milford Mill, where the winning ticket was . sold. The . group’s tickets — along with a list of those who contributed to the . pool — were left in an office safe at the fast food outlet, said the . man, who gave only his first name, Allen, as he stood next to Layla. She . declined to comment. Empty: The Brooklyn, Maryland, home where Ms Wilson is thought to live with her seven children, though no one was home today when reporters called . Store: Wilson told the New York Post she stopped by the Milford Mill 7-Eleven after work to buy tickets for herself with a friend and not with the pooled money from work . Denise Metzger, manager of a store in Red Bud, Ohio where a winning ticket was bought, poses with a novelty cheque - but the store will get a real pay-out of $500,000 . Stephen Martino, director of the Maryland Lottery, speaks outside the 7-Eleven store in Baltimore where a winning ticket was bought . Then, late Friday, before the night’s drawing, the owner of the McDonald’s, Birul Desai, gave Wilson $5 to buy more tickets for the pool on her way home from work, and she went back to the 7-Eleven and bought them, Allen said. Wilson took those tickets home with her, Allen said. But the mother-of-seven insisted yesterday that the batch with the winning ticket in it was bought separately by her while she was with a friend. According to the Post, when she found out she had the winning ticket, she called coworkers and told them she - rather than they - had won. Will lightning strike twice? Selling lottery tickets at the Baltimore store which produced a winner on Friday . 'I won! I won!' she told a colleague. McDonald's worker Davon Wilson said he was there when Wilson called. Three - Winners who matched six numbers . 1.5 billion - Dollars spent on Mega Millions tickets . 429 million - Dollars spent on tickets on Friday alone . 161 - Number of people who matched five numbers and won $250,000 . 897 - Number of people who matched four numbers and won $10,000 . 18 - Times the jackpot rolled without a winner, leading to Friday's record of $640 million . 12 million - Amount in dollars of this Tuesday's jackpot . 100 million - Americans who played Megamillions . 182 - Days the Maryland winner has to come forward . 365 - Days the Illinois and Kansas winners have to come forward . 20,000 - Times more likely to die in a car crash than win the lotto . 2,600 - Dollars worth of tickets one man bought in Arizona . 'She said, "Turn on the news". She said she had won. I thought it was a joke or something. She doesn’t seem like a person who’d do this,' he said. Allen told the Post he and Layla then went to Wilson's home to question her about the winning ticket. Though she first refused to come out, they banged on her door for 20 minutes until she finally relented. 'These people are going to kill you. It’s not worth your life!' Allen said he told her. 'All right! All right! I’ll share, but I can’t find the ticket right now,' she said, according to Allen. A clerk at the . 7-Eleven where Wilson bought the tickets said they believed it was a man . who had bought the winning ticket and doubted that Wilson's story was . actually true after lottery officials reviewed the . store’s CCTV footage. Carole Everett said they had no information about the Maryland winner and whether it was a man or a woman who bought the winning ticket. She said: 'Right now, everything is just speculation and gossip. Until someone comes through that door and hands over the winning ticket we will not know who the winner is.' If Wilson won, and if it was with a . pooled work ticket, the situation would be very similar to that of . New Jersey man Americo Lopes, who was sued by his former colleagues . after he claimed he was the sole winner of a $38.5 million Mega Millions . lottery jackpot. The five construction workers say . they and Lopes were members of a weekly lottery pool, each person . contributing $2 and Lopes would buy the tickets. He . claimed he played the lottery both by himself and as a member of the . pool and that the winning ticket in the November 2009 drawing was one he . bought for himself. Lopes chose the lump-sum payment option and received $24 million. A woman buys Mega Millions lottery tickets at a shop on New York City's upper west side of Manhattan . A jury found that he wrongly refused to share the lottery win with his friends and ordered that he pay them $4million each. The three jackpot-winning tickets were purchased in Red Bud, Illinois, Baltimore County, Maryland, and Kansas, where state lottery officials have said only that the ticket was sold in the northeast part of the state. In Illinois, the Chicago Tribune said a second jackpot winner, who also has yet to step forward, bought a quick-pick ticket at a gas station and convenience store in Red Bud, a community of about 3,700 in southwestern Illinois. There were also some big consolation prizes. Lottery officials said 161 ticket holders won $250,000 each by matching the first five numbers, and 897 people won $10,000 by matching four numbers plus the stand-alone Mega Ball. The Maryland and Kansas winners are allowed to remain anonymous because of state laws, but in Illinois, the winner has to be publicized. Though lottery officials say they encourage winners to come forward and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame. A donut shop worker in California quit his job after winning $228,000 from Friday's draw. It took Lazaro Ramos less than an hour to hand in his resignation after he discovered he was among 29 Californians to match five of the six winning numbers in Friday's drawing. He plans to return to his home country Guatemala to open up his own restaurant. The winning numbers in Friday night's drawing were 02-04-23-38-46, and the Mega Ball 23. Previous lottery winners have found that winning an eye-popping jackpot wasn't exactly the dream come true they hoped it would be. In fact for some, it turned into a nightmare. | Mirlande Wilson, 37, pooled money with colleagues at Maryland burger joint .
Claims she bought one of the three winning tickets for herself .
Winning numbers were 46, 23, 38, 4, 2, and 23 . |
278,455 | f4b5c110611dec063f17f2130f5ac41f6ef37b69 | By . Hayley O'keeffe . PUBLISHED: . 06:18 EST, 3 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:21 EST, 4 October 2013 . Gray Allan Ormandy, 23 throttled his girlfriend in a row over Grand Theft Auto V . A father-of-three throttled his girlfriend after she objected to him playing the new Grand Theft Auto V game with his friends after midnight. Rachael Lawson complained when Gray Allan Ormandy, 23, arrived home after midnight with the new game, and then started playing it with two friends. Mr Ormandy snapped, and squeezed her neck until she could not breathe as one of her children begged him to stop, Furness Magistrates’ Court in Cumbria, heard. The couple had regular arguments, but the row on September 17 started when Ormandy went to buy the game at its special official midnight launch, said Lisa Hine, prosecuting. Miss Lawson was in bed, but was woken by a barking dog and came down to find Ormandy back home with two friends. She asked the friends to leave around 20 minutes later and Ormandy slept on the sofa. Mrs Hine said Miss Lawson asked Ormandy to help with the children the next morning, but he refused. As the row escalated in the bedroom of their Mount Pleasant home, Ormandy grabbed his girlfriend around the neck and squeezed until she could not breathe. Mrs Hine said the three children - all aged under five - saw what happened and one said: 'Stop it.' Miss Lawson took the children downstairs and called the police at 8.30am. Following his arrest, Ormandy told police 'she hates me having a computer' and said she 'smashed the last one'. He said he came back with some mates and Miss Lawson was 'stressing' and made his mates 'uncomfortable'. A scene from the Grand Theft Auto V game. Mr Ormandy had been to the midnight launch of the new release before assaulting his partner . Grand Theft Auto V: The game carries and 18 certificate and contains scenes of violence . Mrs Hine said Miss Lawson wanted to make up and did not wish to pursue a restraining order. Ormandy, who was bailed to Fife Street, Barrow, admitted assault when he appeared in court on Tuesday. Mr Trystan Roberts, defending, said he pleaded guilty on the basis he held her jaw line and argued it was not in front of the children. Mr Roberts said: 'He is bitterly sorry he is now away from them. He is, by all accounts, an extremely good father. 'Unfortunately, things have been very stressful recently and his younger brother, for whom he has cared for much of his life, has become homeless and his mum is on a third drugs conviction and is in prison at the moment.' Sentencing was adjourned until Tuesday for a report to be prepared by the probation service. District Judge Gerald Chalk said: 'You assaulted the mother of your children in the home, where she should feel safe. 'The children were present and would’ve been petrified by what they saw.' | Gray Allan Ormandy, 23 attacked girlfriend at their home in Mount Pleasant, Cumbria .
Miss Lawson has complained when Mr Ormandy arrived home late with the game .
Children saw attack on their mother and judge says they must have been 'petrified'
Father-of-three pleads guilty to assault on the mother of his children . |
185,180 | 7be1fe08006662e69f5981c4864a7f182ceba376 | By . Emily Davies . PUBLISHED: . 22:23 EST, 31 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:28 EST, 1 November 2013 . A husband and wife who worked as NHS managers were paid nearly £1million in redundancy money – only to be rehired by the health service within weeks. Karen Straughair, 50, pocketed more than £605,000 when NHS South of Tyne and Wear, where she was chief executive, was wound up at the end of March. Her husband Chris Reed, chief executive of NHS North of Tyne, was paid more than £345,000 when his organisation was abolished. By June both had board-level jobs at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – Mr Reed as interim chief executive, Miss Straughair as recovery director. Golden goodbye: Karen Straughair pocketed £605,000 and Chris Reed was given £345,000 redundancy . Shadow health minister Andy Burnham called it a ‘scandalous abuse of precious resources’, while Dan Poulter the Tory health minister blamed lax redundancy rules under Labour that allowed mega payoffs for public employees. The pair are among dozens of senior staff who received ‘golden goodbyes’ of more than £100,000; many of which later found new jobs in the ‘revolving door’ of the NHS. The bosses lost their jobs when the NHS organisations employing them were abolished.They were among 161 NHS bodies responsible for buying services – among them Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities – that were abolished to be replaced by GP-led Clinical Commissioning Groups under reforms in April. Analysis of Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities’ final accounts, published yesterday, suggests payouts in excess of £100,000 were made to more than 50 staff and more than a dozen of these well-paid chiefs have since found work in the public sector. Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham called the situation a ¿scandalous abuse of precious resources¿ . Critics have said payouts should be capped and recouped when staff are reemployed soon after being let go. On an online forum for an NHS trade publication, one critic posted: ‘Surely a relevant question is how come two former Chief Executives, effectively Mr and Mrs NHS Tyne and Wear can pocket hundreds of thousands in redundancy payments and then get relatively swiftly re-employed by the NHS on mega high salaries.’ Another wrote: ‘Just a minor point of Governance … does the Interim Chief Exec hold his wife to account if she fails to deliver her objectives? Isn’t that a bit too cosy when the organisation in question is facing such a huge challenge?’ The National Audit Office estimated in the summer that 10,000 people had lost their jobs at a total cost of £430million. At the time, the NAO said that 44 very senior managers were made redundant at an average cost of £277,273. Labour accused the Government of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds by replacing the statutory bodies with 211 new Clinical Commissioning Groups. But the Government blamed lax contracts drawn up under Labour, saying their ‘hands were tied’. Mr Burnham said last night: ‘This is precisely what we warned would happen.’ He told The Times: ‘David Cameron’s refusal to listen and honour his promise of no top-down re-organisation has resulted in a scandalous abuse of precious NHS resources. ‘He has given gold-plated, six-figure payoffs to thousands of managers while handing P45s to 6,000 nurses.’ Conservative Mr Poulter said: ‘Dismantling Labour’s bloated bureaucracy left us with a big bill, but that’s because manager numbers and wages rose so quickly on Labour's watch, and their ridiculously lax redundancy rules tied our hands.’ He added: ‘We have overhauled their system to make sure this can never happen again.’ Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will be appalled that some of these golden goodbyes ran to six figures – especially for those individuals who have walked straight through the revolving door into another highly paid public sector job.’ The salary arrangements and terms of employment of Mrs Straughair and Mr Reed in the Leeds posts are not known, and both have recently left the trust. Sir David Nicholson wrote to the leaders of abolished bodies in March urging them not to take large payoffs and quickly seek new jobs in the NHS, which they are entitled to do after four weeks. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by any of the individuals receiving payoffs but campaigners have criticised the size of the sums dished out when care services are under pressure. | Karen Straughair, 50, handed £605,000 when her trust was wound up .
Husband Chris Reed received £345,000 when his organisation was abolished .
Now they are both working at another trust just weeks later . |
103,057 | 10dadeadcad6418359fa7a24b09f45d61d0b7f16 | A judicial review application submitted by Australian convicted drug traffickers Andrew Chan and Myruan Sukumaran could lead to a window of opportunity for the pair who have been sentenced to execution. Despite the Indonesian Attorney General's former claims that the appeal would be rejected on Tuesday due to there being only one exhausted entitlement for judicial review, the Denpasar District Court chief, Judge Sugeng Riyono, is yet to make a decision on the matter. 'There is no difficulty. We just have to look at all the regulations, including the Constitutional Court decision, the Supreme Court decree as well as the joint decision that was made in January,' Mr Riyono said on Tuesday, rather than dismissing the appeal, News Corp reports. Scroll down for video . A judicial review application submitted by Australian convicted drug traffickers Andrew Chan (right) and Myruan Sukumaran (left) could lead to a window of opportunity for the pair who have been sentenced to execution . Chan and Sukumaran's lawyer, Julian McMahon, argued that his clients had clearly exhibited that they had been rehabilitated since their sentencing in 2006. 'Anyone who studies the facts in the case of Sukumaran and Chan would immediately know they should not be treated as if they are merely criminals. In fact because of the Indonesian penal system they have become reformed prisoners and valuable contributors helping Indonesia. It simply makes no sense now to kill them,' Mr McMahon told News Corp. The sliver of hope comes after it was revealed on Monday that the Bali Nine pair would be killed by a firing squad in the next round of executions. The pair, who have been on death row since 2006, could face death at any stage under a crackdown by the Indonesia government on drug cases. 'There is no difficulty. We just have to look at all the regulations, including the Constitutional Court decision, the Supreme Court decree as well as the joint decision that was made in January,' Mr Riyono said on Tuesday, rather than dismissing the appeal . According to Nine News Sukumaran and Chan will be taken in the dead of night from their cells at Kerobokan Prison in Denpasar and flown to Jogjakarta. From there they will take a five-hour journey through the villages of Java before they arrive at the port of Cilicap. The men will then be taken by boat into restricted waters, where they will get their first glimpse of the notorious correctional centre on Nusa Kambangan. From there the Australian men will be housed in one of the seven prisons on the island, where they will live out the remainder of their days before they are lined up in front of the executioners. Nusa Kambangan is where the Bali bombers faced the firing squad and where six drug criminals were executed two weeks ago. Meanwhile appeals for the two men's lives continue to be made, the latest of which has come from a British band known as one of the Indonesian President's favourites. Napalm Death's lead singer Mark 'Barney' Greenway penned a letter to Joko Widodo asking him to grant clemency to the convicted drug traffickers . Napalm Death's lead singer Mark 'Barney' Greenway penned a letter to Joko Widodo asking him to grant clemency to the convicted drug traffickers and posting the open letter to the band's Facebook page last month, for their 729,000 followers to read. Mr Widodo is said to be a big fan of metal, and recently revealed in an interview that he discovered the genre when he stumbled across a thrash metal band gig when he was just 14 years old. 'I am appealing directly to you to please spare the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the two Australian citizens who are currently awaiting the death sentence in Indonesia for heroin smuggling,' the letter began. 'As a follower of our band Napalm Death, you would appreciate that our lyrics and ethos challenge the unbroken cycle of violence in the world, whether it comes from a state or as an individual. Mr Widodo is said to be a big fan of metal, and recently revealed in an interview that he discovered the genre when he stumbled across a thrash metal band gig when he was just 14 years old . Dear Mr Widodo, . I am appealing directly to you to please spare the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the two Australian citizens who are currently awaiting the death sentence in Indonesia for heroin smuggling. As a follower of our band Napalm Death, you would appreciate that our lyrics and ethos challenge the unbroken cycle of violence in the world, whether it comes from a state or as an individual. If these things are not challenged and ultimately changed, I believe we will never truly move forward as humankind. I understand that you are standing as a leader determined to change things for the better, and so I believe granting clemency would be a major step forward in this pursuit of betterment. I appreciate that heroin can be damaging on many levels, but I believe that this is a much deeper issue that cannot be changed or altered by simply taking away the lives of people. Again, I respectfully ask that you make a real difference and overturn these sentences. In hope and peace, . Mark 'Barney' Greenway (Napalm Death) 'If these things are not challenged and ultimately changed, I believe we will never truly move forward as humankind,' the post continued. Joko Widodo has been pictured posing while wearing a Napalm Death t-shirt on multiple occasions, and is reportedly a big fan of other heavy metal bands such as Metallica, Megadeath and Lamb of God. He is also known for his hardline approach to issues such as drug trafficking, selling his election campaign - in part - on tougher penalties for criminals. Napalm Death is a band credited with defining the grindcore genre - an amalgamation of elements from hardcore death and punk metal. They also hold a Guinness World Record for the world's shortest song - titled You Suffer with a duration of 1.316 seconds. | A judicial review application submitted by Andrew Chan and Myruan Sukumaran is being looked into by the the Denpasar District Court chief .
This is despite expectation that it would be rejected on Tuesday .
If accepted it could offer a slight window of opportunity for the pair who have been sentenced to execution by firing squad .
Meanwhile UK death metal band Napalm Death have penned a letter to the Indonesian President asking him to grant clemency to the Bali Nine Pair . |
212,847 | 9f9bee27bfbd7dcb6ad0f168be797764e5571ee6 | Claims have been made by a prominent Iranian opposition blogger based in London which suggest Iran killed its own nuclear scientist. Earlier this month Majid Jamali Fashi, 24, was hanged at Tehran's Evin Prison after being sentenced to death for killing the Iranian scientist Masoud Ali Mohammad. But blogger Potkin Azarmehr alleges that certain anomalies in his case contribute to a theory held by many activists, that Iranian intelligence agents may have been the cause of his death. Earlier this month Majid Jamali Fashi, 24, (left) was hanged at Tehran's Evin Prison after being sentenced to death for killing the nuclear scientist, Masoud Ali Mohammadi (right) The recent emergence of a passport purported to belong to Mr Fahi has increased suspicions that he was a scapegoat for the killing, while many opposition activists, such as Mr Azarmehr believe that his execution was a staged hoax. Some Iranian dissidents believe that the country has used the cover of its war with Israel to crack down on internal opponents, with some saying that Mr Mohammadi was killed because he was a supporter of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Ali-Mohammadi died in January 2010 when a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle outside his home in Tehran went off. When Mr Mohammadi died, Iran immediately blamed his murder on the U.S, Israel and their 'hired agents.' Questions raised: The recent emergence of a passport purported to belong to Mr Fahi has increased suspicions that he was a scapegoat . State television swiftly blamed Israel for the attacks, although it has always denied any role in the scientist’s killing. But there has always been doubt Mr Mohammadi's death. A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said at the time that Mr Mohammadi, a 50-year-old Tehran University professor, was not involved in its activities. But Western intelligence agencies have had conflicting information about whether Mr Mohammadi was contributing to the nuclear program. Iranian media broadcast a report which said Mr Fashi had confessed to travelling to Tel Aviv to receive training from Mossad before returning to Iran to plot the assassination. Paraded on TV, the kickboxer also confessed to receiving forged travel documents in Azerbaijan to travel to Israel, Iran's Press TV reported. But in a blog post, ABC News reported that Mr Azarmehr has raised questions of the authenticity of Mr Fashi's passport. The passport was presented on Iranian state television at the weekend as hard evidence that Mr Fashi had been in the pay of Israel. Explosion: The damage caused by the blast that killed Iranian scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in Tehran . Claims: A remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle outside the scientist's home in Tehran. Iran blamed it on Mossad . But Mr Azarmehr said that the Israeli passport was stamped 2003, when Mr Fashi would have been 15-year-old. But the photo was of a man in his 20s, who is looking away from the camera. The date of birth on the passport is concealed. 'No passport will be issued with such a picture, anywhere in the world,' wrote Mr Azarmehr. 'You need a headshot where you are open-eyed AND looking into the camera.' Mr Azarmehr writes: 'This is yet another question in the whole series of doubts about what Jamali Fashi's role, if any, in the assassination of Iranian particle physicist, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was.' Mr Azarmehr claims that Mr Fashi was not a Mossad agent and may not even have been executed, reported the website. Mr Azarmehr cites his reasons by noting in earlier posts that Mr Fashi did not appear to be fearful in a video allegedly recorded right before his execution. He also says that the only official photo taken of him after his hanging shows him from far away so is not easy to make out. 'The only picture of Jamali Fashi's execution which is shown in the video above is blurred and from a distant and it can not be verified that its him. Isreal is believed to be keeping a close eye on Iran's nuclear capacity. Here is the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, which is believed to be part of its programme . 'Given that the regime is not known for its regard for public sensitivity in seeing pictures of the dead and morbid images, why is it that in this instance they have chosen not to show his pictures?' His claims have been cited by some news services - Dubai-based news channel al-Arabiya has said that the passport displayed on Iranian television has a misplaced passport number and design features that indicate it dates from the 1990s. Tehran has accused Israel and the U.S. of assassinating four Iranian scientists since 2010 in order to sabotage its nuclear programme which the West suspects is hiding Iran's attempt to develop a nuclear weapons capability. While Israel has declined to comment on the killings, it regards Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat and has threatened military action against Tehran. Washington has denied any U.S. role. The most recent attack on an Iranian scientist occurred in January. Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan - a deputy director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility - was killed when a magnetic bomb planted on his vehicle detonated. | London-based dissident Potkin Azarmehr made explosive claims about the death of Iranian scientist Masoud Ali Mohammadi in his online blog .
Majid Jamali Fashi, the man that Iran claimed was an Israeli spy, was executed for killing the scientist in Tehran earlier this month .
But Azarmehr believes that Fashi is not a Mossad agent and may never have been executed .
Emergence of forged Israeli passport has thrown fresh doubt on the conviction . |
256,112 | d786560f0c75fb7d079e4b89b1611bb79e014bd6 | (CNN) -- A confluence of a hankering for fried chicken and hard times in the smuggling business means buckets of KFC are showing up on tables in Gaza. The idea to get the American fast-food staple into the hands of hungry Gazans came from al-Yamama, a food delivery service that opened in the Palestinian territory a few years ago, according to The Christian Science Monitor. When employees last month had a taste for some finger-lickin' good stuff, they called a friend just over the Gaza border in al-Arish, Egypt, and asked him to order some up. He did so and sent it to Gaza through one of the hundreds of tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border used to get goods into Gaza prohibited by Israeli restrictions, things such as weapons and cars. The transfer of fried chicken from Egypt to Gaza took three hours, not exactly fast food, but good enough for a territory where there are no Western fast-food franchises, according to the Monitor report. Their appetites sated, "We asked ourselves, 'Why don't we provide this service for Gazans?' " Mohammed al-Madani, the financial manager of al-Yamama, told the Monitor. Besides satisfying the cravings for chicken, the underground not-so-fast food service proves a point, Khalil Efrangi, an entrepreneur who started al-Yamama, told The New York Times. "I accepted this challenge to prove that Gazans can be resilient despite the restrictions," the Times quoted him as saying. For the tunnel operators, fast food may help out with hard economic times. Israel has relaxed its embargo on Gaza, so more goods are getting through legitimately. And Egypt cracked down on the tunnels after 16 of its soldiers were killed in a raid on them last year, the Monitor reported. So lower demand means lower prices. "Bringing some meals like these would cost $200 or more three years ago, but now they don't even cost $20," tunnel operator Abu Iyad told the Monitor. A bucket of chicken goes for about $30 in Gaza, about three times the price in Egypt, according to the media reports. Besides the chicken, fries, coleslaw and apple pie are available, according to the Times. Al-Yamama promotes the service on its Facebook page and usually makes the runs under the border when it can get 30 or so orders to make things worthwhile, the Times reported. And even if the chicken's a bit cold and the fries somewhat soggy, customers apparently aren't complaining. Eating KFC "has been a dream," Rafat Shororo told the Monitor. "And this company has made my dream come true." Gazan runners barred from Bethlehem marathon . | Imports to Gaza under Israeli restrictions .
There reportedly are no Western fast-food franchises in Gaza .
Chicken smuggling helps tunnel operator through hard times, report says .
Smuggling costs triple price of chicken, according to report . |
104,142 | 125d4962f30ca8ccf6beb623a97d38390b0ba850 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 06:40 EST, 21 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:27 EST, 21 November 2012 . The world's only known jihadist rapper who uses out-of-tune hip-hop to drum up support for his holy war has been added to the FBI's Most Wanted List. U.S.-born Omar Shafik Hammami is thought to be a senior leader with al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda affiliated group in Somalia which was placed on the U.S. State Department's terror blacklist in 2008. Also known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki or 'the American', Hammami has been releasing rap songs in English on the internet since 2009 even though music is forbidden in Al-Qaeda's strict interpretation of Islam. Scroll down for videos of his rap songs . Singing 'sucks' : Omar Shafik Hammami (pictured) who has released a number of hip-hop tunes on the internet to drum support for his jihad has been added to the FBI's most wanted list . In two songs entitled Send Me A Cruise (Missile) and Make Jihad With Me, he taunts the West in a toneless drone and calls on other young Americans like him to join him on his mission. In Make Jihad with Me, his singing style is described by ABCNews as a 'deep Barry White growl'. Others have been even less complimentary, saying his a cappella tunes 'suck'. In the songs, Hammami says he hopes to be killed by a drone strike or in a cruise missile attack so he can achieve martyrdom. He invites young people to join the jihad to 'wipe Israel off the globe' and encourages strikes against the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Somalia. The 28-year-old, who has been indicted in the United States on various terrorism charges, has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2007. Dangerous: U.S.-born Hammami (right) is thought to be a senior leader with al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda affiliated group in Somalia which was placed on the U.S. State Department's terror blacklist in 2008 . Bizarre comparison: Hammami's singing style has been likened to 'the deep growl' of the late romantic singer-song-writer Barry White (pictured) Hammami was born and raised to a . Syrian father and American mother in a quiet suburb in Daphne, Alabama, . but spiralled into radicalism before joining militant jihadists in 2007. He . is among hundreds of foreign fighters in the ranks of the al-Shabaab, . Somalia's most dangerous militant group, that is trying to topple the . country's weak U.N.-backed government. He was pulled into the terror network after marrying a Somalian-Canadian woman and later being 'brainwashed' on internet forums. He moved to Egypt, where he met a fellow fundamentalist from America, Daniel Maldanado, who paved the road to Somalia for him. However, his wife and the mother of his daughter refused to follow him and asked for a divorce. Earlier . this year, he was rumoured to have been beheaded, but a month later he . released his autobiography The Story of an American Jihaadi, which . critics said contained odd spelling and banal observations. From teen to terrorist: Hammami (left) was born to a Syrian father and American mother in a suburb of Daphne, Alabama, but spiralled into radicalism before joining militant jihadists linked to Osama bin Laden (right) International threat: Hammami is among hundreds of foreign fighters in the ranks of the al-Shabaab (pictured), Somalia's most dangerous militant group, that is trying to topple the country's weak U.N.-backed government . Al-Shabaab carried out its first international attack in July 2010 in Uganda, killing 76 people watching the World Cup final in two bomb explosions. The group has 'repeatedly threatened terrorist actions against America and American interests,' the Federal Bureau of Investigations said in a statement last week. Also added to the terror most wanted list was Filipino Raddulan Sahiron, wanted for his alleged role in the kidnapping of an American in the Philippines in 1993 by the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group Abu Sayyaf. Sahiron is believed to be the leader of the group, which was put on the US terror blacklist in 1997, the FBI said. The Abu Sayyaf was set up in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, according to the Philippine military, and has been blamed for that nation's worst terrorist attacks. These include the bombing of a passenger ferry in Manila Bay that killed over 100 people in 2004, as well as many kidnappings of foreigners and Filipinos in the Muslim-populated south of the country where it is based. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $1million for information leading to the arrest of Sahiron, who is believed to be in the Sulu archipelago. | Omar Hammami, 28, is 'senior leader' with Somali terror group al-Shabaab .
U.S.-born terrorist has been releasing rap songs on the internet since 2009 .
Taunts West and says he wants to be martyred by cruise missile strike .
Also invites young people to join the jihad to 'wipe Israel off the globe'
Born and raised in affluent suburb in Alabama, but spiralled in radicalism .
He has been indicted in the United States on various terrorism charges . |
280,915 | f7e7ebe14600d3bf200949ba29e73765cb251f6b | (CNN) -- From the outside, the DC-10 jet parked on the airport runway looks like any ordinary plane. But if you step inside, you'll notice something is not quite right. Instead of rows of seats, you'll find a fully equipped operating theater; rather than uniform-clad flight attendants, you'll see a group of doctors in blue coats gathered around a microscope. This is the world's only "Flying Eye Hospital" -- a converted plane that has been landing at airports in the developing world for the last 30 years. Its mission is to treat people suffering from blinding diseases -- many of whom are children. But it's not just about treatment; the plane is also designed to train local ophthalmologists. Cameras inside the operating room broadcast eye surgeries to a 48-seat classroom at the front of the plane, where local doctors watch to learn new skills and techniques. A two-way audio system lets the observers ask the surgeons questions while they operate. Inspiring students . In October 2013, the Flying Eye Hospital landed in Cameroon, and its doctors visited the Yaounde Central Hospital in the country's capital. It was a revealing experience for everybody present, said Dr. Emilienne Epee, senior lecturer of ophthalmology at the University of Yaounde. "Officials, lecturers and senior staff were exposed to what is available and what can be done in a realistic way, easing the advocacy for ophthalmologists," she said. Epee added that the visit got many medical students interested in ophthalmology, and she hopes that this will increase the number of ophthalmologists in Cameroon. However, the country still faces many problems when it comes to eye health. "Equipment is an issue and for the time being we do not have the latest or high-tech facilities in our services," said Epee. "Nevertheless we can attend to the basic need and avoid blindness with what is available to us." Read this: Birth advice by text message . ORBIS, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that works in developing countries worldwide to prevent blindness and treat visually impaired people, is the organization behind the remarkable plane. "It's truly remarkable to see people regaining their eyesight every day," said Flavia Draganus, communications manager on board the Flying Eye Hospital. "When we take the patches off after the surgery we see them smile because they can see again, although they thought they'd never be able to." An estimated 285 million people worldwide are blind or visually impaired according to the WHO -- 90% of them live in low- and middle-income countries, yet 80% of them could be treated or cured with the right medical care. Flying Eye Hospital doctors treat blinding diseases like cataracts, glaucoma, trachoma and diabetic retinopathy; many of them are easily treatable with the right medical care, which developing countries often lack. During their stay, doctors also leave the plane to go to local hospitals to train doctors with the hospitals' existing equipment. Bruce Johnson, director of aircraft operations at ORBIS, said: "The main deficits in the eye care industry in the developing world are a lack of ophthalmologists and the right equipment as well as very few specialist hospitals. Also, often parents can't afford the surgery for their children." Johnson has been with ORBIS for nine years and has been on dozens of overseas programs. "We can take our hospital anywhere to reach people in remote regions that don't have access to the right eye care treatment," he said. The organization says the Flying Eye Hospital has so far carried out 925,000 surgeries and trained 92,000 doctors. Local knowledge . It is the training that offers long-term hope for better eye care. "There is a huge appetite for training among doctors in the developing world, as we've recently seen on a trip to Cameroon," Draganus said. "We leave knowledge behind and make sure that these doctors sustain the skills even after we left." ORBIS has been asked to build a pediatric eye care unit as part of the planned Yaounde Vision Institute. The institute would mark a step forward for eye health care in Cameroon, but a lack of training nationwide remains a challenge. Dr Henry Nkumbe is an ophthalmologist based in Yaounde, and secretary general of the African Ophthalmology Forum. He said: "No center in the country has the necessary skills set and equipment to regularly perform corneal grafts, advanced glaucoma surgeries. So Cameroon, through out-of-pocket payments by patients or covered by the Ministry of Health budget, spends a lot on medical evacuations abroad, for specialist eye care services currently not available in Cameroon." Nkumbe added: "At present at most 25% of people needing cataract surgery in Cameroon do indeed get it." More than 30 years ago, the American ophthalmologist Dr. David Paton created ORBIS based on the idea of using aviation to deliver medical education around the world. In 1980, United Airlines donated a plane to the project and after it was converted into a fully functional teaching eye hospital, it went on its first trip to Panama in 1982 and has so far visited 78 countries worldwide. A program in each country lasts around two to three weeks and there are up to 24 people on board including doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and aircraft mechanics. In 2010, FedEx donated an MD-10 aircraft, which is currently being turned into the next flying hospital. Johnson said: "I never imagined that there are so many people out there that need treatment and whose blindness can easily be prevented, with just the right care." Read this: The free water helping hydrate Africa . Read this: Flying doctor takes to the skies after sister's death . Read this: How African doctors can cure medical 'brain drain' | The world's only Flying Eye Hospital is a jet converted into a fully equipped eye hospital .
Eye specialists treat patients and train local doctors to ensure long-term benefit .
It has flown to 78 countries and trained thousands of doctors .
Flying hospital treats diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma . |
189,085 | 80ddd07211888f2974640dbe8cee58bee81c97a4 | Parents have complained after a BBC error showed a musician in a Womble suit remove its head during a live broadcast shattering the illusion that the furry creates exist. The mistake was made during a live video stream on Simon Mayo's Drivetime radio show on Tuesday when Womble Orinoco whipped off his head as the webcam was still running. Parents from all over the UK had tuned in with their youngsters to watch The Wombles appear exclusively on the Radio Two website and perform two songs, including Christmas number one hopeful Wombling Merry Christmas. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Whoops! The mistake was made during a live video stream on Simon Mayo's Drivetime radio show on Tuesday when Womble Orinoco whipped off his head as the webcam was still running . But as an interview with Simon Mayo came to a close, Orinico, played by songwriter Mike Batt, removed his head, leaving children 'horrified' that the Wombles were not real. The BBC have now removed a link to the live feed from its website leaving just two songs and an interview with Simon Mayo left to view. Mr Batt, who invented The Wombles pop group in the 70s, apologised on Twitter, but blamed BBC staff for telling him he was 'no longer on air' and so could safely remove his costume. After being told that hundreds of children has seen he was inside the Womble, the 62-year-old musician and Womble tweeted: 'On no - they told us we were off air!!!!' Not impressed: Peter McFarland, son Dylan and wife Vickie had been looking forward to the show all day and were horrified when Orinoco took his head off . This morning Mr Batt posted an explanation for the incident on his blog, assuring children wombles were 'very real indeed' adding: 'Everybody knows a Womble can't take his head off.' He told the children he stepped in at the last minute posing as Orinoco who was feeling unwell in the heat of the studio. Mr Batt, who invented The Wombles pop group in the 70s, apologised on Twitter . He wrote: 'Luckily, I carry a fancy dress Womble costume with me to all Womble appearances, so if the real Orinoco is too puffed out (because he is the fat one, and hardly does any exercise) I can run in, like a substitute in a football match) and take over, - which is what I did. 'We managed to get the real Orinoco off, during a cut in the camera coverage, and he was given oxygen and some nettle tea.' He also said that he was meant to be . given a two minute break in-between singing the songs and being . interviewed by Simon Mayo, saying it was 'very hot' in the costume. He . said: 'I told them (the BBC) that I needed a break after the songs (as . it) was a high heat effort - they were supposed to give me a two minute . break!' Parents from around the UK said the . 'damage had already been done' and that they had been forced to come up . with 'all kinds of explanations' about why there was a human inside a . Womble. Christmas stars: The Wombles promoting their new record. The BBC blunder is no longer available to view after BBC chiefs cut it into three segments - none of which show Orinico's head being removed . Father-of-four Peter McFarland, 34, of Shrewsbury, said he and six-year-old son Dylan had been looking forward to the show all day and that his son was horrified when he saw Orinoco take his head off. Artist Mr McFarland said: 'I'm very very angry - we were watching the Radio Two live footage of the Wombles and at the end of the interview Orinoco pulled his head off before the cameras stopped rolling to reveal Mike Batt instead. Wombling: Great Uncle Bulgaria, left, in the popular children's television show. Mr Blatt insists Wombles 'can't take their heads off' and said he stepped in to cover for sick Orinoco . Some idiot at the BBC forgot to switch off the webcam at the end of the show and Dylan was right in front of the computer. 'I . thought it might have been too brief for Dylan to have noticed as he . went totally silent and we thought we might have got away with it, but . then he said 'All Wombles are fake' and asked to go to Wimbledon Common . to meet the real ones. Mr Batt addressed children in a blog post telling them Womble were 'very real indeed' 'Now I have an absolutely crushed and distraught six-year-old.' He added: 'One very angry email getting sent to the BBC now.' Mother . Vickie McFarland, 36, said: 'The Wombles have lost my support - 'My six . year old son is heartbroken and now he doesn't believe the Wombles are . real. 'Way to go breaking a little boy's heart and ruining Christmas for him.' Another . mother, Christine Furniss, 43, of Stoke, said she had to explain to her . two boys, Oscar, five, and Toby, seven, that Wombles were 'not real' after the error. She said: 'They both looked at me for an explanation when Orinoco's head came off - what could I tell them? 'I had to tell them the truth and it's fair to say they were devastated. 'All . of their friends were watching it at home too as it was a chance to see . the Wombles perform the Christmas song - so a lot of children were left . very, very upset about what happened.' Another blogger said: 'Orinoco's eaten . Mike Batt! 'I saw his head inside the Womble at the end of the video . just before the feed switched off.' The full video stream is no longer available to view after BBC chiefs cut it into three segments - none of which show Orinico's head being removed. A spokesman for the BBC admitted that the Womble was not meant to remove his head until after the cameras had stopped rolling, but blamed Orinoco for the bungle. She said: 'The Wombles played a festive set for Radio 2 which was filmed for live online streaming. 'The Wombles were aware they were being filmed, but he (Mike Batt) just took his head off. 'The group were fully aware that they were being filmed and had not been given the all clear that they were off air.' | Musician thought he was off-air when he removed part of his costume .
Furious parents forced to come up with 'explanations' for their children .
Creator Mike Batt tells youngsters the real Orinoco was unwell so he posed as the sick Womble in a costume . |
57,078 | a1bba22b100b30de40be992daca92ae4cb1f3ec9 | By . Harriet Arkell . When identical twin sisters Darlene and Diane Nettemeier went to a twins' festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, one man stood out by himself amongst the sea of twins. Tall, dark and handsome Mark Sanders caught their eye, but there was only one of him and two of them. Luckily for them, Mr Sanders was also a twin, and he called his identical brother, Craig, down from their hotel room to meet the 'neat' blondes. Instant attraction: The twins (Craig and Diane are left) said they fell for each other immediately when they met in Twinsburg, Ohio . Soon afterwards, the pairs of twins fell in love, got married, and then went on to produce another set of identical twins. Now the Sanders family - Craig and Diane, and Mark and Darlene - live in houses next door to each other in Texas, and have five children between them. Today they appeared on a U.S. talk show to discuss talk about their unusual family set-up. Craig, 44, said that he felt an 'instant attraction' to just one of the blonde twins, Darlene, despite them looking the same. Fateful day: The twins when they met at Twin Day festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, in 1998 . Double dating: The two sets of twins both spend a night out together . 'When I went downstairs I was instantly attracted to the one on the right. Diane was standing on the right and Darlene was standing on the left and I was instantly attracted to Diane,' he said on the Jeff Probst show. After meeting in 1998, the boys went to visit the girls at their home in St. Louis, Missouri, and took them on a double date to a baseball game. Proud father: Diane and Darlene's father walked them both down the aisle together at their joint wedding . 'Just like two normal families, only closer': Mr and Mrs Sanders, twice over . The two couples hit it off, got engaged on the same day, and decided to share a wedding. 'We had a double wedding and Darlene and I decided that we wanted to wear the same dress and then our dad walked us both down the aisle at the same time,' Diane said. The families built their houses on . adjoining plots and took out the fence between the two to create one . enormous garden that they could all share. Love: The two pairs of twins maintain close bond by living next to each other with a shared garden . The girls: Diane and Darlene are hard to tell apart to all but their husbands and children . The boys: Mark and Craig Sanders took the girls to a baseball game for a first, double, date . When Diane and Craig produced identical twin sons in 2001, they beat million-to-one odds to do so. Now they have neighboring houses and . the five children - including Diane and Craig's identical 12-year-old . sons Colby and Brady - all play together. Whole gang: The Sanders family gathers with their five kids . But Craig Sanders said despite all the unusual coincidences, they see themselves as 'Just two normal families who happen to be close to one another.' Happy times: Darlene and Mark share smiles with their children . Mark Sanders admitted identical twins marrying identical twins was 'pretty unusual.' 'There aren't that many of them that we are aware of in the United States, and when you throw in a third set of identical twins, that makes it even more unusual.' Close family: The Sanders now have five children between them, including identical twins Colby and Brady . Next generation: Colby and Brady Sanders are the identical twin sons of Diane and Craig . | Darlene and Diane Nettemeier met Mark and Craig Sanders at a twins event .
They later married in joint wedding and built houses right next to each other with a shared back yard .
Diane and Craig had identical twin sons, beating odds of one million to one .
But they see themselves as 'Just two normal families who happen to be close to one another' |
248,146 | cd1b5aba207925c3bec294ed309aa1b3e14929ab | By . Sportsmail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 07:05 EST, 16 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 10:45 EST, 16 May 2012 . Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Robert Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich) Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton) Midfielders: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Man United), James Milner (Man City) Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Danny Welbeck (Man United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) Stand-by: Jack Butland (Birmingham), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Man City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been handed a surprise call-up for Euro 2012 as Rio Ferdinand was made the big-name casualty in Roy Hodgson's 23-man England squad. Steven Gerrard has also been confirmed as captain for the tournament. Former England captain Ferdinand has been axed from the line-up - but there is room for John Terry despite his upcoming court case over his race row with Rio's brother Anton. Hodgson, who was only appointed last month to replace Fabio Capello, revealed his full squad as they head into battle in Poland and Ukraine. As well as including Arsenal winger Oxlade-Chamberlain, he also opted to call up another rookie - Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy, who will battle Robert Green to be Joe Hart's understudy. Ruddy will go ahead with his wedding on June 2, which was booked last year when he wasn't even considered for international duty. Stewart Downing, Theo Walcott and Ashley Young were handed wide berths in addition to Oxlade-Chamberlain. Pointing the way: England manager Roy Hodgson speaks at his Wembley press conference . The 18-year-old has started just six Barclays Premier League games for Arsenal and interim manager Stuart Pearce opted against bringing the winger into his squad for the February friendly with Holland. However, he has taken advantage of Adam Johnson's failure to cement a place in Manchester City's drive for the title. It means, barring injury, Johnson misses out for a second time, having also been axed from Fabio Capello's provisional World Cup squad two years ago. Key names to miss out are Peter Crouch, Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, who is named as a stand-by. You're in: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (right) and Theo Walcott . We're in! James Milner and Gareth Barry at the Pro Am for the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain . Is Hodgson right to axe Rio Ferdinand for Euro 2012? Manchester United's Paul Scholes is also absent despite Hodgson being tempted to hand the veteran a shock recall. Also on stand-by is Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson and Adam Johnson. England are pitted against France, Sweden and Ukraine next month as they attempt to reach the final in Kiev on July 1. They meet in Manchester on Wednesday before training at City's Etihad Stadium ahead of their flight to Oslo to play Norway on the Saturday. Seven days after that, England face Belgium at Wembley - although Ruddy will be missing, having been given special dispensation to leave for his wedding. The snub for Ferdinand is likely to signal the end of his international career. On Ferdinand's omission, Hodgson - who was under no pressure from the FA regarding Terry's inclusion - said: 'He is a man I respect. I had to make a football decision on the basis of what I have seen in recent months. It was a hard phone call to make. It was based purely on football and nothing else.' Out: Rio Ferdinand, who played in Harry Gregg's testimonial on Tuesday night, will not be selected for Euro 2012 over doubts about his fitness, while John Terry is now expected to feature for his country . Disappointment: Ferdinand, who lined-up for United in Tuesday night's testimonial for Harry Gregg in Belfast, will not be going to Euro 2012 . Talks were held between Terry and Hodgson at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Tuesday - and the England boss has resolved the issue of having Ferdinand and Terry in the same dressing room when Terry is awaiting trial for the alleged racial abuse Anton. The FA stripped Terry of the captaincy, which led to Fabio Capello quitting as England manager in February. On Friday, Sir Alex Ferguson did suggest the 33-year-old was not capable of playing two matches in four days, which might have played a part in Hodgson's eventual decision. Ferdinand has been a regular for United this season though and was fit enough to play 45 minutes in Tuesda night's testimonial match for Harry Gregg in Belfast. Out: Peter Crouch . In: Andy Carroll . Out: Micah Richards . The defender had made himself available despite the obvious potential for conflict with Terry.Ferdinand is known to be unimpressed with today's news though, which is likely to mark the end of his 81-cap England career and mean he will never have appeared at a European Championships. He was not selected in 2000, missed out through suspension four years later and was part of an England squad that failed to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren. Hodgson also presented his new employers with a logistical headache when he cancelled next week’s training trip to Malaga in Spain. He had already decided to give the Chelsea players involved in Saturday’s Champions League final the week off, as well as Wayne Rooney, and has now decided it is not worth going. | Arsenal rookie named in 23-man party for Poland and Ukraine .
Norwich goalkeeper Ruddy also named by boss Hodgson .
Ferdinand left at home as Terry secures place in squad .
Gerrard to take armband again under ex-Liverpool manager .
Liverpool flop Henderson named as stand-by for tournament . |
226,757 | b19ec20f7e1ede4e21fdb0b46abc9c86250e88a6 | Real Madrid's latest teen sensation Martin Odegaard has revealed that his move to the La Liga giants was not driven by money. Speaking during a farewell news conference in Norway organized by his former club Stromsgodset, Odegaard thanked his old employers for a 'great adventure'. The 16-year-old - who signed a contract worth a staggering £40,000-a-week basic wage with Real last week - said his decision was made purely for 'sporting' reasons. The 16-year-old told Norwegian press on Monday that his move to Madrid was purely for 'sporting' reasons . Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard completed a £2.3million move to La Liga giants Real Madrid last week . The youngster was speaking at a press conference i Norway organised by his former club Stromsgodset . 'It [money] has not been an issue at all for me. It was not an issue in my discussions with various clubs,' he said. 'I chose what was best for me in sporting terms.' Having visited a number of Premier League sides before deciding to switch to the Bernabeu, Odegaard is set to start his Real Madrid career in the reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, coached by legend Zinedine Zidane. 'It was a process where I visited several clubs, which was reported. A decision was made after that,' he added. '[Zidane is] one of the world's best footballers of all time.' Odegaard admitted the chance of working under Zinedine Zidane influenced his decision to join Real . | Martin Odegaard said his move was made purely for 'sporting' reasons .
Odegaard spoke in a press conference run by former club Stromsgodset .
The 16-year-old signed a deal with the La Liga giants worth £40,000-a-week . |
137,285 | 3d8ed5339781a9ebd8f44c1debcf0dec22bb82e8 | PUBLISHED: . 00:26 EST, 11 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:27 EST, 11 June 2013 . Severe weather in Baltimore, Maryland may have produced a few tornadoes. Community members have been sending in pictures of funnel clouds to local news stations and papers, with damage reported in western Woodbine, and additional sightings in bay-side Locust Point and Brooklyn. While many of these pictures and video look unmistakably like tornadoes, the National Weather Service still hasn't defined them as such. Christine Schifkovitz, who works at a yacht service on the bay said in a video on The Baltimore Sun's website that she observed a funnel cloud at about 3:30 p.m. Monday. Scroll down for video . Baltimore tornadoes: A screen shot from the video Christine Schifkovitz recorded Monday afternoon when a funnel cloud formed near her work . Strong winds: A YouTube video posted shows the tornado near Locust Point in perspective . Schifkovitz and her coworkers went outside when they heard on the radio that a tornado was forming near them. She recorded video as the sky above them turned black and a funnel formed over the water. Then the tornado started causing damage: 'We heard this loud ripping noise and it actually ripped a roof off and we saw debris fly up in the air,' she said. Roof down: Schifkovitz and her coworkers heard a ripping noise as they witnessed the roof being torn off of a local building . On the opposite side of Baltimore, in rural Woodbine, there was more damage. Bill Davison and his parents had just finished dinner when they heard the storm hit, and the power cut off. Davison says he heard 'a loud wind' and saw cardboard flying around outside. 'I was like, "Dad, come look at this." He goes out to the garage and calls me a says, "The garage is gone,"' Davison told WJZ 13. Davison's father said,'[I saw] what I thought was [a funnel], yeah. It just came right back down black, swirling, picking up material, so to me, it looked like the closest thing I've ever seen to a tornado.' Garage gone: The Davison family in Woodbine, Maryland believe that it was a tornado that demolished their garage . Touchdown: The Davison's had just finished dinner when the tornado hit, and they saw debris floating in the air . A car parked in the garage was moved seven or eight feet, some things are completely missing, while they found some items far away. 'My tires in the shed landed half a mile down the street. It's something you only see in the movies,' Bill Davison said. 'I can't believe it; I'm still in shock.' The severe weather warnings are now over in Baltimore, but officials are saying Baltimore residents should remain cautious. 'Just be very careful in this area. We have a lot of down trees, a lot of downed wires, a lot of standing water, so we are encouraging people not to drive through it and really just exercising caution over the next few hours,' said Jacqueline Cotei, representative of Howard County Fire and Rescue. | Residents have sent in videos and images of funnel clouds near the bay, and images of damage in western Woodbine, Maryland . |
146,124 | 48f4c86d1ebba6fca56351add5487182949baad2 | (CNN) -- Despite the Chinese leadership's austerity measures and recent reports of weak profits from Chinese car makers, the country's biggest car show opened today to much buzz. More than a thousand vehicles are being showcased at the ten-day-long "Auto China 2014" Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. Throngs of auto journalists crowded around shiny new supercars, luxury sedans and green vehicles during the media preview on Sunday. International automakers flew in their top brass for the occasion, pushing the newest and best models to Chinese customers. According to a McKinsey report, China may overtake the United States as the largest premium car market as early as 2016. International car giants are looking to cash in on the lucrative but highly competitive market. Industry leaders such as Rolls-Royce are hoping to secure their future with China's moneyed customers. They will open three new dealerships in the country this year. "China is now one of our leading markets together with the U.S.," says CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos who was in Beijing to unveil two new models. "In 2013, one out of four cars manufactured in Goodwood (Rolls-Royce's bespoke design studio) came to China." Beijing was chosen for the world premiere of the Pinnacle Travel Phantom, the latest edition of the brand's flagship customizable luxury sedan, as well as a Phantom from the Majestic Horse Collection, a limited edition range inspired by the Lunar Year of the Horse. Ultra-luxe automakers Bugatti, known for their elite sports cars, also held the world premiere for the new version of the Bugatti Veyron Type 18 "Black Bess." A legendary pre-war model that was one of the first supercars in the world, the updated version is on the market for $3.61 million. Only three will be made. Although the exhibition venue at the new China International Exhibition Center is far from the city center, police estimate that the Beijing Auto Show will attract an average of 120,000 visitors every day. | World's top car makers flock to Beijing Auto Show despite austerity measures by Chinese leadership .
China to become world's largest premium car market by 2016 .
New cars from Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz and more . |
203,325 | 9334546e85e1266995c1539fdf9eee09ffd80b47 | (CNN) -- This Christmas season the classic film most of us will watch on our televisions is Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life." With good reason: It's the perfect feel-good Christmas movie. In celebrating the quiet good works that Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey has done in running his family's savings and loan bank for the benefit of the residents of Bedford Falls, "It's a Wonderful Life" tells the story of American modesty at its best. But the movie we ought to be watching this Christmas season is another 1946 classic, William Wyler's "The Best Years of Our Lives." With a script by playwright Robert E. Sherwood, who also was a speechwriter for President Franklin Roosevelt, "The Best Years of Our Lives" tells the story of the difficulties three World War II veterans overcome on returning to their peacetime lives in the fictional Midwestern town of Boone City. What makes the Academy Award-winning "Best Years of Our Lives" so relevant are the problems today's veterans -- now coming home in increased numbers with the end of the Iraq war -- are having finding a place in civilian life. Veterans in the 20-24 age bracket have an unemployment rate of nearly 30%, more than double the 14.5% unemployment rate of nonveterans in the same age group, and veterans of all ages have an unemployment rate of 11.8% compared with the civilian unemployment rate of nearly 9%. Equally alarming are the mental health figures for today's returning vets. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, veterans account for about one in five of the more than 30,000 suicides committed annually in the United States, and the problem is only getting worse. This year 10,000 combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder entered Veterans Affairs hospitals every three months, pushing the number of vets ill with PTSD to 200,000, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. "The Best Years of Our Lives" does not present us with a programmatic answer for how to help returning vets. Wyler does not even mention the GI Bill of Rights, which eventually made it possible for 4.3 million vets to purchase homes at low interest rates and for 2.2 million vets to attend college. But what "The Best Years of Our Lives" does emphasize is that for those who fight them, our wars continue long after they officially end. In "the Best Years of Our Lives," Al Stephenson, a banker played by Fredric March, is the best off of the three vets, but only because of the patience of his wife can Al settle back into the routine of office work. Fred Derry, an Air Force bomber captain played by 1940s leading man Dana Andrews, discovers his wife has been unfaithful to him, and gets back on his feet only because he persuades a compassionate local businessman to give him a job turning old B-17 bombers into scrap that can be used for building houses. And Homer Parrish, a sailor played by real-life veteran Harold Russell, who lost both his hands in a World War II training accident, is able to accept the notion that he isn't a freak because the girl he left behind finally convinces him that his wounds don't repel her. The result is a series of bittersweet endings that are inseparable from the film's implicit belief that most vets can't succeed on their own when they return home. They need help. The release of "The Best Years of Our Lives" in November 1946 made it possible for Wyler to deliver his bittersweet message during America's second post-World War II Christmas season. The timing was perfect for a director whose three years of service in the U.S. Army Air Forces did not blind him to the harsh realities that followed even a "good war." The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Nicolaus Mills. | Many will watch "It's a Wonderful Life" this Christmas season, Nicolaus Mills says .
Mills: But the movie we should watch is another 1946 classic, "The Best Years of Our Lives"
Oscar-winning film shows peacetime difficulties faced by three World War II vets, he says .
Today, veterans aged 20-24 have an unemployment rate of nearly 30%, Mills says . |
40,370 | 71ea4230f74985b01e8148c9033f1faef8f0577c | HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- "The Earth is just too small," sighed South African adventurer Mike Horn, one of the few people on the planet who can get away with saying such a statement. Action man of climate change: Horn is hoping to inspire a new generation of leaders. During the past eight months the 43-year-old has sailed around the world twice and during a life of exploration, often living on the edge of survival, he has trekked to both poles, sailed solo across oceans and walked across almost every continent. The challenge for Horn now is to find the challenge. Even his first trek to the South Pole earlier this year, a dream he'd had childhood, left him underwhelmed. "I think it was just an overrated experience," he told CNN. "You were walking to civilization, away from the edge of Antarctica, which is completely wild, to the pole where there's an American base, airplanes landing everyday, red lights telling you if you can cross the runway or not. If I can't satisfy myself walking to the pole and back, let's try and do something else." That something else is pursuing a different type of adventure: motivating a new generation to take action to conserve the planet in the face of climate change. Using a specially designed and made 35-meter exploration boat called Pangaea, Horn is showing a lucky few parts of the world unreachable to most. Nearly a year into the four-year Pangaea Expedition, he's been more than encouraged by what he's seen in his "young explorers" selected from across the world. "I haven't been disappointed by one of them. They're not polluted by politics or money. I'm not changing their lives, they're changing them themselves. I'm just taking them to somewhere it's nearly impossible for them to go without the boat, infrastructure and my knowledge," he said. It's a knowledge he said he has gained through hard experience; he lost the tips of fingers to frost bite in the Arctic and claims to have narrowly avoided execution at the hands of militia in DR Congo. His desire to preserve nature in a changing world stems from his respect for it. "To come back alive [from an expedition], you haven't conquered nature, you've just managed to live in harmony with it. That is true competition to me. There's no start or end to it. Adventure becomes a way of living, an inner search of your knowledge," he said. View the gallery of Mike Horn's adventures » . Spirit for adventure . Horn's adventurous spirit manifested itself early. Growing up in South Africa he was given his first bike at age 8 and set off to visit his uncle, not the one 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) away, but the one nearly 300 kilometers away. While his parents encouraged him to explore, a degree in Human Movement Science and honors degree in marketing gave him a greater of a sense of the psychology of competition. Time with the South African military's Special Forces fighting in Angola gave him a harsh lesson in survival and the difference between life and death. And a wife and two children who live in Switzerland remind him not to push it too far on his solo expeditions. Now when choosing the teenagers and young adults to join his expeditions he looks for things in them he saw in himself at that age; a curiosity and enthusiasm similar to his own and that continues to keep him motivated every day. Lecturers join Pangaea's voyages to add some scientific knowledge to Horn's first-hand understanding of the world, and there are ongoing projects for the young explorers to pursue when their time on the boat is over. Yet it is action, not words, that defines Horn. "I think it's time to act more than anything else. Why discuss global warming and what are we going to do, if we can basically go out and do it?" he said. "I don't believe in global warming as such, I believe more in the climate and seasons changing. I'm not a specialist, I'm an adventurer, but maybe I've seen things that other people haven't seen that leads to what I think is a change in climate," he said . "On the North Pole where before there was three to four meters of ice, today the ice breaks up, seals come through and polar bears can hunt there. When you see the big ice shelves break off around Antarctica, you think that there is something happening. I just talk about what I see." Action, not words . He's criticized the United Nations as a talking shop and says he has rebuffed advances to become affiliated with them, but has some plans to work with environmental groups, such as the World Wildlife Fund in Indonesia, in the near future. "Politics slows down a lot. Everyone should have the freedom of speech and with organizations usually you have to keep to the protocol, but there's no protocol when it comes to the world and the future of the planet," he said. He's equally tired of adventures or projects that just raise awareness of climate change. "We have to have a different approach, not that the one I have is completely right, but an approach where you have to build a boat out of plastic bottles... is that something we really must do? It's not enough to just take water samples and say the planet is warming up, or say there is plastic floating in the oceans," he said. "Pangaea" has some eco-friendly elements. As well as being able to go almost anywhere in the world's oceans, it is made from aluminum, since it is the most recyclable metal and is unpainted to reduce pollution from noxious paints usually found on ships. Part powered by solar, the crew is able to make its own water onboard and there is a plastic compactor for all the trash the boat trawls out of the oceans. Horn's single-mindedness has also secured lucrative partnerships with some big-name brands that bankroll his missions. Mercedes Benz are contracted to change Pangaea's engines every year with the most efficient model; next year they will get one with zero CO2 emissions. "It gives them something to work on and me an opportunity to stay with my philosophy. There are some [companies] that don't give a s**t; you mustn't preach to the converted. That's why it's important to get companies involved that might change their mindset." Horn is positive that he can make a difference through educating his young charges and the problems many fear are impossible to solve, can be dealt with. "I came back after the expedition around the Arctic and the North Pole and I saw 'An Inconvenient Truth' and I thought, 'It's not that bad.' The world is still a beautiful place. Let's conserve that beauty and teach [the younger generation] how to conserve it." | Explorer Mike Horn aims to encourage new generation to take action on conservation .
His Pangaea Expedition takes 'young explorers' around the world .
Horn has circumnavigated the world and been to both poles .
"I'm not a specialist, I'm an adventurer, but maybe I've seen things others haven't" |
174,319 | 6d9d65488bd4bfa31cbda6487f2abf1beff364fd | By . Rachel Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 12:21 EST, 24 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:07 EST, 24 July 2013 . Astonishing photographs taken by a French photograph have created the illusion that a cargo of air passengers are off to a very exotic location... the Moon. Photographer Sebastien Lebrigand, 38, took the striking shots as he walked alone under the night sky. Mr Lebrigand, a father-of-two, said the aeroplanes looked 'so close' to the Moon as the Airberlin and Condor planes flew from the Balearic Islands, in Spain, to Germany. Photographer Sebastien Lebrigand, 38, took these striking shots as he walked alone under the night sky. Mr Lebrigand, a father-of-two, said the aeroplanes looked 'so close' to the moon as they flew from Spain to Germany . Mr Lebrigand, an electrician's mate, said: 'It was a still night and the Moon was rising, almost full. 'I find it fascinating that the planes appear so close to the Moon, but yet so far - much like we are on earth, in relation to the rest of the Universe. 'To me, pictures are beautiful when they are unusual, and these are no different.' He captured the images near his home in Crepy-en-Valois, near Paris in France, using a special lens designed for astrophotography. Mr Lebrigand, an electrician's mate, said: 'It was a still night and the moon was rising, almost full. I find it fascinating that the planes appear so close to the Moon, but yet so far - much like we are on Earth, in relation to the rest of the Universe' Mr Lebrigand got his camera out near his home in Crepy-en-valois, near Paris, France to take the images with a special lens for astrophotography . He said: 'What I've managed to capture is more or less what one would see with a telescope.' He used a Canon EOS 500D and an i-Nova EDTF 102 Triplet optical instrument. Mr Lebrigand added: 'These photos are unusual and difficult to make but I enjoy it as I am a devoted observer of the sky. 'It fascinates me. As I watched the planes, I thought about all the different people on board, flying all those miles above earth.' The photos show Airberlin and Condor planes. Mr Lebrigand used a Canon EOS 500D and an i-Nova EDTF 102 Triplet optical instrument to capture the astonishing images . | Sebastien Lebrigand, 38, took the shots as he walked alone one night .
Photos show Airberlin and Condor planes on way to Germany from Spain .
He captured the images near his home in Crepy-en-Valois, near Paris in France, using a special lens for designed for astrophotography .
Mr Lebrigand said: 'Planes appear so close to the Moon, but yet so far - much like we are on earth, in relation to the rest of the Universe' |
23,195 | 41cff80e0c5fa53f38a914e7ad9fe65e98def81d | By . David Mccormack . A 27-year-old man accused of hiding in a teenage girl’s closet for five days and sexually assaulting her has been arrested. Jarred Workman of Albemarle, North Carolina, turned himself in to deputies on Monday after more than two weeks on the run. Workman has been charged with 11 counts of statutory rape and five counts of statutory sex offense. His victim was a 14-year-old girl. Scroll down for video . Jarred Workman of Albemarle, North Carolina, has been charged with 11 counts of statutory rape and five counts of statutory sex offense . In the closet: The girl¿s mother discovered Workman when she went to put some of her daughter's belongings in the closet . According to deputies, Workman lived in his victim’s closet from April 27 until May 2. The girl’s mother discovered him when she went to put some of her daughter’s belongings in the closet. ‘I was sorta shocked more than anything. I asked him who he was and he said Jarred Workman and he was 19,’ the mother, who asked not to be identified, told WSOCTV. Workman then ran off leaving his wallet and cell phone behind. The girl told police that she and Workman had started speaking online about a month before they met in person. They arranged to meet near her parents’ house in northern Iredell County in late April. The girl then invited the man into the house and that is when he started to sexually assault her, investigators said. Workman of Albemarle, North Carolina, turned himself in to deputies on Monday after more than two weeks on the run . ‘Just the fact that he would be that brazen. To come up here and meet a girl online and then stay in her residence not knowing what her parents are or what they are about,’ said Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Bill Hamby. After interviewing the girl, deputies put out a warrant for Workman's arrest. 'I'm uncomfortable in my own home. I'm scared. I can't sleep at night,' the teenager’s mother said. She wants other parents to know the importance of monitoring their children's online activity. 'The internet has just ruined that poor girl. She was just taken advantage of,' she said. Investigators said Workman has a handful of prior arrests and faces charges in another sexual assault case. Video: Man accused of sexually assaulting girl lived in her closet . | Jarred Workman, 27, is facing 11 counts of statutory rape and five counts of statutory sex offense .
He met his victim online and after a month of chatting she agreed to meet him in person .
The 14-year-old girl's mom found Workman when she went to put some of her daughter's clothes in the closet .
Workman ran off, but left his wallet and cell phone and after two weeks on the run he turned himself in to deputies in North Carolina on Monday . |
251,346 | d15340ff8357f2c96afb3733051f79dd14ffc33f | Established in 2007 following the Red Mosque siege, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, is now a prominent actor in that country's politics. It is a diverse umbrella group uniting some 30 militant groups across the Kyber-Pasktunskwa and other tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. It is estimated that there are some 30,000 TTP operatives. Each of these groups aims to establish local spheres of Sharia law, impose a particular restrictive vision of Islamic living, and resist federal governance in the region. They also collectively condemn Pakistani support for the United States in the "war against terror." It is worth remembering that the TTP movement initially enjoyed some local support in the region before their violent methods began to alienate the population. In Swat, the TTP targeted landowners and gave local peasants greater access to vacated land and gemstones mines, which, through profit-sharing agreements, also afforded the movement a new revenue stream. The TTP message of religiously derived, quickly administered justice independent of the slow and arguably corrupt court system seemed to resonate with locals. However TTP violence over the years should not be underestimated. A report by the Pakistan Peace Institute reveals that last year in the Khyber-Pashtunwakha alone 476 attacks were carried out by the TTP and associated groups, leaving 572 civilians dead (along with 115 security personnel) and injured another 1,529 (including 216 security personnel). The majority of those affected are the civilian poor. Some have criticised Pakistan for not addressing the TTP and other militant groups sooner, or not taking the threat they pose seriously enough. Jihadi 'tourist resort' The delay by the military and police in tackling these groups was because they were not considered a substantive threat to the Pakistani state as a whole -- little is considered as great a threat to the existence of Pakistan as India and militants have been used as "proxy warriors" in that fight. Pakistani novelist Mohammad Hanif said the practice has turned the country into "an international jihadi tourist resort." Rather they were seen as misguided individuals dedicated to helping the good cause in Afghanistan or dismissed as a local rebellion. Nevertheless since 2009, there have been annual military offensives against the TTP and affiliates, leading to thousands of internally displaced people, collateral damage and a few militant deaths. This year, the Pakistani state relied more on airstrikes than in previous years, leading to claims of higher than ever civilian casualty rates, but also greater the usual number of TTP combatant deaths. Following these operations, the TTP have been widely predicted to fall: military jets had successfully bombed TTP hideouts, doctrinal splits over "non-Islamic practices" seemed to paralyze them, in September parts of the TTP had announced a ceasefire and renounced violence, and a high turnover of leadership positions (the current spokesperson only being in place for a few weeks) leading to uncertainty among TTP foot soldiers and rumors of desertion. Another revenge attack . Tuesday's school attack can be seen as another act of revenge, as the TTP spokesman said: "We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females ... We want them to feel the pain." Thus TTP violence cannot be divorced from the violence carried out by the state and state agencies in Pakistan against civilians in countless military operations, through police brutality, curfews, drone strikes and extrajudicial "disappearances." We should not be surprised by the spike in violence now. As is typical of splintering militant groups and of those facing increased external pressure, the frequency, scale, and scope, of TTP violence has increased as the new leadership seeks to assert its authority and demonstrate strength to external audiences. The dramatic attack on the military school this December follows on the attack in the summer on Karachi airport, the bombing of a flag ceremony on the border with India, and in 2013 they carried out a daring jailbreak in Dera Ismali Khan, resulting in 35 "high value" militants escaping (along with 240 other prisoners). The group also, infamously, targeted the Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who had campaigned for girls education in Pakistan. Schools, especially girls' schools, are a frequent target of the TTP. The targeting of a school this week -- especially one where most of the students are children of military personnel -- is not just about gaining shock and awe but a continuation of its campaign to violently target those who challenge its moral order. More than a thousand schools have been destroyed by Islamist militants from one faction or another in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the past five years. Schools symbolize government authority and are seen as un-Islamic. Pure Islamic order . The TTP -- convinced of the possibility of a pure perfect Islamic order -- seeks to exclude from public politics and from the public spaces those that are "unperfectable:" women, homosexuals and the unrighteous who support infidels. The TTP target public spaces that distract from their vision of the perfect life: shrines, barber shops, Eid prayer congregations, market squares, music shops, political rallies, and schools. This attack near Peshawar is a reminder that the military, and wider Pakistan, are not exempt from this desired order. Therefore revenge and demonstrations of strength are only a partial explanation of this attack. It also reflects their broader aim to confine politics to a restricted group of people ("righteous males"), a limited range of activities (excluding fine arts and public expressions of merriment), and a severely constrained public space. Pakistan is a resilient country, surviving one crisis after another. It is culturally rich, with a vibrant tradition of public politics and plurality. From the kite flying festival to Eid prayer congregations, from dancing girls to worship at Sufi shrines, Pakistani's expressions of joy and togetherness are excellent enactments of Pakistan. The best antidote to the TTP would be to embrace this side of Pakistan. If people hide behind closed doors, remain uneducated, the TTP's ideal of a restricted politics and an empty public sphere will become reality. | Taliban condemn Pakistani support for the United States .
TTP movement initially enjoyed some local support in restive region bordering Afghanistan .
Taliban violence has increased as the new leadership seeks to assert its authority .
Pakistan must defend its vibrant tradition of public politics and plurality, says analyst . |
204,395 | 949f38e080c2850ef283bc4a957421b602bbfc95 | By . Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 15:12 EST, 25 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:12 EST, 25 April 2012 . A tenured sociology professor from North Carolina is fighting to keep her job after she was placed on administrative leave for showing students a film about pornography and discussing racism in sports. According to the New York Daily News, Jammie Price, a professor at Appalachian State University (ASU), was put on leave on March 16 after four of her students complained that she showed a documentary about porn called 'The Price of Pleasure' without prior warning. Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs Tony Carey said in a letter that other students complained that Price claimed that African-American athletes at the school are getting preferential treatment, called ASU 'racist,' and discussed her own political views, the Watauga Democrat reported. Booted: Jammie Price, a sociology professor at Appalachian State University, was put on leave for showing her students a documentary about porn and discussing race . Price, however, accused the school where she has worked for eight years of violating her academic freedom. She also said that she is being punished for challenging the male-dominated power structure at Appalachian State. 'I think all this happened because I threatened those that are truly in power at Appalachian State,' Price told the Watauga Democrat. The Chronicle of Higher Education . reports that Price has hired a lawyer and filed a sex-discrimination . complaint against ASU through the Equal Employment Opportunity . Commission. High price: Four students in professor Jammie Price's sociology class complained that she showed them the 'The Price of Pleasure' without prior warning . Price says she has been banned from entering the College of Arts and Sciences, and barred from discussing her case with students or colleagues. Price said she is receiving support from groups like the American Association of University Professors, the American Sociological Association and other organizations. On Wednesday morning, Price presented a petition with 364 signatures to the vice provost, demanding her immediate reinstatement. Neither Price nor the school administrators commented on the petition or the professor's future at the university. | Four students in Jammie Price's class complained about content of the documentary .
Other students claimed she called Appalachian State University 'racist'
Price submitted a petition with 364 signatures asking to be reinstated . |
283,515 | fb414092217f5287ce1bb04306db967fbfd6a734 | By . Mia De Graaf . PUBLISHED: . 14:40 EST, 16 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 14:43 EST, 16 March 2014 . Most newlyweds whisk themselves away to a beach, or retreat to a luxurious hotel room. But Kat and Steve Turner took a slightly different approach. After tying the knot, they embarked on a two-year honeymoon, riding 20,000 miles around the globe on a tandem. Newlyweds Kat and Steve Turner flew to Bigbury Bay, New Zealand, for their wedding reception in August 2011. Today they cycled into Plymouth, 674 days after setting off on their trusty tandem bike, Hooch . Glowing: Newly-married and basking in Australia's baking summer sun, they pull in to Daly Waters . The couple, from London, set off from New Zealand in April 2012 and have spent 674 days pedalling the same bike home across three continents. Amazingly Mrs Turner, 32, had never even ridden a bike before they took on the challenge with trusty tandem Hooch. Yesterday, the intrepid couple finally set foot on British soil after travelling through rainforests, deserts, floods and even earthquakes. Their journey took them through New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France. Home sweet home: Kat in a communal living area in Bishkek Garden called Nomad's Home in Kyrgyzstan . They crossed three continents during their two-year honeymoon. Here they have arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam . Starting out: Steve beams as they reach Malaysia's Perlis State Park just weeks into their trip . They were met by applauding family and friends as they arrived in a ferry at Plymouth docks in Devon. Waiting for them on the dockside, Mr Turner's dad, Ian, said: 'When they left I only gave them one piece of advice and that was to make sure they came home together - even if the trip only lasted two weeks. 'As it happens they have stuck at the challenge for two years, cycling through deserts and rainforests, cities and empty roads, surviving harsh weather, stray dogs, floods and even earthquakes. Steve takes a break as they reach Java, Indonesia (left). They spent the entire time in a tiny two-man tent . Kat, 32, from London, had never ridden a bike before they set off, leaving well-paid jobs behind them . They cycled through deserts, rainforests, cities and floods. Left, they are in Urumqi, China. Right, in Istanbul . 'Their journey has been full of . adventure and along the way they have encountered hospitality and . kindness from so many different people. 'They have a terrific story to tell. We are all in awe of both Kat and Steve and massively excited to see them.' The pair left behind well-paid jobs as a teacher and Parliamentary caseworker before leaving their pets and home in Forest Hill, south east London. Their mammoth 30,500km route, raising money for development charity Practical Action, saw them climbing a total elevation of 249,365m - the equivalent of Everest 28 times - and complete a gruelling 1,585 of actual pedalling. The couple, here with Hasan who guided them through Tashkent, climbed the equivalent of 28 Everests . Their second-last stop was a country-wide tour of Italy. Here, Kat enjoys the view over Pozzuoli . Steve enjoyed a pizza in Georgia, months before they reached Italy, where they visited Solfatara Volcano . Mr Turner, 34, suffered a terrible . episode of heat exhaustion in Cambodia and Kat fractured her knee-cap . after they hit a railway track in the Australian Outback. They . were in the eastern Chinese town of Dingxi when an earthquake hit, . killing 95 people in July last year, and were regularly challenged by . officials in the strict country. Speaking during the trip, Steve said Kyrgyzstan was the highlight. The teacher said: 'It was a great experience because we didn't know what to expect as we'd never heard of it before and couldn't even spell it. Today, they were welcomed home by family and friends as they carted into Plymouth, bronzed and exhausted . 'The mountains were stunning, the nomadic people on horseback were friendly, it was interesting to see yurts being packed up for the winter and we spent peaceful nights camping under the stars. 'The sight of us two on our huge tandem and trailer makes people laugh. People are excited to talk to us about our trip. 'We've been completely taken aback by the many acts of kindness we have received, from being handed a chocolate bar or cold drink out of the window of a passing vehicle, to being warmly welcomed into the homes of strangers and fed wonderful meals.' | Kat and Steve Turner set off from New Zealand in April 2012 after wedding .
Crossed three continents in 674 days - though Kat had never ridden a bike .
Climbed total elevation of 250,000m, the equivalent of Mt Everest 28 times .
Arrived in Plymouth on tandem named Hooch today to family and friends . |
147,796 | 4b1d35ff745fe26032ddcc99ff86812b3ad9a28a | By . Damien Gayle . A teenager survived being shot twice and thrown in a canal by her family for marrying the man she loved, police in Pakistan said. Saba Maqsood was attacked by her father, uncle, brother and aunt before she was tossed into the canal, said Ali Akbar, a spokesman for police in Hafizabad, Punjab province. It comes just a week-and-a-half after the broad daylight 'honour killing' of another woman in a city centre drew worldwide condemnation. Scroll down for video . Victim: Saba Maqsood, 18, sits in a hospital bed in Punjab province. She was shot and thrown in a canal for marrying a man she loved . Survivor: Police said Saba received terrible injuries after she was shot twice in the face and hand . Mr Akbar told Reuters that the most recent case was also 'an honour-related incident'. 'The victim, Saba ... married her neighbour Muhammad Qaiser for love five days ago against the wishes of her family,' he said. 'They took her to Hafizabad, shot her twice and threw her in the canal after putting her in a sack, presuming that she was dead.' Mr Akbar said Ms Maqsood was wounded in her cheek and her right hand. Her relatives fled the scene, he said, and after minutes in the water she regained consciousness and struggled to the bank, where passers-by helped her. Ms Maqsood was wounded in her cheek and her right hand, said a police spokesman. Her relatives fled the scene, he said, and after minutes in the water she regained consciousness and struggled to the bank . 'I was tortured and shot by my father, brother, uncle and his wife': Police spokesman Ali Akbar said he had recorded a statement from Ms Maqsood in which she blamed her family for the attack . 'She is a brave girl. She came out of the canal and approached a nearby fuel station from where a rescue team rushed her to hospital,' he said. Many conservative Pakistani families believe it is dishonourable for a woman to fall in love and choose her own husband. Women from such families are expected to agree to arranged marriages. Refusal can lead to honour killings. Last month a Pakistani woman called Farzana Iqbal was attacked and killed by suspected family members because she had married the man she loved. Death before dishonour: Police collect evidence near the body of Farzana Iqbal, who was stoned to death by her relatives in another suspected honour killing near the Lahore High Court building in Lahore on May 27 . The case drew intense global attention, including condemnation from the United Nations, in part because it the killing was so brazen. It happened in the centre of the city of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital. But many other incidents remain unreported. In 2013, 869 such cases were reported in the media, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, but the true figure is believed to be higher. Mr Akbar said he had recorded a statement from Ms Maqsood in which she blamed her family for the attack. 'I was tortured and shot by my father Maqsood Ahmad, brother Faisal Maqsood, uncle Ashfaq Ahmad and his wife Sajida Bibi,' he quoted her as saying. Mr Akbar added: 'Her condition is out of danger and we have registered a case against her family on her complaint.' Police had raided her father's home in the nearby city of Gujranwala but all the suspects had disappeared, he said. | Saba Maqsood, 18, was attacked by her father, uncle, brother and aunt .
She managed to struggle to the canal bank where she was helped .
It comes just a week after a broad daylight honour killing in Lahore . |
203,461 | 936135dfd7d4f867e53b2a946b1f31cee878b578 | (CNN) -- Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa, known as "the voice of Latin America" for her songs about the plight of the poor, died Sunday, according to an announcement on her Web site. She was 74. Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa died at a Buenos Aires clinic and had reportedly suffered from several ailments. "On this day, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, we must inform you that Mrs. Mercedes Sosa, one of the greatest artists of Latin American popular music, has left us," the Web site said. Sosa died at a Buenos Aires clinic, and had suffered from liver, kidney and heart ailments, the Washington Post reported. Born on July 9, 1935, in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, Sosa produced 40 albums during her musical career, and performed at places such as the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican and New York's Carnegie Hall. She also served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for Latin America. "Her voice always carried a profound message of social engagement through folk-roots music, without prejudice," according to the Web site. She formed part of the New Song movement in Latin America, which combined folk song traditions with contemporary music that often featured political messages in its lyrics. When a military junta took over Argentina in 1976, many of her albums were banned, and Sosa left in exile to Paris, France, and Madrid, Spain. She returned to her homeland in 1982. Sosa won various Latin Grammy awards. Her most recent nomination came last year for her latest album, "Cantora 1." She was known throughout Latin America and Europe, with one of her most popular songs titled "Gracias a la Vida," the Web site said. "Her undeniable talent, her honesty and her deep convictions left a tremendous legacy for future generations. Admired and respected throughout the world, Mercedes is recognized as a symbol of our cultural heritage that will represent us forever," the Web site said. "She lived her 74 years to the fullest," Sosa's son, Fabian Matus, said. "She had done practically everything she wanted, she didn't have any type of barrier or any type of fear that limited her." A viewing was to be held Sunday afternoon at the Salon de los Pasos Perdidos in the Congress of the Nation in Buenos Aires, according to Sosa's Web site. CNN en Español's Javier Doberti contributed to this report. | Singer Mercedes Sosa "lived her 74 years to the fullest," her son says .
She had suffered from liver, kidney and heart ailments, Washington Post reports .
"Her voice always carried a profound message of social engagement," her site says .
Viewing to be held Sunday at the Congress of the Nation in Buenos Aires . |
182,978 | 78f8b926209605a7eda600de758ff4cb424d9d21 | Walkers at the top of a Japanese volcano were forced to run for their lives after it started to erupt without warning yesterday, sending a cloud of ash and rock streaming down the mountainside. Within seconds, the cloud covered an area more than two miles wide from the summit of Mount Ontake with witnesses claiming that visibility was reduced to zero. Seven people are missing since yesterday's eruption which seriously injured 32 people with seven of those losing consciousness. Some 250 hikers were forced to run for their lives after Mount Ontake erupted yesterday lunchtime without any prior warning, covering the area in rock and ash . Seconds after the image left, visibility was reduced to almost zero as the walkers were engulfed in a cloud of volcanic dust and rock, right . The ash cloud spread out immediately in every direction shooting thousands of feet into the sky before covering a two square mile area in dense, choking dust . Rescuers believe that at least 40 people are stranded near the 3,067 metre summit of Mount Ontake due to the lingering ash cloud. Sohei Hanamura, crisis management official in the Nagano prefecture which controls the area said police, fire, and military rescue workers can only ascend the mountain on foot as it is too dangerous to deploy helicopters to the area. Rescuers fear that the helicopters would suffer catastrophic engine damage if they ingested the highly abrasive volcanic dust. The 3,067 metre mountain is 125 miles west of Tokyo and has already forced airlines to divert aircraft from the area. One of the hikers was filming the mountain at the time of the eruption and captured some of the terrified walkers as they fled for their lives. Only a matter of seconds after hearing the noise, the cloud of abrasive dust closes in on them, blocking out the day light. As the cloud struck, the person holding the camera is forced to turn away from the onrushing dust and dive to the ground in order to breathe. More than 250 people were on the mountain when the volcano started to erupt yesterday lunchtime forcing walkers to improvise protective masks . Those near the bottom of the mountain were able to continue downwards, but an estimated 40 of those near the summit were stranded with seven reported missing . The camera shows that instantly every exposed area in the mountain top is soon covered in the dust and people can be heard coughing and spluttering. Mikio Oguro, an NHK journalist who was on the slope on an unrelated assignment, told the station that he saw massive smoke coming out of the crater, blocking sunlight and reducing visibility to zero. He said: 'Massive ash suddenly fell and the entire area was totally covered with ash," he said by phone. He and his crew had to use headlights to find a lodge to take refuge. 'My colleagues later told me that they thought they might die.' Rescuers said that 32 people were seriously injured while seven of those were rendered unconscious with a further seven reported missing since yesterday . Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has instructed the military to launch a rescue operation to escort the stranded walkers to safety in case the situation deteriorates . Mount Ontake, pictured, began erupting round noon on Friday spewing rocks and ash over a two-mile radius of the mountain's summit . Japan's meteorological agency raised the alert level for Mount Ontake to three on a scale of one to five. It warned people to stay away from the mountain, saying ash and other debris could fall up to 2.5 miles away. One eyewitness told Japanese TV channel NHK: 'It was like thunder. I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark.' So far there has been no sign of any lava in the volcano, which last erupted in 2007, but scientists are monitoring the situation closely. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe returned earlier today from a visit to the US. He has instructed the military to begin rescuing the stranded hikers and remove them from the area in case the situation deteriorates further. Mr Abe said: 'Nearly 200 people are in the process of descending the mountain, but we are still trying to figure out details. I instructed to do all we can to rescue the people affected and secure the safety of the trekkers. Nagano police sent a team of 80 to the mountain to assist the climbers who were making their way down, while Kiso Prefectural Hospital, near the mountain, said it had dispatched a medical emergency team. The 3,067 metre Mount Ontake is about 120 miles west of Tokyo and is popular with hikers and adventurous tourists looking for a walking holiday . Walkers in the area were forced to improvise to protect themselves from the volcanic ash which was falling from the sky following yesterday's eruption . A TV crew working in the area at the time of an unrelated story thought they were going to be killed when the ash and rocks began falling from the sky . A hospital official said: 'We expect a lot of injured people so we are now getting ready for their arrival.' More than five hours after the initial eruption, the thick ash cloud showed no signs of abating, NHK TV showed. Mari Tezuka, who works at a mountain rescue hut on the mountain said: It's all white outside, looks like it has snowed. There is very bad visibility and we can't see the top of the mountain, . 'All we can do now is shut up the hut and then we are planning on coming down... This is a busy season because of the changing autumn leaves. It's one of our busiest seasons.' Scientists said there has not been any lava seen yet during this most recent event although Mount Ontake last erupted back in 2007 . Mount Ontake is 120 miles west of Tokyo although so far flights in and out of the city have not been affected by the eruption although local flight restrictions are in place . Poisonous gases and ash are being pumped thousands of feet into the sky as the volcano threatens to explode for the first time in almost a decade . | Mount Ontake started erupting at lunchtime on Friday spewing out small rock and ash over a two-mile wide area .
Rescuers said that 32 people were seriously injured, seven of those were rendered unconscious by the fumes .
The volcano is 120 miles west of Tokyo but has not yet caused any disruption to flights in and out of the city .
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed the military to rescue the 40 stranded hikers from the area .
Seven people are reported missing as rescuers struggle to ascend the 3,067 metre mountain . |
223,241 | ad0096949dfa93ce5367c992a568e15e3b5157b2 | Build a cubby house in the lounge room, pitch a tent in the backyard, fall asleep together and enjoy some story time - these are some of the family activities on the bucket list created by the devastated parents of a three-month-old who might not live to see her 1st birthday. Kim Fulko Lim, 29, and his wife Renee, 28, are determined to tick their way through as much of the list as possible before their time with little Maddison, who was diagnosed with a rare brain condition, runs out. The couple from Camden in New South Wales, had no idea of the emotional struggle they would come to endure during what they described as a regular and healthy pregnancy. Kim and Renee Fulko Lim's daughter Maddison has been diagnosed with a rare brain condition that wont see her live past her first birthday . 'With this condition Maddison will never reach any milestones. She will never smile, never sit, never support her own head, never eat solids, never talk and the list goes on. This condition is aggressive,' the explained . 'It was all normal leading up to the labour and then when Renee gave birth, Maddison was a bit flat - she was unresponsive at first. Then they whisked her away to be resuscitated and check on her and then she finally came to,' Mr Fulko Lim told Daily Mail Australia of the couple's first indication that there was a problem. A midwife later noticed that the baby had a strange breathing pattern and at less than two-weeks-old, Maddison was put through blood tests, ultrasounds, EEGs, a lumber puncture and finally an MRI which led her to be diagnosed with Pontocerellbar Hypoplasia Type 6. The condition is extremely rare, with only 16 cases around the world. Maddison presented the first ever case of the illness in Australia. 'The paediatrician told us that the size of her brain - it's under-grown. The parts that are underdeveloped are parts of the central nervous system that allows us to move, talk, walk and look around,' Mr Fulko Lim said. The now three-month-old spent her first few weeks of life undergoing blood tests, ultrasounds, EEGs, a lumber puncture and finally an MRI, which led her to be diagnosed with Pontocerellbar Hypoplasia Type 6 . The couple are determined to spend as much time with their daughter as possible and have begun checking off points on a bucket list of family activities they always imagined themselves doing as a family . 'All those cognitive and motor skills on Maddison aren't there due to that part of the brain being underdeveloped. 'With this condition Maddison will never reach any milestones. She will never smile, never sit, never support her own head, never eat solids, never talk and the list goes on. This condition is aggressive and will shorten baby Maddy's life to approximately one year.' When asked if he could remember how he felt when he was told of his child's fate, Mr Fulko Lim said: 'I can remember it clear as day - I was just shell shocked. 'There are no words to describe it. Our life had just been turned upside down.' Part of the bucket list included a family holiday to Queensland, where they took this photo in Movie World . A family trip to Sydney's Taronga Zoo was also on the list, where they met giraffes and koalas . 'We want to take her fishing, camping, get a celebrity photo with Kyle and Jackie O, pitch up a tent in the backyard, build a cubby house in the lounge room, fall asleep together, have story time - nothing extravagant' But the family's heartache doesn't stop there, as they must also watch Maddison suffer through multiple seizures each day. 'The seizures happen because the parts of the brain that are underdeveloped are trying to send messages, but they're being shortened and not transmitting. If it hasn't got the right parts, it won't communicate so they have seizures,' , Mr Fulko Lim said. 'They happen every time she's awake and even when she's asleep, on and off, on and off about 10 or 12 times. 'It's sad. Seeing that it hurts her, that's when it hurts us.' Kim and Renee also have to help Maddison through the multiple seizures she endures each day . Christmas as a family: Maddison's condition is extremely rare, with only 16 cases around the world. She is the first ever case in Australia . The family are now reaching out the public for donations so that they can spend each of Maddison's remaining days with her. They have so far reached an overwhelming $27,000 in support since sharing their story three days ago. 'If heaven forbid something happened sooner rather than later – I'll be regretting [not spending time with her] for the rest of my life,' Mr Fulko Lim said. Since starting their bucket list, the family have fulfilled a number of checkpoints including a plane trip, going on a family holiday, a visit to the zoo and plenty of pictures along the way. 'They are all just little things we wanted to do as a family and we now have to cram it in in a short time,' Mr Fulko Lim said. The family are now reaching out the public for donations so that they can spend each of Maddison's remaining days with her and have so far reached an overwhelming $27,000 in support since sharing their story three days ago . 'We're still going through the motions, but this isn't the hard part – it's the easiest part. Just her face and her presence is keeping us going,' Mr Fulko Lim said . 'We want to take her fishing, camping, get a celebrity photo with Kyle and Jackie O, pitch up a tent in the backyard, build a cubby house in the lounge room, fall asleep together, have story time -nothing extravagant. 'If we can, we want to visit family and friends in other states so that she can meet them too. We just have to live out what we can and make the best of what we have.' 'To people in similar situations: I would suggest to love your child and make the most of it. Mourn them afterwards because if time with them is short, you don't want to be sad while they're here - it doesn't make things any easier. 'We're still going through the motions, but this isn't the hard part – it's the easiest part. Just her face and her presence is keeping us going.' To help Kim and Renee, please visit their fundraising page here. | Maddison Fulko Lim was diagnosed with Pontocerellbar Hypoplasia Type 6, a rare and aggressive brain condition .
It means she will never reach any milestones. She will never smile, sit, support her own head, or talk and suffers multiple seizures daily .
Her devastated parents are desperate to spend as much time with her before she dies as possible and experience all the family activities they imagined .
Their fundraising page, set up to help them stay financially stable during the emotionally difficult time, has raised over $27,000 in three days . |
244,224 | c8179771e54eda8677c61302162bf371d905ff97 | (CNN) -- Big company. Big salary. Big sendoff. Jason Shellen says he left Google because the chance to build something new "outweighed the need for stability." That's the formula millions of American workers used for years to map their career trajectory. Conventional wisdom advised workers to land a job with a big company and retire with generous benefits. But there's a new breed of worker who is making that formula seem as quaint as a VHS tape. They are the ultimate risk-takers -- they leave large, successful companies to pursue their own dreams even though the economy is reeling. They are people like Jason Shellen, who resigned as Google's manager of new business development in 2007 to launch Plinky.com, a startup that's designed to inspire bloggers and users of social media sites. Shellen says he was getting complacent working at Google, despite the company's domination of the Web. He says he decided to leave Google despite a shaky economy because he wanted to force himself to change. "Being an entrepreneur is all about risk and innovation, not timing the market," Shellen says. "A good idea doesn't wait for the perfect time to emerge. The ability to build something new outweighed the need for stability." iReport.com: Are you striking out on your own and starting your own project at home? Why leave a sure thing? Stability, though, seems to be a rare quality in the workplace. Those who contemplate leaving the corporate cocoon can't help but pay attention to the constant news about corporate layoffs. Their challenge: Why leave a comfortable position in corporate America when there seem to be so few? Michael Rhim had to face that question. He says he was a regional vice president at TIAA-CREF, a company that provides retirement plans for nonprofit groups. He says the company had 5,000 employees, $400 billion in assets and 17,000 clients at its peak. But Rhim says he started contemplating a change because TIAA-CREF's corporate culture was changing. He started talking with a friend who ran a consulting firm, and he started paying attention to his emotions. "It was getting more difficult to get up in the morning," he says. "I wasn't enjoying my old job as much as I used to. The more I talked about the job with my new partner, the more excited I got." Rhim left TIAA-CREF in March of 2008. He is now an executive at a new company, PRM Consulting, which has 25 employees. Now he does much of his own typing. He can't take clients to fancy restaurants. He even uses recycled paper for scrap paper to save costs. Though Rhim misses the perks of a large company, he says he received a lot more in return. "There's much quick decision making," he says. "I work in a culture where we are not afraid to try new things." Shellen, who resigned from Google to start Plinky, says the large resources of a company can actually slow down the creative process. A person might want to invent a product, but small things like the name of the product end up being discussed in a committee. "You don't find that in a small company," he says. "At my new company, Plinky, we sometimes dream things up in the morning and by the afternoon have it live on the Web. That never happens at a big company." Greater freedom is also what inspired Vanessa Fox to resign from her position at Google, where she helped build Webmaster Central, one of the company's most successful projects. Today, Fox is the founder of "Jane and Robot," which helps Web site developers ensure their sites can be found by potential customers, and "Nine By Blue," which helps businesses use online data to better understand their customers. Fox says the challenge of creating something in an evolving space like the Internet was too great to pass up. "As hokey as it sounds, there's more to life than money," she says. "As much as I loved working at Google, I am really enjoying the flexibility I have now, as well as the ability to really make a difference in the direction I choose to go in." Planning your exit . Those who leave the security of corporate life should not do it without research and a plan, some say. The notion of suddenly bolting a cushy corporate dream to follow one's bliss may seem romantic. But some who've done it say those thinking about making a change should make a frank appraisal of their talents and latch onto something unique that they have to offer. Rhim, the retirement planning consultant, says he knew the IRS would soon change the retirement plans for nonprofit groups. He knew his expertise would be in demand. "I sat down and put together a three-month planning process," he says. "I knew there was going to be a market out there where firms needed additional guidance." All the careful planning, though, didn't remove his fear, Rhim says. But he discovered something remarkable. Once he committed to leaving, doors suddenly opened for him: People materialized to help him and amazing coincidences led to business opportunities. Rhim, a devout Christian, says it seemed like his leap of faith was being rewarded. "No question, it was a scary proposition," Rhim says. "But my pastor preached about when you do the right things, the Lord will bless you as he sees fit." Yet Rhim says he knew he couldn't just lean on faith. "If you realize that you have some skill sets that are valuable, you can market yourself accordingly," Rhim says. "If not, you're sitting there, waiting to see if you're going to be downsized." Rhim says he's happy with his move. He sometimes misses having the muscle of a big company behind him, but he no longer feels he's being controlled by larger forces. He may have to do his own typing now, but at least he is writing his own script, he says. "If you allow yourself to have other people continue to dictate your future," Rhim says, "you're at their mercy." | Google manager leaves during slow economy to force himself to change .
He says large resources can actually slow down the creative process .
Exec at another firm misses big firm's muscle but enjoys trying new things .
Another ex-Google worker says, "There's more to life than money" |
108,356 | 17b79ea505354342bde7bc12d64845d07625609c | Swinging might not be the obvious way to spread the word about religion but for Cristy and Dean Parave, from Florida, it is ideal. The couple, both of whom are devoted Christians, have even set up a website called FitnessSwingers.com which enables them to meet couples who, like them, are both religious and fans of keeping fit. But not everyone who asks to meet them is Christian and so the undecided and atheist are given a gentle lesson in faith along with a good time between the sheets. Scroll down for video . Spreading the word: Cristy and Dean Parave, pictured with daughter Britney (right), are fans of swinging . 'I don't think God would be mad at what we are doing,' smiles Mrs Parave, 44. 'At first I was conflicted but the more we looked at it the more it makes sense to us. 'Dean and I are both in agreement with this lifestyle, so we're not committing adultery. God put people on the earth to breed and enjoy each other - I feel God is always with me and he has put us here for a reason.' The couple met on a dating website eight years ago, after Mrs Parave, who has three children from a former marriage, Brittany, 23, Daryl, 20, and 17-year-old Rose, decided to start meeting people again following the end of her relationship. Mr Parave, a fitness instructor, had been an alcoholic and drug addict before finding Jesus following a drink-drive arrest. Enjoyable: The couple say that swinging helps them spread the word of God in addition to being enjoyable . Wife swapping: Megan Verhooks, 49, (left with Dean) and John Betts, 59 (right with Cristy) regularly join in . 'For me every day used to involve a case of beer and a bottle of Jack Daniels,' he remembers. 'After my fifth arrest for driving under the influence I begged God for help. 'I should have been looking at 10 years but the judge sentenced me to just 10 months in prison - for me that was a sign.' After he was released Mr Parave built a 40ft cross in his back yard and pledged to do the Lord's work for the rest of his life. Despite their past difficulties, the pair quickly hit it off. But it was in bed that the real fireworks took place, with the 44-year-old admitting that her first husband wasn't quite as compatible. 'I've always been adventurous when it comes to sex,' she says, candidly. 'The sex between my first husband and I was miserable. 'I was undersexed before I met Dean but now we do it twice a day. It's incredible.' Passion: Along with swinging, the couple are body-building fans and regularly take part in competitions . Keeping fit: The fitness-obsessed couple set up their website after getting fed up with regular swingers . Living clean: Mr Parave turned his life around after being jailed for 10 months for drink-driving offences . Despite their penchant for twice-a-day sex, their antics would have stayed behind closed doors, had it not been for a chance meeting in a supermarket. 'A couple approached me in Home Depot out of nowhere and asked if we were swingers,' remembers Mrs Parave. 'I was so naive I thought they were talking about swing dancing. I said, "I used to love to but my husband doesn't, I'd love to get him lessons". Afterwards we went home and looked it up online and it sounded exciting.' Inspired, Mrs Parave invited a friend over a few days later and the two women surprised her husband in the shower. 'I had a very sexually adventurous friend who knew about swinging. I asked her if she wanted to try with Dean and I,' she explains. Getting close: According to Mr Parave, having sex with someone is by far the best way to get close to them . 'Dean didn't know what was happening, he thought it was a trick and I was trying to catch him out.' Two years ago they set up their website and now travel around the US, meeting people within the swinging community. 'Both our parents know about it and they are happy for us,' adds Mrs Parave. 'When we told Brittany she was not surprised, she knows we enjoy sex a lot. 'Rose knows about the website but we are yet to sit her down and tell her what we do.' 'I turned my life around, began bodybuilding and now I try to live pure,' adds Mr Parave. 'God has put me here to spread his word and our lifestyle community is a great place to do it. 'You can't get closer to someone than having sex with them.' | Cristy and Dean Parave, from Florida, run a Christian swingers network .
They say God 'wouldn't mind' what they do because it's all for a good cause .
Cristy, 44, and Dean, 50, met through a dating website eight years ago .
The pair, who love body-building, now run a website called FitnessSwingers .
Mr Parave found religion while in prison and has a 40ft cross in his garden . |
166,750 | 63a0a9d1756e5ad1e876dcc933877bd674970530 | A puppy that disappeared more than five months ago was saved from Winter Storm Juno and is home safe and sound thanks to the efforts of a New York City firefighter. Burt, a brindle-colored whippet, went missing from his owner in August in Morningside Heights. A Fire Department of New York firefighter spotted Burt in the last three weeks near the FDNY training facility on Randall's Island and nicknamed the one-year-old dog, which he thought was a scraggly-looking greyhound, 'The Rock'. Scroll down for video . Burt (pictured) vanished about five months ago in Morningside Heights. He was rescued on Tuesday . The whippet puppy would snuggle with his owner (left) before he went missing. Burt pictured (right) after his rescue . Firefighter David Kelly displays the cage he used to catch Burt at the FDNY's Randall's Island training facility . FDNY firefighter David Kelly became worried about Burt because of the approaching snowstorm and decided to set a trap for him, even though previous efforts to catch him had failed. Kelly said: 'Every time I'd go up to him, he'd run off.' The firefighter, who had been putting out canned dog cuisine for Burt in the same spot every night, set a trap by placing food in a cage and attaching a rope to the door. His first attempt to catch Burt was a failure but Kelly was able to secure the skinny puppy in the cage on his second try. 'It was pretty tricky,' Kelly told the New York Post. 'I was going to let him eat a while, in case it didn't work, so he could at least get some food in him.' After scanning the web for pictures of missing whippets, Kelly came across the Facebook page titled 'Bring Burt Home'. He did just that after reaching out to owner Lauren Piccolo. Kelly said: 'As soon as he saw his owner, the dog started wagging his tail, licking her.' Burt is resting at home and is expected to make a full recovery thanks to the efforts of Kelly . After Burt went missing in August, his owner made posters and created the 'Bring Burt Home' Facebook page . Piccolo thanked the FDNY and Kelly for bringing her 'devilishly handsome' and 'bashful' dog back to her. 'I am tremendously grateful for the efforts of the FDNY to recover Burt,' she said in a statement released by the department. 'While Burt is a resilient dog, I don't think he would have survived such a fierce storm. 'The FDNY's efforts were incredible and timely.' Burt is resting at home and is expected to make a full recovery. Kelly said: 'They were very excited to have their dog back and the dog was even more excited. 'I don't like to see an animal or person suffering, so I was just glad to help.' | Whippet puppy Burt went missing in Morningside Heights last August .
Firefighter spotted him near a FDNY training facility on Randall's Island .
He became worried about the dog's safety as Juno approached the city .
Burt was lured into a cage using food and his owner was located online . |
50,381 | 8e8400ef986d1a615ae338203d9abb94661f0e36 | By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 10:21 EST, 5 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:21 EST, 5 December 2013 . Pope Francis is assembling a panel of experts to advise him on sex abuse in the clergy, the archbishop of Boston said today. The panel will look at how to protect children from paedophiles, how to better screen men for the priesthood and how to help victims who have already been harmed. The creation of the panel was announced today following a meeting between the Pope and his cardinal advisors and will tackle the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in recent years. Beacon of hope: Pope Francis is setting up an expert committee to investigate how to tackle sex abuse within the Catholic Church . Boston was the epicentre of the 2002 clerical sexual abuse scandal in the US and poignantly it was its archbishop, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who announced the creation of the commission. The commission will be made up of international lay and religious experts on sex abuse, and is set to study current programs to protect children, better screen priests and to train church personnel, Cardinal O'Malley said. The findings will be used to suggest new initiatives for both the Holy See to implement inside the Vatican City State and for bishops to implement around the world, he added. To date, the Vatican’s involvement in the sex abuse crisis has been largely judicial in nature, with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2001 taking over church trials for priests accused of raping and molesting children. New ground: The commission, announced by Boston's archbisop Cardinal Sean O'Malley, will be made up of international lay and religious experts on sex abuse, and is set to look at how to protect children from paedophiles, how to better screen men for the priesthood and how to help victims . Bringing change: Pope Francis, seen among an adoring crowd on Wednesday's Papal Audience in the Vatican, has been praised around the world for modernising the attitude of the Catholic Church . However, Cardinal O'Malley said he did not know whether one of the issue of how to hold bishops who shelter abusive priests . accountable would be studied by the commission. Advocates for victims of clerical abuse have long denounced the Vatican’s refusal to sanction bishops who shielded abusive priests and moved them from parish to parish rather than report them to police. ‘Quite frankly that’s something that the church needs to address,’ O’Malley said. ‘I’m not sure whether it will be this commission or the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) or the Congregation for Bishops.’ The commission was announced just days after the Vatican submitted its responses to a U.N. committee monitoring its implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Vatican dodged many of the committee’s questions about sex abuse by arguing that it is up to bishops and dioceses to implement programs to protect children, not the Holy See. | Pope Francis is creating a committee to tackle sex abuse in the clergy .
It will look at screening priests, protecting children and help victims .
The panel will have both lay experts and religious representatives . |
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