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80,973 | e57e970d538199acc4adc56fbd26c90112159efe | (CNN) -- David Villa has become the top scorer in Spanish international history after netting both goals as the world and European champions fought back from going a goal behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in Euro 2012 Group I on Friday. Barcelona striker Villa netted twice in five second half minutes in Granada to take his tally for his country to 46 goals in just 72 appearances. The 29-year-old had come into the match level with Raul on 44 goals, but the Real Madrid legend played in 102 matches to achieve his total. The match also saw Villa's Barca teammate Xavi Hernandez win his 100th cap for his country, becoming only the fourth Spaniard to achieve that feat after Raul, Andoni Zubizarreta and Iker Casillas. In amongst all the record breaking, the visiting Czechs threatened to cause an upset when taking a first half lead through Jaroslav Plasil's speculative long-range strike. But Villa levelled in the 69th minute after being put through by Andres Iniesta and he secured Spain's win from the penalty spot four minutes later after Iniesta had been fouled by Jan Rezek. The victory was Spain's 10th in a row in competitive matches following their loss to Switzerland in their opening World Cup finals match in South Africa. Vicente Del Bosque's side have a maximum 12 points from their four group matches, with the Czechs in second place six points behind. | David Villa scores both goals in Spain's 2-1 victory over Czech Republic .
The double means the Barcelona striker is now the top scorer in Spanish history .
Villa overtakes Real Madrid legend Raul and is now on 46 goals from 72 games .
Xavi Hernandez becomes only fourth player to make 100 appearances for Spain . |
67,956 | c0cfb1707eb8d0c6ce900685b468cec31d58af5b | Super blogger Tavi Gevinson took a break from her busy Broadway schedule earlier this month in order to offer fans a peek inside her Manhattan apartment. The 18-year-old, who has just finished starring in a critically-acclaimed production of This Is Our Youth on Broadway, invited fashion website The Coveteur into the Lower East Side home that she shares with close friend and photographer Petra Collins. Focusing on some of her favorite fashion pieces from her diverse and eclectic wardrobe, Tavi revealed that she has managed to collect some truly unique - and priceless - pieces over the years, including a pair of leather gold gloves gifted to her by actress Winona Ryder, who had in turn received them from style icon Audrey Hepburn. City living: Blogger turned Broadway actress Tavi Gevinson is living in Manhattan on the Lower East Side . Multi-talented: The 18-year-old writer has just finished starring in a production of This Is Our Youth alongside Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin. She is also working on the fourth edition of her annual Rookie yearbook . Then there is are the pleated lip-print skirts which she was given by designer Miuccia Prada, and the gold Chanel boots that she received as a gift from singer Stevie Nicks. Needless to say, despite her youth, Tavi is already recognized as one of fashion's most successful young writers, having written pieces for the likes of Elle and Vogue and interviewed everyone from Miley Cyrus and Alexa Chung to Emma Watson, who she now counts as a close friend. 'Lorde, Emma Watson and Sky Ferreira all opened up in ways they don’t normally in interviews and I really appreciated that,' she told The Coveteur, adding: 'I owe so much of my brain to so many people.' The teen success story first started her career while she was still in middle school, when she founded Rookie Mag, a publication aimed at young people of her own age. She admitted that she 'didn't sleep at all' during the first year after she founded the magazine and website, and confessed that it was sometimes a struggle to maintain a healthy balance between her school work - which she labeled as 'pointless' - and the pressures of keeping up to date with all of the content on the site. Fashion icon: Despite her young age, Tavi is known as one of the industry's most successful writers . Personal meaning: Tavi's apartment is full of gifts that she has received from close friends and admirers. The red shoes in this picture were given to her by Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo . Passion or obsession? The writer's passion and dedication to Rookie, which she founded while she was in middle school, is clear to see from the number of personalized knick-knacks scattered throughout her home . 'When I think back, there was truly nothing else I wanted to do,' she said. 'Like my mom suggested coming home and relaxing, and I said something like: "If I wanted to relax, I would work on Rookie."' There is evidence of her ongoing passion and devotion to Rookie scattered throughout her home - which she shares with one of the magazine's main contributors Petra Collins. Personalized jewelry emblazoned with the magazine's name can be found on numerous surfaces, adorning many a knick-knack, while she also keeps a large stack of the magazine's annual print yearbook alongside the various gifts she has received over the years from some of her most famous admirers. In addition to her favorite fashion pieces already highlighted by the fashion website, the teenage writer also pointed out a Sulamith Wulfing book, which was another gift from singer Stevie Knicks, and a pair of shoes given to her by Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo. Hitting the headlines: Earlier this month, Tavi was unveiled as the newest face of jewelry brand Alexis Bittar, alongside interior designer Iris Apfel . The final curtain: Tavi's Broadway run recently came to an end after months of critically-acclaimed performances . But while her home already looks like she's been there for many years, as opposed to just a few months, Tavi admitted that she hasn't had a huge amount of time to explore New York, thanks to her hectic work schedule for This Is Our Youth. The relentless performance timetable hasn't stopped her from pursuing new and exciting work projects however. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Tavi had been signed up as the face of New York-based jewelry label Alexis Bittar, alongside 93-year-old interior designer and fashion icon Iris Aprfel. Shortly after the campaign launched, Tavi posted the picture on her Instagram account, commenting: 'So happy to be part of @alexisbittar's spring 2015 campaign next to Iris Apfel, whose style/wisdom/friendship has basically taught me how to live.' | The 18-year-old lives on the Lower East Side with her close friend and photographer Petra Collins .
She gave fashion website The Coveteur a tour of her new home .
Tavi has just finished starring in a critically-acclaimed Broadway production of This Is Our Youth alongside Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin . |
138,603 | 3f3eb74c6e80608d2bbb8fe42544cd9ebe71e83a | Edward Snowden took a job with a firm that provides contractors to the National Security Agency solely to gather evidence about U.S. surveillance programs, the self-avowed leaker told the South China Morning Post Newspaper. "My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked," the Post quoted him as saying in a story published Monday. "That is why I accepted that position about three months ago." 4 options for the U.S. to get Snowden back . The documents Snowden has revealed so far -- he claims to have thousands more -- revealed classified details of U.S. programs to monitor domestic telephone traffic, as well as the activities of Internet users overseas. Where could Snowden go next? He has also said the National Security Agency hacks into major Internet pipelines to intercept millions of communications flowing through them each day. Snowden said he obtained the documents in April, and intends to release more after he has a chance to review them, the newspaper reported. Read Snowden's interview . "If I have time to go through this information, I would like to make it available to journalists in each country to make their own assessment, independent of my bias, as to whether or not the knowledge of US network operations against their people should be published," the newspaper quoted him as saying. Opinion: Why Ecuador might shelter Snowden . Snowden left Hong Kong on Sunday. The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which is aiding his efforts to find a haven from U.S. espionage charges, said he had traveled to Moscow, but he has not been publicly sighted there, except for an airline passenger who identified a picture of him. He has formally applied for asylum in Ecuador and also is asking for shelter in other nations, including Iceland, a WikiLeaks attorney said Monday. Snowden's empty plane seat mocks media pack . | NSA leaker tells Hong Kong newspaper he took job to find evidence of U.S. surveillance .
Edward Snowden says he has more documents he wants to release .
He's thought to be headed for Ecuador to avoid prosecution on espionage charges . |
98,003 | 0a29f232fe4ceabb97691d31fa00be40b2b45a56 | Manchester City’s finances are set for a boost after it emerged they are ready to renegotiate their current kit deal with sportswear giants Nike. City still have three-years left on the deal - worth £12million a year – they signed almost three years ago but the club’s on-field success and off-field value has continued to grow since then and it is understood that both sides are now ready to get round the negotiating table again. The Barclays Premier League champions will not be able to match the astronomical sums neighbours United rake in – their deal with adidas which kicks in next season is worth £75m-a-year – but nevertheless City will expect to agree a significantly increased sum this time round. Manchester City, who drew with Everton at the weekend thanks to a goal from Fernandinho (pictured celebrating) are close to beginning negotiations with sportswear giants Nike over a new kit deal . City currently rake in £12million a year from Nike and have three years left on their current contract . 1) Arsenal - Puma (£30m a year) 2) Chelsea - adidas (£30m a year) 3) Liverpool - Warrior (£25m a year) 4) Manchester United - Nike (£20m a year*) 5) Manchester City - Nike (£12m a year) * Manchester United's association with Nike ends this year, with a £75m-a-year deal with adidas starting for the 2015-16 season . Certainly it will be a surprise if City don’t manage to increase their deal to around the £20m mark and the fact that Nike have recently lost United and Arsenal from their Premier League cast list will only increase the US company’s determination to keep their most prominent remaining club happy. Any hike in the deal would be welcome. City failed UEFA’s Financial Fair Play test last year and the make-up of the club’s parent company, City Football Group, is currently being looked into by European football’s governing body. They were fined a record £50m for their FFP breaches, and their payment - along with Paris St Germain and Zenit St Petersburg, who also failed the fair play rules - will be shared out among the other clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. Nike will be keen to keep City happy, as their 13-season sponsorship deal with United ends this year . Global sportswear brand Nike also had a deal with Arsenal, but lost out to Puma, who pay £30m a year . Their initial payments will total £20m, to be shared among the clubs who did comply with the rules last season, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. On top of this, City's financial accounts are being scrutinised by UEFA, as revealed by Nick Harris in the Mail on Sunday. It is being assessed whether an attempt has been made to mislead the European governing body over the full extent of the club's financial losses in 2013-14. UEFA are examining whether the creation of a set of subsidiary companies by City’s ‘parent’ company, City Football Group (CFG), allowed City to under-report the club’s losses. Two particular subsidiary companies alone had costs, including wages, of £36.7million in the year to the end of May 2014, and posted combined losses of £25.9m in that period. Most of their business was done effectively on behalf of Manchester City FC in that period. | Manchester City currently have a £12million-a-year kit deal with Nike .
City are ready to renegotiate their contract to increase their fee .
The club's value has significantly grown since their original Nike contract .
Any increase in income would help City after they failed UEFA's FFP test .
Click here for more Manchester City news . |
41,369 | 74aef0a82637f03ab01a2dc6458b9f0ce9bbdb99 | By . Ian Birrell . Olga Neiman was asleep when the missile struck shortly after 9pm, exhausted by the daily exertions of looking after her two-year-old daughter. She was woken by the explosion. The bangs and booms of war have been commonplace in recent days, but she realised instantly this one was horribly close to home. Running outside, she found her neighbour’s house on fire. Fortunately its owner – an elderly woman in her 80s who emigrated from Russia three decades ago – was staying with her daughter nearby for safety. Two other homes lay wrecked, one in flames after a gas explosion, while another had been obliterated, replaced by a pile of rubble with an upended mattress and leatherette sofa sitting in its midst. A bent frying pan lay nearby, battered by the blast. Deadly blast: Smokes rises from Gaza city rises after an attack from the north towards Israel . Emergency response: Medics carry a 14-year-old Palestinian from Gaza into a hospital in el-Arish, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of Cairo, Egypt. He was caught up in an Israeli air strike . Tank: An Israeli artillery cannon fires a shell on the border with the Gaza Strip . ‘I am worried for my daughter but I am still staying here,’ said Neiman, 39, who lives in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva, a repeat target for the missiles fired from Gaza. Sirens sounded again yesterday as fearful homeowners retrieved possessions from their ruins. Yet this passionate mother was just as alarmed to see Palestinian children being killed by Israeli forces. ‘There must be some other solution than all this happening again,’ she said. Much of the world would share her weary sentiments as Israeli forces and militants in the besieged Gaza Strip carried on trading rockets and rhetoric yesterday. It all feels so familiar, so forlorn, so fantastically self-defeating for both sets of citizens snared in this seemingly ceaseless and hopeless conflict. This time, around 130 Palestinians have been killed so far – most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. This number could increase rapidly as tensions rise. Victims have included many women and children. Israel claimed to have hit another 60 ‘terror targets’ yesterday, as it took its tally to well over 1,000 strikes in the five days since the struggle flared up again. One strike on a charitable association for disabled people in northern Gaza was reported to have left at least two women dead and four others wounded, according to medical staff. Aftermath: Palestinians inspect the rubble of Al-Farouk mosque, which was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip . Support: A man carries two young boys near the scene of the blast . Debris: The devastation surrounding the Al-Farouk mosque in Nuseirat. The Israeli military released an aerial photo of the mosque, saying Hamas hid rockets in it right next to another religious site and civilian homes . Although Israel says it tries hard to reduce civilian casualties, warning targets by phone minutes before their homes are destroyed, the victims also include a doctor and a pharmacist, a four-year-old boy and a man aged 80. Clearly they are not all terrorists. A mosque was also demolished, although Israel claimed the building was being used to hide weapons. Someone scrawled a jibe against the Israeli prime minister on one shattered wall in response: ‘We will prevail despite your arrogance, Netanyahu.’ Both protagonists in this conflict know that propaganda is a powerful weapon. There were claims yesterday of Israeli special forces advancing into Gaza and clashing with al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the organisation Palestinian Islamic Jihad. If confirmed, this would mark an alarming escalation. Israel has already mobilised 20,000 reservists and its army chief, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, hinted yesterday he was ready to send tanks and troops across the boundary into Gaza. Their last such incursion was in early 2009, and lasted a fortnight. Spate of attacks: Israel's aerial bombardment of Gaza continued for a fifth day, with a strike on a mosque said to be concealing a weapons cache . Tensions: There have been over 1,000 strikes in the last five days since the struggle flare up again . Shelter: People sit on the floor as they take cover in the Tel Aviv main shopping mall, as air sirens warn of incoming rockets in the vicinity . ‘We are in the midst of an assault and we are prepared to expand it as much as is required, to wherever is required, with whatever force will be required and for as long as will be required,’ said Gantz. Israel insists it is entitled to stop missiles being fired over its borders. Dozens have been thwarted by its Iron Dome protective shield, although I also saw a petrol station in the port of Ashdod where one narrowly missed a tanker unloading fuel but still caused serious injuries. But as diplomats try to find a solution to stop the bloodshed, Israel faces a growing global backlash over its brutal response. Yesterday Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed concern about the loss of life in Gaza and demanded ‘de-escalation’ of the crisis, although he carefully endorsed Israel’s right to defend itself. And last night in a statement approved by all of its 15 members, the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire. This is the deadliest conflict here since November 2012, when 180 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. That crisis was eventually halted with mediation from Egypt. Casualties: The Palestinian death toll has risen to 130 as a result of the increase in strikes . So how have we reached this situation where democratic Israel is on the brink of its third major offensive against Gaza in under six years – and lasting peace seems as distant as ever in this bitterly contested corner of the planet? The core issues, of course, go back many years. But the latest conflict was sparked by the slaughter of three Israeli teenagers, who disappeared while hitch-hiking home to a settlement in the West Bank. Israel blamed Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that runs Gaza, and began rounding up activists. A 17-year-old Palestinian boy was then abducted and murdered in a horrific act of reprisal as he waited for prayers at his local mosque. This led to riots in Jerusalem and rumbling rocket fire from Gaza, which was met in return with Israeli air-raids and attacks. Distraught: An Israeli man stands at the entrance to his house after it was hit by a rocket . At the heart of the struggle is Gaza, a crowded strip of coastal land lying along Israel’s western flank and home to 1.5 million Palestinians. Many are crammed into refugee camps and live in great poverty; two-thirds do not have access even to a sewage system. Yet behind this lie larger issues. Many on the Israeli Right want to destroy Hamas, an ally of Iran seen as a terrorist organisation by the United States and Europe, yet others fear it might be succeeded by the sort of extreme jihadis that have emerged in Iraq and Syria. Hamas has been weakened by Egypt’s new post-coup regime, which overthrew an elected Muslim Brotherhood government. It has closed down almost all the border tunnels that were used to smuggle in cars, weapons, fuel and missile parts. So for all the howls of outrage, some analysts believe it suits Hamas and its ruthless leadership to have another fight with Israel in order to shore up dwindling support. Carrying on: As the conflict rages on, residents relax on a beach in Tel Aviv . Meanwhile, the latest long-term peace talks broke down in April, seemingly because Israel was angered by a unity deal between Hamas and its rival Fatah. The two-state solution, the only realistic settlement, seems as far away as ever. So on one side of the barbed wire impoverished Palestinians face the onslaught of one of the world’s most formidable war machines. And on the other, Israelis must sprint into stifling underground shelters as missile sirens sound again and again. Among those Russians who emigrated to Israel three decades ago in search of a better life only to find their homes blown apart in Be’er Sheva was 63-year-old Violetta Lubich. Yet this kindly carer still invited me into her house, the bomb holes all too evident. ‘I am very scared because every minute there might be another rocket attack,’ she told me. ‘I just feel so sad about this situation we find ourselves in.’ The tragedy is that there are so many human beings on both sides of this interminable and bloodstained struggle who must share her sadness. | Around 130 Palestinians have been killed so far - more than civilians .
Israel claimed to have hit another 60 'terror targets' in a spate of attacks .
In the last five days, there have been well over 1,000 strikes in five days .
One strike on a disabled association left at least two women dead . |
1,999 | 05c445d3f16c7865e898385605a4f7802752709d | By . Nick Harris . What price a World Cup? The bottom line for FIFA is that Brazil 2014 will earn the world governing body at least £2.55billion. By the next tournament, in Russia in 2018, that will have jumped above £3bn to cap an extraordinary doubling in income between 2006 and 2018. As the new issue of specialist sports business journal Sportcal Insight details, TV income for this summer’s event alone will be about £1.5bn. Winner: FIFA President Sepp Blatter holds up the name of Russia as the 2018 World Cup host . German and Italian broadcasters are paying £163million each, the French around £122m, the BBC and ITV combined around £120m for UK rights, and US broadcasters £150m. That is set to soar in 2018 and beyond. The World Cup is uniquely popular, with roughly a third of the planet’s seven billion population expected to watch at least one of the 64 games on television. The final in Rio will be the most watched event of any kind in the world in 2014, and it is expected that the average global audience per match this summer will easily top 150m. Last time the average was 188m per match. Such an extraordinary reach means FIFA can attract some of the biggest brands in the world aspartners and sponsors. Adidas have paid £120m to be partners for the current four-year cycle up to Brazil 2014. Visa and Emirates are each paying £66.8m, Coca-Cola £75m, and Hyundai and Sony also spending tens of millions. McDonald’s, Budweiser and a raft of others are also paying to be associated with the beautiful game, meaning FIFA will earn £733m at least from commercial deals this summer. Excited: It seems the entire world has got in the Samba mood for Brazil 2014 with less than a week to go . 2.2 BILLION - number of people in the world (31 per cent of 7bn) who watched at least one World Cup match in 2010 on TV . 188.4 MILLION - the average live global TV audience per World Cup match. The World Cup is like 64 Super Bowls in a month, except every one is bigger . 530.9 MILLION - the live global TV audience for the 2010 World Cup final . 17.3 MILLION - the average viewers per match in Brazil for 2010 World Cup, rising to an average of 44m for Brazil games . 5.3 MILLION - average UK TV audience for 2010 World Cup . 17.9 MILLION - the highest audience for England vs Germany . Ticket sales, hospitality packages and merchandise will add another £315m. Where all this money goes is a different matter entirely. FIFA distribute much of it around the world to associations and development projects. Unquantifiable amounts go on expenses for FIFA executives. And more than a billion dollars is sitting in FIFA’s bank account. For more see this week’s Sportcal Insight magazine. Sao Paulo stadium: The World Cup will be one of the most watched events on television . | FIFA prepare to earn at least £2.55billion from Brazil, and £3b from Russia in 2018 .
It doubles the income between 2006 and 2018 .
TV income for the summer tournament to be about £1.5b . |
73,639 | d0cc3788ed75574d614b5db13630aa481bb924d5 | A megachurch pastor who called women 'penis homes' has resigned amid allegations of bullying and corruption. Mark Driscoll, stepped down from his position as elder and lead pastor at Mars Hill, Seattle, after a group of church elders recently ended an investigation into a series of formal charges brought against him. Announcing the decision on the church's website on Wednesday, he said: 'It would be best for the health of our family, and for the Mars Hill family, that we step aside from further ministry at the church.' Mark Driscoll, pictured in 2007, resigned from his position as lead pastor after allegations of bullying . Driscoll, whose church grew to attract more than 12,000 at branches across five states, took a leave of absence in August so church leaders could investigate whether he was fit to lead after accusations that he bullied members, threatened opponents, lied and oversaw mismanagement of church funds, the Seattle Times reported. But the church's board said on its website that Driscoll was not asked to resign, and they were surprised to receive his resignation. His resignation letter, which was obtained by Religion News Service, said: 'Recent months have proven unhealthy for our family -- even physically unsafe at times -- and we believe the time has now come for the elders to choose new pastoral leadership for Mars Hill. 'There are many things I have confessed and repented of, privately and publicly, as you are well aware. Specifically, I have confessed to past pride, anger and a domineering spirit.' Domineering spirit: Pastor Mark Driscoll wrote that women were created to give homes to men's penises . The board Driscoll has been 'guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner.' The board said that while it believes Driscoll needs to address those areas in his life, 'we do not believe him to be disqualified from pastoral ministry.' The church noted that Driscoll, the only pastor it has known since it was founded 18 years ago, was never charged with immorality, illegality or heresy. It said most of the charges involved the domineering style of leadership, and that they found some accusations 'unfair or untrue.' Driscoll founded his megachurch, 18 years ago. It has branches across five states but some have been forced to close last month . A phone and email message left with the church was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon. Other charges had previously been addressed by Driscoll, the church noted. In 2001, under a pseudonym, William Wallace II, Mark Driscoll wrote: . 'The first thing to know about your penis is, that despite the way it may see, it is not your penis. Ultimately, God created you and it is his penis. You are simply borrowing it for a while. 'While His penis is on loan you must admit that it is sort of just hanging out there very lonely as if it needed a home, sort of like a man wondering the streets looking for a house to live in. 'Knowing that His penis would need a home, God created a woman to be your wife and when you marry her and look down you will notice that your wife is shaped differently than you and makes a very nice home. 'Therefore, if you are single you must remember that your penis is homeless and needs a home. Though you may believe your hand is shaped like a home, it is not,' he wrote. 'And, though women other than your wife may look like a home, to rest there would be breaking into another man's home.' The best-selling author has been accused of plagiarism and criticized for his stance against homosexuality and female preachers. In July, Driscoll apologized for crude comments he made posting under an alias in an online discussion forum in 2000. And last month, his church was forced to close several of its branches after comments Driscoll made calling women 'penis homes' emerged online. Since 1996, the church has grown quickly to attract thousands of followers in 15 branches in five states. Last month, the church announced it was closing some of its branches and making plans to lay off dozens of employees. The Seattle Times reported that financial problems in the wake of falling attendance forced the cutbacks. Combined attendance at all Mars Hill branches had dropped from more than 12,000 a week at the start of the year to less than 9,000, a church spokesman said last month. The board now is planning for the future. 'We would ask for patience as we now make plans for the first transition of pastoral leadership in the history of Mars Hill Church,' the church's board said on its website. | Mark Driscoll, 43, is the founder of Mars Hill, an evangelical megachurch with branches across five states .
Stepped down after church board investigated him for his 'domineering style of leadership'
Also accused of mishandling church funds, plagiarizing work for a book and paying to get book sales boosted, among other claims .
Church board found him guilty of arrogance and having a quick temper - but noted he was never charged with immorality, illegality or heresy . |
210,762 | 9cfea3c4303c82f58678e45d84c8247a1c106aff | By . James White . Updated: . 05:37 EST, 27 January 2012 . An 85-year-old woman was lucky to escape with her life after taking a wrong turn and driving 50 yards along a busy railway line. The pensioner is thought to have been driving her 20-year-old grandson to the station when she became confused at a level crossing. Instead of driving her silver Renault Clio straight over the lines on the A337 through Brockenhurst, New Forest, Hants, she turned onto the tracks. Stationary vehicle: The view of the car from Brockenhurst Station, after its 85-year-old driver took a wrong turn at the level crossing and drove along tracks . On the wrong track: Police and railway workers examine the silver Renault after its elderly driver turned right at the level crossing in Brockenhurst, Hants., by mistake . It is thought she then panicked and drove along the commuter line towards Brockenhurst train station before finally stopping. British Transport Police as well as Hampshire Police were scrambled to the scene at 9.35am yesterday morning. Officers climbed onto the tracks to lift the distraught woman and her passenger to safety. Both were uninjured. The busy rail route, a main line between Bournemouth, Dorset, and London Waterloo, had to be closed for nearly two hours while the car was lifted off the tracks by a crane. Onlookers said the pair were lucky to escape with their lives. Alex Capozza, from Bournemouth, Dorset, saw the car on the London-bound tracks as he turned up for work at the nearby Il Palio Restaurant. Mr Capozza, 30, said: 'They are very lucky they were not hurt - the route is very busy at that time of the morning. 'There are trains every 30 minutes and the express train from Bournemouth to London which doesn't stop. 'Thankfully the signal box is quite close to where the woman stopped so they must have quickly raised the alarm. Big problem: Workers appear bemused by the problem of how to shift the stranded vehicle with one appearing to take a mobile phone picture . 'I saw the elderly lady in the car - she looked shaken. There was a police officer with her, trying to calm her down. 'Eventually they managed to carry her out. There were about 15 police there in total - standing between the crossing and the station. 'When I saw it, I just couldn't believe there was a car on the tracks. 'I've no idea how it happened, how she could have driven down the railway line so far without stopping. 'Surely you would realise you'd gone through the crossing the wrong way - it's pretty obvious.' Mr Capozza continued: 'I've never heard of anything like this happening here before. It was a bit amusing. 'Thankfully neither of them were hurt. I think the lady was taken away in a taxi - I don't think she'll be getting back in a car again. The car couldn't simply be reversed off the tracks - it had to be lifted off with a crane.' Helping hand: A crane is called in to move the Renault . A spokesman for British Transport Police said: 'BTP and Hampshire Police officers attended the line, around 80 yards from Brockenhurst rail station, after a report a car had driven onto the line from the level crossing. 'The incident was reported to police at 9.35am. 'Paramedics from the South Central Ambulance Service also attended. An 85-year-old woman driver and 20-year-old man in the car at the time have been treated for shock, but no other injuries have been reported. 'The vehicle, a silver Renault Clio, was removed from the track by recovery vehicles, and normal train services resumed at 11.18am.' | Shocked woman, 85, is rescued from Renault Clio with passenger .
She is thought to have been driving 20-year-old grandson to station .
Trains halted on main line into London for nearly two hours as car is removed by crane . |
236,619 | be40e90d36e9ece7df5482fde3f76c1381782f9b | Debaltseve, Ukraine (CNN)Debaltseve is a ghost town. Once a bustling railroad hub, its streets are normally empty. The remaining people only come out to board a bus or car that will carry them to safety, or when relief workers arrive to hand out rice, pasta, canned foods and other supplies. The Ukraine crisis: Everything you need to know . Bundled up against the raw winter weather, they line up to receive rations and scurry back inside their homes, hoping they won't be killed by the near-constant shelling. This strategically located town in eastern Ukraine is one more casualty of the fighting that has intensified in recent weeks between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. Separatists are trying to encircle the town while government forces maintain posts on the outskirts. A spokesman for the government's military operation, Vladislav Seleznyov, said the militants were consistently shelling Debaltseve -- and that it's currently the most dangerous place in the country. "The city infrastructure is increasingly devastated," he said. "Ukrainian armed forces are holding their lines of defense and are not going to leave their positions." Only 3,000 to 4,000 of Debaltseve's 25,000 residents remain. Most have fled to safer places. Civilians are suffering. At least 224 were killed and more than 540 others injured in the final three weeks of January, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said last week. The numbers may actually be higher. Who's left? Most of them are elderly with no family to take them in. Some seniors are so old they remember the horrors of World War II, such as a woman who stayed inside her apartment for two weeks, simply lying on her bed. Children are few and far between. Their families have moved them to safety. "We don't care about Russians," one woman said. "We want to live regular lives." About one third of the houses have been hit by artillery. Dozens of people huddle in dank underground bunkers and sleep on cots and old beds carried in. Piles of sandbags protect the entrances to the bunkers. Others, like a group sticking it out in an old apartment building, are elderly but vehemently pro-Russian. "We're just waiting for the Russians to come in and liberate us," one said. Scenes of exhaustion are everywhere. While people mill around the City Hall lobby, an old woman wraps herself in a quilt and stretches out on three side-by-side chairs to sleep. Most Debaltseve residents have fled to government-controlled towns, but leaving is risky. Shells rain on Debaltseve at all hours. The people who are left don't have transportation of their own. They collect their belongings in suitcases and plastic bags and gather at the train station or the city center. They wait for for cars, small buses or full-sized buses driven by relief workers to arrive and carry them to safe havens. They stare ahead blankly or break into tears while standing on the pavement. Once they're in a car or on the bus, danger still lurks. The road leading out of the battle zone into the closest safe town, Artyemovsk, is often shelled by separatist forces. And once they reach a shelter, they wait, wondering if they'll ever be able to return to their home. Jonathan Alpeyrie reported and photographed from Ukraine and Ralph Ellis wrote the story in Atlanta. | Only 3,000 to 4,000 of Debaltseve's 25,000 people remain .
Shells fall constantly on the strategic railway hub in eastern Ukraine . |
181,324 | 76bcf7e62754cc2487fde11e191788d5e1f41ddd | Jane Fonda has opened up about reading the medical records of her mother and discovering that she had nine abortions before Jane was even born. In a speech at a fundraising event for a rape victims' charity, the 76-year-old Hollywood icon told the audience that her tragic mother Frances was sexually abused from the age of eight, an experience that Jane believes led to her promiscuous and self-destructive behavior. 'The minute that I read that, everything fell into place,' she said. 'I knew [the reason for] the promiscuity, the endless plastic surgery, the guilt, the inability to love or be intimate, and I was able to forgive her and forgive myself.' Scroll down for video . Heartbreaking revelation: Jane Fonda has opened up about reading the medical records of her mother Frances and discovering that she had nine abortions before Jane was even born . Frances, who was 29 when she gave birth to Jane, killed herself on her 42nd birthday, which friends say was the single most formative event in Jane's multi-faceted life. Jane told audience members that she suspects her mother was sexually abused by a piano tuner as a young girl, which left her traumatized for the rest of her life. Shortly after Jane's younger brother Peter was born, Frances was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Discovering that her husband was cheating on her with other women, Frances went to desperate lengths to regain his attention. She would walk around naked in front of him and even crawl on her hands and knees to him, begging him to talk to her. It didn't work. In 1950, on her 42nd birthday Frances committed suicide by slicing her throat with a razor during a stay at Craig House, a sanitarium in Beacon, New York. Jane was 12. Tragic: Frances killed herself on her 42nd birthday, when Jane was 12. Jane believes her suicide was linked the the fact that she was sexually abused from the age of eight . Tempestuous: Jane's father Henry (left) was cold and a bully, not to mention a shameless womanizer, but Jane always blamed the alarming behavior of her mother for the break-up of her parents' marriage - until she learned of Frances' abuse . Jane's father Henry was cold and a bully, not to mention a shameless womanizer, but - too young to understand mental illness - his daughter always blamed the alarming behavior of her manic depressive mother for the break-up of her parents' marriage - until she learned of Frances' abuse. The fitness queen, who is a longtime pro-choice activist, believes she has been drawn to helping sexually abused girls because she somehow knew what had befallen her mother. She said at the event that sexual violence is 'epidemic', vowing: 'I will support the Rape Treatment Center for the rest of my life.' Jane has written on her blog that she forgave her mother for their fractious relationship after discovering she was sexually abused, realizing that her behavior was not her fault. 'Twenty years later she could have found the help she needed in the specific form of therapy that arose out of The Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s,' she wrote last October. 'I sometimes cry when I think of how my mother could have been saved.' | The Hollywood icon, 76, made the heartbreaking revelation while reading her mother's medical records .
'The minute that I read that, everything fell into place... and I was able to forgive her and forgive myself,' she said . |
53,097 | 969d3da1f5fba88319483790906e39d9099ddf09 | By . Barbara Metcalfe . PUBLISHED: . 16:48 EST, 12 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:04 EST, 13 June 2013 . Two o'clock in the morning and I'm sitting on the side of the bed, drenched in sweat. It's minus five outside, yet the skylight window is wide open and a fan is whirring by my side. The damp bed is so uncomfortable that I have to change the sheets and pillowcases before I can go back to sleep - even though I need to be up in four hours' time. When it's at its worst - at least once a month - I sleep in the spare bedroom. Peter, my other half, has been incredibly supportive, even though he's been as sleep-deprived as me over the years. I'd love to pause the 'change' - my menopause is a 'waking nightmare', says Barbara Metcalfe . This waking nightmare is my menopause - my so-called 'change'. It's four years since it started, I have no idea when it will end and it's causing my life to disintegrate around me. I hate and resent it, and cannot understand why any woman would relish it. But apparently some do. Indeed, in last week's Femail, Jenni Murray, the esteemed broadcaster and journalist, offered the somewhat controversial view that the menopause 'ushers in the best years of a woman's life'. She was writing in response to research which claims women will eventually evolve out of the menopause, as we continue to have children later and later. I'm afraid I cannot meet it with 'courage and adventure' as Jenni suggests. Any sense of adventure I might have had has been long lost in the myriad of ailments and conditions I am grappling with. Since the onset of menopause I have not been able to wear shoes indoors, as my feet are so hot. Even on the coldest day I sit in meetings, colleagues in fur-lined boots staring bemused at my bare toes. I wear thin linen clothing throughout the year and even then I find being in most buildings impossible. A trip to the local supermarket is like an invitation to a sauna. You'll always find me in chilled foods. There really is nothing like a hot flush. If you've never had one, you may think it's just like going red with embarrassment. But it's so much worse. It starts from within - like molten lava - and slowly takes you over. Controversial: Jenni Murray believes that menopause 'ushers in the best years of a woman's life' It stops me mid-task and I am overwhelmed by the heat. It makes my ears ring and I feel sick and forget what I am doing or what I am saying. Sometimes the side-effects are so debilitating and distressing that it's tempting not to leave home.When I did make it to work - until last year I was a producer at the BBC - I would find myself erupting into huge rages over the office heating. 'If it's 25 degrees you should be on a beach in a bikini,' I would shout, and ram the thermostat down to 16c. I once actually snarled: 'I am the producer, I will decide what temperature to have.' To get out of bed in the morning is a relief from the night sweats, but then begins a day marred by terrible tiredness, hot flushes and confusion. I constantly write lists so I don't forget things. On bad days I feel as if I'm losing my mind, just clinging on to reality. So much for a sense of adventure! My menopause started when I was 50 and had a total hysterectomy. Abnormal cells were found in my womb, which if left could have led to cancer, so I had my womb and ovaries removed. With my ovaries went my supply of the female hormone oestrogen. Instead of having the slow dwindle of fertility that nature intends, I had what's called a surgical menopause, when everything happens at once. I was still hooked up to a drip the day after surgery when the first sweats arrived. There was very little discussion in hospital about what I was to expect, as if the surgery and the after-effects were completely unrelated. I left hospital with nothing more than the internet to guide me. I found myself reading about all kinds of cures, from the conventional (hormone replacement therapy) to herbal remedies (black cohosh and red clover) and the utterly bizarre medication which is oestrogen extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. I went down the conventional route, and, full of hope, began a course of HRT. Within days, my breasts felt painful and engorged. I became depressed and confused and -worse - the sweats and flushes didn't even abate. 'Oh, did I mention the mood swings? I . didn't just snarl about the air conditioning, one minute I was ranting . at the poor dog for getting under my feet, the next I was in floods of . tears when I'd accidentally broken a glass in the kitchen.' I gave it some time for the tablets to kick in - during which my already huge bosom went up a full cupsize - but I only became more bloated, itchy and frankly miserable. So, about six months later I came off it. I tried red clover and other natural remedies but quickly realised nothing was going to work. So I took nothing. I sometimes think I genuinely do have dementia, such is my lack of recall at times. My children laugh at me kindly, because I use the wrong words and forget key names and dates. I once told them an elderly neighbour had to be taken to prison, which had them flabbergasted. Eventually they discovered I meant hospital. After my operation, my once impressive memory was shot to pieces. Suddenly I couldn't remember the names of colleagues I'd worked with for years. One reporter was called Hilary so often she started answering to it – even though she's really called Naomi. I finally left my job at the BBC, which was in part down to the menopause. The building was incredibly hot and I found I was so exhausted when I got home. Oh, did I mention the mood swings? I didn't just snarl about the air conditioning, one minute I was ranting at the poor dog for getting under my feet, the next I was in floods of tears when I'd accidentally broken a glass in the kitchen. And if my mind was breaking down, my body felt like an alien being, too. The lack of oestrogen has left the skin on my arms and legs dehydrated and itchy, which drives me to despair. Sometimes I scratch until I bleed, even though there is no rash to be seen. My hair is turning into a Brillo pad - I resemble Hagrid, the Robbie Coltrane character in Harry Potter.I feel as if I have taken the express route to old age. The menopause is still thought of as something women just have to get on with, and this means, on top of all my symptoms, I feel like a failure because I struggle to cope. When my grandmother was going through The Change, there was no discussion about it at all. Likewise my mum, a district nurse, had to get on her bike and visit her patients as if she hadn't a care in the world. It's getting hot in here: For those with the menopause, hot flushes can be deeply debilitating . It was a personal battle women kept to themselves. My friend's mum would vacuum in her bra and skirt because of her hot flushes. Yet nothing was ever said, and no one ever questioned her. That was 30 years ago and it appears nothing much has changed. Like generations of women before me, I have to get on with it. I have two young daughters, a partner and a dog, and an exciting job as a freelance TV producer, writer and lecturer. The alarm goes off daily at 6am and there is no going back to bed. Yet some of the effects of the menopause are illnesses in themselves. Just imagine a man or young woman waking repeatedly in the night, clothes soaked through and having to change the bed. Would they just get up in the morning and go to work? More than likely they would ring in sick and get a sympathetic hearing. But I wonder how many older women would do that. Ring in and talk menopause with their bosses? No thanks. Recently, a friend had to take some time off work to recover from the fallout of her menopause. On her return, she was interviewed by two young male managers about her leave. She tried to explain her problems, but they stopped her mid-flow. Either they couldn't cope with 'women's problems' or they just didn't want to know. Luckily for me, my doctor told me about clinical trials of specific anti-depressants, which had shown promising results controlling night sweats and flushes in menopausal women. So far they are helping me, but they're all I have. Because there is just no cure for this force of nature. If there was, I am sure I would be first in a very long line of women wanting it. | Barbara's menopause started when she had a total hysterectomy .
Since then, the 'change' has been 'a waking nightmare'
Barbara left her job at the BBC in part because of her menopause . |
184,591 | 7b17a633a7f38e1e8025a771c5be67011449e281 | By . Tom Mctague, Mail Online Deputy Political Editor . A veteran Labour MP has launched a withering attack on the party’s leadership for failing to connect with voters. Former actress Glenda Jackson, 78, said Labour had gone too long without outlining any policies and was still struggling to get through to the public. She said: ‘For far too long, we didn't have a policy to bless ourselves with and we still have this inherent problem that we do have policies but still aren't selling them strongly enough. It’s not playing out there.’ She added: ‘You do wonder who’s advising him [Miliband], sometimes.’ Glenda Jackson sparked controversy after attacking Margaret Thatcher in the House of Commons during a special session to honour the former Prime Minister . Glenda Jackson (right) has hit out at Labour's failure to win over voters with new policies . When asked about Mr Miliband’s vision of a ‘one-nation’ Britain, in an interview for the New Statesman magazine, she said: ‘I don’t like visionaries. I was taught the only path a leader will take is up the garden path.’ Ms Jackson, a double Oscar winning actress who famously appeared on Morcambe and Wise as Cleopatra, also hit out at the sexism in Parliament. She said when she spoke up after a male MP had ignored a female colleague it was like ‘as though we had attempted some kind of castration’. Ms Jackson said when she was first elected to the Commons in 1992 she was treated as either an ‘airhead’ or a ‘diva’. She said: I was treated either as an airhead who would fall flat on her face or as some unconscionably egotistical diva who would demand treatment different to everybody else. 'Neither of those assessments bears any relation to me whatsoever.’ Ms Jackson, who has been a Labour MP since 1992, won the Oscar for best actress in 1969 and 1972. She famously appeared on Morcambe and Wise at the height of her fame in the 1970s . Ms Jackson is standing down next year after more than 20 years in the Commons as the MP for Hampstead. She said: ‘I shall be almost 80.. You need somebody younger. This country is in danger of being governed by pensioners like me. I don’t think that’s the best way forward.’ | Former actress says Labour went too long without offering any policies .
Hampstead MP claims the party is still not selling its ideas strongly enough .
'It’s not playing out there', she says in outspoken attack on Miliband's team .
Ms Jackson, 78, stepping down in 2015 as party 'needs somebody younger'
She said: 'This country is in danger of being governed by pensioners like me' |
156,073 | 55c114e954e20675b866746a9bdbf7e35cca6a71 | (CNN)Why stop now? This must be the question Vladimir Putin is asking himself as he considers the latest European pleas for peace in Ukraine, to be discussed at a crisis summit in Minsk on Wednesday. Since invading and annexing Crimea almost one year ago, the Russian president has been running rings around the European Union, NATO and the Obama administration. It is not that Putin is particularly clever -- on the contrary, his behavior suggests he is paranoid, impulsive and insecure. But he has benefited from the greater weaknesses of his opponents. So as he considers his response to Europe's ideas for a new cease-fire and a "comprehensive settlement" in eastern Ukraine, what will Putin be thinking? What does he know? Putin knows, for a start, that the Europeans are divided and running scared. Only two EU countries -- Britain and France -- are military powers of any consequence -- but they have zero appetite for conflict, direct or indirect, with Russia. Francois Hollande, France's weak and unpopular president, seems to be waving a white flag before hostilities have even commenced. "If we don't manage to find not just a compromise but a lasting peace agreement, we know perfectly well what the scenario will be. It has a name, it's called war," Hollande said after meeting Putin on Friday. For its part, the British government splutters impotently on the sidelines. As usual, it is waiting for Washington to tell it what to do. But with a difficult national election due in May, Prime Minister David Cameron figures there are no votes in Ukraine. Eastern European countries, with bitter memories of Soviet hegemony and long, porous borders to protect, want a tougher line. Poland feels particularly vulnerable (just look at the map). So, too, do the much-bullied Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. But these countries know there is little point relying on help from Brussels, home of the EU's bureaucracy. Limited economic and financial sanctions on Russia will expire this summer unless all 28 EU governments agree to extend them. Greece, maneuvering for debt relief, is flirting treacherously with Moscow. Recession-hit economies such as Italy seem to believe business as normal with Russia trumps calls for solidarity over Ukraine. All of which leaves Germany, the EU's paymaster, largest economy, and Russia's biggest European trade partner. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, has taken the lead since the Ukraine crisis erupted. Somebody had to. And she has been widely praised for her role. This is puzzling because, despite numerous one-on-one conversations with Putin, Merkel has achieved nothing. Seen one way, her diplomacy has provided cover for ongoing Russian depredations. Last September's Minsk cease-fire agreement was ignored from day one. Merkel's day-trip to Moscow last Friday, with lightweight Hollande in tow, was no bold bid for peace. It was an act of desperation -- and Putin undoubtedly knew it. Speaking at the Munich security conference, Merkel criticized Russia for failing to honor Minsk. But, she claimed, it was still worth trying to press Putin to do so. The main "new" idea on the table seems to be a demilitarized zone embracing September's cease-fire positions and the current front line. If implemented, it would require the Kiev government to concede control of yet more territory. By freezing the conflict in place, it would increase the chances of a permanent eastern secession. Here is a cautionary precedent: After the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the island was split in two and a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone created. More than 40 years later, that "temporary" dividing line still exists, as does the unrecognized "state" calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. But Merkel, like the leaders of most western and southern European countries, opposes tougher alternatives such arming President Petro Poroshenko's out-gunned forces. Her tone in Munich, a location forever associated with appeasement, was flatly defeatist. "I cannot imagine any situation in which improved equipment for the Ukrainian army leads to President Putin being so impressed that he believes he will lose militarily," she said. This seems to be the broad European view. Arming the Ukrainians would mean war with Russia, a war that Putin would win. And it is plain the Europeans will do just about anything to avoid that dread outcome. All this Putin knows, or has been told by his canny foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who greatly amused the Munich conference by insisting, absurdly, that there were no Russian troops or armor in eastern Ukraine. But what else does Putin know as he ponders Merkel's plan to halt the hostilities? Putin knows that the deep divisions within the EU over Ukraine are also present within NATO, an alliance with a roughly similar membership. Putin knows that NATO's leading power, the United States, did not react militarily when Russia sent its tanks into Georgia in 2008 and subsequently encouraged breakaway separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to declare independence from Tbilisi. Putin knows NATO was similarly passive when he took over Crimea by stealth one year ago this month. While Ukraine is not in NATO, this startling violation of international law raised a bigger, potentially embarrassing question: what would NATO do if one of its member states was next? NATO answers that in such circumstances it would invoke Article 5 of its founding treaty, which states: "The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all." But this valiant concept of collective defense has never really been tested. Article 5 has only been invoked once, after the 9/11 attacks. And al Qaeda, luckily, did not have thermonuclear weapons. Would the U.S. really go to war with Russia to rescue, say, Estonia or Norway? Putin does not know the answer to this question, but neither, if they are truthful, do NATO's political masters. What Putin does know, or thinks he knows, is that, given Barack Obama's attempts to wind up overseas conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and his reluctance to get involved in new ones such as Syria, the U.S. President will be loath to confront Russia militarily in Ukraine in what could quickly become an uncontrollable, escalating proxy war. Pressure is growing from John McCain and others in Congress, egged on by jittery east Europeans, to supply arms to Kiev. Last week the administration deliberately leaked news that it was discussing this option to the New York Times. It was a classic pressure tactic. But so far, the only people who feel scared and pressured are the European allies. Putin has not blinked, while Kremlin spokesmen and propagandists say supplying U.S. arms would confirm their view that Russia is under attack by the West. Maybe a new peace pact will be agreed later this week in Minsk. Maybe it will even be made to stick, assuming Moscow can be trusted. Putin may decide to bank his winnings. On the other hand, if he does not like the deal, he can walk away. Putin knows he has the upper hand. So why stop now? | Vladimir Putin considers his response to Europe's ideas for a new cease-fire in Ukraine .
Since annexing Crimea, Putin has run rings around U.S., European leaders, says Simon Tisdall .
Would the U.S. really go to war with Russia to rescue, say, Estonia or Norway, he asks . |
143,345 | 45638fe935dddd416177d1480384e9926866b6b3 | The first TV commercials showing electronic cigarettes will be shown from November 10, it was announced yesterday. However, the adverts will not be allowed to target young people and no actor in an ad may look as if they are aged under 25. The guidance set down by the advertising regulator clears the way for e-cigarette manufacturers to market their product as openly as drinks producers, who are also banned from linking alcohol with youth or youth culture. The first TV commercials showing electronic cigarettes will be shown from November 10 . While the advertising of e-cigarettes on TV is currently allowed, the device itself must not appear on screen. Under the new rules the Committee of Advertising Practice will allow e-cigarettes to be promoted by association with glamour and sexual success – themes off-limits to drinks advertisers. The CAP report said the rules for e-cigarettes should be more liberal because they 'present only some of the same concerns as alcohol and gambling and crucially there are strong arguments for the public health benefits of e-cigarettes'. Health campaigners gave a cautious welcome but said the long-term effects of e-smoking remain unknown and further restrictions may be necessary in future. More than two million Britons regularly use e-cigarettes. E-cig firm challenges EU directive because of regulation fears . A leading UK electronic cigarette company has launched a legal battle over a European Union directive it fears will lead to stringent new regulations and stifle the market. A High Court judge has agreed to Totally Wicked taking its case to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in Luxembourg. The company argues the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) breaches EU law in seeking to regulate e-cigarettes, despite the fact they contain no tobacco. E-cigarette company Totally Wicked has launched a legal battle over a European Union directive it fears will lead to stringent new regulations and stifle the market . Mr Justice Green, sitting in London, said the case should be sent to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the legality of the directive. A hearing is expected next year. Totally Wicked's managing director Fraser Cropper said Article 20 of the directive would result in e-cigarettes being subjected to a stricter regulatory regime than some tobacco products. He said: 'Not only is this article therefore disproportionate, we believe it is also contrary to established EU law. 'It is therefore vitally important that the UK court has decided that the CJEU should make a ruling on the lawfulness of Article 20. 'For the sake of e-cigarette users and potential users, it is vital that our industry is allowed to mature within a proportionate regulatory framework, which supports appropriate controls and safety requirements, and necessary social responsibility and continues to provide consumer choice to maximise the enormous potential of these products. 'Article 20 of this directive patently will not deliver this environment.' Susan Garrett, partner with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, which is mounting the challenge, said: 'Totally Wicked believes that the Tobacco Products Directive is a misconceived and disproportionate attempt to regulate electronic cigarettes. 'Today's decision is a key milestone for our client, given the impact it believes the directive will have in stifling this emerging market.' | Commercials showing electronic cigarettes will be shown from November 10 .
Like with alcohol, adverts will not be allowed to target young people .
Advertising e-cigs is currently allowed, but device must be seen on screen .
More than two million Britons regularly use e-cigarettes . |
265,269 | e3924188b1738e1cb3832723cfad00a23a82de70 | By . Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 14:43 EST, 4 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:57 EST, 4 September 2012 . Dreamer: Mark Welch, 18, has been charged with misusing the 911 system after he allegedly called police to share his dream . An 18-year-old Florida man has found himself in trouble after he dialed 911 while allegedly high on drugs not to report an emergency, but rather to share a disturbing dream he had. When Mark Welch, of Volusia County, woke up Sunday night, he had a desperate urge to tell someone about his vision, which he now thought was coming true. He tried his parents, but they did not believe him, so the 18-year-old did the next logical thing: he called police. ‘Something that happened in my dream and it's actually happening,’ Welch told replied a Volusia County 911 dispatcher. According to the Orlando Sentinel, The dispatcher attempted to make sense of the situation and played along, asking the caller what was happening. ‘Everything that happened today is actually in my dream and I want to prove it to everybody,’ Welch said, adding that he put everything to paper. A Volusia County sheriff’s deputy responded to Welch's home near Orange City and found the teen to be confused. It is believed that the 18-year-old smoked synthetic marijuana known as K2. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Welch did not need medical attention, and the deputy warned him not to call 911 again, unless he had an emergency. Sheriff's officials said Welch's parents hid the phone so he wouldn't call authorities again, but that did nothing to deter the tenacious dreamer. Scroll down to listen to the 911 calls . Hallucinogenic: Welch is believed to have smoked the synthetic drug K2 before making the call . About 40 minutes after placing the first call, Welch went to a neighbor's home and dialed 911 again. Another dispatcher asked Welch what his emergency was. Dispatcher: 'What's happening?' Welch: 'Everything that happened today is actually in my dream, and I want to prove it to everybody.' Dispatcher: 'What did you dream about that's happening?' Welch: 'It's all on paper. I wrote it down.' ‘The officer told me not to call back. And he said if I call back then y'all are going to take me to court. So I'm calling back. I have to prove something,’ Welch said during the call. ‘Cause you want to go to jail?’ the dispatcher asked. Welch replied: ‘I have to prove something to my family.’ Welch admitted he had no emergency, . but the Sheriff's Office once again dispatched a deputy who turned out to . be the same officer who paid the 18-year-old a visit earlier. This time, Welch was arrested and charged with misusing the 911 system. He was booked into the Volusia County Jail on $500 bond. Annoyed: The same deputy who came to Welch's house the first time he called police arrived to arrest him after the teen placed a second 911 call . | Mark Welch, 18, was allegedly smoking the drug K2 before calling 911 .
The same Volusia County Sheriff's deputy was dispatched to Welch's house twice .
Parents hid Welch's phone after the first phone call, but he went to a neighbor's house .
Welch was charged with one count of misusing the 911 system . |
28,043 | 4f7a1467dcffa15a5652ad6bd5afe02bbe8d9061 | By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 16:41 EST, 5 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:42 EST, 5 December 2012 . Court battle: Judges at the London Technology and Construction Court ruled in favour of a decision to stop a businessman carrying out piling work on his home on an estate owned by the Duke of Westminster's (pictured) A businessman has been banned from carrying out piling work in the basement of his home in an exclusive London street after taking on one of Britain's richest landowners in court. George Papamarkakis wanted to carry out the work as part of plans to extensively develop the basement in his home on Chester Row, but was denied permission by the Duke of Westminster's Grovesnor Estate. The Estate argued that the work would cause 'significant nuisance to the neighbours and nearby residents' and was 'likely to damage neighbouring properties'. Unhappy with the decision, Mr Papamarkakis took his fight to London's Technology and Construction Court but today failed to get the Estate's decision overturned. Judges dismissed his argument that the Estate had taken the 'wrong mental attitude' towards him and let 'animus' cloud its judgement. Mr Papamarkis had gained planning consent to modernise the property above and below ground last year after buying the house as a home for himself, his wife and their two daughters. But the hedge fund manager also needed permission from the Grovesnor Estate who gave the thumbs up to his above ground plans but refused to give the green light to plans for the home's basement. His company, Constance Long . Term Holdings Ltd, was also refused permission to carry out piling work . - a prerequisite for any future basement extension. Lawyers argued that consent to the . piling had been 'unreasonably refused' by the estate and that the works . were essential to make the property 'future proof' and keep open the . option of developing the basement at some point in the future. Constance vehemently denied claims that . it had not always followed 'best practice' in the past and that it had 'deliberately sought to hide away the piling details in the documents in . the hope or expectation that Grosvenor Estate would not notice them'. Appeal: George Papamarkakis lost his appeal at the Tecnology and Construction Court . While Judge Justice Ramsey dismissed Constance's claims that the plans had been refused due to 'animus' or a 'wrong mental attitude' on the part of a senior Estate employee, he also said that criticisms of Mr Papamarkakis' holding company were unjustified. Despite expressing 'some sympathy' for Mr Papamarkakis' frustration at the lack of approval, the judge ruled that the Estate had been entitled to withhold consent . due to the 'significant additional disruption' to neighbours the work . would entail, in terms of dust, noise and extra time taken to complete . the job. He added that the piling work was not necessary for the above ground project. Homes in Chester Row have been known to sell for as much as £5million. | Judges ruled that the Duke of Westminster's Grovesnor Estate was entitled to turn down George Papamarkakis' plans for a basement extension .
The hedge fund manager had taken his battle with the Estate to London's Technology and Construction Court after claiming Grovesnor had taken the 'wrong mental attitude' towards his plans . |
205,310 | 95c7383de9004ce14258a13a954d3fd7720439d0 | New York (CNN) -- Decades ago, when the Department of Defense was creating the predecessor to today's Internet, one of the main goals was to create a communications system that could endure catastrophic disasters. The Internet was designed to have no central point of failure, allowing anyone to run his or her own communications channel. This was a system that could withstand a nuclear attack. Today, the services built on top of that network have done a great job in enabling communications, perhaps none more dramatically than Twitter. During the days since the Haiti earthquake, the popular social networking and microblogging service has been used for rescue efforts and for fundraising to help stabilize and rebuild the country. So it was big news when Twitter was offline for 90 minutes Wednesday morning. Technology pundits promptly began hand-wringing -- the weaknesses of having a single point of failure to critical communications had been revealed again! Could we trust Twitter? Did this mean the Web couldn't help us fulfill our most basic obligations to those in need? Not at all. There's no reason that organizations or individuals who want to use the Web to relay critical information have to rely on Twitter or Facebook or Google or any other giant of the technology industry in the first place. We've just forgotten a bit about how the Internet was supposed to work. Rescue organizations and charities should simply be able to use the Web sites they already have to deliver those messages. And wasn't that the promise of the Web in the first place? Weren't we going to stop relying on individual companies as gatekeepers for communication? When blogs took off a few years ago, wasn't it with the promise that we'd all be able to share our voices without having to ask any company for permission? Why did we give that up? Maybe it's because they made it look so easy. Twitter has done an impressive job of growing to handle its enormous number of users, while keeping its service simple. The company has even shown a reassuring sensitivity to the civic and social obligations that come from running such a popular communication service. Companies such as Facebook and Google have stepped up, too. Their hearts appear to be in the right place, and they're doing real work to help people communicate. But the Web is bigger than any one site or any one social network. In my own work, I run a nonprofit that strives to connect government policymakers to the expertise of ordinary people using the Web. We'll naturally make great use of Twitter and Facebook and all the other services, but it'd be unforgivable to pick only one of them as a platform for civic engagement. Telling people the only way to talk to the White House is on Facebook is like saying you can only call your senator by using a particular phone company. And that's the key lesson to learn from Twitter being down while people are depending on it for communication: Some needs are too important to put in the hands of any single company. Communicating in real time about emergency information is clearly one of them. Fortunately there's good news. Smart inventors have already made cutting-edge technologies that let any site deliver messages with the same immediacy as Twitter or Facebook. Now the challenge is reminding all of the social institutions, media organizations and government agencies that they need to use their own communications infrastructure just as much as they participate in services such as Twitter and Facebook. The reality is social networks come and go. Ten years ago, otherwise-sensible companies were paying millions of dollars to America Online to buy "AOL keywords." These were shortcuts to parts of the AOL service, which dominated U.S. Internet access at the time. In fact, many of us have allowed companies to become intermediaries to all our communications, whether it was AOL 10 years ago or Facebook today. But we don't need to ask gateways for permission to publish. We can run our own Web sites, at our own Web addresses and keep control over how we communicate. Think how ludicrous it would seem for someone to decide, say, to offer emergency services as an AOL keyword called "911" instead of having people just dial their phones? That sounds absurd, but you can see advertisements today that essentially say "Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/AcmeWidgets!" Now, Facebook probably won't fade away entirely, like early networks such as Friendster. But those Facebook addresses are just like AOL keywords 10 years earlier. And it is conceivable that the organizations and companies who communicate on Facebook today may want to become more independent. Whether due to emergency or just the everyday requirements of doing business, they ultimately will stop depending on a single point of contact for their communications. This is, after all, how the Web was designed to work. We already see governments and civic organizations using the Web as effectively as the best corporations and media. In the United States, we have a White House that's got an iPhone application and a State Department that's asking us to define democracy by responding on Twitter. Judging by how much technology has affected society already, those first experiments will soon evolve into full-fledged platforms for citizen participation and charitable action. And let's hope they won't have to worry if any one Web site goes down. Because we'll have a web of independent but connected communications systems, just as the Internet was always designed to be. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anil Dash. | Anil Dash says Internet was designed to endure disasters, free up communication .
Dash: If Web's goal is decentralization, why was Twitter crash so disabling for many?
Dash reminds us that social networks come and go; remember when AOL ruled?
Web users should take charge of their own communication efforts, Dash urges . |
117,042 | 231884179dee8db483ebad75e25cb010afa8f506 | The parents of a popular track star at the University of Pennsylvania who committed suicide on Friday, begged her not to go back to school when she revealed she was unhappy over Christmas. The death of 19-year-old freshman Madison Holleran has rocked UPenn community and sent shockwaves through her hometown of Allendale, New Jersey. And the tragedy has come even more into focus as her devastated family and friends have revealed her sadness stemmed from the strains the student found herself under since going to college. Her father James Holleran told the New York Post the student was struggling with her school workload while a family friend revealed her supportive parents told her she could stay home or transfer at Christmas. But sadly the determined teen insisted on going back. Holleran posted an image of a sunset over Rittenhouse Square to her Instagram account around 6pm on Friday night - just an hour before police say she jumped to her death from a city center building. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.17pm, the New Jersey Record reported. No one else was injured. Loss: Madison Holleran, a track and field star at UPenn, has jumped to her death. Her father James, right, said she had taken her life because she was overwhelmed by the workload at her new school . Final moments: She posted this image of Rittenhouse Square to Instagram an hour before her death . Her . father told the New York Post that she killed herself because she was . overwhelmed with schoolwork at UPenn - changing her from the happy . student she had been throughout high school. 'There . was a lot more pressure in the classroom at Penn,' James Holleran tearfully told . the Post. 'She wasn't normal happy Madison. Now she had worries and . stress.' Mr Holleran said that she had told her parents in December that she was feeling suicidal and was seeing a therapist. 'We . knew she needed help,' he said. 'She knew she needed help. She had lost . confidence in academics and she also lost confidence in her track . abilities.' On the day that . she jumped to her death, her father texted her that morning encouraging . her to see a therapist for some anti-depressants, and she said she . would. But just hours later, . she took her life. She left her parents a note and gifts for her family . on top of the parking garage before she jumped. Her family would not . detail the contents of the note. Distraught: Madison, who was one of five children, poses at a Penn meet with her mother Stacy . Beautiful: Hundreds of friends have shared their condolences on Madison's social networking pages . Popular: Madison, pictured left with a friend just months ago at Halloween, was remembered as 'bright and well-liked' by university staff . Mr Holleran said that he did not blame the school for his daughter's suicide but that he wanted to warn other parents. Family friend Bob Weckworth said the high-achiever ultimately couldn't cope with the expectations she'd set herself. 'People talked to her within hours of her act of suicide and there were no red flags, warning signs, nothing,' he told the Daily News. “This kid didn’t have a boyfriend. There were no drug issues. There were no mental health issues in her background. It was just the last two, three weeks where they saw a change in her,' said Weckworth. 'Something snapped.' 'She got a 3.5 her first semester, and I think just the high expectations that she put on herself was that that’s just not acceptable. 'She was not happy at Penn, but the parents had told her then, ‘Don’t go back. We’ll transfer. We’ll look at other schools. There’s no reason to go back, it’s OK,’' he said. Madison's funeral will be held today and her family have asked well-wishers to donate to . the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in lieu of flowers. Holleran . was a member of the university's varsity track and field team at UPenn. Her teammates were given the option of whether or not they wished to . compete in Saturday's meet. The school also canceled formal recruitment for sororities, in which Holleran was set to take part. 'The . entire Penn community is deeply saddened by the death of Madison . Holleran,' Penn president Amy Gutmann said in the statement. 'She . was bright and well-liked with an incredible future ahead of her. There . are simply no words that can properly convey the sense of heartache . that we all feel at such a tragic loss.' 'Our thoughts and prayers are with . [Holleran's] family and friends,' said Steve Dolan, Penn's director of . track and field, in a statement to the Daily Pennsylvanian. Promising: The athlete had been one of the most promising track stars to come out of her New Jersey county . Missed: The UPenn community was shaken by the death of Holleran, right, on Friday evening . 'This is a challenging time . for everyone involved with the program, but we will support each other . in the weeks to come and help her teammates and friends find their own . ways to honor her memory.' Holleran, . who was majoring in philosophy, politics and economics, had been a . standout track and soccer athlete in her high school. She originally planned to play soccer at Lehigh University before switching her mind, and choosing to run at Penn. She had been named to the . New Jersey Star-Ledger's all-state girls track team last year, while the Record . named her its Spring Athlete of the Season and Girls Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2013, the Star Ledger reported. Northern Highlands Girls Varsity Soccer, for which Holleran had played, tweeted: 'RIP . Madison. You are our beloved NHGS sister forever and always. You have . and always will be such a special person. We love you.' A funeral for Holleran, who is one of five children, is expected to be held on Tuesday. Tragic: She fell to her death on this Philadelphia city center street, but there has been no indication why . The tragedy is the third undergraduate death at UPenn since the start of winter break, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Senior Kevin Zhao died while traveling with his family in China over the break while junior Pulkit Singh died last Sunday in his off-campus house. For confidential support in the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org. | Madison Holleran took her life in Philadelphia city center on Friday night .
Her death has shocked the UPenn community, where she was a member of the track and field team, and her hometown in New Jersey .
Her father said she was struggling with school work and had shared her suicidal thoughts with her family and was seeing a psychiatrist .
She left a suicide note and gifts to her family on the roof before jumping . |
90,863 | 00dc47ce4dd4998b69810e77d90ef20687e29b85 | (EW.com) -- "True Blood" fans are still reeling from last night's epic and bloody season finale. SPOILER ALERT! We saw the returns of Grands (Lois Smith) and Rene (Michael Raymond-James), as well as possibly the resurrection of Russell (Denis O'Hare). But the most disturbing twists were Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) stabbing Jesus (Kevin Alejandro), and Tara (Rutina Wesley) getting shot in the head by Debbie Pelt (Britt Morgan). EW talked to Wesley about the finale and whether or not Tara survived the gunshot wound. What did you think when you read the season finale script? Well I mean, I knew ahead of time that it was coming. It's always a scary place as an actor to go there. I don't know what their plans are for next season. I know that Alan has said there are "big plans," but I don't know what that really means, and things can always change. I'm not for sure, but I trust him completely. At the end of the day, it's hard to see how I'm coming back, seeing as half of my head was just blown off. I don't know. They may figure something out. I mean it's True Blood. There's always flashbacks. There's phantasms. There's all this crazy stuff. It's very possible. But I'm excited either way. If it does all end, I've had the most amazing time of my life. It's really great. In your mind, is Tara dead? Well I mean half my head is missing. I'm just gonna keep saying that. You know, it's "True Blood." I feel like anything is possible. If anything, it is the golden hour though. If she is able to be saved, it's like she's got 20 seconds. It's not a lot of time. I'm curious to see what they're going to do with all of it. I hope I'm back. But again half my head is missing [laughs]. Maybe Tara will just wear a lot of hats? Yeah I mean yeah she can wear a lot of hats. Put some gauze on it. But people are going crazy! [Laughs] . It was crazy! Are people approaching you? Well my phone has been blowing up. I talked to Nelsan and his phone was blowing up. He was like, "People are about to start a riot over you." I think that's so sweet to know that people out there are really upset and some people are like, "I'm not watching the show anymore!" I'm like, C'mon guys. But it's not over. It ain't over til the fat lady sings. I'm just gonna take it one day at a time. As I said, I haven't seen any scripts from next season, but I know that I'm involved -- I just don't know in what way. Are you signed on for a season 5? Yeah. It's out there that Alan has already said that he has big plans for Tara. But things change. I don't know exactly what they have in store for me and how long that will be. It's tricky. And if I did know, I'm just not going to say. [Laughs] But again -- half the head is missing. The cool part is people are talking. And that's the question is: Is she dead or is she not? Because people can survive head wounds. But we have people on the show that can make things happen -- you know what I mean? I don't know what's going to happen the first episode of next season. I'm just as excited and curious you are. I hope it's good. I hope I stick around for a while. That would be nice. [Laughs] . Was it emotional shooting that scene on the kitchen floor? It was emotional. I think we all went out afterwards -- me, Britt and Anna -- just to sort of have a little celebration. But it was very very emotional. I don't think there was a dry eye when we shot that scene. It's very clear the relationship when Tara goes, "I would die for you." Basically, I would take a bullet for you. That's not necessarily a best friend -- she's like my sister. I think it was so amazing to see that. To see her walk in and go, "Oh, uh-uh." That goes to show you how much love Tara has. Anna in that moment I think played it so beautifully, and it was hard for me because I was like, "Okay, play dead. Play dead." For more on "True Blood's" finale as well as a preview of what's in store for season 5, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday, September 16. See full article at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. | "I don't know exactly what they have in store for me," Wesley said of her role on the show .
Wesley: "It's 'True Blood.' I feel like anything is possible."
"If it does all end, I've had the most amazing time of my life," she said. |
35,760 | 6596868e30a7aba3784880896fbed1316d7f8ef3 | (CNN) -- Two Australian Olympic swimmers who posted pictures on Facebook of themselves brandishing weapons have been ordered to take them down by the country's swimming authorities. The image, taken in a gun shop in Santa Clara, California, showed Nick D'Arcy with two pistols standing next to Kenrick Monk who is holding two shotguns across his chest, according to a Friday report in Australia's Herald Sun. The swimmers were training in the U.S. ahead of the Olympic Games in London later this year. Swimming Australia said in a statement that it does not condone "the posting of inappropriate content on Facebook, Twitter or any social media platform." As of Friday morning, neither of the swimmers' Facebook pages or Twitter accounts contained the photo. "It was all just meant to be a bit of fun, the photos were just a bit of fun," D'Arcy told local media after returning to Australia. "If anyone's been offended I deeply apologize. It was never the intent; it was never supposed to be offensive." Dozens of fans have posted on Monk's public Facebook page saying they support the athletes and that Swimming Australia had blown the photo out of proportion. Swimming Australia said they will be speaking with both athletes regarding the incident. While the pair faces possible Olympic sanctions, D'Arcy has been embroiled in controversy in the past. In 2008, he was dropped from the Beijing Olympic team following an assault charge for hitting teammate Simon Cowley and breaking his jaw, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported at the time. Both swimmers were named in Australia's team in March. | Two Australian Olympic swimmers ordered to take down controversial gun photo from Facebook .
Photo shows Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk each holding two guns in a U.S. gun shop .
Swimming Australia said it does not condone the posting of inappropriate photos online . |
220,949 | aa0669c303b54350edefbf22a85bb4c1dae51b11 | A blind man who had to leave his job when he could no longer see his computer has been told he is fit for work again - in a letter written in small print. Richard Alcock, 62, from Bury, Greater Manchester, took early retirement from his job as a local government clerk in a social services department because increased use of computers in his office meant he could no longer do his work. After 28 years' service in local government Mr Alcock, who has been registered blind after being diagnosed with congenital glaucoma before he was two, had to leave work and rely on benefits. 'Rotten trick': Mr Alcock, whose wife is also blind, had to wait until his carer could read the letter out to him . But earlier this month he passed a test set as part of the Government’s new welfare reforms to assess those who should or should not still remain off work and claim state handouts, and was told he should go back to work. The tests found he could lift one of his arms above his head, pick things up, stay in the same place for an hour, could control his bladder and 'stay conscious' whilst awake. As a result Mr Alcock, who reads using braille and uses a white cane to get around, was sent a letter saying he no longer qualifies for his monthly £350 Employment Support Allowance because he 'does not have limited capability for work.' He said: 'It’s a rotten trick. What was just . as upsetting was I had to wait for a support worker to come and read the . letter out to me - it seemed like the final insult. 'Admittedly two days after I got it read to me I had the braille version, but it’s not the point. The letter to Mr Alcock, whose wife Rachel, 64, is also blind, said: 'I understand that this decision may come as a shock to you, however I should explain that entitlement to employment and support allowance is not based on someone’s health or disability itself. Taken early retirement: Mr Alcock, from Bury, uses braille to read and a white stick to get around . 'It is based on what a person is capable of doing rather than assuming their health condition or disability automatically prevents them from being able to work.' Mr Alcock, who has not worked since he took early retirement from Birmingham City Council 12 years ago, said: 'I’ve been unemployed for this long so it’s going to be very difficult to go back to work now. Nobody wants to employ disabled people, and certainly not visually impaired people at that.' 'I understand the government wanting to get the bone idle back to work, but I worked hard in local government for the best part of 30 years despite my disability, and I didn’t even choose to leave my job in the first place. 'Technology moved on so quickly and I felt the workplace didn’t cater for the likes of me, so there was nothing I could do but take early retirement. 'I don’t know what I’ll do now. I have support workers who come twice a week and help me with paperwork and read things out that aren’t in braille and help with the cleaning and shopping - and I won’t be able to afford that without this money.' Mr Alcock, with his wife Rachel, 64, at home in Bury, says: 'What if they tell me to become a bricklayer?' The Work Capability Assessment lists a series of tasks which the recipient must say whether or not they can do them. A statement from a healthcare professional said: 'The healthcare professional discussed these descriptors with Mr Alcock at the assessment and it was confirmed that he does not have any problems with these activities and therefore these descriptors are not appropriate.' It went on: 'You can move unaided more than 200 metres on solid ground, including using a wheelchair. You can stay in one place standing for one hour without having to move away. You can raise at least one arm above head height. 'What happens if I walk down to the Jobcentre and they give me a job as a bricklayer?' - Richard Alcock, 62, who was registered blind 60 years ago and now has been told to go back to work . 'You can pick up and move objects such as an empty cardboard box or carton of liquid. You can use a computer keyboard or mouse and a pen or a pencil with at least one hand.' Mr Alcock said: 'You must score 15 points to be deemed unsuitable for work and I scored nine. It’s ridiculous. What am I going to do at my age? 'What happens if I walk down to the Jobcentre and they give me a job as a bricklayer? 'I’m going to appeal but if that’s unsuccessful, which it may very well be, my lifestyle is going to be drastically changed. It’s scary.' Mrs Alcock, a former bank telephonist, said: 'I think it’s a disgrace. He’s a 62-year-old blind man, for god’s sake. How can he just go back to work now? 'There’s young people out there who can’t get work, never mind people his age and with his condition. A DWP spokesman said: 'It is important that we don’t simply write people off. There is strong evidence that working can be beneficial for many people who have a health condition. 'But we also want to ensure that those who need it get the right support, which is why a decision on whether someone is well enough to work is taken after consideration of all the supporting medical evidence provided by the claimant. 'Anyone can appeal against a decision. Before the appeal is heard we review all decisions, taking into account further information provided.' | Glaucoma meant Richard Alcock, 62, was registered blind at 18 months .
Worked for 28 years in local government before his eyesight stopped him .
Mr Alcock, from Bury, had to take early retirement and uses braille to read .
Now he's passed a test to see if he's fit for work - and was told so in letter .
Mr Alcock, whose carer read the letter out to him, said: 'It's a rotten trick' |
7,336 | 14c6e41a3699f3d8a1a1f030e561129c156ebded | This is the moment a New Jersey driver gets spooked in the dark after being brought to a halt by two cones blocking the road. Ivan Tukhtin, 24, was traveling along the I-78 just after midnight on Sunday morning when he spotted the suspicious scene. Dash camera footage shows him slowing down to avoid the cones, when all of a sudden a man wearing a hoodie comes out of the shadows. Scroll down for video . Caught on camera: This is the moment a New Jersey driver gets spooked in the dark after being brought to a halt by two cones blocking the road . Something lurking: Ivan Tukhtin, 24, was traveling along the I-78 just after midnight on Sunday morning when he spotted the suspicious scene . Spooky: Dash camera footage shows him slowing down to avoid the cones, when all of a sudden a man wearing a hoodie comes out of the shadows . Ominous feeling: After a brief conversation with the man, Mr Tukhtin speeds off weaving around the cones . Mr Tukhtin is heard asking if he can help with something. The man replies 'yes' before walking over to the driver's door. At that point Mr Tukhtin accelerates and speeds off, weaving around the cones. He said he didn't think there was anything sinister about the man until he saw him reach into his pockets. 'Scary to think what could have happened,' he reflected. The third-year law student later pulled over and called 911 to report the incident. State police captain Stephen Jones told ABC News that the cones were gone by the time officers responded. However, they found the man Mr Tukhtin saw along with another man and learned their car had run out of gas. It's believed they were using the cones to get help. Both were arrested, with 37-year-old Kareem Walston from Orange, New Jersey, facing charges for driving under the influence and 36-year-old Hashen Clark from Jersey City for hindering. The incident remains under investigation. | Ivan Tukhtin, 24, was traveling along the I-78 just after midnight on Sunday morning when he spotted cones blocking the road .
Dash camera footage shows him slowing down to avoid them, when all of a sudden a man wearing a hoodie comes out of the shadows . |
70,683 | c866d4b285e2fc8ae3d96047924240bb84084763 | By . Leon Watson . North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un personally directed a series of rocket launches just miles from his country's border with the South, it emerged today. In an apparent act of defiance that puts the face of its leader to actions provoking North Korea's neighbours, the despot gave the order to launch the barrage. Satellite imagery and photos released by state media show the rockets were fired several miles north of a popular South Korean tourist observatory near the inter-Korean Demilitarised Zone. Scroll down for video . North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) attending a live-fire drill by a North Korean artillery unit near the eastern border with South Korea . Kim uses binoculars as he guides a live-firing exercise in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang . The roar of rockets and the burning trails from the Soviet-era projectiles on Monday could be seen rising from clouds of smoke between mountains on the North Korean side, footage filmed by staff members at the observatory showed. It was not immediately clear why North Korea conducted drills so close to the border, but state media has in recent days called the presence of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in South Korea a 'sinister interference'. 'They know South Korean officials will report their missile launches so they've decided to seize the initiative and announce it themselves,' said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership. 'They'll get themselves into the news cycle, or attach themselves into a story, rather than let South Korea do so,' he said. Kim Jong Un inspects a civil police post under KPA Unit 171 and a post of the third company of the second battalion under the unit guarding the border . The roar of rockets and the burning trails from the Soviet-era projectiles on Monday could be seen rising from clouds of smoke between mountains on the North Korean side . Kim personally gave the order to launch the rocket barrage, reported the North's main newspaper . North Korea routinely fires short range missiles or rockets into waters off its east and west coasts, but state media rarely shows Kim supervising drills so close to South Korea and has only in recent weeks shown the young leader present at short-range ballistic missile and rocket launches. Kim personally gave the order to launch the rocket barrage, reported the North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun. South Korean officials confirmed the reports. 'North Korea fired from a position very close to the DMZ. It represents such a threat to South Korea that even our civilian tourists were able to witness columns of water caused by North Korean shells landing in the sea,' South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said at a news briefing. 'Our government takes the firm stance that we will mercilessly retaliate if North Korea fires missiles or artillery south of its border with the DMZ.' Photos carried by North's main newspaper showed mobile rocket launchers firing projectiles beside an inter-Korean railway that heads into a mountain range which North Korea has declared a special tourism zone and was once open to South Korean tourists. North and South Korea are still technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The rivals are scheduled to meet this Thursday to discuss preparations ahead of the Asian Games, due to be held in the South Korean city of Incheon later this year. Last Sunday, state media showed Kim supervising the launch of two Scud-class missiles, in defiance of a U.N. ban on the isolated country's use of ballistic missile technology. North Korea, whose lone major ally is neighbouring China, has threatened a fourth nuclear test in violation of U.N. sanctions and has test-fired short-range missiles and rockets four times in the past two weeks. | Kim Jong Un personally gave the order to launch the barrage .
Rockets fired several miles north of a popular tourist observatory .
The roar of rockets and the trails seen rising from clouds of smoke .
Not clear why North Korea conducted drills so close to the border . |
166,161 | 62d7beb7cd4943c21f81a7fb1fa788603b750f67 | (CNN) -- Some people take many years to find their calling in life -- but for Adam van Koeverden, it was right in front of him in black and white. On a small section of his local newspaper, the Canadian boy who would become an Olympic champion saw his future flash before him. An advert, in the otherwise unremarkable Oakville Beaver, had caught his mother's eye. It was calling out for the next kayak superstar -- and her son had already tried everything else without much success. "It was one of those turning points in your life where you look back and you're like, 'Wow that day really changed the rest of my life quite significantly,' " van Koeverden told CNN's Human to Hero series. "It was a long time ago now. I wonder what would have happened with me and where I'd be today if instead of that newspaper article, my mum was reading something different or brought me down to another sports club? Or didn't at all? I think about that a lot." As a 13-year-old who had tried his hand at a whole host of sports including soccer, basketball and volleyball, it was the kayak which caught the imagination of a determined teenager. After his first foray into the world of paddling, there was never a chance he'd turn back. "Every kid wants to have something to brag about. I tried out for all the teams growing up but I just wasn't really showing any signs of any athletic prowess," van Koeverden said. "In kayaking it was the sort of a thing I could go out there and practice on my own. It took a lot of concentration." Unknown quantity . Some 18 years have passed since he first picked up a paddle, but van Koeverden has lost none of the boyish enthusiasm which propelled him from an unknown to one of the sport's most famous stars. From arriving as a virtual unknown at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he won gold in the K1 500-meter event and bronze in the K1 1,000-meter race, he went on to establish himself as an icon of the sport. But even now, with four Olympic medals, two World Championship wins and 26 World Cup stage victories to his name, van Koeverden is still desperate for more success. The opportunity to compete at Rio in 2016 is a huge lure for the man who grew up dreaming of the day he would compete at the greatest Games on earth. And at the age of 31, that dream still remains -- perhaps burning even stronger. Rio Games . "I've definitely committed to Rio," he said. "I'm training like I'm training for the Olympics, and it's just difficult committing to something that's so far away. "I really have enjoyed the process of diversification and trying new things but I can't really get away from the fact that I'm a kayaker and I love to race, and there's a big race happening in Brazil in a couple of years' time. "I'm not going to be too old for it. I don't want to retire ... but I don't want to be washed up. I don't want to be the old guy on the water. "I don't want to think about retirement and I hope the next phase of my life is just as rewarding and provides me with the same opportunity to work hard." Climbing peaks . Van Koeverden has stood on top of the world -- in more ways than one -- but he has not lost sight of the smaller things in life. The man who walked into Beijing's Bird Nest stadium holding the Maple Leaf aloft in 2008 is now busy flying the flag for children across the world who can only dream of becoming a Olympic hero. In November last year, van Koeverden climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for charity Right to Play. By ascending the world's tallest freestanding mountain -- its peak is 5,895 meters (19,336 feet) above sea level -- he and six others helped to raise over $100,000 for children across the world. The scheme runs a whole host of educational programs which include seminars on AIDS and HIV, conflict resolution, healthy active living, sanitation and cleanliness. Van Koeverden proudly sports a "Right to Play" sticker on his kayak -- something which he is often asked about. "When I'm racing my boat in Europe people always ask me, 'Is that like a gaming site, are they like your sponsors?' "It's a good conversation starter because they don't know it's a charity that I do some work with. "They're a children-focused charity that is helping to improve lives for those who aren't fortunate enough to be able to say that they can take sport and play for granted. "Unfortunately it's not something everybody globally can take for granted. "When I was 13, I just wandered into a canoe club and had access to a competitive sport with great coaching and great facility. "That's just not available to everybody, so it's great that the Right to Play is bridging that gap and leveling the playing field." A bigger picture . Despite a hectic competition schedule and his constant traveling, the opportunity to help others remains a driving force for van Koeverden. "It comes down to priorities," he added. "I'm tremendously fortunate to be able to do a sport for my living and be a full-time athlete, so any spare time that I have, I should be able to devote to these sorts of efforts. "It's easy to turn a blind eye or forget when you're so focused on moving a kayak, like how obscure that is and how selfish it is in the long run because, really, I can't think of a more selfish sport. "I'm in a little boat all by myself out on the water paddling as fast I can every single day just so I can go and win a kayak race. "While I feel very fortunate, I also know there's a bigger picture and there's other things out there that we need to consider and if I can be a part of that then I will." | Adam van Koeverden is an Olympic kayak champion .
The Canadian has won four Olympic medals and two world titles .
He took up the sport as a 13-year-old after spotting advert in local newspaper .
Now 31, he is aiming to win gold at Rio 2016 Olympics . |
284,947 | fd3c1dc357e6dbd9e1d3bd6426b72974a10ec2a2 | (CNN) -- A year ago, few outside of Wasilla, Alaska, had ever heard of Levi Johnston. All that changed last summer when Gov. Sarah Palin accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination. On "Larry King Live" on Wednesday, Levi Johnston talks about his relationship with the Palin family. Soon after she entered the national spotlight, it was learned the conservative governor's teenaged daughter, Bristol, was pregnant with Levi's baby. The Johnston-Palin family saga has been in the news ever since. In a "Larry King Live" exclusive interview Wednesday night, Johnston, along with his mother, Sherry, and sister, Mercede, talked about baby Tripp, why he's not seeing much of his son, what his legal intentions are and the Johnstons' ambiguous relationship with the Palins. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity: . Larry King: How are you handling all of this attention? Levi Johnston: We've got people camped outside the house and in front of my sister's school and that kind of thing. It's pretty crazy. King: Are you surprised at it? Johnston: I lived back in a small town. So I mean I never thought that would ever happen to me. And when she [Sarah Palin] finally told, everybody that Bristol was pregnant and stuff, I didn't think it was going to get this rough. King: Did the Palin family seem close-knit? What was it like for you dating in the atmosphere of the governor's daughter? Johnston: They always treated me like a son. They were real nice to me. And I thought of her [Sarah Palin] as like my second mother. You know, Todd was always a great guy and helped me out with a lot of things. King: When it began to be sexual and romantic [with Bristol], did the governor know? Johnston: You know, I'm not sure. That's a question I can't really answer. But, you know, I think... King: What do you think? Johnston: You know, she says she [didn't] know. But I don't know. I think she'd probably know, you know? Watch Levi Johnston's interview with Larry King » . King: What about her husband? Do you think he knew? Johnston: I would think so. King: Where did sex occur? In their house? Johnston: You know, Larry, that I'm a gentleman. And I don't kiss and tell. So I don't think that really matters. King: You said you practiced safe sex most of the time, right? Johnston: Right. King: We know that one time that didn't happen. Were you surprised at the pregnancy? Johnston: A little bit, yes. It came as a bit of a shock. King: How did you tell Sarah? Johnston: We went over there and we had one of Bristol's friends over there. And we all kind of sat down on the couch and we ended up telling her that way. King: What did she say? Johnston: She was shocked. I mean she probably didn't really know what to say. No mother wants to hear that her her daughter is pregnant at 18 years old. King: When the baby, Tripp, was born, was there ever a thought that you would not be the active father of that child? Johnston: No. King: So what happened? Johnston: I don't know what happened. I think somewhere along the lines, we just weren't hitting it off anymore and... King: But they won't let you see your kid? Johnston: No. I can go over there and see him. But it's kind of an uncomfortable thing for me to go over there. You know, I want to be able to take him and do that kind of thing, go do the father thing with him and I can't. King: Why can't you? Johnston: You know, I'm not sure. King: Do you have a lawyer? Johnston: No. King: Why not? Johnston: We're not in a big fight with the Palins. I still like the family very much. I think we can work things out. I don't think either one of us want to go to lawyers and try to fight for custody and stuff like this. King: But then why can't you take your baby for a weekend? Johnston: I don't know. King: But you're not interested in finding out legally why you can? Johnston: I am. If it keeps going like this, I think we're going to have to. ... King: Now, [upon] further reflection, you might have a lawyer? Johnston: Yes, I do. King: OK. So are you afraid that saying you have a lawyer might anger the Palins? Johnston: I don't want to stir anything up ... King: When was the last time you saw Tripp? Johnston: A couple weeks ago. King: Do you call the house to see how he is? Johnston: Yes. I call and check up on him every once in a while. And, you know, she [Bristol] keeps the talk short, you know. But I do check up on him. King: She [Bristol] seems to be really ticked. Is there something you did? Johnston: That might be the case, but I don't see what it would be. King: In other words, you have no idea why she's angry? Johnston: No. I think it has a lot to do with her and my sister. She [Bristol] doesn't trust who she hangs out with. King: Have you spoken to the governor? Johnston: I haven't talked to her for quite a while, actually. King: Well, wouldn't you want to know what part she's playing in not letting her daughter see your son? Johnston: Yes, that would be nice. I mean, my dad talks to Todd a lot. And after we did that first interview with Tyra [Banks], he hasn't -- he hasn't called, you know. And they just pretty much blew us off. So it's just getting worse. King: Is there any chance the two of you could get together again? Johnston: You know, I don't see that ever happening. I just hope that we can come to an understanding and become friends and raise this baby together. King: We told the Palin camp that Levi Johnston would be our guest tonight and asked for a comment. We got this response today from Megan Stapleton, the Palin family spokesperson: "Bristol is focused on going to college, raising Tripp and advocating abstinence." [Levi's mother and sister join the interview] . King: All right, Sherry, What do you make of all of this? Sherry Johnston, Levi's mother: It's a whirlwind. I still haven't grasped my whole mind around all this. King: Were you mad at the pregnancy, angry? Sherry Johnston: No. No, I wasn't. King: Why not? Sherry Johnston: He's talked about babies a lot since him and Bristol has been together. And he's always been playing with kids. And I've always wanted to be a grandma ever since mine grew up, so ... King: What went wrong, do you think? Sherry Johnston: I'm still trying to figure that out. King: Do you think you might have been in the equation, Mercede, since Levi said that Bristol didn't like you? Mercede Johnston, Levi's sister: I'm not too sure. I think it's a big part because of my friends. But I don't understand why. King: What kind of friends? Mercede Johnston: Friends that have previously dated my brother, they still talk. And there's kind of a jealousy issue between her and my friends. King: Somebody is not letting your son see your grandson. You've got to go somewhere with that. Sherry Johnston: Well, that's what we're all trying to find out, what to do. King: Have you contacted them? Sherry Johnston: Not personally. I have talked to Bristol, seeing if I could take Tripp, come over and get him, bring him to the house. But that hasn't happened. King: What did she say? Sherry Johnston: She said that she would call me back. King: And didn't? Sherry Johnston: No. King: Do you have a guess as to why they're being this way? Sherry Johnston: I don't know. Things started changing different, I would say, I noticed in November. Things were starting to chill down, not getting as friendly and I'm not sure [why]... King: Now, he says you do have a lawyer? Sherry Johnston: Yes, we do. We want to keep this on the lowdown and, you know, not start trouble. But, obviously, if things don't change, that's our next action when we get back ... King: An e-mail question from Russell in Wilson, Oklahoma, "Levi, how much child support do you have to pay each month?" Levi Johnston: I'm not doing any child support right now until we go to court. I have everything my boy needs back home: diapers, toys, everything. King: Sherry, in December, shortly before Tripp's birth, you were arrested on drug charges, right? What is the status of that case? Sherry Johnston: I can't go there right now. When I have my day in court, then I would love to be able to set the record straight. There's a lot of misconception out there, but I can't go any further than that right now. King: And you're through with high school, right? Or aren't you? Levi Johnston: No, I haven't taken my final test, no. King: Are you going to do that? Levi Johnston: Yes. | Levi Johnston tells Larry King he is uncomfortable going to visits to see son .
Johnston first tells King he hasn't gotten a lawyer, then later says he has gotten one .
Johnstons say relationship with the Palins have turned frosty, not sure why .
Levi's sister, Mercede, talks about her turbulent relationship with Bristol Palin . |
251,636 | d1b6bb1db8e42907754a152e18cceb4b27d24839 | Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Deadly blasts targeting foreign nationals in the Afghan capital Friday killed at least 17 people and wounded many others. Authorities were trying to determine how many people died and the nationalities of those slain. Kabir Al-Amiri, an employee at Kabul hospital, said eight Indians and one Pakistani national were among the dead. Afghan Interior Ministry officials said an Italian was killed, and the Indian Embassy said four Indians were killed in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks near the Safi Landmark Hotel in the neighborhood of Shahr-E-Naw, where there are a number of government buildings and U.N. offices as well as supermarkets, banks, diplomatic facilities and villas for well-to-do Afghans. The force of the first explosion -- at about 6:30 a.m. (9 p.m. Thursday ET) -- shook parts of the Afghan capital as windows shattered and smoke billowed. The sound of gunfire filled the air. The attack started with a suicide car bomb and four suicide bombers with explosive-laden vests, said Taliban spokesman Zaidullah Mujahid. Three of the bombers were killed, he said. About 20 minutes later, a second large explosion occurred. Afghan police blocked off roads leading to the area of the blasts. CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this report . | 17 killed in attacks in Kabul, nationalities still to be confirmed .
Taliban claim responsibility for attacks, which started with suicide car bomb .
Three bombers were killed, Taliban spokesman says .
Neighborhood has a number of government buildings and U.N. offices . |
70,932 | c9237a2f555ac1ebb2d479240a6486e8f7ab4fa6 | By . Mark Duell and Jennifer Madison . Last updated at 2:10 PM on 27th December 2011 . A 20-month-old girl who vanished a week before Christmas after being put to bed in her father's home was taken away and didn't walk out on her own, investigators said today as they announced the largest reward ever offered in the state to help find a missing person. It marked the first time since the search for Ayla Reynolds began that police have directly said they don't believe she left the house by herself. 'At this point in the investigation... we are confident that Ayla did not walk out of the house by herself,' Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said at a news conference at which he announced a $30,000 reward was being offered for help finding her. Toddler: Ayla Reynolds, of Waterville, Maine, was reported missing from her bed on Saturday morning by her father Justin DiPietro, who told police he last saw her when he put her to bed the previous night . 'We believe that someone was involved . in taking her out of the house, and that's where the focus of this . investigation has turned.' The reward, gathered with donations . from residents and businesses in the Waterville area, is the biggest . ever offered in Maine for a missing person, state Department of Public . Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said. Massey said the developments in a . mystery that's been featured on national television programs have not . shifted the matter from a missing-person case to a criminal . investigation. Despite the passing of the Christmas holiday with no sign . of Ayla, police remain committed to finding her, the chief said. 'The intensity of the investigation . is as high today as it was the first day,' he said. 'We continue to . employ every single resource we have.' Blames father: Trista Reynolds, little Ayla's mother, said the girl's father should have protected her . Removed: Trista, a recovering alcoholic, said state officials removed Ayla from her care while she went into rehabilitation . Massey was joined at the news conference by Waterville attorney John Nale, who appealed for the safe return of Ayla. 'I ask and I plead with the person or . persons who have Ayla Reynolds that they please keep her safe and . return her safely to us,' Nale said. Hundreds of police officers, game . wardens and local residents have been searching for Ayla since she was . reported missing by her father, Justin DiPietro, on the morning of . December 17. Massey said a report about the case on the Fox network . television program 'America's Most Wanted' during the weekend generated . some leads, which are being checked by police. DiPietro told investigators he last . saw Ayla when he put her to bed the night before at his home in . Waterville, a city of 16,000 residents about 20 miles north of the state . capital, Augusta. Father: Justin DiPietro, left, told police he last saw Ayla, right, when he put her to bed last Friday night. He said she was wearing green pyjamas with polka dots and the words ‘Daddy's Princess’ on them . My mom: Ayla, right, ended up with her father after child welfare workers intervened while her mother, Trista Reynolds, left, checked into a 10-day rehab programme . He said she was wearing polka dot pajamas with the words 'Daddy's Princess' on them and had a cast on her broken left arm. 'That is the last place Ayla was seen. So as you might expect, we're going to give a lot of attention to that particular house' Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey . Ayla ended up with her father after . child welfare workers intervened while her mother, Trista Reynolds, . checked herself into a 10-day rehabilitation program. Reynolds, who completed the rehab, . had filed court papers that she said she hoped would lead to the return . of her daughter. The filing came the day before Ayla was last seen. Appearing on the Today show last week, Reynolds said she blames DiPietro for their daughter's disappearance. Sadness: Isaiah Vear, 5, of Waterville, Maine, leaves a memorial after placing a toy for missing 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds outside the toddler's home on Thursday in Waterville . Address: Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey, at the podium, speaks to members of the media regarding the investigation into the disappearance of 20 month-old Ayla Reynolds at a conference in Waterville, Maine . 'I trusted him to keep her safe,' she said. 'And now she is missing and I don't . know where she is. I blame him right now. He did not protect her the way . he was supposed to.' DiPietro has said he has 'no idea what happened to Ayla or who is responsible.' 'I will not make accusations or . insinuations towards anyone until the police have been able to prove . who's responsible for this,' he said. He said last week his family and friends would do 'everything we can to assist in this investigation and get Ayla back home.' | Ayla Reynolds reported missing from Waterville, Maine, home last Saturday .
Five-figure reward largest ever offered in the state for a missing person .
Police following up 200 public tips as scores of investigators join search .
Police place yellow tape around home she shared with father Justin DiPietro . |
37,303 | 69b00db252e619aceed9c6feb55f0a9ee543d031 | (CNN) -- Ethnic Tibetans' ability to thrive in high altitudes with low oxygen is the fastest genetic change ever observed in humans, according to a study published Friday in the journal Science. Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley said their comparison of the genomes of ethnic Tibetan and Han Chinese could help scientists understand how the body deals with decreased oxygen and diseases associated with oxygen deprivation in the womb, according to a news release on the university's website. The evolutionary biologists say the results of their study, which compares the genomes of 50 Tibetans and 40 Han Chinese, shows that Tibetans rapidly developed a unique ability to survive in altitudes above 13,000 feet, where oxygen levels are about 40 percent lower than at sea level. The study said that Tibetans evolved to adapt to high altitudes after splitting off from the Han about 2,750 years ago. The study identified more than 30 genes with DNA mutations that have become more prevalent in Tibetans than Han Chinese, nearly half of which are related to how the body uses oxygen. "For such a very strong change, a lot of people would have had to die simply due to the fact that they had the wrong version of a gene," said Rasmus Nielsen, a professor of integrative biology at Berkeley who led the statistical analysis. | Ethnic Tibetans took less than 3,000 years to adapt to high altitudes, study says .
Professor: Adaptation is fastest genetic change ever observed in humans .
Study compares genomes of ethnic Tibetan and Han Chinese .
Evolution allows Tibetans to thrive in high-altitude areas, researchers say . |
217,991 | a63fe0effc5472f49bfd382e2f1d776c29ba4783 | More than 75 vehicles got tangled up in a series of chain-reaction pileups Wednesday along a snowy stretch of Interstate 95 in Maine, injuring at least 17 people, state police said. The pileups in Etna, near Bangor, happened at about 7:30 a.m. and involved several cars, a school bus and a tractor-trailer, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. No fatalities were immediately reported, but McCausland said some of the injuries were serious. Emergency personnel climbed on top of cars to reach motorists stuck in the middle of the jumble of vehicles. McCausland said one veteran trooper described the site as a 'giant pile of metal.' Scroll down for video . Accident: More than 75 vehicles got tangled up in a series of chain-reaction pileups Wednesday along a snowy stretch of Interstate 95 in Maine, injuring at least 17 people, state police said. Wreckage: A mangled vehicle from a multi vehicle pileup sits along Interstate 95 in Etna, Maine, about 20 miles west of Bangor, Wednesday . State police said the crash was the biggest in Maine in more than 15 years. Rhonda Kent, an occupational therapist from Saint Albans, said her car was sideswiped amid the pileup, which sent cars and trucks spinning. Kent, who was not injured, said a logging truck came dangerously close to hitting her and spun off into a ditch. 'It was almost surreal, something you see in the movies,' Kent said. Both northbound lanes on a 30-mile stretch of highway were closed for five hours, and drivers were told to take other exits to avoid the area. One northbound lane reopened around 12:30 p.m.; the other opened several hours later. Two hospitals reported taking in 17 patients, some in serious condition. One person at the scene of the crash had a heart attack and some people suffered broken bones, police said. Three students on the bus were shaken up but not injured. Police said the main crash involved more than 25 vehicles, and there were a series of other wrecks leading up to the crash site. Some of the crashes involved two or three vehicles, and then other vehicles went off the road to avoid hitting them. State Police Lt. Sean Hashey said he was 'absolutely shocked that we don't have any fatalities.' He said the crashes were likely the result of poor visibility, slippery roads and speed but cautioned that reconstructing exactly how the events unfolded could be impossible. 'We'll never know exactly who hit who,' Hashey said. 'It was just such a mess of vehicles.' At a travel stop in nearby Newburgh, people involved in the crash gathered to give statements to police and wait to see their wrecked vehicles. Some were keeping warm in a parked school bus. Workers at the truck stop reported seeing more than a dozen ambulances try to access the highway from a nearby ramp. Rose Butts, a hospital housekeeper from Plymouth, said she swerved to miss part of the accident and hit a snow bank. She and a friend were not injured but waited in her car for five hours for help. 'We're thankful that we're both alive and both OK,' she said. Dylan Carroll, a Plymouth auto mechanic, said he swerved and hit a snow bank before a garbage truck spun out, tapped his car and blocked him. He was not injured. 'I thought it was going to be much worse than it was,' Carroll said. There was at least an inch of snow on the ground at the time of the crash, according to the National Weather Service. Snow was forecast to fall throughout the day with total accumulations of 5 to 9 inches. State police spokesman Steve McCausland said the pileup happened early Wednesday in heavy snow and involved many cars, a school bus and a tractor trailer . No fatalities were immediately reported but McCausland says some of the injuries were serious . | More than 75 vehicles crashed Wednesday on a snowy stretch of Interstate 95 in Maine, injuring at least 17 people, police said .
The pileup in Etna, and involved several cars, a school bus and a tractor-trailer, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said .
No fatalities were immediately reported, but McCausland said some of the injuries were serious . |
150,009 | 4df05f5777109470350b13868089ae82d5c8e94b | Meet Bertie, the three-year-old tawny owl that is agoraphobic. It shares a farmhouse with its owner Peter Middleton, and after its daily bath likes to dry its feathers by sitting on top of the aga. When it isn’t welcoming guests with a hoot or preening them on the sofa, it is hard at work letter shredding in the office. Bertie the three-year-old tawny owl is agoraphobic - and is far more comfortable in the home helping its owner Peter Middleton do the washing up (pictured) Multi-skilled Bertie also likes to help Mr Middleton make a cup of tea - and is fond of sitting on top of the kettle . Mr Middleton said the domesticated owl, which he adopted after it was left abandoned on the ground, hates the outdoors. He said: ‘He just doesn’t like going outside, I think it is agoraphobic. He’s not used it and he’s very comfortable in the house. ‘He’s been here for over three years and it totally and utterly domesticated now, bless him. Bertie wouldn’t last a couple of days out there.’ Mr Middleton, 56, an organic farmer in Northumberland who runs Trewitley Owl Trust, a charity which looks after around 50 rescued owls, said Bertie came to him from the local vets. He said: ‘He arrived as a forlorn mud-covered chick with infection feet. He was in a very sorry state. The domestic owl casts a watchful eye over Mr Middleton's handy work. The creature was found by the organic farmer abandoned on the ground . The creature spent the first two months of its life being cared for by vets after he was rescued. Mr Middleton said he was a ball-sized piece of fluff when he was found . Bertie takes a daily bath in a dog bowl, pictured, in the comfort of Mr Middleton's kitchen . ‘He spent the first two months of his life being cared for by the vets. He was just a tiny tennis ball-sized piece of fluff. He was becoming a bit of a liability as he was flying around, standing on top of the doors and watching everybody.’ Mr Middleton was given him to take care of and first of all put Bertie in an aviary with all the other owls. ‘He was agitated and didn’t like it so I go a big dog’s cage on my back porch and put him inside there. He has a lovely view out of the window and hoots when anyone arrives. ‘It is a bit like having a guard dog’, he said. Mr Middleton said his sister, who often visits the farm, is welcomed with a special noise. He said: ‘He’s very sweet actually, he’s a very gentle little bird. After its bath, the creature likes to settle on the aga to dry out its feathers. Mr Middleton says domesticated Bertie wouldn't last a couple of days outside . Bertie sits on the aga. Mr Middleton runs Trewitley Owl Trust - a charity that looks after 50 rescued owls . Bertie is very fond of humans and likes to preen guests to the home as they sit on the sofa . ‘He likes his house and as far as he is concerned the farm is his home. The only thing that scares him is when there are helicopters flying above – he gets a bit frightened.’ As part of Bertie’s daily routine, he has a bath in the dog’s bowl or a special tray put out for it then dries his feathers out on top of the aga, Mr Middleton explained. Its diet includes day-old chicks and mice. He said: ‘He does what owls do best, he looks around, sleeps, eats and has a bath. He dries and preens himself on top of the aga – on top of the mat – because it is nice and warm for him. ‘He has it all worked out.’ Bertie, who should live for another 15 years, lives in the farm with a pet raven – which it has not yet met – and three dogs. The creature works for its keep - and can often be founding letter shredding in Mr Middleton's office . Bertie sits in the office. Organic farmer Mr Middleton says he rarely comes in contact with other owls . ‘He doesn’t come into contact with other owls and I don’t allow the pet raven to meet him as he’s very territorial and likes to be the centre of attention. ‘Bertie is such a self-contained little animal, he stands on the back of the sofa and if anybody sitting on it, he will walk along and preen their hair. He likes to have contact with people. ‘He hoots at the dogs when we let them out but otherwise he ignores them.’ When Bertie is not busy washing itself, it assists its owner in his office upstairs. Mr Middleton says owls are sedentary by nature - and Bertie is very content watching the world go by . Bertie, who should live for another 15 years, lives with Mr Middleton's other pets - a raven and three dogs . Mr Middleton said: ‘He likes my office and either sits on my shoulder or sits on the windowsill and that way he has a lovely view onto open fields. ‘We often say how privileged we are to have him, he’s so gentle, you could trust him with a small child. Bertie is a wonderful animal. ‘He likes preening himself and he loves paper. He makes a mess in the office in no time by shredding paper. He’s also fascinated by glittery pencils.’ Mr Middleton added: ‘Owls by nature are fairly sedentary, Bertie is incredibly content sitting and watching the world go by.’ | Three-year-old tawny owl, found abandoned by its owner, is agoraphobic .
Owner Peter Middleton says creature is more comfortable in the house .
It likes having a daily bath before drying its feathers on top of the aga .
Is also fond of letter shredding in the office and preening house guests . |
103,587 | 1199c54f6c77da187f7734cf1c057c007526c159 | Children and teens who have a parent with bipolar disorder are 14 times more likely than their peers to have bipolar-like symptoms themselves, and are two to three times more likely to be found to have an anxiety or mood disorder, such as depression, according to a report in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. More than 10 percent of the kids with a bipolar parent had signs of a bipolar-spectrum, mood or anxiety disorder. When both parents are bipolar, children are 3.6 times more likely to have bipolar disorder than children with only one parent with the psychiatric condition. Bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic-depressive illness, affects 5.7 million people over age 18 in the United States. The condition is characterized by extreme fluctuations in energy, mood, and the ability to function. For example, someone experiencing an "episode" may have a manic state of euphoria for a period of time, followed by a bout of severe depression. Although bipolar disorder may run in families, it's not guaranteed that children of bipolar parents will develop the condition too. "I don't want parents to think 'I have bipolar, so my kids have bipolar,'" says Boris Birmaher, M.D., of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and author of the new study, called the Pittsburgh Bipolar Offspring Study. "Yes, these kids are at a higher risk, but that doesn't necessarily mean your child will have it." Health.com: Bipolar disorder is different for women . In the study, Birmaher and colleagues looked at 233 parents with bipolar disorder and their 388 children, ages 6 to 18. They were compared with a control group of 143 parents and 251 children with no family history of the condition. Overall, 10.6 percent of the children with a bipolar parent had signs of a bipolar spectrum disorder (which includes a range of symptoms from severe to less so) or a mood or anxiety disorder. In comparison, only two children, or 0.8 percent, in the control group had such symptoms. It's not clear whether genes, environment or a combination of both are responsible for the link, or possibly greater awareness and diagnosis of psychiatric conditions in bipolar families. Health.com: How a bipolar patient learned to manage mania . However, Birmaher says identifying the condition at an earlier age may ultimately help young people. "The longer you wait, the more complicated the condition could become," Birmaher says. Previous studies have suggested that it can take 10 years of symptoms before people get a correct diagnosis and proper treatment. "Ten years is a long time -- especially in the life of a child," he says. The condition is difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be mistaken for depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or one of the disruptive behavior disorders. Signs of a manic episode include increased energy, extreme irritability, racing thoughts, spending sprees, abuse of drugs (particularly cocaine), and increased sexual drive. A depressive episode may range from disruptive sleeping patterns to thoughts of death or suicide. "The chronic highs and lows are only two manifestations of the condition," says Gary Sachs, M.D., director of the bipolar clinic and research program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "But there are plenty of people who live a full, functional life and still have bipolar disorder." Health.com: How to care for and cope with a bipolar spouse . Bipolar disorder cannot be cured, and is treated with mood-stabilizing medications like lithium, as well as psychotherapy, and psychosocial intervention. The ongoing study will follow this group of parents and children to explore further bipolar triggers including stress, family interactions, and genetics. Health.com: My story: I'm bipolar and struggle with addiction . "This study in no way should be a reason for someone with bipolar not to have children," says Sachs. "But there is a risk and that might make someone's child who has difficulty seek help sooner." In adults with bipolar disorder, up to 60 percent say they had their first symptoms before the age of 21. "Bipolar disorder is a multidimensional condition, and it can affect a lot of things including your physical health," says Sachs. "That is what we are learning from studies like this where you begin to see other psychiatric conditions." The National Institute of Mental Health funded the study. Birmaher has participated in pharmaceutical company-sponsored forums and a study co-author has served on the advisory boards of several pharmaceutical companies. Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright Health Magazine 2009 . | Kids with a bipolar parent are 14 times more likely to have bipolar-like symptoms .
They're also more likely to have a diagnosis of an anxiety or mood disorder .
Bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million people over age 18 in the United States .
Findings might help families recognize problem, get help for a child earlier . |
143,788 | 45f0c46e6d2dd06630fe3c5c76f7a5d9d6aac7bf | A conman known as 'Moneybags' has had his 1922 Rolls-Royce seized by police as they attempt to recover the $17 million he stole from the New Zealand government. New Zealand fraudster Michael Swann's Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is expected to earn between $60,000 and $80,000 at auction in Auckland this week. The sale comes after the IT man previously had his other assets, including dozens of luxury cars, vintage motorbikes, speed boats, houses and even an old fire engine auctioned off in 2013. Michael Swann's Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was discovered in a shipping container . The vintage car was discovered in a container at Port Otago's Dunedin container yard last year, according to the Otago Daily Times. Police said Swann paid $160,000 to a man in Christchurch in 2004 for the car. 'It is an English built car and comes with copies of original build, ownership and service records,' Turners Car Auctions said. The vintage car was made in 1922 and is expected to earn $60,000-$80,000 at auction . Michael Swann (left) was jailed in 2009 for a $16.9 million fraud against a health board. Mr Swann's house (right) at 14 and 24 Ferntree Dr, Wakari, Dunedin, was bought for $644,000 and sold for $585,000 at auction in 2013 . It was reportedly built in 1922 but rebodied in 1934 in Buckinghamshire, England. Mr Swann was released from jail a year ago after he was convicted of defrauding Otago District Health Board of nearly $17 million. He was jailed in 2009 after he stole millions of dollars of public money while working for the DHB as the Chief Information Officer. One of Mr Swann's many vintage cars that were seized: A Jaguar E-Type V-12, bought for $75,000 and sold for $53,000 . His collection boasted this 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL bought for $65,000 and sold for $58,000 . He owned a 1990 Porsche 928, bought for $24,000 and sold for $13,000 . He made up dodgy invoices and charged the government $16.9 million for IT-related services that were never provided. During his serious spending spree, he claimed he had hit the jackpot with a software programme bought up by computing giant Microsoft. He reportedly spent the proceeds of his crime on a holiday house in Wanaka, a collection of luxury cars such as a Lamborghini and six boats. Mr Swann had more than one Rolls-Royce. He also owned this 1938 Phantom III, bought for $200,000, and sold for $97,100 . And his taste for vintage vehicles even extended to a 1911 Cadillac 30 Saloon, bought for $54,000 and sold for $56,000 . He claimed to own 20 4x4 vehicles, including this Toyota Landcruiser (left). He also had a 1942 Willys Jeep (right) bought for $10,000 and sold for $13,000. This Land-Rover 64/65 was bought for $17,800 and sold for $15,200 . During his High Court trial, former colleagues told how he would drive to work in his Lamborghini. Swann earned a $145,000 salary, which he gave to his then wife Anna Devereux, but scooped on average $43,000 a week from his fake contracts. He told the court he had 19 cars and more than 20 4x4 vehicles. The IT specialist owned his very own ship, the 'Townsend Cromwell'. Bought $826,000 and sold for $650,000 . This Rinker Captiva 282 boat and trailer, bought for $96,239 and sold for $44,500, was seized . One of three inflatable boats which he paid $109,867 for was sold for $35,800 . Mr Swann even owned a random Isuzu fire engine bought for $40,000 and sold for $9000 . An auction in November last year saw his his historic home in Dunedin sold for $585,000, his Wanaka holiday home sold for $482,000, a large white ship sold for $650,000 and a 1924 BSA motorbike sold for $13,000. A cream Jaguar E-Type V-12, bought for $75,000, was auctioned of for $53,000 and a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL bought $65,000, was sold for $58,000. Any proceeds of the sales of his many assets are being returned to the government. He owned a holiday home in Wanaka which he bought for $700,414 but it was sold for $482,000 . More properties: This house Careys Bay (left) was sold for $130,000 and this house in Dunedin (right) was sold for $250,000 . | Michael Swann was jailed in 2009 for defrauding a New Zealand government health board where he worked as an IT boss .
A huge auction in 2013 sold off many of his assets including a Jaguar, a Porsche, a Mercedes, three boats and four houses .
This week his 1922 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost will go under the hammer .
All proceeds are going back to the New Zealand government . |
26,191 | 4a3cfef68b7468a4e5f840fae0fe67601488c756 | HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Be it Iran or North Korea, economic sanctions are a well-used weapon in the diplomatic arsenal for dealing with international disputes. But do they work? Workers at TOTAL's project in Burma unload pipe for the 1996 construction of the Yadana pipeline. Consider the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. Ruled by the military since 1962, the state (formerly known as Burma) has been under sanctions from Western nations for more than a decade. Despite years of tightening economic pressure, military rule in Myanmar continues. "I think sanctions have very little effect on the economy (of Myanmar) because they have very little in the way of international trade," said Sean Turnell, author of Fiery Dragons: Banks Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma and an economics professor at Macquarie University in Australia. While the U.S., European Union and Australia have banned new investment, non-sanctioning countries are taking advantage of business opportunities in Myanmar, which is rich with natural resources like natural gas, timber, jade and rubies. China, Thailand, India and Singapore already have lucrative deals in place with Myanmar's military government. Neighboring Thailand depends heavily on Myanmar's offshore natural gas and hydroelectric dams to provide power to the Thai population. China has signed a deal to build a natural gas pipeline from the west coast of Myanmar into western China. Thailand buys about 30 percent of its gas from Myanmar and uses gas to generate about two-thirds of its electricity. Watch the history of Myanmar sanctions » . Despite the American and European sanctions currently in place, U.S.-based Chevron and French-based TOTAL are doing business in Myanmar today because their contracts were signed with Myanmar's military government before international pressure was tightened. The Yadana natural gas project, off the coast of Myanmar, involves three foreign firms: TOTAL, Chevron and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT). TOTAL has the biggest investment with a 31% stake in the project. TOTAL told CNN it paid $250 million in taxes to the Myanmar government in 2008. Chevron did not respond to repeated phone and email requests for comment on this story, but Chevron's Web site said the company's local community projects benefit the people of Myanmar. Western corporations have faced criticism for doing business in a country run by a government accused of human rights abuses. But these companies go to where the oil and gas lie -- often in unstable regions of the world. "What we provide is a different example of work, of business and what good governance should be about," said Jean-Francois Lassalle, vice president of public affairs for Total. "Our employees have benefits from social pensions, employee representation, holidays and good contracts. We function in Burma the same way we do in Europe. In that sense, we're trying to be an example." The company employs 250 permanent and more than 600 subcontracted workers in Myanmar, Lassalle said. TOTAL provides free medicine and education to the local population, along with funding for hospitals and orphanages. The company estimates its community projects affect 50,000 people in Myanmar. Yet Myanmar remains one of the poorest countries in Asia. According to some estimates, more than 30 percent of the population live under the poverty line. The military regime has suppressed democracy movements for the past several decades. Myanmar's most famous citizen, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi -- whose party won the majority of seats in the 1990 election -- has been kept under house arrest and is currently on trial for alleged violations of her detention. It is another indication of the military's tight grip on power, despite sanctions. Some experts say more should be done to hit the military regime where it hurts: their personal bank accounts. The Myanmar military elite have millions in overseas bank accounts, experts say. Southeast Asia expert Jamie Metzl of the non-profit Asia Society, said freezing personal assets of the military generals was a good idea but cautions it would be an uphill battle. Metzl believes that any such move would need the support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which includes Thailand -- a major trade partner -- and Singapore. "If sanctions [of freezing personal assets] were put in place and if ASEAN states including Singapore were on board, then conceivably, there could be a way to reach some of those assets, although the generals could move them elsewhere." Metzl noted that ASEAN tends to favor a policy of engagement with Myanmar: In other words, soft diplomacy rather than the harsh bite of economic sanctions. Unless all countries play ball, it is clear that economic sanctions can only do so much. | China, Thailand, India, Singapore have lucrative deals with Myanmar's junta .
Expert says sanctions have little impact on Myanmar economy .
Experts recommend freezing personal assets of the ruling generals .
Such a move would need ASEAN support; but ASEAN prefers soft diplomacy . |
171,253 | 69a61a5463de5eea642fe884d019c6b4b4c2ee9f | Tragic: Alfred Wright, 28, pictured with one of his two young sons, was found half-naked and partially mutilated in the Texan outback . The FBI has launched an investigation into the death of a physiotherapist who vanished and was found dead in a desert three weeks later missing an ear, teeth and tongue. Alfred Wright, 28, was last seen at a petrol station near his home in Texas on November 7 as he drove to visit a patient. His disappearance sparked a large-scale manhunt, but police closed the case after two weeks. Days later, the father-of-two's family found him half-naked and mutilated in the East Texas outback where police claimed to have looked. Now, after two pathologists gave conflicting reports - one found the death to be an accident; another ruled Mr Wright suffered 'severe trauma' - the federal bureau has taken over the case, according to CNN. The family has also issued an appeal for any information about what they believe is a 'suspicious murder' that was motivated by race. They said married Mr Wright called his parents asking for a lift from CL&M Grocery in Jasper, Texas, because he had problems with his truck. By the time they arrived at 6pm, he had vanished. His watch and ID were found on a ranch the next day, which police searched and found nothing. The sheriff is said to have ruled there was 'no foul play' and attributed the death to drugs. Eventually, he was found wearing boxer shorts, tennis shoes and just one sock, with his phone tucked inside. He was missing an ear, two front teeth, and his throat appeared to be cut. Scroll down for video . Mysterious: The family is suspicious as two pathologists give conflicting reasons for Mr Wright's death . His father, Dominic Wright, told CNN: 'He was neatly laid. His tennis shoes were very clean. Neat. 'This is the first thing I noticed: how smooth his forearms and his back was. No scratches at all.' An autopsy found the mutilations were caused by animal and insect activity. Action: Rep Sheila Jackson (right) has called for an urgent FBI investigation into the mysterious case . The coroner ruled the cause of death to be accidental caused by combined drug use after a toxicology report found his body to be filled with cocaine and methamphetamine. Family members claim Mr Wright never did drugs. Last night, US Rep for Texas Sheila Jackson announced the case has been handed to the Texas Rangers and the FBI for closer examination. | Alfred Wright, 28, found missing two teeth, ear and tongue after 19 days .
Married father-of-two last seen on way to visit patient near his home .
Found in East Texas outback that was 'already checked by sheriff'
Coroner rules accidental death by drug use, family say he never did drugs .
Rep Sheila Jackson has called for FBI to take over the mysterious case . |
142,403 | 44282327a85a0a2b7e21ae58949784eaa8e17136 | It was one of only 375 models that were made. But the owner of this 2015 McLaren P1 - a seven-speed that goes from 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds - has all-but wrecked his new $1.15 million supercar and is lucky to be alive after a nasty crash in Dallas on Wednesday morning - less than 24 hours after buying the twin-turbo V8. The single-car crash occurred about 7.41am and troopers were called to the scene. The 27-year-old appears to have lost control of the vehicle after hitting a wet spot and smashed into the guardrail, investigators told WFAA-TV. Ouch: This 2015 McLaren P1 - described as 'possibly the most exciting road car ever built' - was picked up from the dealership less than 24 hours before the crash on Wednesday . Smash: The 27-year-old driver and the 24-year-old were both taken to hospital . The driver and the 24-year-old passenger were injured in the crash. They were both transported to Parkland Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. According to the car dealership, Park Place Premier Collection, the McLaren was bought on Tuesday. The base price is $1.15 million. It has a top speed of 217 mph. Autoweek called the make 'possibly the most exciting road car ever built'. The cause of the crash is under investigation. It is unclear whether the driver will face charges. Photos of the crash were taken by a passer-by and posted to Instagram. The single-car crash occurred about 7.41am in Dallas and troopers were called to the scene . | Single-car crash occurred Wednesday morning in Dallas .
Driver and passenger injured .
2015 McLaren P1 described as 'possibly the most exciting road car ever built'
Was picked up from dealership less than 24 hours before crash . |
156,114 | 55cbcf595d3cb05fdcf05f019b539c6051778c36 | By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 07:59 EST, 1 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:19 EST, 1 October 2013 . Human hair has been identified in fossilised hyena poo - a finding suggesting that our ancestors were eaten by the predatory animals. The fossil was discovered a few years ago at Gladysvale cave in South Africa, but has only recently been analysed by scientists, who identified the hair. African researchers believe the hyenas either actively hunted our ancestors living 257,000-years-ago or scavenged some dead bodies, ingesting hair. Human hair has been identified in fossilised hyena poo - a finding suggesting that our ancestors were eaten by the predatory animals. Pictured is a block of calcified cave sediment containing part of the hyena latrine, showing the largest piece of fossilised faeces . African researchers believe the hyenas either hunted our ancestors living 257,000-years-ago or scavenged dead bodies and ingested the hair. However, they have not ruled out that the animal just fancied a snack of human hair that it found somewhere . Gladysvale Cave, is a fossil-bearing cave located about 13 km Northeast of the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and about 45 km North-Northwest of the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a complex cave system made up of several underground chambers reaching a depth of about 65 metres. It is situated within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Many thousands of fossils have been recovered from the Gladysvale deposits including rare remains of hominids. Almost a quarter of a million bones have been recovered from the external Gladysvale deposits since excavations began in 1992. Fossils recovered include antelope, giant zebra, carnivores including extinct wolves, monkeys and hominids attributed to Australopithecus africanus and early Homo. However, they have not ruled out that the animal just fancied a snack of human hair that it found somewhere, Discovery News reported. The fossilised faeces was part of a 'hyena latrine' discovered in a cave located in the Sterkfontein Valley in South Africa, according to researchers at the University of Witwatersrand. Gladysvale is a complex cave system made up of several underground chambers reaching a depth of about 65 metres. Phillip Taru and Lucinda Backwell, authors of the research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, said brown hyenas roamed the savannah grasslands, like they do today. Other hairs demonstrated that the animals shared their environment with warthogs, zebra, impala, and kudu, as well as hominins - a tribe of our ancestors. The scientists focused on examining scale patterns and cross sections of hair to identify the fossilised hairs. The fossil was discovered a few years ago at Gladysvale cave . in South Africa (pictured is the Gladysvale walkway), but has only recently been analysed by scientists, who identified the hair . The researchers said: 'A lack of hair scales has been documented in human hair subject to pathology. They even suggested that our ancestors had many a bad hair day, because of 'abrasion of the hair resulting from inhabiting rock crevices' that could have reduced the number of scales found on the hairs. A total of 48 hairs were extracted from . the 12 fossils using fine tweezers and were examined using a scanning . electron microscope. They identified the origins of the hairs using standard guides as well as comparing them to a collection of samples from 15 indigenous southern African mammals. The findings support previous tentative identifications of fossilised human hairs and give scientists a better picture of the local Middle Pleistocene mammal community as well as an insight into the environment in which archaic and emerging modern humans in the interior of the African subcontinent lived. | The hair was found in a fossil discovered in Gladysvale cave in the Sterkfontein Valley in South Africa .
Researchers from the University of Witwatersrand believe hyenas either actively hunted our ancestors or scavenged dead bodies .
Other hairs demonstrated that hyenas .
shared their environment with warthogs, zebra, impala, and kudu, as well .
as hominins . |
258,241 | da371f76aa2f4c2c76af300b0a5221148afda281 | (CNN) -- She was often portrayed as the archetypal dumb blonde, but behind the golden locks and hourglass figure, Marilyn Monroe was an astute businesswoman. Decades later, the 1950s screen siren is providing inspiration for Mariah Carey's own vast entertainment empire. "Marilyn Monroe, who I'm a huge fan of, had the first production company as a female, as a woman," Carey told CNN's Nischelle Turner, ahead of the release of her 14th album later this month. "She played the dumb blonde role, she played it well, but that was not who she was." Gaze across New York's Times Square today and you'll find giant billboards of a sun-kissed Carey in netted swimsuit, her album title declaring: "Me. I am Mariah." But Carey had to work her socks off to become the best-selling female artist of the millennium in 2000. A woman who has sold 200 million albums worldwide, and overtaken Elvis Presley's record of U.S. number one singles. Less silver spoon in her mouth -- "more like a plastic spoon," says the daughter of an opera singer mother in Long Island, New York. "I didn't fit in anywhere, and so music was the thing that I had to cling on to, that made me feel special and like I had this secret," added the 44-year-old mother-of-two. The idea of one day making it big, however, was laughable to her classmates. "I remember once in six or seventh grade, they asked: 'What do you want to do when you grow up?'" said Carey, dubbed the "songbird supreme" by the Guinness Book of Records for her remarkable vocal range. "I said I wanted to be a singer, I wanted to be an actress. And they were all like 'haha.' Because of course at that point I still didn't really have conditioner or know how to comb through textured hair," said the musician, whose mother is Irish-American and father is of African-American and Venezuelan descent. The wide-eyed curly-haired girl next door burst onto the music scene in 1990, with her five-octave vocal range and eponymous album that sold a cool 6 million copies. She has since won five Grammy Awards, been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in film "The Butler," been a judge on "American Idol," and become a mother to twins she affectionately calls "Dem babies." Arriving in Times Square in a figure-hugging black dress recently, signing autographs for her screaming fans, or "lambily," as she calls them, Carey is as glossy and glamorous as an old-school Hollywood starlet. And she didn't get here by accident. Inspire: How Africa's Oprah inspired a continent . Opinion: How men like Brad Pitt empower women . Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report. | Mariah Carey is back with a 14th album, to be released later this month .
Best-selling female artist of the millennium burst onto music scene in 1990 .
A look back at the curly-haired girl next door who became sassy mother-of-two .
Career includes film performances and TV appearances on American Idol . |
222,221 | aba9445caf94dcd7add32672e97815ff4d085b41 | (CNN) -- Goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin-Prince Boateng earned reigning Serie A champions AC Milan a 2-1 victory over local rivals Internazionale in the Italian Super Cup played at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing on Saturday. Wesley Sneijder put Inter ahead after 22 minutes with a curling free-kick past Milan's 'keeper Christian Abbiati, before former Inter striker, Ibrahimovic headed home an equalizer from close range in the 60th minute. Milan's winner came just nine minutes later, as Ghanaian international, Boateng reacted quickest after substitute Alexandre Pato's shot deflected off the post. Van der Sar says farewell . Inter, now coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, pressed in vain for an equalizer but couldn't stop their great rivals lifting the trophy for a sixth time. AC Milan begin the defense of their Serie A title on 27 August, away to Cagliari. Inter, last season's runners-up, kick off their Serie A campaign the following day against Lecce. | Milan beat rivals Inter 2-1 in close fought Italian Super Cup match in Beijing .
Kevin Prince Boateng scores winner, after Wesley Sneijder had put Inter ahead . |
188,936 | 80b0593ca913b6f08f26fe8b45b257d672461761 | Daley Blind is set to join Manchester United from Ajax for £13.8million. The two clubs agreed the fee on Friday, and the player was pictured at the Bridgewater Hospital in Manchester to complete his medical. Blind just needs to agree personal terms, which is expected to be a formality. Blind has not been included in the Ajax squad for their match at Groningen on Sunday after he was given permission by the Dutch club to hold talks with United. VIDEO Scroll down for United target Daley Blind scores a 30 yard beauty against Utrecht . On the brink: Daley Blind at the Bridgewater Hospital in Manchester on Saturday to undergo a medical . Tough tackling: The Dutch international Blind is set to join Manchester United for £13.8m . World Cup star: Blind impressed in Brazil with his passing range and ability to play in midfield and defence . Saying goodbye: Daley Blind will leave Ajax after six years at the club to join Louis van Gaal's United . United tweeted on Saturday morning: 'Manchester United has reached agreement with Ajax to sign Daley Blind, subject to a medical and personal terms. A further announcement will be made when the process is complete.' United have been linked with the versatile Dutch international throughout the summer, and the deal comes just days after Ajax director of football Marc Overmars said Blind would not be sold on the cheap. Blind, who can play at left back or as a defensive midfielder worked with Louis van Gaal at the World Cup, and has been keen to link up again with the United coach. | Manchester United and Ajax have agreed a fee of £13.8million .
Blind pictured having a medical in Manchester on Saturday afternoon .
The Dutch international will now have to agree personal terms - expected to be a formality .
The 24-year-old has not been included in the Ajax squad for their match against Groningen on Sunday .
Blind's arrival follows the signings of Angel di Maria, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw this summer . |
103,727 | 11cf1829fadef3398bb7956491e1c90bd95a9b89 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 13:52 EST, 12 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:53 EST, 12 April 2013 . Police are looking for the mother gave birth to her daughter and then left her newborn wrapped in a blanket lying on a park bench. The infant, who has been named Charlotte after the police woman who took her to hospital, was found in Hailesland Park in Edinburgh yesterday. Police have urged the mother, who was not with the baby, to seek medical attention immediately as she she is believed to have given birth just 24 hours beforehand. The newborn, named Charlotte after the police officer who accompanied her to hospital, was discovered by a passer-by in Hailesland Park in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh . Police have urged the mother, who was not with the baby (seen here with her nurse), to seek medical attention immediately as she she is believed to have given birth just 24 hours beforehand . The girl was discovered lying peacefully on a bench behind Kilncroft Stair at around 12.55pm by Lawrence Liddell. Mr Liddell, 59, said today: 'We really couldn't believe it when we found the baby. 'It was a really tiny newborn wrapped up in a blanket - she wasn't wearing anything underneath. 'I had met my friend in the hallway of the flats and we started walking along together because we were both heading out to visit our mothers. 'As we were walking along we saw the baby. Lawrence Riddell discovered the tiny infant wrapped in a blanket . 'She wasn't crying and she didn't appear to be in any kind of distress.' The child may only have been there for 30 minutes in temperatures of around nine degrees. Unemployed Mr Liddell, who was with his friend, said: 'The whole thing took us totally by surprise. 'My friend held on to the baby and I went and got the concierge from the flats and the police.' 'We think the mother must have wanted the child to be found judging by where she had left it. 'Thank goodness the baby was found unharmed. 'I hope the mother is found. Who knows what kind of a state she is in?' The girl is now being cared for by staff at the Simpson's Centre for Reproductive Health at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Baby Charlotte weighs 5.7lbs (2.6kg) and all routine newborn checks have been performed. As a precaution Charlotte is being treated with antibiotics and tests have also been performed to rule out infection including Group B Strep. Maria Wilson, chief midwife, at NHS Lothian said: 'Baby Charlotte has had a good night and is doing well. 'Our staff are continuing to care for her and we hope the mum and baby can be reunited.' Charlotte was found just a short distance from the local police station and train station in a discovery which has stunned local residents. Monika Tyrrell, 70, a care worker said: 'I feel so sorry for the mother. Something serious must be the matter for her to do something like this. 'Whatever the situation, I hope she can be reunited with her baby. 'She could have had some kind of a breakdown. 'People walk past that bench all the time, there's a lot of movement. 'There's no-one around this area that I know of who looked like they might be pregnant.' As a precaution Charlotte is being treated with antibiotics and tests have also been performed to rule out infection including Group B Strep . Chief Inspector Richard Thomas of Police Scotland said the baby girl had been found in a maroon-coloured blanket before being taken to the ERI where she is now being cared for. He said: 'We believe the baby was probably lying on the bench for a short amount of time, probably less than 30 minutes. She does not seem to have suffered in any noticeable way. 'The baby was wrapped up in the blanket and had been washed and cleaned. 'It seems likely she had been found within 24 hours of being born. He added: 'At this point we are seeking to trace the mother to establish that she is safe and well and receives proper medical attention. We don't want to frighten her.' Hailesland Park resident Steven Brodie, 35, said: 'I just hope this story is going to have a happy ending. 'It's pretty shocking that whatever has happened, the mother has felt she had no other options but to dump the baby and run. 'You do hear about things like this happening from time to time, but it's pretty astonishing when it happens on your doorstep. 'It's great that the baby has been found safe and well and that it wasn't more serious. Fingers crossed everything turns out OK.' Anne Denholm, chairwoman of Wester Hailes Community Council, said the mum will have left her there knowing she would be found. She said: 'It's quite a busy park and has all been done up recently. The poor girl who left her there will need help, it's really sad. 'It's been cold outside so it's a good job she was somewhere she could easily be found. In 2005, a newborn 6lb boy was found in a plastic bag in Holyrood Park, but the mother was never found. | One-day-old baby girl discovered on park bench wrapped in blanket .
Police ask unidentified mother to seek medical help urgently .
Infant named Charlotte after police officer who took her to hospital .
Doctors observing her condition and treating her with antibiotics . |
103,791 | 11e5ca76ba15cb6be59b67704d7464e2fcd36c4d | A Houston, Texas couple was horrified when the baby monitor in their young child’s room was taken over by a hacker who verbally attacked them and even used their daughter’s name. Marc Gilbert says he was doing the dishes following his birthday celebration when he heard strange sounds coming from 2-year-old Allyson’s bedroom. He discovered they were coming from the baby monitor as a stranger’s voice called his sleeping daughter an ‘effing moron’ and ‘little slut’ before he quickly unplugged it. Scroll down for video... Intrusion: This wireless baby monitor was taken over by a hacker who used profanity and verbally attacked 2-year-old girl and her parents . Appalling: Marc Gilbert heard sounds coming from his little girl's room and was horrified to find a stranger's voice coming from his daughter's baby monitor . The virtual intruder even knew Allyson by name because it was . written just above her head, on the wall over where she dozed. The hacker then yelled at Gilbert and his wife, using expletives in what they described as a ‘British or European accent.’ 'He said, 'Wake up Allyson, you little (expletive),'" Gilbert said. Allyson is deaf. Though she has a cochlear implant, it was turned off and she was never bothered by the shocking intrusion. Then things became even creepier. Helpless: Marc Gilbert says he believes his internet router was hacked and fears the intrusion has happened before without his or wife Lauren's knowledge . 'I see the camera move on us,' Gilbert said. ‘At that point I ran over and disconnected it and tried to figure out what happened,’ Gilbert told ABC News. The father of two did his research and now believes his home internet router was hacked and the monitor was subsequently accessed. ‘[I] couldn't see the guy. All you could do was hear his voice and he was controlling the camera,’ he said. Gilbert said it was no different a violation than if the hacker had actually entered his home. 'It felt like somebody broke into our house,' Gilbert told KTRK. Even worse, the Gilberts are forced to wonder if the hacking had occurred in the past. ‘It's quite possible that this had been going on more than one day,’ he said. ‘Security vulnerabilities exist.’ Making the creepy just plain scary: Gilbert said he took all the typical precautions to keep prying eyes out of his home. 'The router was password protected and the firewall was enabled,' Gilbert wrote in the comments section of the KTRK report. 'The IP camera was also password protected.' Like his sister Allyson, the couple's 3-year-old son . Ethan also managed not to hear the shameless intrusion. But . the terrifying experience has the Gilberts rattled enough to stop using . the monitor that Marc says they once ‘couldn’t live without.’ 'Wake up you little slut': The hacker even spoke the sleeping girl's name, which was written on the wall above her bed . Taking no chances: Now Marc Gilbert is forced to wonder if the hackers had ever struck before. The father of two has decided to permanently unplug the monitor, which he once said he and his wife couldn't live without . ‘I don't think it ever will be connected again,’ he said. The disturbing crime isn't unique, unfortunately. The newly-crowned Miss Teen USA recently revealed she was secretly photographed in her room after her computer's webcam was hacked. Cassidy Wolf, who took the crown on Saturday, said she was horrified to learn a stranger had hacked into her computer before trying to extort her on the promise the photos would not be leaked. The 19-year-old from Temecula, California now travels the country to tell her story and warn other teenagers about cyber-crime. For his part, Gilbert has plenty of reason to worry about the safety of his family, who have not appeared alongside him in reports of the camera hacking. He wanted to tell his story in order that other families know to be careful not to share the same terrible experience. 'As a father, I'm supposed to protect her against people like this. So it's a little embarrassing to say the least but it's not going to happen again,' Gilbert said. | The hacker cursed at Marc Gilbert and his wife and even used their sleeping daughter's name .
Marc Gilbert ripped the monitor from the wall and says he won't be using it again soon . |
254,272 | d52161497abe8b6504a93bdcea2e27110b296cb7 | By . Sara Malm . A teenage boy who'd gone into cardiac arrest was brought back to life by his friends, who were able to perform CPR thanks to a First Aid class they'd remembered from school. Joel Massey, 14, had a heart attack and suddenly collapsed while playing football with his three friends Sam Seaborn, Rhodri Whittaker and Ben Stevens, all 16, near his home in Ledbury, Hertfordshire. Joel’s heart stopped for ten minutes, but thanks to his friends’ quick thinking, he is expected to make a full recovery. Lifesavers: Thanks to his friends Sam Seaborn, Ben Stevens and Rhodri Whittaker, Joel Massey survived a ten-minute cardiac arrest on the football pitch earlier this month . Joel suffers from congenial heart disease Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, an electrical defect which sometimes sees him suffer heart palpitations. When he collapsed during a kick-about on April 12, his three friends were able to think back to a biology lesson on First Aid, and remembered what to do. While Sam ran for help, Rhodri dialled 999 and Ben started performing CPR until an ambulance arrived. Paramedics used a defibrillator to restart his heart and he was taken by ambulance to Birmingham Children's Hospital. Collect photo of Joel Massey mountain biking with his friend Rhodri Whittaker . Important lessons: When Joel collapsed, Sam and Rhodri, pictured left and right, were able to call for help while Ben, centre, performed CPR after remembering what he had learned on the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and in biology . Joel . was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White when he was 13, and although . sufferers very rarely are at risk of cardiac arrest, those who are tend . to be much older than Joel. In Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, the heart beats abnormally fast due to an extra electrical connection in the heart. It is one of the most common causes of an abnormally fast heart rate in infants and children, but although the syndrome is congenital, it is often not detected until the child is 10-13. The heart of a person with WPW will suddenly suffer heart palpitations, before the heartbeat stopps or slows down abruptly. The length and frequency of these episodes varies from person to person. In many cases, episodes of abnormal heart activity associated with WPW syndrome are harmless, don't last long and settle down on their own without treatment. Source: NHS Choices . Today, Joel has been reunited with his best friends as they were awarded a certificate for their heroic actions. He said: ‘I really can't remember any of it. 'I can remember earlier that day but all I know from what happened is what I have been told. ‘It has been frustrating being stuck in hospital now because I feel fine. 'I can't believe what the boys did. I am indebted to them really. They saved my life. ‘I think it has brought us all a lot closer together.’ Joel’s friend Ben carried out CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after remembering a lesson he had in school the year before. He said: ‘We'd had a bike ride and had stopped to play a game of football when Joel suddenly collapsed. ‘We thought he was mucking about at first so kicked the ball to him but he didn't react so we knew then that something was seriously wrong. Back on his feet: Joel, pictured at Birmingham Children's Hospital with his mother Andrea, father James and his twin sister Imogen, is expected to make a full recovery . Best buddies: The 16-year-olds, pictured L-R are Ben, Rhodri and Sam have all been awarded for their bravery when Joel suffered a cardiac arrest . ‘I think we just did what we did automatically; I don't think it really sunk in until Joel had been put in the ambulance. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a first aid technique that can be used if someone is not breathing properly or if their heart has stopped. Always start with calling 999 before performing any type of CPR. If you have not been trained in CPR, your should do chest compression only: . Try to perform 100-120 chest compressions a minute. If you’ve been trained in CPR you should give chest compressions with rescue breaths. Source: NHS Choices . ‘I . had done some CPR as part of Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and we had a . lesson about the heart in biology last year so I just did what I could. ‘Joel was sick as well so I knew we had to clear his airways and I did mouth-to-mouth.’ Joel's mother Andrea, 44, a nurse, said yesterday: ‘Joel is very lucky to have such good friends. ‘They saved his life, I hate to think what would have happened if he was on his own. ‘Everyone should learn how to do CPR because you never know when you'll need to use it.’ Joel is expected to be in hospital until Tuesday when he will undergo a cardiac ablation to repair his irregular heartbeat. Cardiologist Dr Vinay Bhole, who is treating Joel, said: ‘With Joel's condition it is an extra electrical condition in the heart and mostly it didn't cause problems. ‘Certainly not heart attacks anyway. ‘The majority of young people don't collapse. But because Joel did we are going to do the operation to hopefully get rid of that extra electrical connection . ‘If it is successful he will not need any more medication and if it is not then he will need another operation so we can try again.’ | Joel Massey, 14, has heart disease Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome .
Went into cardiac arrest while playing football with his three friends .
Fortunately, Ben Stevens, 16, had received training in CPR .
His other two friends were able to call an ambulance and get help .
Although his heart stopped for ten minutes, Joel survived the ordeal . |
205,021 | 956812c8f170b679aca55b1c8a2e6a68ab6afd78 | The investigation into the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrell has taken a desperate turn. Police will now be interviewing every person who was in Kendall on the day the boy, dressed in his favourite Spiderman costume, vanished without a trace from his grandmother's property. After a fruitless nine-day search was conducted after William was reported missing on September 12, individuals who were in the village when the boy went disappeared need step forward and explain why they were in Kendall and what they were doing. Acting Superintendent Commander Tony Joice, who is leading the investigation into the toddler's disappearance from the NSW mid north coast, said this is part of 'putting the pieces together' for the 'astonishing' case. Scroll down for video . Police said William's family are doing it very tough in light of the fact there has been no trace of him . 'If you were in the Kendall area, we need to know what you were doing, who you were visiting, what car you were driving, what you were doing there,' he told the Daily Telegraph. Although he said that police no longer believe William is in the area, they are now examining whether he was abducted. William's four-year-old sister, who was with him when he went missing, had not been able provide further insight into the incident. In other efforts to help find the toddler, a Facebook page called Bring Little Spiderman William Tyrell Home - has been established and now has more than 12,000 followers. This comes after police scaled back their search for the three-year-old to instead focus their efforts on how he might have disappeared. After nine days of scouring bushland in Kendall, NSW, emergency services and hundreds of volunteers from the town have failed to find any sign of the toddler, who vanished from his grandmother's property while wearing his favourite Spiderman costume. The focus will move to examine the many pieces of information received concerning William's unexplained disappearance - all but giving up hope of finding his body. The news came a day after William's distraught parents broker their silence over the disappearance and penned a heartfelt plea to help bring the toddler home, thanking everyone who has participated in the major search operation. Hundreds of gruelling man hours have spent scouring hectares of state forests, roads, residential and commercial properties - but still no clues have been found to suggest the whereabouts of 'Spiderman William.' And while the search must go on - his family say they are forever grateful for the way the tight-knit community and those from afar have banded together to help locate try locate the boy who one day dreams of becoming a firefighter. 'Thank you does not seem like the right sort of word to express our gratitude and heartfelt warmth we feel towards each and every one of you,' a statement from the family reads. 'We have been completely overwhelmed with the way the public, SES, Surf Life Saving, RFS and the Police have rallied together to find our little Spiderman William.' 'It's emotionally distressing for them': Police say the search for William has taken a huge toll on his family . On day nine of the search, about 70 people concentrated on a section of bushland at Middle Brother area, 45km south of Port Macquarie. Equally as clueless about William's disappearance as is family, police Superintendent Paul Fehon said 'someone, somewhere' must know something about where William is. 'There must be someone out there who knows something about William’s unexplained disappearance,' he said. Mr Fehon also paid tribute to the dedication and commitment shown by all those involved in the search as well as those individuals and businesses who provided food and support for the searches. Immediate members of William's family have not been heard from publicly since the toddler disappeared from his grandmother's garden last Friday. A close friend, known only as Nicole, has spoken about the struggle and the toll the search has had on everyone- most notably the family. Police also moved their inquiries onto the region's roads to stop and quiz motorists whether they'd seen any suspicious vehicles the time that William went missing. But like those that went before it, the questioning uncovered no trace of William or any leads into his mysterious disappearance. Now all the family ask is that their son be 'desperately' brought home. Friends of the Tyrell family have said how hard the week has been on everyone taking part in the search . 'William is a much-loved and cherished little boy,' said the friend of the family who wanted to be known only by her first name Nicole . It is now eight days since the Kendall boy missing as police confirm they are broadening their inquiries . The search has taken a huge toll on the SES and the family of William Tyrell said there work has not gon unnoticed . 'We have seen you day and night searching for William' a statement from the Tyrell family reads . Police stopped passers-by as they investigated the disappearance of missing toddler William Tyrell last seen at his grandmother's home in Kendall . The eight-day search has uncovered no trace of the toddler, who was last seen in the garden of his grandmother's property on Beneroon Drive . Police hope questioning motorists will help locate any suspicious vehicles seen in the Kendall area . The massive search shifted from bushland near his grandmother's home to a state forest nearby on Thursday . Police are trying to trace the movements of motor vehicles which were seen in the area last Friday . 'William is only three years and three-months-old and really still a baby, he has so many more years to live and we desperately want him home.' 'Up until a month ago (he) was obsessed with all things Fire Engine and would tell us his name was “Firefighter William”… a future he deserves to fulfil.' Mr Fehon earlier earlier said that William's family were struggling with the fact that there were still no leads in relation to his whereabouts - and this plea confirms their frustration. 'They are doing it very tough,' he said. State Emergency Service crews and police searched roadsides in the nearby Middle Brother State Forest last week for evidence as they focused on the possibility William was picked up by a car. More than 200 volunteers and residents have scoured kilometres of bush surrounding the property in the eight days since he disappeared. A number of tips, including reports that a 'well-dressed, well-spoken' man stopped at a local shop on Friday morning to ask directions to Batar Creek Road, which leads to Benaroon Drive where William was last seen, have uncovered nothing. Forensic tests performed on a patch of blood found near a creek just over 2km from William's grandmother's house were also negative. Test results showed it was not human blood. Bush trackers have found clues such as a knife sheath and a set of small footprints, but tip-offs from bush searches, investigations of CCTV and interviews with neighbours and local businesses have not uncovered a solid lead. But despite the lengthy search efforts Supt Fehon said police were aiming to broaden their investigation. 'We are following every possible avenue of inquiry that is being provided to us, be it CCTV, be it information regarding persons that may have been in the area, and we're asking the public if they know of anything to provide that information to Crime Stoppers,' he said. Investigators repeat their appeal for anyone with information on William’s unexplained disappearance to contact them via Crime Stoppers. William has been described as being of Caucasian appearance with dark hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a Spider Man suit. A special task force was set up on the fifth day of William's disappearance . The toddler was dressed in his favored Spiderman costume when he was last seen . A number of leads into William's disappearance have uncovered no trace of the missing three year old . The street William Tyrell was last seen playing in the garden of his grandmother's home at Kendall . The boy disappeared from Kendall on New South Wales mid-north coast . | The three-year-old was last seen on September 12 in the garden of his grandmother's house .
Police will be questioning individuals why they were in Kendall and what they were doing .
Search for missing toddler was scaled back on it's ninth day .
Police have changed the focus to the investigation into how three-year-old 'Spiderman William' disappeared .
A Facebook page of more than 12,000 follows has been set up to help bring the boy home .
Family releases a statement thanking everyone in the search effort for the missing three-year-old boy .
He has a love for fire trucks and has spoken about wanting to become a firefighter . |
78,741 | df1b2cc3b90992a32c66b067248812dfe72295db | As he posed for a holiday snap on the beach, six-year-old Nick Wheeler paid no attention to the little girl making sandcastles a few yards away. It was only when he showed his fiancee Aimee Maiden the photograph 20 years later that she pointed at the five-year-old in a swimsuit and shrieked in astonishment: ‘That’s me!’ The pair lived hundreds of miles apart when the picture was taken in 1994, yet fate determined that they would meet and fall in love at sixth form college, 11 years later. Scroll down for video . Nick Wheeler (circled right) was on holiday in Mousehole, Cornwall, where his now wife Aimee (circled left) was brought up. They had no idea they had first met when they were five and six until they found the picture . The couple pictured in the very same spot now ahead of their wedding at a nearby church in Mousehole . Teacher Miss Maiden grew up in the seaside village of Mousehole in Cornwall, while Mr Wheeler lived in Kent but was on a family holiday there. The pair spent the day building sandcastles just a few yards apart but their two families were strangers and never spoke. Mr Wheeler, a soldier, moved to Cornwall a year later but it wasn’t until they were to the same sixth form college in Truro that they finally met. It was only when they got engaged last year that they decided to leaf through old holiday photographs at Mr Wheeler’s grandparent’s house. As they came across the shot of Mr Wheeler building a boat in the sand with his sister and cousin Miss Maiden suddenly recognised herself as one of the young girl’s in the background. The couple married on Saturday and will be heading to Florida for their honeymoon . She said: ‘The photo was taken by Nick’s grandad. Nick is sitting front right in the boat with his sister and two cousins and his family, his mum, uncle and nan are to the right and behind them. ‘To the left and behind his cousin I’m in the blue swimsuit with my mum, dad and sister. ‘What makes it even more significant was that, although I was brought up in Mousehole, Nick and his family didn’t even live in Cornwall at the time. ‘He and his family were down on holiday from Kent and didn’t move down permanently to Newlyn until a year later.’ After their college years Mr Wheeler joined the army while Miss Maiden trained as a teacher. They moved in together three years ago and got engaged last year, where they hosted a party and showed off the photo to friends and family. The couple married on Saturday at Gulval Church in Mousehole, 20 years after the photo was taken and just a minute’s walk from the same spot. They are heading to Florida for their honeymoon and plan to frame the treasured picture as soon as they get back. Miss Maiden added: ‘It’s probably something we should do. The honeymoon is a great chance for a bit of quality time together. ‘Nick is often away for months at a time on tours of duty in places like Kenya and Jordan, and as soon as we get back from honeymoon he is off to Canada for two and half months.’ | Aimee Maiden, 25, and Nick Wheeler, 26, had no idea they had met before .
Spotted the snap taken in 1994 when looking through old photographs .
Miss Maiden recognised herself and family in the background of picture .
Mr Wheeler was living in Kent but was on holiday in Mousehole, Cornwall .
He moved to Newlyn a year later but they didn't meet again until sixth form .
Pair married on Saturday yards from where pic was taken 20 years ago . |
231,489 | b7ba06225dd32ada34b2b4f47441312044f7f785 | (EW.com) -- The 2013 box office has been stuck in a bit of a rut. For nine of the past ten weekends, overall grosses have lagged behind 2012 totals, and high-profile releases like "Jack the Giant Slayer," "The Host," "Beautiful Creatures," and "A Good Day to Die Hard" have badly misfired. That's why industry folks are likely breathing a sigh of relief this morning looking at the box office chart. Not only did "Evil Dead" and "Jurassic Park 3D" both open successfully, but six separate films earned over $10 million during the Friday-to-Sunday period. It's an encouraging sign of industry health as Hollywood gears up for the lucrative summer movie season. "Evil Dead," a new remake of Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic, led the way with $24.2 million. Sony is boasting a $26 million frame, which includes the $1.8 million the film earned at Thursday night shows. The horror film scared up more in its opening weekend than "Texas Chainsaw 3D," which debuted to $21.7 million in January, but less than "Mama," which took of with $28.4 million in February. Although "Evil Dead" is already a big winner for TriStar, FilmDistrict, and Ghost House Pictures, which made it for just $17 million, the film will have limited longevity in the weeks to come, as evidenced by its frontloaded performance thus far. "Evil Dead" dropped 15 percent from Friday ($10.1 million) to Saturday ($8.8 million), and a weak "C+" CinemaScore suggests the film isn't connecting with audiences outside its core horror-junkie demographic. "Evil Dead" could return to the grave with about $50 million when all is said and done. The film's success must be gratifying for Sam Raimi, who directed the original and has his own picture in the Top 10 this week — "Oz The Great and Powerful" finished in seventh place with $8.2 million and has now earned $454.1 million worldwide. 'SNL': Melissa McCarthy does it again . Fox's $135 million animated hit "The Croods" continued to benefit from being the only family release in theaters right now. The cave people comedy dropped 21 percent in its third weekend to $21.1 million, giving it a $125.8 million total and lots of time to continue evolving. The Croods will easily surpass the domestic totals of Fox's most recent animated efforts, "Ice Age: Continental Drift" ($161.3 million) and Rio ($143.6 million), and if it maintains its slim week-to-week drops, it should finish close to $200 million. Internationally, the film has already passed that mark with $206.8 million — $34.1 million of which came from this weekend. High-octane sequel "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" tied "The Croods" for second place with $21.1 million — when studios report final numbers tomorrow, the exact rankings will be clarified. "Retaliation" fell 48 percent from its first weekend and has now commanded $86.7 million after 11 days. At the same point in its run, predecessor "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" had earned $101.2 million, and the sequel will almost certainly fall short of "Cobra's" $150.2 million domestic total. Fortunately, Retaliation, which comes from studios Paramount, MGM, and Skydance, is making up ground internationally, where it has earned $145.2 million after only two weekends ("Cobra's" overseas total was $152.3 million), giving it $231.8 million globally. Miranda Lambert wins ACM, salutes Carrie . For star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who assumed the lead role in the "G.I. Joe" franchise, "Retaliation" is kicking off what's sure to be an impressive few months of his box office career. On April 26, his Mark Wahlberg action-collab "Pain and Gain" hits theaters, and on May 24, surefire smash Fast & Furious 6 will race to profitability. Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? Hits! (Ok, with the exception of Snitch, which only earned $41.8 million earlier this year.) Universal's re-release "Jurassic Park 3D," the latest entry in the 3-D re-release fad kickstarted by "The Lion King" 3D's $94.1 million haul in 2011, stomped away with $18.2 million in its first weekend. IMAX screens accounted for $6 million of that figure. The dinosaur film (read a wonderful oral history of it HERE) had better start than Titanic 3D, which debuted to $17.3 million, but behind Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace 3D, which opened with $22.4 million. All told, the Steven Spielberg classic might score about $50 -- 60 million, a tremendous result considering it only cost Universal $10 million to convert to 3D. Lisa Vanderpump faints during 'DWTS' prep . The presidential thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" snuck past Tyler Perry's "Temptation" to take fifth place, though both films earned about $10 million for the weekend. Olympus dipped only 29 percent in its third weekend, giving it a $71.1 million total against a $70 million budget. The White House action flick has proven to be a nice performer for star Gerard Butler, who was coming off a string of flops, as well as distributor FilmDistrict. Olympus has surpassed Insidious ($54 million total) as the young studio's biggest hit. Lionsgate's Temptation, meanwhile, stumbled 54 percent to $10 million, giving it a nice ten-day total of $38.3 million versus a $20 million budget. 1. Evil Dead -- $24.2 million . 2. The Croods -- $21.1 million . 2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation -- $21 million . 4. Jurassic Park-- $18.2 million . 5. Olympus Has Fallen -- $10 million . 6. Tyler Perry's Temptation -- $10 million . In limited release, the Bradley Cooper/Ryan Gosling drama "The Place Beyond the Pines" continued to excel. This weekend, the film expanded from four to 30 theaters, where it earned $695,000, giving it another scorching location average of $23,167. Focus Features plans to keep rolling out the $15 million film in the weeks to come. Danny Boyle's "Trance" also opened in four theaters this weekend, and earned encouraging results. The film, which stars Rosario Dawson, earned $136,000 — yielding a per theater average of $36,000. Fox Searchlight plans to expand the film into 375-400 locations next weekend. See the original article at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. | "Evil Dead" and "Jurassic Park 3D" both opened successfully .
Six separate films earned over $10 million during the Friday-to-Sunday period .
"Evil Dead," a remake of Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic, led the way with $24.2 mil . |
175,576 | 6f4597042d0dd16fea7d3f5737aec6d5cb1d6738 | By . Jenny Hope . PUBLISHED: . 18:11 EST, 29 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:11 EST, 1 August 2013 . The apparent decision by the Duchess of Cambridge to breastfeed has been given a boost by fresh evidence showing it can help raise a baby’s IQ. The longer the child is breastfed – ideally exclusively – the higher the intelligence scores are at the age of seven. The study also found breastfeeding can enhance language skills from the age of three. The Duchess of Cambridge's apparent decision to try to breastfeed Prince George has been boosted by evidence showing it can raise a child's IQ . The US researchers recommend babies are solely fed on breast milk for the first six months and are given the chance to breastfeed until a year old. However, British experts warned that . delaying the introduction of solid foods until six months at the . earliest might leave some babies feeling hungry. It emerged yesterday that the Duchess has at least one maternity dress made for breastfeeding and was given encouragement in hospital to help her baby George start on her milk. Earlier research has shown breast milk protects babies against stomach bugs, chest infections, asthma and allergies, and confers health advantages in later life. But only a small number of women in the UK breastfeed their babies for long periods and the number of new mothers starting in 2011 fell slightly to 73.9 per cent. Barely 2 per cent of babies are breastfed exclusively for six months. The latest study included 1,312 mothers and children who had taken part in Project Viva, a long-term investigation of pregnancy and child health in the US. It found seven-year-olds breastfed for the first year of life were likely to score four points more in a test of verbal IQ than bottle-fed children. Verbal intelligence scores at seven increased by 0.35 points for every extra month of breastfeeding. Three-year-olds also benefited, having higher scores in a language-acquisition test the longer they had been breastfed. Exclusive breastfeeding had the greatest effect. The US team of researchers reported the findings in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The scientists, led by Dr Mandy Belfort, from Boston Children’s Hospital, said: ‘Our results support a causal relationship of breastfeeding in infancy with receptive language at age three and with verbal and non-verbal IQ at school age. 'These findings support national and . international recommendations to promote exclusive breastfeeding through . age six months and continuation of breastfeeding through at least age . one year.' A number of factors that might have influenced the results, . including home environment and mothers' IQ, were accounted for by the . researchers. Children took part in several tests, including the Peabody Picture . Vocabulary Test at age three and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test at . age seven. Certain nutrients in breast milk may benefit the developing infant . brain, it has been suggested. One of these is docosahexaenoic (DHA), . which is abundant in fish. Part of the research looked at whether mothers' fish consumption was . linked to the benefits of breastfeeding but the results were not . statistically significant. Kate has had at least one maternity dress made for breastfeeding, it has emerged . It is thought that chemicals naturally present in breast milk can aid . brain development, but skin to skin contact and bonding during . breastfeeding may also play a part. But Clare Byam Cook, an independent breastfeeding counsellor and former midwife, said: ‘It’s best to keep an open mind about what your baby’s individual needs are. 'Many babies feel hungry if they only get breast milk and most need solids before six months.’ She said mothers who can breastfeed their babies easily are giving them a great start in life. She said: 'Most women who give up find it too difficult to continue. The Duchess was given encouragement in hospital to help baby George start on her milk . 'They are not unaware of the benefits to the baby, they have been . brainwashed into thinking if they don't their baby will miss out and it . can be a very worrying time. Ms Cook, the author of Top Tips For . Breast Feeding and Top Tips For Bottle Feeding, said there was new . evidence that breastfeeding exclusively for six months may not be best . for baby, putting them at risk of allergies, food aversion and even . obesity. Babies can be safely given solid foods at least eight weeks earlier in . life than official Department of Health guidelines telling women to . breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, according to . researchers. | US researchers found breastfeeding can enhance language skills from three .
They recommend babies are fed solely on breast milk for first six months . |
172,128 | 6ac9a99c5cc679e2fef9d79e0ef0a6e84435dd87 | Darcy Smith, 41, is accused of having sex with the boy - a former student - when he was just 14 years old and living at their home in Washington state . Former students of a Seattle area teacher charged with rape showed up at a King County courtroom in Kent Thursday to offer their support as she entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of child rape. Students, some alongside their parents, carried signs that said 'We stand by you' and said they don't believe the allegations against Darcy Smith as they packed a Kent, Washington courtroom Thursday. The 41-year-old Renton woman is accused of having sex with a student she took into her home as a troubled 12-year-old. He said they started having sex two years later, sometimes while Smith's husband and children were in the other room. He reported the incidents last year and is now 19. Many of the students on hand in court Thursday told KIRO that Darcy was like a mother to them. And one mother who was there to support Smith--who was once named a regional teacher of the year--can see why. Kim Vea had four children in Smith's classes. She said they even called her "auntie." 'She was the finest I've ever met and she shouldn't be in this situation and I know she's innocent,' Kim Vea, whose children call Smith 'Auntie,' told KIRO. Smith was put on leave in August when the district learned of the investigation. The alleged victim first reported the allegations to the King County Sheriff’s Office last May. Smith has been on administrative leave since August, when her employer, the Highline School District, was informed of the boy’s claims. He told detectives that he and Smith started having sex when he was in the 8th grade and the relationship continued until he moved out of her home at 18. Showing support: Students and parents piled into a Washington courtroom Thursday to show support for Smith, who's charged with having sex with a 14-year-old boy . There were so many people showing support in the courtroom that some had to sit in an overflow area . The boy had moved in with Smith and her family when he was 12 years old and a pupil in her 6th grade class, reports Seattle PI. The unusual arrangement had the blessing of the boy’s mother who didn’t speak English and though Smith would be a good influence on her son whose brother was in a gang. The boy told detective that Smith first showered him with gifts and affection before agreeing to care for him full time, according to charging papers. But the victim said things would change in the evenings when the kids and Smith's husband went to bed, and she drank wine. According to the documents, the victim said Smith made him promise not to tell anyone or 'she would go to jail and be in big trouble if he told.' The McMicken Heights sixth-grade teacher is free without bail until her next court appearance March 12. Smith pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a child rape charge stemming from incidents the victim claims spanned years . The boy had moved in with Smith and her family when he was 12 years old and a pupil in her 6th grade class. The victim said things would become inappropriate in the evenings when the kids and Smith's husband went to bed, and she drank wine . | Darcy Smith is charged with raping a boy after bringing him into her Renton, Washington home when he was 12 .
The alleged victim came forward with the claims last year at age 18 after moving out of Smith's home .
He says Smith would have sex with him late at night when her husband and children were asleep and after she'd drink wine .
Smith pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a child rape charge . |
53,066 | 968b9657c8457889a353af84e73b4e2bf56285e2 | (CNN) -- An escaped jail inmate turned himself in just so that he could warm up -- that's how cold the U.S. has been this week. With the country swept with unforgiving weather since December due to a distorted polar vortex, Brimson in Minnesota plunged to -40 Celcius (-40 Fahrenheit: this is the point at which the temperature scales meet) on Wednesday while Chicago saw its record low of -27 C (-16.6 F) on Monday. As dangerously cold as it seems to be, however, it's (fortunately) still a long way from beating the world's lowest temperature record. "Everybody is interested in extremes -- the hottest, the wettest, the windiest -- so creating a database of professionally verified records is useful in that fact alone," says Randall Cerveny from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). With that in mind, what other extreme weather records are there? Cerveny helped us pick out a few highlights from around the world. Lowest temperature . According to WMO, the lowest temperature noted was -89.2 C, recorded on July 21, 1983, in Vostok, Antarctica. Yes, Celsius, not Fahrenheit. In the latter, that's minus 128.5 degrees. An absence of solar radiation, clear skies, little vertical mixing, calm air for a long duration and high elevation (3,420 meters, 11,220 feet) accounted for the frigid weather. Highest temperature . With an average high of 46.7 C (116 F) in July, summer in Death Valley, California, can be baking. But it was the summer of 1913 that entered the record books, acknowledged officially as the hottest temperature ever recorded at 56.7 C (134 F) in recent years, according to WMO. Greatest rainfall in one minute, Unionville . This record is owned by Unionville, Maryland, where on July 4, 1956, 1.22 inches (31.2 millimeters) of rain fell in one minute. To give you an idea -- in sub-tropical Hong Kong, the most severe black rainstorm signal will be hoisted if the rainfall exceeds 70 millimeters (2.75 inches) in an hour. Greatest rainfall in 24 hours . The biggest rainfall in a day occurred with the passage of Cyclone Denise in Foc-Foc, La Réunion, an island in the southern Indian Ocean. Some 1.825 meters (71.8 inches) of rain fell over 24 hours, from January 7 to 8, 1966. Heaviest hailstone, Bangladesh . The heaviest hailstone was discovered during a hailstorm in Gopalganj, Bangladesh on April 14, 1986. The storm killed 92 people and included one hailstone that weighed 1.02 kilos (2.25 pounds). Longest recorded dry period, Arica . The longest dry period in history was measured in years. There was not a single raindrop in Arica, Chile, for more than 14 years, from October 1903 to January 1918 -- a total of 173 months. Highest cold water geyser . Located in Andernach, Germany, Geysir Andernach usually blows water from 30 to 60 meters (98 feet to 197 feet) high. The highest ejection reached 61.5 meters (201.7 feet), recorded on September 19, 2002. Cold-water geysers are different from naturally occurring hot-water geysers. The cold underground water erupts from a drilled well. The Andernach well is more than 350 meters (1,148 feet) deep. Coldest road . The Kolyma Highway (M56) in Russia is the coldest road on Earth -- temperatures once plunged to -67.7 degrees C (-89.8 F). A section of the 2,031-kilometer (1,262-mile) highway is called the "Road of Bones" to commemorate the prisoners from the Sewostlag Labour Camp who died constructing the road and were buried beneath it. Largest non-polar ice field . You don't need to live in the polar regions to be stuck in the middle of a vast ice field. The largest ice field outside the Poles is Yukon Territory in Canada, inside the 21,980-square-kilometer (8,486-square-mile) Kluane National Park and Reserve. Largest desert . No, not the Sahara. A desert is defined as an area that has no or very little rainfall. The largest desert in the world is Antarctica, which is 14 million kilometers squared (5.4 million square miles) and records only 50 millimeters (2 inches) of precipitation per year. The 9.1-million-kilometer-square (3.5 million square miles) Sahara, according to Guinness World Records, is only the biggest hot desert. Inhabited place with the lowest temperature . The coldest permanently inhabited place is the Siberian village of Oymyakon, Russia. The temperature once dropped to -68 C (-90.4 F) in 1933 -- the coldest temperature recorded outside Antarctica. Some extreme weather records are provided by Guinness World Records. The latest edition of Guinness World Records 2013 was released on September 13, 2012. Check out more on Guinness World Records' website. | The temperatures from the polar vortex are far from being the coldest on Earth .
The U.S. holds two records -- the greatest rainfall in a minute and the highest temperature .
The Kolyma Highway (M56) in Russia is the coldest road on Earth . |
28,702 | 517bc3ddcb247ea00a4c0f81d37fd114dbadf5ab | By . Talal Musa . PUBLISHED: . 13:06 EST, 5 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:33 EST, 6 December 2012 . In Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 realism is paramount. For even the slightest misjudgment in ballistics, distance or breathing rate is the difference between life and death. You play Captain Cole Anderson, aka ‘Sandman’, who travels the world with his spotter, taking out various high-profile targets. View to a kill: In Ghost Warrior 2 you travel to a variety of real-world locations, using a selection of authentic weapons and equipment . Similar to its multi-million-selling predecessor, this first-person shooter focuses on sniping – with the popular Bullet Cam returning to show off skilful long range kills. Thankfully, to avoid the somewhat linear nature of the original, City Interactive have improved close quarters combat, too. Secure the area: Unlike its predecessor, close-quarters combat doesn't feel disjointed, with knife takedowns, in particular, a real highlight . There’s now a much greater array of short-range pistols and assault rifles on offer, while brutal knife-takedowns act as a perfect incentive to get up close and personal. Graphically, the game improves on the original in every way. Powered by the CryEngine 3, war-torn cities and dense jungles boast spectacular lighting effects, backed up with the engine’s trademark motion blur and depth of field. Waiting in the shadows: Those after Call of Duty-style thrills may want to look elsewhere. It pays to be patient in Ghost Warrior 2 . Speaking to MailOnline, Lee Kirton, PR and marketing Director for Namco Bandai said: 'Naturally, we wanted to improve the game and build on the success of the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior to ensure Ghost Warrior 2 will provide fans with an incredible, immersive sniping experience. Vantage point: You'll have to listen to your spotter's advice if you're to eliminate your target . 'Thanks to the use of the immensely powerful CryEngine 3, the game looks stunning and provides an incredibly realistic experience. 'With a wide variety of weapons and missions to get to grips with and shots that require the player to consider a whole host of environmental factors, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 will deliver the most authentic sniping experience to date.’ Stunning: Compared with the rather dull and drab original, Ghost Warrior 2 looks wonderful across all platforms. However, expect the CryEngine 3 to look best on PC . Follow Talal on Twitter: @TalalMusa and on Facebook: Daily Mail Games. | Realistic ballistics ensure truly authentic experience .
Powered by CryEngine 3 - behind the likes of the recent Crysis games .
Greater emphasis on close-quarters combat and larger armory . |
263,299 | e10c1a00b3eacf35cebe6045405fae48cd7c4039 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A plane was forced to make an emergency landing at New York's Kennedy airport this morning after striking a bird. JetBlue Flight 671 took off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains at 9:05 a.m. en route to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. About 25 minutes after take off, the Airbus A320 collided with the bird, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. With 142 passengers on board, the pilots declared an emergency and decided to divert the flight to JFK as a precaution. Ouch: A bird, pictured, smashed beak-first into a JetBlue flight bound for Florida Friday morning, forcing an emergency landing at Kennedy Airport . The plane safely landed there around 9:55 a.m., with no injuries. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Joe Pentangelo confirmed the JetBlue flight reported the bird strike Friday morning before landing at the airport, which is run by the agency. Customers were given the option of being put on another flight from JFK to Palm Beach or taken back to Westchester County. Twitter user Chris Balduino posted pictures of the plane with a bird carcass lodged in the nose of it. A second image showed what appeared to be a hole caused by the collision and the bird's blood streaked on the aircraft. Smash: Flight 671 was departing from Westchester County Airport for West Palm Beach . JetBlue: The incident happened on a JetBlue Flight 617 from Westchester to Palm Beach (stock photo) Balduino said in the tweet that his parents were on the fated flight and were at the airport waiting for a new plane. The FAA said it will investigate the incident. The species of bird wasn't immediately identified. The emergency landing has similarities to the 'Miracle on the Hudson' case on January 15, 2009, when a U.S. Airways flight struck a flock of Geese after departing La GUardia and pilot Sully Sullenberger made a flawless emergency landing in the Hudson River. All 155 people on board survived. | JetBlue Flight 671 took off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains at 9:05 a.m. en route to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida .
About 25 minutes after take off, the Airbus A320 collided with the bird .
With 142 passengers on board, the pilots declared an emergency and decided to divert the flight to JFK as a precaution .
The plane safely landed there around 9:55 a.m., with no injuries . |
181,195 | 76928ca6cb69b648b576b1509b82f2c6bbbcfddb | Police are investigating the mysterious death of a dance instructor whose body was found at her California home just hours after she returned home from a Halloween party. Mendocino County sheriff's detectives are treating the death of 25-year-old Kayla Grace Chesser, from Willits, as 'suspicious' although there is 'no obvious evidence'. They have spoken to a man they believe was with Kayla at the time of her death and who was involved in a collision several hours after she died. Kayla Grace Chesser, 25, was found dead at her California home hours after returning from a Halloween party . The man is believed to have intentionally crashed his vehicle and was airlifted to an out-of-county hospital where he is currently being treated for serious injuries,The Press Democrat reported. Captain Greg Van Patten said deputies responded to a call by friends of the woman at around 6am on Saturday morning. He declined to give details on the cause of the death, other than to say it was not obvious. An autopsy is due to be carried out later today followed by toxicology tests. Kayla had been to a Halloween party with friends in Willits that night before returning to the home. It is thought that the man involved in the road collision had been with her during the night. Dance instructor Kayla was described as 'very talented' and 'just a beam of light. A loving, sweet, kind person' 'We have identified someone that was with her at the time of her death,' Captain Van Patten said. 'He was witnessed at the home just prior to her discovery.' Kathleen Ferri-Taylor, director at Cloud 9 Studio where Kayla had recently been teaching belly-dancing, described her as 'just a beam of light. A loving, sweet, kind person'. 'She was very talented, just a real beautiful dancer,' she said. | Kayla Grace Chesser was found dead after returning from Halloween party .
Police are treating death as suspicious but there is 'no obvious evidence'
They have spoken to a man they believe was with Kayla at time of her death .
He is thought to have intentionally crashed vehicle and was taken to hospital . |
165,589 | 62255d593452e8c2c66123b1db3e1b4d04f56fb0 | By . Ryan Lipman . China claims to have conclusive proof that Japan forced Asian women to work as sex slaves during World War II. Officials said that the evidence was found in a trove of 89 documents from the archive of the Japanese military police corps. The atrocities are said to have taken place between 1932 and 1945. Some historians believe that up to 200,000 women - mostly from the Korean peninsula - were made to work in frontline brothels as 'comfort women'. Recognition: Supporters of comfort women have continued to demand an formal apology from the Japanese government for their treatment in World War II . Appalled: Archive director Yin Huai said the documents' contents left staff chronically depressed . Shocking: China has released documents, which it claims prove the Japanese Army forced women into World War II brothels in Japan-controlled China . Since the . war, Japanese politicians and authorities have repeatedly refused to be . held accountable for the abuse of the women who were forced into . prostitution. As . recently as 2007, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe caused . international outrage when he denied that they were made into the former . Japanese Imperial Army's sex slaves, the Telegraph reported. Comfort . women were forced to work in occupied China, where brothels were set up . in between 20 to 30 counties in the country's north-east region. Jilin . provincial archives research fellow Zhao Yujie told Reuters that . documents show the Japanese military used the national general . mobilisation act to forcibly conscript Korean comfort women. He added that these Korean women sex slaves were dispensed to high-ranking officials. Japan refuses to directly compensate surviving comfort women, stating all claims were settled by a bilateral treaty that normalised diplomatic ties in 1965 . Protestors wear the masks of Japanese political figures including prime minister Shinzo Abe (second right) during the rally . Another . released document shows the recorded amount of women sent to have sex . with Japanese soldiers in parts of occupied China in the 10 day period . from February 1, 1938. In Nanking region there were reportedly 141 women and 2,500 Japanese soldiers. Detailing . the full extent of the atrocities, China research centre on comfort . women director Su Zhiliang said these figures equated to one woman being . tortured 178 times in 10 days. 'The . archives of Kwantung army unveiled this time and other times showed . clearly that Japanese military and government implemented sex slavery in . the army. The mechanism was influential and forcible. It was against . the personal wills of these women. Second, it was widely adopted,' Su . said. Some historians believe 200,000 women were sexually abused between 1932 and 1945 on the frontline . Japan . refuses to directly compensate surviving comfort women, stating all . claims were settled by a bilateral treaty that normalised diplomatic . ties in 1965. In . 1995, a privately run Asian women's fund was set up, but because it . relied on donations, many women refused to accept any compensation not . paid by the Japanese governmernt and this resulted in the fund ceasing . in 2007. The . military police corps was part of Japan's Kwantung army, which was the . occupying force sustaining the Manchuria regime in Manchuria in the . early 1930s. Newspaper . articles, letters from Japanese soldiers, military files discovered in . the 1950s and kept at the Jilin provincial archives in north-east China . as well as the regime's national bank documents are included in the . archives. The archive's director Yin Huai said the contents of the documents were shocking. 'Going . through the bloodiest parts of these archives, many of us experts have . succumbed to chronic depression,' he said, according to the official . China News Service. Zhao Sujian, 81, has been an archive employee since 1948 and said a People's Liberation Army unit discovered the documents in November 1953, while soldiers were digging close to remains of the Japanese bases where they were fixing electric cables and laying pipes. Among the 89 documents, details of the Nanking massacre were also revealed . Emotive disputes linked to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula have left relations between Tokyo and Seoul at their lowest ebb for years. The issue of comfort women, in particular, has contributed to a virtual freeze in diplomatic ties between the neighbours. Historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to work in Japanese army brothels. Japan has long maintained that all issues relating to the colonial period were settled under a 1965 bilateral treaty that normalised diplomatic ties with South Korea. According to the government official cited by Kyodo, the offer of another apology and further compensation would be formalised only after confirming the issue 'has been completely settled' to ensure that South Korea never brings it up again. Japan previously offered money to former sex slaves through the Asian Women's Fund, a private body set up at Tokyo's initiative in 1995 and run until 2007. But some survivors refused the cash because it did not come directly from the government.Japanese politicians have expressed exasperation at Seoul's repeated requests for contrition. Repeated wavering since the apology among senior right-wing politicians has contributed to a feeling in South Korea that Japan is in denial and not sufficiently remorseful. There are 55 surviving former comfort women in South Korea. He said . the documents completely filled a truck, but because they had been . buried for so long, many unusable because they rotted into a single mass . or were stuck together. The . archive in Changchun, the provincial capital, analysed the documents in . 1982 after receiving them from a local law enforcement office. Yet . today, most of the documents remain untranslated, due to the poor . quality of the material and also a lack of Japanese-speaking . researchers. While . it was not clear why Jilin Provincial Archives released the 89 . documents on Friday, Chinese state media believes it could be a reaction . to on-going claims by conservative politicians that the comfort women . were not forced by the military or government officials. Experts . have said the archives provide important historical value because they . contest the denial of war crimes by the Japanese right-wing. The . 25 previously confidential files relating to sex slaves include . telephone records, documents mentioning sexual enslavement of women and . other reports, according to Chinese media. A . telephone record taken from the national bank of Manchuria in 1944 . shows the Japanese imperial army spent 532,000 yen on establishing what . they called comfort stations, according to the Global Times. Other records reveal how the Japanese army abducted women from the Korean peninsula. Also . revealed are details of the Nanking massacre, in which Japanese . soldiers killed up to 300,000 people during their 1937 to 1938 . occupation of Nanking, now known as Nanjing, according to Chinese and . western historians. Japanese authorities also dispute this figure, while far-right commentators have gone as far to claim China fabricated the massacre. Japan caused outrage in South Korea and China this year when it announced plans to re-examine a 1993 statement, where the government acknowledged for the first time the military's role in forcing women into sexual slavery. At the time, the government's chief spokesman Yohei Kono, apologised for the women's suffering, but demands that the Diet (houses of representatives and councillors) vote to approve the statement, were not met. Public figures close to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe have also increased tensions between the country and South Korea by claiming Japan was unfairly singled out for criticism of its wartime conduct. Abe has since confirmed he will not change the statement, which has been maintained by the following Japanese administrations since its issue more than 20 years ago by then chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono. An elderly woman joins a group who say they were used as sexual slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II and commonly referred to as comfort women, during a in 2013 . The impact of the war on Japan's relationship with China and South Korea was further tested on Monday, when a member of Abe's cabinet visited the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo. The shrine honours the 2.5 million Japanese killed in the war, including 14 leaders who were convicted of class A war crimes by the allies. Viewed by Beijing and Seoul as a symbol of Japanese militarism, the visit by Tomomi Inada, a state minister in charge of administrative reform, proceeded a visit just days earlier by almost 150 Japanese MPs. Abe used Obama's visit to the Japanese capital last week to say the country regretted the pain it caused in the past, particularly in Asia. The release of the documents comes after US president Barack Obama recently said the use of comfort women is a violation of human rights. 'Violation of human rights': US president Barack Obama has demanded Japan detail the full extent of sexual abuse of women at the hands of its military . While visiting Seoul at the weekend, Obama demanded Japan fully detail the sexual abuse of women at the hands of its military. He said: 'This was a terrible, egregious violation of human rights.' 'Those women were violated in ways that, even in the midst of war were shocking,' he said. 'They deserve to be heard. They deserve to be respected. And there should be an accurate and clear account of what happened.' On Sunday, he went a step further when he told reporters the plight of the comfort women was 'heart-wrenching'. Moving forward? Japanense prime minster Shinzo Abe said the plight of the women was heart-wrenching . | On Friday, 89 archive documents were released by China revealing the Japanese Army forced women into World War II brothels .
Some historians believe 200,000 women were sexually abused between 1932 and 1945 on the frontline .
Japan has refused to formalise an apology to surviving 'comfort women'
US president Barack Obama condemned Japan's wartime atrocities against women as a terrible violation of human rights . |
79,074 | e024541feae63ce53ad59ccf4b6fad6ad2b6abbf | By . Francesca Chambers . Secret audio recordings of New Mexico governor Susana Martinez lambasting her opponent in the 2010 gubernatorial race as 'little b****' were revealed on Wednesday. The country's first female Hispanic governor is also caught on tape questioning the purpose of a cabinet-level position for a member of the state's commission on women. The controversial recordings, released by left-wing publication Mother Jones, also include a clip of a Martinez adviser condescendingly discussing the inability of one of the state's Hispanic legislator's to fluently speak English. Scroll down for audio . Secret recordings of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, pictured in January, were released Wednesday that frame the popular governor unfavorably . 'I'm so tired of that little b**** calling me a liar,' Martinez can be heard saying of then-Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish in a five-second clip. The clip provided by Mother Jones provides no context for the statement, but the publication's accompanying story claims Martinez made the comment while watching a tape of their recent debate, and the Martinez campaign has not refuted it. In a longer clip Martinez refers to a woman who came up to her at an event and said she worked for for the state's commission on the Status of Women and claimed to be a cabinet-level official. 'What the hell is that?' Martinez asks. After her deputy campaign manager confirms the position to her, Martinez reiterates her confusion about the purpose of the position. 'I just don't know what they do. I understand that we have ten cabinet . positions, more than the federal government, but some of these seem to . be in name only,' she says. 'I don't get what the hell does a position on women's . cabinet do all day long?' 'But she sure was my best friend all day long,' Martinez adds, laughing, at which point the male deputy campaign manager makes a joke about another male campaign adviser wanting to be appointed to the commission so that he can study women. 'Oh, s***,' Martinez responds, still laughing. In this Aug. 19, 2010 file photo, gubernatorial candidates Diane Denish, left, and Susana Martinez, right, prepare to square off during a Mexico Gubernatorial Debate. In this historic race New Mexico elected its first female governor . In the audio recordings a Martinez adviser says that former New Mexico House Speaker Ben Lujan sounds like a 'retard' when he speaks in English. Lujan is pictured here in Feb. 18, 2010. He passed away in 2012 . Martinez's deputy campaign manager can also be heard in another clip making fun of the state's former speaker of the House, Ben Lujan. 'Somebody told me he's absolutely eloquent in Spanish, but his English? He sounds like a retard.' Lujan passed away in 2012 after a battle with cancer. Mother Jones is the publication responsible for releasing the infamous '47 percent' video that irreparably damaged former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romeny's 2012 presidential bid. The audio clips Mother Jones released of Martinez were part of a longer profile the publication published framing Martinez as 'nasty, juvenile, and vindictive.' The article's author, Andy Kroll, likens Martinez to 'brash,' embattled New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Martinez, a Republican who is up for reelection this year, and her advisers seem unfazed by the recordings, however. In a statement posted on Martinez's campaign website, spokesman Chris Sanchez played Mother Jone's article and its release of the recordings off as 'cheap political attacks,' as well as an attempt to 'smear' Martinez in order to undercut the Republican Party's standing with Hispanics. 'Today, an extreme left-wing blog posted four-year-old material from private conversations undoubtedly sent to them by individuals or their allies who are either under federal indictment, or have had their homes raided by the FBI for their role in stealing or distributing Governor Susana Martinez’s email,' Sanchez wrote. 'That the national Left is trying to smear the first Hispanic woman governor in American history because they view her as a threat is about as surprising as the National Enquirer reporting that Elvis is still alive.' The statement goes on to snarkily address the Governor's use of the b-word in the recordings. 'Yes, the Governor used salty language in a private conversation four years ago with close advisers and will pay the appropriate penalty to the cuss jar.' A strategist familiar with the campaign's thinking predicted that the recordings would actually help Martinez in her governor's race. 'People actually want a tough Governor,' the source said, adding that New Mexico is still a 'Wild Wild West' of sorts and that the 'machismo' spirit is rewarded there. 'Strong women advance in politics,' the strategist continued. 'She is a woman, and she can kind of get away with that more.' 'People want . her to do well. People look at her and want her to stand up and fight.' The strategist admitted that what the campaign's adviser said about Lujan was 'crazy, but its certainly not a Bridgegate' In its article on Martinez, Mother Jones likens the New Mexico governor's behavior in the secret recordings to that of embattled New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. A source close to Martinez rejected that comparison, saying the recordings are no 'Bridgegate' Bridgegate is the scandal afflicting Chris Christie's adminstration in which the governor's staff took retribution on a political foe by closing lanes on a major bridge in New Jersey, trapping cars on the bridge for hours. Martinez has consistently had one of the highest approval ratings for a state leader since she took office. A recent poll of New Mexicans put her approval rating at 52 percent. The same poll found her leading her most likely opponent, state Attorney General Gary King, by five points with 47 percent of the vote. She is expected to win the Governor's race and is considered a potential dark horse candidate in the 2016 election. | Liberal publication Mother Jones published secret audio recordings of New Mexico governor Susana Martinez on Wednesday .
In the audio recordings Martinez can be heard calling her 2010 gubernatorial opponent a b**** .
She also questions the purpose of a cabinet-level position for a member of the state's commission on women .
An adviser to Martinez remarks that one of the state's Hispanic legislators sounds like a 'retard' when he speaks in English .
Martinez is the state's first female governor .
She is up for reelection this year and is expected to win . |
131,905 | 368d30f6849c0d2aae92d48037d1ebf38a600131 | By . Simon Tomlinson and Sam Adams . PUBLISHED: . 10:11 EST, 24 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 10:10 EST, 25 December 2012 . Scores of shoppers were today left fearing they would not get their presents in time for Christmas Day after accusing one of the UK's biggest courier firms of losing orders and delaying deliveries. Customers have gone online to voice their anger after experiencing a spate of problems with City Link, with some saying they will not now be able to give their gifts to loved ones tomorrow. City Link describes . itself as a 'market leading service provider of guaranteed Next Day & Timed delivery services' but has admitted receiving 'unprecedented levels' of orders over the festive period. Established in 1969, it now operates over 2,500 vehicles and has an annual turnover of more than £300million. Under fire: City Link, one of the UK's leading courier firms, have been accused by shoppers of delaying deliveries, providing confusing information and poor customer service in the run-up to Christmas (file picture) Pulling out the stops: City Link said it was working around the clock to fulfill its 'Christmas promise' to get all orders delivered by the end of today (file picture) On its website, the firm boasts that it provides 'high quality, flexible and innovative service solutions across the UK, Ireland and Worldwide'. Among the disgruntled clients was comedian and author Charlie Higson . who says his son will not be getting one of his presents after claiming . it was 'lost' by the firm. One customer claims that an armchair for her 85-year-old father won't now arrive until December 28 when it should have been delivered 10 ten days earlier. Another said they will have to buy a replacement present for their mother and plans to send the bill to City Link. Up in arms: Comedian Charlie Higson (pictured) claims his son's present was 'lost' by City Link . Unsatisfied customer: Mr Higson left this and a number of other disparaging comments about City Link on his Twitter feed . 'Worst business in the UK': Joanne Taylor claims to have suffered a similar problem . Meanwhile, one Twitter user claims he spent 25 minutes on an 0844 number trying to chase their delayed parcel without success. Another said their new camera was left on the doorstep for three hours despite claiming they had not signed for it. City . Link said it was working around the clock to ensure it stuck to its . 'Christmas promise' to have every order delivered by today. A spokeswoman later said all parcels that had left the depots today had been delivered by 5.30pm. Mr Higson, who made his name on the . Fast Show, tweeted: 'Can't wait to see my boy's face at Xmas when he . unwraps his gift only to find a card from @CityLink saying We lost your . present, get over it.' Joanne Taylor claims she has suffered a similar experience, tweeting: 'The award for absoultely worst business in the UK goes to @CityLink. Thank you for losing an important Xmas present.' David Lloyd, a wildlife photographer from Ealing, west London, said he . ordered computer equipment from Amazon - one of City Link's major contractors - using its Prime service, which . guarantees next-day delivery. Furious: Sonia Carter is one of many customers who have taken to Twitter to coice their anger at City Link . Disappointment: Despite City Link's promise that every order will be delivered by Christmas, some customers claim theirs won't be . Not impressed: Connaire McGreevy vents his frustration after ordering an item from Amazon, which uses City Link for many of its deliveries . Hanging on the line: One customer posted this picture (left) of his phone home screen which they claim shows the time they waited on the phone to City Link's customer services department, while the company (right) has been fielding complaints and trying to reassure customers on its own Twitter feed . But this morning he said he was still waiting for his packages to arrive. He told . MailOnline: 'City Link have failed to deliver on Friday, Saturday, . Sunday, and so far today despite GUARANTEED delivery for Friday. 'I cannot be expected to remain indoors for a delivery for four days running up to Christmas. 'Not only have I paid for a premium delivery service, I have also paid at least £25 to CityLink to their help desk. 'They have not helped and their . promised delivery for Saturday did not eventuate. The help desk said . they would check on my parcel but did not.' Amazon's distribution centre in Miilton Keynes. The company uses City Link to deliver many of its goods . He claimed the tracking number he was . given told him his item had been successfully delivered to an address in . Suffolk, not his London one, eleven days prior to ordering it. He added: 'It is now impossible to get through to their switchboard yesterday or today.' A message posted on the company's Twitter feed last week said it had experienced 'unprecedented levels of volume, way in excess of forecasts.' But it said it will 'endeavour' to keep to its Christmas promise to have all orders delivered by the end of today. A spokeswoman for City Link told MailOnline today: 'All the depot floors were clear this morning so all items are out for delivery today.' Later, at 5.30pm, she said 'everything' had been delivered. She was not able to say how many people had been affected by delayed deliveries. A spokesman for Amazon said: 'We work with a variety of carriers to deliver the many millions of orders that we dispatch on a weekly basis. 'Amazon measures itself on its ability to deliver items by the estimated delivery date we provide customers and the delivery performance is very strong. 'We take all customer feedback on board, actively monitor the performance of our carriers and make improvements in order that we can provide an even better service in the future.' | City Link under fire as customers go online to voice their anger .
One claims armchair for father, 85, will not now arrive until December 28 .
Comedian Charlie Higson says his son's present was 'lost' by the firm .
Company pledges to work round clock to deliver all orders by end of today . |
59,865 | aa14ecdf884eacb3e9741f9927d5bd9483364e6f | The fighting was as fierce as I have ever known it. Last night, 36 hours after world leaders agreed peace, a Ukrainian base near the front line of the war was being violently, ruthlessly pounded by those who wished to be ruled by Russia. Here in Mariupol, the notion that conciliation could be found any time soon seemed ludicrous. This city is a key prize for the pro-Russian separatists. Fighting raged at the front lines on its eastern outskirts all day as the rebel tanks tried to push ahead. Ukrainian positions were bombarded ceaselessly by rebel artillery in a bid to hoist the Russian flag over the town hall tonight. The deputy commander of the Ukrainian 37th Mechanised Battalion told me the rebels attacked 12 times. He expected the shelling of government positions that started at 5am yesterday to continue throughout the night. The officer said: 'Our scouts and intelligence people saw the enemy bringing up scores of new, modern Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers along the road from their positions at the town of Novoazovsk east of here. 'Why would they be hauling up lots of new armour if they were planning a ceasefire?' Scroll down for video . Escalation: Askold Krushelnycky writes the conflict 'has intensified dramatically in the last week, leading to real fears of a full-blown war between the West and Russia' Our conversation was interrupted by an excited voice crackling over his radio: 'The Russians are pulling up more armoured vehicles towards our lines!' The commander hurriedly left the room: soon there was the sound of heavy engines revving as some of the battalion's own armoured vehicles prepared to move out towards the threat. Earlier, a Ukrainian soldier who had been in the thick of fighting all day at the nearby town of Sherokin told me of the pro-Russian separatists' dawn mass attack. He said Ukrainian forces replied with artillery and small groups of men with anti-armour weapons who moved forward to try to knock out rebel tanks. He said: 'We had to commit a lot of our forces there to prevent them from outflanking us. We're managing to hold our positions but the fighting was hellish.' He reported casualties both among Ukrainian troops and civilians. Europe's leaders are desperate to tamp down the conflict in Ukraine. No wonder: it has intensified dramatically in the last week, leading to real fears of a full-blown war between the West and Russia. Ukrainians have watched their outgunned and outnumbered forces taking heavy casualties over the past days. Ironically, the one event of the last week that actually cheered them was the one that Britons rightly feel most queasy about: the advance shipment of 20 British Saxon armoured cars to Ukraine, with another 55 on the way. The rugged vehicles, which are ex-British Army, have since 1970 transported soldiers through battle zones. Here, they have lifted morale. At one pub in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Friday evening, a table of people stood up as someone toasted 'Glory to the English'. Undedogs: 'Ukrainians have watched their outgunned and outnumbered forces taking heavy casualties over the past days' Price of war: Pro-Russian separatists stand next to the body of a soldier who died just hours before a ceasefire with Ukrainian soldiers was enforced . The Saxons have been delivered by a private firm which now owns them; but are a hugely symbolic totem of British material. To many, they represent the 'tooling up' of Ukraine by the West – the first palpable evidence of Britain having an interest in a conflict against Russia. Indeed, there is speculation here that the arrival of the Saxons might herald a split in ranks with Germany and France, which are steadfastly against arming Ukraine. On Friday, Ukrainian President Poroshenko paraded himself proudly by one of the Saxons. Soon they will be fitted out with guns. What will the effect be of images of pro-Russian victims of British hand-me-downs? No wonder alarm bells are ringing in Paris and Berlin. Meanwhile, America and Canada have indicated they might supply Ukraine with weapons if the pro-Russian forces break the ceasefire. Russia, predictably enough, has said it would view weapons supplies to Ukraine as a direct threat to its security. Vladimir Putin's position is, of course, absurd. He denies supplying weapons and men to the rebels in Ukraine – but both Nato and Western intelligence have no doubt he is lying. They say there is plenty of proof that Russia has not only been supplying the rebels with heavy weaponry but that Russian regular soldiers are fighting alongside the separatists. US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, yesterday said satellite photos showed large numbers of weaponry being massed on the border with Ukraine and said that some of the tanks being used 'are Russian military, not separatist systems'. Pyatt added: 'The separatists now have more tanks, APCs, artillery and missile systems than some European Nato countries.' So now the ominous question is: are we being sucked, day by dangerous day, into a desperately perilous scenario? Are we being dragged into the unthinkable: a war with Russia? Conflict: Russian-backed separatist sniper plays with a dog as he and others wait for transport preparing to leave towards frontline, in the village of Vergulivka, just outside Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine . Consider this: the last time I was in this port city, last summer, I accompanied Ukrainian forces who took it from pro-Russian rebels after a short but vicious battle. Then, both sides were poorly armed, mostly with Kalashnikovs and a few mortars. Most of the rebels fled and about 20 were killed. There were no civilian casualties or buildings destroyed. Now the rebels – who want to carve out a pro-Russian state and make no secret that they eventually would like to be absorbed into the Russian Federation – have Russian tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and multiple rocket launchers. The rebels' arms can only be coming from Russia. Many western countries believe they are working according to a plan by Putin to rebuild a new Russian-led empire. Those western politicians arguing for arming Ukraine compare Putin's actions to those of Hitler snatching Czechoslovakia, warning that appeasing him would only increase the dangers of more Kremlin aggression. Others fear that it would be impossible to contain the conflict within Ukraine's borders and it would spill over into neighbouring countries that were former components of the Soviet empire but are now Nato members – such as Poland and the Baltic countries. Putin was a reluctant member at the peace talks last week. Today will show whether he will risk edging Europe into an unimaginable conflagration… that is, unimaginable to anyone who knows nothing about the Second World War. | Ukrainian base bombed 36 hours after world leaders agreed ceasefire deal .
Askold Krushelnycky: 'The fighting was as fierce as I have ever known it'
Conflict has raised fears of a 'full-blown war between the West and Russia' |
112,864 | 1da1f0d82fa83250e17deb2b7bfa49109b392e75 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 08:21 EST, 12 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:40 EST, 12 June 2012 . A woman who suffered severe burns as her knife-wielding ex-lover covered her in gasoline and set her ablaze had been threatened by him before, and tried to file a restraining order just before the savage attack. Security cameras were rolling at a Boynton Beach, Florida, 7-Eleven store as Naomie Breton was lit on fire by the father of one of her three children, Roosevelt Mondesir. The 40-year-old had arranged to meet Mondesir at the store to pick up her son and was waiting in her silver Mercedes at about 3am on Monday when Mondesir showed up in his white Jaguar without the boy and began hurling the fuel over her, Boynton Beach police said. Scroll down for video . Brutality: Naomie Breton, left, was set alight by her ex-boyfriend Roosevelt Mondesir, right, as she showed up at a Boynton Beach 7-Eleven to pick up their son . She tried to run away and headed into the store for safety, attempting to hold the door shut. But the 52-year-old Mondesir chased her with a large knife, possibly a machete, got the door open to pull her out and then ignited her. In . graphic surveillance video which captured the horrifying attack, a man can be seen threatening a woman with a . large knife, struggling in the doorway of the store. 'Get away from . me!' she can be heard shouting. They disappear from view until she returns in a massive fireball, screaming and running around the parking lot. Waiting: Ms Breton arrived first in her white Mercedes at around 3am on Monday to the gas station . Tricked: Roosevelt Mondesir showed up but without their son in Boynton Beach, Florida . The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported today that Ms Breton had moved out of the apartment she lived in with Mondesir back in March, and he had threatened her several times for months after. Just two weeks before the attack, Ms Breton filed a restraining order against Mondesir, which a judge denied due to a lack of evidence. Mondesir, who fled the 7-Eleven on foot, was found by police officers about three hours after the incident in nearby bushes. Surprise attack: Mondesir can be seen running at Ms Breton and pouring gasoline over her . Terror: Ms Breton tried to run and hold the door closed but Mondesir chased after her with a knife, which can be seen in his hand in the doorway . Cops had also raided his home, where they found their 4-year-old son asleep after he had been left there alone. Mondesir was treated for burns at . Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach before being transferred to jail,. He . has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. On his Facebook page Mondesir has himself listed as 'engaged' and his employment as a truck driver. He lists his interests as classical music, ESPN and the British comedy series My Family. One of Roosevelt's neighbor in a subdivision of Lake Worth told CBS 12 that she was shocked upon learning about the attack. 'I'm stunned. He's not that kind of person.' Flaming: The pair disappear from view for a moment before the woman runs back across the shot, a human fireball . Horrific: Ms Breton is last seen running around in front of the store, still on fire. She survived the attack . Vendetta: On his Facebook page Roosevelt Mondesir lists himself as an engaged truck driver . In February he was accused of threatening the victim and destroying her furniture, the CBS affiliate reported. In March they were summoned again for a physical altercation. After the woman moved out of the . home, police reports say she received text messages including one that . read 'I'm all about revenge.' It was not known if Mondesir had yet obtained an attorney. Ms Breton is expected to survive. She was being treated at Delray Medical Center. | Roosevelt Mondesir was father of victim's son, aged four .
Judge reportedly denied restraining order due to a lack of evidence .
Police report claims he had previously texted her 'I'm all about revenge'
Woman, 40, expected to survive the attack . |
95,998 | 07717031413f5073408a7f215990cb84697f93d8 | By . Nina Golgowski . PUBLISHED: . 08:33 EST, 12 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:39 EST, 12 April 2013 . Arrest: Dionisio Lockridge, 22, who's not a student at the high school, has been charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine . A 22-year-old man has been arrested after nine Florida high school students were hospitalized after eating brownies laced with unidentified drugs. Dionisio Lockridge, who's not a student at the school, has been charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine after a search of his Miami home turned up brownies similar to the ones eaten by the students, officials said. Paramedics were called to Miami Coral Park Senior High School on Thursday shortly after classes started when several students complained of feeling ill. 'One girl was having a seizure. I . haven’t spoken to her, but hopefully she’s doing OK,' Samantha Melgar, a . student at the school told CBS 4. 'They told me the brownies had coke, heroin, steroids, all kinds of drugs,' Danivellis Torres also told CBS. Police . are now conducting tests to identify the substance in the brownies that . sickened the students, said John Schuster, a spokesman for the . Miami-Dade County public school system. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Emergency: Paramedics were called to Miami Coral Park Senior High School on Thursday shortly after classes started when several students complained of feeling ill, in all hospitalizing nine . Substance: What was in the drugs was not immediately known though a search of Lockridge's home turned up marijuana and cocaine according to authorities . Recounts: One student claims another had suffered a seizure after consuming the brownies that various students say were being sold and given by more than one person on the campus . It's . still not entirely clear Lockridge's connection to the school, with . mixed recounts by the students on how the brownies were distributed. 'It was just a male who randomly approached me and said, "Do you want one?"' Ashley Robleto told CBS Miami. 'I found it very suspicious. I was like, I shouldn’t take this.' 'They were selling it all over school they were knocking on classroom doors asking if they could sell what they had,' Student Danni Valdez Torres told WSVN. 'If you have consumed a brownie in school today, please report to room 4215. Immediately!!' a Twitter message by the school read that afternoon. Connections: It's still not entirely clear Lockridge's connection to the school, pictured, with mixed recounts by the students on how the brownies were distributed . ‘What's going here?’ an upset parent outside the school on Thursday asked WSVN. ‘Where's the control? Where is the safety for our kids?’ ‘I don’t feel safe about my kids in school,’ parent Norris Bell told CBS. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: . WSVN-TV - . | Dionisio Lockridge, 22, charged with drug possession after marijuana and cocaine seized from his Miami home .
Students claim more than one individual was distributing the brownies around the campus on Thursday .
Brownies being tested to identify their contents . |
46,941 | 843c3534cec0579a4258692bba99b5e3671fc674 | ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A yellow taxi sits idle at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, leaving its Somali immigrant driver visibly frustrated. Abdullah Hagi, a cabdriver in Atlanta, Georgia, has had to cut back on expenses as the economy has declined. "I've been here two hours, and you're my first customer," Abdullahi Hagi, formerly of Mogadishu, said as he tightened his grip on the leather-bound steering wheel. "When the economy is bad, people don't ride cabs." Often considered a bellwether for consumer spending, cabdrivers and the tough times they now face could mean worse times for relatives living in places like Somalia, where war and famine have made remittances from emigres like Hagi more important. Amid a financial crunch that has many of Hagi's customers feeling the pinch, fewer fares and mounting bills have not stopped him from sending a big chunk of his paycheck home to his family. Despite a bit more empty space in his hand-stitched wallet, Hagi said he has worked out a solution to keep his family fed back home. He is pooling his paycheck with fellow cabdrivers. Watch how cabbie gets by with less » . An informal lending system has emerged in major U.S. cities, akin to an old-world style of community banking that is fending off starvation in places like Somalia. In Atlanta, cabdrivers lend to each other based on need, depending whose family is in more dire straits. "I could never borrow from any bank," Hagi admits. "You take loans, not from institutions but from friends." However, Hagi is still struggling to make ends meet. "Should I pay the student loan or should I pay for my starving relatives?" he asked. "That's the kind of choice you've got to make every day." "Lately, it's been getting harder and harder to accumulate enough to survive and also send back home," he added, shifting his weight in the cab's cracked leather seats. "You try to cut corners in your lifestyle to be able to send money to your people because they're always in much worse condition -- always on the brink of collapse or starvation." Hagi and his family are not alone. Figures from the United Nations put nearly half of Somalia's population in need of humanitarian assistance, according to a report released in September. One in six Somali children under the age of 5 are acutely malnourished, the report found, and food is getting more costly. The price of sorghum, used for grain and found on the dinner plates of most Somali households, soared 600 percent since last year, according to a separate U.N. report. Civil war and drought have made food both scarce and a source of political power. Pitched battles between an Islamic insurgency and Ethiopian-backed transitional government forces have left thousands dead and rendered what many have called a "failed state" now teetering on the brink of its worst humanitarian crisis in over a decade, according to a World Food Program report. The United Nations says "all information indicates that the key factors driving this humanitarian crisis will continue to worsen over the coming months." That crisis, coinciding with a financial one that clobbered Wall Street and sent U.S. automakers begging for bailouts, may leave cabdrivers like Hagi facing the perfect storm. "You cut your groceries. You cut even the clothes you buy the kids. You cut everything," he said. "Whatever you can think of." There may not be much more to cut. For now, cabdrivers like Hagi are turning to each other to keep food on the family table back home. | U.S. economic woes take toll on Somali cabdrivers .
Many Somali families depend on remittances to make ends meet .
More cabdrivers start to lend to each other based on need .
Nearly half of Somalia's population in need of humanitarian aid, according to U.N. |
172,523 | 6b485a81af39ece8bc8653ef7497a578292ceb5b | (CNN) -- Japan's new prime minister on Friday offered the world a vision of his country as a reinvigorated Asian power, pledging to restore its influence in a region where it is increasingly eclipsed by China. "Japan is not, and will never be, a tier-two country," Shinzo Abe said in a speech to members of the US foreign policy establishment, following his first meeting with President Barack Obama. "It is high time, in this age of Asian resurgence, for Japan to bear even more responsibility to promote our shared rules and values." Mr Abe's declaration that "Japan is back" could raise hackles in China, where a new leadership is keen to establish that country as a more dominant political force, befitting its position as Asia's largest economy. Mr Abe, a conservative nationalist, referred to a rare increase in Japan's military spending and made a forceful reassertion of Tokyo's claim to the Senkaku Islands, whose ownership has been contested by Beijing, saying Japan "simply cannot tolerate any challenge now, or in the future". But he also tried to assure US leaders that he was working to avoid escalating a dispute which Washington has made clear it does not want to be drawn into, suggesting he might be open to meeting Chinese leaders to try to ease tensions over the islands. "The doors are always open on my side for the Chinese leaders," Mr Abe said. China on Friday criticised Mr Abe after the Washington Post published an interview quoting him as saying Beijing had a "deeply ingrained" need to challenge its neighbours over territory. Japanese officials said the quote was "misleading" and Mr Abe had not said China sought conflicts with other countries. Mr Abe came to Washington seeking to erase a perceived ambivalence about Japan's relations with the US that was created by the previous centre-left government, which Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic party defeated in national elections in December. Japan has swapped prime ministers six times since Mr Abe first held the office in a short and scandal-marred tenure from 2006 to 2007. One of his biggest challenges is to convince the Obama administration that his second stint will last long enough for him to follow through on his promises. Mr Abe has made a robust start, launching an economic stimulus programme of increased government spending and looser monetary policy that has lifted the Japanese stock market and pushed his poll ratings to around 70 per cent. Washington has been broadly supportive of the effort, even though it has led to a sharp fall in the yen that has alarmed some of Japan's trade partners and prompted concerns about a potential "currency war" of competitive devaluations. Mr Abe pressed his government's case that a healthier Japanese economy would be good for the rest of the world. "Soon, Japan will export more, but it will import more as well. The US will be the first to benefit, followed by China, India, Indonesia and so on," he said. He also moved Japan a step closer to joining an effort to create a trans-Pacific free-trade zone. In a joint statement, Mr Abe and Mr Obama said "all goods would be subject to negotiation" should Japan join the US and a group of mostly Asian countries in talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but that "it is not required to make a prior commitment to unilaterally eliminate all tariffs". That wording appeared to be broad enough to allow Mr Abe to claim that joining negotiations would not break an election promise to protect Japanese farmers. "It is my understanding that giving up all 'sacred areas' is not pre-condition," he said. | Japan's new prime minister offered a vision of his country as a reinvigorated Asian power .
Shinzo Abe pledges to restore its influence as it is increasingly eclipsed by China .
Abe in Washington: "Japan is not, and will never be, a tier-two country" |
10,036 | 1c7986bf44d042b5a246fc7ef65eede7e99d7a54 | A Spanish nursing assistant who contracted Ebola after treating two priests who later died of the disease has been released from hospital. Teresa Romero, 44, was taken into isolation on October 6 after developing symptoms of the deadly virus. She contracted the virus after helping treat two Spanish missionaries who caught the disease while working in Liberia. Scroll down for video . Teresa Romero, left, was kissed by her husband Javier Limon after she was discharged from hospital . The nursing assistant, left, has beaten the Ebola virus after being treated with some experimental therapy . After receiving the experimental treatment, Ms Romero's condition improved dramatically . She was the first person known to have contracted the disease outside of west Africa in the latest outbreak. Hospital doctors said Ms Romero received various treatments, including blood plasma from an Ebola survivor, but were unable to say if any had been effective. Ms Romero had treated two Spanish missionaries who died of Ebola in August and September after they were flown back from west Africa. Doctors said she will be able to live a normal life and poses no contamination risk. Ms Romero was said to be heartbroken after Spanish officials killed her dog Excalibur instead of putting it into quarantine over fears it may have contracted the disease. Ms Romero, who has been in quarantine since October 6, says she plans to get a new puppy - 'a little Excalibur' - after authorities had her old dog put down over fears it could spread Ebola . The nurse cared for Spanish missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo, 69, who died on September 25 after being infected with Ebola while he treated patients in Sierra Leone. Another Spanish priest, 75-year-old Miguel Pajares, had died in Madrid in August after being flown back from missionary work in Liberia. Ms Romero was treated with a drip of human serum containing antibodies from Ebola sufferers who had survived the disease, and other drugs which a government spokesman declined to name. One was the experimental anti-viral medicine favipiravir, according to the respected national newspaper El Mundo. Ms Romero is the only known sufferer of Ebola in Spain after the death of the two priests. A new 80-bed treatment centre for treating patients suffering from Ebola funded by the British taxpayer has opened in Sierra Leone. The Kerrytown facility will be managed by Save the Children while a 12-bed centre staffed by British Army Medics will concentrate on health care workers struck down by the virus. The work was funded by the Department of International Development and the job was overseen by British Army Royal Engineers. British Army Royal Engineers took just eight weeks to build the new treatment facility in Sierra Leone . The treatment centre has also doubled Sierra Leone's capacity to test samples of the killer disease . In addition to the treatment beds, the facility has a laboratory to identify new cases of the disease. International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: 'Sierra Leone does not have enough hospital beds to cope with the scale of the Ebola crisis. Patients are being turned away from hospitals, reducing their chance of survival and allowing the disease to spread. 'That is why British Army Engineers together with Sierra Leonean construction workers have been working round the clock for the last eight weeks to get Kerry Town built. This treatment facility, the first of six British-built centres, will give patients the care they need to fight Ebola, limiting the spread of this terrible disease.' | Teresa Romero contracted Ebola in Spain while treating two missionaries .
The Spanish priests caught Ebola while working with sufferers in Liberia .
Ms Romero was kept in quarantine since October 6 and treated for Ebola .
She received experimental therapies and was released from hospital today .
Unfortunately, Spanish authorities killed her pet dog over Ebola fears .
She was greeted by her husband as she was released from Madrid clinic . |
51,856 | 92de0d68ee1b4032cacf82391e36351535b5cb83 | Tottenham Hotspur are discussing a £2.75m move for USA World Cup star and Seattle Sounders right-back DeAndre Yedlin. The pacy 21-year-old impressed in his three appearances at the World Cup, where he played under former Spurs striker and United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann, and is set to earn a move to White Hart Lane. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Spurs target Yedlin throw ceremonial pitch at the Mariners . Spurs bound? Tottenham are in talks for Seattle Sounders right-back DeAndre Yedlin . Yedlin played against Tottenham during the club's pre-season tour and is expected to finish the current Major League Soccer season with Seattle before linking up with the Premier League side in January. Roma had been considered favourites for his signature while Liverpool have also been linked. The transfer could be completed on Friday. Familiar face: Yedlin in action against former Spurs star Jermain Defoe . Yedlin played for the MLS All-Stars in a 2-1 success over Bayern Munich in Portland on Wednesday night. Talking about his proposed move to Tottenham he told the Seattle Times: 'Nothing is really finalised yet. I’m waiting, letting my agency handle it.' Former Tottenham goalkeeper Kasey Keller, now 44, warned Yedlin against against a move to White Hart Lane especially if he is only cover for Kyle Walker. ‘Spurs is a tricky place to play,' said Keller. 'They’re a team that has a lot of turnover in players. Spurs are a team that has the money, and they are always looking for a bargain, but it’s a tough place to go,’ he told Goal. Upset: Yedlin was part of the MLS All-Stars side that beat Bayern Munich on Wednesday night . ‘I just want to see young American players play regularly, week in and week out. If that’s at Tottenham, great. But if it’s not, then it’s not the right move. It’s hard to develop if you don’t play. ‘I’m not sure DeAndre would even qualify for a work permit. He’s never started a game for the national team, [England] is a tough place to get a work permit. ‘My guess would be that if Tottenham is in the race, it would be to sign DeAndre and loan him out somewhere.’ | Spurs in negotiations in attempt to bring defender to White Hart Lane .
Yedlin caught the eye with his displays for USA in this summer's World Cup .
Kasey Keller has warned the right-back against a move to Tottenham . |
206,872 | 97dea32a989dad2591d7546f82e7e8f5efa07cbd | (CNN) -- One endless June afternoon a decade ago, I drove along southern Iceland's Highway One, past the weak spot in the planetary crust whose rupture recently brought air traffic in Europe to an ashen standstill. It was summer solstice, a day when the sun lolled at the horizon but never set, turning to crimson the basalt cliffs that face the Atlantic. From countless crags along their length gushed great arcs of water, pressured from above by a weight draped over a hundred square kilometers like a huge slab of white cake frosting: the 200-meter-thick Eyjafjallajokull glacier. Between the coastal cliffs and the ice lay a band of green slopes, five kilometers wide, interspersed with fjords and valleys that held clusters of farmhouses and barns with red metal roofs, their shining silos and occasional church steeples pointed toward the immense glacier hovering overhead. The air, brilliantly clear, resounded with terns, orange-billed oystercatchers, petrels, whimbrels and musical wagtails. At 8 in the evening, farmers in overalls were still out haying, their pale hair aflame in the suspended daylight. I saw a string of 10 riders on buckskin and dun mounts, forelegs lifted in the extra-high gait unique to Icelandic horses, making them appear to be swimming through the deep green ribbon at the glacier's edge. That extended, gilded moment was as perfect a definition of beauty on Earth as I have known. It remains indelible, even though over the past week, much of what I saw was swept away as Eyjafjallajokull's erupting volcano melted a gaping hole in its ice cap, flooding what lay below. A big clue as to why that happened can be found an hour's drive to the west, halfway between Eyjafjallajokull and Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, in a broad valley with a sharp cleft down its middle. That place, Thingvellir, is so famous in Icelandic history that practically no signs announce it, because everyone knows what and where it is. In A.D. 930, more than a thousand years after the decline of ancient Greece, Thingvellir was where Western democracy was reborn. By coincidence -- or maybe not -- the spot where the Norsk settlers who made up the island's infant society chose to convene their first parliament is one of the few places on the Earth's surface where the geologic action that defines our planet's land and seas is visible. Here, astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the North American and Eurasian plates pull away from each other. Perhaps 20 million years ago, this wrenching forced an upwelling of hot rock to rise through the ocean, and Iceland was formed. Thingvellir's rift valley floor is scored with cracks and fissures; at one point, a lava escarpment that is the eastern edge of North America towers 30 meters higher than the western edge of Europe. The continents are currently recoiling from each other at a clip of two centimeters per year, a process that daily releases clouds of geothermic steam and sends geysers skyward -- and, sometimes, molten magma and volcanic ash. Of course, the farmers who gathered in this shattered young landscape more than a millennium ago to lay down terms for civilization had no inkling that to the west lay an entire New World, where their democratic example would one day be magnified until it forged the philosophical basis for the most powerful country the planet has ever seen. Both Iceland and the United States exalt democracy as a social achievement worthy of lasting an eternity. Yet the latter's unprecedented strength has derived not just from enlightened government, but from the release of its own hot clouds: exhaust from its vast industries, fleets and mechanized agriculture. As we have learned, these gases form an invisible barrier that, like a greenhouse's glass ceiling, keeps reflected heat of the sun from escaping our atmosphere. The denser that gaseous barrier grows, the hotter things get and the faster glaciers melt. As they flow off the land, we are warned, seas rise. Yet something else is lately worrying geologists: the likelihood that the Earth's crust, relieved of so much formidable weight of ice borne for many thousands of years, has begun to stretch and rebound. As it does, a volcano awakens in Iceland (with another, larger and adjacent to still-erupting Eyjafjallajokull, threatening to detonate next). The Earth shudders in Haiti. Then Chile. Then western China. Mexicali-Calexico. The Solomon Islands. Spain. New Guinea. And those are just the big ones, 6+ on the Richter scale, and just in 2010. And it's only April. It's looking like this may be a long decade. And if we don't pull carbon out of the way we energize our lives soon, a small clump of our not-too-distant surviving descendants may find themselves, as Gaia scientist James Lovelock has direly predicted, like the first Icelanders: gathered on some near-barren hunk of rock near one of the still-habitable poles, trying yet anew to eke out a plan for human civilization. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Alan Weisman. | Iceland has great volcanic activity, is where European and North American continents meet .
Weisman: Scientists fear melting of ice sheets will lead to more volcanoes, earthquakes .
Iceland and U.S. revere democracy and want to see it endure, he says .
He says civilization threatened by economies that depend on emitting global-warming gases . |
174,317 | 6d9cfee1b8fa4e0ad5fc34b9c72b796d33f62a1a | (CNN) -- The financial crisis has driven a wedge through Europe, with two economies emerging and -- more dangerously -- a psychological split between the north and the south, European leaders have told CNN. Jean-Claude Trichet, former president of the European Central Bank, Mario Monti, former prime minister of Italy, and Joaquin Almunia, EU competition commissioner, joined CNN's Richard Quest to debate if the crisis had fractured the region, both economically and socially. Trichet, who headed France's Banque de France before joining the ECB, said a two-speed economy was emerging, but that could be seen as a "major rebalancing." When he began at the ECB in 2003, Germany was the sick man of Europe due to its lack of competitiveness, Trichet said. The country has since emerged as the eurozone's power player, and a lead negotiator in the four-year old financial crisis. According to Trichet, Europe has been adjusting after "countries that went too far too rapidly, had bubbles and so forth...now those countries that were growing extremely fast, abnormally fast, [and] a lot of them are correcting." However, member countries are not always going at the "same time, at the same speed," Trichet said. Monti who stepped up as Italy's "technocrat" prime minister after the country's economic instability forced the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, told Quest his greater concern was the prospect of a two class Europe. READ MORE: Could euroskeptics spoil Angela Merkel's party? "The crisis has been managed very, very poorly in my view as regards the psychology, and the eurozone crisis has generated a backlash against integration," Monti said. This "psychological conflict of north versus south and vice versa, this needs to be tackled." Trichet echoed the concerns, telling Quest such a split was "absolutely unacceptable." "If we had, in the past, fully implemented the rules including the stability and growth pact, and what was badly needed -- control and monitoring of competitiveness -- we wouldn't have two class Europe," he said. Almunia, meanwhile, said his fear was that "after the crisis those who were, at the beginning of this crisis, at the bottom, would continue to be at the bottom." However, he added, that would not happen if the countries in recession "do what they have started to do and ....continue to do [it]." Germany's emergence as power player . Germany emerged as an economic force after labor reforms were implemented under its then-chancellor Gerhard Schroder. Now, its export-led economy drives the 17-nation eurozone, with Chancellor Angela Merkel -- battling for third term in this weekend's federal elections -- a central figure during Europe's crisis. Merkel's popularity remains high in Germany, and her party, the Christian Democratic Union, is expected to gain the most votes. Merkel's leadership during the crisis saw her named as the world's most powerful woman by Forbes three years in a row. Efforts to combat the crisis included the implementation of bailout funds, closer fiscal cooperation and austerity measures. READ MORE: It's the economy, Dummkopf . When asked if Germany is taking over Europe, Monti replied that the continent's largest economy would have more dominance if it had retained the deutsche mark "because they would then become the only relevant monetary policy power in Europe." As it is, Germany remains shackled to the weaker countries in the euro, many of which continue to struggle with spiralling unemployment, high national debts and growing political instability. Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland have received over 400 billion euros ($534 billion) in bailout packages from the euro-area's rescue funds. Last year European finance ministers approved a 39.5 billion euro ($51.6 billion) lifeline for Spain's banks, struggling after the property bubble went bust. Yet Spain and Greece still have unemployment above 27%. Portugal and Ireland are also struggling with chronic unemployment. Anti-austerity protesters in the worst-hit nations have held demonstrations against government cuts and the lack of jobs, with many turning violent. And Eurostat's 2013 growth forecasts for eurozone nations show a growing chasm between the region's prosperous north and its struggling south. READ MORE: German Finance Minister, on the campaign trail . Germany is expected to post 0.4% growth this year while all the Mediterranean countries' economies are likely to contract. The imbalance had created a system "where the creditor nations rule and impose their conditions and the others are subservient to that," Paul de Grauwe, a professor at the London School of Economics, told CNN. "At some point, these countries will not continue to accept this recipe." The common currency's future . Public opinion continues to support the political push to integrate the eurozone, Almunia said. Discontent shown by the region's constituents is "with the way the European institutions tried to solve the problems," he said. Indeed, despite efforts to tie the bloc closer, debate continues around the potential for worst affected countries to exit the common currency. Such an outcome has been decried in the past but could, according to European School of Management and Technology faculty member Jan Hagen, be of benefit. Hagen said the bloc needed to "go for strong political integration, to basically create a single market or a strong fiscal policy, or get rid of the euro. " Otherwise, Hagen said, "my fear is .... people in these countries that have problems will turn violently against Europe." Meanwhile, according to Monti, the region's leaders must work more closely together. Leaders who applaud decisions made in Brussels only to criticize them from home turf are playing a dangerous game, he said. "This Europe bashing is, of course, very dangerous... because it's simply a dishonest game of shifting the responsibility where it does not belong," Monti told Quest. And, as Trichet noted during the debate: "This is no time for complacency for Europe... it's absolutely clear we have very hard work to do, very, very hard work, and things will remain difficult for a while." Richard Quest, Oliver Joy and Irene Chapple contributed to this report . | The crisis has driven a wedge through Europe, with two economies emerging and a psychological split, leaders say .
Jean-Claude Trichet, Mario Monti and Joaquin Almunia joined Richard Quest to debate the region's future .
They feared a two class Europe more than a two economy Europe .
They say there is still long hard road ahead of Europe before it recovers . |
60,939 | ad2095ee27b49eebf8fde998d2a7daeb62bec9ce | Roy Hodgson has the third most valuable squad at the World Cup at his disposal, yet they are only joint eighth favourites to win the trophy. Despite having an estimated insurable value of £550million, more than top favourites Brazil (£448.3m) and Argentina (£355.2m) and almost three times that of Group D rivals Italy, not many people think England have a realistic chance of winning the tournament. Lloyd’s of London, who conducted the study with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), predicts the most expensive team, Germany, will lift the World Cup at the Maracana on July 13. VIDEO Scroll down for Rooney, Neymar, Ronaldo and Zlatan star in animated advert . Pricey: England are third-ranked in terms of insurable value at the World Cup . Costly: Wayne Rooney is England's best-paid player . Talent: Germany's array of stars puts them top of the list . They used players’ wages and endorsement incomes to estimate career earnings and calculate the value of each player in the 32 World Cup squads. It showed England’s players are worth on average £23.9m – which is more than the whole of Group D rivals Costa Rica’s squad combined (£18.3m). Mario Balotelli and his ageing Italy team-mates come in at 10th on the list, while Chile, who many tip to be the tournament’s surprise package, are 23rd with a group value of £72m. Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is England’s highest paid player after signing a new contract worth £300,000-a-week earlier this year. The collective value of the 32 teams at the World Cup is an estimated £6.2billion. Price tag: Diego Costa of Spain is one of Vicente del Bosque's most valuable commodities . Double figures: Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Co are just 10th on the list . Brazil 3/1Argentina 4/1Spain 13/2Germany 7/1Belgium 20/1France 20/1Italy 22/1England 25/1Portugal 25/1Uruguay 28/1 . Germany possess the most valuable squad (£641m), no doubt helped by the likes of Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm, while reigning champions Spain, with Sergio Ramos, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, are second at £591m. The hosts Brazil might be favourites with the bookies to win the tournament but their squad is only the fourth most valuable, according to the report. The research suggests Group G, which features Germany, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Ghana and USA, is the toughest group in the competition with a combined value of £1.2bn. Star man: Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo helps Group G along the way to becoming the most expensive . Easy task: France have the easiest job on their hands in Group E with Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras . France should have the easiest job of qualifying for the last 16. Didier Deschamps’ team, which includes Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and Hugo Lloris, has an average player value of £17.2m. Compare this with the other nations in Group E - Switzerland (£6m), Ecuador (£2.1m), Honduras (£1.5m). Marco Castro from Lloyd’s Brazil said: ‘It is incredible to see how much some of the teams playing in Rio are worth – the top three, Germany, Spain and England - are worth more than £1.7bn collectively. This is more than the bottom 20 teams combined. ‘The predicted insurable values also clearly show which groups should be trickier to qualify from than others – and it’s far from a level playing field.’ | England have the third most valuable squad at the World Cup .
More than the two favourites for the competition Brazil and Argentina .
Germany lead the value list, with world champions Spain in second .
Three Lion's eighth favourites for the tournament in Brazil . |
94,758 | 05c2eaa919c6a0f6fb739982615fc1a4dee7b900 | By . Mia De Graaf . It is one of the biggest processions in the British calendar - but for one member of yesterday's parade ahead of the State Opening of Parliament it was all too much. As the Queen made her way from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords just after 11am, six-year-old cavalry horse Musaqaleh had other plans. The gelding, who joined the army's fleet . two years ago, bolted - hurling his rider into the path of Her Majesty's . bespoke new carriage just metres away. Bolted! Musaqaleh, a six-year-old gelding, threw his rider off and fled . his station outside Whitehall when the procession started for the State Opening of Parliament - just seconds before the Queen approached in her carriage. The rider wasn't injured and stood up and saluted the Queen as she passed . But incredibly, the unnamed trooper leaped to attention with his sword to salute the Queen as she passed. Meanwhile, his black charger cantered wildly towards Horse Guards Parade, trying to find a way out of the metal gates that cordoned off the public. Eventually, he came to a halt and four soldiers guided him back to his stable. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'Poor Musaqaleh just got spooked. It does ask quite a lot of them, these parades, particularly the young ones. 'Musaqaleh hasn't done many yet, he's only been with the army for two years. This parade had only been rehearsed once. You can see the (more experienced) ones which know what songs are coming next. Their ears prick forwards when they hear a song they like. 'But with the younger ones it is common for them to bound off. This week is big for them - they are doing 10 parades in as many days. It is a big ask.' Hold your horses! Musaqaleh, who is still new to parades, galloped towards Horse Guards Parade trying to find a way out of the metal gates that cordoned off the public. He eventually came to a halt and four soldiers guided him back to his stable . Unlike the drum horses, the blacks and greys are all named with a common letter for each year. An 'M-reg', Musaqaleh was named after a battle fought in Afghanistan in December 2007. Recruited in 2012, he underwent training to ignore the noise of London traffic and carry the weight of full ceremonial gear. The . Riding Master looks for animals that are no less than 16 hands high and . unbroken, with a good weight, good attitude and no blemishes. They are then broken, ridden, and gradually trained with more and more ceremonial 'furniture' to build up their strength. It . is only when they appear to have accepted the sound of the Regimental . bands - and demonstrated this in a major parade - that a horse can 'pass . out' to join the Regiment proper. Procession: The Queen travelled to the House of Lords in the new Diamond Jubilee State Coach . Heavy duty: The parade was one of 10 in 10 days for the horses, who must calmly complete at least one major procession, not reacting to traffic or music, before they can 'pass out' into the Regiment proper . | Six-year-old gliding Musaqaleh bolted outside Whitehall during the parade ahead of the State Opening of Parliament .
Threw the unnamed trooper out of the saddle into the path of Queen's carriage as she headed to Parliament .
But incredibly the soldier stood and saluted the monarch while Musaqaleh was stopped by four soldiers . |
80,926 | e559e9ba4e302f63467d70582ea2a75af75a1cc3 | The sale of a print of a painting by the Prince of Wales has funded a new kindergarten in one of the most deprived places in the world. Children’s charity Kids For Kids has used the £32,500 raised by the sale of Prince Charles’s Terrace At Highgrove – gifted to them by the Prince himself – to open the school in Darfur in western Sudan. The Kids For Kids First Community Kindergarten in the village of Abu Nahla is testimony to the popularity of the heir to the throne’s lithographs. The framed print, personally signed by the Prince, originally sold for £7,500 at a celebrity auction in 2012. The sale of one of Prince Charles's prints has funded a kindergarten in Darfur. Here he is pictured working on one of his paintings in 2008 . Children play music at the kindergarten in Darfur which was funded by the sale of the Prince's print . Months later, its new owner, businessman Andrew Mead, sold it to an anonymous sheik in a second charity auction in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for £25,000 – and donated that sum to the charity too. It is thought to be a record price paid for a work of art by the Prince, who never sells his original paintings. Patricia Parker MBE, chief executive of Kids For Kids, said: ‘It is incredible to think that this new school has come from the proceeds of a single work by the Prince.’ Kids For Kids spent about £22,000 on the new building, which boasts two classrooms and an office for teaching staff. The money has also helped buy other essential items including toys, musical instruments, a roundabout and a slide. The Prince is thought to be aware of the school, but a Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment on how much sales of his prints had raised for charity. Melanie Gerlis, of trade paper The Art Newspaper, said the value of the print was boosted by its connection to Charles. Children's charity Kids for Kids used the £32,500 raised by the sale of Terrace At Highgrove (pictured) to open the school in western Sudan . She added: ‘It certainly helps that he is a prince and it would help even more should he become King.’ Art critic Brian Sewell said the Prince had a mixed record as an artist, producing both good and bad pieces – mainly because he cannot commit enough time to painting due to his heavy schedule. ‘If he could do it all the time, he wouldn’t produce a bad one,’ Mr Sewell added. | The sale of one of Prince Charles's artworks has funded a school in Darfur .
A print of his painting Terrace at Highgrove was sold by charity for £32,500 .
The piece of art was signed and gifted to the charity by the Prince himself .
Kids for Kids spent about £22,000 on the two classrooms and staff office . |
84,233 | eee662161666f2a1366a131ab923d7a3d7a86872 | (CNN) -- Small in size, the saints' relics provide a precious spiritual connection for parishioners at Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church. Still, the church's pastor and police in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, a river town settled by French colonists in the mid-18th century, are mystified as to why someone would steal nine of them. They hold little monetary value and would be difficult to sell without their paperwork. "We are kind of at a loss," police Sgt. Steven Poole told CNN Saturday. The theft occurred sometime between Christmas Eve and January 4, when the dollar-coin-sized containers holding the nine relics were found empty. Those containers are displayed in larger vessels, called reliquaries, that sit on two side altars. For many worshipers, saints help them get closer to Jesus Christ, according to the Rev. Dennis Schmidt. Schmidt said the thief or thieves may have thought the relics, along with any small amount of gold or other metal with them, might make the job worthwhile. Schmidt said he doubts anyone took the items, which can include portions of a saint's body or pieces of garment, for religious reasons. "If they had taken one ... I can see that, but to take nine of them, it doesn't seem practical," he said. "This will probably be something that will turn up somewhere once they realize there's no real street value," Police Chief Eric Bennett told CNN St. Louis affiliate KSDK. The church has about two dozen relics, one of which belonged to Ste. Genevieve and was placed around the neck of her statue inside the church, said Schmidt. The relic of the patron saint of Paris is now in a secure location. The relics have been part of the Ste. Genevieve parish since the 1930s and 1940s, when the pastor at that time brought them back from several trips he made to Rome and elsewhere in Europe. "Some people are really upset ... (asking) why somebody would do this," Schmidt said of the theft. Searches of area pawnshops have yielded none of the relics, Poole said. "We are hoping we can get help from the community, by word of mouth or at the church or (someone who) saw something." Because of its history and decor, the church is popular with tourists visiting the largely Catholic town, an hour south of St. Louis. The parish was founded by Jesuits who came from Quebec. Community leaders tout Historic Ste. Genevieve's heritage, charm and historic homes, some of which were built with distinctive vertical log construction. German immigrants who followed the French founders built rock and brick homes popular with visitors. The town of about 4,400 is on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Schmidt said the church, which serves about 1,100 families, will build a database to get a better handle on records and paperwork surrounding the relics. Leaders also are considering ways to secure the relics by placing them under glass attached to walls. For now, he and others are praying for the return of the historic and spiritual items. While Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church has insurance, the theft of the relics is no ordinary matter. "How do we put value on it?" Schmidt asked. | Nine relics were taken from the Catholic church .
The church is named for Ste. Genevieve, patron saint of Paris .
The town is known for its rich French-German history . |
148,291 | 4bbbce5b8c53f3c874abc3dc63aa140cf7f2fc4b | By . Chris Parsons . PUBLISHED: . 03:43 EST, 13 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:29 EST, 13 July 2012 . Double killer Peter Keller recorded a chilling video while hiding from police in his remote bunker, explaining that he shot dead his wife and daughter after becoming bored with civilian life. Survivalist Keller, who later shot himself dead when police hunted him down to his bunker in Washington's Cascade Mountains, said he resorted to a life of fugitive crime because normal civilian life 'freaked him out'. In a chillingly matter-of-fact two-minute video diary filmed in remote woodland before his death, Keller describes his frustration at 'trying to live, pay bills and go to work'. Scroll down for video . Candid: Keller recorded the undated video from his remote mountainside location before killing himself when discovered by police . Hideout: Peter Keller dug a multi-level bunker near North Bend, Washington stocking it with a generator and ammunition boxes sealed in Ziploc bags . He goes on to claim that 'living out here, robbing banks and pharmacies... at least it'll be exciting.' Keller gunned down his wife Lynnettee and 18-year-old daughter Kaylene at their home in North Bend, east Seattle, in April. He then went on the run from police, . hiding in a fortified, camouflaged bunker in Rattlesnake Ridge, . Washington, until SWAT teams closed in on him days later. The 41-year-old then shot himself dead - just as he calmly predicted in his video diary. Looking down into a handheld camera, . with his head wreathed by evergreen trees and the blue sky, Keller . stated flatly: 'If I get caught, I'm just going to shoot myself. Keller spent eight years carving out his bunker and shot . himself when authorities tried to smoke him out . Hideout: This is the bunker where Peter Keller hid from police after allegedly killing his wife and daughter . Family tragedy: Kaylene Keller, 18, right, and her mother, Lynnettee Keller, 41, left, were both found dead in their bedrooms from gunshots to the head . 'I could be dead in two weeks or three weeks, I don't know. It's all up to chance at this point.' Suicide: Keller is believed to have shot himself at some point during the stand-off with SWAT teams . He added: 'I do have my escape and . it's death. Shoot myself. I'm OK with that... I won't have to worry . about Lynnettee or Kaylene. Everything'll be taken care of. It'll just . be me.' The King County Sheriff's Office said . it was releasing the video now because recent forensic tests recently . proved that one of Keller's guns was used in the murders. There were no . other suspects. In a news conference, Sheriff Steve . Strachan also announced that tens of thousands of dollars was found . bundled in the bunker, though he declined to specify how much. When a bomb squad finally blasted its . way into Keller's fortified bunker in April, they had found the . fugitive's blood-spattered body lying next to a pistol. Sgt. Cindi West said evidence found in . Keller's home helped authorities locate the bunker, dug 20 feet into . the side of a ridge in an area of dense vegetation. Officers were able to pinpoint the . location after enhancing a blurry photograph found on a hard drive in an . open safe in Keller's house, she said. The photo included a view from . the bunker in which buildings in nearby North Bend were visible, along . with a set of power lines. Keller's wife, Lynnettee, and 18-year-old daughter, Kaylene, were found shot dead in their home in April . Authorities believe that Keller has . been building the bunker for at least eight years and that he has . documented the development of the elaborate hideaway with photographs . dating back to 2004. He is thought to have been heavily . armed and well supplied, West confirmed that Keller has brought 'a . number of rifles, scopes and handguns' as well as a bullet-proof vest. Lynnettee's family announced that they . would use the money found in Keller's bunker to establish a scholarship . fund in Kaylene's memory ( www.kaylenesfund.com ) for women who attend . DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, where Kaylene had hoped to . study video game design. 'The family didn't really find there . was a problem with Peter,' said Lynnettee's twin brother, Gene Rocha. He . described Keller's relationship with his daughter as loving. 'We'd go there for holidays and it was . like every father-and-daughter relationship,' he said. 'She'd look at . her father and say, `Daddy, can I have this?' And he'd say, `Sure.'' Tactics: Investigator Nick Halverson looks over a make-shift stove he pulled out from the lower exit of the bunker after Keller spent eight years stocking up his base . Deep underground: A pair of hiking shoes are tucked up next to a ladder and a blood-splattered light switch in the lower level of a multi-level bunker . Ready for action: Keller had stockpiled ammunition in the bunker, which he had worked on since 2004 . Lethal haul: Deputies removed a vast assortment of dangerous weapons from the bunker . Unearthed: Deputies found fuel containers in the underground bunker . Bunk: Police say Keller's bunker runs 20-feet deep into the side of a ridge in an area of dense vegetation . | Peter Keller made two-minute video saying he was bored with civilian life .
He had gone on the run to remote mountain bunker after shooting dead wife and teenage daughter .
Keller confesses that 'robbing banks and pharmacies... at least it'll be exciting.'
He later shot himself when SWAT teams closed in on his fortified bunker . |
267,249 | e61ed83f116195ef7d923fc1852697b717c2d29e | By . Ian Ladybourn, Press Association . Leeds coach Brian McDermott will be aiming to help lift the weight of history from the shoulders of his ageing stars when he leads them out at Wembley on Saturday. McDermott is a former Cup winner with Bradford but his old Bulls team-mate Jamie Peacock is the only member of the Rhinos team to have experienced the joy of winning rugby league's famous knockout trophy and that was away from Wembley. Kevin Sinfield, Danny McGuire, Rob Burrow, Ryan Bailey and Jamie Jones-Buchanan have formed the nucleus of the Leeds team that won Super League's Grand Final at Old Trafford a record six times as well as the World Club Challenge three times in the last decade but are still waiting to put the final piece in the jigsaw. Holy grail: McDermott (right) and Kevin Sinfield will be hoping to lead Leeds to glory on Saturday . Leeds are appearing in their 24th Cup final - only Wigan with 30 have more final appearances - and are looking to win it for the 12th time but a seventh defeat in the last 14 years would set a new record of 13. Most of the neutrals at Wembley are sure to be supporting underdogs Castleford but few would begrudge Sinfield and company reaching their Holy Grail. 'That's my job,' McDermott said. 'And if I can deliver it, it would mean a fair bit to me. 'I've listened to them all talk about it. I don't think they go searching the streets for answers or looking in the stars because they've all by their own right been very successful in everything except the Challenge Cup. 'It's the missing piece in the jigsaw and I know it means a lot to them. If I can deliver that, I'd be over the moon. I'd be over the moon for myself as well.' Since they last lifted the trophy at the old Wembley in 1999 , with a 52-16 win over London Broncos, the Rhinos have lost finals in 2000 (Bradford at Murrayfield), 2003 (Bradford at Cardiff), 2005 (Hull at Cardiff), 2010 (Warrington at Wembley), 2011 (Wigan at Wembley) and 2012 (Warrington at Wembley). Touching distance: Leeds have failed in each of their last six attempts to win the famous trophy . McDermott has been at the helm for Leeds' last two defeats but it has not dulled his enthusiasm for the 117-year-old competition. 'That novelty never wears off,' he said. 'There's a lot of ceremony involved compared to a Grand Final, where you feel like you could turn up in your jeans and flip-flops and it would still be a big event. 'There's a fair bit of protocol you've got to go through at Wembley. I suppose as a young player or coach, it's a bit of a pain in the a***, you think 'let's get on and play'. 'But when you get older - and some of these lads have been in a few - you start to enjoy it, start meeting a few people. You know you are on show and that you are representing our sport.' Despite their losing habit at Wembley, McDermott is hoping his side's big-match experience will count for something against Daryl Powell's Castleford, who won at Wigan in the quarter-finals and recently held Leeds to a draw in Super League at Headingley. Last man standing: Jamie Peacock is the only member of the Leeds side to have won the Challenge Cup . 'I don't think it will give us a massive edge but it certainly helps us in preparation and, if you can get on the field and feel a bit more confident because of the preparation you've had, it gives you an edge,' McDermott said. 'But, when the whistle blows, I don't think Cas will be too bothered about how many finals we've appeared in. 'We lost at their place in 2013 and this year had two very challenging games. I am sure they will be confident - they broke us down a couple of times in both those games, so it's on. 'What we're not doing is planning for a team that chokes. Cas won't choke, I guarantee it. They won't get there and freeze. We're planning for a good Cas.' | Leeds have lost six finals in last 14 years .
Only Jamie Peacock has won the Challenge Cup of this Leeds squad .
McDermott determined to pick up 'missing piece in the jigsaw' |
92,860 | 0371970cf6fce39447387de7b753aab7bfcca9ff | You may soon be able to use your iPad in direct sunlight if Apple goes ahead with rumoured plans for an anti-glare screen. Reports claim Apple suppliers have begun manufacturing the new range of iPads ahead of an October launch. And sources believe the devices will have anti-reflective laminated displays to make it easier to use in bright light, and outside - compared to current, reflective models. Reports claim Apple's suppliers have begun manufacturing the new range of iPads, and they may feature anti-glare displays. This would make the devices easier to use outside. The refreshed tablet range is expected to launch in October. Last year's iPad Air (left) and iPad mini with Retina display (right) are pictured . By comparison, the Kindle Fire HD tablet already has a polarising filter and uses anti-glare technology. According to Bloomberg, two unnamed people familiar with plans said mass production of the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 has started, and a refreshed 7.9-inch iPad mini will be manufactured soon. Apple is hoping to boost iPad sales with its new range, after they slumped 9 per cent in the last quarter. The iPhone maker reported sales of $37.4 billion (£21.9 billion) in its third quarter ending June, falling short of expectations for about $38 billion (£22.3 billion). The Cupertino-based company also revealed that only 13.2 million iPads were sold in the last quarter, compared to 16.3 million in the previous quarter. The results have triggered fears that iPad sales are set to get worse once Apple launches its rumoured, large-screen iPhone this autumn. Last year, Apple launched its iPhone 5S and 5C at a September event, followed by new iPads in October. If the firm follows suit this year - and Apple launches its iPhone 6 at a rumoured event on 9 September - it’s likely the iPads will be released on 21 October. Apple is hoping to boost iPad sales after they slumped 9 per cent in the last quarter. The iPhone maker reported sales of $37.4 billion (£21.9 billion) in its third quarter ending June, falling short of expectations for about $38 billion (£22.3 billion). The Cupertino-based company also revealed that only 13.2 million iPads were sold in the last quarter, compared to 16.3 million in the previous quarter. The results have triggered fears that iPad sales are set to get worse once Apple launches its rumoured, large-screen iPhone this autumn. At the start of August, leaked images of what is purported to be the casing for the next-generation iPad Air (pictured) appeared online. It is not known whether the images are of a real iPad or whether they are just a designer's musing on what Apple's next offering will be . Last year, Apple launched its iPhone 5S and 5C at a September event, followed by new iPads in October. If the firm follows suit this year - and Apple launches its iPhone 6 (leaked images pictured) at a rumoured event on 9 September – it’s likely the iPads will be released on 21 October . The Kindle Fire HD tablet (pictured) already has a polarising filter and uses anti-glare technology . At the start of August, leaked images of what is purported to be the casing for the next-generation iPad Air appeared online. It is not known whether the images are of a real iPad or whether they are just a designer's musing on what Apple's next offering will be. Two images show what the casing may look like from a distance, while a close-up image reveals the case’s depth. In the image that shows the exterior of the rear case, the camera lens is pictured in the top left-hand corner with a small hole next to it. This hole, purported to be for the rear microphone, is similar to those seen on the rear of the iPhone 5S and 5C. By comparison, the current microphone on the iPad Air is positioned in the centre, at the top of the rear case. On the leaked image of the case's interior, two holes along the top right-hand side of the case are believed to be where the volume controls will sit. The controls on the current iPad Air are raised, but these holes suggest the next-generation controls will be built flush with the case. Aside from these minor tweaks, the size and thickness of the case appears to be the same. | Reports claim Apple suppliers have begun manufacturing the new iPads .
The tablet range is expected to feature anti-glare laminated displays .
This would make the devices easier to use in bright light, or outside .
They are expected to launch in October - a month after the iPhone 6 . |
61,117 | ad994fe3e2e928fd5a6f771b0920b36497af91bf | Saved survivor: Dawn Carter's six-organ transplant surgery took 17 hours . It was an extraordinary operation – transplanting six organs into a 53-year-old woman in 17 hours of surgery. Dawn Carter, only the third patient in Britain to survive such a procedure, now has a new liver, kidney, pancreas, stomach, small intestine and colon. The procedure required four consultants – one to retrieve Dawn’s organs and three to perform the implants, which all came from a 20-year-old female donor. There were also two anaesthetists present, two operating department practitioners, two theatre nurses and two other theatre staff. Without the transplants, Dawn, an intensive care nurse from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, who was suffering from a serious liver disease, had been given just six months to live. Today, as she pats her three spaniels – Bonny, Skye and Jake – after their morning walk with her partner Martin Burch, she says: ‘I’m obviously meant to be here.’ Dawn’s problems started when she was . diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel complaint, at 19. A . decade later, she underwent an operation to remove part of her colon at . Leeds General Infirmary. However, . her problems continued and Dawn needed several more operations, which . eventually left her with just five per cent of her intestine. This meant . her only option was to receive all nutrition and fluids intravenously. For . the next 21 years, Dawn and Martin, who are keen motorsports fans, . travelled to various Formula 1 events and spent several holidays in the . United States. But in 2011, . she was told that her liquidised food had been damaging her liver and . she had end-stage liver disease. Referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in . Cambridge, her only chance of survival was a multi-organ transplant. ‘It . never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t get a transplant,’ confides Dawn. And so it proved. Two days before Christmas 2011, she was told the . organs had become available. ‘I . didn’t hold any fear about the operation,’ remembers Dawn. ‘In the . anaesthetic room I thought, “This might be the last time I am alive”. But I felt fortunate I was getting this chance.’ Her consultant, Andrew Butler, says Dawn is one of three people in the UK to survive a six-organ transplant in one operation. The first survivor was Stephen Hyett, who received a new liver, kidney, stomach, duodenum, pancreas and small bowel in 1994. Careful timing: The procedure was carried out by four surgeons, two anaesthetists, two operating department practitioners, two theatre nurses and two other theatre staff . According to NHS Blood and Transplant, out of 88,052 transplants that have taken place in Britain, fewer than 30 have involved three or more organs being transplanted at once. ‘The hard part is co-ordinating removing the old organs with the new ones arriving from another part of the country, as this all has to be done swiftly to ensure survival,’ says Mr Butler. ‘In Dawn’s case, the organs were implanted as one, with as few joins as possible.’ Dawn spent nine weeks on a ventilator in intensive care, with Martin, her mother Dorothy and her brother Larry by her side. Unknown to Dawn at the time, during her stay in intensive care she needed a further 12 operations to rectify complications, which included bleeding from her new liver and pancreas. She also required a 17-pint blood transfusion. When she became aware of her surroundings, she was being fed by tube into her stomach. ‘My fingers and toes were so swollen they looked like pigs’ trotters and my legs and arms were too heavy to lift,’ she says. By March, Dawn had to learn to walk again because her leg muscles were so weak and she also experienced depression. ‘I wasn’t well enough to read and I had no other patients to talk to,’ says Dawn. ‘I hadn’t expected to feel so ill for so long. I lost my hair and nails because all my blood flow was going to my new organs to help them. But I got some wigs and make-up. ‘With my old digestive system, I could eat anything, but my new one felt uncomfortable when I ate and I felt full for hours. I started to wonder if my donor had allergies and if I would crave strange things, but I haven’t.’ After more than five months in hospital, Dawn went home last May. She takes 18 tablets a day – immunosuppressant drugs, antibiotics, enzymes and multi-vitamins. She is now on a phased return to work. She is also setting up a multi-organ transplant support group at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. She says.‘There isn’t a day goes by without me thinking of that person’s gift to me. I sometimes joke that there’s more of her in me than there is of me.’ | Dawn Carter, third person ever in Britain to survive such a procedure .
Given a new liver, pancreas, colon, stomach, intestine and kidney . |
186,666 | 7dca1df0b9adb050b65726de5dd8e4bab4f5aa8e | The Ministry of Defence will not be bringing in mandatory pregnancy tests for women despite a British soldier who did not know she was pregnant giving birth on the frontline in Afghanistan. There has been growing pressure for testing servicewomen before they head to the frontline after a Fijian-born British servicewoman had a son in Camp Bastion on Tuesday – just days after the Taliban launched a deadly attack on the UK’s main base in Helmand. It has also been revealed that 200 women have had to be sent home from Afghanistan and Iraq since 2003 because they have been pregnant. But this is . the first time a UK soldier has given birth to a baby in Afghanistan. Camp Bastion, Afghanistan: A Fijian woman soldier stationed at the British base in Helmand gave birth on Tuesday. The super fit squaddie did not even realise she was pregnant . Unexpected task: The soldier, who has not been named, was taken to Camp Bastion's £10million field hospital where Army medics delivered her baby . Currently soldiers have hearing, sight, blood and weight-related tests but nothing to find out if they are carrying a baby. 'No, we will not be bringing in mandatory pregnancy tests. We do not test women for lots of things and believe it really is up to them to come forward if they are pregnant,' a MoD spokesman told MailOnline. 'The problem is that we could test them before they go but they could only produce a positive test weeks later. So we do not do it. 'There is only about ten cases a year and as soon as they find out we sent them home.' The baby was born five weeks premature and both mother and child were said to be doing well. A 'specialist paediatric retrieval team' from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford will travel to Afghanistan in . the next few days to provide care for the soldier and her son on their . RAF flight home. The birth has stunned military chiefs and led to calls for extra medical checks on women who are sent to the warzone. The . soldier, a gunner in the Royal Artillery who helped provide covering . fire for troops fighting insurgents, was unaware that she was carrying a . child. This screengrab of a video released by a Taliban . media unit purports to show last weekend's raid on Bastion: The . pregnant soldier, a gunner in the Royal Artillery, was part of the forces mobilised to defend the base . She had been deployed with the 12th Mechanised Brigade since March, but two days ago complained of severe stomach pains. Can you be pregnant on the front line? The MoD says that nobody can be deployed on operations if they are pregnant and if they fall pregnant or are found to be pregnant on tour then they will be sent home immediately. If they are at sea then they will be taken to the nearest port and sent home. As soon as they get back their duties until maternity leave starts will ensure they are kept healthy and safe. Are there pregnancy tests carried out before tours? No, testing of this kind does not happen on the basis that they believe a person would not knowingly go on tour when they are pregnant. Personnel have hearing, eyesight and blood tests, as well as BMI measurements, but no pregnancy test at the moment. Although this new case may increase the pressure for one. What if they are on active service in the UK? A pregnant woman can remain in the job up until the 28th week of pregnancy then they must stand down. She will be medically assessed and must have another one before she returns to work. When can they return to front line duties? No servicewoman will be sent a warzone until at least six months after they have given birth, unless they volunteer - but this still may be subject to certain conditions. To her astonishment, medics informed her that she was about to give birth. She was in the 34th week of her pregnancy, meaning she conceived before flying to Afghanistan for her six-month tour of duty. She . was taken to Camp Bastion’s £10million field hospital where doctors – . who are more used to carrying out amputations and treating bullet . wounds – delivered her son. Despite its location, the hospital is one of the best equipped in the world and has portable X-ray machines, an operating theatre, CAT scanner and an intensive care unit capable of treating up to 20 seriously-ill patients. A military source said: ‘This has left us completely gobsmacked. You prepare yourself for dealing with war wounded at Bastion – not a mother giving birth to a baby. It is the talk of the camp. ‘This is a very unusual case. The mother deployed not realising she was pregnant and had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth. She has not done anything wrong.’ Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Lewis, commanding officer of the field hospital, said: ‘This is a unique occurrence, but my team is well-rehearsed in the unexpected and they adapted brilliantly to this situation. ‘I am pleased to report the mother and baby are doing well and we are all delighted at the outcome.’ The Fijian soldier had passed her tough pre-deployment training, which included a gruelling eight-mile march and five-mile run, without an inkling that she was pregnant. A senior Army insider said: ‘It is bizarre that she didn’t feel some side effects of the pregnancy. She is obviously pretty fit and strong. The strains and demands on soldiers working on the frontline make it surprising she didn’t realise. Emergency treatment: Bastion's medics are more used to treating bullet and blast wounds than delivering infants . 'But the conditions of deployment, the different diet, the heat of the Afghan summer, the different hours of working, mean that many soldiers feel a little odd and put it down to the change of environment. ‘The baby’s successful delivery is a wonderful testament to the outstanding job the medics do here. It shows how they can use their extraordinary skills to turn their hands from saving lives to delivering babies. ‘A lot of the medics are reservists and work in hospitals back in the UK so the concept of someone giving birth is not completely alien to them. But they do not have paediatric equipment here so they had to make do as best they could.’ At war: Prince Harry is currently deployed at Bastion as a gunner co-pilot in an Apache helicopter squadron . A woman killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul left a final message on Twitter weeks before she died, reading: ‘I am back in Afghanistan and wonder what lies before me this time.’ Jeni Ayris, pictured right, of Edinburgh, died alongside 11 fellow aviation workers when a female insurgent rammed a car laden with explosives into their minibus as they drove to the airport on Tuesday. She had been due to leave the country this weekend to see friends and her sister Patricia. Islamist body Hezb-e-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack. It said the bombing was a response to a US film lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, which has sparked lethal riots across the globe. South African-born Miss Ayris, 46, had spent 17 years in the Scottish capital. She had been in Afghanistan to organise flights for charities and non-governmental organisations. A friend, Richard Kellett, said: ‘She loved her job. She would go out there for three months at a time . . . when she came home on leave she always looked forward to going back.’ A statement from Miss Ayris’s family described her as ‘a warm, kind and generous person with an everyday objective of helping everyone she met’. Major Charles Heyman, who edits the . British Army handbook, said the incident was ‘astonishing’. He said: . ‘Commanders need to start thinking very, very carefully about what sort . of medical examinations female soldiers have before they deploy on . operations. 'A simple urine test would indicate if someone was pregnant. The Army now needs to tighten up its procedures.’ Since 2003 at least 70 British servicewomen have been sent home from Afghanistan after discovering they were expecting. And at least 102 female soldiers were evacuated from Iraq after it was found they were pregnant. Last year the Mail told how Private Kayla Donnelly, then 21, from Penrith, Cumbria, served in Helmand unaware that she was seven months’ pregnant. She had conceived before going to Afghanistan as a machine-gunner and thought her weight gain was due to high-calorie Army rations. It was only when she collapsed in Tenerife after her tour of duty that she realised she was pregnant. Around 500 British women are currently on duty in Afghanistan. They can serve in any unit except those whose primary role is to ‘close with and kill’ – engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Eight women have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, two per cent of the total fatalities. They include Corporal Sarah Bryant, 26, from Carlisle, serving with the Army Intelligence Corps, who was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2008, and Second Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, 24, from Yeovil, a friend of Prince William and also of the Army Intelligence Corps, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. | Government tells MailOnline it is a matter of privacy and they expect women to come forward when they fall pregnant .
The Royal Artillery gunner - said to be Fijian - gave birth to baby five weeks premature in Helmand on Tuesday .
Fijian soldier had passed her pre-deployment training, including an eight-mile march and .
five-mile run, without realising she was pregnant .
British Army handbook editor says top brass will need to 'start thinking very, very carefully' about how female soldiers are tested before deployment . |
36,422 | 673b16d0b44ff0c7e9c67ad7c4d019195b5f4c90 | Early reference: Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott wrote of the sound 'boo' in 1830 . It's the word most commonly associated with giving people a fright - and after extensive research it seems Scots can now claim it as their own. A new linguistics study has revealed that the word 'boo' is most likely to have originated in the country after its earliest reference was found in the religious works of two Scottish writers in the 18th century. Its first recorded use comes in the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Display'd, written by Gilbert Crokatt and John Monroe under the pseudonym of Jacob Curate in 1738. It is defined as 'a word that's used in the north of Scotland to frighten crying children'. Scots poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott also made reference to the sound in his series of essays titled Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft from 1830. He wrote 'we start and are afraid when we hear one cry Boh!' defining it as an 'an exclamation intended to surprise or frighten'. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says 'bo' or 'boh' comes from the sixteenth century, but its exact sense is not always clear. David Robinson, a linguist from Glasgow University, who works on the origins of English, said: 'There is a tendency to consider words like this as slang and unimportant, and not to trace their origins. 'The OED gives the etymology of "bo" as "a combination of consonant and vowel especially fitted to produce a loud and startling sound". 'However, different words are used in different languages - for example, French ghosts say "hou", so it should be possible to trace the origins of individual words. Scary: The 18th and 19th centuries were the heyday of ghost stories like Dickens' Christmas Carol, pictured . 'Since it appears that Scottish ghosts were the first to say "boo", it would be really interesting to find where this word came from. 'If it does come from the north of Scotland, then it might come from Gaelic. 'Gaelic ghosts do say boo, but we don't know if the Gaelic came from the Scots or the Scots from the Gaelic.' David added: 'There is very little data to go on. I'd be interested to know what Scots- or Gaelic-speaking ghosts from the 18th or 19th century would have to say about this.' | First reference appears in Scottish religious book published in 1738 .
Defined it as 'word used in north of Scotland to frighten crying children'
Sir Walter Scott also used word in series of supernatural essays in 1830 . |
217,814 | a6027e167426b57ca1a6f4436ea4643af6d3163d | GCHQ 'losing web security experts' because they can't match Google's high salaries . By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 2:11 PM on 13th July 2011 . Al Qaeda has explicitly called for ‘cyber-jihad’ and there have been a series of attempts by terrorists to ‘invade’ Facebook, the Government's new counter-terrorism strategy said today. Terrorists are increasingly using online technology to plan and disguise attacks and there will be more cyber-terrorism in the future, it said. ‘Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has explicitly called not only for acts of lone or individual terrorism, but also for 'cyber-jihad',’ it added. Home Secretary Theresa May launched the new counter-terrorism strategy which warned that since the death of Osama bin Laden Al . Qaeda had called for 'cyber-jihad' The use of social networking sites and video sharing is now ‘commonplace’, the strategy said. ‘There have been a number of attempts by terrorist and extremist groups to "invade" Facebook. ‘Twitter will be used to re-post media or forum articles enabling extremist content to be shared more quickly, widely and amongst people who would not normally search for extremist content.’ And experts have estimated that there are already thousands of terrorist-related websites, adding: 'A few dozen are highly influential and frequented by terrorists.' The strategy comes the day after the UK threat level from international terrorism was downgraded from severe to substantial, meaning there is still a ‘strong possibility’ of an attack and one may well happen without further warning'. Warning: 'There have been a number of attempts by terrorist and extremist groups to "invade" Facebook,' said the Government's new counter-terrorism strategy (File picture) Crimes linked to Facebook reached more than 100,000 across the country in the last five years, according to a report out in December. Callers . have alerted officers to alleged acts of terrorism, sudden deaths, . missing pets, sexual offences, hate crimes and even firearms offences. Police . chiefs in 16 forces received 7,545 calls from the public last year, . compared to just 1,411 calls related to Facebook to police in 2005. The website launched in February 2004 and now has over 750million active users. The . government is to launch another cyber strategy later this year, funded . by part of the £650million put aside for cyber-security under their . strategic defence and security review last October. Launching the Government's counter-terrorism strategy, Home Secretary Theresa May said: ‘Advances in technology mean our response must improve to keep pace. ‘Terrorists are increasingly using online technology, including Google Earth and Street View, for attack planning.’ She went on: ‘The marauding attacks in Mumbai in 2008 were directed by people using off-the-shelf secure communications technology to stay in contact with each other. ‘Software to encrypt mobile phone voice and text functions is widely available and improving. ‘Peer-to-peer networks can be used to distribute files and information rapidly and securely. ‘And cloud computing offers new means for storing, sharing and distributing material online. ‘It can be encrypted and configured to work with mobile devices, leaving little or no trace of the data behind. ‘And while radicalisation continues primarily to be a social process, terrorists are making more and more use of new technologies to communicate their propaganda.’ Mrs May added: ‘To tackle these new and emerging threats, our own technology must constantly evolve and adapt.’ Britain's top secret electronic spy agency - is struggling to retain key cyber security specialists because it cannot match the wages offered by firms such as Microsoft and Google, it was disclosed today. The parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said it was 'concerned' GCHQ was unable to retain a 'suitable cadre of internet specialists' to deal with the growing threat of cyber warfare. In its annual report, the committee - made up of senior MPs and peers - also rebuked GCHQ for losing track of equipment worth up to £1 million over the past 10 years. While it said that the majority of items attracted no security risk, GCHQ had admitted that in 5 per cent of cases - covering around 450 items - it could not guarantee that this was the case. 'Although the committee has no reason to believe national security has been compromised, the agencies must do all they can to avoid the loss of potentially sensitive equipment,' the report said. 'The public interest requires that GCHQ learns from the repeated mistakes of the past.' The report disclosed that in evidence to the committee, the GCHQ director Iain Lobban said he was struggling to recruit and retain the 'real internet whizzes' he needed to counter the growing threat of cyber warfare. 'They will be working for Microsoft or Google or Amazon or whoever. And I can't compete with their salaries,' he said. 'Month-on-month, we are losing whizzes who'll basically say 'I'm sorry, I am going to take three times the salary and the car and whatever else'.' Overall the committee expressed concern that the 11.3 per cent budget cut for the intelligence agencies - including MI5 and MI6 as well as GCHQ - imposed in the comprehensive spending review would affect their ability to 'maintain current levels of coverage of all aspects of the threat'. It warned that the situation could worsen if inflation remained at current levels and said it was 'essential' that the spending review settlement could be reopened if there was a 'significant change in the threat'. The ISC said that MI5, the Security Service, had given assurances it was able to respond to the increased terrorist threat in Northern Ireland, but the committee warned that in the context of declining resources, it would 'affect the service's capability in other areas, which is a matter of concern'. At the same time, the committee warned that the 2012 London Olympics would 'inevitably' lead to resources being diverted from MI5's other work during that period and 'thus expose the UK to greater risk'. 'The National Security Council must take such steps as are necessary to minimise the risk to the UK,' the report said. | GCHQ 'losing web security experts' because they can't match Google's high salaries . |
195,304 | 88d15389d9f1273ede06c1f39d8175fe3fee9a4c | England's Oliver Fisher fired a first-round 65 to lead the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters by a shot. Fisher carded eight birdies, including three in a row from the 16th, and one bogey in his seven-under-par round in Doha. Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello was hot on his heels after a bogey-free 66, just ahead of a group of 11 players on five under. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Qatar Masters: Oliver Fisher leads with 65 after day 1 . England's Oliver Fisher fired a first-round 65 to lead the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters by a shot . They included England's Mark Foster, Scotland's Paul Lawrie and South African Ernie Els, all of whom also shot flawless rounds. 'I played nice today - it was a little bit breezy and I felt like I controlled my golf ball,' Fisher said on the European Tour website. 'I played good and gave myself a lot of chances so it was a good round.' Fisher plays his third shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters . Justin Rose was in a tie for 14th on four under following a round which featured five birdies and a bogey. 'I couldn't really buy a putt coming in, but all in all happy with the round,' Rose said. 'It's nice to be somewhere in contention and it's a score on which to build for the rest of the week, it's the perfect type of start really.' Justin Rose was in a tie for 14th on four under following a round which featured five birdies and a bogey . | Oliver Fisher fires round of 65 to lead Qatar Masters by one shot .
Englishman carded eight birdies in seven under-par round .
Rafael Cabrera-Bello in second after a bogey-free 66 .
Justin Rose is in a tie for 14th after a four-under 68 to start . |
60,322 | ab770a6d81ee6c7f3d51b57714c0d4498ddb9fd1 | Cairo (CNN) -- I strolled through the halls of the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo the other day, perusing all the family photos of Arab leaders at various summit meetings over the years. There was deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, deposed and violently disposed of Libyan "Brother Leader" Moammar Gadhafi, exiled Tunisian President Zine Abedine Ben Ali, Yemen's beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Syria's embattled President Bashar Al-Assad. Uneasy, I thought, must sit the other heads of state featured in those photos. But it was those surviving leaders, of such less-than-democratic countries as Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Sudan, to name a few, who instructed their foreign ministers to vote Saturday to suspend Syria from the Arab League over its bloody suppression of the eight-month-old uprising there. In the final months of 2011, the future is looking very uncertain for the creaking Arab political order. Egypt and Tunisia are no longer solid, reliable members of the bloc of conservative, pro-Western "moderate" Arab regimes the United States cobbled together in the aftermath of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Revolutions and revolts -- finished and ongoing -- must be depriving many rulers of a good night's sleep. The citizens of the Arab world have finally had enough of the tired charades of the past. Increasingly endangered are the sham referendums where presidents won 99 percent of votes, where hardly anyone took the time to cast a ballot, the "parties" that were little more than mafias with empty slogans, and the state intelligence thugs who were a law unto themselves. That stuff just doesn't cut it anymore. As we strolled together through a ransacked intelligence headquarters in Sabha, Libya, a few months ago, one man told me: "We used to fear our rulers. Now they fear us." This year almost every Arab state, from the Atlantic to the Gulf, has had to at least go through the motions of initiating political reform. And while they'd be loathe to share their true motivations, I suspect Arab rulers didn't vote against Syria because they are new converts to people power or support the bloodied opponents of al-Assad. No, there is more to this vote than the so-called "Arab Spring." As much as aging Arab autocrats fear their people, they also fear Iran. The last 10 years have been good for Iran. First, the United States led an international coalition to oust Iran's bitter enemies, the Taliban, from power in Afghanistan. Less than two years later, the Americans did it again in Iraq, bringing down another implacable foe of Iran, Saddam Hussein, and then installing a new political order in Baghdad much more friendly to Tehran. In 2006 the Americans backed Israel's ill-fated summer war against Iran's Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, which emerged from the 33-day conflict stronger than ever. In 2007, Hamas, also friends with Iran, ousted the U.S.-backed Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from Gaza. Iran was an enthusiastic backer of the revolt against the leaders of Bahrain earlier this year, though that uprising was crushed with Saudi help. In the meantime, there is growing fear over Iran's perceived nuclear ambitions, those fears stoked by regular pronouncements over the past two decades from Tel Aviv that Iran "is on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon." Against this backdrop is an across-the-board diminution of American power in the Middle East. At the end of this year the United States will end its military presence in Iraq, and soon afterward, it will do the same in Afghanistan. The Obama administration, with 2012 elections looming and after several half-hearted false starts and high-profile humiliations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to have given up trying to broker real peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Above and beyond regional issues, the U.S. economy -- and thus, its political clout -- is in decline. Increasingly, America is viewed in the Middle East as an economically bankrupt, militarily and diplomatically overextended, withering superpower. In short, a huge vacuum looms in the region, and Iran could be the chief beneficiary. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are alarmed, and are eager to cut Iran down to size. The uprising in Syria went a long way to undercut Iran's oldest and most reliable Arab ally in Damascus, and Saturday's vote to suspend Syria from the Arab League was an added bonus. Syria is now isolated more than ever before, which means Iran's other allies in the region -- Hamas and Hezbollah -- could suffer, too. There are other players in this great game. Turkey, having been repeatedly rebuffed in its attempts to gain membership in the European Union, has struck out on its own under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Missing in the emerging regional equation are any Arab counterweights to a resurgent Turkey, but more immediately, Iran. Saddam Hussein, who fought an 8-year war with Iran, has been replaced by a government in Baghdad with close ties to Tehran. Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation and once one of the main pillars of the old order, is in the throes of post-revolutionary upheaval. The surviving members of those group photos at the Arab League are clutching at anything they can to make sure they can live for another summit meeting -- and another group photo. | There is more to the vote against Syria than the "Arab Spring"
As much as Arab autocrats fear their people, they also fear Iran .
Iran's regional position has strengthened in the last decade .
America's is perceived to be withering . |
190,560 | 82b58152b9257c147743ff273c06c5facf8d36a1 | (CNN) -- America's painful struggle with racism has often brought great satisfaction to the country's rivals, critics, and foes. The killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and its tumultuous aftermath has been a bonanza. "Protests spread across U.S." announced Iran's state-run Press TV. Russian government-controlled media showcased the dramatic pictures, "huge explosions," "mayhem unraveling," and what might look like the wholesale collapse of social order in America. Countries hostile to the U.S. ignore this key aspect: Behind the TV images of violence and the stunningly excessive, counterproductive police response, is that America is engaged in a profound, honest and what will prove to be a constructive debate about racism, law enforcement tactics, the weapons police use, and what life is like for minority teens. In countries where law enforcement is a tool to keep the regime in power and suppress political opposition, countries that have been on the receiving end of American and Western criticism, Ferguson was a propaganda godsend. Michael Brown's killing is an event with many layers. First, the killing itself, as details slowly emerge. Second, the people of Ferguson's reaction, which points to a reservoir of real grievances beyond the specifics of the Brown case. Then, the police response to the killing and to the protests. Ferguson has become a symbol of America's continuing struggle against racism, and the extremely serious and very urgent issue of police shooting to kill -- and killing. And there is the matter of their attitude and treatment of minorities. Any coverage that deliberately ignores the context, that ignores the debate, is incomplete, and there is a good chance that it is deliberately misleading. Responsible journalists covered the story with nuance and perspective. But that wasn't the case everywhere. The government of Russia didn't even try to hide its efforts to gain political advantage. In Rossiskaya Gazette, the official government daily, under a picture of what is presumably an African-American man wearing leg shackles, readers learned of a Russian Ministry report condemning the U.S. government's "uses of such inhumane methods as testing medicines on inmates, forced sterilization of minority women, abuse of power by police." The Kremlin clearly relished the opportunity to clobber the U.S. on its prison system in response to the West's sharp criticism, particularly after members of the group Pussy Riot spent time behind bars and made Russia's prison conditions the subject of international condemnation. Russia's RT, a government-controlled network whose reporters have been resigning in protest against its biased coverage, had fun mocking America's media freedom after Ferguson police arrested reporters covering the story. In Iran, where opposition leaders languish in prison for years and human rights violations at the hands of the government are well-documented, authorities used Ferguson to undermine America's criticism. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi slammed the U.S. for "its racist behavior and oppression of the protesters in Ferguson." Speaking to reporters in Tehran, he condemned the "racism of Western societies ... those who claim to be advocates of human rights." Even in Venezuela, the government of Nicolas Maduro, heir to anti-American firebrand Hugo Chavez, portrayed the events in Ferguson as something close to an uprising against the government. The state-owned television network TeleSur, which broadcasts throughout Latin America, said the Ferguson demonstrations confirm "the presence of profound systemic problems with human rights and democratic norms in America society." Just to be clear, this is Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, criticizing the U.S. for the weaknesses in its democracy and its handling of human rights. They were not alone in outrageous irony. The government of Egypt, which killed thousands of protesters, urged the U.S. to exercise restraint. And Chinese media twisted the State Department spokesperson's words when she called Ferguson a "domestic affair" outside her purview, to make it sound like Beijing's defense against criticism of its human rights abuses, which it calls domestic affairs, should be off limits to foreign critics. Even the terrorist group ISIS got in the game, urging Ferguson protesters to embrace radical Islam. "How is democracy treating you guys?" it asked. To be sure, undemocratic, human rights violators criticizing the U.S. does not exempt America from blame. Clearly, Ferguson points to serious problems which need to be addressed, and are being addressed, with the rapt attention of the entire country. Less cynical coverage can be readily found in other countries. The respected Dutch newspaper NRC delves not just into the problem of race and policing in America, but into the debate Ferguson has sparked in the United State. Spain's El Pais noted how the lingering racism undercuts America's moral stance in judgment of rights violators. Many describe the inequality and prejudice that persists, but makes it a point to include the progress that has been made in race relations and the race conflicts that have surfaced in the author's own country. In the end, for all the intensity of emotions and wall-to-wall domestic and international coverage, the Ferguson protests were limited in scope. Another unarmed black man was shot and killed in St. Louis, and there was no uprising. The killing of Brown was a tragedy, but nobody died in the ensuing protests despite high-powered rifles and dramatic fireworks. America is hardly alone in experiencing racism, as the Pakistani-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah pointed out. News coverage of the events in Ferguson are a reminder for all of us of the importance of looking at the full context when viewing what happens in any country and protecting ourselves from political manipulation as we follow the news. | Frida Ghitis: Critics, foes of U.S. making hay with Ferguson, to portray U.S. in flames .
Ghitis: Venezuela, Iran, Egypt, Russia media played story as if U.S. social order breaking down .
She says Ferguson definitely brings up racism, police weapons, treatment of minorities .
Ghitis: But stories miss Americans' soul searching, civil rights history, size of protests . |
173,119 | 6c098b89066e76253cb11dd5bbc55e76c5bd1057 | Newly appointed MBE and Rugby World Cup winner Sarah Hunter believes 2014 was the most significant year yet for closing the gender equality gap in sport. Despite only two players from England women’s 2014 world champion side being recognised on the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List - compared to all of the winning men’s squad in 2003 - Hunter feels that the unprecedented success will prove a turning point for the profile of female competition. ‘I think 2014 might have been the year to push female sport into a different level,’ said Hunter. ‘All the accolades in women’s sport last year have been a massive turning point. Sarah Hunter MBE says women's sport went 'to a different level' in 2014 with England's rugby triumph . The England women's team celebrate their victory in the World Cup final over Canada in Paris . 'Lizzy Yarnold at the Winter Olympics, Jo Pavey at the Commonwealth Games and Charlotte Dujardin becoming a world champion rider; the list goes on.’ Hunter, who linked up with the England squad on Saturday for their first camp ahead of the Six Nations, added: ‘We had 40,000 people turn out to watch England’s women play football at Wembley and I think that’s set the tone for just how great women’s sport is in the UK. ‘Now we need to keep up this momentum and level of coverage.’ A record crowd of 45,619 turned out to watch a women's friendly between England and Germany . | Sarah Hunter was one of two England World Cup winners to be given MBE .
Hunter believes women's sport in the UK went to a new level in 2014 .
She cites success of Lizzy Yarnold, Jo Pavey and more as game changers . |
165,131 | 61871d36339812a4104a17d2404b0533f8741da5 | (CNN) -- Dr. Roberto Bolli's face lights up when he talks about his true love: the human heart. "The heart is really a miraculous organ. It beats 72 times a minute throughout our life, which means billions of times in our lifetime. And it never gets tired," Bolli says. "It knows exactly how much blood to pump; it can increase its output by fivefold if we need more oxygen -- for example, if we're running or doing strenuous activity. You have 5 billion cells called myocites, all beating in synchrony, in a perfectly coordinated manner, to maximize the heart's pumping ability. It is an engineering feat that never ceases to amaze me." Bolli was born in Perugia, Italy, the son of a general practitioner. He came to the United States after finishing medical school in Italy, starting at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Since 1994, he's been the chief of cardiology at the University of Louisville, where he also directs the Institute of Molecular Cardiology. Like most physicians, Bolli was taught that heart cells don't regenerate, and that any cells which die from loss of oxygen during a heart attack are lost forever. But the lesson never quite sunk in. Pacemaker pioneer now lives with one . "That theory always struck me as odd," Bolli says now. "Why would nature demand so much of a single cell, when that same cell must beat 70 times a minute throughout your life? That seems like an unreasonable demand." Was it possible that new heart cells are constantly born? And could the process be helped along to assist sick patients? For about a decade, scientists have experimented with the use of stem cells to try and repair the heart, mostly in animals and mostly using stem cells derived from bone marrow. In 2009, Bolli was ready to launch the SCIPIO trial (Cardiac Stem Cells in Patients with Cardiomyopathy). Stem cells were taken from patients with severe heart failure and multiplied in a laboratory run by Dr. Piero Anversa at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. A few months later, each patient was re-infused with a million of his or her own stem cells. The results were dramatic. Patients saw scar tissue replaced by working heart muscle and a significant improvement in their hearts' ability to pump blood. While the numbers are small, other studies have found similarly encouraging results. Bolli has refined his procedure to make it less invasive -- stem cells can now be taken through a catheter -- and none of the patients in cardiac stem cell trials have suffered serious adverse effects. Bolli is hoping to start a larger trial by the fall of 2013. | Dr. Roberto Bolli directs the Institute of Molecular Cardiology in Louisville .
In 2009, Bolli launched the SCIPIO trial, which uses stem cells to repair hearts .
Patients in the trial saw dramatic improvements in their organs' abilities . |
211,816 | 9e4cd730a0e2a0564762fb26b262449f844f5d7b | (CNN) -- A nonprofit group founder became the third person to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment, telling CNN Wednesday that he tried to kiss her at least four times during a business meeting at a restaurant when he was a congressman. Filner couldn't be immediately reached for comment. He has recently responded to other accusations of sexual harassment in recent weeks by asserting he will eventually be vindicated, but he acknowledged he needs "help" and has been "clearly doing something wrong." Morgan Rose met with Filner in April 2009 at a Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery across the street from Filner's congressional office in Chula Vista, California, she told CNN. Rose was lobbying the congressman about her organization, America's Angel Campaign, a group devoted to working with domestic violence in military and other families, she said. Why we act on stupid impulses . Filner allegedly looked her up and down, stared into her eyes and said, "Your eyes have bewitched me," Rose said. Filner allegedly then made a remark along the lines of, according to Rose's paraphrasing, "You'll have to excuse me for what's about to happen. It's your fault," Rose said. Filner then moved to her side of the booth, sat beside her, pinned her to the wall, and put his arm around her, Rose alleged. Rose avoided the advances, and Filner was suddenly interrupted by his ringing cell phone, Rose charged. Filner got up from the booth, gathered his materials and left the restaurant, Rose said. Rose spoke of the incident to her closest friends and didn't pursue the matter because she feared her nonprofit might somehow suffer, she told CNN. But when Rose heard of similar accusations against Filner in recent weeks, she called a victim's hotline at the sheriff's department and spoke with a captain. A spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department couldn't comment on any victim's call to the hotline, which the agency set up on Friday in the wake of the accusations against the mayor. Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell did acknowledge that investigators have received calls into the tip line. Rose is now working as a San Diego school psychologist, she said. She is also still executive director of the nonprofit. On Tuesday, political consultant Laura Fink accused Filner of patting her "posterior" while at a fund-raising event in 2005 when she working as the deputy manager of Filner's congressional campaign. On Wednesday, Fink told CNN that Filner should resign. The alleged sexual harassment occurred during a fund-raising dinner, and Fink guided Filner from table to table. One guest told Filner that Fink "had worked her tokus off," Fink said. "The congressman told me to turn around and patted me on the bum and said, 'Nope, it's still there' and laughed," Fink told CNN. Fink wrote to Filner's chief of staff and demanded that Filner apologize, she said. Filner responded, and "he mumbled an apology" and added something "I just did not understand," Fink said. Fink said she didn't go public with the incident at the time because she was trying to build her political career. But she said she now feels emboldened to tell her story after Filner's former spokeswoman, Irene McCormack Jackson, sued him for sexual harassment Monday. Jackson said Filner subjected her and other women to "crude and disgusting" comments and inappropriate touching. She said she resigned as Filner's communications director in June after deciding the mayor would not change his behavior. Filner has been battling allegations of sexual harassment for several weeks, but none of the women leveling those claims came forward before Jackson filed her suit in state court. Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, called on Filner to resign, telling reporters, "Apologies alone will not take care of this injustice." In a statement issued Monday evening, Filner said he was "saddened" by the accusations, but "I remain committed to the people of San Diego and the work that needs to be done." "Once due process is allowed to unfold, I am certain there will be a better understanding of this situation," he said, adding, "I humbly ask that through this vicious storm of controversy, people take a moment and temper their rush to judgment." Filner said last week that he believes he will be vindicated by "a full presentation of the facts." But he has also acknowledged, "I need help," and added, "I'm clearly doing something wrong." "I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in a statement earlier this month. "It's a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is: inappropriate and wrong." Filner, 70, served five terms in Congress before being elected mayor in 2012. He has said he will not resign. Jackson said she decided to resign after Filner's deputy chief of staff resigned in June. Filner "refused to listen to someone he had known for 35 years, and who told him explicitly, during a senior staff meeting, that his behavior with women was terrible and possibly illegal." Filner "laughed it off," she said. She said Filner challenged her to provide one example of improper behavior; when she brought up his comments about wearing underwear, "he had no comeback," she said. Read more: Has the road to political redemption gotten shorter? CNN's Greg Botelho contributed to this report. | A woman accuses San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of trying to kiss her four times .
The incident occurred in a restaurant in 2009 when Filner was a congressman .
At the time, Morgan Rose was running a nonprofit working with domestic violence .
Filner couldn't be immediately reached for comment . |
85,244 | f1c19363fb8b6cd9d790264eeead5a185912684a | Britain's baby boomers are choosing to face the final curtain with a laugh with Monty Python’s irreverent hit Always Look on the Bright Side of Life topping the charts as the most popular funeral song. The tongue-in-cheek ditty poking fun at death has replaced Frank Sinatra's My Way as the most popular song played at funerals - the first time the song has been toppled from the number one spot since 2002. The song, written by Eric Idle, was taken from the controversial 1979 film The Life of Brian - which was banned in Norway and Ireland. Scroll down for video . Britain's baby boomers are choosing to face the final curtain with a laugh, as Monty Python’s irreverent hit Always Look on the Bright Side of Life tops the charts as the best funeral song . The song, written by Eric Idle, was taken from the controversial 1979 film The Life of Brian - which was banned in Norway and Ireland . A study by The Co-operative Funeralcare showed that traditional hymns, football anthems and classic pop songs top the list of the 'funeral music chart'. A study of songs played at 30,000 funerals also showed some unusual requests such as Abba, Elvis Presley, Star Wars or Blues Brothers fancy dress themed services. The top 10 included Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, The Lord Is My Shepherd, Abide With Me, Match Of The Day theme, My Way, All Things Bright And Beautiful and Angels by Robbie Williams. Queen is the most popular group for funeral songs such as Who Wants To Live Forever, while an increasing number of songs written by the deceased are played. The tongue-in-cheek song poking fun at death has replaced Frank Sinatra's My Way as the most popular song played at funerals - the first time the song has been toppled from the number one spot since 2002 . David Collingwood, operations director of The Co-operative Funeralcare, said: 'We think we may be seeing a generational shift in attitudes towards funerals, and the choice of music being requested. 'Music plays such an important part in people's lives that it now acts as the theme tune to their passing. 'Modern funerals are very much about personal choice, which can be reflected in the choice of music, dress, coffin, flowers, hearses or memorials.' | Replaced Frank Sinatra's My Way as most popular song played at funerals .
Song was taken from the controversial 1979 film The Life of Brian .
The tongue-in-cheek song poking fun at death was the most requested final song in a survey of 30,000 funeral parlours, according to a study . |
136,603 | 3cb54cf765cb7ba81d03c837e537a550f8251632 | Nancy Snyderman has yet to return to NBC News after being quarantined in an Ebola scare in October. The doctor and chief medical correspondent was one of a group of people forced into mandatory isolation for 21 days after cameraman Ashoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola while the crew documented the spread of the virus in Liberia. She prompted a storm of criticism when reports emerged stating she had violated the team's original voluntary quarantine order by driving to a cafe. Despite planning to return in November, Snyderman remains absent from the channel and executives do not have a return date for her, CNN reported. Scroll down for video . Questions: Dr Nancy Snyderman is mysteriously absent from NBC after viewers complained she was 'arrogant, dismissive, and untrustworthy' for allegedly violating her Ebola quarantine in October . Following the three-week quarantine, the 62-year-old was told to take some time off and spend some time with her family. A statement from NBC said: 'While in Liberia Dr Nancy and her team delivered first class, first-hand reporting from the front lines of this tragic and monumental story. Their subsequent departure from Monrovia, their return to the U.S. and period of quarantine has been a challenging time. 'We have encouraged them – and they have agreed – to take some time off with their families and friends to help restore some normalcy to their lives. We very much look forward to their return next month.' The statement added that the network were relieved to say that Dr Snyderman and the rest of the crew were 'healthy and symptom-free'. Snyderman, a surgeon who spent 17 years reporting for ABC News before joining NBC in 2006, came under fire for allegedly violating her quarantine and then refusing to explain what happened. The confusion sparked a furious response from thousands of viewers writing to the station to say they no longer trust Snyderman. It left NBC with a major PR and credibility problem with bosses having to decide whether the medical editor's credibility can survive the incident. The network would not comment. Snyderman was ordered into mandatory quarantine until Wednesday October 22 with the rest of her broadcast team after she allegedly violated their voluntary isolation. New Jersey health officials ruled that her quarantine should be mandatory after Snyderman and her crew were spotted getting takeout food from a New Jersey restaurant. NBC won't give details about who went into the restaurant or how many of its employees were being quarantined. Snyderman issued a statement saying 'members of our group' violated their pledge. Quarantined: Snyderman was placed in mandatory quarantine after covering the Ebola outbreak in Liberia . Suffering: Cameraman Ashoka Mukpo contracted the disease while working with the team and is now cured . More than 1,100 people have subsequently written on Snyderman's Facebook page, many expressing anger. There were suggestions she should be fired or lose her medical license, and some viewers said they wouldn't trust her again. Snyderman's failure to be more specific about the lapse or take greater responsibility was another flashpoint. Snyderman's 'arrogance and dismissiveness' create a huge PR and credibility problem for NBC, said Kelly McBride, an expert on ethics for the journalism think tank the Poynter Institute. 'People are so freaked out about Ebola that the problem NBC has now is that whenever they put her on the air, some news consumers are going to see the woman who put others at risk, rather than the reporter and professional with great experience,' McBride said. McBride suggested that Snyderman 'lay low' or take a leave of absence. Certainly she should not report on Ebola anymore for the network, she said. Future: Snyderman faced calls from viewers to leave the network which she joined in 2006 . Susan Dentzer, a longtime health journalist and commentator for National Public Radio and the PBS 'NewsHour,' said people shouldn't forget that Snyderman put herself at risk to travel to Africa and cover the story. The public is reacting to a fear of Ebola instead of science, she said. 'She and her team clearly should have observed the terms of their quarantine, and she has said clearly that they made a mistake,' Dentzer said. 'But let's put it in a broader perspective.' Before Snyderman's trip for takeout, ABC News' medical expert arguably had bigger problems. ABC health editor Dr. Richard Besser was in Africa at the same time as Snyderman and did not quarantine himself upon his return. That led ABC News President James Goldston to send his staff a memo explaining that the network was following medical advice. Still, Besser was disinvited to a speaking engagement at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he wrote last week in the Washington Post. Some colleagues have avoided him. 'I've been surprised by how many colleagues have waved from across the room and quickly made an exit,' Besser wrote. 'Others won't enter my office.' | Dr Nancy Snyderman said she would return in November but didn't .
She sparked outrage after 'violating Ebola quarantine' in October .
Thousands of viewers were enraged at her 'arrogant' cryptic explanation .
NBC team was in voluntary quarantine after working with Ebola patient .
But they were forced into mandatory isolation after 'she drove to a takeout' |
71,891 | cbd09d1b33b3b16e91e6d39118f7f8daa90fd760 | A group of gipsies built a giant cannabis factory on the grounds of their camp which they were given a £1.3million government grant to upgrade. A well-organised drug operation capable of producing £250,000 of cannabis a year was found when police raided the camp in Merthyr Tyfdil, South Wales yesterday. Cannabis plants were being grown in sheds and outbuildings on half of the pitches on the three-acre site. Raid: The cannabis factory was discovered when police raided the three-acre site in South Wales yesterday . Professional: Officers found an extensive operation capable of producing £250,000 worth of cannabis a year . Factory: Officers arrested 16 people living on the site in connection with the production of cannabis . Officers arrested 16 people living on the site in connection with the production of cannabis and three others in connection with separate offences. They said a 'small minority of individuals' with links to the site had been involved. The Glynmill Gypsy and Traveller Site received a government grant of worth £1.3million in 2011 to refurbish the site and build a community centre for its 120 residents. The money was also used to construct three toilet blocks and to landscape the grounds, according to information from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. But officials were tipped off that people living there had been seen buying large amounts of compost and gardening equipment from a local garden centre. More than 100 officers stormed the gipsy camp in a multi-agency raid. Trading Standards, VOSA, DVLA, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the RSPCA were also involved in the operation. Cannabis was found growing in 12 of the 24 caravan plots on the three-acre site during the raid. The street value of the illegal crop is estimated at between £60,000 and £70,000. Upgrade: In 2011, the Glynmill Gypsy and Traveller Site received a government grant of worth £1.3million to refurbish the site and build a community centre, pictured, for its 120 residents . Improvements: The money was also used to build three toilet blocks and to landscape the grounds, according to information from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. Above, one of the buildings on site . With an average three-month growth cycle, it means the site was capable of generating more than £250,000 worth of cannabis each year. Chief Inspector Phillip Ashby, of South Wales Police, said: 'We were able to act on some good intelligence and put a large and complex operation together. 'Before today, a small minority of individuals linked to the site had done their best to prevent outside engagement with the site, and it is now clear why. 'This now presents an opportunity to build bridges with people at this location and ensure their welfare. 'Those arrested today can expect to be dealt with robustly - we have specially trained officers who will utilise the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure any assets suspected to be gained through criminality are seized. 'My message to anyone growing cannabis is that it's only a matter of time before we find you, no matter where you are.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | More than 100 officers raided three-acre site in Merthyr Tyfdil, South Wales .
Cannabis plants were being grown in sheds and outbuildings in the camp .
Gipsy community had received £1.3million grant to refurbish site in 2011 .
Police officers arrested 16 people and said small group had been involved . |
110,148 | 1a0734200a4401612486330e100deb1349e104ff | By . Jennifer Newton . This is the shocking moment two men appeared to smoke crystal meth in the middle of the day while travelling on a tram in Manchester. A commuter, who does not wish to be named, took the picture of the pair while on an East Didsbury-bound Metrolink tram on Monday evening. The two youths, who appear to be in their teens, got on the tram before Central Park and stayed on past St Peter's Square in Manchester city centre. The two youths on the Manchester tram, who appear to be smoking crystal meth . The picture was taken as the tram stopped outside the headquarters of Greater Manchester Police in the Newton Heath area. The commuter said: ‘I could see white smoke coming out of a plastic coke bottle and something was bubbling away in there. ‘I'm not sure what it was but something was bubbling away in there. It looked like what I've seen on Breaking Bad, it wasn't an electric cigarette that's for sure.’ ‘I tried to take the picture discreetly. I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't know if I called the police or said something to them if they might attack me,’ she added. Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, is a class A drug often compared to crack cocaine because it is also smoked and is highly addictive. After taking the picture, the commuter on the tram then posted the image to Twitter, alerting Greater Manchester Police’s city centre Twitter account, but it took them 40 minutes to respond. When they did, they told the woman to phone the non-emergency hotline number 101 if she saw it happening again. They tweeted: ‘"@MCRMetrolink Just seen this. If you witness again can you call straight away on 101. Will try intercept". The commuter, who took the picture, alerted Greater Manchester Police via Twitter but got this reply . The commuter, who travels from Salford to Oldham every day for work, then replied: "@GMPCityCentre @MCRMetrolink will do, didn't think about the 101 number. Not sure how they would have took it as I was near them". A spokesman from Metrolink, who operate Manchester’s trams, said they were happy for people to report problems via Twitter and said they would have responded if the incident had occurred during their office hours, which they are looking to extend. A spokesman said: "If the claims being made are proved to be accurate, it's criminal behaviour that has absolutely no place on the network. We will review CCTV footage from the tram and at stops that, together with the picture tweeted, should help police to take action. ‘Our drivers and staff are encouraged to report any anti-social behaviour they witness to build intelligence so that we can work with the police to target areas as required. ‘Incidents like this are incredibly rare. To keep it that way, passengers should report any criminal incidents direct to the police as matter of urgency, and contact our customer services team on 0161 205 2000 so we can support any action required as quickly and effectively as possible. 'Passengers can also use the help points at stops to pass information on.’ | Two young men appear to be smoking crystal meth on a Manchester tram .
Commuter took a picture of the pair on the East Didsbury-bound service .
Said she saw what looked like white smoke coming from plastic drinks bottle .
Image taken as tram stopped outside Greater Manchester Police HQ . |
81,639 | e757e8f52325630e811fd919603789c291865b5a | (CNN) -- An earthquake struck late Saturday off Papua New Guinea's eastern coast with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake struck at 11:27 p.m. (9:27 a.m. ET) and occurred at a depth of 19 miles (32 km), the USGS said. It was centered 47 miles (75 km) southwest of Panguna, Papua New Guinea. After the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, but then canceled it. Saturday's incident is the latest in a series of seismic events in the region over the week. They began with magnitude-7.1 and magnitude-6.5 earthquakes on April 11, just to the northeast and southeast, respectively. Since then, 45 earthquakes of magnitude-4.5 or greater have occurred nearby. Earthquakes with magnitudes between 7.0 and 7.9 are classified by USGS as "major," second only to "great," which are 8.0 and up. | NEW: A tsunami warning issued for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands has been canceled .
The quake was centered 47 miles southwest of Panguna, Papua New Guinea .
Quakes with magnitudes between 7.0 and 7.9 are classified as major . |
193,737 | 86cb591eab89ffae420b8cb29b118ab3f471e3bf | Resemblance: Lily Travers is often mistaken for her famous grandmother Virginia McKenna, who is best known for the film Born Free . There’s something about the wide-set eyes, the prominent cheekbones, and even that distinctive smile. Lily Travers is often mistaken for her famous grandmother Virginia McKenna, who is best known for the film Born Free, about the plight of African lioness Elsa. And the comparisons are about to continue because 24-year-old Lily has now embarked on an acting career that has already seen her rubbing shoulders with A-list stars Sir Michael Caine, Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson. Kingsman: The Secret Service – a Bond-style film that has its London premiere this week – is Lily’s first major role. To land the part, she has had to turn her back on a successful modelling career – but, she says, following in her grandmother’s footsteps was more important. ‘People tell me I look like my granny – and I’m proud of that,’ she says. ‘She is the person who more than any other has inspired me. If I can achieve some of her success, I will be more than satisfied.’ Granny, of course, has starred in some of the most popular and enduring films of our time, among them Carve Her Name With Pride and A Town Like Alice, for which she won a Best Actress Bafta. But it was her depiction of Joy Adamson in the 1966 wildlife classic, which co-starred her real-life husband Bill Travers, for which she will always be remembered. It sparked Virginia’s growing concern for the plight of endangered animals and eventually led the couple to establish the Born Free Foundation in 1984. Lily’s father Will is president of the charity. Lily says: ‘My grandmother taught me so much about being a better person. I’m glad to have been able to learn from her experiences. ‘I’m especially proud of the fact that she then used her fame and influence to improve the lives of animals. She instilled in me and the rest of the family a great passion for all creatures. My brother and I were brought up with an innate sensitivity for animal welfare and we are vegetarians.’ Iconic: Virginia Mckenna as Joy Adamson in 1966 wildlife classic movie Born Free, which co-starred her real-life husband Bill Travers . One of Lily’s strongest memories is a two-month family trip to Africa about ten years ago. ‘We went to Kenya and Tanzania, visiting some of the projects the charity supports,’ she recalls. ‘We went to see confiscated ivory and I saw for myself how poachers kill and mutilate elephants just to get their tusks for ivory. ‘They would chop off the animal’s feet to make stools. How barbaric is that? I can’t believe people still think it a status thing to own, along with items like tiger rugs. How could anyone consider such things beautiful when they have come from such barbarity? ‘It was not a comfy ride. I was confronted by sights that were quite shocking. On one anti-poaching patrol we came upon a dead elephant, whose face had been hacked to get the ivory out and the rest of the body was left to rot. ‘The smell was horrendous and it was such a waste. It made me understand even more why my father and grandmother do what they do.’ Inspiration: Lily Travers, pictured with her father William, (R) says her grandmother Virginia McKenna (L) is her greatest inspiration . Virginia, now 83, is, by all accounts, a ‘cool’ grandmother. Lily remembers a childhood where bedtime stories were not fictional, but about her grandmother’s early years. ‘She would regale us with tales about being on set in Africa, the things she saw, the famous people she worked with, and even about meeting the Queen,’ Lily says. ‘She was really good at accents and voices – it was like having my own personal drama teacher from a very young age. I soaked it all up like a dry sponge.’ Lily says that she also learned her craft from watching both her grandparents on screen. ‘I watched all their movies, including the animal documentaries that are not so well known,’ she says. ‘I saw how they brought the characters to life with the simplest of gestures. First major role: Miss Travers features in Kingsman: The Secret Service – a Bond-style film that has its London premiere this week . ‘One of the best tips my gran gave me about being an actress was that the eyes are the key to the soul. She said I should be able to convey a lot through my eyes.’ Such was Virginia’s influence that she was the first person Lily told after she landed the role in Kingsman. Lily says: ‘I usually call her after an audition, but this time I was standing by a bus stop shrieking with joy. She was thrilled. She told me to be calm and relax during filming.’ Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organisation that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid, who is taken under the wing of suave older spy Harry Hart (Firth). Lily plays the part of society woman Lady Sophie, but is reluctant to reveal anything more about the character, maintaining ‘it’s all very hush-hush until the premiere’. The rising star has landed a number of minor roles since leaving university, and it is rumoured that director Tim Burton told her she was too beautiful for a role in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. She hopes that Kingsman will open the door to more success. ‘It’s my first speaking role and I was a bit nervous, but I kept remembering my grandmother telling me to be calm and just enjoy the experience,’ she says. Lily may have earned her way working as a model but she says she knew it was not the right path. ‘My gran taught me to always act with integrity. I know that I’ve been very privileged to be part of such an amazing family, but I really want to do it my own way. I don’t want to ride the back of someone else’s wave.’ And although she is now off to Los Angeles where she is hoping to further her career, will she in due course take the baton from her grandmother in promoting the Born Free charity? ‘Acting is my passion, but if I had the opportunity to influence others, then I would work in any way I could to promote and inspire people to care about Born Free,’ Lily adds. ‘It’s something very close to my heart.’ | Lily Travers, 24, set to turn her back on successful modelling career to act .
Says Virginia McKenna, star of 1966's Born Free, is her biggest inspiration .
Miss Travers landed first major role in Kingsman: The Secret Service . |
270,629 | ea80337587ac8362e3bcda92077a14e6c65fe769 | Residents of three villages in northeastern Nigeria took security into their own hands this week, repelling attacks by Boko Haram insurgents and killing more than 200 of them, residents and officials said. Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters stormed the villages of Menari, Tsangayari and Garawa in the ethnic Shuwa-dominated Kalabalge District on Tuesday. Boko Haram -- the group responsible for the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the same region -- was met with stiff resistance as locals put up a fierce fight, witnesses said. A month has passed since the girls were kidnapped, and the Nigerian government has been accused of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect villages in the region threatened by Boko Haram. In the three villages attacked Tuesday, gunmen arrived in dozens of all-terrain vans, armored tanks and motorcycles, but villagers quickly mobilized and engaged the attackers in a prolonged battle. "They attacked Menari and killed around 60 people and burned some homes before proceeding to Tsangayari and Garawa villages," resident Algoni Ahunna said. When news of the attack filtered out, people trooped out from nearby villages carrying arms. Locals seized an armored tank, three all-terrain vans and 90 motorcycles from the attackers, residents said. "At Tsangayari and Garawa, they met a big surprise as residents engaged them in a fierce battle in which over 200 of the Boko Haram fighters were killed. More than 150 were killed in Tsangayari," Ahunna said. A lawmaker in Borno state's Parliament confirmed the incident. "I received information on the gallant action taken by the people in Kalabalge District in which at least 200 Boko Haram gunmen were killed," said the lawmaker, who asked not to be named for security reasons. A relief worker in the area said he counted more than 100 bodies in Tsangayari alone. "I believe the number of the gunmen killed is up to 250," said the worker, who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from Boko Haram. It was the second defeat Boko Haram has suffered from locals in the area in over a month. Scores of Boko Haram gunmen were killed by villagers in early April in a foiled raid, residents said. 20 soldiers killed in ambushes . The director general of the National Orientation Agency, which acts as a communications arm of the government, commended the villagers' actions, but defended the military. "The vigilante is a common phenomenon in Nigeria -- it is not a new development," Mike Omeri said. "They were able to do what they did because they had prior information that these people were coming to attack them at a particular time in the night and particular time of the day." Omeri said he did not know how the villagers would have received that key information. "The military cannot be in every village at the same time -- like I said for emphasis, if the military had not been on the ground sufficiently, perhaps the entire northeast would have been overrun by now. Or the entire country would have been overrun," he said. Meanwhile, the military was having problems among its ranks after 20 soldiers were killed in two separate ambushes on Wednesday. One of those ambushes happened after troops left Chibok, the village from which the girls were kidnapped. According to military sources, Nigerian soldiers upset over the deaths of their colleagues opened fire on a convoy carrying a military commander. The commander escaped unhurt, the military sources said. "Soldiers have been angry with the poor treatment they receive from their superiors in terms of inadequate arms and poor allowances in their combat against Boko Haram," a military source said. "The death of their colleagues was too much for them to bear." The Nigerian defense spokesman, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, downplayed the incident as "an internal issue that has been sorted out." Families, friends identify girls in video . Chibok is located in a remote part of northern Nigeria. Many people there do not have access to television. Those who do have held viewing sessions at their homes to watch a Boko Haram video, released Monday by Agence France-Presse, a French news agency. Parents crowded around the screens, searching for any sign of their missing daughters. The governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima, also arranged special viewings for some families and girls who escaped the clutches of Boko Haram. A spokesman for the Borno governor said parents, students and teachers have so far identified 77 of the girls in the video, which shows about 100 girls, not the full 276 abducted from Chibok. Some relatives interviewed by CNN -- an uncle of one of the girls who escaped and the parents of two missing girls -- said they believe the video also shows some girls abducted as long as two years ago. The confusion is significant because the video had been hailed as proof that at least some girls in the Chibok abduction -- the object of international search efforts -- were alive and well. Such proof would be a crucial part of any possible negotiations that could lead to the release of the girls. "I think we've got to be realistic," CNN analyst Frances Townsend told CNN's "New Day" this week. "Even in a negotiation, because of the large number of captives, you are unlikely to return all approximately 300 girls to their families and reunite them healthy, safe and well." | Parents and students work to identify girls in video .
Residents of three villages fought off attacks by Boko Haram .
They claim to have killed more than 200 attackers .
The Nigerian military has been accused of not doing enough . |
13,955 | 2793090a0079449b6549cc294badfe4f657b20fe | A British university handed tens of thousands of pounds to North Korean students so they could learn about computer hacking in the UK. Two students from the secretive state were given £28,000 bursaries by London's University of Westminster to study on a IT course which includes a module on computer security. Details of their UK training emerged as Kim Jong-Un's regime ratcheted up the rhetoric in the wake of claims it hacked Sony because it disliked a film the company was due to release. Computer science students at a university in Pyongyang. It has emerged two students from the country were given bursaries to study in Britain on a course which including a module on hacking. File photo . The two students are thought to be the children of powerful figures in the pariah state's ruling elite. They came from the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), a western-backed, all-male institution in North Korea's capital, where senior politicians and generals send their sons. They were sent to Britain to study an MSc in post-graduate electronic, network and computer engineering. As part of the deal, their flights, accommodation and course fees were covered by the university, which raised the money from the fees of other overseas students. The course includes 'techniques to secure computer networks, and critically evaluates them in the light of a variety of types of attacks', The Telegraph reported. Kim Jong-Un's regime has been widely accused of carrying out a computer hack on Sony after the film company produced The Interview, a movie seen to make fun of the authoritarian ruler . Westminster University insists the students were brought over as part of a scheme to 'broaden minds' A spokesman for Westminster University told the newspaper: 'The scholarship with PUST has been undertaken for a number of years, although we have not awarded any such scholarships to students in the current academic year. 'The scholarships are assessed on academic merit and entry into the UK is undertaken through the standard Home Office and Immigration processes.' It comes after it emerged the UK government is funding places for more than 40 North Korean students to study media and the internet. The Foreign Office, which is funding that scheme but has no part in the University of Westminster course, said: 'It is just one part of our critical engagement to try to improve the lives of those who live in North Korea.' North Korea has poured resources into a sophisticated cyber-warfare wing of its military, which it calls 'Bureau 121'. Defectors have said the Bureau is staffed by some of the most talented computer experts in the state and is part of an elite spy agency run by the army. The two students, not pictured, are said to have studied a module about computer security. File photo . Jang Se-Yul, who studied at North Korea's military college for computer science before escaping to the south, said: 'For them, the strongest weapon is cyber. In North Korea, it's called the Secret War. FBI officials have explicitly linked recent cyber-attack on Sony - which was about to release The Interview, a film about North Korea - to the country's regime. North Korea hit back at the claims yesterday, saying in a statement: 'Nothing is a more serious miscalculation than guessing that just a single movie production company is the target of this counteraction. 'Our target is all the citadels of the US imperialists who earned the bitterest grudge of all Koreans. 'The army and people of the DPRK are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels.' | Two students from university close to North Korean regime sent to UK .
Each given £28,000 by Westminster University for computer course .
Masters course included module on internet security and hacking .
Taxpayers are paying for other North Korean students to come here .
Despotic regime has been criticised for alleged hack of Sony over film . |
212,031 | 9e98b0d9bf489d0cb32ed75a3166c14cd0b58293 | By . Snejana Farberov, Damien Gayle, Rachel Quigley and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 04:51 EST, 4 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:29 EST, 5 April 2013 . Rescuers who plucked a teenage hiker from a steep, rocky canyon wall on Thursday said she was exhausted, had trouble breathing and likely could not have survived much longer than another day in the rugged southern California wilderness. Kyndall Jack, 18, was rescued from a near-vertical wall in Falls Canyon in Cleveland National Forest, five days after she got lost on a day hike with a friend. 'She was kind of clinging to the ledge on the cliff side, kind of going in and out of consciousness,' said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Jim Moss, a paramedic who treated her. Scroll down for video . Drama in the wild: Kyndall Jack, 18, is airlifted to safety by Los Angeles County Search and Rescue after being missing for five days in rugged country near Rancho Santa Margarita, California . Rescued: Miss Jack is being treated in hospital and her family have been notified that she is safe . 'We climbed up to her and could see she was in a lot of pain, obviously completely dehydrated and very weak. 'She wouldn't have made it much longer. She's really lucky.' Barely able to move, Jack had managed . to scream on and off for 90 minutes, shouting at times, 'I'm here, I'm . here,' as rescuers moved toward her. It was her screams that brought . searchers to her hours after they found her hiking companion, . 19-year-old Nicolas Cendoya on Wednesday night, said Orange County . sheriff's Lt. Jason Park. 'We started to close in. We heard the . voice from all our ground crews and surrounded it and made contact with . her,' he said. 'It was very difficult to extract her.' Risky adventure: Kyndall Jack's father said his daughter called him Sunday to say that she is going on a hike, which was unusual for her . A reserve deputy aiding the effort . suffered a head injury when he fell 60 feet down the canyon. He was also . flown to a hospital. His name was not released and his condition was . not immediately known. After rescuers found Jack they strapped her into a harness and lifted her into a helicopter that took her to hospital. She and Cendoya had driven to the . area on Easter Sunday for what was supposed to be a short, easy day hike . through a picturesque canyon to a waterfall. The area is part of the . rugged forest that sprawls across 720 miles of Southern California. Before his cellphone's battery died, . Cendoya was able to make a 911 call Sunday telling authorities the . couple had gotten lost and were in distress. 'He was panting and said, ''We're out . of water.'' You could hear Kyndall in the background," said Orange . County fire Capt. Jon Muir. 'He said, ''I think we're about a . mile or two from the car,'' and he was right about the distance but in . totally the wrong direction.' Cendoya was found on Wednesday night . in shorts and a shirt but missing his shoes. He was flown to Mission . Hospital in Mission Viejo, where doctors said he was being treated for . severe dehydration, scratches and bruises. He was expected to remain for . several days. Park said Cendoya was 'extremely . confused and disoriented', when he was found less than a mile from the . pair's car, giving an added urgency to the effort to find his friend. Jack was found in similar condition, dressed in a pair of dirty athletic shorts, a hoodie and socks, having also lost her shoes. Her rescuers said she couldn't . remember what day it was or even that she had gone hiking. She had no . idea how she had gotten on to the steep, rocky canyon outcropping where . they found her. She was suffering from low blood pressure, shortness of breath and had pain in both legs and one hand. Despite that, she suffered no major . internal injuries and was listed in good condition at the University of . California, Irvine, Medical Center, said hospital spokesman John Murray. Like Cendoya, she was being treated for dehydration and was expected to be hospitalized for several days. At Mission Hospital, Dr. Michael . Ritter told reporters Cendoya said he survived by taking shelter at . night in heavy brush and passing his days by praying. Anxious: Russ Jack waits for the word about his missing daughter after learning that she twisted her ankle and could not keep up with Nicholas . Renewed hope: O.C Sheriff Sgt Brian Sims talks to the parents before sending a team of rescuers to check out a flicker of light on the foggy ridge of mountain about 700 feet from Trabuca Flyers Club . 'He's got a lot of faith in the Lord, . which I think will help him to work his way through this,' Ritter said . shortly before Miss Jack was located. Cendoya told doctors he and Jack became separated sometime on Sunday night. He was found on a steep hill less . than a mile from where the pair had left their car, but the brush was so . thick that a person wouldn't be able to see someone standing as close . as five feet away, Park said. Miss Jack was found nearby. The area is just 500 feet from a dirt . road that is fairly heavily traveled, but Park said Cendoya was so . disoriented he likely wasn't aware of that. 'He was in an area near where people were calling his name and he didn't even know it,' Park said. Brush in the area was so dense that . even after he was found, a helicopter dispatched to rescue him had . trouble keeping track of where he was. Two volunteer searchers got lost . themselves and had to be flown out on Wednesday afternoon. Cendoya says on his Facebook page . that he's a 2011 graduate of Orange County's Costa Mesa High School and a . student at Orange Coast College. A number of photos show the . athletic-looking young man working out and lifting weights. He and Miss Jack are believed to have . gotten lost near near Holy Jim Trail, a tree-lined dirt path along a . creek that leads to the waterfall. Missing hikers: Nick Cendoya, 19, left, and Kyndall Jack, 18, right, lost their way while on a hike in the Cleveland National Forest. They have both been found . Rescue: Firefighters escort Nick Cendoya to a waiting ambulance after he was found in the bush last night . Help: 'Dehydrated and delirious', Nick is stretchered off and taken to hospital . The path is popular with day hikers, . including families with children, and is not considered particularly . difficult. Park warned, however, that it's very easy to get lost in the . heavy brush and hikers who venture in should be prepared with plenty of . food, water and proper clothing. The area is in a section of forest in . the Santa Ana Mountains that lie along the border of Orange and . Riverside counties southeast of Los Angeles. The trail ranges in . elevation from about 2,000 feet to about 4,000 feet. Officials said Miss Jack's family was quickly notified that she had been found. 'They cried. They hugged us. They thanked us immensely,' Capt John Muir of the Orange County Fire Authority said. Her father Russ Jack told the LA Times that Cendoya said he had communicated with Kyndall even after they were separated. 'Nicholas obviously was disoriented . because of dehydration... he thought that Kyndall had already been . rescued,' he said. 'He told us, "I haven't seen her for a day. I think . she's already been rescued." Authorities . ramped up the search for Kyndall today after finding Cendoya gave them . renewed hope that both teens will be found alive. Rough terrain: Officials believe the two teens . took a detour and got off the Cleveland National Forest's popular Holy Jim Trail, a tree-lined dirt path along a creek that . leads to a waterfall and is popular with day hikers . By land and by air: Deputies brought in bloodhounds, left, and air support, right, to help in the search for the two missing hikers . | Kyndall Jack, 18, was clinging to a cliff in Californian wilderness when rescued on Thursday .
Nicholas Cendoya and Kyndall Jack went missing on Easter Sunday .
Cendoya was found by another hiker on Wednesday and taken to hospital .
Volunteer rescuer suffered head trauma after falling 60ft during difficult rescue of Miss Jack . |
47,109 | 84bb683856c5c9e6f9d2df96ce91c5d40c5bc5f0 | Jimmy Savile's former driver was arrested last night over allegations that he raped a teenage girl while working as a DJ in the 1960s. Ray Teret, 71, was being held by police in Manchester along with his lodger, 61-year-old Alan Ledger and both have now been released on bail. Teret faces three separate sex abuse allegations, all reported following the shaming of the late TV presenter, but police have stressed the claims are not connected to his friendship with Savile. Arrested: DJ Ray Teret, who worked as Jimmy Savile's chauffeur and is pictured with him, has been arrested over allegations of historic sexual abuse . Police investigate: Officers taking bags full of evidence from the house where Teret lives as the investigate three separate sex abuse allegations against him . PCs on premises: Police seize several computers in their raid of Teret's apartment today . Teret was photographed with the Beatles in his 1960s heyday when he was Savile's support DJ, chauffeur and sidekick. They shared a flat in Salford. Teret . later became a DJ for Radio Caroline. He was arrested yesterday along . with Ledger at a dilapidated six-bedroom house in Altrincham, Greater . Manchester. Police said a 71-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of rape after three separate allegations. The 61-year-old man was being held on suspicion of rape in connection with one of the complaints. Not linked: Police at Teret's house on Wednesday as he faces three separate sex abuse allegations, all reported following the shaming of the late TV presenter, but police have stressed the claims are not connected to his friendship with Savile . Taking evidence: The police remove boxes from a flat within a dilapidated six-bedroom house in Altrincham, Greater Manchester last night as Teret was arrested along with his lodger, 61-year-old Alan Ledger . Police take bags of evidence including cassette tapes from the house in Altrincham, Greater Manchester on Wednesday night . 'Father' and 'son': Savile (pictured left with Teret, left, and another man) referred to his chauffeur as 'my son,' and in response Teret said called him 'father' Detective . Inspector Simon Davies, of the Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: 'I . want to make it absolutely clear that this is not an investigation into . the late Jimmy Savile, nor do any of the allegations relate to any . involvement by Savile. 'The victims who have come forward have shown tremendous courage. We have a duty to investigate their complaints thoroughly.' A Greater Manchester Police spokesman . said today: 'A 71-year-old man and a 61-year-old man arrested on . suspicion of rape yesterday have been bailed until November 29 pending . further inquiries.' In a previous interview, Teret . discussed his time living with the TV star, saying: ‘There were so many . [girls] around. What Jimmy liked: Teret said: 'I think Jim, preferred girly girls rather than smart girls... Not the ones that go to work and be dead straight and sensible' Arrested: DJ Ray Teret, right being presented with an award at St Winifreds School, is facing three allegations but police have stressed the claims are not connected to his friendship with Savile. It comes after he was jailed for six months in 1999 (left) for seducing and bedding a 15-year-old schoolgirl . 'The Sixties were the sex years. All the girls wanted to . try sex and all the boys wanted to be into sex. ‘He was a pop star. When you’re in that business they’re always there in front of you.' When asked what sort of girls Jimmy . liked, Teret said: ‘I think Jim, preferred girly girls rather than smart . girls... girls who are prepared to do a cartwheel and jump and dance . and have a giggle and a laugh. ‘Not the ones that go to work and be dead straight and sensible. He liked fun girls, show girls.' He recalled that Jimmy referred to him . as ‘My son’, to which he dutifully responded by calling him ‘Father’. Jimmy’s protege went on to become a DJ for Radio Caroline, at which . point they parted company. In March 1999, Teret, then 57, was jailed for six months for seducing and bedding a 15-year- old schoolgirl. On bail: A policeman waits outside the front door as they remove evidence from the house where Teret lives. Both he and Ledger were released on bail today . Sixties were the sex years: In a previous interview, Teret said: 'All the girls wanted to try sex and all the boys wanted to be into sex' Meanwhile Savile's nephew Guy Marsden backed calls for the body of the Top of the Pops presenter to be exhumed and cremated. He said on Wednesday that he '100 per . cent' supported families who called for Savile's body to be moved away . from the graves of their loved ones in Scarborough's Woodlands Cemetery . following claims that Savile abused 300 people over six decades. Mr Marsden, from Leeds, said: 'If it . was one of mine who was buried there, I wouldn't like it if someone like . Jimmy was in the same place.' Teret also acted as a chauffeur for Jimmy Savile, pictured with his famous Rolls-Royce in 1966, as well as being his support DJ . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Ray Teret lived with Savile during early 1960s and acted as his support DJ .
The 71-year-old and another man, 61, were arrested yesterday after three separate allegations of historic sexual abuse .
Greater Manchester Police say allegations are not connected to Savile .
The pair were released today on bail until November 29 . |
268,830 | e83b5eb37747fa3243c37bac0db6d41670e5c0ab | Brazilian-born rapper, Yuri Santos, 23, who uses the stage name, Aggro Santos, at Chichester Magistrate's court . Former I’m A Celebrity contestant Aggro Santos raped two girls, one aged just 16, when he took them back to his hotel room after performing at gigs, a court has heard. The 23-year-old Brazilian-born rapper is accused of forcing one of the victims to have sex with him after he performed at the opening of Club Soho in Yeovil, Somerset, on September 25 2010. He is then accused of raping a 16-year-old girl last year after the University of Chichester summer ball while friend and co-defendant Tyrelle Ritchie forced her to perform oral sex on him. Chichester Crown Court was told that in the Yeovil incident the victim and a friend had gone to the club opening to see Santos perform. Afterwards, as they waited in the car park, the victim asked Santos, who was in a 4x4 type car, for his photograph on behalf of her friend who was 'obsessed by him'. In a video-taped interview shown to the jury, the victim, in her 20s, said: 'I shouted "Aggro, here let’s have a picture". 'He said "Do you want better? Jump on in".' 'There were other girls but he asked us, so we did.' She described how they went back to the Yeovil Court Hotel where she had consensual sex with Santos’s manager while her friend went to another room with the rapper. She said that a few minutes later the pair returned and Santos tried to initiate sex with her. She said: 'He got up, I thought he was just being a boy, really immature. 'He got his penis out, waving it about. I thought he was just being an idiot, at first I was just laughing at him.' Having described the star as well-endowed, she added: 'I started mocking him. I said "Does it p*** you off that your manager gets more female attention than you do?".' Aggro Santos at Chichester Crown Court, West Sussex, on charges of raping two women . Accused: The former I'm A Celebrity contestant on his mobile phone nearby the court . She said he then swore at her before pushing her on to the bed and raping her in front of the friend and manager. She said: 'I just went crazy and managed to get him off me and wanted to get out of the room. 'He got in front of me, I said he was sick. 'He kept repeating "I have been blessed, I have been blessed by Jesus".' She added: 'At that point I was really scared, I realised how powerful he was.' In the second incident, which happened in Chichester, West Sussex, on May 7 last year, Santos had performed at the university’s summer ball when his crew invited the victim, her sister, who was a student at the university, and two friends to a backstage room for drinks. Isobel Ascherson, prosecuting, said the group were then invited to an after-show party at the Ship Hotel and they agreed to go. Miss Ascherson said the 16-year-old then had consensual sex with Santos in his hotel bathroom while her sister had consensual sex with 21-year-old Ritchie in another room. She said the victim then accused Santos of forcing her to have sex for a second time at the same time as Ritchie forced her to perform oral sex on him. Miss Ascherson said the girl managed to escape from the pair and she was found in 'a state of extreme distress' by her sister. She said the sister went back into the hotel and confronted the defendants, causing a commotion which led to the police being called and Santos being arrested. Kimberly Wyatt, former Pussycat Dolls singer, featured in Santos's debut single, Candy, which shot to number five in the UK charts in 2010 . Miss Ascherson said the victim of the Yeovil incident only reported the allegation there after she read reports that Santos had been arrested for rape following the Chichester incident. She said: 'She felt guilty she hadn’t reported it before and came forward.' Miss Ascherson said all of the girls involved in the two incidents had consumed 'considerable' amounts of alcohol on the nights concerned. She said Santos denied there was any sexual contact with the victim in Yeovil and said the girl in the Chichester incident initiated the sexual activity with him and Ritchie. She added that Ritchie told police that the 16-year-old had consensually performed oral sex on him. Santos, who is charged under his real name Yuri Santos, of Tooting, south west London, denies two counts of rape. Ritchie, of Lambeth, south east London, denies one count of oral rape. Santos’s debut single, Candy, featuring former Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt, shot to number five in the UK charts in 2010. But he became more popularly known by his appearance in the 2010 series of ITV’s reality game show I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in which he reached the final six. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Aggro Santos, 23, 'raped' one girl after she asked for a picture of him following his performance at a club in Somerset .
He 'raped' his second victim, aged 16, while co-defendant Tyrelle Ritchie 'forced her to perform oral sex on him' after a university summer ball .
'I have been blessed. I have been blessed by Jesus': Santos, according to one of his victims . |
240,717 | c3a205cd6288917ea43460821c07a2e5768ebee5 | (CNN) -- A growing scandal over the manipulation of health care appointments resulted in an employee at a Wyoming clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs being placed on administrative leave, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said Friday. An e-mail allegedly written by an employee in Cheyenne, obtained by CNN, says: "Yes, it is gaming the system a bit. But you have to know the rules of the game you are playing, and when we exceed the 14-day measure, the front office gets very upset, which doesn't help us. Let me know if this doesn't make sense." The Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman who says she supplied the e-mail to investigators told CNN in an exclusive interview that employees were told to "game the system because it made Cheyenne look good." CNN confirmed with investigators that she was the source of the e-mail. The e-mail outlined ways employees could manipulate the system to hide the fact that veterans had to wait months for appointments, said Lisa Lee, a scheduler at the VA clinic in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is managed by the Wyoming clinic. "We were sat down by our supervisor ... and he showed us exactly how to schedule so it looked like it was within that 14-day period," Lee told CNN. "They would keep track of schedulers who were complying and getting 100 percent of that 14 day(s) and those of us who were not." The VA's official policy is that all patients should be able to see a doctor, dentist or some other medical professional within 14 days of their requested/preferred date. Any wait longer than two weeks is supposed to documented. But many veterans end up waiting longer, and the delays are never reported, veterans and their advocates say. Shinseki released a statement saying he has ordered an investigation by the inspector general, and that the employee be removed immediately from patient care responsibilities and placed on leave. "VA takes any allegations about patient care or employee misconduct very seriously," Shinseki said. "If true, the behavior outlined in the email is unacceptable." Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, which subpoenaed Shinseki to testify next week, said in a statement that "the VA's reaction to the latest development in its delays in care scandal is faux outrage at its finest." "Since last year, VA officials have known about intentional efforts to falsify patient wait time data at the Fort Collins, Colo., Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, which is part of the Cheyenne VA Medical Center," Miller said in the statement. "In fact, according to a Dec. 2013 VA Office of Medical Inspector report, clerks at the Fort Collins clinic were actually taught how to cook the books. Yet until today, department officials had not taken any steps whatsoever to discipline any employees or request an independent investigation -- nor did they plan to do so." Miller said Shinseki's actions Friday appear "to be more of a knee-jerk reaction to tough media questions than anything else. If this is what it takes for VA leaders to do the right thing, you can't help but question how they operate when they think no one is paying attention." The latest allegation comes as the federal department defends itself against claims of potentially deadly delays at other facilities throughout the nation, including claims of a secret wait list in Phoenix, which was first reported by CNN. An new interim director, Steve Young, will take over the Phoenix VA Health Care system on Monday, the department announced Friday. He takes over an embattled system responsible for 85,000 veterans and an operating budget of about $500 million. On Thursday, Phoenix VA Director Sharon Helman, Associate Director Lance Robinson and a third employee, who was not identified, were placed on leave amid allegations of a secret waiting list and claims that more than 40 veterans died waiting for care. The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization, and another group, Concerned Veterans for America, have called for Shinseki's resignation. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CNN on Friday that if the mounting accusations are true, "people should go to jail." He spoke before news broke of the Wyoming clinic e-mail. McCain's comments came the same day that he appeared at a Phoenix town hall meeting in which a procession of veterans and their families criticized what they described as widespread delays and mismanagement within the national health care system designed for America's veterans. "If it is what it appears to be, this isn't just resignations, this is violations of the law," McCain told CNN's Jake Tapper. "People should go to jail." The former POW said, "Not surprisingly ... this is spreading .... and we need to hold people accountable." McCain told the town hall meeting that Shinseki called him to say he had ordered a "face-to-face audit" at all VA clinics but wanted to wait for an VA inspector general's report before revealing his findings. "My friends, an inspector general's report can take months. I told him we cannot wait a day, much less months, before there is a report," McCain said amid applause. Shinseki ordered the audit Thursday. The same day, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee subpoenaed him. The subpoena will cover e-mails that allegedly discussed the destruction of a secret list, first reported by CNN, of veterans waiting for care at a Phoenix VA hospital. Attention on the secretary follows months of CNN exclusive reporting about U.S. veterans who have died while they waited for treatment at VA hospitals. CNN has submitted numerous requests for an interview with Shinseki; the secretary has refused them all. On Thursday, a VA scheduler in San Antonio, said clerks scheduling medical appointments for veterans were "cooking the books" at their bosses' behest to hide the fact some had to wait weeks, if not months, for appointments. The Office of Inspector General confirmed to CNN that it has staff investigators on the ground in San Antonio looking into the allegations. | NEW: Whistleblower tells CNN the e-mail outlined ways to manipulate the system .
VA chief acts after e-mail discussed "gaming" appointments .
House committee chief criticizes VA for handling of scandal .
CNN exclusively reported veterans dying while on wait list in Phoenix, Arizona . |
19,457 | 372eb98f21dcd44e53e66d4fd70b1a39438cd9b8 | (CNN) -- Today's world increasingly challenges us to think differently about value and money. How important is your reputation? Does it have an impact on your finances? What is the currency of reputation and is it transferable or exchangeable? How is reputation created? Reputation is co-created by individuals having experiences. Looking for a great Italian restaurant for dinner tonight? Search Yelp reviews and see what people who have already dined at a place have to say about it. Want to know what it's like to work with a potential hire? Read their LinkedIn referrals. Wondering whether or not other people are happy with a product you're about to buy? Amazon reviews will tell you. You've probably even shared your own experiences with something you enjoyed or warned others about a less-than-positive experience. Your FICO score in the United States measures your credit risk, which is really credit reputation, based on your behavior. Reputation is crucial for the new economics of the 'Sharing Economy' Reputation is a requirement of the sharing economy. For Airbnb hosts and Uber and Lyft drivers, positive ratings are paramount to their success. It might seem crazy to stay at a stranger's house, but on Airbnb host reviews facilitate trust among strangers. Your AirBnB, Yelp and eBay reviews have immense values outside their immediate platforms. Even though these reputation systems have been created for the specific company -- imagine how powerful it would be to have your reputation in one place. Uber and Lyft are both independent operator ride-sharing platforms. Both companies facilitate the connection between driver and passenger. Drivers must be reviewed and approved before giving rides through their system. In a move to gain more drivers and compete with Lyft, Uber reportedly offered bonuses to tempt already-approved Lyft drivers to the Uber platform. In some cases, it was apparently easier for a new driver to go through the Lyft approval process and then switch companies, than it was to apply directly to Uber. Reputation and the future . Reputation will become an increasingly visible part of our everyday transactions. While we will create reputation on individual platforms, there will be an increasing demand for fluid exchange of reputation and ratings from one system to another. We'll see tools to aggregate your reputation in one place. We may even see reputation system APIs developed to enable the transfer of your reputation to new platforms. Picture this: four friends having dinner in a restaurant in the not-too-distant future. After the meal, they pay using a "Smart Check," using integrated mobile payments, credit cards and private coins. As part of the Smart Check experience, diners can rate their experience immediately -- everything from individual dishes, the service, and even the restaurant itself. Or how about this -- it's the year 2020 and a woman is searching for a motorcycle at an online classified site. As part of her search results, the seller's reputation is shown. This makes it easy to decide which seller to deal with. Beyond these scenarios, expect to see more fluid exchange of reputation between their original systems -- akin to monetary exchanges. We'll see more of personal reputation integrated in person-to-person transactions, which will enable deeper transactions in the resource sharing economy. This is an excerpt of a report on reputation currencies, written by Heather Schlegel and commissioned by the Institute of Customer Experience. You can download the full report here. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Heather Schlegel. | Reputation is crucial to the new "Sharing Economy," argues Heather Schlegel .
Airbnb, Uber, Lyft and eBay all depend on trust .
Schlegel says reputation will soon be transferable from one platform to another . |
285,676 | fe2cc128a2c064ce4f057d821539bf3e7bf3fca4 | By . Graham Smith . Last updated at 11:00 AM on 5th November 2011 . Two thousand foreign hikers have been trapped in bad weather on the slopes of a mountain near Mount Everest in a remote corner of Nepal for the past four days, it was revealed last night. The trekkers, who are thought to include a number of Britons, been forced to stay in the small hill resort of Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. Lukla, which sits 2,800metres (9,186ft) above sea level, has been covered by thick cloud this week, forcing airlines to cancel flights to and from the remote region. It is located 78miles (125km) north-east of the Nepalese capital. Stranded: Foreign trekkers stand outside Katmandu airport in Nepal after their flights were cancelled yesterday. Two thousand hikers have been trappedon the slopes of a mountain near Mount Everest due to bad weather . Tens of thousands of trekkers and climbers visit the Solukhumbu region, home to Mount Everest, each year. Many start and end their trek from the windswept resort where a small airstrip is carved into the rugged mountainside. Utsav Raj Kharel, chief of Lukla's Tenzing Hillary Airport, said tourists, who were not in physical danger, had been waiting for their flights back to Kathmandu for the past four days. Mr Kharel said: 'Visibility is almost nil. Fog and clouds have covered the entire area making flights by fixed-wing small aircraft impossible.' Weather officials in Kathmandu said the clouds could continue to cover the region for a couple of days, worsening the plight of the trapped tourists who could face a food shortage. Remote airport: Lukla sits 2,800metres above sea level and has been covered by thick clouds this week . Gateway to the Himalayas: The town is located 78miles north-east of the Nepalese capital . Mr Kharel said: 'Though a few small private helicopters had picked some tourists from nearby Sirke village, they are inadequate to clear the rush.' Santa Subba, chief of the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal, said authorities were expected to make arrangements to rescue the trapped hikers in big helicopters once the weather conditions allowed them to reach the area. Autumn, which runs from September to November, is peak tourist season in South Asia's poorest but scenic country, which gets nearly 4 per cent of its gross domestic product from tourism. | Small town of Lukla has been covered by thick cloud .
Airlines unable to fly to and from the remote region . |
75,486 | d6111e2cb6d6ddb85e3fb4d14a98d143a78e0ee6 | Paris, France (CNN) -- Hurling insults against French President Nicolas Sarkozy, crowds of demonstrators marched through the boulevards of eastern Paris to protest his anti-crime measures. Organized by 50 human rights and activist groups, labor unions and political opponents of Sarkozy the cortege of protesters at one point stretched a mile and a half from the Place de La Republique to the Place de la Bastille, where a stained French flag was hung on a central monument. Organizers said 50,000 filled the streets, though police put the official estimate at 12,000. Referring to France's contentious role in World War II, protesters held up signs such as "Sarkozy, son of Petain," referring to Marshal Philippe Petain, who led the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. Organizers said about 130 cities in France are seeing similar protests against Sarkozy's so-called crime-busting proposals which have led to the expulsion of more than 8,000 Roma, commonly known as Gypsies. Saturday's protests erupted after the recent raids against camps in Lyon and other cities that forced out a total of 8,300 Romanian and Bulgarian nationals of Roma origin. Close to 10,000 were expelled in 2009. Roma are a group of people who live mainly in southern and eastern Europe, often in poverty. They tend to live in camps, caravans, or informal settlements and have been the target of persecution throughout history. But the Roma are not the sole targets of the recent anti-immigration security measures proposed by the French government, protesters claim. Groups representing other causes voiced their concerns at the Paris rally as well, including advocates of illegal immigrants and demonstrators demanding better housing. After recent anti-police attacks, the country's parliament is considering new laws to take away French citizenship from naturalized immigrants guilty of crimes like attacks on police, polygamy or female circumcision, traditions associated with some immigrant groups. Some believe Sarkozy's approach of blaming immigrants for security problems flies in the face of France's democratic fundamentals -- liberty, equality and fraternity. "He is not fighting crime ... He is deliberately putting into question the basic principles of republican equality, and what is already an extremely serious social and economic crisis now threatens the cohesion of all society," organizations supporting the protests said in a statement posted on the Education Without Borders Network's website Saturday. When he announced the proposals in July, Sarkozy said French citizenship was a privilege. "One must earn French nationality and be worthy of it," he said. "Anyone who fires on an agent enforcing order no longer deserves to be French." Immigration policy has long been a top issue for the conservative Sarkozy. As interior minister, he advocated the deportation of foreign nationals caught in violent riots across France in 2005. But the recent crackdowns have drawn criticism even within Sarkozy's government. Local media reported that Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was shocked by the president's anti-crime proposals. Last month's ousting of Roma gypsies without valid identity papers -- drew international criticism with some comparing it to the deportation of Jews during World War II. Something the government said was absurd since those being expelled were being sent back to their homelands with financial compensation of 300 euros ($381) per adult and 100 euros ($127) per . child, Frances immigration ministry said. French officials have said the deportations are part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration. In his July speech, Sarkozy said France needs better immigration regulations. "We are suffering from the consequences of 50 years of inadequately controlled immigration that led to a failure of integration," he said. "We are so proud of our system of integration, but perhaps we should wake up to see what it has produced. It has worked. It works no longer." CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report. | Protesters say measures are discriminatory and will not stop crime .
Sarkozy says more immigration regulation is needed .
One proposal revokes French citizenship of foreign-born people who attack police .
The protests come after hundreds of Roma were expelled from France . |
56,445 | 9fecc44cfb5aeabc9bca583604dff73444ae5d7c | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . Grammar pedants have been urged by a minister to rise up against councils who have tried to erase apostrophes from road signs. Brandon Lewis said that if humanity can put a man on the moon and split the atom it can build a sat-nav which understands proper punctuation. The local government minister insisted there is ‘no Whitehall rule or Brussels diktat’ forcing town halls to wipe punctuation from the map. Scholars' Walk in Chesterton where somebody has added the missing apostrophes . Councils in Mid Devon and Cambridge have been criticised for removing apostrophes from street names and road signs. Locals armed with black marker pens have fought back, with with missing punctuation, such as that at Scholars Walk, having the correct apostrophe inserted overnight. On the same sign in the Cambridge’s East Chesterton area, an apostrophe has also been added to Pepys Court. However, Mr Lewis insisted that if the humble apostrophe is ‘good enough for Her Majesty's Government, so should it be for local councils’. Local government minister Brandon Lewis insisted there is no diktat from Whitehall against apostrophes . In a lengthy response to a parliamentary questions, he said there was no Government guidance issued to councils about the use of the apostrophe on street signs. He said: ‘I understand this may stem from a misunderstanding of guidance issued by the Geoplace National Land and Property Gazetteer which is overseen by local government. ‘However, Geoplace has confirmed it doesn't require councils to remove apostrophes either - councils can continue to use apostrophes and punctuation if they're used in the official street name. ‘One of the spurious reasons for abolishing apostrophes has been the suggestion they may cause confusion for emergency services' IT systems. ‘If mankind can put a man on the moon, split the atom and decode the double helix then I'm sure it's not beyond the reach of 21st Century technology to have a sat-nav which can understand an apostrophe.’ Mr Lewis said he could not support ‘grammar guerillas’ who return missing apostrophes to new signs because it is an offence to deface a street sign under 1907 legislation. But in a call to arms to grammar fans across the country, he added: ‘We would encourage residents to defend their traditional place names from over zealous municipal pen pushers.’ Banned: Existing apostrophes such as Blundell's Avenue in Devon will not be changed but no new signs will be permitted to use such punctuation . Official guidance: Mid Devon Council said in future all road signs should avoid using punctuation entirely . Mr Lewis said apostrophes should stay on road signs, and satnav systems could cope . Mr Lewis was responding to a question from Conservative MP for South Swindon, Robert Buckland. Mr Buckland said: ‘I think I join a long queue of people who get upset when they see misuse of this punctuation mark! ‘There is a serious point to be made about how we need to make sure things are spelt correctly - otherwise what is the point in having these rules?’ | Some councils have removed punctuation marks from street signs .
It is claimed satnav systems could be confused by punctuation .
Brandon Lewis said if we can split the atom, we can cope with grammar . |
171,012 | 6956023186e4481004fd1b596d44e19fdc60de74 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:24 EST, 17 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:31 EST, 17 December 2013 . The uncle of a woman murdered by her husband yelled abuse at the killer as he was sentenced to life in an Ohio prison on Monday. William Dembie Jr was found guilty of stabbing Holly, 33, to death and pushing her out of a window at their home in August 2011. As the 45-year-old was sentenced, one of Holly's relatives had to be restrained and removed from the courtroom after screaming at Dembie. Emotional: Leslie Gregg, the victim's uncle, yells at her killer during a sentencing hearing . Removed: Leslie Gregg is led out of the courtroom after yelling abuse at murderer William Dembie . 'You cut her throat twice! You stabbed . her eight times! You cold-blooded killer… I’ve had enough,' Leslie Gregg screamed, as family and court officials restrained him. His comments came as Dembie accused his . mother-in-law Cheryl Foldes of failing to care for his and Holly's . seven-year-old son properly, the Chronicle Telegram reported. Guilty: William Dembie has been sentenced to life for stabbing his wife . The former corrections officer had been found guilty earlier this month of murder, felonious assault and domestic violence after killing Holly at their Grafton Township home. The couple had argued on August 11, and Dembie had chased his wife upstairs with a combat knife. As she tried to escape he pulled her shirt and then her pants off and, after breaking into the second-floor bathroom where she was trying to escape out the window, he stabbed her and let her fall. The father-of-four then ran outside and . continued to stab his wife in and around the neck, before calling police . and calmly telling them he had nearly beheaded his wife. When his 911 call was played in court Dembie said he was shocked at his detached tone, the Morning Journal reported. He . said he had planned to kill himself before police arrived, and had only . called them so his children wouldn't return home and find the body. In . the end, he decided against suicide, saying it would have prevented him . from apologizing to the son he had with the victim, and three children . from a previous relationship. 'I did enough damage for one night,' he said. 'I wasn’t thinking. I was in a place . where I had no control over my actions.' During the trial Mrs Foldes described her former son-in-law as a 'monster' who abused her daughter. Victim: Holly Dembie, a mother and special needs worker, was pushed out of a second-floor window and stabbed . Detached: Dembie said he was surprised at his calm tone as he called police to say he had nearly beheaded his wife . 'She did not love or respect him,' she said of Holly, who worked with special education students. Dembie argued that his wife's attitude towards him had changed after the married. He claimed she no longer was interested in seeing her stepchildren and was abusive and controlling. Since her death, their seven-year-old son has been cared for by Mrs Foldes. | William Dembie jailed for life after pushing wife out of window and stabbing her to death .
Special needs worker Holly was stabbed repeatedly in vicious assault . |
131,259 | 35bcb818cdd3384477f09e0cf979d35f03139c55 | By . Maureen Paton . It was a lottery like no other, with the fate of tiny children at stake on the pick of a ball. The street lights were lowered outside so that hundreds of mothers were granted anonymity as they queued at Georgian London's new Foundling Hospital in the 1740s to give their babies away. Unmarried women abandoned by their seducers or lovers, together with impoverished widows who couldn't support their newborns, hoped their children would have a better future inside the hospital -essentially a children's home - which educated and trained little boys to become apprentices, and little girls as servants. A scene from the BBC's Messiah At The Foundling Hospital . And such was the demand for places that a ballot system of white, red and black balls had to be introduced. A white ball meant a baby had won a place provided it didn't have an infectious disease; a red ball meant a child was put on the waiting list to replace those who failed their medical; and a black ball meant the baby was turned away. And there was a big audience for it, with fashionable society sponsors of the hospital crowding the public gallery to watch the heart-rending process in the room where the Court of Hospital Governors met. 'It was like some dreadful TV contest - yet it was a practical solution to a very real problem,' says Catherine Hogg, curator of an exhibition to mark ten years of the Foundling Museum which stands on the site of the old hospital and which forms the backdrop for a heart-tugging new BBC docu-drama about it. John Milner, the hospital's treasurer, had borrowed the blackballing idea from the membership selection at 18th-century London gentlemen's clubs such as White's. Contemporary witnesses, however, recalled that the wailing of bereft mothers whose babies had been chosen in this impossibly poignant contest was just as loud as those whose babies had been blackballed. They would leave tokens behind - scraps of embroidered cloth, poems and letters, medals, coins and even just walnuts by the poorest - to identify themselves and their babies in case they could come back to claim their offspring in happier times. Founder Thomas Coram, in 1855 . Yet since that meant repaying the hospital for the child's keep to ensure the feckless didn't abuse the system, 'Less than ten per cent of mothers did so over the two centuries that the hospital existed,' according to Caro Howell, director of the Foundling Museum. The hospital was started by a big-hearted former sailor and ship-builder called Thomas Coram, who was horrified at the number of babies abandoned in the London streets in the 1720s when he came home from his voyages. He had to campaign for 17 years for a Royal Charter, which he was granted in 1739, to establish the hospital as one of England's first children's charities. He was one of three childless men central to the success of the hospital. Both Coram and the painter William Hogarth, who became a governor, were married but with no heirs, while the composer George Frideric Handel, also a governor, was a bachelor. To raise funds, Hogarth exhibited his paintings at the hospital (and thus created Britain's first public art gallery), designed the children's uniforms and the coat of arms, and he and his wife Jane fostered foundling children, while Handel conducted his new Messiah masterpiece in its chapel in annual performances that brought in the crowds. It was the perfect link between philanthropy and the arts, with obvious benefits to both sides. And in what looks set to be TV's biggest baby tear-jerker since Call The Midwife, BBC2's Messiah At The Foundling Hospital will tell the whole story. Former EastEnders actor Paul Moriarty plays Coram, Christopher Staines is Hogarth and Paul McCreesh is Handel, with TV's At Home With The Georgians historian Amanda Vickery and music critic Tom Service presenting the dramatised excerpts. 'It's an incredibly moving subject to film,' says executive producer Ben Weston. 'We start by restaging the first night of Messiah at the hospital in 1750, and later show the blackballing contest and the babies' heads being inspected for lice. The children admitted were never allowed to know about the tokens their mothers had left in case they never came back; instead the boys and girls were identified by a lead number on a chain round their necks.' A painting entitled Foundling Girls In The Chapel At Prayer by Sophie Anderson . Caro Howell continues, 'For the first five years of their lives the children were fostered in the countryside – because it was healthier than London – before being brought back to the hospital to be educated and eventually apprenticed.' The regime was strict by our modern standards, with the system of removing the five-year-olds from their country foster parents an obvious wrench for both sides that continued until 1954 when the hospital finally closed. Yet governors took an interest in the children even after they'd left to become apprentices – and would use their powers to get any savage employers of their former charges arrested and punished. 'Foundling children were also among the first in Britain to be vaccinated,' says the show's co-producer Liz Hartford. At a time when child mortality was 99 per cent in the workhouses, the concern for the babies' health was such that governors became 'Inspectors of Wet Nurses', visiting their lodgings to make sure the women were married. To make doubly sure of no immorality, the inspectors were accompanied by their wives… . 'The women had to plead their cases and . prove the child was their first, that they were of previous good . character and not entirely the agents of their own misfortune' Caro Howell . By the 1830s, the increasing pressure on places meant that only illegitimate babies were admitted. 'The women had to plead their cases and prove the child was their first, that they were of previous good character and not entirely the agents of their own misfortune - and the governors would follow up with careful checks,' according to Caro Howell. Charles Dickens, who lived round the corner from the hospital in Doughty Street, became a sponsor, named his kindly Mr Brownlow in Oliver Twist after one of the hospital secretaries and wrote a play, No Thoroughfare, with novelist Wilkie Collins that begins at the gates of the hospital. His benevolence even extended to putting in a good word for one mother, Susan Mayne - but, embarrassingly for him, the governors turned her application down after she was found to have syphilis. These days celebrities continue to keep up the museum's profile, with artist Grayson Perry and also the bestselling children's authors Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo among its current patrons. Meanwhile the hospital lives on in the children's charity Coram, aptly named after the old sea-dog with the softest of hearts who founded it. Messiah At The Foundling Hospital is on BBC2 on 19 April. The Foundling Museum's exhibition, By George! Handel's Music For Royal Occasions, continues until 18 May, www.found lingmuseum.org.uk. | An emotional new drama will shed light on Britain's first children's home .
It documents a heart-breaking tale of mothers with nowhere else to turn .
The new series will hit our screens on 19 April on BBC2 . |
79,578 | e1a653328e36ce845871bb36ef1ca45b834663aa | By . Vanessa Allen . Last updated at 9:25 AM on 28th February 2012 . Television presenter Fiona Phillips has claimed a ‘chemical cosh’ of dementia drugs robbed her father of the final weeks of his life. The former GMTV host described how her father Neville was given a vast cocktail of medicines which left him so heavily sedated he was ‘totally out of it’. His medication covered two sides of an A4 sheet of paper, she said. Heartbroken: Fiona Phillips, pictured with her father Neville in 2009, claimed that dementia drugs robbed him of the final weeks of his life . Alzheimer’s sufferer Mr Phillips died . earlier this month. His rapid deterioration has led his daughter to . question whether the drugs cost him years of his life. She said: ‘I am so angry at the way my . lovely, lovely dad was treated at the end. In his final weeks he was so . coshed by drugs that his poor body couldn’t cope. ‘They robbed him of his laughter, then . his smile, which was all that he had got left, and I am absolutely . furious about that. Then they robbed him of his life. ‘That is what is keeping me awake at . night now, it’s the anger. Without the powerful drugs they used to . sedate him he could have had another few years. Tragic: Fiona, second from right, with her mother Amy who died in 2006 and father Neville who died in 2012 . By SOPHIE BORLAND . More than a quarter of elderly people with dementia are being given dangerous ‘chemical cosh’ drugs, researchers warn. Doctors . are prescribing anti-psychotics to patients for two or more years even . though they are only meant to be taken for a maximum of three months – . and then only as a last resort. Antipsychotics . are tranquillisers that are designed to treat hallucinations in . patients with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. But . researchers from the University of Manchester have found that in most cases they are just being given to . sedate elderly patients to stop them from wandering off or becoming . confused and anxious. Campaigners . say that too often they are being told by families and carers that such . drugs are ‘robbing loved ones of their dignity’, leaving them unable to . walk or talk. The drugs were given the chemical cosh . nickname because they are used to subdue patients, which makes it easier . for hospital and care home staff to look after them. But . researchers have warned that they double the risk of early death – . leading to an estimated 1,800 premature deaths a year – and treble the . risk of strokes. Studies have also found they reduce brain volume and . worsen the symptoms of dementia. Typical antipsychotics given to patients . include chlorpromazine, perphenazine, pimozide, clozapine (sold as . Clozaril or Denzapine), olanzapine (sold as Zyprexa) and risperidone . (sold as Risperdal). But only risperidone is licensed for dementia – and . then only for up to six weeks. ‘Maybe I’m being selfish because he . wouldn’t have wanted to continue to be dependent on others. But that . wasn’t a decision to be made by the medical system on his behalf ... Without those drugs he could still have been healthy and happy, even . with dementia.’ Miss Phillips, 51, has endured . watching both her parents succumb to Alzheimer’s and has told of her . fears she may also develop the degenerative disease. Her mother Amy was diagnosed in her . late 50s and died in 2006, just a few months before Mr Phillips also . received the devastating diagnosis. He was in his late 60s. Miss Phillips, a Daily Mirror . columnist, told the newspaper her father had managed a degree of . independence despite the disease, and lived in a warden-assisted flat in . Hampshire for three years. But last November he went missing for . eight hours after he wandered off alone. Social workers insisted he was . sent to a specialist dementia care home. The placement lasted just 24 hours . before managers complained that he had lashed out at a carer. He was . moved to a psychiatric hospital, where he was immediately put on a . mixture of drugs. Miss Phillips said: ‘I visited him on . December 23 and he was smiling and laughing and said “She’s mine” when I . walked in, which had been his way of greeting me for a while. ‘Even though he no longer said my name, he recognised me. All the members of staff said how wonderful he was.’ But when she returned a few days . later, she said she found her father slumped in a chair and heavily . sedated. She requested a list of his medication and said it stretched to . two sides of A4 paper. Miss Phillips recalled how she asked . for the drugs to be reduced and told how her own research had shown two . sedatives he was taking were addictive and could cause cognitive . decline. In addition, she said that the . anti-psychotic drug he was on was known to increase the risk of death in . dementia sufferers and was advised as a last resort. Fiona quit her role as GMTV presenter after 12 years to spend more time with her family . She described her shock on her next . visit at her father’s rapid deterioration, saying: ‘He’d put on weight . from the drugs and his hair was white. “Oh Dad,” I said, “What have they . done to you?” And I broke down in tears. ‘But there was no response, he was totally out of it. His body had been clobbered with drugs. ‘He was like someone out of One Flew . Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. My heart was broken. Next time I went his eyes . were glazed, his mouth was hanging open and his tongue was lolling.’ Miss Phillips said she alerted nurses . to her father’s laboured breathing and high temperature and, six days . later, he was admitted to a general hospital with pneumonia. Doctors . warned his organs were failing. He died a few days later, aged 77. Researchers have revealed that more than a quarter of elderly dementia sufferers are being subdued with ‘chemical cosh’ drugs. They warned earlier this month that . some medications can double the risk of early death – leading to an . estimated 1,800 premature deaths a year – and treble the risk of . strokes. Studies have also found they reduce brain volume and worsen the . symptoms of dementia. The Daily Mail has long called for an . improvement in the care of dementia sufferers as part of our Dignity for . the Elderly campaign. Miss Phillips, who has two sons, . Nathaniel, 12, and Mackenzie, nine, with her husband Martin Frizell, has . become an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society. For more information and support for dementia visit the Alzheimer's Society website at www.alzheimers.org.uk or phone their helpline on 0845 300 0336 . | 'He was like something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'
Fiona's father Neville diagnosed just weeks after her mother succumbed to dementia in 2006 .
Two sedatives he was given were addictive and could cause cognitive decline, her research revealed . |
126,511 | 2f81497d33d05e3bb0178c37e86892c066549564 | (CNN) -- A tornado touched down Monday afternoon in Rutherford County, Tennessee, authorities there confirm. The tornado was on the ground for about 4 1/2 miles, said Joe Gourley of the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency. Fewer than a dozen homes suffered minor to moderate damage, trees were toppled and roads were blocked, Gourley said. Minor damage was reported across much of the state after a line of severe thunderstorms swept through. The National Weather Service dispatched a team to survey possible tornado damage in Dickson County near Vanleer, where a homeowner said his barn was destroyed and several large trees were uprooted. There were also reports of at least one mobile home destroyed and others damaged in the area. No injuries were reported. Students were evacuated at Fairview Middle School in Franklin after lightning struck the school, causing a fire on the roof. All students were safe, school officials said on Twitter. | Severe storms sweep across Tennessee; no injuries reported .
Mobile home, other structures reported damaged or destroyed .
Middle school evacuated after lightning causes fire on roof . |
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