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82,341 | e973fe3ffdb2c45d06b5e425a68c5d01eafa0e0b | Relatives of the passengers lost on board the missing Malaysian Airlines jet today slammed Malaysian authorities for keeping them in the dary over the search. Family members in Beijing accused the Malaysian delegation in China of 'concealing the truth' and 'making fools' out of the families after they left a meeting without answering questions. 'You can't leave here! We want to know what the reality is!' they shouted in frustration. 'Give us back our loved ones.' 'You can't leave here!' Angry relatives of passengers who were travelling on missing flight MH370 shout at a Malaysian delegation who walked out of a meeting without answering their questions about the search . Family members in Beijing accused the Malaysian delegation in China of 'concealing the truth' and 'making fools' out of them after they left a meeting without answering questions . The relatives subsequently released a statement saying they believe they have been 'strung along, kept in the dark and lied to by the Malaysian government.' 'This kind of conduct neglects the lives of all the passengers, shows contempt for all their families, and even more, tramples on the dignity of Chinese people and the Chinese government,' it said. The statement said the Malaysians had 'disregarded the life of the passengers', adding: 'They have been fooling the families and the people of the whole world.' More than two-thirds of those on board the missing Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are Chinese. Many of the relatives have been holed up at the massive Lido Hotel in Beijing as they await further information. The protests and statement came earlier today, before the announcement by Chinese authorities of a second satellite sighting of what appeared to be a large chunk of debris floating in the southern Indian Ocean. Searches have been concentrated in that area since Australia announced three days ago that it had made a similar satellite sighting in the remote area 1,200 miles south-west of Perth. Wang Zhen, son of missing artist Wang . Linshi, said there were questions about why Malaysian authorities had . provided so much seemingly contradictory information. He . said he still has hopes his father can be found alive and is praying . that the satellite sightings turn out to be false. He and other . relatives are suspicious about what they are being told by the Malaysian . side, he added, but are at a loss as to what to do next. 'We . feel they're hiding something from us,' said Mr Wang, who is filling . his days attending briefings and watching the news for updates. A man shouts in protest, while a woman cries during the meeting: The relatives have released a statement saying they believe they have been 'strung along, kept in the dark and lied to by the Malaysian government' For a handful of Chinese families who chose to be flown to Kuala Lumpur to be closer to the heart of search operations, the flow of information has been no more fluid. On Wednesday, grief erupted into anger when several family members unfurled a protest banner in front of a throng of journalists, demanding the truth from the Malaysian government. The ruckus prompted police to escort the relatives, including a distraught mother, away from the briefing room. By yesterday, the Chinese families who had been staying at a resort south of Kuala Lumpur had to decamp to another hotel as they were displaced by customers for the upcoming Malaysian Formula One grand prix. 'Tonight all the government could give us was old information. But of course we, the families, want to hear new updates,' Malaysian Hamid Ramlat, the father of a passenger, told reporters after emerging from a briefing on Thursday night. The protest came before it was revealed that a large piece of floating debris has been spotted in the remote Indian Ocean search zone for missing flight MH370. Chinese satellites picked up signs of a 'suspicious' object measuring 72ft by 42ft in an area 75 miles west of where Australia reported an earlier sighting of floating debris. | Family members accuse Malaysian delegation of 'concealing the truth' |
201,711 | 912797c59dda7ed9ab98408901bef268bbc1eab8 | By . Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 13:00 EST, 15 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:50 EST, 15 January 2013 . Former British Army officer Robert Jolleys arrives at Swindon Crown Court, where he is accused of expenses fraud . A senior officer fraudulently claimed nearly £220,000 from the Army to send his children to a top public school, it was alleged in court yesterday. Former Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jolleys is said to have pretended he was still with his wife Judith after the couple had split up in order to claim the ‘eye-watering’ amount of cash. The change in circumstances meant he would no longer have been entitled to claim from the Army’s education fund. His three sons Rupert, now 22, Charles, 20 and William, 15, were being sent to Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. One of the most prestigious Catholic boarding schools in Britain, it charges fees of £28,000 a year. Despite no longer qualifying for the benefit when he ceased to be main financial provider after the break-up in 2002, Jolleys claimed the benefit for seven further years, a jury was told. It was only a chance phone call by his wife to the Army that uncovered the fact Jolleys was no longer married. He is also alleged to have ‘bullied’ his former partner to help him maintain the pretence. Swindon Crown Court was told how Jolleys – a ‘highly intelligent and clever man’– would not have been able to fund his sons through the school without the swindled money. The jury heard how Jolleys carried out the fraud while working for the Directorate of Education Training Services for the Army in Swindon. Prosecutor Nicolas Gerasimidis said Jolleys did not inform the MoD of the change of circumstances to claim cash from the Army’s Continuous Educational Allowance, which pays 90 per cent of fees in certain circumstances. It was in 2009 the deception was uncovered by accident. Mr Gerasimidis said: ‘Judith phoned his base to find out where he was and she told officers she was no longer married to Jolleys. ‘This was a surprise to his superiors.’ The court heard that following the separation Jolleys, continued to live in quarters specifically for serving members of the Forces who were married. The jury heard how Jolleys tried to ‘bully’ his wife into supporting the claim. Mr Gerasimidis said: ‘He bullied her and provided her with a document which told her what to say.’ Records also showed Jolleys attempted to file a retrospective application in an attempt to change his status to reveal he was separated. But this was rejected by Army personnel. Jolleys, of Whalley, Lancashire, denies 11 counts of deception and fraud between 2002 and 2009. The alleged bogus claims totalling £218,094.11 were made at bases where Jolleys was serving in Upavon, Oxfordshire, and Harrogate, Yorkshire. The trial continues. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jolleys claimed the allowance so he could send his children to the exclusive Stonyhurst College in Lancashire (pictured) Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jolleys, 52, on trial a Swindon Crown Court .
He is accused of obtaining money by deception, fraud and forgery .
Father-of-three's children went to Stonyhurst College in Lancashire . |
48,368 | 888b721b674077b5894925fe70a56410b1fc05d6 | By . Steph Cockroft for MailOnline . Former deputy head Tony Wheeler, 84, left his £3m fortune to 16 local charities, including the church in Sudbury where his family were life-long worshippers . A former deputy headteacher who died without any close relatives left his £3m fortune to charity, including more than £200,000 to the church where his family were life-long worshippers. Multi-millionaire Tony Wheeler died in June 2012, aged 84, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Now it has emerged that Mr Wheeler left almost half of his fortune to 16 local organisations, including Sudbury's United Reformed Church. He left the other half to a long list of national charities which were close to his heart. Friends of the retired schoolmaster, who was described as a 'perfect gentleman', said they were stunned he had left so much money. The church secretary also said he was 'not even sure' if Mr Wheeler himself knew he had that much money saved away. Mr Wheeler, the former deputy headmaster at Royal Worcester Grammar School, spent much of his working life at the prestigious school. It is believed he saved up his millions through inheritance, as well as making 'bold' investments using the salary from his deputy's post. He retired to his home town of Sudbury, Suffolk, in 1987, but never married and did not have any close relatives. He lived modestly and did not smoke or drink. David Cocksedge, probate manager at legal firm Bates, Wells and Braithwaite, based in Sudbury, said Mr Wheeler had requested that virtually all of his money should go to national and local charities. Secretary of the United Reform Church Chris Proffitt said the £215,000 would be used for a number of projects, including lighting up the spire which Mr Wheeler liked to look at from his bedroom window. He said: 'No-one dreamt Tony had that amount of money and I'm not even sure if he knew that he had that much. 'It was a wonderful gift that has enabled us to make a significant improvement to our church hall. 'It's used by around 140 people each week and is the best facility in town, so we have regenerated it to make it much more user friendly. 'We have also illuminated the spire in Tony's memory, which he used to enjoy seeing from his bedroom window.' Mr Wheeler also donated £200,000 to Suffolk Wildlife Trust, which is using the money to buy a 78-acre extension at Assington, near Sudbury. Christine Luxton, head of development at the countryside trust, said: 'It's an amazing nature reserve and over the years we have extended it greatly through the generosity of people like Mr Wheeler. Mr Wheeler left £215,000 to Subury's United Reformed Church, some of which is being used to light up the spire which the keen historian could see from his bedroom window . 'When someone leaves us a legacy like this, we have a huge responsibility to do something fantastic with it. We chose this site because it was close to where Mr Wheeler lived and we felt it would connect to his life, but it is there for everyone to enjoy.' Gainsborough's House, the museum and art gallery at the birthplace of leading 18th century painter Thomas Gainsborough, was also given £105,000 by Mr Wheeler. The money has been used to extend its shop and a room in the house will also be named after Mr Wheeler. Mark Bills said: 'It was an extraordinary thing for someone to do and has made an enormous difference to us. 'The money has allowed us to think about moving forward and expanding. We are going to put up a thank you board and Mr Wheeler's name will be at the top.' Some of the other beneficiaries of Mr Wheeler's include The Eden Project in Cornwall, national charity The Salvation Army, and several other churches around the area, all of which were given £50,000. Mr Wheeler, a keen local historian, published a book exploring the origins of street names in Sudbury, entitled What's in a Name, just before he died. He left his extensive collection of maps and books to the Libraries Museums Records and Amenities Committee at Suffolk County Council. Mr Wheeler also left unknown sums to The RSPCA, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, The Royal National Institute of Blind People, Jesus College Cambridge, the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and Royal British Legion. As a special tribute to his family predecessors, £6,000 was left to provide commemorative seats in the town cemetery. He also made a number of £5,000 bequests to individuals. | Tony Wheeler, 84, from Sudbury, Suffolk, left thousands to 16 local charities .
Keen historian, who never married, died in June 2012 after battle with cancer .
Made 'bold' investments using salary from Royal Worcester Grammar School .
Church secretary: 'I'm not sure even Tony knew he had that much money' |
210,330 | 9c6e55889730c29d0b6aec2cf2464ac8339fde51 | Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Lawyers for Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend attended a closed hearing with a Los Angeles family court judge for two hours Thursday morning, but neither Gibson nor Oksana Grigorieva were there. Court proceedings in the custody dispute over their 8-month-old daughter are conducted "under seal" with reporters kept waiting in the courthouse hallway. The lawyers for each side refused to address reporters' questions as they left the hearing. Grigorieva has accused Gibson of striking her in the face, while he alleges that she attempted to extort him to keep controversial recordings of their arguments a secret. Several explosive audio recordings, purportedly between Grigorieva and Gibson, have been released online in recent days. RadarOnline released another recording Tuesday of a vicious argument said to be between Gibson and Grigorieva, in which the man is accused of striking the woman and the couple's child -- an accusation the man does not deny. Police in Malibu Hills, California, opened an investigation earlier this month into an alleged domestic violence incident between Gibson and Grigorieva. Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said last week that the recordings "will be part of the investigation" into the alleged domestic violence. "In Session" correspondents have made several unsuccessful attempts to reach out to Gibson for comment and to verify whether the voice on the tapes is his. Grigorieva has filed a restraining order against Gibson, said her spokesman, Stephen Jaffe. Meanwhile, investigators are looking into the extortion allegations against Grigorieva. "Allegations of extortion have been brought to our attention and we are certainly going to look into it," Whitmore said Wednesday. Grigorieva's spokesman told CNN Wednesday that she stands by an earlier statement that there is "no credible evidence" of extortion. A source close to the investigation told CNN that Gibson's lawyer met with Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators Tuesday to present evidence that Grigorieva, 40, attempted to extort money from Gibson to keep audio recordings secret. "To specifically address the allegations, my client, Ms. Grigorieva, has repeatedly stated that there is no credible evidence whatsoever of extortion by her, and she stands steadfastly by that statement," Jaffe said. CNN's Brittany Kaplan contributed to this report. | NEW: Lawyers would not reveal what happened in the closed hearing .
Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend are in a bitter child custody fight .
Explosive audio recordings, purportedly between the couple, surfaced this month .
In one, the man does not deny an accusation that he struck the woman . |
195,732 | 89594f9ce4785655636e0d3d8b9da1bda4b4d733 | The wife of an Army general facing sexual misconduct charges in North Carolina has written an opinion piece in support of her husband, claiming that the stresses of a decade of war contributed to recent high-profile military scandals. Rebecca Sinclair's husband, Fort Bragg-based Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, faces a long list of charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders, engaging in inappropriate relationships and adultery. Sinclair is accused of forcing women to . have sex with him during combat tours and threatening at least one . victim's life, as well as her career and the lives of her relatives if . she told anyone about his actions. Charged: Army Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair has been charged with forcible sodomy, multiple counts of adultery and having inappropriate relationships with several female subordinates . Prosecutors allege . that the married general committed sex crimes against five women . including four military subordinates and civilian between 2007 and 2012 . in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. The 27-year Army . veteran was deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the . 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan before being abruptly relieved in . May. Rebecca Sinclair's . piece was published just days after retired Gen. David Petraeus . admitted having an affair with his biographer and resigned as director . of the CIA. During the . investigation into the affair, the FBI uncovered flirtatious emails . between Gen. John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, and a . Florida socialite. Both were married. Grave allegations: Sinclair, left, pictured laughing with elder Afghan leaders, has been accused by female subordinates of forcing them to send him their nude photos . Defense: Sinclair's wife of 27 years came to his defense, writing in an op-ed piece that the open-ended wars and years spent apart are partially to blame for sex scandals in the Army . In her 800-word . piece in The Washington Post published November 15, Rebecca Sinclair . said that her husband of 27 years spent more than six years in the past . decade away from his family and that they moved six times in 11 years. ‘Spectators will . try to make this scandal about many things: the arrogance of powerful . men; conniving mistresses; the silent epidemic of sexual assault in the . armed services. But these explanations obscure an underlying problem: . the devastating influence of an open-ended war – now in its 11th year – . on the families of U.S. service members,’ she wrote. Rebecca Sinclair . said the distance apart isn't an excuse for infidelity. But she said . this is the only time in history the U.S. has fought for a decade with . an all-volunteer force. ‘Nothing good can come of families being chronically separated for a decade or more,’ she wrote. She said many military spouses don't have any good options after finding . out a husband or wife was unfaithful. If they leave, they risk losing . the financial security of military salary, pension, housing and health . benefits. Spectators will try to make this scandal about many things: the arrogance of powerful men; conniving mistresses; the silent epidemic of sexual assault in the armed services. But these explanations obscure an underlying problem: the devastating influence of an open-ended war — now in its 11th year — on the families of U.S. service members. Let me first address the elephant in the room. My husband had an affair. He violated our marriage vows and hurt me tremendously. Jeff and I are working on our marriage, but that’s our business. The officer corps is plagued by leaders abandoning their families and forging new beginnings with other men and women. And many wives know about their husbands’ infidelity but stay silent. For military wives, the options are bad and worse. Stay with an unfaithful husband and keep your family intact; or lose your husband, your family and the financial security that comes with a military salary, pension, health care and housing.We have moved six times in 11 years. On average, our kids change schools every two years. Between five deployments, site surveys and training operations, Jeff has spent more than six of the past 10 years away from his family. This is the only time in U.S. history that our nation has fought a decade-long war with a volunteer Army. Doing so has consequences. Nothing good can come of families being chronically separated for a decade or more. It will take years for Jeff to shed the false image of a hard-drinking, porn-dependent aggressor. The other generals will also struggle to rehabilitate reputations they spent decades building. All of these men are human beings, with strengths and fallibilities, and they have families who are under real strain. Source:Washingtonpost.com . ‘Because we move . so often, spouses lose years of career advancement,’ she said. ‘Some of . us spend every other year as single parents. We are vulnerable . emotionally and financially. Many stay silent out of necessity, not . natural passivity.’ Rebecca Sinclair . also wrote that she supports her husband fighting the charges against . him. She said she thinks many of the charges will be dropped because the . evidence isn't strong. ‘But the damage . has been done,’ she writes at the end of her piece. ‘It will take years . for Jeff to shed the false image of a hard-drinking, porn-dependent . aggressor. The other generals will also struggle to rehabilitate . reputations they spent decades building. ‘All of these men . are human beings, with strengths and fallibilities, and they have . families who are under real strain. How we address this strain will say . much about what kind of country we are; it will also determine how . stable and strong our military is.’ Mrs Sinclair's . impassioned defense of her husband comes a little more than a week after . two female Army officers testified that Gen Sinclair had forced them to . provide him with their nude photos. A . married captain testified that Sinclair repeatedly . asked her to send him nude photos of herself, which she said made her . uncomfortable. Eventually, she said she placated the married general by . sending him downloaded pornographic photos of other women cropped so . that their faces weren't visible. The damaging . testimony came last Wednesday during a hearing at Fort Bragg to . determine whether Sinclair will go on trial for multiple criminal . charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct and adultery, . which is a crime under the military justice system. The allegations . against Sinclair involve relationships with five women other than his wife. On Tuesday a former subordinate to Sinclair testified that her superior . officer started an affair with her in Iraq and later threatened to kill . her and her family if she told anyone. The . woman says she was honored at first by the attention from Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who she said was highly regarded. They first had sex . in 2008 at a forward operating base in Iraq, she said. 'I . was extremely intimated by him. Everybody in the brigade spoke about . him like he was a god,' the woman said, as Sinclair rolled his eyes and . appeared visibly annoyed during her testimony. Now a captain, she was testifying on the second day of a military . hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C., on whether there is enough evidence to . court-martial Sinclair on charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful . sexual conduct and engaging in inappropriate relationships. Disgraced hero: The 27-year Army veteran was deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan before being abruptly relieved in May . Promiscuous: Prosecutors believe Sinclair committed sex crimes against five women in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany . She had earlier testified how he had grabbed her by the neck and forcibly sodomized her. During the testimony, Sinclair repeatedly rolled his eyes, sighed audibly and stared at his former aide from the defense table. She did not look at him. The captain testified that she believed Sinclair's threats because he had gone through special forces training, knew how to kill with his hands and had a reputation as a killer in battle. Sinclair was deputy . commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne . Division in Afghanistan before being abruptly relieved in May amid a . criminal probe. He has been on special assignment since then at Fort . Bragg, the sprawling base that is home to the 82nd Airborne. Sinclair's . former commanding officer, Maj. Gen. James Huggins, testified on Monday . that he launched the criminal investigation that led to the charges . after the female captain told him Sinclair forced her to have sex. Trial continues: Sinclair's trial is now in its third day at Fort Bragg and witnesses continue to come forward . Huggins said that on March 19, the captain came to his office late at night in tears. She reported that she had been involved in a three-year sexual affair with Sinclair, then her direct commander and a married man. Adultery is a crime under the military code of justice. Huggins said he knew the female officer to be a good soldier whom Sinclair had specifically asked to have transferred under his command. According to Huggins, the captain said Sinclair had once forced her to perform oral sex on him, but that she also had sex willingly with her boss at Army bases in the United States and on deployments to Germany, Iraq and at the airborne division's headquarters in Afghanistan. When she had tried to end the affair, Sinclair had threatened her and persisted in pushing for sex, according to Huggins' testimony. But she also told Huggins she finally decided to report Sinclair after finding emails exchanged with other women in his account. Sinclair is accused of 26 . violations of military law including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual . conduct, possessing pornography while deployed and conduct unbecoming of . an officer. Sinclair's . attorney asked for the charges to be thrown out, arguing that . prosecutors had read confidential emails between the general and his . defense. Defense attorney Lt. Col. Jackie Thompson said this violated . his client's rights and asked that new prosecutors be brought in to try . the case. | Jeffrey Sinclair is accused of sodomy, forcing women to send him naked photos and threatening violence against a subordinate .
Prosecutors say Sinclair threatened one victim's life, as well as her career and the lives of her relatives if she exposed him .
Brigadier general rolled his eyes and sighed during her testimony on Tuesday, visibly annoyed .
Sinclair has been in the Army for 27 years and served in first Gulf War . |
35,611 | 65319112c07f754de58537dc11afb2fecfa86b3c | (CNN) -- Andrew McMahon always wanted to be a rock star. When his band, Jack's Mannequin, started touring in spring 2005, the unexpected happened. Andrew McMahon, singer for the band Jack's Mannequin, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005. McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Four years later, McMahon, now 26, is still at it. He has a new album out called "The Glass Passenger" and has taken the driver's seat in starting a cancer research organization, the Dear Jack Foundation. CNN's Nicole Lapin spoke with McMahon about living and working with cancer and now singing about it. The following is an edited transcript of the interview. Watch Andrew McMahon's entire interview » . Nicole Lapin: For those people who don't know, you were formerly the front man for Something Corporate. When you started touring there, you had a bout with leukemia. When you were 22, you were diagnosed. What happened there? You first thought it was just fatigue, but it was something a lot worse. Andrew McMahon: Yeah, I was on the road. It was actually Jack's [Mannequin's] first tour; we had actually just finished recording "Everything in Transit," which was my first record apart from Something Corporate. I was on the road and just kept losing my voice. It was just this thing that I couldn't figure out. I always had kind of this really durable voice and was known for being able to go out all night and wake up the next morning and be signing like a bird. Sure enough, I went to my voice doctor in New York City after having to cancel a show, and he thought I looked pale and didn't think I looked well, and he took my blood. They sent me to the hospital for more tests, and I found out the next week [that I had leukemia]. Lapin: But you kept touring. McMahon: No, after that point I was in the hospital. I started in New York and eventually flew back here and was treated at UCLA by a great doctor there. I spent the better part of six to eight months kind of battling back from that. I had a stem cell transplant from my sister in that period of time, and I eventually got back on the road the following summer. | Andrew McMahon is the lead singer for Jack's Mannequin .
Singer was diagnosed with leukemia during first headlining tour .
He created Dear Jack Foundation to raise awareness of cancer .
The band has since released "The Glass Passenger" |
264,563 | e2b01d04d8c78357f37ea06d2a0903967e1b8f45 | (CNN) -- Didier Drogba muscled his way through for a late winner to put Chelsea into the FA Cup final with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday. A bare-chested Drogba is congratulated by Salomon Kalou after scoring the winner at Wembley. The all-London clash rarely hit the heights on a difficult pitch, but Drogba's 84th minute strike gave Guus Hiddink's men a deserved victory and leaves them in contention for three trophies. Dutchman Hiddink, who took temporary charge of the Blues in February and has lost only one match, said Drogba had proved his worth again. "He is proving already he is so dangerous, very strong and physically fit," he told Press Association. "We respect each other very much but also challenge each other without thinking this is a big name." Arsenal went ahead in the 18th minute as Theo Walcott's volley deflected past Petr Cech, but Florent Malouda equalized for Chelsea just after the half hour mark. Chelsea looked the stronger against an Arsenal team missing key defenders and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and it came as no surprise when Ivory Coast star Drogba scored a typical winner. He latched on to Frank Lampard's hopeful volleyed through ball, shrugged off Mikael Silvestre before rounding Lukasz Fabianksi to roll the ball into an empty net. Ivory Coast international Drogba scored the winning goal against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup final and may get the chance to repeat the trick. Quintuple chasing United play Everton in the second semifinal, also at Wembley, on Sunday. Chelsea, who are a still challenging third in the Premier League and semifinals of the Champions League, showed their character after falling behind to Walcott's strike. The England international winger connected with a chipped cross from Kieran Gibbs and his effort took a cruel deflection off Ashley Cole's arm to beat Cech. Arsenal had made a fine start, but without injured central defender William Gallas and with Fabianski showing a lack of authority in goal, Chelsea came back strongly into the game. Malouda went close with a cross shot which eluded Fabianski, but he was not be denied soon afterwards as picked out by Lampard he cut inside Emmanuel Eboue and beat Fabianski at his near post. More slack defending from Denilson allowed Nicolas Anelka time to shoot and his shot hit the post with Fabianski beaten. Walcott looked occasionally dangerous on the flank and twice sent in crosses which might have been converted, but Chelsea looked the more threatening and the teams were spared extra time when Drogba powered through to score. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left to rue their defensive errors and the performance of his 20-year-old Polish goalkeeper. "He's a great goalkeeper but it was not his greatest day," Wenger said. "Inexperience, yes. It was a game when any mistake could be costly." | Didier Droba winner ends Arsenal's long unbeaten run and puts Chelsea in final .
Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead before Florent Malouda equalized .
Manchester United and Everton play in second FA Cup semifinal on Sunday . |
55,731 | 9df4f976eaf6265c0540c5b832e0541dbd9e0677 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:51 EST, 15 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:30 EST, 16 May 2013 . Ariel Castro's daughter who is in an Indiana prison for slashing her baby's throat has revealed that she went to school with Amanda Berry - meaning Castro used his daughters to get to know two of the three women he allegedly held captive in his house for ten years. Emily Castro spoke out for the first time in a jailhouse interview with a private investigator on Monday. She is the last of Castro's children to condemn his alleged crimes of kidnapping, raping and beating Amanda, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Also on Monday, a female officer who first broke down the door of Castro's home on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland after Amanda broke herself out last week revealed that Michelle clutched onto her and begged her not to let go when she was rescued. Condemned: Emily Castro, 25, said her father was a 'monster' for using his daughters to get to his alleged kidnapping victims . Abused: Amanda Berry, seen with the daughter she bore to Ariel Castro, went to the same elementary school as Emily Castro . Ariel Castro plans to plead not guilty to charges of kidnapping and rape of the three women . Emily Castro, 25, told private investigator Chris Giannini that she knew both Gina and Amanda before they were kidnapped, according to recordings of the interviews broadcast by Fox 8 TV in Cleveland. Concerning her relationship with Amanda, Emily Castro said: 'I went to Wilbur Wright (Elementary School in Cleveland) with her. I seen Gina a couple times. 'It couldn't be coincidence.' Emily Castro's younger sister Arlene says she was best friends with Gina when she was taken off a busy Cleveland street in 2004. Anthony Castro, Ariel's son, told MailOnline last week that he fears his father targeted Gina, then 14, because of her relationship with Arlene. Best of friends: Arlene Castro (right) was the last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) in 2004. Ariel's children fear he target Gina because she was familiar to him, as well . According to reports, Emily Castro was in the car with her father moments before Amanda was abducted in 2003. 'It hurts so bad. I feel so used. I feel like I'm nothing to him. I'm nothing anymore,' she said. She said her father was a master at keeping secrets, even from his own daughter. When she came to visit him after the girls were abducted, he made subtle excuses to keep her away from his captives. 'The upstairs was blocked off with the big bass speaker, so I figured that since he lived there alone so long that he didn't have any need for those four bedrooms upstairs,' she said. When she asked to sleep in her old bedroom, he told her no. He said: 'It's cold up there, it's blocked off, it's dusty,' according to Emily. Emily's Grimilda mother moved her and her three siblings out of the house in 1996 after Grimilda endured years of brutal beatings and savage control of her life. Cleveland police officer Barbara Johnson described the harrowing experience of breaking into Castro's house and finding Michelle Knight . Emily, like her sisters and her brother before her, condemned her father for his actions. 'He's a monster. Seeing the guy that hugged us and misled with us and took us to eat and cared about us supposedly, that he is the guy that is in handcuffs...' she said. Emily Castro is serving 25 years in an Indiana prison for slashing her 11-month-old daughter's throat in 2007. The child survived and Castro told a judge she was mentally ill and did not know what she was doing when she attacked her child. Also on Monday, female Cleveland police officer Barbara Johnson told of how she was one of the first officers to enter the house where the three women were kept in chains for a decade. 'Michelle hugged me first, then clutched me and said, "Don't let me go,"' she said, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 'You can't really describe how I felt...it rips the heart out of my chest.' Another officer said he felt a sense of evil in the house when he entered it. | Emily Castro said she went to elementary school with victim Amanda Berry and knew Gina DeJesus .
She said she felt her father 'used her' to get to the girls .
First female police officer who broke into Castro's house said Michelle Knight grabbed her and begged her not to let go of her . |
275,552 | f0fbf465993a31e8c146ad3018bb4914ba677718 | By . Associated Press and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:54 EST, 16 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:22 EST, 16 September 2012 . This picture shows the horrifying moment an Amish man grabbed the long, white beard of a 79-year-old Amish bishop in eastern Ohio and used his other hand to violently slice it off. The attacker in the image has been identified as defendant Johnny Mullet, the son of the alleged ringleader of a series of vicious beard-cutting ambushes on members of the community last year. As he chopped off the beard of Raymond Hershberger, pictured trying to push away his attacker, the bishop's wife screamed and a boy cried: 'Don't cut grandpa's beard,' according to his attorney. The image, which has now been released by the U.S. attorneys office, paints a horrifying picture of the fear inflicted by 16 aggressors by a breakaway Amish group. Attack: A shocking photo shows the moment Johnny Mullet allegedly cut off the beard of a fellow Amish man, Raymond Hershberger, in a hate attack 'rooted in religious differences' The sixteen defendants are accused of hate crimes in hair-cutting attacks on nine fellow Amish due to religious differences. Andy Hershberger testified that his father pleaded for the men not to shear him. But within minutes, the hair from his father's beard had been cut and scattered across the floor. He said clumps of hair were missing from his father's head and his scalp was bleeding. Hersherger described a chaotic scene, with the men holding him, his father, Raymond, and his brother down while his father was sheared. 'Attacker': The photo allegedly shows Johnny Mullet, pictured, holding down a bishop to cut off his hair . 'I saw the hair fly,' Andy Hershberger testified last month. Afterward, he said, his father 'was shaking all over.' 'The women and my dad were crying,' he said. Prosecutors say his father, Raymond Hershberger, was targeted because he was among several bishops who had religious disagreements with Mullet. For the Amish, hair holds religious significance as Amish women do not cut their hair and the men do not cut their beards after marriage. The testimony in the trial has now wrapped up and the men now await its result and possible sentencing. Mullet and his alleged co-conspirators are facing sentences of up to life in prison. The Amish world is known as stern and self-regulating and those who act out time and again by wearing the wrong clothing, going to movies or otherwise flouting the church's doctrine can find themselves utterly alone. Fellow Amish in rare instances won't break bread with them at the same table, won't work with them and won't worship with them under the religion's centuries-old practice of shunning. In stricter settlements, shunning can break apart families, cutting off all contact between parents and their children. The Amish take the tradition so seriously that most churches won't accept someone who has been shunned until they make it right with those who've disciplined them. At the root of Amish hair-cutting attacks in Ohio and the federal hate crime trial that followed, prosecutors say, was a dispute over religious differences and a decision by Amish bishops to overrule the leader of a breakaway group who had shunned his former followers. An Amish couple walks through a parking lot after leaving the U.S. courthouse in Cleveland on September 5; sixteen members of a breakaway sect, led by Sam Mullet, are on trial, accused of planning the attacks targeted the hair and beards of Amish bishops . Two Amish men talk to a security guard outside the United states Court House in Cleveland September 12, 2012. A jury heard closing arguments in a federal hate crimes trial . Amish scholars say taking away a bishop's edict was unheard of and stunned communities far and wide. Six years ago, about 300 Amish . bishops gathered in Pennsylvania to discuss the group's leader, Sam . Mullet Sr., who had ordered the shunning of families that left his . settlement near the West Virginia panhandle. Strict rules: Sam Mullet Sr, pictured in 2011, stands in the front yard of his home in Bergholz, Ohio. In the stern, self-regulating world of the Amish, those who act out time and again can find themselves utterly alone . Mullet had come to the attention of the . bishops because, according to witnesses at his trial, there were . concerns he was brain-washing community members. Prosecutors would later . say he forced men to sleep in chicken coops as punishment, and one . woman testified that Mullet coerced women at his settlement into having . sex with him so he could turn them into better wives. The bishops eventually vetoed Mullet's shunning of the others, infuriating him to the point that he sought revenge last fall in a series of five hair-cutting attacks, prosecutors say. They charged Mullet and 15 of his followers with hate crimes because they contend they acted over religious differences and targeted the hair and beards of the Amish because of its spiritual significance in the faith. All could face lengthy prison terms if convicted on the charges that also include conspiracy and obstructing justice. Jurors began deliberating in the trial Thursday morning. None of the defendants has denied that the hair-cuttings took place, but Mullet has insisted that he didn't plan what happened. In an interview last fall, he defended what he thinks is his right to punish people who break church laws. Shunning - also known as avoidance -is a rare happening in the Amish community. While outsiders might view it as punishment, the Amish consider it an act of love to help those who have strayed from their beliefs. Each individual church decides when to shun others and what kind of punishment they face. 'It's not like there's a rulebook,' said Steve Nolt, a history professor at Goshen College in Indiana. Only baptized church members can be shunned. And it almost always starts with a warning to stop breaking church rules - whether it's to quit drinking or stop talking on the telephone - and weeks or months of discussion. An Amish man waits for others to emerge from a taxi before entering the U.S. courthouse . 'Shunning is something the individual does to themselves,' said Karen Johnson-Weiner, a professor at the State University of New York in Potsdam who has written extensively about the Amish. 'It's community-wide tough love.' There also has to be agreement within the congregation, but the bishop has the most influence in revoking someone's church membership. 'That's a hard thing for a bishop to do,' said Andy Hershberger, who testified in the trial that Mullet's son was among a group that cut his father's hair last fall. His father was one of the bishops who overruled Mullet's shunning order. Furlong, who left her home church for good after a dispute with a bishop, said shunning gives Amish leaders too much control. 'They can use it like a hammer,' she said. Process: Only baptized church members can be shunned; it almost always starts with a warning to stop breaking church rules - and weeks or months of discussion . Because the Amish identify so closely with their faith, being shunned and faced with the loss of their salvation is extremely painful. 'It's such an intense thing. Nobody can really explain it,' said Furlong, who wrote a book called 'Why I Left the Amish' in 2011. 'That's a pretty tough thing to reckon with.' Matthew Schrock, who left Holmes County's Amish community in Ohio during the mid-1990s, wasn't formally shunned, but no one would hire him because he was fighting with his father, who was the bishop. 'There were a lot of people who wouldn't talk to me,' he said. 'No one was willing to risk the appearance of them siding with me.' Shunning has its roots in biblical teachings and is used in some Mennonite churches as well. Jehovah's Witnesses also practice a form of shunning. But it's essential to Amish beliefs. 'They want the person to see their error,' Schrock said. 'But under that, I think, is this desire to maintain the integrity of the group.' | Sixteen Amish men accused of cutting off bears in eastern Ohio last year .
Prosecutors say the beard-cuttings stemmed from religious differences .
Those who do not adhere to strict Amish values are shunned by community . |
68,238 | c19a1807eb56b1a69a0e943b8cfbffd8fdfa1818 | The 25 Barcelona players at St George's - minus Alex Song, who left the trip on Monday for personal reasons - strolled out in sunshine and after doing some light jogging broke into three groups. The goalkeepers, including new signing Mark-Andre Ter Stegen practised shot stopping, while the outfield players went through quick passing drills in two circles. Head coach Luis Enrique, the only one in shades, stood observing, addressing his assistants. VIDEO Scroll down to watch the Barcelona squad training at St George's Park . Height order: Gerard Pique, Marc Bartra and Xavi Hernandez train - Barcelona's record appearance holder recently said he wanted to see out his contract . Thumbs up: Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez and Ivan Rakitic do some stretches in training . Stellar attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are all absent for various reasons (rest after World Cup, injury, suspension) while Javier Mascaherano is also on holiday after exertions in Brazil. Xavi, who could be on his way to a club in Qatar, Andres Iniesta, and Gerard Pique were all training. So too former Everton loanee Gerard Deulofeu. Barcelona have been training at the facilities in Staffordshire since last Friday. They fly to France at the end of the week where thye will play their final pre-season matches - first, against Nice and then Napoli, HJK and Leon. Luis Enrique ill take charge of his first competitive game for the club when Barcelona play at home to Elche in La Liga on August 23. Keeper: Victor Valdes's replacement, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, arrived at the club this summer, but a transfer embargo imposed on the Catalan club almost scuppered the deal . Captain: Andres Iniesta came through the ranks at Barcelona and, following the retirement of Carles Puyol, is the new captain, he described the role as a 'lifelong dream' New boys: Ivan Rakitic, who had an excellent season with Sevilla, and Luis Enrique who returned to the club he left in 2004 . Coaches: Manager Luis Enrique chats to his coaches as Barcelona players begin the days training at St George's Park . VIDEO Mathieu wants to take centre stage for Barca . Knees-up: New signing Jeremy Mathieu and Delofeu warm up. The Former Valencia man said he has joined the world's best club . | Barcelona have been training at St George's Park for almost a week .
New signings Ivan Rakitic and Jeremy Mathieu were present .
Luis Suarez cannot attend tour due to ban .
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Javier Mascherano also absent .
Luis Enrique's men take on Nice this weekend .
Barcelona's tour of Europe then sees them play Napoli, HJK and Leon . |
131,298 | 35c9ae77c56bd5c8429b77367025617b5c3564ba | By . Snejana Farberov . An alleged New York bail-jumper was arrested on his Pennsylvania college campus after he posed for a news photographer and police spotted his picture in the paper. Authorities caught up to 25-year-old Jacob Close after he took part in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise's weekly 'Your Opinion' feature, answering a question about the controversy over the Washington Redskins' name. ‘I think they should keep the same name but change the mascot to a potato,’ Close jokingly opined. Joke's on him: Jacob Close, 25, a suspected bail-jumper was caught after he took part in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise's weekly 'Your Opinion' feature, making a joke about the Washington Redskins name change controversy . Wanted man: Police say the mass communications student at Bloomsburg University jumped bail in a drug and drunken-driving case in Ithaca, New York, several months ago . Mr Close, who majors in mass communications, was evidently very proud of his spud wisecrack since on June 30, he shared a link to The Press Enterprise article featuring his picture and quote, and even helpfully provided the exact page number. Police say Close jumped bail in a drug and drunken-driving case in Ithaca, New York, several years ago. The Press Enterprise reports he was arrested Sunday at Bloomsburg University's student recreation center. Bragging rights: The 25-year-old was so proud of his spud joke he even shared a link to the article on his Facebook page . University police knew Close was wanted for more than a month after getting word from the Ithaca city Police, but they weren't aware he was on campus for the summer until his photo was published. Last Monday, a campus officer spotted a familiar face in the opinion column and staked out Close’s blue Honda on campus until he finally nabbed the student Sunday afternoon, CBS DC reported . Mr Close, a native of Wellsboro, was held on $25,000 bail pending extradition to New York. | ‘I think they [Washington Redskins] should keep the same name but change the mascot to a potato,’ fugitive Jacob Close told The Press-Enterprise .
The 25-year-old Bloomsburg University student was wanted for allegedly jumping bail in a DWI case in Ithaca, New York . |
32,221 | 5bae6305e85329bfe01aa7b17d5b52cf17744fa1 | By . Lizzie Edmonds . PUBLISHED: . 06:25 EST, 29 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:25 EST, 29 December 2013 . Five men have been arrested following the death of a man who was found badly injured in a house. Officers were called to a property in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, at about 9.30pm yesterday. They discovered an injured man and shortly afterwards paramedics confirmed the man had died. Scene: Five men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in a house in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire (area pictured) Five men, aged between 28 and 57, were arrested at the address on suspicion of murder, and remain in police custody, a Staffordshire Police spokeswoman said. They are a 28-year-old of no fixed abode, a 43-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme, a 56-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme, a 57-year-old of no fixed abode and a 58-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme. Detectives are working to establish the circumstances which led to the death of the man. Chief Inspector Jon Staite said: 'This type of incident is rare in Staffordshire and is being thoroughly investigated by the force's Major Investigation Department. 'We are grateful for the patience and understanding of the local community at this time whilst we carry out a detailed examination of the scene. 'Uniformed officers will remain in the area in the coming days to offer reassurance to local residents.' The man has yet to be formally identified and a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out by a Home Office pathologist. The house has been cordoned off for a full examination by forensic investigators. Anyone with any information should contact Staffordshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. | Man found with 'serious injuries' in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire .
Paramedics say he died at the address shortly afterwards .
Five men aged 28 to 57 arrested on suspicion of murder, police confirm . |
140,554 | 41bfd05ed8803be087d98b930c8688637220e953 | (CNN)Civil rights leader Al Sharpton sharply denounced an extensive New York Times report that he and his companies are subject to $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens. The MSNBC host said in a press conference Wednesday that the $4.5 million was the original figure he was ordered to pay back in 2008, but that he has been making regular payments since then and the amount is now less. Sharpton did not give the outstanding balance owed by him and his for-profit companies --Raw Talent and Revals Communications. Rather, he focused his remarks on how much money his nonprofit group, the National Action Network, has paid back. The liens against that organization, however, were not lumped into the $4.5 million figure reported by the Times. The Times reported that Sharpton is still liable for personal federal tax liens of more than $3 million, and state tax liens of $777,657. The companies owe another $717,329 on state and federal tax liens. But Sharpton argued that it wasn't possible that he still owed $4.5 million. "If we owed $4.5 million in '08 then how could we owe this now, unless you're saying that everybody just went to sleep on this and just gave us a pass, which is ridiculous," he said. Sharpton has been a regular face in New York and Washington political circles. The report points out that President Barack Obama has raised money for Sharpton's group, and that Sharpton attended the recent announcement that Loretta Lynch would be the White House's pick to be the next Attorney General. Sharpton's former aide Rachel Noerdlinger is also adviser to the wife of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray. Sharpton argued that he and the National Action Network could feasibly each pay off their respective balances in one day, but could not yet afford to pay the penalties and interest. Still, he said, it is "absolutely inaccurate" that he and his organization collectively owe $4.5 million--which is how much the Times said that he and his for-profit businesses owe. His press conference came as his group prepares for the grand jury decision regarding police officer Darren Wilson to be announced in Ferguson, Missouri as soon as this week. Politics, he argued, was at the heart of negative stories about him in the press. "Every time there's a Sean Bell or a Ferguson or a Trayvon Martin, we go through my taxes. It's the same agreement y'all. It's the same thing we announced in '09. It is the same thing we've been paying every month," he said. | A New York Times report says that Rev. Al Sharpton owes $4.5 million in state and federal taxes .
The civil rights leader and MSNBC host strongly pushed back in a press conference .
He said he's been making payments since 2008 and owes less, but didn't say how much . |
203,931 | 9404b1772e633e9d4177a303c10c085b402ee27c | By . Richard Spillett . A European court has upheld a decision not to extradite a bungling German doctor to the UK over the death of a pensioner from a drugs overdose. A coroner's inquest in the UK ruled that David Gray, 70, was unlawfully killed in 2008 after 'incompetent' Dr Daniel Ubani, who was working as an out of hours locum, fatally administered 10 times the normal dose of diamorphine. The family of Mr Gray, of Manea, Cambridgeshire, have been campaigning for Dr Ubani to face charges in the UK over the death but this has been rejected by German authorities. The . European Court of Human Rights today backed a German investigation into his actions and a decision he should not be sent back to Britain. David Gray, pictured (left) in the 1970s, died in 2008 after Dr Daniel Ubani (right) administered 10 times the normal dose of diamorphine . Mr Gray's sons Rory (left) and Stuart Gray hit out today after a European Court ruled the doctor can't be extradited to Britain . Speaking . on Sky News, Mr Gray's son Stuart, of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, . said he was 'bitterly, bitterly disappointed' by the decision. He . added: 'I think it's got wider ramifications in the UK because it means . people can come over from the European Union and not answer to UK law. 'We need . to digest this and go back to our lawyers and see if we can lodge an . appeal or not. He's still licensed to practice out there, we don't know . what he's doing.' Mr . Gray's other son Rory, who lives in Germany, said: 'German authorities . convicted him of a minor misdemeanour, there was no hearing, no trial . and Ubani never answered for what he's done. 'This is a green light for charlatans to go to other countries and do whatever they like.' Mr Gray had been suffering renal colic when he was treated by Dr Ubani at his home on February 16, 2008 . His sons says Dr Ubani, who has been allowed to continue practicing in Germany, has never faced proper justice for his actions . The Strasbourg court ruled: 'The . patient's sons complained that the authorities in Germany, where the . doctor was tried and convicted of having caused the death by negligence, . had not provided for an effective investigation into their father's . death. 'The . court accepted that the German trial court had sufficient evidence . available to it for the doctor's conviction by penal order without . having held a hearing. Dr Ubani admitted he had confused morphine with another drug and a coroner branded him 'incompetent' and described Mr Gray's death as 'gross negligence and manslaughter' 'Moreover, . the [family] had been sufficiently informed of the proceedings in . Germany, and the German authorities had been justified in not . extraditing the doctor to the United Kingdom in view of the proceedings . before the German courts.' Dr Ubani, a 67-year-old Nigerian-born German citizen, was on his first UK shift as a locum when he killed Mr Gray by injecting 100mg of diamorphine. He was struck off in the UK and given a suspended sentence in Germany for death by negligence but is still able to practice there. A European arrest warrant was issued by Cambridgeshire Police but could not be carried out because legal proceedings had begun in Germany. Mr Gray had been suffering renal colic when he was treated by Dr Ubani at his home on February 16, 2008. His death highlighted national concerns about the standard of locum doctors from abroad working in the UK. Coroner William Morris described Mr Gray's death as 'gross negligence and manslaughter' and said Dr Ubani was 'incompetent'. Dr Ubani admitted he had confused the morphine with another drug. He had flown into the UK the day before his 12-hour Cambridgeshire shift for GP service provider Take Care Now, and had only had a few hours' sleep, a GMC panel was told. A doctor who gave him an induction expressed concerns that Dr Ubani had no NHS experience, did not know the area, and that he did not have enough time to properly train him. The doctor had previously not been selected by Leeds Primary Care Trust because he had failed a language test. But the GMC panel heard evidence that Dr Ubani was competent in spoken English and his employers had no problems understanding him. | David Gray died after getting huge dose of morphine from Dr Daniel Ubani .
A coroner described the death as 'gross negligence and manslaughter'
Locum later flew home to Germany, where he is still allowed to practice .
European court today rules he cannot be extradited to Britain over death .
Mr Gray's sons slam decision, calling it a 'green light for charlatans' |
198,821 | 8d5e4ca81bced40fa72ca0466cfeccaf8f72d390 | (CNN) -- The Pakistani president Tuesday said his country provided initial help that ultimately led to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but he said it had no clue about the terror mastermind's whereabouts and didn't participate in the U.S. raid to kill the top militant. Asif Ali Zardari, writing in a Washington Post op-ed column, said that the raid was not a "joint operation" and bin Laden "was not anywhere we had anticipated he would be." "And we in Pakistan take some satisfaction that our early assistance in identifying an al Qaeda courier ultimately led to this day," Zardari said, referring to the trusted bin Laden aide whose movements helped the United States find the al Qaeda leader. U.S. politicians and military officials have roundly criticized Pakistan for not being more robust in the fight against al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militants who have a strong presence along the Afghan-Pakistani border. But Zardari defended Pakistan's anti-terror activities, saying there has been "a decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States" and his country that ultimately led to bin Laden's death. Zardari said he "endorses the words" of and "appreciates the credit" from U.S. President Barack Obama about Pakistan's role. In his announcement of bin Laden's death, Obama said it's "important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding." Zardari said that "some in the U.S. press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet, that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing. Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn't reflect fact. "Pakistan had as much reason to despise al Qaeda as any nation. The war on terrorism is as much Pakistan's war as it is America's. And though it may have started with bin Laden, the forces of modernity and moderation remain under serious threat," Zardari said. He emphasized that Pakistan "paid an enormous price for its stand against terrorism," noting that the country lost thousands of soldiers, police, and civilians in the battle. He also mentioned his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani politician who was assassinated in 2007. "Justice against bin Laden was not just political; it was also personal, as the terrorists murdered our greatest leader, the mother of my children. Twice he tried to assassinate my wife. In 1989 he poured $50 million into a no-confidence vote to topple her first government. She said that she was bin Laden's worst nightmare -- a democratically elected, progressive, moderate, pluralistic female leader. She was right, and she paid for it with her life," he said. He said the Taliban reacted to bin Laden's death "by blaming the government of Pakistan and calling for retribution against its leaders, and specifically against me as the nation's president." But Zardari said Pakistanis won't be "intimidated." "Pakistan has never been and never will be the hotbed of fanaticism that is often described by the media," he said. | Zardari defends Pakistan in a Washington Post op-ed .
He claims "early assistance" helped lead to bin Laden's courier .
Zardari says there have been years of cooperation . |
1,443 | 042cdca81cc260286994347887e9bcee17b5d10b | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 04:12 EST, 6 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:53 EST, 6 May 2013 . The Reddit thread was inspired by the story of Florida teenager Kiera Wilmot, who was expelled for a science experiment because the school had to stick to its rules . Thought your office had strange rules? Some of these tales of from the workplace may have you counting your blessings. From regulations for the length of beards to bans on food, it seems some bosses have created rules - and refused to budge - just because they can. A thread discussing dumb workplace rules on Reddit attracted nearly 14,000 contributions from disgruntled employees, prompted by the story of Florida teenager Kiera Wilmot. Kiera, 16, said by her high school principal to be a good kid, was expelled and charged with explosives offences for an experiment that went wrong last week. She was mixing aluminum foil and toilet cleaner in an 8oz water bottle before school when the elements reacted and caused an explosion. Although she said she was just curious to see what happened - and had the good school grades to back this up - she was expelled from Bartow High School in Polk County because they had to stick to school rules over unsupervised explosives. With Kiera's story in mind, Reddit users shared their worst experience of 'rules are rules' being taken to the extreme by jobsworth managers. The most popular tale regarded cell phones at a laser tag arena, trying to combat the problem of younger workers finding creative ways to get round the cell phone ban. 'No cell phone shaped objects in your . pockets at work,' wrote one employee. 'At first I thought it was a typo, then they started to . write people up for wallets, packs of gum, and other rectangular shapes . in our pockets.' One user shared a story about someone reacting badly to a show of social niceties. 'Someone at work sneezed and another . one said "Bless You!" A third party heard it and complained to HR about . it. 'Guy who said "bless you" was given a warning and had to take a . course in professionalism. 'That's something most people . say as without thinking and they mean it in a good way.' One worker was given a warning for saying 'bless you' to a sneezing colleague . One attorney told how they are not allowed to bring in soda to share with other employees because the office has a vending machine. They also said that they have to tell their receptionist where they are going when they leave the office and inform her of their return. 'I'm an attorney for christ's sake, I had more autonomy in undergrad,' they wrote. One user, who said they worked for the United States federal government, said staff are not allowed to move their own furniture. They wrote: 'Want to slide a desk across the room? Can't. That is violating union rules, and taking work away from the facilities team. You have to call and schedule the movers. Then they charge you for it.'. Another government rule on food and personal items was proved to be bananas. 'People used to keep snacks . on their desk while working, because we're human. 'The employer . implemented "lean working" so every desk had to be totally empty, except . for select items that had to be arranged in a certain way (pens had to . be to the upper left of the keyboard, I think). 'This . rule forbid food items, but allowed one "personal item". One staff . member had a banana in a banana case as her personal item. She was told . to put it away. One woman tried to get round the 'no food' rule by claiming an 'inactive' banana in a banana case was a personal item . 'She . refused and took it further until it was ruled that because she wasn't . eating it and the skin hadn't been broken, it was an "inactive banana" and thus a personal item. It only became active during the act of . eating, at which point it became food.' A 'ritzy cafe' had five 'separate and distinct' rules for men wanting to wear beards, according to one user. 'Beards had to be between a certain length or you had to shave it. No mutton chops. Rules about moustache/beard combos. If you wanted to grow a beard, you were not allowed back into work for two weeks until you grew it out to a "respectable length".' Facial hair was clearly problematic for more places than the cafe. Another user said: 'At my former job we weren't allowed to "grow" facial hair. 'So we were allowed to either have no facial hair at all, or have a FULLY grown moustache. 'Our manager told us if we wanted to have a moustache, we would have to go on vacation, grow a stash, and come back from our vacation with a fully grown moustache. One warehouse won't relax the 'no hats' rules for its bald workers . 'So on the next day we all showed up wearing fake moustaches.' One warehouse took its dress code too far, according to another Reddit commenter. 'I work in a warehouse. No hats. It's cold here in the winter and the poor bald guys can't wear hats.' Stationery proved problematic, too, said one contributor. 'We have to wear safety goggles when using a stapler at work due to an idiotic employee.' While one office doesn't trust its employee with water bottles - possibly because they think they will fill them with alcohol. 'My place of employment only lets staff drink water from small cups, and you must drink the whole cup immediately, then dispose of the cup,' said another Redditor. 'You are not allowed to have water bottles on shift, no matter which part of the store you are working in. If you are on break (unpaid time) you cannot purchase a bottle of water, even if you drink all of it and dispose of the bottle before you come back on shift.' An insurance company took punctuality to extremes: 'You are allowed one fifteen minute break at 10:30. You are allowed your lunch at 1:00, and you are allowed one more . fifteen minute break at 3:30. 'If you are ONE MINUTE late coming back . from any of those three things, you are immediately written up' Naturally technology presents its own problems. 'At my work there are signs on the printers that say the warranty will be void if the printer is turned off,' said another comment. One office banned water bottles - only allowing workers to drink from a small cup . While the simple act of supplying the printer and fax machines had its own rules, too. 'Moving a single box without a dolly was breaking the rules. Well, since I am not a tiny girl (unlike all my coworkers) but rather a giant rugger, I would carry several boxes of paper around with me when resupplying the copy and fax machines,' said one user. 'They eventually fired me over it.' | Reddit thread attracted nearly 14,000 comments from disgruntled workers .
They were inspired by the story of Florida school girl Kiera Wilmot .
She was expelled and arrested for an explosion because of school rules . |
102,546 | 1022acd269ca2ab9178e177cafddcecd6da632ce | A 21 stone woman gave birth to a baby boy four hours after doctors revealed she was expecting, her size having disguised her pregnancy for a staggering 38 weeks. Sophie Bird was a size 24 when in September 2010, she was preparing to be bridesmaid at her best friend's wedding. In the months leading up to the big day, Miss Bird had visited the doctor 10 times, complaining of indigestion, stomach ache and nausea. But nobody spotted she was pregnant. Scroll down for video . Four hours after doctors told Sophie Bird she was pregnant she was cradling baby Rowan in her arms, having been rushed to A&E, where medics revealed the stomach pain she was experiencing was, in fact, labour . In the months leading up to her friend's wedding, where Miss Bird was to be bridesmaid, the 21 stone 29-year-old visited the doctors around 10 times complaining of stomach aches, nausea and indigestion. But due to her size, no one spotted she was pregnant . Two days after the wedding, and suffering severe stomach pain, Miss Bird visited the doctors once more. A test confirmed she was pregnant, and the expectant mother was referred straight to A&E where an examination revealed she was 4cm dilated and in labour. Four hours later, the new mother was cradling baby Rowan in her arms. She said: 'It was the biggest shock of my life, I was completely stunned. 'I had managed to carry a baby without changing shape or size for nearly nine months. 'I had been fitted for my bridesmaids dress in May and the dress still fitted in September - just before I gave birth.' As a child, Miss Bird had been a big eater, but exercised regularly and maintained her weight at around 14 stone. When she left school, a daily diet of takeaways and alcohol saw her weight spiral to 19 stone. 'I actually got stretch marks from putting weight on so quickly,' she said. When she was 17, Miss Bird met her partner Carl. Together they spent evenings on the sofa watching TV and eating takeaways. In the next seven years their relationship fell into a rut, and Miss Bird turned to food to numb the pain. At 21 stone, and needed size 24 clothes. Miss Bird, who has since lost eight stone and aims to shed two more, said: 'It was the biggest shock of my life, I was completely stunned. I had managed to carry a baby without changing shape or size for nearly nine months' 'At . various points in my life, I’ve tried to lose weight,' she said. 'I think I’ve . tried every diet going - Weight Watchers, 5:2 and Atkins. 'They all worked for a while, but none of them were sustainable, so whatever weight I lost, it all piled back on, and more. 'I would look at myself in the mirror and feel numb. I could look after, and be kind to other people, but not myself. 'I started acting like a clown around my friends to cover up the sadness I had inside. 'I was really unhappy and that made me want to eat more and more. 'I wore a tent every day to cover myself up. I never felt normal or attractive. I used to say to myself; my life is about quiet resignation now - this is as much as I can expect.' 'It was the biggest shock of my life, I was completely stunned. I had managed to carry a baby without changing shape or size for nearly nine months' - Sophie Bird . In the months leading up to her friend Aimee's wedding in 2010, Miss Bird said she visited the doctor about 10 times, complaining of indigestion, stomach ache and nausea.' I was on the pill, and as a child I’d been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries - they told me I’d need help to conceive, so it never dawned on me that I could be pregnant,' she said. 'Two days after Aimee’s wedding, I was in so much pain at lunchtime that I rang the doctor and made an appointment for 5pm. 'This time, the doctor did a pregnancy test and confirmed I was pregnant, but no-one knew how many weeks. 'The doctor sent me of to A&E where I had an internal examination. I was told I was 4cm dilated and in full labour. 'Straight away a porter put me in a wheelchair and pushed me across the car park, at some crazy speed, to the maternity unit. 'It was all nuts, I couldn’t believe what was happening.' Miss Bird said she had no idea she was pregnant. She was on the pill and had been told by doctors she suffered polysystic ovaries, and as a result would struggle to get pregnant. She said having been fitted for her bridesmaids dress in May 2010, no adjustments were needed by the wedding in September, just two days before Rowan was born . The now 32-year-old gave birth to baby Rowan on September 22, 2010 . A Malory Band is a narrow, adjustable cord that is worn around the waist. It feels tighter as you eat, making people more aware of the amount of food they are eating. The band was designed as a psychological gastric band, which acts as an alarm bell warning slimmers not to over eat. The brainchild of former Rally Driving Champion and TV presenter Penny Mallory, the device can also improve posture, encouraging its wearer to sit and stand taller to avoid the tension of the band when slouching. It is versatile and can be work all day, every day, even in the shower or swimming pool/ . Malory Band also helps maintain the weight a person has lost - as the band starts to feel tighter, it becomes an early warn sign that the pounds might be creeping back on. The band has a unique button-hole system, allowing it to be made smaller as you lose the inches. You can stop the inches creeping back on by continuing to wear the band - so your weight loss product turns into your weight maintenance programme. It is available in various sizes and can be decorated with clip-on charms that mark your progress. Four hours after learning she was pregnant, baby Rowan was born at 9pm. She said: 'It was completely surreal. One minute my life was normal, next minute I had a beautiful little baby boy. 'I had no baby stuff so my friends and family rallied round to get me all the baby equipment - they were amazing.' But it was eight months later, on her 30th birthday, that Miss Bird discovered her boyfriend was having an affair with her best friend. 'It completely broke me,' she said. 'I kicked him out and was so traumatised and so stressed by it all that I couldn’t face eating. 'I felt constantly sick, and as a result my size started to shrink. 'I knew that this was the right time to get control back of my life, my body, my mind and my eating. 'I set my mind to losing the weight and vowed never, ever put it back on. 'Over the next few years I took up Morris Dancing and Roller Derby to keep active. 'I also joined the gym and made sure I did some form of exercise every day. 'I changed my diet to fresh, healthy food and limited my portion size. The weight started to drop off me. I lost 5 stone and was feeling fantastic - energised, happy and confident.' In May, a friend told Miss Bird about Malory Band, a new way to monitor and motivate weight loss. The device is a narrow cord that sits around the waist and starts to feel tighter as a person eats. It acts as a 'psychological alarm bell', triggering the brain to think about the amount of food it needs. Miss . Bird, who has lost eight stone and plans to shed another two stone by . next summer, said: 'It was just what I needed. I wish I had known about . it before. 'I love it because it’s not a diet. I . make all the decisions about what I eat and my Malory Band reminds me . when I have had enough to eat. It’s so simple and so effective - . everyone should have one. Eight months after Rowan was born, Miss Bird's weight loss was kick started after she discovered her boyfriend had been having an affair with her best friend . The 32-year-old who has lost eight stone to date, credits her weight loss to a device known as a Malory Band - a cord around the waist, pictured, that acts as a psychological gastric band, reminding people when they are full . 'When I started wearing the Malory Band, it would start to feel tight when I ate, and so I'd stop eating. 'It made me realise I didn't need to carry on eating, and the weight came off so quickly. 'I was still having a healthy diet, but the band was literally reining me in and making me constantly aware of what I was putting into my body. 'I can't express how happy I am about losing the weight. I have more confidence and energy and am a much happier person. 'Before, I'd go out with my friends and just want to hide away as they were all so slim and healthy. 'I feel alive and I am so much happier. And of course, now I have my wonderful Rowan, he’s the sunshine in my life.' And she has vowed never to watch as the weight piles back on. 'I guarantee you won't ever see me that size again,' she added. 'My Malory Band is like a best friend that supports me and stays with me constantly, and it will help me to lose another two stone. I know the weight will never return.' | Sophie Bird visited the doctors in the months prior to giving birth complaining of indigestion, stomach ache and nausea .
But no one spotted that the 21 stone expectant mother was pregnant .
Two days after she was bridesmaid at her friend's wedding Miss Bird visited the doctors once more with severe stomach pain .
A test revealed she was expecting and she was sent straight to A&E .
Medics told the shocked 29-year-old she was in labour and 4cm dilated .
Four hours after being told she was pregnant she was cradling baby Rowan .
She has now lost eight stone and plans to shed two more by next summer .
Used a Malory Band - a narrow cord around her waist - to help learn when her stomach was full and when she needed to stop eating . |
217,632 | a5c2cfd6f999e34bdfe1a8d79ba9669438cc712f | A glamour model has spoken of how her career was shattered in an instant when she was paralysed in a freak accident while out clubbing. Lolly Mack, 40, from North London, was left in a wheelchair and with severely limited movement in her upper body when a fellow clubber high on drink and drugs fell from a balcony and landed directly on top of her. She said: ‘I didn't want to live at . first after being told I would need 24 hour care, using a catheter and . being washed and dressed. Lolly Mack, 40, a former glamour model, was paralysed from the neck down when a man fell from a balcony and landed on top of her in a nightclub in London in 2004 . ‘But my family said “let's fight this until one day you get back on your feet again”. From that day I just thought that is it! Fight it will be!’ She is now on a huge fundraising drive to raise funds into spinal research in the hope like people such as her will one day be able to walk again. Ms Mack, who was just 30 at the time, was in a nightclub in Central London in 2004 when Philip Brady, who had been taking ecstasy and drinking heavily, landed on top of her. She says she felt a sudden ‘thud’ on her neck and shoulders and fell to the ground as she was hit by the 6ft 3ins man. 'My initial thought was that I'd been punched and I remember falling backwards,' she says. 'But when I hit the floor I knew something was dreadfully wrong as I could do nothing other than blink. Ms Mack, who was 30 at the time of the accident, suffered a broken neck and her spinal cord was compressed. She had emergency surgery to stabilise her neck and then spent ten months in rehabilitation (pictured) Ms Mack (pictured in hospital) has regained some of the movement in her arms but she is still unable to move her legs or her wrists and hands. She says she has lost her independence and needs carers to help her wash and dress . 'My friends were encouraging me to get up, but I became increasingly distressed as I realised I couldn't.' Ms Mack, who appeared on MTV as well a model in various national newspapers, was rushed to King's College Hospital in south London, where she underwent six hours of emergency surgery to stabilise her neck. She was told her neck had been broken and her spinal cord compressed. She told MailOnline: 'I think there was something telling me not to go out that night - I didn't really want to go and my gut feeling was that I shouldn't. 'But I didn't want to let my boyfriend down so I went anyway.' She added: 'I knew immediately something was terribly wrong when I was lying on the floor. It was completely terrifying. 'The first thing I asked the paramedics was if I was going to be in a wheelchair but they said it was too soon to say. Ms Mack (pictured, left, before the accident) says that when she realised the extent of her injuries she initially thought she did not want to live any more . Ms Mack (pictured with friends) now focuses on raising awareness of spinal injuries and on raising money for research into a cure for these injuries . 'Being in the hospital was daunting - it was like a scene from Casualty. I knew by that point that it was quite serious.' The day after her injury, Ms Mack was moved to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire, where she spent 10 months in rehabilitation. When she arrived at the hospital she was unable to move anything other than her head. She said: 'I thought I couldn't live like that. I thought it was the end of my life. I was crying buckets. 'I was not accepting it, I didn't want to hear about it and I was in denial. I think most people feel suicidal in that position. It was awful.' Ms Mack (pictured in rehabilitation) says her dream is to eventually walk again and to regain her independence . Despite the treatment and a strict exercise regime, she only regained some of the movement in her arms and none of the movement in her legs. And while she can now move her arms a little, she is still unable to move her wrists or her hands. She lives with her family and has carers who come in every day to help her wash and dress. She also suffers from neuropathic pain - pain caused by a problem with the signals from the nerves - 24 hours a day, from the shoulders down. Mr Brady was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years. Ms Mack told MailOnline: 'I don't let him ruin my life - I don't think about it. He was never really apologetic but I don't wish bad upon him and I don't want to be ruined by anger. Philip Brady, the man who fell on Ms Mack, was found guilty of causing GBH and was jailed for two years . 'I do sometimes wonder what I did to deserve it, you think "why me?". 'I had so many gut instincts telling me not to go out but I ignored them - it happened and there is nothing I can do about that now.' She now dedicates her time to raising awareness of spinal cord injuries and to raising money for research into a cure. She said: 'My hope and my dream is getting back on my feet and regaining my independence. 'We rely on as much money being raised as possible - it is all about finding a cure. 'I live my life to the fullest I can - I love travelling, beauty, and I have even met a new guy which I am really happy about. Ms Mack (pictured in hospital) says she does her best to live life to the full despite her injury . 'I am trying to have as many fun, happy times as possible while waiting for a cure. 'I can still have fun and enjoy life and be grateful that I wasn't killed but I have great hope as I know it's not a case of if we find a cure, it's a case of when.' On May 31 Ms Mack will be holding an event in Central London to raise money for the charity Spinal Research. Tickets are on sale for £60 and the party will be held at the Yager Bar near St Paul's Cathedral where there will be champagne, canapes and performances from a range of musicians. Call Freda Burton 07770 418482 or Michelle Marsh at Spinal Research on 01483 898786 to buy tickets. Alternatively, visit the Spinal Research website. | Lolly Mack was in a nightclub in 2004 when Philip Brady fell on her .
The 6ft 3ins man was drunk and on drugs when he landed directly on her .
Ms Mack's neck was broken and her spinal cord was compressed .
She had to have emergency surgery and spent ten months in rehabilitation .
She has been left in a wheelchair and with limited upper body movement .
She now tries to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries and to raise money for research into a cure . |
242,086 | c550651fb5e270205e9149a7e8fbcba88b14c258 | North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-Il was reportedly the biggest client fro cognac brand Hennessy and spent £700,000 on the drink. The fact was dug out in research into leaders' favourite tipple, which has suggested politicians success might have something to do with their preferred drink. Some of the UK's top leaders have all opted for whisky, while across the Atlantic in America, they have a sweeter tooth, preferring a cocktail. Whisky verses pints: Tony Blair was one of a number of successful politicians who prefer to drink whisky, as opposed to John Prescott who opted for a pint . The research, carried out by online drinks firm 31DOVER.com, revealed that Churchill, Thatcher, Blair and Cameron have all shown a mutual affection for whisky, with Churchill setting himself up for a day of success by rounding off breakfast with a whiskey soda. He was also partial to the odd drop of Pol Roger, which led to Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill champagne being named after him. Tony Blair was a little more measured in his love of his chosen liqueur as he was 'never sure' if his daily scotch before dinner would be good or bad for him. No such uncertainty for the late Margaret Thatcher, whose fondness for Bell’s was legendary. Whisky also worked its magic for the current Prime Minister, though his taste is a little more expensive. Expensive taste: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (R) was reportedly the biggest single customer of Hennessy cognac. The late leader is pictured in 2000 with then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung . David Cameron, who counts Thatcher as one of his greatest inspirations, enjoys Bruichaladdich’s organic single malt, priced at £41 a bottle. While whisky has helped politicians prosper, pints have led MPs to their peril, the researcher claim. John Major, David Milliband and John Prescott all have a passion for a pint but have faced troubles in their political career. John Major famously presided over a string of political embarrassments including the 1992 Black Wednesday financial collapse; the older Milliband was defeated by his brother in the Labour party’s leadership contest; and Prescott, the former Deputy Prime Minister tried to resurrect his political career but failed after losing out as then Police and Crime commissioner. Similar tastes: British Prime Minister David Cameron, pictured last week in Kabul Afghanistan, likes to drink pricey whisky Bruichaladdich, while Margaret Thatcher loved cheaper Bell's . Across the Atlantic, political success is about mixing it up. Former U.S. presidents John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton both enjoyed a feminine cocktail with Kennedy sipping on a Daiquiri and Clinton a La Señorita, containing tequila, pineapple juice, lime juice and Tabasco sauce. Famous teetotalers include former President George W Bush and Adolph Hitler. Presidential candidate Bill Clinton, pictured in 1992, and the late President John F. Kennedy, in 1961, both enjoyed feminine cocktails . David Laurie, chief executive of the online drinks firm, said: 'It’s interesting that so many famous political figures have had such a strong penchant for a particular tipple. 'Equally notable is that so many of them drink or drank neat spirits which is a trend we’re seeing return among men and women today.' | Kim Jong-Il was reportedly Hennessy's biggest customer .
Whisky lovers include successful UK leaders Churchill, Thatcher and Blair .
Research claims those who drink pints never peak in the politics . |
215,986 | a39bea543d907323a725a09449aaf43e0053cf26 | Anybody who has sold in UK or overseas will pay capital gains tax . By . Becky Barrow . PUBLISHED: . 21:11 EST, 5 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:51 EST, 6 March 2013 . Second homeowners who fail to pay their taxes could face crippling fines or even jail under a major crackdown launched yesterday by HM Revenue and Customs. Tax collectors are targeting thousands of people who have sold a second home, a holiday home or a buy-to-let property without paying tax, even if it was up to 20 years ago. Anybody who has sold a second property in the UK or overseas will have to pay capital gains tax on the money they made from the sale. Tax collectors are targeting thousands of people who have sold a second home, a holiday home or a buy-to-let property without paying tax, even if it was up to 20 years ago . If they fail to do so, they could face huge fines and even jail under the new plans. The move will give rise to accusations that HMRC is penalising ordinary, hard-working families when they should be tackling tax avoidance by corporate giants who make huge profits but pay little or no tax in this country. Under the current rules, you are allowed to sell your home without paying a penny in tax, but the rules are different if you own more than one property. For example, a family with their main home in London and a cottage on the Cornish coast must pay capital gains tax on any profit from the sale of their country retreat. Under the tax amnesty, HMRC is urging people who should have paid tax - but failed to do so - to come forward over the next five months. The deadline is August 9. If they do not, they could face penalties worth up to 100 per cent of the capital gains tax bill which they did not pay on the sale on top of the actual bill. Anybody who has sold a second property in the UK or overseas will have to pay capital gains tax on the money they made from the sale . Marian Wilson, head of HMRC campaigns, said: ‘It is better to come to us before we come to you’, and warned people face ‘penalties or even criminal prosecution’ if they do not. Tax evasion is estimated to cost the British economy around £14billion a year. In the most extreme cases, people found guilty could be sent to jail. The crackdown will worry hundreds of thousands of Britons, many of whom may not even know that they should have paid tax on the sale of a second home. And the bill will not be small, given the house price rises over the last 20 years. Official figures, from the Land Registry, show how house prices in the most popular locations for second homes, such as Cornwall and Devon, have risen sharply. In 1998, the average home in Cornwall was worth £61,000. Fifteen years later, the same property has trebled in value to £180,000. Capital gains tax is currently charged at up to 28 per cent on any profit over £10,600, the amount of profit which can be made every year before the tax will be charged. But they will be liable to pay the tax at the rate which was levied in the year they sold the property. The levy has been as high as 40 per cent. Overall, around 619,000 families have a second home, with some owning more than one extra home. Of the total of 711,000 second homes, 343,000 are in the UK and 368,000 are outside the UK. The most popular place to have a second home is Cornwall which has around 14,560 second homeowners, followed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London with 7,474. Around 84,000 people have a second home in France and around 88,000 in Spain, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government. Matthew Sinclair, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Rather than spending its time announcing yet another crackdown, HMRC should focus on the underlying problem that is Britain’s dysfunctional tax code. ‘Capital gains tax is a deeply unfair charge which targets some people just because a home has gone up in value with inflation. ‘If our tax system was reformed to make it simpler and fairer then the taxman wouldn’t have to spend so much time and money trying to chase down those not sure of the rules as well as finding it easier to pursue those who deliberately break them.’ | Tax collectors targeting thousands of people who sold second property .
Anybody who has sold in UK or overseas will pay capital gains tax . |
11,835 | 218f9022f43d4a6b39d3a3db5fb032e944bab416 | By . Gavin Allen . Last updated at 4:47 PM on 20th December 2011 . The anti-government protestors in Russia have been caught up in a scandal that seems designed to split them after secret recordings of private phonecalls in which they attacked each other were posted on a pro-government website. In an echo of KGB-era surveillance, six hours worth of calls from opposition leader Boris Nemtsov were leaked to the website www.lifenews.ru. The website is part-owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, an ally of Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media. Opposition activists: Evgenia Chirikova (left) was insulted by Boris Nemtsov (right) of the People's Freedom Party - their differences over protest tactics were made public in six hours of secretly-recorded phonecalls . Angered: Nemtsov wanted to organise Government sanctioned protests, which led Chirikova to say he was in liege with the State . The biggest protests of Putin's 12-year rule, expressing anger at the debated election results which re-installed him as Prime Minister, were split into two camps. One group, led by Nemtsov, advocated a legal protest that had been negotiated with the Russian Government. Another group, led by Yevgeniya Chirikova, 35, wanted to organise a protest in front of the Kremlin, without Government permission. Nemtsov believed that a legal protest would swell the ranks, with the addition of white-collar protestors who feared police clashes in an unsanctioned event. Chirikova said that Nemtsov must in cahoots with the Government. And according to the recordings Nemtsov called her 'either a bitch, or an idiot'. Thowing a curveball? Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, shown here at a school gym Cheryomushki, Siberia, is an ally of the owner of the website - www.lifenews.ru - which published the calls . Man of action: Putin hummers a 'golden' spike to start a construction of a new railway near the city of Kyzyl in Siberia, on another of his legendary publicity drives . In the secretly recorded phonecalls Nemtsov apparently said of Chirikova: 'She is a f***** but what the hell can I do about it? She doesn’t f****** listen.' 'You are a f****** great Russian writer for f**** sake. Can you call that Chirikova and tell that bitch that you are insulting Nemtsov by accusing him of working for money. That bloody beast.' In other comments, Nemtsov derided supporters he was trying to muster for a rally as 'office plankton - chemical internet types' who had never seen a riot policeman in their lives. Nemtsov, a former cabinet minister who was once tipped as possible Kremlin leader during the rule of Boris Yeltsin, said the recordings had been heavily edited and partly falsified in an attempt by Putin’s supporters to splinter the opposition. 'Parts of the recordings are genuine, part are heavily edited and parts are simply fake and falsified,' said Nemtsov. Nemtsov said the publication was an attempt by Putin and Kremlin acting chief of staff Vladislav Surkov to undermine a day of mass protests planned across Russia on December 24. Electoral anger: The ongoing protests have been the biggest under the varying reigns of Putin and there is another major event planned for December 24 . Tactical disagreement: Nemtsov's position was, he said, designed to attract to the protests white-collar workers who were afraid of being manhandled by police in an unsanctioned demonstration . 'The aim of Putin and Surkov is to prevent a mass meeting on the 24th and to split the opposition,' he said. 'They will not succeed: it will have the opposite effect and more people will come out.' Surkov's office did not return a call for comment. A spokesman for Kovalchuk’s Bank Rossiya refused to say if there were any links between Kovalchuk and Lifenews, requesting written questions. Lifenews said it did not know of any links with Kovalchuk, who Forbes says has a net worth of $1.5 billion. Nemtsov said he had offered his apologies to Chirikova for his comments but that the publication had contravened his rights as a Russian citizen and his lawyers were working on getting a criminal case opened. In Russia, only state security services or their commercial cousins have the resources to carry out such extensive 'phone hacking' so the recordings may also indicate the enduring influence of the secret police in Russian politics. Russia's secret police have long meddled in Moscow politics, even coining the Russian word 'kompromat' - or compromising material - to describe potentially damaging information used for blackmail. While Putin was head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1999, the security services were suspected of having a hand in the airing of a video purporting to show Russia's top prosecutor cavorting in bed with two women. Lifenews, which has delivered scoops such as the January 24 suicide bombing at Russia's biggest airport by building close contacts with the law enforcement agencies, did not say where it had got the recordings. Ashot Gabrelyanov, the 22-year-old chief executive of News Media which owns Lifenews, refused to say if he had got the recordings from the security services. 'You as a reporter yourself know I cannot disclose my sources,' he said by telephone. 'The cynicism of the opposition leaders is 10 on the Richter scale,' Gabrelyanov said on his twitter account. 'Dudes, in five years in show business I have never heard such an outrage.' He said he would publish more recordings. | Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov had his phone tapped .
He was caught in foul-mouthed rants against fellow protest organiser Yevgeniya Chirikova .
Nemtsov claims recordings are heavily-edited and/or fabricated and denies some of the content .
Recordings surfaced on website part-owned by ally of Vladimir Putin . |
27,363 | 4d9097c96ad88a5a88221f697b486d92ba70735d | By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 04:58 EST, 8 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:03 EST, 8 October 2012 . Japanese scientists have launched a tiny satellite that will twinkle like an artificial star to write messages across the sky that can be visible from Earth. The 4in-square FITSAT-1 - nicknamed Niwaka - was one of a group of unassuming cubesats recently put into orbit by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The tiny orbiter's mission is to broadcast the message 'Hi this is Niwaka Japan' in Morse Code, using bursts of intense light to draw the dots and dashes across the heavens. Tiny: The 4in-square, 3lb FITSAT-1 seen from the top, left, and bottom, right. It will broadcast the message 'Hi this is Niwaka Japan' spelled out in Morse Code across the heavens using high-powered LEDs . Message from the heavens: This artist's impression shows the message that FITSAT-1 will write across the night sky . Using high-power LEDs driven by pulses of energy as high as 200W FITSAT-1 will produce flashes of light so bright its makers hope it will be observable with the naked eye or with small binoculars. FITSAT-1 was one of three cubesats launched from the ISS last Thursday and the team behind it say all initial indications show that it is working normally. It was originally planned to appear only over Japan, but a flurry of interest means that it will now be touring the entire globe. Launch successful: FITSAT-1 was launched along with two other cubesats from the International Space Station last Thursday . Using high-power LEDs driven by pulses of energy as high as 200W FITSAT-1 will produce flashes of light so bright its makers hope it will be observable with the naked eye or with small binoculars . FITSAT-1 had been originally expected to transmit over Japan, but thanks to a flurry of interest it will now be touring the globe . The International Space Station is planning to change its orbit after narrowly avoiding two pieces of space junk last month. A broken Russian satellite and the remains of an Indian rocket passed within miles of the ISS, with the station primed to move and the astronauts having a tense few hours wondering if disaster was about to strike. Now, the Russian space program's Mission Control Centre says it will move the ISS into a different orbit to lower the risk of possible collisions. There is 'no practical aim' to the . morse code beacons, according to its creator, Professor Takushi Tanaka . of the Fukuoka Institute of Technology, except to test the possibility . of optical communication from space. The FITSAT-1 team say it will try to fulfil all requests for appearances. However, despite the brightness of its LEDs it cannot be seen through heavy cloud cover, so skywatchers should hope for a clear night if they hope to see it passing above their part of the world. The 3lb satellite's main mission is to test a high-speed data transmitter which will beam VGA images taken by an onboard camera back to Earth. Scientists believe their transmitter can send a 480x640 jpeg within 6 seconds. FITSAT-1 will orbit the earth between 51.6 degrees south latitude and 51.6 degrees north latitude and it will carry a mounted neodymium magnet to force it to always point to magnetic north like a compass. More information on the FITSAT-1 can be found on its information page on the Fukuoka Institute of Technology's website. | Tiny orbiter will write 'Hi this is Niwaka Japan' across the heavens .
It will tour the globe to skywatchers worldwide can see its message . |
21,342 | 3c95b152cdd6990035e29cce8116542a62b75edc | By . Associated Press Reporter . and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 19:18 EST, 30 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 23:48 EST, 30 November 2013 . An on-duty New York Police Department traffic officer was struck and killed by a street-cleaning truck in Manhattan this afternoon. Kalyanarat Ranasinghe, 71, was writing parking tickets when he was hit on East 44th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, about 2.30pm. A police report states the freight liner vacuum truck pulled away from the kerbside and struck the Bronx resident, pinning him under the wheel. He died at the scene. Tragic: A police officer stands guard on the scene where a New York City traffic police officer was hit and killed by a vehicle in Midtown, New York, today . Witness Anthony Trinidad said he saw the father-of-one talking on his cellphone when he was hit. 'It was a freak accident,' Trinidad, a doorman at a building on East 44th Street, told Newsday. 'The driver was pulling out and didn't see him. People were yelling for him to stop.' The 43-year-old driver, who remained at the scene, has not been charged and the investigation is ongoing, police said. Shortly afterward, his truck was struck . by a coach bus trying to park in front of the truck. The 25-year-old man . driving the coach bus also remained at the scene. Neither driver was . injured. Robert Cassar, president of the union that represents NYPD traffic agents, said Ranasinghe was issuing parking tickets at the time of the accident. 'He was a very nice man. It's a big deal that we lost him. All the agents are stunned. This doesn't happen very often,' Cassar said. According to the police report, Ranasinghe was an NYPD Traffic Enforcement Agent Level II. He was appointed on December 21, 2006. Police officers stand at the scene where a New York City traffic police officer was hit and killed by a vehicle in Midtown, New York, today . Traffic enforcement agents . issue summonses to illegally parked cars, direct traffic at . intersections and perform other traffic related tasks. Ranasinghe's took . pride in his job, his son-in-law said. 'He enjoyed it a lot, . helping people,' said Dananjaya Waragoda, 40. 'Some people asked for . directions; some asked for help ... He loved his job.' Waragoda . said his father-in-law emigrated from Sri Lanka about 20 years ago and . worked as a telecommunications engineer in Dubai and in New York before . becoming a traffic enforcement agent almost seven years ago. He said . Ranasinghe had been married for over 50 years and had one daughter. 'He . was a great man, always helping to anybody,' said Waragoda in a . telephone interview from Ranasinghe's home in the Bronx. 'Whether you . were a relation or not, it didn't matter to him.' New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (center) leaves the scene where a New York City traffic police officer was hit and killed by a truck in New York City today . Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the agent's death was 'gut-wrenching'. 'These . people don't make a lot of money, but they're out there in the middle . of some heavy traffic, worst possible weather, day and night,' he said. 'So it's a dangerous job, but unfortunately, things like this can sometimes happen.' Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a . statement praising traffic enforcement agents and offered his thoughts . and prayers to the Ranasinghe family. The holiday weekend is often one of the busiest times of years for traffic enforcement agents, as residents often mistakenly believe parking rules are suspended after Thanksgiving. In 2008, a traffic enforcement agent who was seven months pregnant was hit and killed by two cars in the Bronx. Doctors were able to deliver her son but he died eight days later. Police stand behind a police tape at East 44th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, in New York City where Kalyanarat Ranasinghe was hit by a truck . | Kalyanarat Ranasinghe, a 71-year-old traffic agent, was killed by a truck today .
He was was struck about 2.30pm in Manhattan while writing parking tickets .
The driver, 43, hasn't been charged yet .
Witnesses described it as a 'freak accident' |
98,919 | 0b65d68039bb75982f2f1298ff538c6936cb3cf6 | (CNN) -- It happens at the end of January every year -- an apparently mad and desperate dash to sign players as European football's transfer window draws to an agonizing close. Club officials man the phones, fax machines at the ready to sneak registrations inside the deadline. Football agents, desperate to secure their clients a lucrative last-minute move, frantically try to negotiate contracts and transfer fees before the clock strikes midnight and the chance has disappeared. It often seems like a classic case of panic-buying, as clubs seek to bolster their squads for the second half of the season, but the last-day scramble is the culmination of weeks of negotiations between all the involved parties, says British agent Mel Stein. "Generally speaking, if somebody genuinely wants to buy a player, they will have earmarked him well before the window opens," says Stein, who represented former England stars such as Alan Shearer and Paul Gascoigne. Who are January's top transfer targets? "You've got to have a player that wants to leave and wants to join the club who wants to buy him. So you've got to push all of those pieces together, which sometimes is a lot more difficult than it sounds." Since 2002, European clubs have only been able to add to their rosters during two transfer windows -- which generally run in the offseason between July 1 and August 31 and midseason throughout the month of January. As a result, deadline day has become a biannual ritual, with fans glued to TV screens in the hope their club will pull off a shock transfer coup. Stein says the restrictions the windows have placed on clubs have added extra strain to transfer negotiations. "There will have been some sort of contact, either formal or informal, well before the window opens," he explained. "So if you date it from there to when the player actually signs, I'd say you're talking about an average of three or four weeks. "I've got one or two deals that are bubbling under. People wait until the last minute and it's absolutely ridiculous. These deals could have happened weeks ago and yet managers are jockeying for position, they don't get the money from the club and then the club changes its mind at the last minute." Stein says the 1992 transfer of Gascoigne, who was then 25 and in his prime, from London club Tottenham Hotspur to Rome-based Lazio was particularly difficult. "The injuries, the financial problems Spurs were experiencing, the tax money element of it -- it was a very complicated transaction, it really was," he recalls. "I lived and breathed it for months. I had an all-night session with Lazio, worked all the way through the night and didn't go to bed." European football's governing body UEFA has attempted to cut reckless spending by introducing financial fair play regulations -- a set of rules which sanction clubs for spending beyond their means. Stein believes the eagerness of teams to lower their wage bills and conform to the new rules has changed how transfers are set in motion, with clubs now eager to offload high-earning stars. "A couple of years ago, 95% of transfers would have been player instigated. Nowadays, with the financial restraints on clubs, I would say over 50% are club instigated," he says. "I had a player who was astonished to learn that I'd been phoned by a manager who was telling me that my player was available because he was fairly high on that club's wage list and they wanted to reduce their budget." This year's January window has been dominated by one player whose club want remove him from the wage bill, Manchester City's Carlos Tevez. The Argentina striker has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the English leaders since being fined by the club for refusing to come on as a substitute during a European Champions League match with Bayern Munich in September. Tevez has been linked with Italian giants AC and Inter Milan and big-spending French outfit Paris Saint-Germain, but was looking likely to remain at City as the deadline approached. So what would be Stein's advice to the 27-year-old, who captained City to the club's first trophy in 35 years last season and topped the team's scoring charts -- but has not played for City since the incident in Germany? "You've got Man City who want him out but don't want to lose a fortune. You've got Tevez jogging along a beach in South America and you've any number of people putting him around to clubs who probably can't afford him anyway," Stein says. "That is a total nightmare transaction. I'm not saying it's one I wouldn't like to be involved in because it would be an enormous challenge to see that one through. "I'd say, 'You're a professional footballer, you're only going to be playing until you're 35, you need to get yourself playing. This is stupid, you've got to do something.' " | Tuesday marks the closure of European football's January transfer window .
Football clubs have two periods during which they can sign or sell players .
Agents are responsible for negotiating multi-million-dollar deals between clubs and players .
Agent Mel Stein has represented former England stars Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer . |
22,214 | 3f0c4f72dc974046669a28e3f74ea3f779ae6951 | You'd have thought those living in the country would prefer to hunt foxes rather than invite them into their home and let them watch TV. But that's just what Jane Shepherd, 64, has done and whether it's going about her household chores such as laundry and washing up or spending time in the garden there is always a fox or three nearby. For the pensioner from Whittlebury in Northamptonshire has opened the doors of her three-bedroom bungalow to three bushy-tailed friends now calls family. 'At the moment I live with Minette, Chico and Billy,' explains Jane. A hug and a kiss: Jane Sheppard pictured at her home with one of her foxes. 'They are very affectionate - Chico loves to cover my face with kisses. They are actually a lot like cats rather than dogs' Shall we watch Countryfile? Jane relaxes on her sofa to watch TV with one of the foxes beside her . 'They are very affectionate - Chico loves to cover my face with kisses. They are actually a lot like cats rather than dogs. 'Foxes are very independent, wilful and curious creatures. They are very quiet and great at sneaking up on you when you're not looking. 'Hide and seek is a favourite game of theirs - they think it's hilarious. Foxes can be naughty animals to live with but they are so delightful at the same time. You just can't get angry at them.' Jane lives with the two females, Billy and Minette, and one male fox, Chico. Minette and Chico, six-years-old, were both young cubs abandoned by their mother when they were found by local people. Happy family: Jane lives with the two females, Billy and Minette and one male fox, Chico (pictured in the den she created for them) In the garden: Jane gives one of the foxes a treat as they explore her back yard . Billy was rescued as an adult after a car accident when Jane took her in, so her age remains a mystery. "Foxes usually revert quickly to their natural behaviour after they've been in contact with humans," said Jane. "But despite best efforts, because of their friendly personalities, some foxes just want to stay close to people. "This means it’s not appropriate for them to be returned to the wild. They would approach people and possibly make a nuisance of themselves. Helping out with the chores: One of the foxes keeps Jane company as she does her washing . Billy was rescued and taken in as an adult after being injured by a car . 'Chico is happier indoors than outdoors and it's better for everyone if they live here at home with me.' Since moving in with her, Jane has even created a three-story living quarters for her beloved fox family. She can’t help spoiling her foxes with household treats either. 'I feed Billy cooked chicken, dog food but most of all she loves flapjacks," said Jane. 'And the little rascals love stealing from me as well. They live in a special den I've had built for them in my garage. 'No matter how comfortable they are there it's still not enough. Each night they insist on a kiss and a cuddle before bedtime.' | 'Hide and seek is a favourite game of .
theirs - they think it's hilarious ... You just can't get angry at them'
'No matter how comfortable they are there it's still not enough. Each night they insist on a kiss and a cuddle before bedtime'
Pensioner, 64, shares three-bedroom bungalow with the foxes . |
80,050 | e2e3ba4bcd37c959de2296a7da621719d6dabac6 | (CNN) -- A right-wing paramilitary leader in Colombia was killed in a police operation on Christmas Day, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed Wednesday. Pedro Guerrero, also known as "The Knife," was a ruthless killer and a major drug trafficker, the president said. On December 24, national police forces dropped in from helicopters to raid a building where Guerrero was thought to be. The operation carried on into the early morning, the president said, and Guerrero -- the leader of the Popular Revolutionary Anti-terrorist Army of Colombia, or ERPAC by its Spanish initials -- managed to escape the building. However, Santos said, police were ready with a perimeter around the area. His body was found shortly afterwards. Two police were also killed in the confrontation. ERPAC is known for its large cocaine production and distribution activities. The group emerged from the fighting between leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups. "This individual caused much damage to our country. That's why this strike is so important," Santos said, calling Guerrero "the killer of killers." He is believed to be responsible for more than 2,000 killings in southern Colombia and earned the nickname "The Knife" for his alleged penchant for slashing throats. On Guerrero's body, they found a handgun plated with gold and diamonds, and a knife was in his hand, Santos said. A reward will be paid to "several" people who helped authorities find Guerrero, the president said. "This is a warning to all the other criminals: You will fall," Santos said. The operation is evidence that the government goes after not only the left-wing rebels but also the paramilitary criminals, the president said. | President Santos praises the national police operation .
Paramilitary leader Pedro Guerrero was killed in the raid .
The operation took place on Christmas .
Two police officers were killed in the confrontation . |
282,704 | fa28c1f60ddb590d2a758ba9b0bd572fab346364 | A lawyer representing the 16-year-old Texas boy who killed four people and critically injured two others while driving drunk lashed out Thursday at the news media for their focus on the use of "affluenza" to describe the boy's privileged upbringing. Of the two experts who testified in defense of Ethan Couch, only one used the word and he used it just once, attorney Reagan Wynn told CNN's "New Day." "That term was not used by either of the lawyers that represented Mr. Couch, and it was not our defense, simply put." He added, "I think it is ridiculous for anyone who knows anything about the criminal justice system or the juvenile justice system to think that we walked into court and said, 'Hey, judge, this is a rich, white kid,' and she went, 'Oh, OK, probation.' " Asked whether he had ever heard of a poor child getting probation -- and no jail time -- after having killed four people, Wynn acknowledged that he had not. But, he said, the goal of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate more than to punish. "I would submit to you that kids who do things by accident or mistake probably should not be locked up with the key thrown away," he said. Eric Boyles, whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash, said he thinks the media criticism over the term caused the defense team to want the term to go away. "I was actually surprised to hear them attempt to walk back the 'affluenza' term. They created it. The outcry follows it," he told "Anderson Cooper 360". "And now they wish that indeed that the negative focus wasn't so much around 'affluenza.' " Doctor coins term . Psychologist Dick Miller testified in December that "affluenza" describes a condition caused when a child of privileged background suffers no consequences for repeated bad behavior. But it is not recognized as a medical condition in any formal sense and Miller acknowledged to Cooper in December, "We used to call these people 'spoiled brats.' " The prosecutor had asked that Couch be sentenced to 20 years behind bars. Instead, State District Judge Jean Boyd ordered in December that he be placed on probation for 10 years. In a proceeding Wednesday closed to the news media, she specified the terms of that probation: She ordered that Couch undergo rehabilitation -- at his family's expense -- at a locked treatment facility in Texas that has not been identified publicly, Wynn said. No minimum time was ordered, though the boy's driver's license was suspended and he was ordered to stay away from drugs and alcohol for the duration of his sentence probation. After the proceeding, Wynn was vehement in his attack on the news media. "If this case has not taught me anything else, it has confirmed what I was pretty sure of all along -- which is that the media circus is poison to the criminal justice system," Wynn told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the news coverage had affected decisions by treatment facilities about whether to accept Couch for treatment. "The story that was reported has so twisted the facts that were actually presented in court that I don't think the truth will ever be able to come out now," he said. Asked what the public was missing from the news reports, he said, "I'm not going to go into detail with you, but I will tell you that if you had been in the courtroom and you had heard all the testimony, you would have heard a significantly different story than what was reported." Wynn's attack on the media's focus on "affluenza" was rich, the prosecutor said. "Really?" asked Richard Alpert, when told of the defense lawyer's remarks. "Well, that's ironic, because it's his expert that brought that before the courtroom, so somebody made a decision before this hearing that that was a good term. "He's a good attorney, his witnesses don't say things by accident. So they thought maybe that would help. That's my interpretation. And it blew up on them. It was a stupid thing to say, it affected the credibility of that expert and it will follow that expert wherever he testifies. It was a dumb idea and his testimony wasn't credible." Looking for an apology . Couch's avoidance of jail time underscores the need for legislative changes, Alpert told reporters Wednesday. "There are some problems with the way juvenile justice is done," he said. "We're going to ask for the right to a jury trial, we're going to hope to get legislation to do that, let a jury of his peers determine what the punishment should be." Boyles said he only wanted to hear Couch say he was sorry. "We certainly have not seen any remorse," he said Thursday, adding that based on Couch's demeanor in the courtroom, he didn't think the teenager understands what he has done. Last June, his wife, Hollie Boyles, and daughter, Shelby, left their home to help Breanna Mitchell, whose SUV had broken down. Brian Jennings, a youth pastor, was driving past and also stopped to help. All four were killed when the Couch's pickup truck plowed into the pedestrians on a road in Burleson, south of Fort Worth. Couch's vehicle also struck a parked car, which then slid into another vehicle headed in the opposite direction. Two people riding in the bed of the pickup were injured. One is no longer able to move or talk because of a brain injury, while the other suffered internal injuries and broken bones. According to prosecutors, three hours after the crash, tests showed Couch had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit. Lawyer: Couch does feel remorse . Despite his client's avoidance of jail time, Wynn said he didn't feel Couch won. "There is no winner in this case," he said. "Ethan is going to live with what he did for the rest of his life, and I can tell you that he certainly feels remorse." He said his client is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following the accident, that he is "emotionally and socially arrested to where he is effectively like a 12-year-old," and that he is "basically shell-shocked" by the process. "He has a very flat affect, he is able to express remorse but, quite frankly, I don't think there is anything he was going to say to anyone that was going to make them feel any better, especially coming from him." Marla Mitchell, whose daughter Breanna was among the victims, said Couch may have gotten off easy, but he's not done yet. "Even though he knows how to beat this game, and even if he follows all the little things and jumps through the hoops and does the tricks he's supposed to do, I don't think the world is ever going to take their eyes off of him -- no matter where is is, no matter where he goes, no matter what game he or his family think they've beaten." She said she hopes his rehabilitation efforts succeed, but added, "I think it's shutting the barn door after the horse is already out. But we'll see." Boyles said that while he took some solace in the fact Couch wasn't allowed to go to some expensive treatment facility with horse riding, yoga and other activities, he still will get to return to his nice life after he finishes his treatment. "I had a warm, vibrant home that I went to every night. I now go home to a quiet, stark, sterile environment," he told Cooper. "So it's now not a ... it's just a house. It's not a home." | Man who lost wife, daughter says he doesn't think Ethan Couch is remorseful .
"Affluenza" not used by either of the lawyers, says defense attorney Reagan Wynn .
The media circus is poison to the criminal justice system," Wynn says .
"Well, that's ironic," prosecutor says, noting that a defense witness used the term . |
144,585 | 46f9fbcdae4b51512d3dd807d99e212d975f869a | By . Lizzie Edmonds . PUBLISHED: . 12:55 EST, 13 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:14 EST, 13 December 2013 . Tragic: Beth McDermott, 16, died after being thrown from her bike on Wednesday . A headteacher today paid tribute to a 'creative' and 'popular' 16-year-old pupil who died after she was thrown from her bike. Beth McDermott was cycling just a mile from her home in Cambridge when she collided with two cars on Wednesday evening. The teenager was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge but died in the early hours of Thursday morning. Beth attended Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge and was taking A Levels in psychology, geography, photography and art. Principal Christine Sherwin said: 'She was a very creative young person with brilliant ideas and was able to demonstrate independent approach to her studies very early on in the courses. 'She was committed to her studies and always willing to put in the extra effort to achieve her very best. 'She was a popular student who got on really well with everyone in lessons. 'Staff and students at the College were very upset and are still coming to terms with this devastating news and our sympathies go out to her parents and all those who knew her.' Flowers were laid at the scene - near Milton Road in central Cambridge. One hand-written note read: 'RIP Beth. You were a star, you were beautiful and such a talent. You will be wholly missed. Love you forever, from Bailey xx.' In memory: Flowers left near to the scene - which was only a mile from the girl's home in Cambridge . Scene: Well-wishers leave tributes on Milton Road in Cambridge near where the teen was knocked off her bike . Another said: 'Dear our beautiful Beth. You are a true inspiration to everyone, especially me. Drama and English were the best lessons, you made me smile all the time. 'I will remember all the amazing memories we made together. Miss you gorgeous. Everyday. Beautiful and wonderful, I love you very much. All my love Debs xx. 'P.S You better still have amazing legs by the time I’m up there with you.' The accident involved a yellow Peugeot 307 car which had its windscreen smashed and a grey Audi A3 TDI. Neither driver was injured. Collision: The teenager, tributes for which pictured, was rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital following the crash which involved two cars but sadly died in hospital the next day . At the scene a bobble hat circled by chalk lay in the middle of the road outside a pub and a buckled bicycle, with front wicker basket, was on a grass verge. Other friends paid tribute on Twitter. One wrote: '@Angeelanderson RIP Beth Mcdermott, you didn’t deserve to go, sleep tight beautiful x'. Another tweet said: '@GeorgiaRansome Was so shock and upset to hear about Beth McDermott, was always such a lovely girl to talk to in photography £RIP'. Tributes: The 16-year-old schoolgirl, who attended Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge was 'creative' and 'committed to her studies', the principal said . | Beth McDermott was cycling a mile from her home in Cambridge .
Collided with two cars on Wednesday evening and died the next day .
Her college principal led tributes, saying she was a 'creative young person' |
35,817 | 65b7ac11b0556db2edaf2924c866de395aca2b5e | There was a moment here on Thursday when Rory McIlroy tossed a ball towards a young fan in the crowd, only to see the hairy hand of a bearded man intercept it. ‘That was for the kid,’ said McIlroy, fixing the guy with his gaze until the ball had been surrendered to the intended recipient. McIlroy was that relaxed during what amounted to a near flawless 66; so in control, he was able to engage with spectators while shooting six birdies and 12 pars with a marvellous demonstration of power and precision to lead the 143rd Open Championship. VIDEO Scroll down for The Open: First Round highlights . Clearing the way: Rory McIlroy leads after the first day at the Open Championship . Kicking up dust: McIlroy plays out of a bunker on the 18th hole on day one at Hoylake . The question now, however, is whether he can remain as composed when he returns to the lush fairways of Hoylake on Friday afternoon, and so break what has become a nasty habit of messing up his second round. ‘Freaky Friday’ was the term being used in McIlroy’s presence at the press conference he gave after storming to the summit of the leaderboard and he was happy to accept that the statistics don’t lie. In this year alone he is 57 under par for first rounds but nine over for second rounds. He even admitted Jack Nicklaus had raised the issue when the two met for lunch near their respective homes in Florida shortly after his second round collapse at Memorial in May. ‘He said: “How the hell can you shoot 63 and then 78?” And then we talked about holding a round together, although not specifically about my previous struggles on Fridays.’ The fact that he was able to smile about such torturous moments — among them the 80 that followed his tournament-leading 63 at St Andrews four years ago — would suggest he is not overly concerned about his ability to remain in contention. At one point he actually listed his previous Friday travails. ‘I had a bad Friday afternoon at Augusta and then just made the cut,’ he said without the slightest hint of paranoia. Top man: McIlroy topped the leaderboard after the first day at sun-drenched Royal Liverpool . Centre of attention: A camera follows McIlroy along the 14th fairway . In control: McIlroy will hope to continue his form into Friday where conditions are expected to worsen . VIDEO The Open: First Round highlights . ‘And then I started off horrifically at Quail Hollow on Friday afternoon. And then did the same thing at Sawgrass. That’s like three tournaments in a row. That’s when I was conscious of it. I was three-over through nine on Friday at Wentworth and then I was able to get it back in form. And then Memorial obviously was the biggest one.’ He laughed when a reporter suggested he could simply ‘pretend it’s still Thursday’. He also admitted he had been advised to resort to rather more radical tactics. ‘Someone has made a suggestion, but I shouldn’t mention what it is or who it was,’ he said. Sensibly, McIlroy said it was more a case of managing expectations. ‘Whenever I go out and play on Thursdays there’s not really many expectations,’ he said. ‘But when you go back out on Friday after a good score, you know what you can do on the golf course. I need to approach the round the same way I did here.’ McIlroy was magnificent on Thursday, even if he probably should have taken birdie at the first before hitting a sublime approach shot at the second to go one under there instead. That second shot, hit to within a foot of the hole from 191 yards out with a six iron, was, he agreed, among his finest. Following behind: Matteo Manassero finished the day one shot behind McIlroy . At a glance: Spectators flocked to watch the action at Hoylake . Not until the fifth hole did the driver appear, but it was worth the wait; a monstrous 353 yards and almost 20 yards further than anyone had so far managed on that particular fairway. It made getting a birdie on the par five a relatively straightforward exercise for the two-time major winner and was quickly followed by a 12-foot putt on the par three sixth to take him to three under. The fourth birdie would come at the 10th and not until the 11th would he even find the deep rough that is proving so problematic for some here. A poor second shot left McIlroy chipping from the long stuff but the response was majestic, his ball rolling to within two feet of the pin. A hole later, completed with a 10-foot putt for birdie number five, and he was in the outright lead. By getting down in two from sand on the 16th he secured his sixth birdie. At times he was as daring as his royal blue trousers; at others mature beyond his 25 years. In the end it was probably the positioning of his tee-shots that separated him from his even younger playing partners, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama. ‘Today was just a real solid round of golf,’ he said. ‘My 63 at St Andrews was a better round of golf, but there were similarities in there.’ Now he just needs to make sure comparisons are not being made with that second round at the home of golf. VIDEO McIlroy press conference . | Rory McIlroy leads Open Championship after first round 66 .
Northern Irishman has one shot lead over Matteo Manassero .
Conditions set to deteriorate at Hoylake on Friday .
McIlroy infamously threw away first-day Open lead in 2010 as conditions worsened on second day .
Two-time Major winner has a habit of playing badly on Fridays . |
260,261 | dd044cad1da52baf029f85e71916c3da7232814c | Federal officials who investigated the deadly TWA flight 800 crash that killed 230 people have insisted it was an accident after a documentary claimed the plane was hit by explosions outside the aircraft. Current and former federal officials said yesterday they stand by their conclusion that the fatal explosion was caused by overheated fuel tank vapors, and not a bomb or missile. The officials spoke to reporters yesterday at a briefing on the National Transportation Safety Board's four-year investigation following the explosion and crash of the Boeing 747 off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, 1996. The crash - the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history - occurred just 12 minutes after take-off from JFK International Airport on the flight bound for Paris, France. Scroll down for video . The remains of the TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris that exploded off Long Island, New York, reassembled from recovered wreckage . Theories have suggested it was a missile . strike from a terrorist or U.S. Navy . vessel, and that the incident was subject to a government . cover-up. The board took the usual step of . organizing the briefing on an investigation that has been closed for . years in response to the documentary set to air this month on the 17th . anniversary of the tragedy. The film says new evidence points to the often-discounted theory that a missile strike may have downed the jumbo jet. The officials who spoke at the . briefing dismissed allegations of a cover-up, saying that the evidence . points strongly to the board's conclusion that overheated gases in the . plane's near-empty fuel tank caused the tank to explode. The gases were most likely ignited by a spark from damaged wiring in a fuel measuring system. Joseph Kolly, the current director of . the board's Office of Research and Engineering, was the chief fire and . explosives investigator on the flight 800 investigation. He said he is 'absolutely' certain the fuel tank was the cause. 'We went to the 'nth degree, and then some,' he said, laying out the different facets of the investigation. Investigators tested shoulder-fired . missiles to see if they would show up on radar and used another 747 to . replicate the overheating of fuel tank vapors, among other tests. 'I am upset about bringing this back . up, for the sake of the people who lost folks in the accident,' Kolly . said. 'It's not good.' Two family members of those killed attended the . briefing. Investigators who worked on the plane following the crash and co-producer Tom Stalcup, said there was no evidence that the explosion came from the wing tank . Federal officials say they stand by claim that crash caused by fuel vapors ignited by faulty wiring. Images from the documentary show damaged seats on the plane, aboard which 230 people died . 'I think they did a complete and . thorough investigation in the beginning,' said Matthew Ziemkiewicz of . Rutherford, N.J., whose sister, Jill, was a flight attendant on the . plane. 'These are old conspiracy theories that have been around since the beginning.' Jim Hurd of Severn, Md., who lost his . 29-year-old son, James, said the board's investigation seems 'pretty . cut and dried as far as I'm concerned. 'But there are still family members who believe it was brought down by a bomb. I respect that.' The documentary features interviews . with key members of the original investigation team, who now claim . that their investigation was systematically undermined. 'This . team of investigators who actually handled the wreckage and victims' bodies, prove that the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not . cause the crash,' said the film's producers. 'They also provide radar and forensic . evidence proving that one or more ordinance explosions outside the . aircraft caused the crash.' NTSB officials involved . in the investigation who were not at the briefing have also defended its . handling, describing the investigation as one of the most extensive and . exhaustive in the board's history. The board issued a 400-page report on the accident, accompanied by more than 17,000 pages of supporting material. But there have long been doubters. They include three former investigators - one from the NTSB, one from . TWA and one from the Air Line Pilots Association - who appear in the . film. The former investigators have also signed a petition filed with the NTSB to reconsider reopen the probe. Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the . board, said they are considering the petition and has asked parties to . the original investigation for their comments. A decision on whether to reopen the . investigation will be made by board officials who were not part of the . original investigation and were not part of yesterday's briefing, she . said. One of the former investigators who . signed the petition, Hank Hughes, was in charge of reconstructing the . interior of the aircraft cabin for NTSB from debris recovered from the . ocean. Jim Speer, an accident investigator for the Airline Pilots Association who appears in the documentary, inspects damage after the crash. Right, part of the plane's wing is seen in the water off New York . Officials have dismissed allegations of a cover-up, saying evidence strongly points to their conclusion . Hughes said the board 'completely . discounted' the accounts of more than 200 witnesses who say they saw a . streak of light heading toward the plane before it broke apart. Hughes said the plane's reconstructed . fuselage - which reporters were allowed to view after the briefing - . has holes consistent with what would be expected from missile shrapnel. Reporters were not able to see the . holes, he said, because they were on the opposite side of the . reconstructed plane, facing away from the board's briefing area. Hughes offered no explanation why his former colleagues would deliberately ignore important evidence. 'As far as motivation, who did what and why, we didn't get into that. I don't know.' But officials at the briefing and . other former NTSB investigators said an examination of witness . statements showed that what people thought might be a missile was . actually the trajectory of the plane after the fiery explosion, the . force of which broke off some pieces of the aircraft while much of the . remainder of the plane was propelled up and forward, before plunging . into the ocean. Witnesses 'legitimately saw flames . coming down and everything else, and explosions, but it occurred after . the initial center fuel tank explosion,' Tom Haueter, who recently . retired as head of NTSB's aviation office and was a senior investigator . during the flight 800 investigation, said in an interview. The documentary airs on the EPIX premium television channel. The documentary, TWA FLIGHT 800, premieres on July 17 at 8PM ET on cable network EPIX . An image shows the reconstructed section of the plane. Although 90 per cent of the aircraft was recovered, only the section around the central fuel tank was reconstructed . | Federal officials who investigated crash say they stand by conclusion .
National Transportation Safety Board held briefing for reporters .
Said crash was caused by overheated fuel tank vapors and not missile .
Documentary claims investigation was subject to government cover-up .
Say 200 people saw streak of light hit plane over Long Island . |
2,432 | 071d8c67e207d2e3f86b579fc8a5362b45038189 | By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 17:31 EST, 21 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:02 EST, 21 November 2013 . Mourners are to be fined £147 if funerals go on longer than their allotted 40 minute time limit at a council-run crematorium. North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple will add the additional charge to the cost of a ceremony if the time between the hearse arriving and the last mourners' cars departing exceeds 40 minutes. Devonshire funeral director David Williams says that the fine is 'not morally defensible', and has been added without warning. Fine: North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple will add the additional charge to the cost of a ceremony if the time between the hearse arriving and the last mourners' cars departing exceeds 40 minutes . He said: 'It is not nice - we were annoyed about it because it came through on our invoice. 'They had just snuck it on, no-one was ringing us up saying the service over-ran. 'And if the service is shorter than expected, the crematorium does not give money back to families. 'A funeral is not like a kids’ birthday party. 'People are distressed but they are just saying "You have 40 minutes, get in and get out", It’s not right. Mr Williams added that funeral directors are losing money because they do not wish to impose the fines on customers. He said: 'Funeral directors have been paying the charge rather than putting it on the bill, but it means our fees might have to be increased to cover it. 'It would be horrendous for us to put it on the bill. How can you justify that to the families? Controversial: Devonshire funeral director David Williams says that the fine is 'not morally defensible', and has been added without warning . 'They have just paid £2,000 and then we give them an extra fee.' Martin Williams, procurement and services delivery manager at North Devon Council which runs the crematorium, explained that funerals are booked in 40 minute slots. Services should last 30 minutes, allowing an additional 10 minutes for mourners to come and go. But he said that services can be extended by an additional 30 minutes if prearranged. He said: 'It is the funeral director’s responsibility to assess the bereaved family’s needs and book the appropriate length of service accordingly.' He added: 'All funeral directors were informed of these changes by letter before they were introduced. So far the council has only received complaints from three funeral directors out of a total of 81 in the area, according to Mr Williams. | North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple introduced the fine in April .
But local funeral directors have been paying the fee themselves .
David Williams says it is 'too horrendous' to add fine to mourners' bills . |
156,717 | 56a3102712a0d27840f147a214096f3a0e729909 | By . David Kent . Tim Sherwood launched an extraordinary attack on his players and the club after their 4-0 defeat against Chelsea on Saturday night. In an emotional post-match interview following his side’s capitulation against their London rivals, Sherwood hit out at a lack of characters in the Spurs dressing room, claimed there are players he ‘couldn’t count on’ and urged the club’s hierarchy to ‘wake up’ in their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. ‘There is a lack of character and, too many who are too nice to each other’, a furious Sherwood said after Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and two goals from Demba Ba saw Chelsea run riot against their capital neighbours. Lack of characters: A stunned Tim Sherwood shakes the hand of Jose Mourinho after the game . Distraught: Sherwood said there were certain members of the squad who he wouldn't count on . Despondent: He was quiet and noticeably upset with his side's performance in the interview . Click here to read the match report from Stamford Bridge . Speaking to Sky Sports, Sherwood added: ‘You can't always be someone's mate all the time. ‘It hurts me. We need to show more guts and the players have to drag it out of each other. ‘I ain't going to forget about this . by the time we get to the motorway. Some might. There's a few [players] I . would count on and there's a few I wouldn't. ‘We are miles away from the top four . unless we beat the top teams. There's been too many blips and we can't . rely on rolling smaller teams over. ‘People and the club think we will finish top four… wake up.' Penetrating glare: Sherwood looks at Nabil Bentaleb at the end of the match . Show your appreciation! He then points all his players towards the stands to thank their fans . Foul? This Younes Kaboul (left) tackle on Samuel Eto'o was adjudged to be a foul and a penalty . Gaffe: Walker (right) put Spurs goalkeeper Lloris in trouble with a dangerous header back towards goal . Going wrong: Kyle Walker and Sandro look downcast as they come off another beating by a top four club . 4-0: Spurs looked completely stunned by the way Chelsea took them apart during the end of the game . Frustration: Bentaleb chews on his shirt in anger after missing a chance for Tottenham . Foul? This Younes Kaboul (left) tackle on Samuel Eto'o was adjudged to be a foul and a penalty . Guilty: Kaboul looks towards the referee as Eto'o fall to the floor in the penalty area . Sending off: Younes Kaboul saw red after he was supposed to have pulled down Samuel Eto'o . Down and out: Michael Dawson shows his anger at the decision which ultimately cost Spurs the game . Sherwood's future as manager is in no way secure especially seeing as Louis van Gaal, the current Holland manager, has confirmed he will leave that position at the end of the season. Asked about Younes Kaboul's sending off which led to the second goal, Sherwood said: 'It’s not a penalty. And it’s not a sending off, but the . game’s finished after that. 'The fans were fantastic here for us,' he said. 'We let them down again on the big occasion. We're not going to finish top four if we can't beat the top teams. It ain't going to happen. Miles away - unless you beat the top teams. 'Alright we beat Man United, beat Everton who are in and teams . around us. But you’re reliant on rolling over, with respect, the smaller teams . and it can’t always happen like that.' Thrashed: A dejected looking Hugo Lloris as Chelsea surge to a triumphant 4-0 victory . No joy: Sherwood tries to articulate his intentions to his players from the touchline . Past it? Eto'o does an 'old man' celebration during Chelsea's 4-0 against Tottenham . Mistake: Sandro's (right) slip lead to Ba's first goal of the game at Stamford Bridge . Thrashing: Demba Ba scored Chelsea's second and third goals in the rout at Stamford Bridge . | Tim Sherwood said Tottenham have a lack of characters .
He reveals there are players he doesn't count on in important moments .
Sherwood says fans should 'wake up' if they think top four is possible . |
273,244 | edf7160af9cfcc9f1b01de472a256a04867f3a66 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department threw aside diplomatic language Tuesday, attacking Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for creating what it calls a "catastrophe" by throwing many international aid workers out of the country. President Omar al-Bashir ordered the expulsion of aid groups after he was indicted on war crimes charges. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a direct challenge to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Tuesday, warning that he and his government "will be held responsible for every single death that occurs in" the refugee camps of the Darfur region. Al-Bashir ordered the expulsion of 13 international aid groups from the Sudan earlier this month after he was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes. While other aid groups remain in Sudan, the United Nations said the 13 expelled groups provided roughly half the assistance delivered in Darfur. Nearly 300,000 people have died in the Darfur conflict, and millions are homeless, according to the U.N. Calling the situation in Darfur "horrendous," Clinton said President Obama's administration will appoint a special envoy for Sudan "in the coming days." On Wednesday, retired Air Force Gen. J. Scott Gration was appointed as U.S. special envoy for Sudan, the White House announced in a written statement. "Sudan is a priority for this administration, particularly at a time when it cries out for peace and for justice. The worsening humanitarian crisis there makes our task all the more urgent," President Barack Obama said in the statement. "General Gration's personal and professional background, and his service to the country as both a military leader and a humanitarian, give him the insights and experience necessary for this assignment." Gration, a former fighter pilot, served as assistant deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs. Fluent in Swahili, he was raised partly in Africa, where his parents were missionary teachers . Clinton said the real question now is what kind of pressure can be brought to bear on al-Bashir and the government in Khartoum to make them understand "that they will be held responsible for every single death that occurs in those camps." State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters, "It's just a catastrophe that Bashir has created. We're going to continue to make this case and we're imploring others to make this case that he needs to reverse that decision he took. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, could possibly be at risk and it's irresponsible, the action he took, and he needs to reverse it and reverse it immediately. People's lives are at risk." Clinton said countries that support al-Bashir's expulsion order "have the responsibility to persuade the government in Sudan to change its decision to let the aid workers back, or they must replace with money and personnel those who have been expelled so that innocent lives are not lost and further undermined." Clinton said the United States is "very concerned" and is looking for more effective ways to convince the Sudanese government that "they have assumed an even greater sense of responsibility and infamy in the eyes of the world by turning their backs on these refugees whom they created in the first place." Wood said it is clear that Bashir is the sole person at fault. "Bashir is to blame for this crisis on the ground," he said. His actions have only made things a lot worse. We are trying to get him to reverse this decision. We want to call on all those who have influence with the government of Sudan, institutions like the African Union, the Arab League, to do what they can to get Bashir to reverse his decision." Obama, during his election campaign, made the crisis in Darfur a major focus. Since then, some have criticized him for putting it on the back burner. Seeking to rebut that view, Wood listed all recent steps the administration has taken to resolve the situation. Last week, he said, Obama discussed the deteriorating situation in Sudan with U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon. U.S. officials have been meeting in New York, Washington and Khartoum with delegations from what Wood called "like-minded nations." Last weekend, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Sudan met with UNAMID (the African Union/United Nations operation in Darfur) and visited a camp for internally displaced people. And last week in New York, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice spoke with the president of South Sudan and the Sudanese ambassador to the U.N. Wood said the U.S. has been reaching out to the Arab League, the African Union and other countries with influence on Sudan, trying to convince them the decision to expel some aid groups "not only costs lives but serves to further isolate the country." Asked whether the U.S. supports a move to defer the ICC indictment of Bashir, Wood said it does not support "any deferral." | State Department says Sudan president throwing out aid agencies is "catastrophe"
Hillary Clinton warns Sudan president will be "responsible for every single death"
Omar al-Bashir wanted aid groups out after indictment on war crime charges .
Spokesman: Bashir must reverse decision because "people's lives are at risk" |
253,407 | d40549157e9e929ea611bc1ce48d08a5ee271e63 | Mauricio Pochettino isn't sure what reception he'll receive from the Southampton fans on Sunday, but has left them in no doubt he still loves the club. The Tottenham manager upped sticks at the end of last season - a move to coincide with a mass walkout by the club's top players at St Mary's. Pochettino has come in for some criticism after his decision to opt for a move to White Hart Lane after just 18 months in charge on the south coast. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Pochettino say his former club are the best in the league . And he isn't entirely convinced whether the travelling fans will applaud him this weekend. ‘I love Southampton. One year in the period of my life was amazing, but I left. I’ve got amazing memories, he said. ‘It’s football.' Saints have gone from strength to strength under the guidance of Ronald Koeman and sit second in the Premier League. That, says Pochettino, is something he's pleased about. 'When you start with a new project and new players then why not?' he said. 'The most important thing is belief and Southampton have a great force and power. They believe - I am happy.' Former Southampton manager Pochettino is not sure what reception he will receive on Sunday . Pochettino's departure coincided with a player exodus including Luke Shaw joining Manchester United . Adam Lallana left, was another to leave Southampton in a £25m summer move to Liverpool . It is a fixture Spurs could really do with winning after a stuttering start to life under the Argentine and is an afternoon that takes on added importance to the boss. 'I have a lot of friends and a lot of people that I love in Southampton.' Pochettino - who refuses to take credit for his former side's continued progression - added. 'I’m happy for their start to the league - the players and the people in the club. I have many good memories. ‘It’s a game that we need to get the three points. We need to fight with Southampton on Sunday. It’s emotional. Football is emotional.' | Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino faces Southampton for first time since leaving St Marys in the summer .
His departure coincided with a player exodus but the Saints have gone from strength to strength under Ronald Koeman .
Pochettino isn't entirely convinced whether the travelling fans will applaud him at White Hart Lane on Sunday . |
89,351 | fda2b6efb774af2cd3d8432299843a8d637d41d7 | By . Claire Ellicott . PUBLISHED: . 04:35 EST, 12 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:28 EST, 12 June 2013 . Yasmin Prest: 'Case wouldn't have been necessary if Michael had been fair' A British oil tycoon lost his landmark divorce battle against his ex-wife in the Supreme Court yesterday and was ordered to pay her £17.5million. Michael Prest, 50, one of Britain’s most successful black businessmen, argued that he could not pay his former wife as his assets were owned by his companies, not by him. But the court ruled that property worth £11million was held ‘in trust’ for him by companies he controlled and owned and ordered their transfer to Yasmin Prest, 49. Yesterday’s ruling sets a precedent because it reverses a previous judgment that had barred Mrs Prest from obtaining the properties as they were separate legal entities under corporate law. That decision had raised the prospect of wealthy husbands being able to ‘bury’ their assets in companies they own to protect them from generous divorce settlements. The Prests, who have four children, have spent almost £3million in legal fees contesting the divorce settlement following the break-up of their 15-year marriage in 2008. The Supreme Court heard that the couple were based in London but also had properties in Nigeria and the Caribbean and lived to a ‘very high standard’. Mrs Prest had been seeking a payout of more than £30million, plus more than £730,000 a year to meet the ‘reasonable needs’ of her and their children. Mr Prest, whose business was valued at £2.5billion in 2007, had offered her £27,000 a year and a lump sum of less than £2million. In 2011, the High Court ordered that Mr Prest should transfer a £4million property in London to his wife and make a lump sum payment of £17.5million. He was told to transfer seven UK properties owned by his company, and worth £11.3million, to his wife to partially meet the lump sum payment. The tycoon was also told to pay maintenance of £24,000 a year for each of his four children, along with school fees and medical bills. Multi-millionaire Michael Prest, 51, lost a lengthy legal battle over what he should pay his ex-wife Yasmin, 50 . His companies challenged the High Court . decision and won their case in the Appeal Court. But it led to Mrs Prest . taking the battle to the Supreme Court. The case revolved around the . question of whether courts had the power to treat assets owned by a . company as belonging to the person controlling the company. Marriage . law states that assets to which the ‘party is entitled, either in . possession or reversion’ can be transferred to a spouse in a divorce . settlement. The court concluded that the properties were held ‘on trust’ for Mr Prest by his companies and that the ‘particular circumstances’ of this case allowed them to order the transfer of the assets. The . judges reflected on the High Court’s criticism of the businessman in . their ruling, saying he had failed to comply with court orders ‘with . particular regard to disclosing evidence’. The Maida Vale home of multi-millionaire businessman Michael Prest who tried to keep his fortune from wife . They said: ‘The court . inferred that the reason for the companies’ failure to co-operate was to . protect the properties, which suggested that proper disclosure would . reveal them to [be] beneficially owned by the husband.’ It found . that Mr Prest had employed ‘obstruction, obfuscation and deceit’. Mrs . Prest, who still uses her married name, looked visibly relieved as the . judgment was read out yesterday and said it was ‘more a case of . satisfaction’ than celebration. ‘None of this would have been necessary . if Michael had been sensible and played fair,’ she said. Lawyers said that today's decision would have far-reaching implications for couples divorcing in the future . Her lawyer, . Jeremy Posnansky QC, said: ‘The Supreme Court’s decision will ensure . that dishonest husbands can’t cheat their wives and flout court orders . by hiding behind a web of deceit and a corporate façade.’ Mr Prest . did not attend. His lawyer, Martin Pointer QC, argued that the . companies’ assets were ‘held in trust’ for his children and those of his . siblings under Nigerian law. He argued that a £10,000 bequest from . his Nigerian father after he died in 1992 was the ‘seed money’ that . built his oil empire and his brother has begun a separate claim. Several . of Mr Prest’s companies are also appealing against the divorce payout. Lawyers said today's ruling would have important implications for divorcing couples in future . Lawyers today spoke of the far-reaching impact of today's Supreme Court ruling. Tom Farley-Hills, family partner at London law firm Harbottle & Lewis, said: 'If the Court of Appeal decision created a "Cheat's charter" by allowing someone to hide their assets behind the corporate veil, this ruling has ripped it up. 'It says husbands who use company structures for dishonest purposes will come unstuck. 'It also says that even when husbands have assets held within a company but who are not trying to circumvent claims by their spouses dishonestly – the nature of those assets and how they became corporate assets will be looked at closely by the courts to establish true ownership... 'It should allow spouses where their spouse has put assets used by the family into a structure to sleep a little more easily.' Alison Hawes, a specialist family lawyer at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said the ruling was a 'landmark'. She said: 'The ruling confirms that, if someone is the sole owner of a company, then if the court is satisfied that those assets are held by that company on trust for one party, they can be used as part of a divorce. 'It means that business people cannot deliberately "hide" their assets in businesses and corporate structures to protect them in future in the event of a divorce.' Michael Hutchinson, a partner at law firm Mayer Brown, said: 'The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark decision in which, for the first time since at least the end of the19th century, it has accepted a general exception to the rule against 'piercing the corporate veil'. 'This is an extraordinary decision and the implications for corporate governance are potentially huge. 'Businesses and lawyers will be poring over the judgment for some time to try to understand its limits.' Marilyn Stowe, a senior partner at Stowe Family Law, went on: 'The Supreme Court's decision is a victory for common sense.' | Michael Prest, 51, lost his Supreme Court fight against ex-wife Yasmin, 50 .
High-profile ruling ended lengthy legal battle over what counted as assets .
Court ruled that seven properties owned by his companies counted as his .
After today's decision Mrs Prest said her husband should have 'played fair'
Case will have implications for couples whose marriages fail in future . |
239,699 | c2531a9504d8bf47af8b07e555b6a9c0f46135de | Moving against tax avoidance . by corporations, the Obama administration took several actions . on Monday to curb 'inversion' deals that allow companies to . escape high U.S. taxes by reincorporating abroad. The Treasury Department announced new rules, effective . immediately, that will reduce the tax benefits available to . companies that have inverted, while also making new inversions . more difficult to do and less potentially rewarding. Because they took effect on Monday, the new rules might . raise issues for some of a handful of companies that have . agreed to do inversions, but have not yet completed them. Fast-food chain Burger King Worldwide Inc is in the . midst of inverting to Canada in a deal with coffee-and-donuts . vendor Tim Hortons Inc. A spokeswoman for Burger King . said the company declined to comment. Asked about the impact on pending deals, a senior Treasury . official told reporters on a conference call: 'If they are . closed and done as of today, then they are not subject to this. If they are closed tomorrow or after, they are subject to this.' U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is the driving force behind a new policy that penalizes companies for avoiding tax es by merging with overseas companies -- a scheme known as a corporate inversion . President Barack Obama, who has sharply criticized inverting . companies, said the Treasury Department's steps would . 'discourage companies from taking advantage of corporate . inversions - moving their tax residence overseas on paper to . avoid paying their fair share in taxes here at home.' The announcement of the rules followed months of growing . concern on Capitol Hill, with Democrats urging prompt . legislative action and Republicans pushing to address the . problem later, perhaps in 2015, as part of a broader overhaul of . the loophole-riddled federal tax code. Companies that do inversions, which are legal and already . subject to certain restrictions, say they are only trying to . minimize their tax bills, which investors expect. About 50 such deals have taken place since the early 1980s, . but half of those have been completed just since the 2008-2009 . credit crisis, according to a Reuters review. Inversions have surged in the past year, pursued by big . companies such as Burger King and medical technology group . Medtronic Inc, which is working to close an inversion . deal into Ireland with rival Covidien Plc. Medtronic spokesman Fernando Vivanco late on Monday told . Reuters: 'We are studying Treasury's actions. We will release . our perspective on any potential impact on our pending . acquisition of Covidien following our complete review.' Medtronic has said it expects to close the Covidien . acquisition by the end of this year or early 2015. Inversions usually involve a U.S. corporation buying a . smaller, foreign rival and redomiciling in its home country, . where taxes are lower, even though core operations typically . remain in the United States. Treasury Secretary Lew said in a statement: 'These first, . targeted steps make substantial progress in constraining the . creative techniques used to avoid U.S. taxes, both in terms of . meaningfully reducing the economic benefits of inversions after . the fact, and when possible, stopping them altogether.' A key target of Treasury's actions is foreign profits held . offshore by U.S. multinationals under a U.S. Internal Revenue . Service (IRS) rule that defers taxation on such profits unless . and until they are brought into the United States. Deal: Fast-food chain Burger King Worldwide Inc is in the midst of inverting to Canada in a deal with coffee-and-donutsvendor Tim Hortons Inc. One new Treasury rule will prevent inverted companies from . using 'hopscotch' loans that allow them to avoid dividend taxes . when tapping such tax-deferred foreign profits. Another rule . will bar inverters from gaining access to the same kinds of . profits by using 'decontrolling' strategies that restructure . foreign units so they are no longer U.S.-controlled. Treasury is also tightening limits on the levels of . ownership that the former U.S. owners can have in an inverted . company to qualify for foreign tax treatment from the IRS, a . move that will make it harder to do these deals. Some companies had feared that new rules might be imposed . retroactively, but they were not. Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac . Research Group, said the administration 'may succeed in chilling . the climate for further deals, but this was not as strident as . it could have been, especially in that they don't do anything . retroactively.' The rules were the administration's latest effort to tackle . what it sees as a pressing issue by taking executive actions . that side-step a gridlocked Congress. 'When corporations choose to invert and don't pay their fair . share of taxes, they leave the rest of us to pick up the tab,' said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin in a statement. 'Today, the Obama administration put these corporate tax . deserters on notice: we are not going to stand by while they . game the tax code and avoid their responsibility to our . country,' Durbin said. Though in disagreement about the issue's urgency, both . Democrats and Republicans have said inversions are a symptom of . a broken tax code that needs a thorough overhaul, a job that has . eluded Congress and successive presidents since 1986. Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the tax . law-writing Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement: 'In . the end, any solution that permanently addresses inversions must . be legislated by Congress.' | Common scheme sees US companies merging with foreign corporations so their taxes can be calculated at another country's lower rate .
US Treasury loses billions every year from these deals .
Burger King's plan to merge with the Canadian chain Tim Horton's sparked urgency in the White House .
Investors expect companies to minimize their tax bills but the White House now expects them to stay headquartered in the US regardless of the cost . |
180,413 | 758dbad66e4f9bfba0c58f60cf9f2aebdbbe0d89 | Queen of the Tardis: Helen Mirren has be rumoured to be up for the role of a lifetime. The actress said she would like the part of the Time Lord: 'I don't just want to be his sidekick' Television’s best-loved hero has survived volcanoes, nuclear blasts, black holes and his own death — ten times — in his struggle against cosmic evil. But after Matt Smith announced he intends to quit Doctor Who at Christmas, the character faces his greatest ever threat. It comes not from the Daleks or sinister Weeping Angels, but from the man entrusted with the show’s future. Steven Moffat, the show’s 51-year-old chief writer and executive producer, is threatening to fulfil an ambition that began as a joke more than a decade ago — and regenerate the Doctor as a woman. Actresses linked to the role include Helen Mirren, who has admitted she would leap at the chance. ‘I would like to play the new female Doctor Who. 'I don’t just want to be his sidekick,’ she has said. Other names put forward are Olivia Colman, who scored a double Bafta success last month following her sensational performance in crime thriller Broadchurch, and comedienne Miranda Hart. The notion of Miranda galumphing around the Tardis is enough to dismay any Whovian — as fans call themselves. Other female Whos in the frame are thought to include Ruth Jones, star and co-writer of Gavin And Stacey, and the Doctor’s former companion Billie Piper. She hinted heavily, after leaving in 2006, that she would love to return in the title role. Her character, Rose, is expected to feature in the 50th anniversary special scheduled for November. Great British Bake-Off host Sue Perkins said she was ‘beyond flattered’ earlier this year when a sci-fi website proposed her as a future Doctor. But a woman Doctor would be more than a disappointment to the show’s legion of fans — it would betray a British tradition. The character has been a role model for three generations of boys. Unlike conventional muscle-bound superheroes, the Doctor relies on intellect and ingenuity to triumph over violence. There is no one else quite like him on television. He’s proof that the sonic screwdriver is mightier than the sword. And in a Britain bristling with casual violence, that example is desperately needed. Why must the Doctor fall victim to a politically correct trend for ‘gender neutral’ childhoods? It may come as a surprise to many in these liberated times, but most little boys still grow up wanting to be men. And what finer example of a man — brave, reflective, with a keen sense of heroic duty — is there than Doctor Who? Departing: Matt Smith (pictured) is leaving the show after three series. He has been critically acclaimed for his portrayal of the Doctor and is the first actor to be nominated for a Bafta for the role . Tipped for the role: Great British Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins (left) writer and actress Ruth Jones (right) are both believed to be in line to be an unconventional Doctor . Potential Doctors: Actress of the moment, Olivia Colman (left) has been mentioned as a good fit for the role, while Miranda Hart (right) would give the part a comedic edge . Lady Who: Former companion Billie Piper (left) has hinted that she would love to return in the title role after she left the hit show in 2006. Actress Joanna Lumley (right) starred as the Doctor in a Comic Relief skit . Stephen Moffat, a childhood fan of the show, has done much that is praiseworthy since he took it over in 2009. He has brought it new emotional depth and given the Doctor a love interest for the first time. Moffat has revived a franchise that some had complained had grown too clever for its own good, others that it had become bogged down and boring. But now he seems intent on destroying all he has achieved. Last year, Moffat told an audience at the Edinburgh Television Festival that he had slipped a clue into an episode 12 months ago, an offhand line revealing that when a Time Lord regenerates, he could be reborn as a woman — a Time Lady. ‘It can happen,’ Moffat insisted. ‘The more often it is talked about, the more likely it is to happen some day.’ Warming to his theme, he asked for a show of hands at one convention in Cardiff to see how many would accept a woman Doctor. About a quarter said they would stop watching, but Moffat was undeterred. In fact, Moffat has already attempted it once, in a spoof starring Rowan Atkinson and Joanna Lumley, for the BBC’s Comic Relief night in 2009. Broadcast in four five-minute episodes throughout the charity telethon, ‘The Curse Of Fatal Death’ was a send-up that paid homage to the show. When the Doctor is killed by Daleks, he regenerates as a string of A-listers — Richard E. Grant, then Jim Broadbent, then Hugh Grant, before finally appearing as Lumley in a low-cut tunic and greatcoat. Doctor Lumley exits with her arch-enemy — played by Jonathan Pryce — on her arm. Companions: The show has gone through its fair share of female side kicks. The current companion is played by Jenna-Louise Coleman (left) who has signed up for the next series in 2014. Actress Karen Gillian (right) also starred alongside Matt Smith . It was a marvellous joke. But to take . it any further would be to swindle countless fans. The essence of the . character — as an archetypal hero, not heroine — would be lost. The . Doctor’s strength is that he always wins through by thinking rather . than fighting — an antidote to mainstream comic book and action movie . heroes Batman, Spiderman, Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, Rambo and . Wolverine. The Doctor was specifically created to counter that trend. In . 1963, post-war Britain was outstripped by technological advances in . Germany, Japan and America. The country was experiencing a ‘brain drain’ as our most brilliant scientists and researchers emigrated to find . better paid work. So the BBC set out to invent a hero who could make the scientific seem heroic. The first Doctor Who team working under then director-general Hugh Carleton Greene succeeded far beyond their hopes. As the Doctor saved the galaxy, science became as cool as The Beatles. Greene urged his team to focus on thought-provoking story-lines with lots of history, chemistry and physics lessons woven into the scripts. Favourites: David Tennant's time in the role, alongside companion Billie Piper is favoured by many of the show's loyal fans . Classic: Jon Pertwee's boundless energy as the Doctor has left a lasting impression on many viewers . For a generation of boys, this was eye-opening. They had a new figure to emulate: not just brave, but brainy. Using . only his brilliant scientific mind and his encyclopaedic knowledge, he . tackled aliens armed with death-rays, and came out on top. The . first Doctor, played by William Hartnell, was irritable and impossible — . softened only by his affection for his grand-daughter Susan, the . earliest of his intergalactic companions. The second, portrayed by Patrick Troughton, was a superman striving alone to hold back vast tides of evil. But Jon Pertwee personifies the Doctor for me. With his silver curls and ruffs, he exuded a boundless energy. For many, though, it was Tom Baker’s . fourth Doctor who perfected the character with his charisma, . eccentricities, humour, brilliance and lurking ruthlessness. His performance strongly influenced David Tennant as the tenth Doctor. After . five decades, the Doctor remains unique in the pantheon of boys’ own . heroes. There are other intellectuals, of course, but in the sports-mad . hurly-burly of the schoolyard, they offer little to emulate. Hercule Poirot is a pompous dandy. Sherlock Holmes is a drug-abusing loner. With boys lagging ever further behind girls in school league tables and as the pressure intensifies on young males to reject education, we need the Time Lord as never before. The greatest detective in Victorian London is Sherlock, not Shirley. Generations of grubby schoolboys have found much to admire in Just William, not Just Wilhemina. Agent 007 is James, not Jemima Bond. Why can’t Steven Moffat see this distinction? When I was six years old, peeping around the sofa at the Doctor outwitting cardboard monsters on a black-and-white TV, I was in awe of this towering hero and his adventures. The Doctor taught me some of the most valuable lessons of my childhood. Years later, it has been a joy to share his adventures with my own son. These tales enthral and educate, passing on crucial lessons about morality and the importance of learning. They will continue to do so for generations unless the BBC kills off the Doctor by casting a woman in the role and depriving small boys of his example for ever. | Current Doctor Who Matt Smith to quit role this Christmas after three series .
Was youngest Doctor Who so far, taking role aged 26 .
Producer Steven Moffat said to be open to casting a woman, despite fans' disapproval . |
246,340 | cad79bb113102f5fea51a2bbcfb164ac3b01c5b2 | Some higher learning institutions that have received small donations from education-loving Bill Cosby over the years have backed away from the entertainer amid a growing sex abuse scandal, but the schools to which he's donated millions are staying mum. Cosby's record of big donations to colleges and other institutions has been a key part of his rosy public image. He's handed millions to Spelman College, Morehouse and a handful of others who've hinted at no change to their relationship with the star. But even his generosity can't stand completely apart from the rising tide of allegations made by women accusing him of sexual assault. Scroll down for video . Staying mum: As schools that have received smaller donations from Bill Cosby back away from the entertainer amid growing sexual assault allegations, recipients of multi-million donations like Atlanta's Spelman College--which got $20 million from the actor in 1988--remain silent. Here, Cosby speaks with Spelman College president Dr. Beverly Tatum in 2006 . There have been no discussions about any changes surrounding Cosby's gift to Spelman, the woman's college in Georgia, according to Audrey Arthur, spokeswoman for Spelman . A North Carolina school, High Point University, removed the 77-year-old entertainer from its National Board of Advisors, a panel that includes retired Gen. Colin Powell. The university referred to Cosby as 'one of the most influential performers of our time' when it announced his appointment last July. The Berklee College of Music said in a statement Monday that it is 'no longer awarding an online scholarship in Mr. Cosby's name. The college has no further comment at this time.' More telling would be a decision by an institution to publicly renounce any of the tens of millions of dollars that he and his wife, Camille, have given over the years, or rejection of a new donation. Neither has occurred. Cosby's legacy of giving is decades-old and extensive, and includes: . $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988 . $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine . $1 million in 2004 to the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia . $2 million from Cosby's wife, Camille, to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore in 2005 . 'I don't want to belittle the implications of the accusations, but nothing has been proven and he has not been charged,' said Michael Chatman, a philanthropy expert and founder of a speakers' bureau on the field. Recipients of Cosby largesse are likely to adopt a wait-and-see attitude because of that, he said. If there was to be a verdict in a criminal or civil case, 'I think you would see a devastating effect in terms of his philanthropic and charitable legacy,' Chatman said. It's unlikely an institution would return a donation, he said, but new recipients could be expected to carefully weigh the implications of accepting money. There was no response from Cosby's publicist to a request for comment. His attorney, Martin Singer, has called the growing number of sexual assault allegations 'unsubstantiated' and 'discredited' and accused the media of vilifying the actor and comedian once known as 'America's dad' for his role as a loving patriarch on the hit sitcom 'The Cosby Show.' Cosby's legacy of giving is decades-old and extensive, topped by a $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988 and including, among many other donations, $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine; $1 million in 2004 to the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia; and $2 million from Cosby's wife, Camille, to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore in 2005. According to Internal Revenue Service filings, more than $800,000 in scholarship grants were given through the William and Camille Cosby Foundation from July 2000 to June 2013. Earlier this month, the Cosbys loaned works from their extensive collection of African-American art to the Smithsonian Institution for an exhibit. Big spender: Cosby arrives to a fundraising event in Fredericksburg, Virginia for the National Slavery Museum with Professor Gerald Foster. Cosby's legacy of giving is decades-old and extensive . Playing favorites: Temple University said Bill Cosby remains a trustee of the Philadelphia institution, a position he's held since 1982. He's considered its most famous alum and has often spoken at commencement, drawing huge cheers . There have been no discussions about any changes surrounding Cosby's gift to Spelman, the woman's college in Georgia, according to Audrey Arthur, spokeswoman for Spelman. At the time, it was the largest donation ever by a black donor to a historically black college, which later established an academic center named for Camille Cosby and an endowed professorship for visiting scholars in Bill Cosby's name. A recent report on donations to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where Cosby received his doctorate, indicates Bill and Camille Cosby have given the school between $250,000 and $499,999. Cosby also did a benefit performance in 2004 that raised $1.5 million for Amherst, and last year was named an honorary co-chair of the school's $300 million fundraising campaign. Cosby's status with the campaign has not changed, the university said. Temple University said Bill Cosby remains a trustee of the Philadelphia institution, a position he's held since 1982. He's considered its most famous alum and has often spoken at commencement, drawing huge cheers. A Temple spokesman confirmed the campus has no buildings named for Cosby but does offer a $3,000 science scholarship named for Cosby and his wife. He declined further comment on Cosby's philanthropy. In 2006, Cosby settled a lawsuit filed by a former Temple employee who alleged he drugged and fondled her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion. Cosby was represented by Patrick O'Connor, chairman of Temple's board of trustees. Andrea Constand - A Temple University employee, she claimed in 2006 that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia-area mansion two years earlier. Cosby eventually settled this suit out of court as the prosecution said they had 13 Jane Does who would testify Cosby did the same to them in the past. Barbara Bowman - Bowman told MailOnline that Cosby raped and drugged her back in 1985 when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. Bowman was one of the 13 Jane Does in the 2006 trial against Cosby. Joan Tarshis - Tarshis claimed that she was just 19-years-old when Cosby drugged and raped her twice in Hollywood back in 1969 while she was working as a writer for him. Janice Dickinson - The supermodel (pictured right) said in an interview that Cosby asked her to come to Lake Tahoe and talk about a television role in 1982, but ended up drugging and raping her. Tamara Green - Green, who first came forward in 2005 told MailOnline that she was an aspiring actress in the 1970s when Cosby gave her pills and pretended to care for her while she had the flu, but instead sexually assaulted her. Therese Serignese - Also one of the 13 Jane Does, she says she was 19 when Cosby drugged and raped her in Las Vegas after one of his shows. Louisa Moritz - She accused Cosby of sexual assault, saying he once forced her into oral sex, backstage at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1971, and implied he would further her career if she went through with it. Linda Joy Traitz - She said earlier this week that she was just 19 when Cosby drove her out to a beach and tried to get her to take pills to relax, before becoming 'sexually aggressive'. Traitz, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, has been charged in the past with trafficking pills. Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, is trying to use Traitz's past to discredit her claims against his client. Beth Ferrier - Beth Ferrier claims she had relationship with Cosby in the mid-1980s. She claims that she awoke in her car with her clothes in disarray and not remembering what had happened. Ferrier has claimed that he drugged her coffee. Carla Ferrigno - The wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, claims Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967. What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room. Angela Leslie - The former model-actress claims that Cosby forced her to masturbate him in his Vegas hotel suite after giving her a strong drink in 1992. Renita Chainey Hill - The 47-year-old mother-of-three who met Cosby when she was offered a role on Picture Pages in Pittsburgh claimed he would fly her to different cities around the United States and drug her during a four-year relationship. Kristina Ruehli - A New Hampshire grandmother-of-eight, now 71, claims Cosby invited her back to his house for 'party'. She arrived and no one was there. Ruehli alleges that he drugged two bourbons he poured her and she came to when he was on top of her, shirtless. Victoria Valentino - The former Playboy playmate claims Cosby drugged her and a friend, tried to rape her friend then violated her instead in a Hollywood apartment after dinner. Jewel Allison - The former model accused Cosby of drugging her wine and making her feel his genitals before kissing her during a dinner at his home in the late Eighties. Michelle Hurd: The 47-year-old actress, best known for her roles on Law & Order: SVU and Gossip Girl, revealed she was a stand-in on the set of The Cosby Show when Cosby started acting inappropriately around her. In a Facebook post this weekend, she described being touched in ways she did not like and being asked to eat lunch with him in his dressing room. Then, things became too much for Hurd. 'I dodged the ultimate bullet with him when he asked me to come to his house, take a shower so we could blow dry my hair and see what it looked like straightened,' she says. 'At that point my own red flags went off and I told him, "No, I’ll just come to work tomorrow with my hair straightened'''. Joyce Emmons: The former comedy club manager claims she woke up naked next to a friend of Bill Cosby after the comedian gave her a sedative when she complained of a migraine. Joyce Emmons told TMZ that the comedian slipped her Quaalude when she was in his Las Vegas hotel suite in the 1970s. She claims Cosby drugged her but has not accused him of sexual assault. Lachele Covington: The 20-year-old actress, who’d been an extra on the TV show Cosby, filed a police report in March 2000 against the star, accusing him of making an unwelcome sexual advance. According to The New York Post, after dinner and drinks at his home, he massaged her then 'guided her hand towards his sweatpants'. Cosby denied the claim and no charges were filed. | The black women's college in Atlanta has a building bearing wife Camille Cosby's name and is not among the schools pulling support from Bill .
Meanwhile a North Carolina college pulled Cosby's name from its board of advisers .
The Berklee College of Music in Boston is 'no longer awarding an online scholarship in Mr. Cosby's name'
Spelman is the largest recipient, but other schools who've benefited from Cosby's millions like Temple, Amherst and Morehouse also remain mum . |
236,679 | be54c289e9ed4bebb7ce3b256d18bb44b490d800 | This lucky zebra dramatically earned his stripes by fighting off a vicious crocodile attack. A herd of zebras had been enjoying a refreshing drink at a waterhole in Kenya when a group of crocodiles crept up on them. Suddenly one of the fearsome predators launches itself out of the water, only narrowly missing its prey with its razor sharp teeth. Scroll down for video . Panic at the waterhole: The zebras make a desperate break for land after a huge crocodile leaped out of the water and attacked . Instinctively the zebra lashes out, kicking its back hoof straight into the face of the croc, forcing it to retreat. Photographers Laurent Renaud and Dominique Haution captured the watery war while on safari in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Laurent, a 55-year-old teacher from northern France, said: "It was all very dramatic. All quiet: The zebras enjoy a peaceful drink Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, moments before the crocodiles attacked . Something's up: One of the zebras notices something in the water . Enemy in their midst: The zebra appears to glance at a crocodile that has managed to approach within inches . Snapper: The powerful crocodile strikes, opening its fearsome jaws and lunging toward the startled zebra which tries to leap out of the way . Dinner time: The Crocodile snaps its jaws shtu and appears to almost get a grip on the zebra . Near miss: The crocodile appears to catch one of the zebras by the tail as the panicked animals race for the safety of dry land . Photographers Laurent Renaud and Dominique Haution captured the dramatic scenes while on safari in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya . "About 100 zebras were trying to cross the river and they just stopped for a quick drink. "Some zebras have seen a crocodile before, but many just think they're logs. "Fortunately they always remain apprehensive while drinking which meant all of them got away safely. "At the end, the crocodiles were furious - they were angrily baring their teeth from across the river." Relief: The zebra stands on the bank after its miraculous escape . Grinning: The fortunate animal almost appears to smile after escaping becoming crocodile's meal . Out of luck: The crocodiles are left looking hungry and fed up on the opposite bank . | Photo series taken in Kenyan nature reserve shows zebras norrowly escaping from fearsome predators .
One zebra appears almost certainly capture, but leaps free with inches to spare .
Attacking crocodile gets a kick in the face to rub salt into the wound . |
75,846 | d713d086a495eab600c46a1a9c82d8c0edab8ed9 | By . Alex Greig . PUBLISHED: . 14:27 EST, 18 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:56 EST, 19 July 2013 . A 36-year-old grandmother has been arrested after her 10-month-old granddaughter was found to have ingested methamphetamine in Arkansas on Tuesday. Marsha Ann Stevens put her granddaughter to bed at 9pm on Tuesday night but heard the baby screaming 10 minutes later. The baby's 20-year-old mother Courtney Stevens was also in the house and called 911 when the child began vomiting. Drug use: Marsha Stevens, 36, has been arrested after her 10-month-old granddaughter ingested some of her meth . The baby was taken by ambulance to the St Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas but when her condition worsened she was airlifted to the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. According to the incident report, hospital staff said the baby's eyes were open wide and she 'could not stay still and was moving constantly and appeared to be very scared.' Young mother: Courtney Stevens, 20, with her 10-month-old daughter . When doctors discovered methamphetamine in the baby's system the police were notified. Officers ran both the Stevens women's names through dispatch and discovered Marsha Stevens had previous arrests for possession of methamphetamine and was already on probation. Stevens senior was arrested at her home on the 400 block of Slate St for introducing a controlled substance to another's body, possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a minor. She was taken to the Craighead County Detention Center. Mother and daughter: Courtney (left) and (right) Marsha Stevens . Courtney Stevens admitted to police that she knew her mother took methamphetamine but said that she herself was clean. In a doorstep interview with a WREH reporter, she said, 'They’re trying to make it like my baby swallowed a whole bag of dope, but no.' Police say that Courtney Stevens told them her mother handed her a plastic sachet of methamphetamine that was 'wet and appeared to have been chewed on,' when the ambulance arrived at their home. She was cited for endangering the welfare of a minor because she knew about her mother's drug use and allowed her to be in an 'unsafe environment'. Removed: The baby daughter and granddaughter of the Stevens women is still in hospital but won't return to the Slate St home when she's discharged . Jailbird: Marsha Stevens is now being held in Craighead Country Detention Center . Two others were arrested at the Stevens home for unrelated offenses. The baby is still at the Children's Hospital but her condition is improving. According to Breitbar, Courtney Stevens' daughter will not be returned to her care. Courtney Stevens said in a written statement to local reporters: 'I cant have my baby back on the simple fact that my momma has a drug history and leaving my baby with my momma while I was going to a job interview was my fault. Their [sic] taking my baby because of that.' On Tuesday Courtney Stevens' Facebook profile picture was changed to a picture of herself and her daughter. It is unclear when or if she will be allowed to have the child back. | A 10-month-old baby is in a stable condition in hospital after ingesting methamphetamine .
The drugs belonged to her grandmother, Marsha Stevens, 36 .
Stevens has been arrested .
The baby's mother, Courtney Stevens, 20, has been cited for child endangerment . |
40,778 | 730655d5d1f29496344388805a891c3e3fd2a64e | Reece Elliott, 24, from South Shields, today admitted threatening to kill 'at least 200' American school children in a series of vile Facebook messages . A British internet troll caused ‘hysteria’ in America by posting messages on Facebook threatening to kill hundreds of people in a school massacre, a court heard yesterday. Reece Elliott, 24, said he would drive to a school in Tennessee and ‘kill at least 200 before I kill myself’. He suggested someone should call police because ‘I’m on my way’. Yesterday, after a judge warned Elliott he faces a jail term, his girlfriend said: ‘He only did it for a laugh.’ The father of one, from South Shields, South Tyneside, posted the threat and other offensive comments ‘to see what kind of reaction he could provoke’, Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday. As a result, 3,000 children were kept off school on that day in Warren County, Tennessee. Security was stepped up at schools across the area as the authorities implemented ‘lockdown’, with armed guards on duty and restricted access to schools. The Facebook threats were made at a time when tension was high in the US following the slaughter of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, last December, by gunman Adam Lanza. Elliott admitted one count of making threats to kill and eight of sending grossly offensive messages. He has been held in custody since his arrest in February and was told by Judge James Goss that a prison term was ‘inevitable’. Sentencing was adjourned for reports. Popular Caitlin Talley, who died aged 17 in a car crash last October, was a student at Warren County High School . Elliott admitted posting under a pseudonym on the tribute website - his messages sent panic through Warren County . The series of vile messages were posted on the RIP Caitlin Talley Facebook site in February this year . The FBI and Homeland Security traced . the culprit to Elliott’s mother’s address in South Shields. He had been . staying there following an argument with his girlfriend. Elliott was ‘well aware that he was . wanted’ and handed himself in to police. The threat was made on a . tribute site to 17-year-old Caitlin Talley, a popular student at Warren . County High School who was killed in a car accident last October. Using a false name, Elliott wrote: ‘My . father has three guns. I’m planning on killing him first and putting . him in a dumpster. Around 3,000 schoolchildren stayed home from school in Warren County after Elliott posted his online threats . Then I’m taking the motor and I’m going in fast. I’m . gonna kill hopefully at least 200 before I kill myself. So you want to . tell the deputy, I’m on my way.’ He also wrote vile abuse about the dead teenager. Gary Buckley, prosecuting, said of . Elliott: ‘He said he was a part-time troll. He said he decided to post . offensive comments to see what kind of reaction he could provoke. ‘He confirmed he did post the postings . on Facebook and therefore did make these threats but he didn’t expect . the threats to be taken seriously and didn’t expect them to cause the . reaction they did.’ [caption . Mr Buckley said by using the American terms ‘dumpster’ and ‘deputy’, Elliott made his threats seem more believable. Speaking after his arrest, his . girlfriend, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Reece has a child . himself, he would not hurt children. ‘He does things for a laugh on Facebook – that’s what he does.’ | Reece Elliott, 24, admitted threatening to kill and sending grossly offensive messages at Newcastle Crown Court today .
He left abusive posts under a pen-name on a Facebook tribute site for teenager who died in car crash .
Thousands of American children kept off school in Tennessee after threats were posted . |
114,617 | 1feece7046880c574ed50862c69edd9ddb995b43 | (CNN) -- Midway through this month's Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, there was a bright and glorious full moon that lit the night sky high above the Earth. Down below, men and women from around the world competed for medals on behalf of their countries. As usual, special attention was paid to the contests between American and Russian athletes. On Sunday the closing ceremonies in Sochi will lower the curtain on the Winter Games. The ceremonies, as is tradition, are expected to center on two themes: competition, and the common ground that exists between different nations. The view of that full moon during the Olympics, though -- so far away from the sights and sounds of the athletic contests -- brought to mind an era, not so very long ago, when competition between the United States and what was then called the Soviet Union was a much more serious game than anything played out on ice rinks or ski slopes. There were two quotes that galvanized the world back then, two quotes that set the urgent game in motion. The first was from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. He spoke the words in 1958, directed at Western nations and their capitalistic way of life. Translated from the Russian language, the words appeared in banner headlines in big cities and small towns across the United States: . "We will bury you." In an America already on edge during the stare-down atmosphere of the Cold War, it is difficult to imagine Khrushchev's warning being any more unequivocal than that. The second quote was from President John F. Kennedy, delivered in 1962 at Rice University. Even now, the concise confidence of his pledge, the contrast in tone from what Khrushchev had said, is stunning: . "We choose to go to the moon." Just like that. That impossible thing -- that thing no one had ever done, that thing that all but defied dreams. And, in case anyone missed the extent of his determination, Kennedy explained why the United States was going to attempt such feats: "not because they are easy, but because they are hard ... because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win." Talk about high stakes. The United States had been woefully behind the Soviets in the space race. Now the president was promising to go to the moon, not just someday, but "in this decade." It still seems almost beyond belief, except that it happened. The race into space that followed those two famous declarations -- "We will bury you" and "We choose to go to the moon" -- mesmerized the nation in ways difficult to describe for those who were not born in those years. There was one day in particular, early in the effort, when the United States was still trying to catch up with the Soviets and put a man into Earth's orbit. It was in 1962 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Walter Cronkite, reporting for the CBS television network, was doing his best to be dispassionate and objective as the giant Atlas rocket, with an American inside the tiny capsule atop it, thundered fearsomely into the skies. "Flight seems to be on target so far," Cronkite said. "Looks like a good flight." And then the emotion of it all, the importance of the contest at hand, overtook him. If it is possible for a baritone voice to keen, that's what it sounded like: so unexpected and so right, a proud and almost prayerful keening as the rocket lifted: . "Oh, go, baby!" Then, not long after, a disembodied voice from beyond where anyone could see, the voice of the man alone in the capsule, John Glenn, telling a waiting world that he was in orbit and had achieved weightlessness, that he was free of the Earth's gravity. The sound of that faraway voice on that day, the flat Midwestern cadence, no more tense or jittery than if he were back in his hometown of New Concord, Ohio, ordering a cheeseburger and a milkshake at the corner hangout: . "Zero G, and I feel fine." The United States would win the contest; Kennedy was dead before the end of that decade, but, just as he had vowed, Americans walked on the moon by the time the 1970s commenced. There have been only 12 people in the history of humankind who have stepped onto the moon. All were Americans. The Soviets never made it. Was it worth the effort? Have the fruits of the victory meant much, in the long run? Those are questions for each American to decide for himself or herself. This month athletes from the United States and Russia have engaged in spirited and friendly competition at the Sochi Games. No one was threatening to bury the losers of the contests. It is Khrushchev himself who is now buried; he has been gone since 1971. Today, in space, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts circle the Earth in harmony together, traveling aboard the International Space Station. A different world in which we all live. The old race -- the race to conquer space, that deadly earnest competition -- is consigned to history. On Sunday, two weeks of beautiful and immeasurably less momentous games will come to a close at a stadium in Russia. And above those games this month, there was that moon. A reminder of a time when, in ways sometimes difficult to recall, anything at all seemed somehow possible. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene. | Bob Greene says Olympics thankfully didn't echo 1960s competition between superpowers .
He says when Soviets, U.S. competed in space race, the goal galvanized Americans .
He says they saw Kennedy's moon goal as repudiation of Khrushchev's "bury you" remark .
Greene: U.S. got there first; today, there's no race, just friendly competition, like in Sochi . |
245,027 | c920d65b791728212247a7f6c53a24c4ccd5a04d | ESPN host Stephen A. Smith has says that his comment to women that 'you can do your part' not to incite domestic violence from men was the 'most egregious error' of his career during a prerecorded apology aired on First Take today. ESPN issued a statement shortly after Smith's apology saying that it demonstrates that 'he recognizes his mistakes and has a deeper appreciation of our company values.' Smith explains that when discussing Ray Rice's two-game suspension last Friday for knocking his fiancee unconscious, 'my words came across that it was somehow a woman's fault.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Tape talk: Stephen A. Smith apologized to ESPN viewers for insinuating that women 'provoke' domestic abuse from men . 'This was not my intent. It is not what I was trying to say,' he adds. Cohost . Cari Champion added that 'provoke' can be a trigger word for abuse victims. The ESPN2 program then quickly cut to a live on-air roundtable about LeBron James and there was . no further discussion about Smith's comments. Smith made the 'provoke' comments during a discussion of the NFL being too lenient . on Rice, the Baltimore Ravens player who was captured on camera . knocking out his . then-fiancee (now wife) at an Atlantic City casino and . dragging her limp body from the elevator. Smith stated that no man . should ever hit a woman, but added that women, for their part, can take responsibility for avoiding that abuse. 'Let's make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions,' he said. Smith has spoken about abuse before when . Bengals player Chad Johnson was arrested for domestic battery, saying . that Johnson 'put himself in this situation' because of 'who he . married.' The . harshest criticism of Smith came from within the ESPN organization, . with SportsNation cohost Michelle Beadle expressing her disgust last . Friday. Shocking: Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice seen dragging unconscious fiancee out of elevator after alleged domestic violence attach . Taken to task: ESPN host Michelle Beadle didn't let her work relationship with Smith get in the way of her indignation at his comments . Scathing: Beadle didn't hold back in her condemnation of Smith's comments . Victim-blaming: Beadle alluded to the victim-blaming culture surrounding rape . In another tweet, Beadle said, 'I'm thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend...I'd hate to think what I'd be asking for by doing so @stephenasmith. #dontprovoke.' She went on: 'Violence isn't the victim's issue. It's the abuser's. To insinuate otherwise is irresponsible and disgusting. Walk. Away.' Smith reacted to criticism with a long Twitter rant that has since been deleted. Lenient punishment: Ray Rice was caught on camera knocking his then-fiancee out cold and dragging her body from a casino elevator and was given a two-game suspension . 'Enough is enough,' he wrote. 'I simply asked: now what about the other side … what about addressing women on how they can help prevent the obvious wrong being done upon them?' In subsequent tweets, he essentially reiterated the comments he made on-air. The recent taped segment echoes a statement that was issued on Friday after Smith's tweets, in which he said that he does 'not believe a woman provokes the horrible domestic abuses that are sadly such a major problem in our society.' He also apologized if his comments were taken to convey anything other than his condemnation of violence against women. | Stephen A. Smith apologized for comments about victims of abuse during on-air discussion of Ray Rice's two-game suspension .
ESPN releases statement that Smith 'recognizes his mistakes'
Smith initially said that while men should not hit women, women should not 'provoke' men .
ESPN2 host Michelle Beadle tweeted her disgust at Smith after original comments . |
232,698 | b94d7e313341ffc10960888e6669a76e8561775b | By . Sophie Jane Evans for MailOnline . From albino children playing with a stick to a woman suspended in a mass of feathers, these beautiful photos capture the best of mankind and nature. The striking images are among hundreds of pictures to have been submitted so far by photographers to the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards. They include a stunning basilica in Barcelona, two elephants touching trunks in South Africa and an old woman sitting on a step in Varanasi, India. Stunning: This photo was taken by Kathryn Hallett, from Canada, for the 'amateur/open' category of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards. It shows the Sagrada Familia, a yet unfinished basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by architect Antoni Gaudí. The structure is designed to feel as though you are standing in a forest . Beautiful: This photo, taken by Valeria Gradazzi (amateur), from Italy, is titled 'Under the mango tree'. It is part of a photo series focusing on the life of albinos in Africa . Incredible: Ahmad Zikri Mohamad Zuki (amateur), from Malaysia, named this artwork 'Times are hard for dreamers'. It shows a woman suspended in a mass of feathers . Religious connotations: Nick Ng (amateur), from Malaysia, named this piece 'Via Crucifis'. It shows a devotee being helped up in one of the 14 stations of The Cross during the morning rites of Via Crucis or The Way of The Cross during The Passion of Christ reenactment on Good Friday. It was shot in San Pedro, Pampanga in the Phillipines . Windswept: Steve Cooke (amateur), from New Zealand, submitted this photo of a boy standing on an air vent in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was titled 'Urban Echo' 'Old lady': Ashwini Kapoor (amateur), from India, took this image during a walk in Varanasi, a city on the banks of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, 200 miles south of Lucknow . A sweet gesture: Seyms Brugger (amateur), from South Africa, took this spectacular black-and-white photo of elephants touching trunks at Okaukuejo Waterhole . Breathtaking: Simone Eisath (amateur), from Italy, took this image of a fisherman on Inle Lake, Myanmar (left), while Mohamad Javad Jowkar (amateur), from Iran, labelled this 'Sassanid Palace' (right). The palace at Sarvestan is a Sassanid-era building in the Iranian province of Sarvestan, some 90km south-east of Shiraz . They also feature a large puddle in New Zealand, a white fallow deer surrounded by mist in Germany and a Romanian artist walking along a tightrope. The Awards, organised by the World Photography Organisation, have welcomed more than 700,000 entries from over 230 countries since 2007. They seek the 'very best in international contemporary photography' from entrants in four categories: professional, amateur, youth and student. This year, the competition was opened on June 3 and remains open for entries until December 6 (student category), January 5, 2015 (amateur/open and youth categories) and January 8, 2015 (professional category). Colourful: Rudi Steenbruggen (amateur), from the Netherlands, described this image as 'life seen through the bubble of a bubblemaker at the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin' Playing: The striking images are among hundreds of pictures to have been so far submitted by photographers to the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards. Above, this image by Nick Ng (amateur), from Malaysia, shows an Ulinggan child playing in the abandoned Smokey Mountain in Manila, where there are still a few families staying . Nature: Georg May (amateur), from Germany, titled this piece 'Morning Hour'. It shows a white fallow deer standing in the morning mist at Eifel National Park in Germany. Daredevil stunt: This photo, which was taken by Adrian Capusan (amateur), from Romania, depicts a local artist practicing the tightrope before a performance . Gorgeous: Kris Williams (amateur), from the UK, spent several hours shooting around the church in the sea of St Cwyfan's above Aberffraw to get this stunning photo . Who's that? Georg May (amateur), from Germany, titled this amazing picture 'Hi... who are you?'. It shows a Blue Tit looking at its reflection in some water . Academic: Bao Vu (amateur), from Vietnam, submitted this stunning black-and-white photo of a teacher in Hanoi, Vietnam, to the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards . Adorable: Ekaterina Grigoryeva (amateur), from Russia, labelled this image 'Red Panda'. It shows a 'clever and funny' red panda licking its lips at Hong Kong's Ocean Park . Puddle: Steve Cooke (amateur), from New Zealand, shot this photo of an undisturbed puddle in London's Piccadilly Circus. Two red buses and tourists are also pictured . Snowy: This photo, taken by Andrey Kozlovsky (amateur), from Russia,is titled 'Winter in Russia'. It shows an expanse of grass in Kostroma covered in snow . Entrants: Ali Alzuhair (amateur), from Saudi Arabia, titled this image (left) 'Vegetable seller'. It shows a vegetable seller in Saudi Arabia placing some vegetables on the side of street as he prepares for his day's work. Meanwhile, Josie Eldred (amateur), from Australia, took this photo of a grazing kangaroo (right) in the Hunter Valley . Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on April 23, 2015, with prizes including cash and cutting-edge digital equipment from Sony. Last year's winner of the L’Iris d’Or/ . Photographer of the Year title was American photographer Sara Naomi . Lewkowicz for her series ‘Shane and Maggie’, a powerful and intimate . examination of domestic violence as a process. To enter your work or for more information, visit www.worldphoto.org. Tattooed: The Awards, organised by the World Photography Organisation, have welcomed more than 700,000 entries from over 230 countries since 2007. Above, Kyaw Kyaw Winn (amateur), from Myanmar, took this photo of 'the old Chin woman with a tattooed face' who is a member of the Chin tribe in the state of Myanmar . In the wild: Leo Bakx (amateur), from the Netherlands, titled this image 'The wild bunch'. It features a group of deer standing in front of mountains at Glen Etive, Scotland . Simply beautiful: Denis Esakov (amateur), from Russia, named this artwork 'Acute blue, missing deep yellow'. It depicts a constructivist building in Nizhny Novgorod . Remote: Manuel Fuentes (amateur), from Chile, titled this image 'Lost House'. It shows a house 'going to nowhere' with several snowy mountains in the background . Man's best friend: Ph'm Xuân Hi'n (amateur), from Vietnam, took this image of a child dressed in a red headscarf and a puppy waiting patiently - for what, we are not sure . Gathered in prayer: This image by Riski Januar (amateur), from Indonesia, is named 'Berdoa di Gumuk Pasir (praying in the sand dunes)' in a desert in Indonesia . 'There was immense depth in his eyes': Sayan Mukherjee (amateur), from India, submitted this compelling photo of an old man sat in Kolkata to the competition . Towering: Peter Eberhardt (amateur), from Germany, named this shot simply 'Architecture'. It shows a towering building near the Messe in Frankfurt, Germany . Fishing: Marianna Mosconi (amateur), from Italy, named this piece 'Fisherman'. It was taken in a 'wonderful little seaside town in central Vietnam' Determined: Riski Januar (amateur), from Indonesia, named this image 'Dari Abu Gunung Kelud Menuju Pasar' (From mountain ash Kelud to market). The photographer said: 'The ash that covered the city jogja has paralysed some public facilities and economic development in the city. However, people still go to work' | Striking images were submitted to the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards by photographers across the world .
They include two albino children playing with stick, a stunning basilica in Barcela and elephants touching trunks .
They also feature a large puddle in New Zealand and a white fallow deer surrounded by morning mist in Germany .
Awards, run by the World Photography Organisation, seek 'very best in international contemporary photography'
This year, contest remains open for entries until December 6, January 5 and January 8; dependent on category . |
42,572 | 78063c45d366d276ec00f79f34cc0f7e65331e6c | Paralympic champion pictured jogging on track in Pretoria . First time seen running since he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp . Family say he is still too traumatised to begin full training programme . Agent says he has not yet made decision on July's World Championships . By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 05:11 EST, 4 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:55 EST, 5 April 2013 . Murder suspect Oscar Pistorius has not resumed training and is still highly traumatised following the tragic death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, according to his family. Pistorius's family have released a . statement after pictures of him jogging around a running track in . Pretoria were published in a South African newspaper, raising the . prospect of his return to competition again. The photograph, taken by a member of a children's hockey team, shows the three-time 2012 Paralympic gold medal winner wearing his blades around the track at the University of Pretoria. His family deny he is engaged in any formal programme, but admit they have been proactive in encouraging him to begin training again soon. Back in training: Pistorius was spotted jogging across the track at the University of Pretoria . Pistorius is on bail after being charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend and his next court appearance is on June 4 and is likely to stand trial before the end of the year. The statement said: 'Oscar is not back . on any official training programme. This may change in future, but this . will be a decision taken by Oscar, and Oscar alone. 'At this point Oscar is still in an . extremely traumatised state and has made it clear to all of us that he . is not able or willing to even contemplate this issue at this stage. 'We can confirm that we did have a . meeting with Oscar yesterday where various family members and his . trainer were present. We all encouraged him to get back onto the track . to help stabilise him emotionally. 'Oscar has been out running on a . number of isolated occasions in the days following the relaxation of his . bail conditions, but each time has been very difficult and he has . "struggled immensely" with the decision to even leave the house. 'As a family however we encourage him to start exercising as we believe it is a vital step in helping him deal with the trauma.' Tragedy: Steenkamp died after being shot in the bathroom at Pistorius's home . The . Afrikaans-language Beeld newspaper carried the image on the front page of its Thursday edition. The double amputee is wearing his blades and walking with his hands on his hips. There had been reports suggesting the . 26-year-old will be given the green light to compete at the . International Paralympic Committee's World Athletics Championships in Lyon in . July, but the IPC has denied a decision has been made. A spokesperson said: 'The IPC . management is yet to meet to discuss this issue so we are surprised as . anyone to see this story today. 'We have not made any decision yet.' Granted: Oscar Pistorius was freed on bail after being charged with the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp . Pistorius's agent Peet van Zyl also confirmed the athlete has no immediate plans to compete. Van . Zyl denied Pistorius has returned to training following the relaxation . of his bail conditions, which now allow him to travel abroad in order to . continue his athletics career, but confirmed he could resume soon. 'He was just having a jog around his track on his own accord. He wasn't back at training,' Van Zyl said . 'That . picture was taken by a schoolkid on March 24. Myself, Oscar and his . coach had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss him getting him back to . training. 'Based on that he told us he would like to get back in training and we can now look at formulating his training schedule. Back on track: Pistorius is keen to make a return to training, according to his agent . 'He is finding it very difficult and . he is still coming to terms with the sad loss of Reeva. That is why it . will be better for him to be back at training. It will be great to get . him back to the track and get some routine. That's why we are taking it . day by day. 'I can't see there would be any people saying this is disrespectful. This is not disrespectful to Reeva or her family. 'This has been part of his life for so . many years. If it makes things easier for him to work through it and . get some sense back into his life, let him run and let him jog. Victim: Steenkamp was shot dead in Pistorius' Pretoria home . 'He's a human being and that's maybe an outlet for him.' 'We haven't even spoken to him or contemplated him running in a competition,' Van Zyl added. 'He has got to be able to train first . and be in some decent form as a world-class athlete before we would . allow him to run in a competition. 'If he trains well and his mindset is . right then by all means we will look at competitions and options. When . that will be we don't know. It could happen quickly or it could take a . year. 'But at the moment, there is no specific date when it comes to him returning to training. 'In the current state he is in he . might get up tomorrow and give the coach a phone call and say he might . want to train again. He then might not want to train for a few days. 'We are not going to force him. We are going to be guided by him.' Pistorius has not trained for two . months since the tragic events on Valentine's Day, and in order to . return to competitive fitness he would need to train up to 35 hours a . week on the track and in the gym. His last competitive race was his victory in the 400m final at the London Paralympics in September last year. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Paralympic champion pictured jogging on track in Pretoria .
First time seen running since he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp .
Family say he is still too traumatised to begin full training programme .
Agent says he has not yet made decision on July's World Championships . |
232,225 | b8b5942ecf200d8c7e88641f789b2b1613ee961b | Scientists have devised a plan to survive a nuclear winter that might follow a massive volcanic eruption. Experts say huge seismic disasters are inevitable – and we must use modern technology to limit the impacts of the very worst of them. They have drawn up plans to pump millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere to stabilise the climate after a huge eruption. Scientists have devised a plan to survive a nuclear winter that might follow a massive volcanic eruption. Experts say huge seismic disasters are inevitable – and we must use modern technology to limit the impacts of the very worst of them. Pictured is the eruption ash cloud of Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland in 2010 . The study authors, from Reading University and Norway, aimed to produce a plan that might help people survive an event on the scale of the eruption of the Indonesian volcano of Tambora 200 years ago. That eruption - the biggest in the last 10,000 years - resulted in a 'year without summers'. Clouds of sulphuric gas blocked out the sun, cooling the temperature of the Earth for months on end. The Reading scientists, who worked with the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (Cicero), calculated that the climatic impact of a repeat could be controlled. Producing huge quantities of a greenhouse gas called a hydrofluorocarbon, or HFC, would be sufficient to warm the atmosphere and balance the effect of the reduced temperature. The HFC would stop warmth leaving the planet, making up for the lack of solar heat reaching the atmosphere in the first place. The benefit of the plan is that HFCs are already produced industrially, to create plastics, although their manufacture would have to increase 100-fold to achieve the required effect . Afforestation: This technique would irrigate deserts, such as those in Australia and North Africa, to plant millions of trees that could absorb carbon dioxide. Drawback: This vegetation would also draw in sunlight that the deserts currently reflect back into space, and so contribute to global warming. Artificial ocean upwelling: Engineers would use long pipes to pump cold, nutrient-rich water upward to cool ocean-surface waters. Drawback: If this process ever stopped it could cause oceans to rebalance their heat levels and rapidly change the climate. Ocean alkalinisation: This involves heaping lime into the ocean to chemically increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. Drawback: Study suggests it will have of little use in reducing global temperatures. Ocean iron fertilisation: The method involves dumping iron into the oceans to improve the growth of photosynthetic organisms that can absorb carbon dioxide. Drawback: Studies suggest it will have of little use in reducing global temperatures. Solar radiation management: This would reduce the amount of sunlight Earth receives, by shooting reflective sulphate-based aerosols into the atmosphere. Drawback: Carbon dioxide would still build up in the atmosphere. The proposal, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is the first significant geoengineering plan to avert disaster in the event of a volcanic eruption. HFCs are similar to CFCs –destructive compounds which were banned in fridges and aerosol sprays in the 1980s. However, the specific type of HFC that the scientists propose using does not harm the ozone layer, unlike its chemical cousins, and disappears from the atmosphere after a few years, breaking down naturally. The benefit of the plan is that HFCs are already produced industrially, to create plastics, although their manufacture would have to increase 100-fold to achieve the required effect. The researchers suggest a specific gas called HFC-152a would be used, as it breaks down naturally after a few years, reducing the long-term effect. Study author Professor Keith Shine, of the University of Reading, said: 'Unlike global warming, the climate impacts from a volcano eruption have a natural end-point beyond which we would not need to act further. 'However, the emissions of the short-lived gas we found to be needed are problematic in other respects. 'While a gas could in principle be found that has few associated detrimental environmental impacts, we estimate that large quantities would be needed. This would be very expensive, and would require a vastly expanded industrial production capacity. 'Society would have to decide whether the risks associated with such a large volcanic eruption could ever justify this expense.' HFCs are similar to CFCs –destructive compounds which were banned in fridges and aerosol sprays in the 1980s. However, the specific type of HFC that the scientists propose using does not harm the ozone layer, unlike its chemical cousins, and disappears from the atmosphere after a few years, breaking down naturally . Co-author Dr Jan Fuglestvedt added: 'Considering such drastic action may appear far-fetched. But it would be unwise for the scientific community and policymakers not to think the issue through. 'Future, large volcanic eruptions are inevitable.' 'However, to our knowledge, no one had considered whether similar ideas could be applied to temporary global cooling from volcanic eruptions. We investigated, and found that yes, in principle, they can.' The plan was welcomed by climate scientists yesterday. Professor John Shepherd of the University of Southampton said: 'The possibility of deliberate intervention to 'engineer' our climate is undoubtedly scary, but climate change causes problems for both people and ecosystems, especially if it is large and rapid, whether it is warming or cooling. 'It is sensible and responsible to consider whether, and if so how, we could moderate such changes, and to think through the benefits, costs and risks of doing so, before we attempt to reach any decisions about whether or not such actions should ever be considered. 'We need to be prepared, so far as possible, and explorations like this are desirable, even if some people find them distasteful.' Dr Matt Watson of the University of Bristol added: 'It is an interesting idea, with an appropriate level of careful caveats, and probably worthy of further investigation, not least because it broadens the debate on climate engineering to countering natural, as opposed to anthropogenic threat. And Professor Peter Cox of the University of Exeter said: 'This is an interesting left-field study suggesting that the cooling effects of a large volcano could be counteracted by deliberately injecting short-lived greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.' | Experts say huge seismic disasters are inevitable – and we must use modern technology to limit the impacts of the very worst of them .
Have drawn up plans to pump millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere to stabilise the climate after a huge eruption .
Producing huge quantities of hydrofluorocarbon, or HFC, would be sufficient to warm the atmosphere and balance the effect of the reduced temperature .
The HFC would stop warmth leaving the planet, making up for the lack of solar heat reaching the atmosphere in the first place. |
55,102 | 9c132910e4d0dd0076238af235b7cac1c16da2ef | By . Darren Boyle . The distraught mother of one of the two girls gang raped and hanged in India has refused to accept any compensation from the government and demands her daughter's rapists are sentenced to death. The 38-year-old mother said she wants the dignity of her 15-year-old daughter to be restored. She said: 'Money can't bring back my daughter but the hanging of her killers would give peace to her soul.' Scroll down for video . The 38-year-old mother of one of the victims said she wanted her daughter's killers to be executed . The father of one of the victims said local police were not interested in investigating his daughter's murder because he was from the lowest caste and called on the Indian version of the FBI intercede . Indian police bring one victim's mother to the scene of the rape and murder . The devastated mother said her daughter would have been alive had they not belonged to the lower Dalit caste. Dalits, formerly called untouchables, stay at the bottom of India's tenacious caste system, while the Yadav caste, to which the state chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, belongs is the top caste. The two cousins, aged 14 and 15, went missing from their homes on Tuesday night in a village called Katra, in Badaun district about 180 miles from Lucknow, Eastern India. The father of one of the victims holds an item of clothing belonging to his daughter who was brutally raped and murdered . The girls went into the nearby fields to use as a toilet since their house does not have one. The father of one girl went to police that night to report them missing, but he said they refused to help. Some villagers, who had also gone out to relieve themselves in the fields, found their bodies hanging from a mango tree the next morning. Angry villagers protested the police inaction by refusing to allow the bodies to be cut down from the tree. Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of New Delhi calling for justice for the two girls . The villagers only allowed authorities to take down the corpses after the first arrests were made on Wednesday. A post mortem has confirmed that the girls were raped and died from hanging, police has said. Police arrested a fifth suspect on Saturday. Three others arrested, who are in their 20s belong to the extended family. They have been charged with rape and murder. Two police officers, who are alleged to have taken part in the rape have also been arrested. The state government has ordered that the case be handled by a fast-track court. Babu Ram, 55, the father of the 15-year-old girl said nobody listened to their grievances as they belong to a lower caste. He said: ‘At the police station, the first thing they asked is what caste we came from. And when we told them we were Dalits, they didn’t entertain our complaints.’ He added: ‘When a girl was gang raped in Delhi people took to streets across the country so that justice can be done. But in our case, we haven’t heard of any such protests. Our country can’t be selective. Otherwise there is no hope for justice.’ There are 25,000 rapes reported in India a year but activists fear the figure is far higher as women are afraid to come forward because of fear of retribution . The girls were raped and murdered in the village of Katra, in Uttar Pradesh . Official statistics report that 25,000 rapes are committed every year in India, a nation of 1.2 billion people. But activists believe it is even more since women are often pressed by family or police to stay quiet about sexual assaults. The father who reported the girls missing, Sohan Lal, has demanded a federal investigation. 'I don't expect justice from the state government as state police officers shielded the suspects.' Villagers hold a protest beside the tree where they discovered the dead girls' bodies . The mother of one of the girls is escorted to the scene of the brutal crime by police officers . The father of one of the victims has urged authorities to fully investigate the crime . Mr Lal was offered 500,000 rupees compensation to compensate for his daughter's death, worth around £5,000. He said he would not accept any money until the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation - the Indian FBI - took over the case. Ashish Gupta, state inspector-general of police in Uttar Pradesh said on average ten rapes a day were reported in his area. He said 60 percent of these attacks happen when women go into fields near the village as they do not have any toilets at home. Meanwhile on Thursday, police arrested three men who viciously assaulted the mother of a teenage girl who complained that her daughter had been raped. Under Indian law rapists can be jailed for up to 20 years. Protestors across India have taken to the streets in support of the two families . Residents in the village where the two girls were raped and murdered have expressed their outrage over the crime . | Victim's mother rejects £5,000 compensation insisting the rapist-killers should be executed .
Victim's father wants the Indian version of the FBI to investigate the case .
Cousins aged 14 and 15 were attacked in a field they used as a toilet .
Indian authorities reveal that 25,000 women report being raped each year . |
36,611 | 67b60e417abfee8f4e3466b514557ae0fdec077b | By . Keith Gladdis . PUBLISHED: . 07:06 EST, 27 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:41 EST, 27 July 2012 . A property tycoon has pledged to leave his £100m fortune to the elderly of Jersey after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. David Kirch used his 76th birthday to announce he had would dedicate his wealth to those that are ‘often left out and forgotten.’ He said Jersey had been ‘very good to him’ since he arrived almost 40 years ago and that his illness had ‘sharpened my mind’. Generous: Mr Kirch, who made his fortune in property in London, hopes his wealth will benefit an estimated 9,000 Jersey islanders . For the last six years Mr Kirch - who has no living family - has given away £100 shopping vouchers as a Christmas gift to every islander older than 70. Now he hopes the fortune will help an estimated 9,000 Jersey islanders. He said: ‘I love the island, and so have decided to leave my wealth to benefit the elderly as they are often left out and forgotten. ‘Also, I have recently discovered that I have cancer and I have been amazed at how this has sharpened my mind and changed my perspectives on life. ‘I have worked very hard all my life to earn this money and I want to see it used well.’ Mr Kirch has also put his 600 piece strong collection of airship memorabilia on the market to add to his legacy. It includes scorched letters found on board the ill-fated Hindenburg, silverware and newspaper billboards from the First World War and is expected to raise £1m. Mr Kirch - who has never married - made his fortune in the London property market and through investments in the leisure industry and healthcare. In 2006 it was claimed he had made £2m in two months from dealing in the shares of UK Coal. Mr Kirch was 70 when he began his scheme to give the septuagenarians and older of Jersey a £100 voucher to spend in the Co-Op at Christmas. At the time he said: ‘I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to start giving my money away. Wealthy benefactor: Mr Kirch said Jersey has been 'very good to him' - he plans to leave his multi-million pound fortune to the island's elderly (file photo) ‘I have had 70 years to build it up and now was the time to give it away.’ But he has admitted that he had to change his attitude to wealth before giving it away. He said previously: ‘I have mixed feelings, all my life I have wanted to make money and build it up. ‘I find it difficult, the difference between giving money away and being charitable and building it up to make as much as possible.’ Mr Kirch admitted his wealth had ‘dwindled somewhat’ since it was valued at £250m before the recent financial crisis. But he added: ‘It still makes a sizeable gift to the community and it is what I want to do.’ When Mr Kirch dies his fortune will go to the David Kirch Charitable Trust which already runs the winter voucher scheme. The Trust has already built the Margaret and Leonard Terraces named after Mr Kirch’s parents and is building a further 20 bungalows in the Grouville area of Jersey. | David Kirch will leave his millions to those that are 'often left out and forgotten'
Tycoon says his illness has changed his perspective on life .
Generous property developer already gives Jersey's elderly £100 shopping vouchers at Christmas . |
88,649 | fb9d89efca534c2ed82e3a433de9b2d74c979ed2 | Former Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda has has signed for French Ligue 1 side Metz on a one-year deal. The 34-year-old has been without a club since leaving Turkish side Tranbszonspor at the end of last season, and returns to his native France for the first time since he left Lyon for Stamford Bridge in 2007. Malouda had been linked with a move to a host of Championship clubs, including Birmingham, but dismissed any possible move out of hand via his official Twitter account. Florent Malouda reveals his signing for French club Metz on Instagram . FC Metz announce the signing of Malouda on their official Twitter page . 'Just saw another story linking me with a championship club. I don't know any Lee Clark. Must be ice bucket challenge collateral damage,' he wrote on Tuesday. Malouda then tweeted the next day: 'So Now they pretend to talk with my agent... I wish one day they introduce me to that mysterious agent... I simply don't have any #ownboss.' It has since transpired, however, that Malouda's agent didn't actually contact the player to tell him of Birmingham's interest, which led to Blues boss Lee Clark responding with ire to the tweets of the winger. 'A member of my staff (head of recruitment) Malcolm Crosby, was contacted by the player’s agent,' Clark told the Birmingham Mail. 'We were asked if we were interested. Birmingham boss Lee Clark was irritated at the dismissive words of the French winger . Malouda poses with the 2012 FA Cup and Champions League trophies he won during his time at Chelsea . 'Never once has it been said by myself, suggested or written that I spoke to the player. You don’t do that until you know you have common ground in terms of the wages. 'So why there has been this reaction, I don’t know. There should be no issue in what myself and the club were trying to do here, and that was sign a player we believed could have helped us.' Malouda previously played for Chelsea for six seasons between 2007-13, winning the Premier League once, the FA Cup three times and coming off the bench as they beat Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League Final. He also played 80 times for France between 2004-12, scoring nine goals and starting their World Cup Final defeat to Italy in 2006. | Malouda completes move to Ligue 1 side Metz on a one-year deal .
Dismissed a move to Championship club Birmingham on Twitter this week .
Returns to France for the first time since he signed for Chelsea in 2007 . |
134,391 | 39c741c2e6b2cc6c764ac8f8e7b9473364c5e825 | Helicopter rescue teams airlifted a 68-year-old American man to hospital after he was attacked by bears while hunting on a remote island off the coast of Alaska. The man, identified as Michael Snowden, was transported by coast guards to Kodiak Municipal Airport where he was passed on to medical services who treated him for serious leg injuries. It is understood a group of up to five bears attacked Mr Snowden and his friend Jeff Ostrin as they dragged the carcass of a deer they had shot through dense vegetation on Sally Island in Uganik Bay. Scroll down for video . Threat: A group of up to five bears attacked Michael Snowden and his friend Jeff Ostrin as they dragged the carcass of a deer they had shot through dense vegetation on Sally Island in Uganik Bay. File picture . The attack took place yesterday afternoon on a remote island off the southern coast of mainland Alaska. The state is home to 98 per cent of the United States' total brown bear population. Nathan Svoboda, a local wildlife biologist, gave details of the attack to Alaska Dispatch News. He said the two men where dragging a deer through vegetation when they stopped for lunch. No sooner had they sat down to eat when a large female bear charged at them. The animal reportedly attacked Snowden, biting and scratching his body before Ostrin, 38, shot the animal three times, killing it. Seconds later, more bears emerged, with Ostrin shooting and killing one of the cubs. The shooting apparently scared the rest of the animals away. The crew on board a fishing vessel witnessed the entire incident and reportedly raced to the shore to remove the men to the safety of the sea, with the captain calling the coast guard to the scene. Saved: Michael Snowden, was transported by Alaska State Troopers to Kodiak Municipal Airport where he was passed on to medical services who treated him for serious leg injuries File picture . Mr Snowden was first transported by helicopter to Kodiak Municipal Airport, before being taken to the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center where he was treated for serious leg wounds. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening. 'The fact that there were five bears was an abnormality and this serves as a reminder that anything can happen and we need to be aware of our surroundings,' said Lt. Joseph Schlosser, operational unit watchstander for the Coast Guard 17th District. Hunters in rural Alaska are told not to carry the entire carcasses of animals they have killed because bears are attracted by the smell of blood. Instead, hunters are advised to carefully butcher the animals where they died and place the meat into sealed containers. The attack comes after a woman jogging at an Air Force base in Alaska survived an attack by a female that was defending its two cubs. | Michael Snowden was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries .
Group of five bears attacked him and friend Jeff Ostrin on Sally Island .
Large female bear charged at him, biting and tearing at him with claws .
Mr Ostrin saved friend's life by shooting dead two bears . |
94,601 | 059125a0e3d517550c1ebebfc9f0fea64dee1a60 | Jane Asher has admitted she was wrong to be so cynical as her bakeware range launched at Poundland has been so successful sales have soared past £2 million. Celebrity cake-maker Jane, 68, admits that she had doubts when she was offered a role as ambassador for the high street chain. But now the mother of three says that the link-up is a 'terrific fit' and even jokes that Poundland should be called Jane AsherLand. Jane's bargain bakeware range at Poundland has seen sales in excess of £2 million . The thrifty store first introduced the bargain bakeware last year ahead of the hugely popular Great British Bake Off TV show. It was revealed yesterday in The Grocer magazine that the 80 product range was the store's most popular and fastest-selling line yet. The magazine further reported that collection which launched in April this year has generated sales in excess of £2 million. Despite the huge success of the range Jane says she never expected it to do so well as she was concerned about the product quality. 'I'm not an obvious match for Poundland. It sounds soppy, but people trust that I use what I promote . 'I assumed they would source some stuff from the Far East and I would say "this is going to fall to bits" and that would be that, but it wasn't like that at all' she told The Grocer. Jane assumed that her range would be bad quality but she has been pleasantly surprised by the cheap products on offer . Jane went on to say that by convincing a sceptic such as herself Poundland would be able to attract other sceptical shoppers. 'I've been as surprised as anyone by being so wrong which is why I think it's very clever of them to use someone like me. 'It's ended up being a terrific fit. They are the nicest company I have ever worked for and I've worked with a lot.' Although Jane says that she is very proud of her range she says that perhaps it is not best suited for highly ambitious bakers. 'I love the idea you can have scales for a pound. Now, they are not going to last you. If you were seriously into baking they would drive you mad, but for a child, or for somebody starting off, they are perfect.' The celebrity baker even hopes that shop will go as far to credit her in the store name. ' I said we might have to make it Jane AsherLand. It's the only answer. ' Jane, who lives in London's affluent Chelsea, says she is a big fan of Waitrose when it comes to shopping for food however she also says she enjoys shopping in discounted retailers and hopes to see a pound shop on the Kings Road soon. 'There aren't many near here in posh snobby Chelsea. We don't have a Poundland either. But it wouldn't surprise me if we see one soon.' | Jane launched her range for Poundland in April .
She says to begin with she was sceptical of working with the brand .
80 product range is store's fastest selling line .
The baker now says she was wrong to be so cynical . |
142,415 | 442a6ce63481e6372757adc92f1030d76583dcf5 | A three-year-old Texas boy has died after being kicked by the family horse.Colton Lee Clegg had been helping his father Christopher Clegg and uncle Joseph A. Stephens unload a bag of horse feed from the back of a truck when the accident happened.Colton was holding a gate open so the men could walk through when a horse kicked a bad of feed from his uncle's hands and it split open on the ground. Tragic accident: Three-year-old Colton Clegg was helping his father and uncle when he was tragically killed . The child bent to help pick up the spilled feed but stood suddenly and threw his hands in the air when his father told him to move away from the horses, reports the Houston Chronicle.The sudden movement may have spooked the horse and it kicked the boy in his chest. According to the Montgomery County Police Reporter, Christopher Clegg drove from the family's home to meet an ambulance at a local grocery store.Colton was transported via Life Flight to Memorial Hermann in Houston. Doctors worked for an our to revive the little boy, but he succumbed to his injuries. Little helper: The little boy loved to help his dad with the horses; it's believed he made a sudden movement which spooked one of them, and it kicked him in the chest . Beloved boy: Christopher Clegg rushed his son to meet the ambulance; he was then flown to hospital but died of his injuries . The devastated family described the boy as 'a little go-getter and a bright, smart little boy' on a GoFundMe page to raise money for his medical and funeral expenses.'If it had to do with hangin' with the guys Colton was all for it but dont be mistaken he was a momma boy too,' reads the page.'What happened to Colton was a horrific, tragic accident. No parent should ever have to go through what Chris & Brittany are going through right now.'So far, wellwishers have raised $6500 for the family in three days.'Colton will be missed dearly and never forgotten and loved forever,' reads the page. | Colton Clegg, three, died after being kicked by a horse .
He was helping his father and uncle move feedbags when the accident happened .
The child bent to pick up feed that had spilled from a bag after a horse kicked it .
His father told him to stop and move away from the horses, and the child lifted his arms in the air suddenly .
The movement spooked the horse, and it kicked him in the chest .
He was transported to hospital but could not be revived . |
138,124 | 3ea2c762984aaa97868c70641bc4ae9408c32bc0 | By . Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 16:10 EST, 7 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 17:29 EST, 7 February 2014 . A Long Island yeshiva student has been arrested for scrawling anti-Semitic graffiti on local train stations. Jonathan Schuster, 18, of Far Rockaway, faces eight felonies and more than a dozen other criminal charges for writing slurs over advertisements at the Cedarhurst Long Island Railroad station over the past year, cops said. Police accuse Schuster of writing slurs on eight separate occasions at the Nassau County commuter rail station since December 2012, Mineola Patch reported. Cedarhurst: The hateful graffiti was scribbled on advertisements at this train station eight times over the past year . The misguided teen used black marker to scribble the hateful missives, said authorities. The yeshiva Priority 1:Torah Academy senior made all of his remarks against Orthodox Jews, police said. The majority of his accused tagging took place during overnight hours, according to Newsday. It is not known if his discriminatory tagging is also related to swastikas drawn at the Lawrence and Hewlett stations, according to NBC New York. Eight times: The teen wrote at least eight hateful messages on stations advertisement boards . Write caption here . Hateful: All of the graffiti targeted Orthodox Jews . Schuster was captured by transit police . after an extensive uniformed and plain clothes investigation that . included a reward led to multiple tips to Nassau County Police. 'I’m proud of the successful joint efforts between the Nassau County Police Department and MTA to apprehend the person responsible for the many anti-Semitic crimes,’ said County Executive Ed Mangano. The teen is charged with eight felony counts of criminal mischief as a hate crime, and eight misdemeanor counts each of criminal mischief and making graffiti. The investigation into the racist graffiti at the other two nearby stations remains ongoing. | Jonathan Schuster, 18, faces two dozen counts, including eight felonies, in connection with the hateful graffiti .
Police say he scribbled anti-Semitic remarks at a Long Island Railroad station at least eight times over the past year .
He is a senior at a local yeshiva shool . |
272,599 | ed166a8d72597ec9ebbe27f5bcbd0054564b327a | By . Sam Webb . TV presenter Clare Balding has revealed she was spooked after spotting a mysterious panther-like beast in the English countryside as she conducted a radio interview. The journalist and sports pundit was at The Doward, a beauty spot near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire when she spotted what appeared to be a large black cat sitting in a country lane. She saw the 'enormous' creature while being shown around by locals as she recorded her BBC Radio 4 show Ramblings. There have been numerous sightings of big cat-like creatures across the country since the 90s - but there has been little concrete evidence to prove their existence. Scroll down for video . Sighting: TV presenter Clare Balding was shocked to see what appeared to be a panther-like animal (file picture) in the Herefordshire countryside while she was recording a radio interview . Scenic: Former jockey Ms Balding was talking to two locals in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, for her countryside-themed Radio 4 show Ramblings when she saw the 'cat' on a path . The former jockey said on the programme: . 'Gosh. We've walked out on to the road and turned left and sitting in . the middle of the road ahead of us, honestly, I thought it was a . panther. 'It was the most enormous black cat. I mean really big, like a dog size.' Roger Smith, who was giving her guided tour of the picturesque locale, told her he too had seen it twice in the same location over the past few years. Ms Balding asked him if it was indeed a big cat and Mr Smith replied: 'Who knows? Nobody has ever actually got a photograph of it. 'I've seen black cats the size of our Rottweiler and our friends have seen big black cats feeding on deer carcass. 'There's always been stories of a big black cat on the Doward ever since we moved here 20 years ago, and a number of our friends have seen it.' Mystery: One photographer's snap of the beast of Trowbridge. The creature has been spotted throughout Wiltshire and Northamptonshire over the years but there's no conclusive evidence to prove it exists . Ms Balding . continued: 'I saw it, I saw it really clearly. It's just gone off slowly . to the left. It just sloped, it didn't scuttle, it just very . confidently walked across the road and disappeared into the woods. 'I should point out, I never knew the stories of a big black cat. I'm all excited now, adrenaline's flowing.' Over the years there have been a number of sightings of big cats in the British countryside. Although the animals are sometimes pictured, and carcasses with wounds similar to those inflicted in an attack by such a predator have been found, their existence has never been conclusively proved. In November, scientists announced they may have found evidence to show that big cats really are roaming the British countryside, by analysing teeth marks on the bones of their 'victims'. Some believe that the animals are the descendents of large species such as panthers, leopards and lynx which were released into the wild in the 1970s after their owners were banned from keeping them as pets . Expert Dr Andrew Hemmings believes he found proof that big cats have been stalking Gloucestershire and neighbouring counties by analysing the remains of wild animals, which appear to have been eaten by beasts larger than any known British carnivores. Dr Hemmings, a senior lecturer in animal science at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, has spent the last year examining 20 animal skeletons which all bore unusual teethmarks. Some of the livestock and deer remains, found by farmers, landowners and volunteers, had been found in unusual circumstances which suggested that they may have been killed by a big cat. 'Panther' sighting: This picture taken in February 2012 shows a furry black figure sprinting through woodland near Nailsworth, Gloucestershire . From the Beast of Trowbridge, to the Wildcat of Woodchester, big cat sightings have sparked the imaginations of many people over the years, although bar a few fuzzy photographs there has been little to prove their existence. Some believe that the animals are the descendents of large species such as panthers, leopards and lynx which were released into the wild in the 1970s after their owners were banned from keeping them as pets by the Dangerous Wild Animals act. The Beast of Trowbridge, which has been seen around the Wiltshire town, is described as a puma or panther. The animal has also been seen in nearby Staverton and Westbury Leigh. In 2005, a skull with large fangs and thought to be the remains of a big cat were found in the River Fowey close to Bodmin Moor . And last month a couple claim they spotted a black panther on the loose in an Essex field, describing it as a ‘big scary cat’. Lynn Lacy and husband Michael were at home when they allegedly spotted the beast, which they claim was ‘jet black’ and ‘too big’ to be a dog or cat. Mrs Lacy, 56, took this photo of the unknown animal on her iPhone after she spotted it on the edge of Hatfield Forest. In August 2012 a blurry picture of what resembles a big cat prowling around a patch of countryside near Nailsworth in Gloucestershire emerged. The furry black figure was caught on a trip camera sprinting through woodland after apparently being spooked by a walker. One of the more famous big cats is . the Beast of Bodmin Moor - over 60 sightings of a large black cat have . occurred in the area over the years. In 2005, a skull with large fangs and thought to be the remains of a big cat were found in the River Fowey close to the moor. The skull was sent to the Natural History Museum in London for verification. They determined that it was a genuine skull from a young male leopard, but also found that the cat had not died in Britain. In fact, the skull had been imported as part of a leopard-skin rug. The . Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food conducted an official . investigation into the 'beast' and other unknown animals reported to be . roaming Britain in 1995. It concluded there was no 'verifiable evidence' of exotic felines loose in Britain,. But it also stated that the investigation could not prove that big cats were 'not present'. | The presenter was amazed to see 'predator' in Ross-on-Wye countryside .
Her guide told her him and his friends had all seen the mysterious beast .
The former jockey said of 'enormous' black cat: 'I thought it was a panther'
She said she saw it 'slope' off into the woods after spotting it on a path .
Balding saw the 'cat' while recording BBC Radio 4 programme Ramblings . |
232,147 | b89d6f625d44486bb17cbf26b63f8aacfb567e1f | By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 09:48 EST, 10 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:13 EST, 10 March 2014 . Construction sites are regularly labelled ugly eyesores, but a new video has revealed they can be elegant and even beautiful. A total of 42 cranes were 'choreographed' by their drivers during the Kranensee event - dubbed 'a ballet of cranes' - in the town of Aspern, Vienna in February. Production company FilmSpektakel recorded a timelapse of these dancing cranes throughout the day, which climaxed with a 30-minute light show. A total of 42 cranes were 'choreographed' by their drivers during the Kranensee event - dubbed 'a ballet of cranes' - in the town of Aspern, Vienna in February, pictured. Production company FilmSpektakel recorded a timelapse of these dancing cranes throughout the day climaxing with a 30-minute light show . The Kranensee event was organised by the Aspern Urban Lakeside management company. Local . residents were invited to come and view the dancing cranes throughout . the day and the 30-minute long light show began after sunset. A total of 42 cranes were 'choreographed' by their drivers during the event in February. Peter . Jablonowski and Thomas Pöcksteiner from Vienna-based FilmSpektakel . spent the whole day at the construction site in February to film the . timelapse video. The cranes are currently being used in the Urban Lakeside Vienna project in the town of Aspern, just outside the Austrian capital. Urban Lakeside Vienna is Europe’s largest construction site and the project is building a 590-acre suburb for 20,000 people - complete with a 'shopping mile' - set to open next year. The Kranensee event was organised by the Aspern Urban Lakeside management company and took place on 15 February. Local residents were invited to come and view the dancing cranes throughout the day and the 30-minute long light show began after sunset. The cranes are currently being used in the Urban Lakeside Vienna project in the town of Aspern, just outside the Austrian capital. Urban Lakeside Vienna, pictured, is Europe's largest construction site and the project is building a 590-acre suburb for 20,000 people . Peter Jablonowski and Thomas Pöcksteiner from production company FilmSpektakel spent the whole day at the construction site in February to film the timelapse video, videograb pictured. They used a variety of cameras including a Canon 550D and Canon 600D. The video is set to song Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling . Throughout the video there are various shots of the dancing cranes filmed at different points during the day. A number of shots show the crane drivers eating their lunch, pictured, as other construction workers make their way around the site . Peter Jablonowski and Thomas Pöcksteiner from Vienna-based FilmSpektakel spent the whole day at the construction site in February to film the timelapse video. They used a variety of cameras including two Canon 6Ds, a Canon 550D and Canon 600D. The video is set to the song Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling. Throughout the video there are various shots of the dancing cranes filmed at different points during the day. A number of shots show the crane drivers eating their lunch, as other construction workers make their way around the site. The Kranensee event was organised by the Aspern Urban Lakeside management company and took place on 15 February. Local residents were invited to come and view the dancing cranes throughout the day, pictured, and the 30-minute long light show began after sunset . | The video was captured during the Kranensee event in Aspern, Vienna .
Over 40 cranes were 'choreographed' by workers during a 30-minute show .
Dubbed 'a ballet of cranes’, the Kranensee event took place in February .
Aspern Urban Lakeside Vienna is Europe’s largest construction site .
The cranes are being used to build a new 590-acre suburb in Vienna . |
190,865 | 8326f2ed56469dc0261fb335be929bc069a38a48 | The great-grandmother, pictured last year, made a 'significant contribution to children's literature' Nina Bawden, who wrote 48 books including the popular children’s story Carrie’s War, has died aged 87. The award-winning novel set during the Second World War was based on her own childhood evacuation to South Wales. It has been studied by schoolchildren as part of the national curriculum and been adapted for stage and screen. Miss Bawden died yesterday at her home in North London, surrounded by her family, including son Robert. She was regarded as one of the few writers of recent times to create successfully for both adults and children, and was admired for her depictions of childhood. She once said she liked writing for children because ‘most people underestimate their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my books for them I try to put this right.’ In 2002 her husband Austen Kark, the managing director of BBC World Service, was killed and she was badly hurt in the Potter’s Bar train crash. She campaigned to get answers and later received almost £1million in compensation. In one of her last books, Dear Austen, she told the story of the crash in the form of letters to her late husband. Her publisher Lennie Goodings called her ‘a gently fierce, clever, elegant, wickedly funny woman’. Miss Goodings added: ‘She wrote slim books but they were powerful and extraordinarily acute observations about what makes us human. She was a wonderful storyteller and she was writing to the end.’ Miss Bawden often used personal experience in her work. Her first children’s book, The Secret Passage, published in 1963, was written for her three children after they found one in their cellar. The Outside Child told the story of a girl who finds she has a half-brother and sister from her father’s first marriage. The author had a half-sister who had been sent away to live with cousins. Miss Bawden won a scholarship to Oxford and studied alongside Margaret Roberts, who later became Margaret Thatcher. She was made CBE in 1995 and in 2004 received the prestigious ST Dupont Golden Pen Award for literature. The author of more than 40 books was hailed as an influence on young writers. She is pictured left, in 1997, and right, with her husband Austen Kark, who died in 2002 . Nina Bawden's most popular novel Carrie's War, left, which is based on her experience as an evacuee during the Second World War, and Dear Austen, right, one of her last books which follows the 2002 Potters Bar train disaster which killed her husband Austen Kark . Playwright Sir David Hare, whose play . The Permanent Way, about the privatisation of the railways, featured Mrs . Bawden, paid tribute to the writer. He said: ‘I am extremely sad to hear of Nina’s death. ‘Nina . was an uncomplicatedly good woman, whose long fight to obtain justice . for the victims of the Potters Bar crash was a model of eloquence, . principle and human decency.’ Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin children’s division, said: ‘We are hugely saddened by the death of Nina Bawden - as proud publishers of Nina’s work for Puffin, and for each of us here on a personal level. ‘Nina was a wonderful storyteller, brilliant at stepping into the minds of her characters and conjuring up a powerful sense of time and place. ‘Such is the appeal and power of her . classic novels - including Carrie’s War and The Peppermint Pig - that . they continue to sell strongly today. ‘Nina . has made a significant contribution to children’s literature and been . an influence on many younger writers. She will be sorely missed.’ She is survived by a son, a brother, two step-daughters, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Two more from the writer's published list include the adult novel Circles Of Deceit, published in 1998, and children's tale The Peppermint Pig, published in 1977 . Nina Bawden wanted to be a war reporter before she turned to and enjoyed a phenomenally successful career as a novelist. She was the author of more than 40 books, for both adults and children, and was still writing just days before she died, at the age of 87. Born Nina Mabey in Ilford in 1925, her mother was a teacher and her father a marine engineer. A war-time evacuee, she was 14 when she was sent away with the rest of her grammar school at the beginning of the Second World War. Bawden stayed with several different families before returning to London in 1942 and her most famous book, Carrie’s War, drew on her experiences in Wales. Despite being eight when she wrote her first novel, Bawden harboured ambitions to ‘expose things’ as a journalist. But in Oxford, where she read politics, philosophy and economics, she published her first short story, in a magazine. She married Harry Bawden, an ex-airman, soon after graduating but at 22, she was expecting her first baby and so turned down job offers in journalism. ‘I actually hadn’t been using contraception but I thought if you didn’t want a baby then you couldn’t have one - this is a joke nowadays but that was how I felt,’ she said. ‘So I gave up my job because my mother said I couldn’t have a job and a baby, and I decided I had better concentrate on my writing.’ The scene of the Potters Bar crash in 2002, which badly injured Nina Bawden and killed her husband Austen Kark . Bawden had two sons with her first husband and a daughter with Austen Kark, who she met on a London bus. Her son Nicholas Bawden, who had experienced mental health problems, died aged 33, in 1981. His family learned that his body had been pulled out of the Thames months after he had gone missing. Her daughter Perdita Kark also died in March this year, while her other son Robert Bawden is a doctor. One of the characters in Bawden’s Booker prize-shortlisted novel Circles Of Deceit, published in 1987, was based on Nicholas. Bawden could not remember the Potters Bar rail crash, in which her husband was one of seven people killed. ‘I remember getting on the train and sitting down,’ she said. It was only when she woke up in hospital covered in plaster that she discovered her husband had not survived. Bawden, whose ankle was smashed and her arm, leg, shoulder, collarbone and several ribs broken, was in hospital for months after the tragedy. The author, who campaigned to get answers after the accident, featured in a David Hare play on the crash. In 2010, Bawden’s 1970 novel The Birds On The Trees was shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Award, a special edition of the prize awarded by public vote. | Author, who died at her home in north London home this morning, was still writing in the days before her death .
She is most famous for her children's story Carrie's War, which has been adapted for TV, film and stage .
The great-grandmother survived the Potters Bar train crash in 2002, which killed her husband Austen Kark . |
148,281 | 4bb92227f3b3607e5ed6f8fe5ac159ed779ccd3d | (CNN) -- For the first time, a health care worker for a World Health Organization partner organization has fallen ill from Ebola, WHO told CNN on Sunday. The health worker, a man from Senegal, is in Sierra Leone and receiving care, the WHO said. He's an epidemiologist working for the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, which was established by WHO and other partners to respond to international public health emergencies. No further details were given immediately. "This is the first time someone working under the aegis of WHO has fallen ill with #Ebola," reported WHO via its verified Twitter account. Added WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl via Twitter: "No @WHO worker has been infected with #Ebola. The epidemiologist is from a #GOARN partner." When asked how the worker contracted the virus, a WHO spokesperson said officials don't yet know all the details. Separately, a British citizen infected with the virus in Sierra Leone is being flown home, the British Department of Health announced Sunday. The man, identified simply as William, lives in the West African nation in a home established by an American university for researchers. He is a volunteer nurse in Kenema Government Hospital, where he was working with Ebola patients, according to Dr. Robert Garry of Tulane University. Garry is manager of the university's program that researches Ebola. The hospital is run by the government of Sierra Leone, but receives support from Tulane researchers. The UK government said a specially equipped C17 Royal Air Force plane would transport the patient, who would be transferred to an isolation unit at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. "UK hospitals have a proven record of dealing with imported infectious diseases and this patient will be isolated and will receive the best care possible," said deputy chief medical officer John Watson in a press release. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported that two of eight people from the town of Gera suffering from a hemorrhagic fever tested positive for Ebola, a government spokesperson told CNN. The government has set up a lab, mobile treatment center and quarantine area in Gera, which is 1,200 kilometers (750 miles)from Kinshasa. The strain of Ebola is different from the one in West Africa, government spokesperson Lambert Mende Omalanga said. Confirmation testing will likely be done by WHO on Monday, said WHO spokesman Hartl via Twitter. Ivory Coast announced Saturday that it's closing its borders in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Prime Minister Daniel Duncan signed the order that closes the land borders Ivory Coast shares with Guinea and Liberia. The borders will remain closed until further notice in an effort to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading into its territory, according to the government statement. Ebola is one of the world's most virulent diseases, according to the WHO. The virus is introduced to human populations through the human handling of infected animals -- like fruit bats, gorillas and monkeys, to name a few -- found sick or dying in the rainforest. The infection is then transmitted among humans through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people. WHO's maps of confirmed cases show the Ebola outbreak is limited to four West African nations -- Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. So far, nearly 2,500 suspected cases have been reported in what the WHO says is the worst known outbreak of the disease. However, the WHO's website says the survival rate for people with Ebola in this outbreak has been 47%, which is a substantial improvement over the disease's survival rate, historically. CNN's Katia Hetter, Aliza Kassim and Carma Hassan contributed to this report. | NEW: He's the first worker from a WHO partner to fall ill from Ebola .
NEW: Congo reports two cases of Ebola .
Separately, a Briton infected in Sierra Leone is being flown home .
Ivory Coast is closing its borders with Guinea and Liberia in an effort to keep Ebola out . |
207,887 | 99264cca46d6b92c7f2170296b5be8ad7310bb17 | Republican Ted Cruz of Texas took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to discuss the shutdown debate in remarks that headed deep into the night -- a dramatic step in defense of his high profile and controversial plan to prevent any funding for Obamacare. "I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand," he said. "All across this country, Americans are suffering because of Obamacare. Obamacare isn't working." Cruz, who began speaking shortly after 2:40 p.m. ET, was alone for nearly an hour before being joined by Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican. The tea party allies engaged in an extended dialogue that was part stamina test for Cruz and part political theater for the rest of Capitol Hill. Cruz was later briefly joined by other Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky, another tea party favorite, David Vitter of Louisiana, and Sen. Marco Rubio spoke as well. "How many more Americans will have to see their wages or their hours cut as a result of this ill-conceived law before we do something about this?" Vitter asked. As Cruz got going, he raised a number of points about the issue at hand. "This fight is not about any member of this body. This fight is not about personalities. Look, most Americans could not give a flying flip about a bunch of politicians in Washington. Who cares? Almost all of us are in cheap suits with bad haircuts! Who cares?" he said. He also read from the Dr. Seuss children's classic "Green Eggs and Ham" to his daughters as the night wore on. There was also a sharp exchange with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who was was the first Democrat to question Cruz during his remarks. Cruz's comments were not -- in and of themselves -- a filibuster, a practice made famous by Jimmy Stewart in the 1939 movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," when Senate business was brought to a halt through one lengthy, uninterrupted speech. They were, however, part of an ongoing attempted filibuster by some Senate conservatives. Cruz and a few others in the Republican caucus are trying to prevent the Senate from taking up the government funding bill passed last week by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Cruz and his tea party allies support the House bill, which removes funding for the implementation of President Barack Obama's health care law, but don't want to give Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate Democrats a chance to amend the measure by restoring Obamacare funding. Reid had filed a motion to break the filibuster before Cruz rose to speak. The clock was already ticking on the Senate's first key procedural vote on the matter, which will take place shortly after 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday regardless of what Cruz does. Reid needs 60 votes in order to break the attempted filibuster and formally kick off debate on the House bill. There are 54 members of the Democratic caucus, which means the support of at least six Republicans will be required. Once the formal debate has started, however, Reid will only need 50 votes to make changes to the House measure. "Any senator who votes (to move forward with debate on the House bill) is voting to give Harry Reid the authority to fund Obamacare," Cruz told CNN's Dana Bash on Monday, firing a warning shot at his fellow Senate Republicans. GOP infighting over how best to prevent a government shutdown while defunding Obamacare escalated further on Tuesday, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, publicly dismissed Cruz's more confrontational strategy. "I don't think that filibustering a bill that defunds Obamacare is the best route to defunding Obamacare," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "All it does is shut down the government and keep Obamacare funded, and none of us want that." Cruz's GOP critics believe his strategy is politically suicidal, arguing there is no way to stop Obamacare as long as Democrats maintain control of the Senate and Obama himself remains in the White House. They believe that trying to do so by forcing a shutdown -- or preventing a hike in the debt ceiling next month -- will backfire by harming the economy and damaging the Republican brand. Some Republicans, like McConnell, would at least like the opportunity to force vulnerable Democrats to cast a politically tough vote on the House plan. Republicans have "a rare opportunity to defund this law with a simple majority," McConnell added. "We should have that vote." It remains to be seen how much pressure Cruz and his tea party backers will ultimately put on other Republicans. McConnell is up for reelection in 2014, and his conservative GOP primary challenger wasted no time Tuesday blasting the minority leader for opposing Cruz's stance. "Like so many other crucial fights, Mitch McConnell has caved to Harry Reid on Obamacare and is refusing to fight to defund this disastrous legislation," Matt Bevin said. "I am proud to support conservatives like Senator Ted Cruz in his fight to defund Obamacare, and I promise the people of Kentucky: I will never cave to Harry Reid." For his part, Reid argued on the Senate floor that "just as the economy begins to gain steam, some Republicans in Congress seem determined to derail four years of progress." "They're obsessed with defunding health care," he said. "They're pushing us closer and closer to a government shutdown that would tank the economy." | Cruz in marathon protest speech on Senate floor .
McConnell rejects Cruz strategy for government funding and Obamacare .
Cruz wants to stop Senate votes on House plan, knowing Democrats will amend it, fund Obamacare .
Harry Reid says the Senate's first key procedural vote will occur on Wednesday . |
57,687 | a37b74d54168d30a0a660fb51dd07ad81261713d | (CNN) -- At least four former Marlboro Men, those rugged actors of the famous ad campaign, have died of smoking-related disease. The latest was Eric Lawson, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by a three-pack-a-day habit. Lawson, the face of what became the best-selling brand of cigarettes, was felled by the lethal products he helped promote. Years ago, he became a forceful voice for tobacco control, advising children not to smoke and working with organizations including the American Cancer Society to warn the public about the hazards of tobacco. Lawson died a week before the release of a new Surgeon General's report showing that, despite decades of progress in reducing smoking rates and holding the tobacco industry responsible for its lies and deception, a tobacco epidemic still exists. About 44 million Americans still smoke, and one-third of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco use. The report found that a staggering 6 million children alive today will die prematurely from tobacco use. It also found the list of harmful side effects and diseases tied to smoking is growing, including diabetes, erectile dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis. Fifty years ago this month, the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health proved that smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease. Former Surgeon General Luther Terry's landmark report launched a major transformation in the way people think about smoking and sparked a public health movement that has led to remarkable progress in the fight against tobacco use and the devastating death and disease that it causes. When the first report was issued in 1964, the smoking rate in America was 42%. That figure has been cut by more than half, to 18% today, thanks in large part to proven tobacco control policies that discourage children and adults from smoking and protect nonsmokers from cigarette smoke. Fifty years ago, passengers could smoke on commercial airplane flights, at work and in movie theaters. There were virtually no smoke-free restaurants. Today, smoking is prohibited on airplanes and in many airports, and nearly half the country's population is protected by smoke-free laws that cover all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. In 1964, a pack of cigarettes could cost as little as 28 cents. The average price today is roughly $6.03, an increase fueled in part by efforts to raise tobacco taxes as a proven way to discourage people from starting the deadly habit. The tobacco industry spent decades lying to the public about the health effects of its products and waging sophisticated marketing campaigns targeting children and low-income populations. As late as 1996, more than three decades after the original Surgeon General's report, tobacco industry executives famously testified -- under oath -- that nicotine isn't addictive and smoking doesn't kill. Then in 2006, a federal judge found the major cigarette companies guilty of intentionally defrauding smokers and potential smokers for financial gain. Because the evidence established that the industry was likely to engage in continued fraud, the judge ordered the large tobacco companies to make "corrective statements" admitting their wrongdoing. The Department of Justice and the cigarette companies last month agreed on the details of an advertising campaign that the industry must fund to air the statements in the country's top-selling newspapers and on the major TV networks during prime time. The factual, blunt statements include "It's not easy to quit" and "Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans. Every day." Fifty years after the country's top health official confirmed that smoking causes death, the industry will finally be compelled to level with the American people about the harm its products cause. We have a long way to go to end suffering and death from tobacco use. Smoking will kill nearly half a million people in America this year and cost the country a staggering $130 billion in health care costs and lost productivity. We must seize this moment in history to renew our national commitment to protecting public health by passing strong tobacco control laws. The most effective ways to help people quit smoking and keep children from starting the deadly habit are by consistently and significantly increasing tobacco taxes, passing comprehensive smoke-free laws that protect all workers from secondhand smoke and fully funding programs that help people quit tobacco and prevent others from starting. Lawmakers at all levels of government must make a priority of these policies to end death and suffering from tobacco use. Without further action, tobacco use will remain the most preventable cause of death in this country, as it has been for more than half a century. For the sake of America's health, we can't afford to ignore this opportunity. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. | Fourth Marlboro Man dies from smoking; new report shows smoking still an epidemic .
44 million Americans smoke, and a third of all cancer deaths caused by tobacco use .
Writers: We've gone a long way but smoking will kill nearly half a million people in U.S. this year .
Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of death, and we need to redouble efforts . |
63,120 | b3548137d12fa4047c02c5e829c7ee7848806d00 | A school has left parents furious after teachers took dozens of pupils on a forced shopping trip to a shoe store after they arrived for class wearing inappropriate footwear. Parents were sent a bill for the ‘approved shoes’ despite never having asked the school to buy them. The school’s bizarre approach at enforcing its strict uniform policy led to about 40 pupils being driven to the shop by teachers. Scroll down for video . The BBG Academy (pictured) in Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire, ferried up to 75 students who were breaching uniform rules to Wynsor's World of Shoes . Staff at BBG Academy in Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire, even managed to secure a ten per cent discount due to the quantity of shoes they purchased. But angry parents described the school’s uniform policy as ‘ridiculous’. They claim teachers have been placing children in ‘isolation’ for uniform offences and have been lining up girls to inspect their skirts in a ‘military manner’. Pupils were taken to a branch of Wynsors World of Shoes on separate occasions over two weeks after being deemed to be wearing inappropriate shoes. Teachers paid £18 for each pair, which parents were then expected to pay at a later stage. One parent with two children at the school said she thought it was a joke at first. ‘I received a call saying they would take my son for some new shoes and I could pay later,’ she said. Pictured are examples of footwear approved by the school that were available for £18 a pair at Wynsor's World of Shoes . ‘The lady I spoke to at the school seemed quite excited at the fact they were getting 10 per cent discount because they had bought so many pairs.’ On its website, BBG Academy sets out its uniform which is says was developed with 'students, staff and governors'. The uniform was developed to be practical, fashionable and attractive and our students know that conflict over the uniform is inappropriate,' the guidelines say, adding that students should adhere to uniform rules on the way to school, during the school day and on the way home. Boys must wear a school blazer and tie with a white shirt and dark grey or charcoal trousers. It says boys should wear 'plain black shoes' and that trainers, pumps and canvas shoes are not acceptable. Girls must also wear a blazer and tie with the same shoe guidelines as boys except that they are allowed to wear low heel shoes or ankle boots with trousers. Vicca Biggs, 33, whose child is at the school, said that the new uniform policy was ‘undermining parents’. She said: ‘I would be annoyed if one of my kids came back with some shoes and I didn’t know where they came from.’ Mother Diane Coughlan, 46, said: ‘This Monday, they lined all the girls up in an almost military manner and inspected the length of their skirts. They are really clamping down on the poor kids. It’s ridiculous.’ Another parent said: ‘If children don’t have their top button done up, they get put in isolation.’ The school, which has more than 750 pupils, refused to say how many pairs of shoes it had bought but insisted it was providing ‘support’ so pupils could follow rules. Tanya Ratcliffe, 41, the manager of the shoe store, estimated that 40 pupils had been taken to buy shoes by teachers in the past two weeks. ‘When they came in for the first time I recognised the teacher from BBG so I gave them a 10 per cent discount out of goodwill,’ she said. ‘A lot of parents from the school have come in because they don’t want their kids coming with their teachers in school time.’ She said the shop had sold 60 pairs of ‘approved shoes’ to pupils at the school in the past two weeks. Lorna Graham, pictured, supervisor of the Cleckheaton branch of Wynsors World of Shoes, said that the shop runs a scheme where they provide approved shoes for schools . Parents have hit out at the school's actions after only learning of the shopping trip to Wynsor's World of Shoes (pictured) when they were asked to pay the unexpected bill . A supervisor at the store said a teacher had arrived with a group of three pupils on at least two occasions every day last week. School rules state that children must wear ‘plain black shoes’. The BBG Academy was rated inadequate, the lowest possible grade, in its latest Ofsted inspection carried out in October this year. The inspection was the school’s first since becoming an academy in 2012. When it was previously inspected as Birkenshaw Middle School it was deemed to be good overall. The move is believed to be part of the school’s ‘positive discipline’ programme, introduced as a reaction to the Ofsted report. Staff said it was already having a significant effect on pupils’ behaviour. School manager Claire Stephenson said: ‘We are supporting some pupils in ensuring they can follow the uniform policy. We wanted all the pupils to be in the correct uniform. ‘We informed parents before doing this and, on the whole, parents have been very supportive of the behavioural system.’ | Eleven pupils at BBG Academy were transported to a nearby shoe shop .
They had breached uniform rules at school in Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire .
Students taken in staff car for shopping trip to Wynsor's World of Shoes .
Parents to be asked to pay for the footwear which cost under £20 a pair .
School says it 'provided support for a small number of pupils to enable them to follow the uniform policy' |
185,877 | 7cb95952a14b6f7975fb17bf1c863b2da5b2cc9d | (CNN) -- If you're watching the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs this weekend, take a good look at the players' jerseys. You'll see the standard features: names of the teams, numbers and names of the players. Make a mental picture of what you're looking at. Because there's a chance the old-style jerseys may become just a memory. As Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reported, NBA owners at a meeting in New York this month were presented with a display of six mannequin torsos. Three of the mannequins wore Chicago Bulls jerseys. Three wore Boston Celtics jerseys. But the jerseys had been intentionally altered, for the owners' consideration. They were festooned with advertising. The prominence of the on-jersey ads varied: One version did away with the team name and replaced it with the name of a corporate advertiser; a second version featured the advertiser's name beneath the player's number; a third put the advertiser's logo on a strap of the jersey. The NBA has not decided whether it will begin the move to jerseys bearing ads. None of the four major North American sports leagues -- the NBA, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Hockey League -- permits advertising on team uniforms. But other professional sports -- auto racing, golf and soccer -- let athletes display ads on their clothing. And when Sandomir asked Adam Silver, deputy commissioner of the NBA, about the league's position on instituting jerseys with ads, Silver said: "If we add sponsor logos to jerseys, we recognize that some of our fans will think we've lost our minds. But the NBA is a global business and logos on jerseys are well-established in other sports and commonplace outside the U.S." If and when it happens -- if the NBA becomes the first major American sports league to turn uniforms into advertising billboards -- the surprising thing may turn out to be how quickly the public, after expressing initial consternation, decides that it's no big deal. Advertising once was seen as having the potential to be an unwelcome intrusion of hucksterism into places where hucksterism did not belong. But if there was a line that was not supposed to be crossed, that line was obliterated long ago. Not only is advertising ubiquitous and largely unquestioned today, it has managed to become a sought-after symbol of something's -- or someone's -- worth. If a national corporation -- a soft drink, a breakfast cereal, an energy bar -- pays to put its brand on the T-shirt for a charity race, or on a local school's football stadium, or in the program for a college reunion, there is a sense of officially making the big time. "Selling out" was for years a pejorative phrase, but it has lost much of its punch; national advertisers have worked so effectively to elevate the power of their brands, that there is status inherent in being connected with them and with their success. To paraphrase the old Dean Martin song: You're nobody till somebody buys you. And, increasingly, national companies don't even have to offer money to people to promote their brands -- people pay their own money to do just that for the companies. All the customers who eagerly hand over cash so they can wear the Nike swoosh become free ambassadors for the manufacturer. At least the hardy souls who wear sandwich boards on city sidewalks to promote stores and products are compensated for doing it. Objecting to this trend is futile. It has been building steadily for years. The Chicago Bulls won their first three NBA championships while playing in the classically named Chicago Stadium, but their second three championships were won while playing in the new United Center, sponsored by the airline, and it just seemed like the way of the world. People sometimes bemoan encroaching commercialism inside Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, but that ballpark was, in contemporary parlance, and early adopter of you-can't-escape-it advertising, having been named for the man who owned it, a chewing-gum manufacturer. If there was a stigma associated with advertising appearing in untraditional places, it is all but gone. Should the NBA decide to go forward with ads on jerseys, the players will probably put up a fight until they get their desired percentage of the income from the sponsors, but that will be negotiated. If the players resist, the owners will say: Do you want to keep making more money or not? In professional sports, there is only one thing considered more important than winning, and that is finding new revenue streams. The major sports leagues won't be the end of this. What are two parts of American life that urgently need an economic boost? The U.S. Postal Service and the financial system itself. So perhaps the day will come when top-shelf advertisers are invited to bid for the right to place their logos on postage stamps, and on currency. It would be an unbeatable way to pump cash into the postal service and into the U.S. Treasury. There would be certain complications: Burger King might not be thrilled if consumers bought its food with dollar bills emblazoned with the McDonald's arches. Ground rules would have to be worked out. James Dean, more than a half-century ago, made the plain white T-shirt the ultimate symbol of cool. That shirt, in marketing circles, would seem naked now; where's the logo? Dean would be seen as foolishly missing a golden opportunity. All that potential ad space on his shirt, wasted. Dean never played in the NBA, though. Enjoy the playoffs this year, and savor the sight of the unadorned jerseys. The startling thing is not that a major sport is considering plastering ads on those uniforms. The startling thing is that it has taken them this long. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene. | Bob Greene: News report says NBA considers putting ads on players' jerseys .
He says none of the four major leagues permits ads on uniforms .
People would grow to accept it; ads have evolved into status symbols .
Greene: It's about revenue. Could ads on stamps help bail out the Postal Service? |
86,358 | f520e88c798db3bbcb43d4f989573ec3d746d49c | (CNN) -- Zara Phillips is not one to rest on her laurels. After giving birth for the first time in January -- providing Queen Elizabeth II's fourth great-grandchild -- the equestrian star could be forgiven for taking a break from the harsh demands of the stables. Yet just three months on, the British Head of State's eldest granddaughter would find herself back on that familiar saddle competing once more. By August, she had remarkably gone a long way to likely booking her place in what will be her second Olympic Games. "It was harder than I thought it was going to be. I had a lot of friends who said, 'Don't come back too quickly.' I sat on a horse about five weeks after (giving birth)," Phillips tells the CNN Equestrian show. But come back quickly she did. Eight and a half months after Mia Grace Tindall -- the 16th in line for the throne in Britain -- was born on January 17, her mother placed 11th in the eventing at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, helping her nation to silver and Olympic qualification. Phillips' performance in France, which among the UK riders was only bettered by world No. 1 William Fox-Pitt, could well be enough to persuade Britain's Olympic selectors that she is worthy of a spot in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The master plan had come to fruition. "I always wanted to get back for the Worlds at the right time," Phillips says. "I've given myself enough time to get back where I left off." The objective now, as well as bringing up her daughter with rugby star husband Mike Tindall, is winning Olympic gold. She claimed team eventing silver at London 2012, where she was presented her medal by her mother Princess Anne -- who competed for Britain in equestrian at the Montreal '76 Games. Her father, Mark Phillips, won eventing gold at Munich '72 and silver in Seoul 16 years later. Phillips' parents divorced in 1992. Yet despite now being a fully-fledged Olympian, the 33-year-old Zara still feels she has some unfinished business to attend to when she, if all goes to plan, touches down in Rio in two years' time. "When you come out of the Olympics you just go, 'Let's just do it all again,' " Phillips says. "To be able to come out with a medal (in London) was incredible. But we wanted gold and we probably should have got it. "We'd definitely like to go back and try and change the color." In 2012, Phillips had a whole host of royalty fighting her corner, with Princes William and Harry, to name just a few, among those cheering on their relative from the stands. Come 2016, Mia -- who will be superseded as the youngest member of Britain's royal family when William's wife Catherine gives birth for the second time -- could be watching her mother's bid to win gold, having already spent time on the equestrian circuit. "She's been on the road. There's so many kids on the circuit, so many people who've had babies already," Phillips says. "We're lucky because we can ride and go back and forth a bit, it fits in really well. It seems to have worked and hopefully it will keep going like that." Having admitted to not feeling maternal before Mia's birth, Phillips has since treasured the experience of becoming a mother for the first time. "I've really enjoyed it. In a funny kind of way it's like having another type of high-performance horse on your hands," she jokes. "It's an incredible bond you have. I'm lucky, she's really good." Phillips has had plenty of experience developing special bonds down the years, having nurtured a number of relationships with her horses since being introduced to riding as a child by her equine-loving family. It was with her beloved Toytown that she first started competing properly, soon going on to become both a European and world champion -- taking continental glory in 2005 and 2007, while conquering the globe at the first attempt in 2006. Olympic success came alongside High Kingdom, and he could well be Phillips' partner in Rio, given that she rode the bay gelding in Normandy. "I've had him since he was a five-year-old," Phillips says of High Kingdom, now 13. "We've come up the levels together and taught each other everything. "I'm trying to teach him. I think it really helps that I've had him for that long and know him very well." Phillips' equestrian career, though, has not come without its setbacks. Injury to the now-retired Toytown cost her likely selection for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, while lightning unfortunately struck twice four years later as another injury to the chestnut gelding ruled her out of Beijing. Phillips also broke her collarbone in 2008 after falling off Tsunami II, and the horse had to be put down. "I think you get to see the signs when things are really good and when things aren't so good," Phillips reflects. "You would hope that you would notice before anything went too wrong. And that's what you always try." She remains ever-indebted to the role her family have played in helping to lay the foundations for her successful career. Her grandmother, one of the great patrons of British horse racing, still rides at the age of 88. "I remember always being around the yard and being around horses. It was great fun, you know," Phillips says. "You get this passed down through the family and that's where it sort of came from. Obviously we're very grateful to our family and hobbies and traditions, and the love and passion they've got for the horses has filtered down through the years." "Horses mean everything to me," Phillips adds. "They're what I do -- my work and my passion. I'm very lucky." | Zara Phillips helps Britain qualify for 2016 Olympics less than nine months after giving birth .
Phillips now targeting gold medal in Rio de Janeiro after claiming silver at London 2012 .
The 33-year-old is treasuring the experience of being a mother to Mia Grace Tindall . |
169,453 | 6741ffadbbe330004eaacae6652be83e65b16979 | (CNN) -- Conservative commentator Glenn Beck says his revival-style rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday was about restoring America's honor and returning the country to the values on which it was founded. Tens of thousands of people showed up for the event, which also featured former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Beck insists the rally was nonpolitical, but the event, which took place on the 47th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, and in the same place, was not without controversy. The message: Support the troops; return to God. Beck said his role was to wake America up to the backsliding of principles, values and most importantly, faith. His speech took on a spiritual tone as Beck urged the country to "turn back to God." "Look forward. Look West. Look to the heavens. Look to God and make your choice," he said. Beck told Fox News, the network that carries his weekday television program, that the rally was meant to reclaim the U.S. civil rights movement "from politics," arguing that the movement was about "people of faith." The essence of the movement was about "people of faith who believe you have an equal right to justice," he said in an interview that aired Sunday. Beck says he wanted to reclaim civil rights 'from politics' The controversy: Time and location. People filled the park by the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool, in the shadows and echoes of the most pivotal civil rights address in America's history. Some of those who marched with King in the 1960s said Beck had usurped the day for his own political gain. The Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN that Beck was mimicking King and "humiliating the tradition." Beck said the site of his rally was appropriate to reflect on the legacy of King, "the man who stood down on those stairs and gave his life for everyone's right to have a dream." He also said he was unaware that the rally coincided with the King anniversary when he scheduled the event. Alveda King, a niece of the late civil rights leader, participated in the "Restoring Honor" rally, saying that her uncle would have approved of the event. Beck talks faith in rally coinciding with anniversary of King's speech . Beck also came under fire for some of his previous statements, such as his 2009 remark that President Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." In his Fox interview, taped after Saturday's rally, he said he regretted his remarks about Obama, but said the first African-American president's worldview was shaped by "Marxism disguised as religion." The other rally: "Reclaim the Dream" of King . Civil rights activists gathered nearby with the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network in a "Reclaim the Dream" rally. Participants marched from a high school in northwest Washington to the site of the future Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, just a few blocks from the Lincoln Memorial. Speakers insisted that King's vision for America has not been completely fulfilled. "Don't let anyone tell you that they have the right to take their country back. It's our country, too," said Avis Jones Deweaver, executive director of the National Council of Negro Women, making a reference to the Tea Party members attending the Beck rally. "We will reclaim the dream. It was ours from the beginning. A dream that we will make reality," she said. Rally aims to 'Reclaim the Dream' The crowd size: Big. Estimates of the crowd size range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people. The U.S. Park Police no longer makes estimates, so there are no official estimates of events on the National Mall. CBS News commissioned a crowd estimate by the company AirPhotosLive.com. The network reported that AirPhotosLive estimated the crowd at 87,000 people. But they noted that with a margin of error of 9,000, "between 78,000 and 96,000 attended the rally." iReport: Photo gallery of faces in the crowd . NBC Nightly News estimated the number of people in attendance as "tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands." Fox News, citing organizers, aired a banner characterizing it this way: "CROWD ATTENDING BECK RALLY ESTIMATED AT OVER 500,000." The Washington Post quoted Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota as saying, "We're not going to let anyone get away with saying there were less than a million here today -- because we were witnesses." On the morning after the rally, Beck himself told Fox News Sunday that he believed the crowd was between 300,000 and 650,000. So how many people were really there? In the end, most people will believe what their own eyes tell them. The one estimate guaranteed to be correct was Beck's own comment making fun of the inevitable controversy: "I have just gotten word from the media that there are over 1,000 people here today." Wildly conflicting reports filed about Beck rally crowd size . The impact: To be determined. Beck's speech oozed religious language and evoked the feel of a religious revival. Beck has also begun organizing top conservative religious leaders -- mostly evangelicals -- into a fledgling group called the Black Robed Regiment. Is he a new leader for Christian conservatives? Maybe. Beck's emerging role as a national leader for Christian conservatives is surprising not only because he has until recently stressed a libertarian ideology that is sometimes at odds with so-called family values conservatism, but also because Beck is a Mormon. Many of the evangelicals whom Beck is speaking to and organizing don't believe he is a Christian. Mormons, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, call themselves Christian. Some evangelicals criticized Christians for partnering with Beck this weekend because of his Mormon faith, provoking a number of evangelical political activists to pen defenses of their decision to join Beck. At rally, Beck positions himself as new leader for Christian conservatives . The prospects for a Beck-Palin ticket: Not likely. Despite the buzz in the blogosphere, Beck says "not a chance." "I have no desire to be president of the United States. Zero desire," Beck told Fox. "I don't think that I would be electable. And there are far too many people that are far smarter than me to be president. I'd like to find one with some honor and integrity. I haven't seen them yet, but they'll show up." CNN's Dan Gilgoff, Kristi Keck and Matt Smith contributed to this report. | Glenn Beck urges the country to "turn back to God"
The rally drew fire for its timing and location .
Civil rights activists gathered nearby for a "Reclaim the Dream" rally .
Despite buzz in blogosphere, Beck says "not a chance" for a Beck-Palin ticket . |
134,773 | 3a50e8d57e3c27b2e00e379bdb560113940a0ef2 | A solar-powered family car has completed a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco fuelled entirely by sunshine - a journey covering almost 385 miles (619km). Called Stella, the vehicle can travel up to 500 miles (800 km) on a single charge, clocking speeds of up to 80mph (130 km). The prototype four-seater has solar cells on its roof to provide power while driving, and it boasts a tablet that tracks traffic lights. A lightweight, wedge-shaped electric car called Stella (shown) that charges itself with solar cells on its roof has been built at Eindhoven University. It travels 500 miles (800km) on a single charge at speeds of 80mph (130km/h). This distance is increased if the sun is shining thanks to the array of solar panels on top . The vehicle was created by a group called Solar Tam Eindhoven, based at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Stella's recent journey took it up California's scenic Pacific Coast Highway into the centre of L.A. Stella can travel up to 500 miles (800 km) on a single charge, at speeds of 80mph (130 km). The 1.5-kilowatt solar panels on top of the car, which cost about £2,600 ($4,260) to produce, supply power to the car's lithium ion battery . At the back of the car, the panels can be lifted up to reveal a boot, and other novelties include a steering wheel that expands when a user drives too fast, and contracts when they drive too slow. It weighs 855lbs (390kg) and is 15ft (4.6 metres) long, while the body of the vehicle is made of carbon fibre. Its aerodynamic shape also helps to increase its driving range. But the car is less than 4ft (1.2 metres) tall, so getting in is a bit of a squeeze. Stella can even communicate with other cars; during an example, it relayed traffic information to a Tesla Model S nearby. And this extends to traffic lights as well - a tablet screen in the car will tell the driver how long until a light up ahead turns red or green. And the creators of Stella hope their vehicle might one day enter mass production, and become a common sight on roads. The 1.5-kilowatt array of solar panels on top of the car, which cost about £2,600 ($4,260) to produce, supply power to the car's lithium ion battery. At the back of the car, the panels can be lifted up to reveal a boot, and according toTakePart, other novelties include a steering wheel that expands when a user drives too fast, and contracts when they drive too slow. It weighs 855lbs (390kg) and is 15ft (4.6 metres) long, while the body of the vehicle is made of carbon fibre. Its aerodynamic shape also helps to increase its driving range. But the car is less than 4ft (1.2 metres) tall, so getting in is a bit of a squeeze. Stella can even communicate with other cars; during an example, it relayed traffic information to a Tesla Model S nearby. And this extends to traffic lights as well - a tablet screen in the car will tell the driver how long until a light up ahead turns red or green. The 1.5-kilowatt array of solar panels on top of the car (pictured), which cost about £2,600 to produce, supply power to the car's lithium ion battery . The car also features smart technology, including a tablet that shows the driver when traffic lights will change colour (pictured). It can also 'talk' to other cars . At the back of the car, (pictured) the panels can be lifted up to reveal a boot. Stella weighs 855lbs (390kg) and is 15ft (4.6 metres) long, while the body of the vehicle is made of carbon fibre. Its aerodynamic shape also helps to increase its driving range. But it is less than 4ft (1.2 metres) tall, so getting in is a bit of a squeeze . 'It was great to see all the people looking at us; hurrying to get their smartphones out to get pictures while we were driving,' said Lex Hoefsloot, manager of Solar Team Eindhoven after the car had undertaken its drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. In July a team of University of New South Wales students broke a 26-year-old world record for speed, which would make their solar car the fastest electric vehicle to travel 500km on a single battery charge. The car, which was built by Australia's top solar car racing team - UNSW's Sunswift - was able to travel at an average speed of more than 100km/h, beating the previous world record of 73km/h. The world record was broken on a 2.6 miles (4.2km) circular race track in Geelong - south-west of Melbourne - in Victoria at the Australian Automotive Research Centre. The vehicle to smash the record, eVe, was the fifth one built and raced by Sunswift since the team was founded in 1996. 'I think we caused some traffic jams and we were worried some drivers might run into us while trying to take pictures.' Hoefsloot is one of the students at Eindhoven University of Technology who designed and built Stella in what grew into a school-wide project that won a World Solar Car challenge race across Australia in 2013. Stella launched a US tour in Detroit at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in early September. The team drove to San Francisco to join sponsor NXP Semiconductors of The Netherlands in an event focused on a future in which roads are made safer and air pollution reduced by cars that 'talk' to one another as well as traffic signals. 'We think it is possible to make these cars and have them in a showroom in five to 10 years, but it is a big dream and something we have to really work on,' said Hoefsloot. The technology in Stella is not new and if the solar cars were mass-produced like gas-guzzling models they could be similarly affordable, according to the student. But big auto-makers have had little contact with the team because 'they think it is too far-fetched,' Hoefsloot told AFP. 'We think otherwise, of course,' he said. 'It is the first family car that is powered by solar energy, it just doesn't have a family yet.' Stella also has a steering wheel (pictured) that expands if a users drive too fast, and or contracts if they go too slow. The car is a prototype at the moment but recently completed a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco . The body of the vehicle is made of carbon fibre. Its aerodynamic shape also helps to increase its driving range. Stella (pictured) launched a US tour in Detroit at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in early September . | The lightweight, wedge-shaped electric car charges itself with solar cells .
It was built at Eindhoven University of Technology in Holland .
It travels 500 miles (800km) on a single charge at speeds of 80mph (130km/h)
This distance is increased if the sun is shining thanks to panels on the roof .
Car also features a tablet that shows driver when traffic lights will change .
And Stella's steering wheel expands if you drive too fast .
Stella is a prototype, but recently drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco . |
130,893 | 35460822d35b509173572001531d18844970d93b | Stephanie Seymour has revealed that she specially built a massive closet at her home in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she puts all of her couture. In images taken for an upcoming post on Estée Lauder's blog,The Estée Edit, the space is shown to house huge amounts of color-coordinated clothing, hundreds of pairs of designer shoes and at least eight Birkin bags, the beloved Hermes purses that can cost $20,000 or more. The 46-year-old supermodel said in an interview with Fashionista that she cares for her belongings much like a museum cares for its artwork: 'There is some hanging space, but it's mostly drawers because you want to keep everything in either boxes, or in acid-free tissue. It's all climate controlled, of course, and all of the drawers are glass and there's space on each side for a picture so I can see what's inside.' Scroll down for video . One of everything, please! Ms Seymour recently let photographers from Estée Lauder into her massive couture closet . Can we have one of those Birkins? In this photo of her closet, we spotted at least eight of the famous Hermes bags on the top shelf . She even keeps it locked up from her sons Harry, 18, and Peter Brant, Jr., 20. During the interview, she was asked if the pair tried to access her collection - which she's been amassing for nearly 20 years - to re-purpose the pieces to wear out. 'Yes, but now I've bolted the dressing room door!' she said. Under lock and key! Ms Seymour (center) has revealed she keeps her couture locked away from her sons Harry (right) and Peter Brant, Jr. (left) Shoes, shoes, everywhere! The photo shows just a portion of Ms Seymour's massive shoe collection . Ms Seymour revealed that her favorite piece from the collection is her wedding dress, custom designed by Tunisian couturier Azzedine Alaia. 'It is a work of art and I got to watch the whole dress being made by hand,' she said. 'It’s a lot about the craftsmanship, the hand stitching. But honestly, if you find a designer that fits you well, ready-to-wear can feel like it’s made just for you.' Ms Seymour, who's a close friend and muse to Mr Alaia, said she still frequently wears the designer's coats and dresses from 20 years ago because they make her feel 'like Stephanie.' Drop dead gorgeous! Ms Seymour, 46, attended the Louis Vuitton Monogram celebration in New York last month . Quite a trio! Peter Brant, Jr, Stephanie Seymour and Harry Brant (left to right) at the opening of Dolce & Gabbana's Fifth Avenue flagship boutique in New York City in May of 2013 . Ms Seymour has appeared in every major fashion magazine in the world - and she recently became a face for Estée Lauder alongside Kendall Jenner. She was famously involved with Guns 'n' Roses lead singer Axl Rose in the 90s and starred in two of the band's music videos. She married Peter Brant. Sr, a billionaire businessman, in 1995 and then filed for divorce from him in 2009. The pair reconciled in 2010. Her sons Peter - who is openly gay - and Harry grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. As of the last few years, they are fixtures of the Manhattan socialite scene, frequently appearing at exclusive parties, fashion shows, polo matches and more. | The closet, which is at her mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, houses twenty years worth of designer clothing and accessories .
Of the hundred of garments, her favorite piece is her wedding dress, custom made by couturier Azzedine Alaia, for whom she is a muse . |
34,921 | 633cd7b356cfb4a224e0c823a8193d09eec6a3bb | By . Anthony Bond . PUBLISHED: . 10:02 EST, 29 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:46 EST, 29 August 2012 . Sir John Betjeman once said that his biggest regret in life was not having had ‘enough sex’. Yet for a man with a wife and two mistresses, this may seem an unusual lament. For decades, Britain’s best-loved modern poet was torn between his love for three women – his faithful wife, Penelope; long-term mistress Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, a childhood friend of the Queen; and Margie Geddes, who was revealed to have been his lover only after she died in 2006. Romance: More than 100 letters and postcards were sent by former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, right, to his secret lover Margie Geddes, left . On display: After being stored under a bed for decades, the private, passionate thoughts of Sir John Betjeman are to go on show to the public for the first time. Some of the letters are pictured . Now, almost 30 years since the Poet . Laureate’s death, details of their secret affair have been revealed for . the first time following the emergence of more than 100 love letters Mrs . Geddes had kept hidden under her bed. The deeply touching notes show the . intensity of Betjeman’s ardour during their liaison, where he writes of . their ‘delicious and wonderful evenings’ together. In one he says: ‘Darling Margie, I . fear you are bound to haunt my mind for the rest of my life. I like this . haunting. I feel I can rest in you and depend on you.’ In another, he writes: ‘I long to be . in your arms and comforted and able to talk to you for hours alone... It . is very selfish of me to demand so much of you in sympathy and warmth . but as you have both I must rest in them.’ A young John Betjeman and one of the letters he wrote to Mrs Geddes in 1964 . In a note sent in October 1970, he . asks when his lover is free to have lunch with him, adding: ‘I long and . ache to see you. Love Jo.B.’ Even before his marriage, Betjeman had . a reputation as a ladies’ man and had been engaged three times. But it . was not until the death of Mrs Geddes, aged 98, that it emerged the . mother of two was not only a friend but his lover. The affair was revealed by her son Andrew, who said it was her wish that, once she was gone, the world should learn the truth. Affair: The letters show Sir John had a four-year affair with Mrs Geddes in the 1970s while he was married to Penelope, pictured . They met in 1929 at a sports day at . Heddon Court prep school in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, where Betjeman . was a 22-year-old English master. She was 20 and had gone to see her two . younger brothers compete. She wrote of this first encounter: . ‘Quite suddenly in a flash I was aware that this was no ordinary person, . but someone very special. No, it wasn’t love, it was just an awareness . of potential greatness.’ Rare: The museum will not just feature the love letters but also other forms of the poet's work . Unique: This picture shows another of Betjeman's original works which will be displayed from October . Sir John Betjeman is one of the most popular British Poet Laureates and was also a much-loved television personality. He was born in north London in August 1906 and eventually attended Marlborough College and Magdalen College, Oxford. He started his career as a journalist but continued to write poetry. In 1931 he had his first book of poems, called Mount Zion, published. His prolific writing continued throughout the 1930s and 40s. By the 1950s, he was a well-known figure across the country, often making television and radio appearances. He was knighted in 1969 and made Poet Laureate in 1972. He died on May 19, 1984. But within three years the . relationship had ended after she learned of his marriage to Penelope . Chetwode, the daughter of a former commander-in-chief of the Indian . army. Later, Margie married Alexander Geddes and had two children, . although by the time she met her ‘Betje’ again in 1960 her marriage had . ended. They became lovers after she invited . him to a literary speaking engagement in Jersey. At this time he was . having an affair with Lady Elizabeth, the daughter of the tenth Duke of . Devonshire and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. Mrs Geddes once said: ‘He was a highly . sexed man, practically to his death’, but added: ‘To be with John B was . to enter another world – a more scintillating world, with the freshness . of a child’s outlook, where everything is a discovery, nothing taken . for granted, things seen not with the sight but with his vision and . enhanced by his imagination.’ The letters, the last of which was . sent two years before Betjeman’s death in 1984, will be on show from . October 27 at Tom Brown’s School Museum in Uffington, Oxfordshire, where . the poet once lived. Despite his affairs, Betjeman and his . wife were married for 53 years and had two children, Paul and Candida. Candida has helped transcribe the love letters. Poet: Sir John Betjeman first met Mrs Geddes when he was in his 20s . Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough!It isn't fit for humans now,There isn't grass to graze a cow.Swarm over, Death! Come, bombs and blow to smithereensThose air -conditioned, bright canteens,Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,Tinned minds, tinned breath. Mess up the mess they call a town-A house for ninety-seven downAnd once a week a half a crownFor twenty years. And get that man with double chinWho'll always cheat and always win,Who washes his repulsive skinIn women's tears: . And smash his desk of polished oakAnd smash his hands so used to strokeAnd stop his boring dirty jokeAnd make him yell. But spare the bald young clerks who add . The profits of the stinking cad;It's not their fault that they are mad,They've tasted Hell. (This is a shortened version of 'Slough') | More than 100 letters and postcards were sent by the former Poet Laureate to Margie Geddes . |
94,162 | 0508b6ee015b1d1e34f3f2b5fe6db6c12f35fafb | A schoolgirl who spotted grammatical 'mistakes' in her English exam has written a letter of complaint - to Education Secretary Michael Gove. Eagle-eyed Rebecca Lee, 10, a pupil at Christ Church Primary School in Clifton, Bristol, noticed commas 'missing' from two questions in her SATs last Tuesday. The Year Six pupil says she was so 'annoyed' by the basic punctuation errors that she wanted to take her complaint to the top. Rebecca Lee, 10, from Bristol, wrote to Education Secretary Michael Gove over punctuation errors in her SATs . So she wrote to Mr Gove saying: 'I understand that you are very keen for us to all learn our complex sentences and use of accurate punctuation. 'I believe that your department should also use the correct punctuation in all SATs tasks.' The schoolgirl said she hoped to hear back from Mr Gove. Rebecca, from Clifton, said: 'The exam wording should be setting an example and I was annoyed. I had to write. 'I've not heard back yet and am still waiting - Mr Gove's busy but I do hope to get a response back.' The 'mistakes' were in a section of the exam on complex sentences - and had commas 'missing' from two sentences. Education Secretary Michael Gove, left, and the letter he was sent by Bristol schoolgirl Rebecca Lee, right . One sentence read: 'If there is not enough rainfall this month there will be a drought' and 'As he was the chief of the tribe the final decision was his.' This afternoon a spokesman for the Department for Education defended the lack of commas in the exam paper. He said: 'The commas here are a matter of choice. They can be used to mark out clauses that appear at the beginning or the end of a sentence, but they are not necessary. 'We decided to use commas sometimes and not at others to make the tests more like real life where people will have their own styles. 'The only clauses that must be surrounded by commas are those in the middle of a sentence.' The same sentences - featuring commas in the correct places - had appeared in an earlier part of the exam on grammar. Around half a million pupils around the country took the same exam last week. Bright spark: Rebecca Lee discussed the errors in her exam with schoolfriends before writing to Mr Gove . Rebecca's mother Jo Lee, 40, a town . planner, said: 'A group of children were discussing in the playground . that there had been a mistake and that it wasn't right. 'Rebecca . said she thought she should write to whoever was responsible and found . that it was Michael Gove. I helped her write the letter and we emailed . it. 'It's great that she . decided to do it. Generally, I encourage her to do these types of things . - to stand up to the people who are supposed to be setting an example. I'm fully behind her.' The Government's Standards and Testing Agency is meant to check if exams are up to scratch before pupils take them, but a spokesman insisted that using commas in complex sentences was 'a matter of choice'. Rebecca's teacher Barney Braithwaite said many of his pupils noticed the mistake when they undertook the new spelling, punctuation and grammar test. He said: 'I laughed my head off when I had heard that Rebecca had sent the letter. She obviously felt moved enough by the mistakes.' Susie Dent has advised Countdown contestants (and hosts) on linguistic matters since 1992 . Susie Dent, the resident word expert on Countdown, says that while adding a comma into the two sentences Rebecca Lee complained about would help them flow better, it is not essential in either one. Mrs Dent, 45, who has sat in the Channel 4 show's Dictionary Corner adjudicating on linguistic matters since 1992, told MailOnline the comma 'serves as a signpost, helping us to understand what lies ahead and, in many cases, removing ambiguity'. She added: 'Each of these two sentences has a subordinate clause (a combination of words that do not form a complete sentence and which require another to complete the thought: 'If there is not enough rainfall this month', and 'As he was the chief of the tribe' both need more information before the sentence is complete). 'Adding a comma after each clause in these cases would make the sentences and their style flow smoothly, slowing them down almost to the rhythm of natural speech. 'However, in these particular instances, the comma is not essential and is more a matter of style than necessity; the reader will understand what is being said without them. 'A comma in the wrong place, however, can change the meaning entirely: 'If there is not enough rainfall, this month there will be a drought). Oxford-educated Mrs Dent is the longest-serving member of Countdown's on-screen team, and has appeared with presenters including the much-loved Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam, Des O'Connor, Jeff Stelling and current host, Nick Hewer. Mrs Dent, who studied modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford, before studying German at Princeton, worked as a language teacher and in publishing before going to work for the Oxford University Press. She has written several reports on language for the Oxford University Press, and lives in Oxford with her husband and two daughters. | Rebecca Lee, from Bristol, was 'annoyed' by two 'missing' commas in SAT .
Year Six pupil wrote to Education Secretary to berate him for the errors .
The sentences were in a section of the exam on complex sentences .
Countdown expert Susie Dent says commas are better but not essential . |
283,898 | fbcf0fdf6e5ab75fc1d23cc4d649528a49902b0e | Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the Scotland squad for the 2016 European Championship qualifier against Poland on Tuesday night, the Scottish FA have confirmed. The Blackburn Rovers defender picked up a knee injury in the 1-0 Group D win over Georgia at Ibrox on Saturday. Hanley has struck up a partnership with Norwich City's Russell Martin under manager Gordon Strachan who has Brighton's Gordon Greer, Christophe Berra of Ipswich and Aberdeen's Mark Reynolds as possible replacements. Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the Scotland squad with a knee injury ahead of the clash with Poland . Hanley played in Scotland's 1-0 win against Georgia in Group D at Ibrox on Saturday . Poland sit top of the section with six points from two matches following their shock 2-0 home win over world champions Germany on Saturday. Martin, though, is armed with research on Bayern Munich danger man Robert Lewandowski and confidence from Scotland's recent performances on the road. 'We will watch all the videos on him before Tuesday,' said the 28-year-old. 'He is a fantastic player but the staff here prepare us for everything. 'But I'm sure we have seen enough of him in the Bundesliga with the goals he has scored to know how dangerous he is. So we will be ready.' Martin partnered Greer in the 1-0 friendly win over Poland in Warsaw in March which Lewandowski missed through injury. Russell Martin (left) is fully prepared to face Poland frontman Robert Lewandowski and confidence is high . Scotland stars (from left to right) Craig Bryson, Chris Martin, Craig Forstyth, Ikechi Anya, Christophe Berra arrive at Glasgow Airport on Monday . Scotland have also won in Croatia, Macedonia and Norway under Strachan and Martin is sure they can add another away win to their record against the confident Poles. 'We have had a lot of matches like the one we will get on Tuesday over the last 18 months and the way we have dealt with them has been brilliant,' he said. 'If we can keep that level up I'm confident we can get a result. 'Mentally it is a boost that we have already been to Poland this year and won. We know we can go there and do it. 'They had a couple of players missing on that night, but the way we are playing at the minute, we can be confident of going anywhere and putting in a performance that we can be proud of. 'The manager is always on to us that he wants us to put in a showing that we can be proud of. We did that against Georgia and we have to do the same against Poland on Tuesday.' Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher and Gordon Strachan appeared in good spirits upon arrival at the airport . | Grant Hanley picked up knee injury in 1-0 Group D win over Georgia .
Blackburn centre back will miss Scotland's qualifier against Poland .
Tuesday night's opponents Poland sit top of the group after shock win over world champions Germany . |
95,652 | 06f0cec921598b68d413aedc5b597cb546e1f2a6 | By . Lucy Waterlow . Forget Tiger Mothers, the pushiest parents in the world are those who want their children to be the best in the cutthroat world of modern dance in the U.S. British viewers will get the chance to see just how competitive the pastime is when the new series of Dance Moms airs on Lifetime next week. The reality TV show goes behind the scenes at Pittsburgh's renowned Abby Lee Dance Company, owned and operated by the formidable Abby Lee Miller. Checking up: The 'dance moms' watch as their children rehearse . Looking for the best: Dance teacher Abby Lee Miller, right, watches the girls perform . No sugar-coating: Miller isn't afraid to tell the children what she really thinks of their dancing . Competitive: The girls (and their mothers) are desperate to be the best . Best behaviour: How the mothers act can influence whether Miller gives their daughter a starring role . Miller is so determined to find the best dancers, she pushes children to be the best they can be - and doesn't spare their feelings if she thinks they are not up to scratch. Her appraisals of auditions make Simon Cowell look soft. She uses phrases such as 'only number one is good enough!' and 'quit that crying cr**!' when the children perform. Miller says: 'I'm not looking for somebody to be second place. I want a member who stretches every night before they go to bed, I want kids who can learn a routine in one day and compete the next. I want it all.' She adds: 'I want kids that want it, that want to be the best they can be.' At war: The dance moms compete with one another to help their daughters get ahead . Looking older than their years: The girls wear make-up and have perfectly groomed hair for their performances . Practise makes perfect: The boys and girls perfect their moves . Children can learn to dance at the Company from the age of two but Dance Moms follows a troupe aged eight and above who are competing to win coveted awards in solo and group categories. Their routines must be flawless with an appearance to match. Sequined outfits, tonnes of make-up and perfectly groomed hair are all de rigueur. And as the title of the show suggests, behind every girl vying to be number one, is a mother pushing them all the way. This leads to bickering, back-stabbing and tantrums - all from the mothers. 'It's not fair! You get special treatment for your daughter!' says one of the mothers in the opening episode as they fall out over who Miller has selected to do the latest dance solos. Pick me! The dancers compete for places in solo and group routines . In or out: Miller's decision is final when it comes to picking dancers for important performances . High standards: The dancer instructor is looking for girls who stretch every night and want to be the best . The girls are told: 'Second place isn't good enough' Support: The mothers are there for every rehearsal and show . It seems the mothers have to fight one another to get their child ahead - as if they pick their battles with Miller, it's their child who will be punished. One mother learns this at her daughter's cost at an open audition in Florida in the opening episode. When she tells Miller her daughter didn't dance well because she didn't hear the initial instruction to start on her left foot, the child is immediately dropped. 'Who is your daughter? You just humiliated her stage in front of all these people, she's out,' Miller shouts dismissing the heartbroken young girl from the competition. One of the experienced 'dance moms' then tells the outspoken mother: 'A word of advice, don't speak out against Abby, she hates it when you stand up for your kid.' As the mothers can't win against Miller, they wage war on one another instead. In the first episode of series four, which airs on Monday on Lifetime, they accuse one another of trying to sabotage one another's daughter's routines or trying to win Miller's favour by buying her gifts. Expect high kicks and even higher drama as the girls dance ever closer to the National Dance titles in spite of their mothers' backstage breakdowns on Dance Moms, Lifetime, from Monday 16th June at 9pm . | Reality TV show goes behind the scenes at U.S. Abby Lee Dance Company .
Competition is fierce as girls as young as eight compete to be number one .
Behind every girl is a mother pushing them all the way .
Mothers bicker and back-stab in bid to help their child reach the top .
Show now being aired in UK . |
187,348 | 7ea5df3266454c9ac25c5eb3c1048232724a95a9 | With questions still unanswered whether missing MH370 was sabotaged, Special Branch police in Kuala Lumpur today began a sabotage inquiry into a drama involving another Malaysian Airlines jet. Police Chief Halid Abu Bakar confirmed that an investigation had begun into whether flight MH192, which had to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India, had been interfered with before take off. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with 166 people on board, landed safely in Kuala Lumpur after a tyre burst and the right hand landing gear malfunctioned. Fears: Police have confirmed they are investigating whether flight MH192, which had to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India, was interfered with before take off . Relief: After the incident Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein posted this picture on Twitter as he met the passengers off the plane, adding: 'Their faces says it all (sic)... Thank God they are safe' Safe: Passengers of flight MH192 were relieved to step off the aircraft after an emergency landing . As passengers praised the pilot for . the safe landing, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein . demanded that the police begin an investigation into the incident. Inspector . General of Police Mr Bakar then announced that a thorough investigation . would be carried out to establish if there were 'elements of sabotage' involved in the emergency. Mr . Hishammuddin, who has been a central figure in the investigation into . the disappearance of MH730, has given Malaysian Airlines just two days . to furnish the Malaysian cabinet with a preliminary report into the . incident. After the incident he posted a picture on Twitter as he met . the passengers off the plane and reflected: 'Their faces says it all . (sic)... Thank God they are safe'. The aircraft had to conduct a turn-around during a routine 90-minute flight to Bangalore and make an emergency landing back at Kuala Lumpur airport three hours after take-off. The Minister said the airline did not have a reason to be unable to provide an early report into the incident. Route: Flight MH192 suffered a serious landing gear malfunction shortly after taking off in Kuala Lumpur on a routine 90 minute journey to Bangalore in India . Malaysian Minister of Transportation Hishammuddin Hussein (2nd L) talks with passengers after the flight suffered a landing gear malfunction . Problems: The Boeing 737 was forced to make the emergency landing after reporting a landing gear failure shortly after take-off . The Department of Civil Aviation has also been asked to provide cabinet with a report as soon as possible, said the Minister. 'Such . incidents should not have happened,' said Mr Hishammuddin, despite the . aircraft, piloted by Captain Nor Adam Azmi Abdul Razak and co-pilot . Prakash Kumar, landing safely. 'This . is why I have asked the DCA and the police Special Branch to conduct a . review on the national carrier's standard operating procedures . concerning their flights.' Despite . his apparent deep concerns, he praised the pilots and cabin crew for . showing 'outstanding leadership' in handling the ordeal. 'I . am very proud of the pilots and crew members who kept the passengers . informed and calm until the aircraft landed without incident,' he said. Mr Hishammuddin Hussein answers questions after the Malaysia Airlines scare . Passengers on the flight also praised the pilot for doing a 'good job' in landing the plane safely. Several said they knew there was something wrong with the plane after a bumpy take-off . But . the Minister said he did not discount the possibility of sabotage . following incidents that have struck the national carrier in recent . weeks. He . was referring to two emergency landings of other Malaysian Airlines . planes - one in Hong Kong and the other in Kathmandu - and the . prevailing mystery of MH370. Passengers on the flight also praised the pilot for doing a 'good job' in landing the plane safely. Several . said they knew there was something wrong with the plane after a . particularly bumpy take-off, although the cabin crew were able to keep . everybody calm. Marta . Alonso, a Spanish citizen travelling to Bangalore to star a new hob as a . telecommunications engineer, said she knew something was not right as . soon as the plane took off. 'It . was bumpy and shaky. Not long after that the pilot announced we needed . to make an emergency landing. It was frightening,' she said. Australian . national Maslahuddin Khan, 40, also praised the pilot: 'There was . turbulence during the departure but the landing procedure was handled . well. We panicked at first but all remained calm.' The . malfunction came nearly two months after Maylasia Airlines lost flight . MH370, which mysteriously vanished en route to Beijing. Hunt: The disappearance last month of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has prompted a multinational search effort, which is now focused on the Indian Ocean . 'New plans': Over the weekend Malaysia's defence minister gave a deadline of today before a new approach would need to be taken in the ongoing search for MH370 . The . Boeing 777 has still yet to be found, despite weeks of extensive . searches in the southern Indian Ocean where it was ruled to have . crashed, killing all 239 people on board. Aircraft . and ships continued to search the Indian Ocean north west of Perth . today, while the Bluefin-21 underwater search vehicle scoured the ocean . bed. But, as in previous days, searchers have failed to find any clue to the whereabouts of the aircraft. Over . the weekend Malaysia's defence minister gave a deadline of today before . new plans would need to be made regarding the ongoing search for MH370. On Saturday Mr Hishammuddin . Hussein, who is also the country's Acting Transport Minister, said it . was his understanding 'that the search effort is entering a critical . stage in the next 48 hours'. 'Whatever happens in that period, we will then regroup and discuss our next move.' Mr . Hisammuddin was speaking in Kuala Lumpur as the underwater drone . Bluefin-21 was sent on its seventh mission 1500 miles north west of . Perth, Western Australia, to search for any sign of the wreckage of the . Boeing 777 aircraft. The . Minister's reference to just 48 hours revealed less optimism than . comments by Australia's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, who had forecast . that the search would continue at least until the end of this week. | Plane suffered landing gear malfunction after taking off in Kuala Lumpur .
Flight MH192 was travelling to Bangalore in India - a 90 minute journey .
But passengers were left in the air for four hours until landing at 2am .
Now police confirm they are investigating possible 'elements of sabotage'
Malaysia's Special Branch will probe potential 'interference' on runway .
Incident comes two months after the mysterious disappearance of MH370 .
Plane vanished after take off in Kuala Lumpur and has still not been found . |
267,342 | e63e507987d2a83901a60fcabd1f1da5fdc7ae47 | By . Sam Peters . Luther Burrell is no one’s idea of a soft touch. Weighing 17st and with the physical attributes of a world-class athlete, the Huddersfield-born son of a chemical processor is a tough man earning a hard living in a sometimes brutal sport. But Burrell, just like every professional sportsman, is also a human being. Last season, at the end of a breakthrough Six Nations which saw the 26-year-old centre lay down a significant marker for next year’s World Cup, the physical and emotional demands of an eight-week campaign away from his family caught up with him. Roar: Luther Burrell was driven to tears and broke down after physical and emotional demands last year . Charge: The eight-week campaign away from his family caught up with Burrell towards the bitter end . Bags of potential: The 26-year-old England centre laid down a significant marker for next year’s World Cup . ‘I generally keep things close to my chest and don’t tend to share my feelings with other people,’ Burrell told The Mail on Sunday. ‘But the week after the Six Nations was really tough. Things caught up with me and I had to speak to [Northampton director of rugby] Jim Mallinder. ‘It was a pretty emotional conversation. I was a bit embarrassed because I’d never done that [broken down] before. But speaking openly about how I was feeling lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. The tournament had taken a lot out of us emotionally.’ Burrell’s emotional fragility was understandable following an intense tournament which began with bitter-sweet news for the former Leeds Tykes and Sale star. His joy at being handed a first England cap, against France in February, had been tempered by learning his mum, Joyce, had only just been given the all-clear following a major cancer scare. ‘Mum had a lump and she and the doctors thought it was breast cancer,’ he said. ‘They had to send off a sample for tests and it was a long time before she got the all clear. It was a huge time for my family. They were obviously overjoyed when they heard I’d been picked and there were plenty of tears. ‘But I was disappointed how the news came out about mum. ‘Mum and dad hadn’t really kept me in the loop because they didn’t want me to worry. It was a huge time for our family.’ Tough: Burrell's first England cap took a backseat after his mum, Joyce, got the all-clear from a cancer scare . As is the lot of professional sportspeople, Burrell had to suppress his personal worries and focus on winning matches. He scored a superb debut try as England lost a pulsating game to France before crossing twice more in the tournament as Stuart Lancaster’s men came agonisingly close to winning the Six Nations. The subsequent meeting with Mallinder saw Burrell reset his sights and he went on to help his club lift the Amlin Cup and Aviva Premiership title with victory over Saracens in the final. The next day he proposed to his childhood sweetheart Millie — after nearly doing so on the Twickenham pitch — before flying halfway around the world to play in England’s last two Test defeats against the All Blacks in New Zealand. ‘It was a funny tour because it had been a big season for the Saracens and Northampton boys,’ he said. ‘Saracens had also been in the European final against Toulon and then played against us in the Premiership final. Then we flew to New Zealand and played the first Test with a lot of emotional things going on. ‘We felt a bit of pressure to deliver, flying out two days after the final to start in the second Test. That pressure of trying to back up what was a successful Six Nations but with less time spent together made it a tricky period. I think everyone involved learned a lot from that tour.’ With another huge season, beginning with the Aviva Premiership opener this Friday night against Gloucester at Franklin’s Gardens, and hopefully finishing with a home World Cup on home soil next October, Burrell has taken up the saxophone in an attempt to keep an even keel. 'I didn’t want to learn the guitar because that is what everyone wants to play so I decided to buy a saxophone,’ he said. ‘I listen to the Blues and a bit of Northern Soul for inspiration. I absolutely love it. I’d like to play at our wedding. I had a chat with Ben Foden the other day and he’s going to play the guitar. We just need to find a singer. Pressure: Burrell admits he felt he needed to do well for his country and 'deliver' what was expected . Gearing up: Burrell has taken up the saxophone and listens to 'Blues and a bit of Northern Soul for inspiration' ‘I said “Between you and your missus [Saturdays popstar Una Healy] you can find a singer”.’ Injuries notwithstanding, Burrell — whose footballing abilities surprised many last season — is set to be a key figure in Lancaster’s squad despite fierce competition from other centres Manu Tuilagi, Billy Twelvetrees, Brad Barritt, Kyle Eastmond and soon-to-arrive rugby-league convert Sam Burgess. ‘Ideally I’d like to be in the midfield with Manu but you just have to respect whatever pairings the coaches come up with,’ Burrell said. ‘I saw Mike Ford at Bath say originally that Sam was going to play back row so I’m happy with that! ‘It’s an incredibly exciting time to be involved with England. A home World Cup is going to be absolutely huge and I’m desperate to be part of it. Just look at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. ‘I’ve said to the coaches that this year is about making small sacrifices for what could be a life changing opportunity at the end of it.’ But while Burrell has the world at his feet today, it could all have been very different had mum Joyce not emailed Lancaster — in his former role as Academy director at Leeds Tykes — to express her displeasure at her teenage son being overlooked in favour of a rival. ‘One of my team-mates at Huddersfield got invited to Leeds Academy and I was really unhappy about it,’ Burrell said. ‘It really got under my skin and I went home and sulked. Eager: Burrell says a home World Cup will be 'absolutely huge' and the centre is 'desperate to be part of it' ‘I told Mum this lad had been picked and she fired off an email. The secretary replied saying Stuart was happy for me to come along if I was confident I could cut it.’ A dual contract with Leeds Tykes and the Rhinos followed and Burrell spent a precarious four years living on £200 a month in student digs in Headingley alongside five other aspiring professionals. Only Burrell has gone on to make it into the top-flight. ‘I had nothing else to fall back on,’ he said. ‘I’d done my GSCEs and sports science A-levels but after that it was all rugby. I had to make it work. It didn’t bare thinking about if I didn’t make it. ‘When me and Millie talk about it now we always say how fortunate we are that I can do this and that it’s given us such a comfortable life. I’ve seen the other side when it doesn’t work out and I’ve seen people drop off the edge. It’s keeps me humble and motivated to keep getting better because once you get into a hole as a professional sportsman it’s hard to claw your way out.’ A frustrating spell at Sale following Leeds’ relegation in 2011 led to Burrell signing a two-year deal with Saints in 2012. Last season, after touring Argentina with England, he extended that deal by three years. ‘I’ve managed to turn my career around,’ he said. ‘I really did think Northampton was my last shot and I knew I couldn’t afford to not make it work. Thankfully it’s paid off and I’m loving my time here. ‘Stuart Lancaster always said I’d be a late developer and he was right.’ On the up: Burrell acknowledges he has 'managed to turn (his) career around' and is glad his efforts paid off . Luther Burrell is a part of the Jimmy’s Iced Coffee family. Watch their rugby ad and buy a branded Gilbert ball at jimmysicedcoffee.com . | Luther Burrell opens up to Sportsmail about his tough time after Six Nations .
‘I was a bit embarrassed because I’d never done that [broken down] before,' says Burrell, who admits opening up 'lifted a huge weight off my shoulders'
Burrell's joy at being handed a first England cap had been tempered by learning his mum, Joyce, was given the all-clear after a major cancer scare .
'It was a huge time for my family. They were obviously overjoyed when they heard I’d been picked and there were plenty of tears,' admits Burrell .
Burrell: ‘Mum and dad hadn’t really kept me in the loop because they didn’t want me to worry. It was a huge time for our family'
England centre has taken up saxophone to relax and help his 'inspiration' |
148,796 | 4c699aa514d1d3baf4f85f66ff3a114d6994ae2a | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A team of 'Titanicologists' have solved what is considered to be one of the last great mysteries - or hoaxes - of the doomed luxury liner, over a century after it sank. A woman who claimed to be the presumed-dead two-year-old daughter of a wealthy family that died on Titanic in 1912 has been exposed as a fraud following extensive DNA tests. Helen Kramer first came forward in 1940 claiming to be Loraine Allison, a toddler traveling with her parents Hudson and Bess and seven-month-old brother Trevor on the ship. Hudson Allison was a Canadian entrepreneur and the family traveled with an extensive entourage of servants. Solved: Helen Kramer first came forward in 1940 claiming to be the presumed-dead daughter of Hudson and Bess Allison, Lorraine Allison, who was two-years-old when she is believed to have died on Titanic. Now over 70 years later, the claims have been debunked through DNA tests . When the ship struck the iceberg, Trevor, who was not with his family at the time, was taken onto a lifeboat by a maid, Alice Cleaver, with both going on to survive. Both mother and father and Loraine are believed to have died looking for Trevor and skipping their opportunities at being rescued. Trevor then died in 1929 of ptomaine poisoning. Kramer mounted a long campaign to be accepted by the surviving members of the wealthy Allison family in the face of strong opposition, The Telegraph reported. The bitter dispute was expected to have ended in 1992 when Kramer died. But it was revived on the centenary of the sinking in 2012 when Kramer’s granddaughter, Debrina Woods, from Florida, restated the claim on a series of forums dedicated to the Titanic. She set up a website highlighting her claim and said she planned to write a book about the story. She claimed she had found a suitcase belonging to her grandmother which was full of documents substantiating the family case. She also tried to contact the Allison family and arrange a visit, prompting the intervention of their lawyers to ask her to cease. Iceberg, right ahead: The Titanic struck this iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank. Helen Kramer claimed to have survived the sinking and be a member of a wealthy family on board that died . A restraining order was taken out to stop Ms Woods scattering her grandmother’s ashes over the Allison family plot in Chesterville, Ontario, with extra security measures put in place after she paid a visit to the area. If her claim was established, Woods would have been eligible to inherit much of the Allison family wealth. The debate led to the founding of the Loraine Allison Identification Project by Tracy Oost, a forensic scientist at Laurentian University in Canada and a Titanic researcher. Oost and some other 'Titanicologists' - as they have come to be known - asked both sides to take part in a screening of their Mitochondrial DNA, which passes through the maternal line. Sally Kirkelie, the great niece of Loraine’s mother, agreed to take part. Woods declined, but her half sister, Deanne Jennings, who shared the same mother and same link to Helen Kramer, agreed. The tests revealed no genetic link between Kramer or Woods and the Allison family, exposing the decades-long mystery as nothing but a great hoax. The results are proof of what the Allison family have long suspected to be true. 'The Allison's never accepted Mrs Kramer’s claim, but the stress it caused was real,' said David Allison, grandson of Hudson's brother Percy Allison. 'It forced my ancestors to relive painful memories described to me as immeasurable sorrow and unending grief. 'I would like to thank Deanne Jennings and Sally Kirkelie for offering their DNA to stop this harassment. This was a courageous, selfless act, and I will remain forever indebted for their act of kindness.' Copy of the front page of the New York Times dated April 16, 1912 . Nancy Bergman, a sister of David’s, said: 'These DNA results have uncovered a colossal fraud that has haunted my family for years. It was all about the money …. Debrina wants to write a book and no doubt there are others out there who want to profit from our story. It is our story. Leave us in peace.' Prof Oost said: 'It is good to have a resolution here, but we mustn’t forget that this is all about one of the more tragic of tales to come from the Titanic. The only mystery that remains now is who was Helen Kramer.' Kramer first appeared on a radio show called 'We, the People', claiming to have been saved on Titanic at the last minute by her 'father' Hudson Allison, who she said put her in a lifeboat with a man called 'Mr Hyde'. She said she was raised in England believing Mr Hyde was her father. She said Mr Hyde told her truth after she requested her birth certificate and shortly before his death, at which point they had moved to the US. Kramer said Mr Hyde also disclosed his real identity: Thomas Andrews, who had been Titanic’s designer and builder and who was thought to have died in the sinking. Further investigation suggests Kramer was actually raised in Michigan as Evangline Irene Lee Hyde. However Woods, 61, a retired chef, is standing by her claims. She declined to comment on the DNA results, but said she had her own DNA evidence and the support of other members of the Allison family. The results, she said, will be revealed in a book she is currently writing. The project echoes the exposure of a similar bogus claim, made by Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, who was killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. After her death, DNA research proved there was no genetic link between the woman and the family. | Woman called Helen Kramer first came forward in 1940 claiming to be Lorraine Allison, a two-year-old who died on the Titanic in 1912 along with her wealthy parents, Hudson and Bess .
Kramer claimed she was saved at the last minute and was raised by a man she believed was her father but then found out the truth .
A bitter dispute with the Allison family carried on for decades and, when Kramer died in 1992, it was expected to be finished with .
However in 2012 Kramer's granddaughter, Debrina Woods, restated the claims, potentially making her eligible for a large stake of the Allison family fortune .
Now DNA tests using a maternal bloodline have proven there is no genetic link between Kramer and the Allison family, exposing the 70-year mystery as a hoax . |
9,720 | 1b8055a2614804e94b716985df7717303219be18 | (CNN) -- Facing the world after an isolating and traumatic experience is often stressful, especially for those who have been away for a long time. Jaycee Dugard is reuniting with her close relatives for the first time in 18 years, after having been found on August 27. Dugard was 11 years old when she was abducted in 1991 from a bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California. She allegedly was kept in a series of backyard sheds by a convicted sex offender and gave birth to two children in captivity. A bail review hearing is scheduled for Monday in El Dorado County Superior Court in Placerville, California, for Phillip and Nancy Garrido, who face charges related to Dugard's kidnapping. In Illinois, Shannon Wilfong is charged with child abduction, allegedly having forced 6-year-old Richard K. Wilfong Chekevdia to live in seclusion and be hidden, at times in crawl spaces and the attic, for nearly two years, according to court documents. In concealing the boy, Wilfong violated the terms of a court order that granted joint custody of the child to Michael Chekevdia, the documents said. The boy is staying with his father's family under child welfare supervision, according to CNN affiliate WSIL. The situations of Dugard and Chekevdia are extreme cases of people emerging from isolation and returning to the real world. The people who have been away often feel conflicted about leaving the situation they've acclimated to in order to rejoin the loved ones they've left behind, experts not connected to the cases tell CNN. Photos: Missing children who were found . Sometimes children involved in custody disputes are taught to hate their father or mother, and "extreme tactics" may be used, although usually not to the extent of hiding a child in crawl spaces, said Jay Lebow, psychologist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. "While this case is obviously the rarest of things, other children are certainly exposed to many traumas that have meaning connected to this," Lebow said. The case of Dugard . Dugard is spending time in "a secluded place, reconnecting" with her mother and younger sister, said her aunt, Tina Dugard, in a statement on behalf of her family. "This is a joyful time for my family," she said. "Jaycee remembers all of us." But a person in Dugard's situation would most likely have both positive and negative feelings about leaving the only environment she's known for 18 years and coming back to her family, psychologists say. "She's going to have a lot of mixed feelings about returning to her family of origin because she's spent almost two decades with a different family," said Margo Napoletano, a child and family psychologist in San Diego, California. After allegedly being confined for 18 years, Dugard probably would find the outside world frightening, Lebow said. "You get to know this world you live in -- it may be a terrible world, but it's the world you know," he said. Experts say Dugard may have developed what is known as Stockholm syndrome, in which kidnapping victims identify with their captors. Learning to live with and even like the perpetrator has survival value, Napoletano said, and also explains why someone like Dugard probably would feel somewhat torn about returning to her original family. "It's a concept that explains why a kidnapped victim would stay with a perpetrator even though they had an opportunity to leave," she said. "They opt to stay because it's their comfort zone." But Johanna Tabin, a psychologist in Glencoe, Illinois, said Dugard's readjustment will depend on how she was treated in captivity. Police said Phillip Garrido, one of her alleged abductors, is believed to be the father of her two daughters, and his relationship to Dugard -- whether he framed their alleged sexual encounters as violent or seductive -- will influence her feelings about leaving that situation, Tabin said. It is also important to know how Dugard felt about her family before she was taken away, Tabin said. "Did she secretly mourn them?" Tabin asked. "Did she feel she stepped on a different planet where she was all of a sudden a grown-up 11-year-old and wasn't being treated anymore like a child?" Her family members may have constantly wondered what they could have done differently to prevent the kidnapping, Tabin said. At the same time, someone in Dugard's situation may have asked herself at the outset, "Why did they let me get kidnapped?" Lebow said. There is an infinite range of responses, but more information about Dugard's feelings growing up and in captivity would inform how she adjusts to her new life, Tabin said. The situation is likely also difficult for Dugard's two daughters, born to her in captivity, who have never met Dugard's family before, Napoletano said. "It's basically like a wild child who may have had some contact with civilization, but basically is having to start life all over again, and that may be overwhelming to them at first," she said. Napoletano said she would suggest to a family like Dugard's to be accepting and supportive, and not ask a lot of questions. "Go about your daily life as usual for the most part, and take the lead from the therapist, one small step at a time," she said. Lebow advises them against looking for some sudden moment of reconnection, but rather to be loving and patient. Coming back from combat . Dugard's reuniting with her family could also be likened to a soldier coming back from a "hellacious war," Lebow said. A recent survey of military spouses of deployed Army soldiers with school-age children found that the return from deployment is the most stressful, according to three-quarters of respondents. Reunification brings excitement and relief, which is sometimes accompanied by emotional conflict, the surveyors said. Read more about the study . In the military, bonds of brotherhood form as people face dangers together, Tabin said. When service members come home, they may find life "shallower," and feel that they are not the same people as when they left, she said. In a case where a husband has been away at war and returns to his wife, the desire to understand one another's feelings is fundamental, she said. "She wants to be understanding, he wants to be able to shove it aside, then he has nightmares, and she says, 'you're not setting it aside,' " Tabin said. "Well, consciously he is -- he's not awake when he dreams." Don't force the person who has been away to talk about their experiences, Napoletano said. She also stressed that a family should try to normalize the life of the service member who has returned from war. Waking up in the morning, going grocery shopping, washing clothes and doing other day-to-day activities help create a stable, comforting environment, she said. | Jaycee Dugard, found August 27, is reuniting with her family after 18 years .
People who return to their families after years away often feel conflicted about it .
Expert: Don't force the person who has been away to talk about their experiences .
It's important to go about day-to-day activities, such as grocery shopping . |
184,140 | 7a8483c4e81e158303aed88890a632ead828bf83 | (CNN) -- Ethiopia's prime minister is "recovering well," a spokesman said Wednesday, amid frenzied speculation about the health of the usually visible leader, who has not appeared in public for two months. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, 57, came to power two decades ago and is considered a strong force in the frequently volatile horn of Africa. He has not appeared in public since June, and the secretive nation has released little information about his whereabouts, prompting rumors and opposition claims that he is dead or facing a life-threatening illness. After weeks of speculation, the government held a news conference last month and announced he got treatment for an unspecified illness. Zenawi is "recovering well, resting and performing his duties as prime minister and head of state," government spokesman Bereket Simon reiterated Wednesday. He declined to give exact details on Zenawi's whereabouts or the nature of his illness. His absence has been a hot topic in the nation, with bloggers launching a counter of the number of days he's been missing. Citizens have taken to social media to discuss his whereabouts and exchange conspiracy theories. Searches for Zenawi are at their highest since 2004, according to Google trends. "Ethiopians are a bit confused," said Endalk Hailemichael, 30, of Addis Ababa. "In Ethiopia, there are traditions of secrecy and hiding the whereabouts of leaders. People are afraid, there is a lot of uncertainty looming. A lot of rumors and unclear information going on." Hailemichael said the disappearance has sparked a lot of questions, including who would succeed him in case of a power vacuum. But most people are discussing it with fear of repercussions, he said. CNN reached several people in the nation who expressed their concerns about his whereabouts, but did not want to be quoted for fear of retribution. "People are afraid to talk about it. This is a police state," Hailemichael said. "They are talking about it, but they are looking over their shoulders. In bars, in taxis, coffee shops, that's all people are talking about. But they are afraid." His absence was more evident last month when Ethiopia hosted an African Union summit in its capital of Addis Ababa. Zenawi, a key player in talks on the tensions between Sudan and its rival neighbor South Sudan, did not attend. "Some people are worried, some people are crying," said Jomanex Kassaye, 30, who lives near Addis Ababa. "While some people are worried about the instability that might occur ... others are happy that he may be gone." Kassaye said, while he is not a fan of the leader, he wants him to leave through a democratic process. "I need him to go because there is no democracy, no freedom of speech, no food, no justice, no accountability," he said. "But not like this. If he leaves like this, we will have another dictator who will take over power and stay for too long." Ethiopia, which is a key Western ally often lauded for effective use of aid money, is surrounded by unstable nations such as Somalia and Sudan. Zenawi has been credited with working toward peace and security in the region. The Ethiopian army has sent peacekeepers to battle Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia. More recently, the prime minister was working to broker a peace deal in the negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, which split last year but still have unresolved issues. In an attempt to quash the rumors, the government censored a newspaper that tried to report information about his health, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. "This weekend, the government ordered the state-run printing company not to produce the latest edition of the weekly Feteh, which was to have carried front-page coverage of Zenawi's condition," the media advocacy group said on its website. Zenawi, a former guerrilla leader, is part of a group that toppled dictator Haile Mengustu Mariam in 1991. The shrewd politician is credited with economic progress and maintaining peace in the nation surrounded by volatile countries. However, human rights groups have accused his government of a heavy hand and a series of abuses, including limiting press freedoms and cracking down on opposition political parties. Last year, Ethiopia found two Swedish journalists guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced them to 11 years. | Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has not appeared in public since June .
A government spokesman says he is recovering after undergoing treatment .
The spokesman declines to specify his location or the nature of his illness .
Rumors swirl as the opposition claims that he is dead . |
259,145 | db6fd5916e0894781411bd05750a70d04c8214a0 | The Catts of Katy, Texas seemed to be a normal, quiet, family before their secret lives as bank robbers was revealed last year. Scott Catt, 50, and his 20-year-old son Hayden and 18-year-old daughter Abby stole $100,000 in two bank robberies before they were arrested at their middle-class apartment complex. In a confessional prison interview, Scott Catt told Texas Monthly how he recruited his two children to become his accomplices in crime. 'All I can tell you is that I thought it would help us as a family,' Catt said. 'I did it for the family,' he said. 'I swear to you, I would only rob banks for my family.' The Catt family robbers: Scott Catt (center), his 20-year-old son Hayden (left), and 18-year-old daughter Abby (right), were arrested last year after carrying out two bank robberies in Texas . Catt first started robbing banks after his wife's death in 1997 from breast cancer, when Hayden was five and Abby was two. The widower turned to alcohol and drugs to deal with the pain and began to struggle financially. It was around 2000 or 2002 that he carried out his first robbery at a bank in McMinnville, Oregon where the family was then living. After dropping the kids off at school, Catt drove to a nearby bank where he wore a ball cap, black sweats, a white painter's mask and sunglasses as a disguise. He threatened the tellers with an unloaded antique pistol and came away with $2,500. Trigger: Scott Catt says he first started robbing banks after his wife Beth's death from breast cancer in 1997. He says her death caused him to become addicted to alcohol, which negatively impacted his finance . Too young: Hayden was five and Abby (right) as just two at the time of their mother's (left) death . A few days later, police issued a grainy photo of Catt from surveillance footage. 'My mother said the man in the photo looked a little like me, and I just laughed,' Catt said. 'And that was it. We all went out for dinner that night. The police never came to knock on my door.' After that first heist, Catt was addicted and he continued to rob banks about once a year. Oregon authorities now believe Catt was responsible for about five unsolved robberies in the state. 'I didn’t feel like a criminal,' he told me. 'I didn’t load my pistol. I knew I wasn’t going to shoot anybody. And I kept telling myself that whatever money I got was insured, so who was really being hurt?' Catt led a double life, convincing everyone who knew him that he was just a devoted dad who made a point of cooking for his kids every night. Back in McMinnville, Catt is remembered as a single dad who supported his two kids and took them on summer trips to amusement parks. He also became the president of the swim club his kids participated in. Kathryn Lundeen, who served on the club's board says Catt 'showed a lot of leadership...I liked the guy. He never struck me as being a person who had poor judgement. The children only got involved after Catt moved to Texas for a new job as an engineer at energy-firm Kinder Morgan. Sister and brother: The Catts were arrested after a bank robbery last October. Abby (left) is serving a five year sentence and brother Hayden (right) is serving a 10-year sentence. Abby will be eligible for parole after 18 months, while her brother will be eligible after four years . Punished: Scott Catt will spend the next 24 years in jail for his many robberies. He will be 62 years old by the time he is able to leave prison . The job paid a comfortable $40/hour but Catt couldn't help start thinking about another robbery and getting more money per bust with a 'team of accomplices'. Catt didn't have any friends he knew he could trust in Texas, and instead turned to his two children. He also saw the money as a way to help them out. 'They were floundering,' he said. 'I could see the despair in Hayden, and I thought he could use—I don’t know—some inspiration, some excitement. Same with Abby. She had lost her self-esteem, not graduating from high school. All I can tell you is that I thought doing it would give us all a little boost in our lives—that it would help us as a family.' Catt first revealed his criminal side-job to son Hayden back in Oregon. 'We were . sitting at the kitchen table,' Hayden remembers. 'I was having some . coffee, and he said he had something important to tell me. He said he . had a second job as a part-time bank robber. The way he looked at me, I . knew he wasn’t kidding.' 'Who else can you trust except family?' Scott said. The . two eventually decided to approach Abby, who worked as a sales person . at a Victoria's Secret store in a local mall, hoping she could act as . their getaway driver. It was Hayden that approached his sister about the plan, while she was listening to music in her bedroom. 'I . need to tell you something,' Hayden said. 'Dad’s a bank robber, I’m . going to become one too, and we want you to join us...We want you to be our . wheel man.' Abby agreed, but mostly because she felt she had to protect her family. Family photo: Abby, Hayden and their father pose for a picture with their grandmother . Cool dad: Catt was devoted to taking his children on summer vacations, especially to amusement parks . 'This was something I felt like I had to do, to protect them, to make sure they got out of the bank and didn’t get shot or something,' she told me. 'I didn’t want to let Dad down.' The three conducted their first robbery on August 9, 2013 - on Abby's day off from Victoria's Secret. They covered the plates on Abby's Jetta and drove to a nearby bank where Catt and Hayden entered and ordered the tellers to empty their cash drawers. All the while, Abby idled in the parking lot and used a walkie-talkie to update her dad and brother on the time. After raiding the bank's vault, the father and son exited the bank and got into the Jetta as Abby drove a normal speed home. Back at the apartment, they emptied their bags and realized they had stolen $70,000. Double life: Abby was working at a Victoria's Secret store when she agreed to be her father and brother's getaway driver. Above, pictures from her social media accounts . They celebrated that night by treating themselves to dinner out at Tex-Mex chain Chuy's. Abby says she was anxious, waiting for police to come in the restaurant and arrest them. But her brother was walking on air. 'I felt exhilaration, the most intense high I’ve ever experienced,' Hayden said. 'It changed my life. I’ll be truthful about that.' But the money was gone in just a month. Catt spent it buying himself a new $10,000 motorcycle, a $17,000 Tahoe SUV for Hayden, a $12,600 Ford Focus for Abby as well as groceries, restaurants, clothes, furniture and, according to Catt, 'some partying'. They carried out their second heist on October 1. This time Catt and his son dressed as road workers, complete with overalls and orange safety vests. Clues: Catt and his son dressed as road workers for their robbery of the First Community Credit Union on October 1. Police eventually caught the family after tracing their safety vest purchases . The three raided the First Community Credit Union and came away with $30,000 this time. They weren't caught immediately, but this time the Catt family gave police a clue that would lead to their downfall. Witnesses at the bank remembered the robbers road-worker's uniforms and how the vests looked like they were brand new. Police then were able to trace purchase of the vests to a local Home Depot, and found the family at checkout on surveillance footage. The three were arrested at their apartment on November 9, the same day they planned to carry out another bank robbery. Abode: The Catt family was arrested at their middle-class apartments in Katy, Texas on November 9 - just as they were planning to raid another bank . The family immediately confessed to their crimes after their arrest and agreed to a plea deal late last year. Abby was sentenced to five years in prison, and will be eligible for parole in 18 months. Her bother got a 10-year sentence and will be eligible for parole in 4 years. Catt, meanwhile, got a 24 year sentence and will be 62 years old by the time he gets out of prison. In the months since his arrest, Catt has lost seventy pounds as he's racked with guilt for causing his children to become convicts. 'When I look back on what I did, what led to this place, I would have been better off—we all would have been better off—if I had gone on welfare and been a stay-at-home dad.' While both Catt children expressed remorse for their actions, they don't hold a grudge against their father for corrupting them. Hayden says when he gets out of prison he'd like to go to college, and maybe train to become an engineer just like his dad. Abby holds a bit more hostility towards her father saying, he 'should have been protecting me, instead of the other way around' But just before her interview, she came across her father in the prison infirmary and the two had an emotional reunion. 'He told me he loved me, to be strong, and to be patient. And then he said he was so sorry. I broke down and started crying. I mean, like I’ve said, he is my dad.' Father and daughter: While Abby holds a bit of hostility towards her father for entangling her into a life of crime, she says she still loves him . | Scott Catt and his two adult children were arrested after stealing $100,000 in two bank robberies last year .
Son Hayden, 20, helped intimidate the tellers while 18-year-old daughter Abby acted as the getaway driver .
Catt says he first started robbing banks in the early 2000s, after his wife passed away from breast cancer .
He decided to get his two children involved when he realized he could get more money per bust with a 'team of accomplices'
Catt is serving a 24 year sentence, while Hayden got a 10-year sentence and Abby received 5 years . |
169,734 | 67a8a5dde6a8ef7681d4007fd47b37c2a237e416 | (CNN) -- During a 1996 interview with television talk show host Charlie Rose, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs took exception to Rose's characterization of him as "a guy who founds high-tech companies and tries to make another billion." "Yeah, well, I don't think of myself that way," Jobs said. "The things that I have done in my life, I think the things we do now at Pixar [the animation company he bought in 1986], these are team sports. They are not something one person does." If pop culture were a team sport, Jobs would have certainly played quarterback. From the invention of iTunes, which completely changed the business of music, to offering the world its first completely full-length computer-generated animated film with Pixar's "Toy Story" in 1995, Jobs left his indelible fingerprints on the entertainment industry. The other "toys" he helped create like the iPod, iPhone and iPad not only changed the way the world consumed media, but also inserted both Jobs and Apple firmly into the entertainment zeitgeist. Even the commercials, from the 1984, George Orwell-inspired Super Bowl Macintosh ad to the more recent "Are you a Mac or a PC," were uber-cool. While Jobs has been more well known and hailed for his innovation with high-tech, he also made some power moves which forever changed Hollywood. And in what sounds like a fantasy dreamed up by the geek gods, it all began with George Lucas. As Jobs explained to the news program "60 Minutes" in 2003, when Lucas was creating "Star Wars" he reasoned that digital copy of his film would be clearer and cleaner than analog. The computer graphics division of his Lucasfilm company, which honed the technology behind the process, would go on to become Pixar Animation Studios after Jobs bought it for $10 million in 1986. As chairman and chief executive officer of Pixar, Jobs led the way in marrying the endless possibilities of technology with the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. The world hadn't even heard of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in 1991 when Pixar struck a deal with Walt Disney Studios to develop and distribute three full-length animated films. The first of these, "Toy Story," captured audience's hearts with its tale of the adventures of a group of children's toys. "Toy Story" went on to become the top-earning film of that year, grossing $192 million in domestic box office receipts and $362 million worldwide. It spurred two sequels, theme park attractions and an extensive line of merchandise. It was followed by films like "A Bug's Life," "Monster's Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "The Incredibles," the last two of which won Academy Awards for best animated feature. Jobs sold Pixar to Disney in 2006. By then he was firmly back in the driver's seat as the chief executive officer of Apple, which was setting the world afire with its inventions. One of his biggest launches was in 2003 with the iTunes Music Store, which revolutionized the world of music downloads. "Other companies sold digital music before Apple," said Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard, said in a statement. "Other companies made digital music available on computers and digital phones and used it in commercials. Apple's brilliance -- and I don't think anyone doubts that this was Steve Jobs' brilliance -- was that Apple made it exciting and simple and effortless and fun." Jobs was a major influence on portable media, which paved the way for gamers to be able to engage in their favorite past time via handheld devices and film fans to be able to stream movies almost anywhere. The introduction of the 99-cent single meant music lovers no longer had to purchase an entire album to selectively enjoy their favorite tunes. The ability of the iPod, and later the iPhone and iPad, to hold thousands of songs also meant that fans never had to be far from their tunes. "Thanks for allowing me to put my whole CD collection in my pocket," Sebastian Bach, ex-frontman of the heavy metal band Skid Row tweeted after news of Jobs' death was made public. "You have made air travel a lot more fun among other things." Innovation was not without some growing pains, however. Some industry insiders worried that digital downloads were negatively affecting sales of music and the issue of piracy became a hot one. On Tuesday, Miramax chief executive officer Mike Lang in his keynote address at MIPCOM, a TV and entertainment event held in Cannes, France, pointed to digital monopolies like the one Apple has as potentially damaging to the industry. "Apple is the strongest company in the music industry because there was not enough competition, and still to this day there is not enough competition," Lang said. "As an industry it can't then influence packaging, merchandising -- all the things that are vital." Billboard's Werde also noted that "Today, the music business has a complex relationship with Apple, which has become yet another entity that built an enormous business atop the rights of music companies, much like radio and MTV before it." "But I think you'd be hard-pressed to find one music executive worth his or her salt who wouldn't agree that Jobs' vision and tenacity blazed a trail for digital music as we know it today," Werde said. "Without a doubt, when you think of the Mount Rushmore of the music business -- pioneers like Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Clive Davis and Jimmy Iovine - Steve Jobs has earned his prominent place." | Steve Jobs pioneered inventions that changed the way the world consumed media .
Pixar made the first fully computer-generated animated film .
Billboard editor says Jobs brillance made buying music easy and fun . |
253,663 | d4533f9925da67d8eef6ffe54fa74755b1a7b969 | (CNN) -- It's hard for today's generation to imagine watching TV in the 1960s -- there was no TiVo or DVR (or even VCR). You watched what the networks put on and that was it. And oh yeah, there were only three channels. Yet television made some groundbreaking advancements in this decade as we learned from this week's episode of "The Sixties," and here are a few of them: . 1. Television becomes a political force . By 1960, most American households had a television, and that year's Nixon/Kennedy debate was the first televised presidential debate. For many Americans, it was their first introduction to John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy was approached about the idea of debating his political opponent on television, he agreed immediately. Kennedy was comfortable on-camera and sure he'd win. Nixon, however, began to sweat during the televised debate, and the American people began to doubt him. No one realized just how much TV mattered until after those 1960 debates. Later that election season, Kennedy appeared as a guest on NBC's "The Jack Parr Tonight Show"; and when Nixon ran for president again in 1968, he made a brief appearance on the sketch comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and uttered the show's famous catchphrase, "Sock it to me." It was the first time a presidential candidate had appeared on a comedy show. For the rest of his life, Nixon maintained that his appearance on "Laugh-In" won him the 1968 election. So while TV arguably cost Nixon the election once, it may very well have snagged him the election the second time around. If you enjoyed President Barack Obama's appearances on "The Tonight Show" and Letterman, you can thank Richard Nixon. From "The Sixties: Television Comes of Age" episode: Watch infamous "Tonight Show" tomahawk demo . 2. The rise of TV journalism . Before the Kennedy presidency, television was far behind print journalism in terms of sources audiences relied upon for news. But soon, people relied on TV news for the day's headlines as well as information on American troops in Vietnam, particularly the numbers of those killed or wounded. When something major happened on TV, it affected the whole country at the same exact time. TV news was the polar opposite of entertainment TV. The civil rights era, the JFK assassination and the space race all unfolded on TV. As David Brinkley stated, "Television showed the American people TO the American people." During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, 83 million Americans were glued to their television sets as 10,000 antiwar protesters outside the Chicago Hilton chanted, "The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!" over and over as police pushed the crowd off Chicago's Balbo Drive. 3. TV reaches a broader audience . "The TV was the center of the house," recalled Tom Hanks, one of the executive producers of CNN's "The Sixties" series. "I don't remember a time without TV." Remember, there were only three channels (CBS, NBC and ABC) during the decade, and usually only one TV set per household. There were no "for mature audiences only" warnings. The syrupy sitcoms of the 1950s made way for shows such as "The Dick van Dyke Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show." These showcased more realistic situations, although there were still the same idealized versions of humanity as the previous decade. Griffith has stated that he put the best parts of himself and the people in his life into the inhabitants of the fictional town of Mayberry to achieve a blend of emotional honesty and laughs. That blueprint served as the benchmark for sitcoms for decades to come. "Leave It to Beaver," which aired from 1957 to 1963, was the first show shot from the perspective of a child, bringing to life those universal embarrassing moments from childhood that kids were certain they'd never overcome, such as bringing home a bad grade or approaching the object of one's affection. Related: Archive of CNN's May 29th Facebook Q&A with Jerry Mathers . That kid-centric model was later replicated in TV shows such as "The Wonder Years" and, more recently, "The Goldbergs." Eventually, shows began blending that "reality" with fantasy, which led to copycats: "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters," "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie," and "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres." 4. The advent of the variety show . During the '60s, there were 18 variety shows going on three networks! It's safe to say that television went "variety show crazy" for a while. Sunday night at 8 meant Ed Sullivan; but Dean Martin, Danny Kaye, Danny Thomas and Carol Burnett, to name a few, had eponymous variety-hour programs, too. Beatles + Sullivan = Revolution: Why Beatlemania could never happen today . Variety was considered a man's game at the time, but Burnett broke down a lot of walls with her three-wall sketch show. She and her cast mates sang, danced and did pratfalls -- often breaking character and cracking one another up in the process. Kind of a precursor to SNL's Debbie Downer sketch or most of Jimmy Fallon's SNL sketches. Burnett felt that if she was having fun, her audience would, too. From "The Sixties: Television Comes of Age" episode: Carol Burnett's pratfalls . 5. Television begins to tackle serious issues . Through a fantasy/sci-fi lens, "The Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling often told stories of racism and fascism. Similarly, "Star Trek" addressed the notion of a time where social evolution has eradicated prejudice and mankind possesses no bias whatsoever. The space age series even featured TV's first interracial kiss, in which Capt. James Kirk tells Lt. Uhura, a black woman, "Where I come from, size, shape, or color makes no difference." What you might not know about the 1964 Civil Rights Act . When Bill Cosby won the Emmy Award for male lead in "I Spy" in 1968, he stated in his acceptance speech, "We need more people in this industry to ... let it be known to the bigots and the racists that they don't count." Incidentally, race was a nonissue in "I Spy." Cosby and actor Robert Culp, who was white, were equals in the series in which they played intelligence officers. BONUS: There actually IS a legit reason why The Flying Nun can "fly" The explanation: She weighs 90 pounds and the combination of her cornet and the wind lifts her. Totally makes sense. Now if only someone could explain how The Professor made all those nifty contraptions -- usually out of coconuts -- but couldn't cobble together a (coconut) raft to get the gang off "Gilligan's Island." Related: How Sally Field's 'Gidget' broke the rules . Related: Television today is much better, right? Related: 20 groundbreaking moments from '60s TV . | In the '60s, Americans came to rely on TV for information and entertainment .
With the Kennedy-Nixon debate, TV changed political campaigns .
Shows, like "The Twilight Zone," tackled hot-button issues like racism . |
249,413 | cec3a73c831878ac9a952370d265308b6640dc9c | Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- As senior U.S. officials sought to figure out how to respond to North Korea's announcement that it will launch a satellite using ballistic missile technology, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday that an agreement by the United States to deliver food aid to the impoverished country would be put on pause. 'I think we're going to take a pause here and see what happens," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. " A North Korean launch of a satellite would be highly provocative." Planning for the delivery of food aid -- under a deal struck last month in which Pyongyang agreed to halt nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and enrichment activities in exchange for food aid -- had been "relatively far advanced," she said. At the time of the food aid agreement, under which North Korea would receive 240,000 metric tons of foodstuffs, the United States told Pyongyang that such a launch would be contrary to the accord, Nuland said. "Frankly, if they were to go forward with this launch, it's very hard to imagine how we would be able to move forward with a regime whose word we have no confidence in and who has egregiously violated its international commitments," she said. Nuland's announcement came hours after the country's official news agency said that Pyongyang plans to launch next month an "Earth observation" satellite using a carrier rocket, a move that would potentially violate U.N. Security Council demands. Though the United States makes it a practice not to link humanitarian aid with other issues, "a launch of this kind, which would abrogate our agreement, would call into question the credibility of all the commitments that the DPRK has made to us," she said, referring to the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The announcement surprised the Obama administration and the other countries involved in the six-party talks intended to find a peaceful resolution to concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. It raised questions about whether North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, is any different than his late father, Kim Jong Il. During talks in Beijing between the United States and North Korea, U.S. officials said North Korea had been explicitly warned against the use of space technology. "They knew if they were to launch a satellite, this would be a matter of grave concern to the U.S.," said one senior official who would not be identified publicly because of the sensitivity of the issue. The North Koreans notified the United States about their intention but did not make clear they were going to make the announcement public, which has made the move more difficult to deal with, the officials said. In providing a rationale for the launch, North Korea told the United States that they have the "right" to peaceful access to space, as do all other nations, one senior official said. The official said that the United States replied that all other nations have not been judged to be a threat to international peace and stability and enjoined explicitly against conducting ballistic missile launches. "This is not about their 'rights'; it's about their obligations as a member of the U.N.," the North Koreans were told, according to this official. "The DPRK announcement talks about a satellite launch," Nuland said. "However, as we know, it requires the use of missile technology to launch a satellite, and it's the use of the missile technology that is an explicit violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874. So it's a matter of semantics. ... They say they're launching a satellite. We say 'you're launching it with ballistic missile technology, which the U.N. Security Council resolutions have explicitly precluded.' " Ri Yong Ho, a senior North Korean nuclear envoy, traveled this week to Beijing and Moscow after attending a conference in New York sponsored by Syracuse University. The officials said he raised eyebrows in both countries by suggesting that North Korea would undertake the launch. Theories abound on why the North Koreans made the announcement: Was this the last wish of the country's late leader, Kim Jong Il? Is this something devised after Kim Jong Il's death in December to mark his greatness? Is this the regime marking the centennial of the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung, with something flashy? Kim Il Sung was born April 15, 1912, and died in 1994. In fact, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said that the planned launch -- scheduled to take place between April 12 and April 16 -- would mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung. It cited a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology. The centenary of Kim Il Sung's birth is a huge event in the North Korean calendar. Since the announcement, U.S. officials have been huddling with officials from Japan, Russia and South Korea, all of which have issued tough statements warning against any such launch. The officials, who have also spoken with Chinese officials, were awaiting an announcement from Beijing. In terms of consequences, it was not clear whether the announcement would derail the deal announced by the United States and North Korea or whether anything can be salvaged. Several nations on the U.N. Security Council quickly criticized the North Korean announcement. "Well, the position of the Security Council, of course, is that all Security Council resolutions must be abided by," said Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Mark Lyall Grant, speaking in his capacity as president of the Security Council for March. "And if this launch goes ahead, our understanding is, it would be violation of Security Council resolutions." The French Foreign Ministry on Friday also called the move a provocation. North Korea "must abandon" plans to launch a rocket to put a satellite into orbit next month, because doing so would violate the terms of U.N. Security Council resolutions, it said. "The launching of a rocket by North Korea would contribute to the development of its ballistic missile capabilities," the ministry said. Russia called the announcement a "grave concern." "We are calling on Pyongyang not to oppose the international community, stay away from actions that heat up the situation in the region creating additional complications for re-launching the six-party talks on the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Previous satellite launches by the reclusive North Korean regime have been widely viewed as ballistic missile test launches in disguise. The last time Pyongyang carried out what it described as a satellite launch, in April 2009, the U.N. Security Council condemned the action, saying it breached a resolution forbidding North Korea from conducting "missile-related activities." The Security Council demanded that North Korea not conduct further launches. South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that it urged the North to respect the United Nations ruling and "observe its international responsibility." Academics said the North Koreans' announcement is about more than developing the technology needed for satellite launches, which is the same technology needed for missile launches. "They're trying to remind the world they are dangerous and working hard to develop a delivery system," said professor Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul. But the North Korean news agency said North Korea will "abide by relevant international regulations and usage concerning the launch of scientific and technological satellites for peaceful purposes." The satellite, named Kwangmyongsong-3, will be "blasted off southward" from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in the western province of North Phyongan, according to the official report. "A safe flight orbit has been chosen so that carrier rocket debris to be generated during the flight would not have any impact on neighboring countries," the report said. North Korea's previous rocket launches that it said aimed to put satellites in orbit were Kwangmyongsong-1 in 1998 and Kwangmyongsong-2 in 2009. While Pyongyang says those launches succeeded, outside agencies have found no evidence of the satellites being placed in orbit. Experts say Kwangmyongsong-2 flew over Japan, farther than any other North Korean missile, before crashing. The 2,000-mile flight suggested that North Korea is getting better at building long-range missiles. "The upcoming launch will greatly encourage the army and people of the DPRK in the building of a thriving nation and will offer an important occasion of putting the country's technology of space use for peaceful purposes on a higher stage," the news agency report said Friday. CNN's Tim Schwartz, Jethro Mullen, Paula Hancocks and Elise Labott contributed to this report. | NEW: "We're going to take a pause here," State Department spokeswoman says .
NEW: Planning for food aid had been "relatively far advanced," Victoria Nuland says .
Pyongyang wants to remind the world that it is dangerous, an analyst says . |
31,396 | 5945343b43564ab09b0360896efcd5d946b6f86c | By . Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 14:35 EST, 21 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:24 EST, 21 October 2013 . Times Square subway station was locked down for just over an hour Monday afternoon for a false alarm. Initially reported to be a hand grenade, the device that stopped the city’s busiest subway station in its tracks for about an hour Monday turned out to be a Chinese lantern, officials said. The station was evacuated just after 1:36pm Monday, and multiple train lines bypassed as the investigation ran its course. The busiest in the city: Times Square subway station has 11 lines and served over 62million strap hangers last year . Found on a northbound track on the 8th Avenue A, C, E train lines, the New York Police Department initially declined to confirm if the device was a grenade. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed reports of a grenade were being investigated, but a spokesperson also added that ‘we get reports of crazy things all the time.’ The 7 train, which ends at Times Square, mysteriously had delays ‘due to signal problems’ during the investigation – they curiously cleared up as soon as the all clear was given. The station reopened just before 2:30pm. Mistaken for a grenade: A Chinese lantern, similar to these, was mistaken for a grenade and resulted in the station being closed for an hour . An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline that the device was a Chinese lantern. There was no word on how it got there. The device was first reported to be a lantern by NBC New York . A previous terror plot at the station was foiled in 2009 when Najibullah Zazi was arrested before being able to carry out a plan that officials said would have seen multiple suicide bombers during rush hour on trains in the station. The busiest station in the City, Times Square has 11 subway lines and served over 62million passengers in 2012, according to the MTA. | The subway station was shutdown for about an hour Monday afternoon .
Initial reports said the device was a hand grenade .
It ended up being a Chinese lantern . |
127,775 | 312957f1fe885a4012371f46570c7776ab082759 | Few vehicles can keep pace with a Formula One race car over any distance but here's one that may be in with a shout. Reigning F-1 champions Red Bull lined up their latest driver Daniel Ricciardo alongside a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet for a spectacular drag race. The event was held at a military airbase near Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix so Aussie driver Ricciardo was the obvious choice to get behind the wheel. Scroll down for video . Blink and you'll miss it: A Red Bull F-1 car goes up against an Australian Air Force F-18 fighter jet . The F-1 car is dwarfed by the fighter as they line up on the runway at a military airbase near Melbourne . Impressively the race car was quicker off the mark than the jet, screeching off the line and pulling out an early lead. But there was only ever going to be one winner, and when the awesome power of the Hornet's two jet engines kicked in, it surged ahead before soaring off into the clouds. It is Ricciardo's first season with Red Bull with the 24-year-old replacing fellow Australian Mark Webber. His teammate Sebastian Vettel's is the reigning world champion. Red Bull, which is based in Milton Keynes have been struggling to adapt their car to the new rules for 2014 whilst maintaining their performance, with the biggest obstacle appearing to be incorporating the new turbo-charged 1.6 litre V6 engines with a host of energy-saving devices. Engine: V6 1.6l turbo boosted by electric motor . Power: 750bhp . Top speed: 205mph (estimated) Weight: 690kg . Electronics: MESL standard Electronic Control Unit . Optional extras: Wet weather tyres / Fluffy dice / go faster stripe / . Engine: 2x General Electric F404 low-bypass turbofan engines . Power: 32,000-pound-thrust . Top speed: Mach 1.8 (1,190mph) Weight: 23,537kg (in fighter role) Electronics: Radar / helmet-mounted sights / missile guidance system . Optional extras: Vulcan six-barrel cannon / AIM-9 Sidewinder missile / cluster bomb . Australian Red Bull drive Daniel Ricciardo was at the wheel of the race car . Replacing the old V8 engines, this change is seen by many as the principal defining factor on the track as opposed to aerodynamics. Looking ahead to the season Horner believes it won't be until May before Red Bull are competitive. He said: . ‘We believe it is inherently a good car. I have every confidence in the team. There’s no panic. 'There are engineering solutions and there is no better set of engineers in the pit lane. By the time we get to the European races in May, we should be OK.’ | F-1 champs Red Bull line up new driver Daniel Ricciardo alongside Royal Australian Air Force jet . |
112,755 | 1d7b2fd3709690ce114aa53710ce57657faa788d | When I look at Liverpool without Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge, they badly lack pace and need Raheem Sterling. He turned 20 on Monday and it is a lot to ask for a young man to be their talisman, but he has got to live up to that. Raheem Sterling will be Liverpool's danger man in their Champions League showdown against Basle . Liverpool want him getting on the ball, dropping deep and dribbling with it, threatening through the centre off the striker. I don’t want to see him out wide that much. There are not too many Liverpool players who want to go beyond the opposition, but Sterling is their one player who can change the game in a split second. He’ll be the man Basle are most afraid of. This game has got that feel about it where they will need a hero — and he has got the ability to be that man. Sterling talks tactics with Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers in training on Monday . Stopping Shkelza Gashi . In Shkelza Gashi the Swiss side have a free-scoring attacking midfield player who will be the main threat to Liverpool’s goal. He is Basle’s top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions and eight in his past eight games. If Lucas starts in front of the back four he will need to be on top of his game to keep the Albanian quiet. It is crucial that Liverpool do not concede early on in this match so they must be wary of Gashi’s danger. Shkelza Gashi (centre) will pose a threat to Liverpool's defence on Tuesday night . Let Gerrard play . If Brendan Rodgers plays Lucas in that deeper role it will also give Steven Gerrard licence to play in midfield. Not off the front man just behind the striker, but simply in midfield. Due to how well Gerrard played in front of the back four last season, he has been caught between playing there or at the top of a diamond. He needs to shed that. Why can’t Gerrard just be a midfield player? Look at Yaya Toure for Manchester City, he’s just a midfield player. He is given that freedom. That’s what Liverpool need with Gerrard, let him roam box to box. Big Champions League nights need big players and that’s what he is. Steven Gerrard leads the way during training on Monday ahead of the big game . Gerrard looks relaxed in the build-up to the Anfield clash - a decade on from his heroics against Olympiacos . Avoiding the Basle graveyard . It is impossible not to forget the humiliating night in 2011 when Basle beat Manchester United 2-1 to dump them out of the Champions League, when they only needed a draw to go through. Liverpool’s record against them is not great, either. They are yet to win and have drawn twice and lost once. Basle have played English opposition nine times and only lost once. Wayne Rooney looks dejected as Manchester United crashed to a shock defeat in Switzerland back in 2011 . Having little patience . Liverpool have to score, they must win to go through and the fact a draw is good enough for Basle means the Swiss side could sit back. They are likely to rely on hitting Liverpool on the break. That could play into Liverpool’s hands. They have the capabilities to open up their opponents, but they might need to take their time and not rush anything in order to win. Rodgers insists Liverpool must be patient in their must-win clash on Merseyside . Liverpool players enjoy a game of keepy-uppy in training on Monday . | Liverpool face Basle at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League .
England star's pace will be vital in must-win Anfield clash on Tuesday .
Brendan Rodgers' side must stop in-form Basle ace Shkelza Gashi .
Steven Gerrard must be given licence to attack and hurt Swiss side .
Click here for Liverpool team news, probable line-ups and stats .
READ: Brendan Rodgers warns players must keep cool against Basle . |
270,011 | e9b1f4f776dfb5737836b222a79115fb25b95d31 | Arrested: Megan Welter is accused of assaulting her boyfriend after an argument over a text message . An Iraq war veteran turned cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals has been arrested for assaulting her boyfriend at her Scottsdale home. Megan Welter called police for help getting her professional fighter boyfriend to leave her home after the couple argued about a flirty text message he had sent to an ex-girlfriend. When police arrived at her home however, it was Welter who was arrested after cell phone footage recorded by her boyfriend showed the 29-year-old cheerleader hitting and scratching him and yelling: 'Who is she?' as he pleaded with her to stop, according to 3TV. The argument began in the early hours of Saturday, July 20, after the couple went out drinking to celebrate Welter's birthday. In the 911 call, Welter claimed she was . choked and had her head smashed on a ceramic tile floor. She then told . the operator: 'I'm a NFL cheerleader, I cannot have ...' before her . voice trails off. Her boyfriend, named by Right This Minute as Ryan McMahon, told police Welter thought he resented her after she aborted their baby against his wishes a month earlier. When the couple, who have been dating for about six months, returned to Welter's home, they started to argue about a text message the boyfriend had sent. As he was questioned by police . outside Welter's home, he explained he had sent a jokey text . to an ex-girlfriend who had sent him a picture of a dog. He replied with a message that read: 'Are you trying to turn me on with a girl dog?' In footage police filmed as they interviewed him outside the house, he held out his phone and told them repeatedly that he filmed the attack, as he denied harming Welter. In the footage he recorded, Welter can be heard demanding: 'Who is she? Who is she?' as she scratched him and pulled his hair while he quietly asked her to stop and let him leave. In the 911 call Welter, who spent 16 months serving her country and leading a platoon in Iraq, claimed that her boyfriend had choked her until she went dizzy, 'smashed [her] head into a tile' and was refusing to leave the house. Scroll down for video: . Team player: Megan Welter told a 911 operator she was a NFL cheerleader as she asked for help getting her boyfriend to leave . Cheerleader: Welter served 16 months with the U.S. Army in Iraq. She remains a reservist for the military police . When police spoke to her though they . said there was no evidence of bruising or marks on her. Her boyfriend . however, was found to have scratches on his arms, chest and shoulder. His . credit card and ID were also found cut up on the kitchen table. According to the police report, Welter admitted to police that she had . destroyed them, adding: 'I fully admit to it and I know I shouldn't . have.' She claimed that . when she tried to kick her boyfriend out he refused to leave because he . was too drunk to drive. Welter told police she threw his 'stuff' out of . the house but when he retrieved his belongings she decided to cut up his . cards. Her boyfriend told . police they began to fight after drinking at Whiskey Row in Scottsdale. He claimed Welter accused him of resenting her because she aborted their . baby against his wishes a month earlier. He . said he did not want to press charges and, in a later statement, told . 3TV: 'People make mistakes, no one is perfect. I honestly want the best . for her and I hope that this doesn't take away from the good things that . she has done for both the NFL, as well as the service to our country.' Fight: Welter, a third generation soldier, is accused of attacking her boyfriend . Charges: Welter, who swapped her army life to follow her passion for dance, was filmed allegedly attacking her boyfriend . He . added: 'People seem to only remember the bad and it is easy to point . fingers while standing on the outside. Now with that said, violence is . never the answer and I honestly hope that this can be a learning . experience for her and everyone else.' It . is not yet clear if the arrest will affect Welter's position as a . cheerleader for the Cardinals. In the 911 call she made, she can be . heard saying: 'I', an NFL cheerleader. I cannot have ...' before her . voice trails off. The cheerleading team has not yet commented on the arrest or allegations. Welter was arrested for alleged assault, disorderly conduct and criminal damage. She had been publicly praised last week, after details were revealed of how the Iraq war veteran had become a cheerleader. She told Azcardinals.com that joining the military was simply the 'right thing to do.' Welter was then sent overseas as a signal officer. 'I was deployed to Joint Base Belad . which is about an hour North of Baghdad. At first, it was scary . you know, but um, it's what I signed up to do,' she explained to ABC15. While threatened by incoming mortars and rockets at the base in Iraq, she was reminded of another of her dreams when an NFL team visited, complete with their cheerleading squad. Welter says she talked to the girls and got tips about life as a cheerleader, as dancing had a long been one of her major passions. 'I started when I was three, my mom put me in a tiny, tiny tot class,' she explained to ABC. 'I picked it back up when I was nine, and I loved it, so I danced competitively at a studio from age of nine, all the way through high school, and then I was on my college dance team.' Service: Welter had previously spoken of her pride during flag ceremonies and the national anthem before Cardinals games . After returning for Iraq she tried out for the Cardinals squad and, despite being one of the older entrants, was selected. Welter, who is also a reservist in communications for the military police in Scottsdale, Arizona, spoke of her excitement before a big game for the Cardinals. The veteran and cheerleader told ABC15: 'When you see the flag, it means a lot, you know, because our country has given us so many freedoms and to be a part of fighting for that and maintaining that, it, it means a lot. So yes, it gives me goose bumps, I can't help it.' | Footage shows Megan Welter hitting and scratching professional fighter .
Argument started over text message sent to ex-girlfriend .
The 29-year-old felt her boyfriend resented her after she had an abortion against his wishes . |
193,618 | 86a58d47766be67f8f90534ad7c4419a6914f488 | Carl Cooper thought he was doing a public service by offering seven benefits claimants the chance to work for him. But the company boss was flabbergasted when none of them turned up on the first day. Astonishingly, not a single one even had the courtesy to tell the marketing firm boss they would not be coming in. Empty desks: Businessman Carl Cooper today slammed 'work shy' Britain after seven of his new recruits failed to turn up to their first day of work yesterday because it was raining . Mr Cooper and other staff members called the new employees to ask them . where they were. Initially, some refused to answer their phones when . they recognised the number calling them. When the staff finally got through, five said they would be better off . staying on state benefits rather than doing the commission-based work. Four of the seven also claimed torrential rain had put them off. One was unhappy about the prospect of paying a £5 train fare and another called at 12.45pm and said: 'Oh, sorry – I overslept.' The saga illustrates the problems of enticing many young people to work, even at a time of recession and high unemployment. Yesterday Mr Cooper, who runs Car Smart, a marketing firm for . independent car dealers in Canterbury, Kent, criticised the benefits . system and said it rewarded people for doing nothing. He added: 'I was . left stunned when none of the new recruits turned up for work. They are a . bunch of workshy layabouts. Mr Cooper with his job advert. Astonishingly, some of those who failed to show up told him they would be better off staying on state benefits - and could not be bothered to spend £5 getting to work . 'These are people who are so morally twisted that they would rather stay on the dole than work. 'People keep saying there are not enough jobs in the UK but the real . problem is that there are not enough determined or ambitious people. 'The benefit system is too generous and encourages the unemployed to stay unemployed and just breeds more laziness.' Mr Cooper, 26, placed adverts for sales positions on the JobCentre . website, which is run by the Department for Work and Pensions. Those claiming benefits must apply for a certain number of jobs each . week and attend any job interviews they get to ensure they keep . receiving handouts. Claimants must also take up jobs offered to them, unless the conditions of the work do not 'fit their circumstances'. Mr Cooper said all his employees received a basic retainer of £100 a . week initially and are enrolled on to the company’s commission . structure, which could see earnings rise to up to £400 a week. The jobseekers who failed to turn up will not lose their benefits because the basic pay is under the minimum wage. Unemployment in the UK dropped slightly this month to 8.3 per cent, down from a 12-year high of 8.4 per cent. | Carl Cooper was shocked when his new employees, who had all been without jobs, failed to turn up .
for their first day as sales operatives .
Entrepreneur slams 'work shy layabouts' who milk benefits system . |
175,439 | 6f117c016d6758171a5d8ada99eff4f38d4453bc | By . Associated Press . and Alex Greig . State agents have seized a polygamous group's Texas ranch where hundreds of children were removed during a 2008 FBI raid prompted by child sex abuse allegations. The group's leader, Warren Jeffs, is serving life in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he took as child brides. The Texas Department of Public Safety says its agents took possession of the secluded property near Eldorado on Thursday. Ranch seizure: Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Shawn Baxter waits to advise media at the Yearning for Zion Ranch on Thursday . Secluded community: The Yearning for Zion Ranch, the Fundametalist Latter Day Saints compound that was once home to a polygamist cult . In a statement, DPS says authorities were helping the remaining eight adults living on the ranch leave and to do an inventory. A judge in January ordered the forfeiture of the Yearning For Zion Ranch, which was owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The state sought to seize the property over allegations of mismanagement by Jeffs. According to KSBW, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office met Wednesday afternoon with two residents of the Yearning for Zion Ranch who told them eight adults are currently living there. Much changed: Warren Jeffs seen in court in 2007 (left) and in a prison mugshot in 2011 (right) Polygamist ranch: State agents have seized the Eldorado property, which belonged to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and was where hundreds of children were removed during a 2008 FBI raid prompted by child sex abuse allegations . 'Law enforcement personnel are working with the occupants of the ranch to take all reasonable actions to assist with their departure of the property, to preserve the property, and to successfully execute the court order,' the state agency said. The ranch was raided in 2008 after phone calls to a family violence hotline alleged abuse and rape. Police removed some 468 children from the ranch, and another 130 women left voluntarily. The children were eventually returned after the Supreme Court rule there was no indication they were in imminent danger. Created specifically as a center for Warren Jeffs' leadership of Mormon Fundamentalists, the 1,700-acre Yearning for Zion Ranch once had about 700 inhabitants. Jeffs was convicted in 2011 of sexually assaulting two minors whom he described as his spiritual wives. At trial, prosecutors presented DNA evidence to show he fathered a child with one of those girls, aged 15. First raid: Vehicles belonging to law enforcement and other investigators are parked near the main temple building at the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch, the FLDS compound, near Eldorado, Texas in 2008 . Jeffs, 58, is serving a life prison term in Texas. He has continued to try to lead his roughly 10,000 followers from behind bars. The sect is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. Online records from the Schleicher County Appraisal District indicate a dozen pieces of property at the ranch's address that are owned by the trust and total 1,691 acres. Combined, the most recent appraised value of the properties is $33.4 million. Jeffs' most devoted followers consider him God's spokesman on earth and a prophet, but they were absent from court for the bulk of his criminal trial. Paving the way to Jeffs' conviction were his own 'priesthood records' - diary-like volumes, covering tens of thousands of pages, in which Jeffs recounted his sexual encounters and records even his most mundane daily activities. Largely abandoned: Aerial view of the main temple building and two-story family homes at the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch, the FLDS compound, near Eldorado, Texas . 'This will be a major gathering place of the saints that are driven,' Jeffs wrote of the ranch. 'You can see it is well isolated. In looking at this location, we can raise crops all year round. There is no building code requirements. We can build as we wish without inspectors coming in.' Jeffs wanted the 'a rural location where the FLDS could operate a polygamist compound where the systemic sexual assault of children would be tolerated without interference from law enforcement authorities,' according to the affidavit. The ranch was largely abandoned after Jeffs' conviction and neighbors told Fox 13 that most of the polygamists have moved to other enclaves in South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. | Agents from the Texas Department of Public Safety have taken possession of a polygamist group's ranch .
Hundreds of children were removed from the property in a 2008 raid after allegations of child abuse .
Eventually, leader Warren Jeffs was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he took as child brides .
Only eight adults remained living at the ranch at the time of the seizure . |
144,705 | 4727a30561f48cee0a751317e18822164065e1cb | An historic building sold as a ruined wreck for just £1 three decades ago is back on the market - with an asking price of £2.3 million. The Grade-I listed Barlaston Hall, in Staffordshire, boasts eight bedrooms, five reception rooms and five bathrooms and sits within 4.5 acres of land. Now the mansion - that was used by the Bank of England during World War Two - is being offered for sale by estate agents Knight Frank. Scroll down for video . Barlaston Hall, in Staffordshire, was sold for just £1 in 1981 because it was in a state of decay with rotting floor boards as it had been used for coal mining operations . The Grade-I listed mansion was sold as a dilapidated wreck for £1 just three decades ago, but is now on sale for £2.3 million . By the early 1980s, the hall was in a state of decay, with few repairs for many years and a serious threat of subsidence having been undermined by coal workings. Here is a picture of the dining room before it was restored . The dining room in Barlaston Hall after restoration, which is now being sold by estate agents Knight Frank for £2.3 million . The library in Barlaston Hall in the early 1980s. The Wedgwood pottery company twice tried to have the building demolished as dry rot was found in it . The library after its restoration - the renovation of the building is regarded as one of the most significant success stories in English heritage . The restoration of Barlaston Hall is seen as one of the most significant success stories in English heritage. It was built by architect Sir Robert Taylor for Thomas Mills in 1756, to replace the existing manor house he had acquired through marriage. In 1816, Rosamund Mills married Ralph Adderley and it was lived in by their son, Ralph Thomas Adderley who was a High Sheriff of Staffordshire. Following his death in 1931, the estate, which then compromised some 380 acres, was put up for sale and bought by the Wedgwood Pottery company in 1937. After World War Two, its safety (pictured left) was affected by coal mining operations and the fact it was on a geological fault, which led to severe cracks. It has since been restored (right) and is on the market for £2.3 million . Having acquired the mansion, the company built its factory and a model village for its workforce in its grounds. During World War Two, it was used by the Bank of England. After the War, it became the Wedgwood Memorial College. But it did not stay there for long as dry rot was found in it. Worse was to come as its safety was compromised by subsidence due to coal mining operations and the fact it was on a geological fault, which led to severe cracks. Wedgwood left it to decay and at the mercy of vandals. The drawing room in Barlaston Hall that was built by architect Sir Robert Taylor in 1756. It contains eight bedrooms, five reception rooms and five bathrooms . One of the eight bedrooms in the Grade-I listed Barlaston Hall, that was bought by SAVE Britain's Heritage when it bought it for £1 in 1981 . In 1992, it was bought by its current owners, James and Carol Hall, who restored the interior as it was conceived by architect Sir Robert Taylor when he first designed it . The mansion that was used by the Bank of England during World War Two has five bathrooms and is available to purchase for £2.3 million by estate agents Knight Frank . In a famous coup, SAVE Britain's Heritage, saved the mansion from the Wedgwood pottery company and purchased it for just £1 in 1981 . The mansion has eight bedrooms, five reception rooms and five bathrooms and sits within 4.5 acres of land . The company twice tried to have the Grade I listed building demolished. But in a famous conservation coup, SAVE Britain's Heritage - a group which championed the cause of decaying country houses - saved the mansion and purchased it for just £1. The Heritage group was given further grants and a loan, which enabled them to complete the work in the 1990s. In 1992, it was bought by its current owners, James and Carol Hall, for £300,00 who restored the interior as it was conceived by architect Sir Robert Taylor when he first designed it. The complete restoration, with the help of the English Heritage, took five years to complete. They now hope the new owners will retain the hall's charms. The mansion sits beside the old church of St John the Baptist, which has a medieval tower and churchyard. It has been deconsecrated and is under different ownership from the hall. It can be purchased separately. The property stands on a wooded ridge above the valley of the Trent between the canal market town of Stone and just five-and-a-half miles from Stoke-on-Trent. Estate agent George Dennis, said: 'This house is a one-off in that Grade-I listed buildings don't come on the market very often. The building is a fine piece of architecture and the current owners have put a lot of money into the restoration. 'The reason why the owners are selling is because they are looking to move back to Scotland. It has been a home to them and this building is best suited for that purpose.' The Grade-I listed mansion was bought by the Wedgwood Pottery company in 1937 as a site to replace its operation a few miles away in an industrial part of Stoke-on-Trent. A new electric pottery and model village was built for its employees in the grounds. During the Second World War, it was used by the Bank of England because it was deemed to be structurally safe. From 1945, the hall housed the Wedgwood Memorial College, but when the building was found to contain dry rot, they left and moved elsewhere in the village. Wedgwood continued to maintain the Hall until the late 1960s. By the early 1980s, the hall was in a state of decay, with few repairs for many years. Wedgwood made two applications to have the building demolished. But SAVE Britain's Heritage preserved the mansion and purchased it for just £1 in 1981. | Grade-I listed Barlaston Hall, in Staffordshire, was sold for £1 just three decades ago, but is now on sale for £2.3m .
The restoration of Barlaston Hall is seen as one of the most significant success stories in English heritage .
Wedgwood Pottery company twice tried to have the Grade I listed building demolished .
But in a famous conservation coup, SAVE Britain's Heritage preserved the mansion and purchased it for £1 in 1981 .
The mansion boasts eight bedrooms, five reception rooms and five bathrooms and sits within 4.5 acres of land . |
204,556 | 94d2d1ac82a8206ba40eb5079f689ceef820c647 | Using a microwave can be tricky. Unless it's a ready-meal, you're forced to hazard a guess about cooking times. Standing in front of the microwave and testing the temperature of a dish over and over can be tedious - and if it's not piping hot in the middle the food can be a health hazard too. But now a solution is in sight. An inventor has designed a next generation microwave that uses infrared cameras to tell you when your food is irradiated to perfection. Scroll down for video . The innovative invention has an LCD screen that shows you how hot your food is, so you know when to take it out. And it can also send information to your phone, so you can instruct your microwave to cook for longer remotely if needed. The Heat Map Microwave was created by former Nasa engineer Mark Rober. For now the concept is only in a prototype stage, but people can register their interest at the website Better Microwave. In a video showing off the product, he laments the lack of innovation in the microwave since its invention almost 50 years ago. ‘[The microwave] has pretty much remained unchanged since its inception in 1967,’ he said. ‘And that’s a shame, because there are quite a few sucky things about it.’ A US inventor has created a microwave that monitors food temperature (shown). It uses an infrared camera to display temperature data on a screen. The LCD screen on the front shows if your food is ready . The microwave can automatically switch off when the food becomes white hot (shown in animation). It can also send the heat map to your phone so you can monitor your meal . Kitchen chain £34.99 Lakeland has devised a gadget that combines two cooking methods that have transformed family meal times and can deliver a tasty curry or chilli con carne in just 20 minutes. It is a pressure cooker that slides into a microwave and cooks everything from raw meat to jams, marmalades and steam puddings at incredibly high temperatures. The net effect is a super-fast cooking machine that could even replace the supermarket ready meal. He notes that, with current microwaves, it is difficult to know exactly when food is done. ‘Basically, unless you stop the microwave and pull your food out to inspect it, there’s no way to tell if it’s done just right.’ His invention uses an infrared camera in the top of the microwave, and sends information to an LCD screen on the front of the microwave. Here it displays a heat map that starts blue, because the food is cold, and transitions to white hot, when the food is hot. The microwave can also be programmed to turn off when the food it is cooking becomes all white in temperature. And via Bluetooth or Wifi, the heat map can be beamed to your phone, so you can display the same screen on there. From your phone you can then add another 30 seconds if the food doesn’t look like it has cooked enough. The LCD screen can also be used to display recipes or play cooking videos. There's no news yet, though, on when the innovative microwave might be released to the public, or how much it is likely to cost. | A US inventor has created a microwave that monitors food temperature .
It uses an infrared camera to display temperature data on a screen .
The LCD screen on the front shows if your food is ready .
The microwave can automatically switch off when the food is cooked .
It can also send the heat map to your phone so you can monitor your meal . |
81,002 | e594c115856e6045dbd110055483d6938a4cfca2 | By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 13:20 EST, 20 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:23 EST, 20 November 2013 . The Church of England could have its first woman bishop by 2015 after opponents backed down following months of pressure from politicians. Members of the General Synod, the church’s ruling body, yesterday voted by 378-8 in favour of plans that will pave the way for women to be promoted to the senior rank within two years. Referring to the failure of opponents to win public support, Canon Rosie Harper, of Oxford, said in the Synod debate: ‘People out there don’t care enough to be angry, but they do dismiss us as weird. If we are serious about our mission, we really have to stop being weird.’ Changes: Canon Rosie Harper, who made a speech during the Synod, said people outside the church thought the ongoing argument over discrimination was 'weird' Under the scheme, an ombudsman will . decide on disputes when traditionalists refuse to accept a woman . bishop’s authority. Clergy who fail to abide by the advice will face . disciplinary action. Yesterday’s vote was almost exactly a . year since an alliance of conservative evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics . voted to halt the progress of women bishops. The ‘train crash’ vote, as one Church . leader called it, provoked threats from ministers to force the Church’s . hand and a warning from David Cameron that the Church needed ‘a sharp . prod’. Yesterday, David Cameron told MPs that . he hoped women would soon be joining the 26 Church of England bishops . in the House of Lords. The Archbishop of York, the Most . Reverend John Sentamu, warned against premature celebrations because the . plans must pass a final vote next year. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: ‘We can be cautiously hopeful of good progress.’ The . Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev . James Langstaff, said the result was not a cause for complacency and . reminded members the battle to push through the legislation was not . over. 'There . is a lot of work still to be done. People will have voted in favour of . this to continue the process who may or may not vote in favour of the . package at the end of the day', he said. 'So it is not over and that is a reality.' Support: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, speaks to a female member of the church . Vote: Welby (right) and Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, prepare to listen to the speeches during the General Synod . David Cameron also said he would fast track . women Bishops into the Lords to give them a presence in . parliament 'as soon as possible'. Responding to a question in the Commons today, the Prime Minister said: 'I strongly support women bishops and I hope the Church of England takes this key step to ensure its place as a modern church, in touch with our society.' There . is a lot of work still to be done. People will have voted in favour of . this to continue the process who may or may not vote in favour of the . package at the end of the day . Rt Rev James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester . The vote could pave the way for final approval of women bishops by the General Synod in July next year. The move follows bitter recriminations . within the Church of England after the legislation failed by just six . votes to get approval at the General Synod a year ago. Several General Synod members spoke of the marked improvement in the atmosphere since the collapse of the legislation last year. The . Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, said: 'From where we . are today, compared to where we were a year ago, it is as someone said . to me the other day "nothing short of miraculous".' The . Rev Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, the conservative evangelical . grouping, and a member of the steering committee which drew up the . proposals, paid tribute to the 'generosity of spirit' which had led to . the package. Overwhelming: Members of the General Synod overwhelmingly endorsed women bishops with 378 voting in favour and eight against with 25 abstentions . But he said there were still problems over the proposals, including the issue of authority of women bishops where parishes seek alternative arrangements. 'I am very conscious indeed of last November when people like me voted against the draft measure, it was a cause of shock, bewilderment and anger and much grief,' he said. 'Therefore to be able to sit down and talk with people who have experienced those emotions and talk constructively about ways by which we might find agreement has been a very uplifting process.' Pledge: David Cameron said he would give women bishops a presence in parliament 'as soon as possible' Prebendary David Houlding, a leading Anglo-Catholic Synod member, from London, declared that the 'battle is surely over'. 'What we have in front of us works, and it works for all of us, no matter where we are coming from on this matter,' he said. Christina Rees, a vocal supporter of women bishops, spoke of her amazement at the change of atmosphere in the General Synod. 'If anyone had told me that, one year on from last November, we would be where we are, I would have said ‘That is impossible’ but by the grace of God it has been possible.' But director of Reform Susie Leafe, a member of the steering committee who voted to abstain on commending the package, said she could not vote in favour of the motion. 'We claim that this package is designed to enable all to flourish yet I and my church can only flourish when we deny our theological convictions and accept a woman as our chief pastor.' | 378 members of General Synod voted in favour of the proposals .
Conservative evangelicals said there were sill 'major issues' to be resolved .
Supporters of the plan said the result was 'nothing short of miraculous'
David Cameron pledged to give women bishops a presence in Parliament . |
173,657 | 6cbb2d2679e2eb2ec93647b89a1df11627ae94a1 | By . Alexandra Klausner . PUBLISHED: . 09:48 EST, 22 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:50 EST, 23 February 2014 . One Chicago news station experienced technical difficulties on Friday when an audio glitch made all but one news reporter silent, at least verbally. WGN-Channel 9 was without sound for 19 minutes between 7:03 to 7:22 am. The silence didn't stop news anchors Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten from holding hand written signs and making jokes, however. Reporter Nancy Loo was the only newscaster not affected by the loss of sound and explained to viewers that she had the only working microphone, reports Robertfeder.com. 'The computer that controls the audio board locked up and shut down the board,'news director Greg Caputo told Feder. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Nancy Loo explained that her microphone was the only microphone working in the entire studio . Larry Potash decided to poke fun at the situation by holding up signs with written messages . Despite the silence, Potash and Baumgarten still had a lot to say. 'Please Help' wrote Larry Potash on a piece of paper. 'I blame Larry,' said Robin Baumgarten with a dry erase board. 'Boss said, Hey Let's get a cheaper audio board. No one will notice,' joked Larry. 'Now's my chance to Dance,' said Baumgarten as she did a little shimmy. Larry uses the moment of silence to write the boss a special note . He needs a few note cards to relay his message . Everybody noticed the silence in the studio . 'Still more interesting than channel 7,' said Potash of the Chicago rival. 'Larry has never looked more attractive,' jokes Baumgarten. Potash then suggested the audio technicians try 'Try Ctrl + Alt + Del' 'Keep talking Nancy,' said Baumgarten who was still trapped in silence. When the audio was finally back in the studio, 'this tops it all said Baumgarten.' 'We have been silenced. This has never happened to us before,' she continued. The show called the moment 'The Most Excellent Technical Meltdown in Live Television News History.' Robin Baumgarten busts a move live on television for all to see . Potash even took the moment of silence to comment on the network's rival . When the room gets quiet, Baumgarten gets flirtatious . When the sound finally did return, Baumgarten took an opportunity to hold up one more sign . | WGN-Channel 9 was without sound for 19 minutes between 7:03 to 7:22 am .
Reporter Nancy Loo was the only newscaster not affected by the loss of sound .
News anchors Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten held up signs in order to communicate with their audience . |
177,945 | 725b8031b1ae458ff19598e6bc6069ef06b0726f | By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 06:48 EST, 23 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:17 EST, 23 October 2012 . It could become the most expensive Apple product in history. An incredible rare Apple 1 computer, one of only six still working, and the only one with all of its original accessories, is set to be auctioned in Germany. One was sold for a record $374,500 in June 2012 in New York, and a second . one of the six is being offered now by auction firm Breker in Germany on . 24 November 2012. Scroll down to see video of the Apple 1 in action! The fully working Apple 1 complete with accessories set to be auctioned on November 24th . According to founder Uwe Breker, this is the first fully working . Apple I offered publicly in Europe, and the only example with the . original period peripherals - transformer, Sony monitor and Datanetics . ASCII keyboard - to have appeared so far. He said 'There is a long-established market for antique . 'Scientific Instruments', whereas technology from the dawn of the . computer age is attracting a great new generation of collectors.' The machine was the first made by Apple. Steve Jobs was introduced to Steve Wozniak in 1969 and 'Woz' and Jobs became friends while working for Hewlett-Packard in 1970. By 1976, Wozniak was refining his own computer design. The Altair 8800 had just made the cover of Popular Electronics and Jobs quickly realised the potential of his friend's invention, as the two college dropouts from California who founded the world's highest-valued company. Apple Inc. was established in April . 1976 and the first order of 50 computers was assembled in the Jobs' family garage and delivered to the Byte Shop for 500 per unit. Apple I was the first ready-made personal computer. Apple's machine was the predecessor of all modern computers - even though buyers had to supply their own case . Admittedly, the buyer still had to provide the keyboard and monitor, but as Wozniak explained to enthusiasts at the Homebrew Computer Club in July 1976, his design allowed the user to work on a 'human-typable keyboard instead of a stupid, cryptic front panel with a bunch of lights and switches'. Of the 200 Apple I computers ever produced, just 43 have survived, and of these only six are in working order, according to an online registry of the machines. Apple's original advert for the Apple 1, which is sold for $666.66 . | Previous sale in New York raised £234,000 ($374,500), but latest auction will feature original accessories including tape player and tapes containing software .
Apple 1 was first ready made computer (although users had to supply their own case)
Comes as Apple prepares to launch iPad mini . |
175,933 | 6fb86bfa830b87026a2c4b10d046214976f49797 | (CNN) -- Jason Priestley is ready to spill details about his life in a new memoir. The 43-year-old actor has landed a deal with HarperCollins' HarperOne imprint to produce a book that will cover his life and career, including the 10 years he spent playing Brandon Walsh on the classic '90s series, "Beverly Hills, 90210." "This memoir will offer his fans rare insight into the real Jason," HarperOne's executive editor, Nancy Hancock, said in a statement. "It will be a must-have for every '90210' fan on the planet, and a must-read for those wanting to know more about Jason's real life then and today." According to The Hollywood Reporter, who first reported the news, the actor will delve into his "complicated relationship" with "90210" creator Aaron Spelling and what happened after the series ended with its 10th season in 2000. It'll also offer insight into Priestley's history with alcohol (he spent five days in jail after a 2000 drunken-driving incident), and a "life-changing" 2002 car crash. The as-yet-untitled book is scheduled to be released in spring 2014. "Writing your memoir is no small task. And although I've only been on the planet for 44 years, I've lived a lot in that time," said the actor, who will celebrate his 44th birthday August 28. "I hope my story will enlighten, entertain, and inspire those who read it." | Actor Jason Priestley is writing a memoir .
It'll touch on the personal and professional, including "Beverly Hills, 90210"
The memoir will be released by HarperOne in spring 2014 . |
265,732 | e42e105bc6d1f018ca7b207930f4255c4d3f2304 | The Virgin Galactic spacecraft crash which killed one pilot and left another seriously injured was 'inevitable' as the rocket was 'crude' and 'unreliable', Richard Branson's biographer has claimed. Tom Bower said the Virgin boss's bold plans for a space tourism company were always going to end in tragedy and claimed engineers told him the project was 'very dangerous'. He said numerous engineers have walked out of the factory in recent months, with one reportedly saying he would never work there again. The writer, who penned Branson Behind The Mask, said the project has been plagued with problems since an early version of the nitrous oxide liquid fuel tank exploded in 2007, killing three workers. Scroll down for video . The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo plane crash was 'inevitable', Richard Branson's biographer has claimed . Tom Bower said the Virgin boss's bold plans for a space tourism company were always going to end in tragedy as they were 'dangerous' Designed to run the first ever passenger flights into space, the SpaceShipTwo plane, split into pieces and fell to earth minutes after being launched from a carrier plane over California's Mojave Desert. Wreckage rained from the sky yesterday as one pilot was ejected from the cockpit using a parachute, while the other was reportedly left strapped to his seat as he plummeted to earth and died. It was the spacecraft's first test flight and was loaded with an experimental new rocket fuel. 'What happened yesterday was very sad for the pilot obviously but it was predictable and inevitable and has never been a secret,' Mr Bower told Radio 4's Today programme. Biographer Tom Bower (right) said Branson's bold plans for a space tourism company were always going to end in tragedy as they were 'dangerous' 'It's a very crude rocket. It uses a gas called nitrous oxide burning solid rubber and it has been formed out of a completely different craft. 'All the engineers in California working on the project I've spoken to said it was very dangerous, just a few weeks ago the last of many of the Virgin Galactic engineers walked out of the factory and said he'd never work there again.' The first disaster in the fuel history of Virgin Galactic came in 2007, when an early version of the nitrous oxide liquid fuel tank exploded, killing three employees. The blast, at an outdoor test facility belonging to partner company Scaled Composites, killed employees Todd Ivens, Eric Blackwell and Charles May, who were watching the test from behind a chain link fence. The rocket engine, using a new plastic-based polyamide fuel, can be seen starting to fire, right, as SpaceShipTwo streaks away from the carrier . Pilots: It is not known who is was killed today. Rick 'CJ' Struckow (far left) is fine, a family friend told MailOnline. Another, Todd Ericson (not pictured) was confirmed alive by a relative on social media. The conditions of Peter Siebold (center right, arms folded), Michael Masucci and chief pilot David Mackay are not known . Mr Bower said: 'The most important issue was in 2007 - three engineers were killed in an explosion when a rocket exploded on the ground rocket explosion on the ground. 'Ever since then it has become apparent that the science used to create this rocket is completely unreliable.' Mr Branson has pledged to keep up the drive for space travel, saying on the company's web site: 'Space is hard - but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together.' Virgin has not yet said who the pilots were - though only four men were cleared by the FAA to pilot the craft. Rick 'CJ' Sturckow was one of the pilots flying the WhiteKnightTwo launching craft, MailOnline can reveal - and so would have been with the killed pilot - still unnamed - minutes before the disaster. Mr Branson has pledged to keep up the drive for space travel, saying on the company's web site: 'Space is hard - but worth it' How the plane climbed tens of thousands of feet before exploding and plummeting to earth . Mr Branson's biographer said the businessman has placed so much of his commercial future on the space mission as it was such a great PR stunt. 'All over the world he appeared and brandished the Virgin label and used rocket as an example. Then he collected a load of celebrities to pay a quarter of £250,000 each for a ticket.' Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry all signed up for the two-and-a-half hour voyage with six minutes of weightlessness. In a press conference Friday afternoon, George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said; 'Our primary thoughts at the moment are with the crew and families and we are doing everything we can for them now.' 'Space is hard, and today was a tough day. The future rest on hard days like this.' Stuart Witt, who is in charge of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where SpaceShipTwo was launched today, also remained optimistic about the future of space travel. He said: 'Stay the course. This is not easy. If it was easy it would not be interesting to me and my colleagues standing next to me.' 'We are doing this for you and your generation. It is a cause far greater than any one of us singularly. I compare it to the Magellan expedition [the first circumnavigation of the Earth].' In January 2014, Mr Bower said 'Virgin Galactic is in danger of turning into a white elephant'. He added that Branson had so far only managed to 'fire a primitive rocket for 20 seconds in the Earth's atmosphere'. MailOnline has contacted Virgin Galactic for a comment and have not yet received a response. | Biographer said Branson's bold plans were always going to end in tragedy .
Tom Bower claimed rocket used in spacecraft was 'crude' and 'unreliable'
Space plane broke into pieces above Mojave Desert, California, on first flight .
One pilot died in the crash and another was injured after parachuting out .
Bower said Virgin Galactic engineers have walked out over safety fears . |
263,479 | e144369b2c09c43e280453933531b969469797cd | By . Kerry Mcdermott . PUBLISHED: . 08:11 EST, 18 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:01 EST, 18 March 2013 . A unique manuscript bearing celebrated writer Thomas Hardy's only known attempt at a song is to be sold at auction. The faded document features lyrics and a melody scrawled in pencil by the author behind classic works including Jude The Obscure and Far From The Madding Crowd. Hand written in pencil in 1922, it is expected to fetch at least £6,000 when it goes under the hammer tomorrow. Rare: The faded paper features lyrics by the acclaimed writer for his tune 'O I Won't Lead A Homely Life' Several . composers have written their own music to Hardy's poems in the past, but . no such effort by the great writer himself has come to light - until . now. Hardy wrote the words to O I Won't Lead A Homely Life on white paper beneath a sixteen-bar D major melody. The music is thought to be based on one of the tunes Hardy played on the violin as a young man while he was a member of the choir at Stinsford Church near Dorchester. In the unique music manuscript, Hardy notes alternative lyrics to the last line of the song - 'And sunk and sad was she' - were it to be sung by a woman. Would-be songwriter: Thomas Hardy wrote English classics including Jude The Obscure . The line: 'And sad was life for me' is scrawled above the original lyrics in red. The author wrote a note saying: 'If sung by a woman the words in red may be used.' The document, the only Hardy music manuscript in existence today, will be sold at Bonhams in London tomorrow. It is being sold by manuscript dealer Roy Davids, 70. The document was once owned by Sydney Cockerell, who was the literary executor of Hardy's will following his death in 1928. Mr Davids, from Great Haseley, near Oxford, said: 'It says on the manuscript "To an old air". 'This means he has written the poem and the music in his hand writing, but using an old tune that he would have remembered. 'It's the only manuscript for a poem of his own that has music attached to it, he didn't compose the music, he took it on. 'He may have adjusted the tune but we just don't know. 'However, this is the only one with music and lyrics in his hand, he destroyed a lot of drafts, so this is very rare. 'Hardy was a very good musician, he played the violin from his childhood and he remembered old tunes. 'He had a fantastic memory and would have known all the popular tunes of the day and his family went to local glee clubs and they played for hours.' Hardy grew up in a musical family and played the violin like his uncle, grandfather and father, who taught him to read music notation. He continued to play the violin and perform concerts after becoming a celebrated author with his classic novels like Tess Of The D'Urbervilles and the Mayor Of Casterbridge. He published his first poetry collection, Wessex Poems, in 1898 but he was not recognised as an influential poet until the 1950s. Mike Nixon, secretary of the Hardy Society, said: 'I think this document has the wow factor, it's genuine, and was written on the back of a circular dated 23 August 1922. 'It belonged to Sydney Cockerell, who was the literary executor when Hardy died, and he worked with his second wife Florence to clear out Hardy's stuff. 'It's extremely rare and very exciting. It's the only manuscript like this that we know of.' Thomas Hardy was born in a hamlet in Stinsford, Dorset, in 1840, to father Thomas, a stonemason, and Jemima, a well-read woman who educated her son until he went to his first school in Bockhampton at the age of eight. Despite displaying academic potential from an early age, the cost of university was beyond the means of the Hardy family and Thomas' formal education came to an end at 16 when he became a local architect's apprentice. After training as an architect Hardy moved to London in 1862, where he enrolled in King's College, before returning to his beloved Dorset five years later to devote himself to writing. The success of his 1874 novel Far From The Madding Crowd was such that he could give up architectural work and concentrate on the literary career that would see him go on to produce The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles and Jude The Obscure among other novels. Hardy created some controversy with his sympathetic portrayal of a 'fallen woman' in Tess, while the sexual references in Jude The Obscure saw some booksellers covering copies with brown paper bags. His disgust at the criticism levelled at two of his best works led Hardy to give up writing fiction altogether in the 1900s. | Document is only known Hardy music manuscript in existence .
Lyrics to 1922 song O I Won't Lead A Homely Life' written in pencil .
Expected to fetch at least £6,000 at auction in London tomorrow .
Experts say faded manuscript has 'the wow factor' |
184,169 | 7a8cc3cfa43c39711e1cb41f614e9c3b0a33c3dc | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's citizens head to the polls on February 18 for parliamentary elections that may determine the future of President Pervez Musharraf and his allies. Pakistan has a federal parliamentary system of government. The nation's parliament consists of the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (National Assembly) and the four provincial assemblies. Elections to the national and provincial assemblies take place every five years. Source: Election Commission of Pakistan . | Pakistan holding elections on February 18 .
Nation has parliamentary system of government .
Elections to the assemblies take place every five years . |
133,476 | 389bc19455a7cae65e791a24f0e07b25b41fce0f | (CNN) -- First the Black Keys' Patrick Carney lit into Justin Bieber. Now he's taking on U2. The outspoken drummer, who said a few months ago that Bieber "should be grateful that he has a f****** career in music," did not mince words when talking about the release of U2's latest, "Songs of Innocence," as a free download from iTunes. The album's distribution "devalued their music completely," Carney told The Seattle Times. It "sends a huge mixed message to bands ... that are just struggling to get by. I think that they were thinking it's super generous of them to do something like that." The U2 album was automatically downloaded into more than 500 million iTunes folders upon release September 9 -- pleasing some fans but angering others who didn't want the album in the first place. Bono later apologized for the inconvenience. "I'm sorry about that," Bono said in a question-and-answer video posted this week on the band's Facebook page. "I had this beautiful idea, but (we) got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. A drop of megalomania, a touch of generosity, a dash of self-promotion and deep fear that these songs, that we poured our life into over the last few years, mightn't be heard." Bono apologizes for free iTunes album . Apple observed that the album had been fully downloaded 26 million times and that 81 million people had listened to at least one song. Carney also defended the Keys' choice not to put their last two albums on Spotify. Artists aren't being fairly compensated, he said. (Cracker's David Lowery has made the same point about Pandora.) "My whole thing about music is: If somebody's making money then the artist should be getting a fair cut of it," Carney said. Presumably referring to Spotify co-founder Sean Parker, he added, "The owner of Spotify is worth something like 3 billion dollars ... he's richer than Paul McCartney and he's 30 and he's never written a song." CNN's Doug Gross contributed to this report. | Patrick Carney is unhappy that U2 gave away "Songs of Innocence" for free .
Distribution method "devalued their music completely," he said .
"Innocence" was released to 500 million iTunes subscribers at once .
Carney also had words for streaming services such as Spotify . |
274,946 | f02fa23c4bded9fc282ac5c433e6e6ba804db677 | (CNN) -- It might have felt as if the lights had been turned off but Tiger Woods still has a flicker of hope at the Turkish Open. Woods was forced to abandon his efforts on the opening day of the inaugural $7 million tournament as thunderstorms brought a halt to proceedings on a gray and gloomy day on the on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya. The World No.1 managed to complete 10 holes before play was stopped at 16.42pm local time with Woods six shots off the leaders. "I thought when we teed off we would be lucky to get in 11 holes and I was pretty spot on," 14-time major winner Woods told reporters. "So we got in about the right number of holes as it just gets dark so quickly and it's like someone just turned off the light switch. "The air now also is heavy with moisture so the ball is not going very far compared to when we were warming up on the range and early in the round. "But towards the end we were hitting about a half-a-club short. "I'm still working on getting a bit of the rust out of my game but then tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us." Heavy thunderstorms around Belek meant that play did not get under way until 12.05 local time -- allowing only 15 players out of the 78-strong field to complete their rounds. Woods will resume Friday with six shots separating him from English duo Paul Casey and Steve Webster who sit on seven under part alongside South Africa's Darren Fichardt. "It was a very aggressive start," world number 97 Casey told reporters. "There are opportunities out there with two very reachable par-fives in the first four holes. "I knocked a driver and three-wood on the green at the first and holed for an eagle. It was foot flat to the floor today and just fire at the pins, take advantage of the soft conditions and see what happens." "The field is exceptionally strong and with the layout of the golf course, and the way it is set up, I fully expect somebody is going to get to maybe 20 plus under par this week." The course, which has been designed by Colin Montgomerie, appeared to suit Casey's game. That should be of little surprise however, given Casey's past successes on courses set out by the Scot. The Englishman's past two European Tour victories at the 2011 Volvo Golf Champions and this year's Irish Open have both come on Montgomerie's courses. "I seem to play very well around Monty's golf courses," he added. "I won in Bahrain a couple of years ago and then Carton House this year. I do enjoy his golf courses. I have no idea why, but maybe the fact that you can be incredibly aggressive does bode well for me." Thorbjørn Olesen and Ricardo Gonzalez both finished on six-under after recording rounds of 66, while Sweden's money-list leader Henrik Stenson was forced to stop after reaching four-under through 10. | Thunderstorms halt play on opening day of Turkish Open .
Tiger Woods managed to complete first 10 holes before play abandoned .
World No.1 Woods six shots off the lead on one-under .
England's Paul Casey and Steve Webster in lead with South Africa's Darren Fichardt . |
220,514 | a96d6505601c791ee165f2f1ed60a298961d3b7d | A man has moved into what might be the world's smallest mobile home in a bid to save money and go 'off the grid'. Rob Greenfield, from San Diego in California, has purchased a 'house' that measures just 50 sq foot and will live in the tiny box for the next year. As well as saving on money and rent, the 28-year-old is keen to avoid to trappings of modern life such as the internet, driving or even a plumbed toilet. Rob Greenfield (pictured) has purchased a 'house' that measures just 50 sq foot and will live in the tiny box for the next year . As well as saving on money and rent, the 28-year-old is keen to avoid to trappings of modern life such as the internet, driving or even a plumbed toilet . The environmental activist is set to move into the tiny 5ft by 10ft house as soon as he can find a permanent pitch for it . The environmental activist is set to move into the tiny 5ft by 10ft house as soon as he can find a permanent pitch for it. He has moved out of his $1600 (£1055) a month, three-bedroom apartment and taken up residence in his new home which cost him just $950 (£626). He is looking for a place where he will be able to place solar panels, collect rainwater and build a compost pit in order to live in the mobile home long-term. The environmental activist will offer food from his planned vegetable patch and provide handyman services in exchange for parking his home in people's gardens - and is even planning to offer tours of the tiny box. He said: 'I want to live simply and cheaply and be as self-sufficient as possible. Rob Greenfield (pictured) has moved out of his $1600 (£1055) a month, three-bedroom apartment and taken up residence in his new home which cost him just $950 (£626) Mr Greenfield is looking for a place where he will be able to place solar panels, collect rainwater and build a compost pit and live in the mobile home long-term . The interior of the home will be kitted out with a basic stove, a bed and a place to read . 'And I want to show other people that you can live a happy and fulfilled life by being Earth-friendly, not just by consuming the planet's resources. 'I'll be giving tours and inviting people in to see what it is like practically to have very few belongings. 'I have a desire to live simply, and having a tiny home forces you to do that. 'Most of my living will be done outside - I want to demonstrate the way the Earth provides for us. 'The inside will be kitted out with a basic rocket stove, a bed and a place to read. 'And I can't wait to settle me and my tiny home in a new permanent space.' Mr Greenfield says he wants 'to live simply and cheaply and be as self-sufficient as possible' The environmental activist is even planning to offer tours of the tiny box once it is up and running as a home . Writing on his website, he added: 'The idea is that I want to be of service and benefit to the person who gives a place for my tiny home. 'I want to make your life more enjoyable if you can host my tiny home. 'Besides growing my own food I'll be harvesting food from the neighbourhood and will get you lots of fresh fruit! 'I am going to be living 100% off the grid so I will not need to use your home at all. 'I won't even use the toilet, garbage can, or the internet so you can see as little or as much of me as you'd like really. 'I also don't have a car, just my bike so I won't take up parking.' | Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases 'house' measuring 5ft by 10ft .
The environmental activist will live in the 50sq foot box for the next year .
28-year-old moves out of £1,000-a-month flat and paid £625 for new home .
Plans to avoid modern trappings including internet and will go without a plumbed toilet . |
11,194 | 1fd70da45245c7f52faa0e38f61daf9b8a365b3f | By . Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:35 EST, 4 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:43 EST, 4 October 2013 . Alex Rodriguez has sued Major League Baseball and its commissioner, saying they are trying to destroy his reputation and career. Rodriguez took a swing for the fences and accused Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig of pursuing him in a 'witch hunt' designed to smear Rodriguez’ character and cost him tens of millions of dollars.The lawsuit was filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court by lawyers for the Yankees third baseman. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for what it alleges was a relentless campaign by the league and Selig to 'destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez.' Lawsuit: Alex Rodriguez has sued Major League Baseball, accusing the league of engaging in 'tortious interference' in an effort to force him from the sport and potentially cost him tens of millions of dollars . Under fire: Alex Rodriguez has sued Major League Baseball and its commissioner, saying they are trying to destroy his reputation . • Baseball is paying $5 million to Anthony Bosch, the proprietor of the now-defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic suspected to be a source of illegal PEDs to players, for his cooperation in its case against Rodriguez.• Baseball has repeatedly violated terms of a confidentiality agreement between the parties by leaking information damaging to Rodriguez to selected news outlets.• MLB investigators have bribed and intimidated witnesses, and on at least one occasion impersonated police officers.• Baseball attempted to buy Biogenesis records from Porter Fischer, a former Biogenesis employee, for $125,000, and that after Fischer reported the documents stolen, an MLB employee eventually bought them from an undisclosed source for $150,000 in cash that was 'handed off in a bag at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area restaurant.' The suit claims Selig and MLB tried . to smear Rodriguez’s reputation to 'gloss over' Selig’s past inaction . and tacit approval of the use of performance-enhancing substances in . baseball, which the lawsuit said had turned the 'Golden Age of Baseball' into the 'Golden Age of Steroids.' The lawsuit said Selig hoped to redeem himself and secure his legacy as the “savior” of America’s pastime. Rodriguez is appealing a 211-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. The . lawsuit says the suspension will cost him tens of millions of dollars . in salary and could prevent him from meeting certain performance goals . in his contract worth millions of dollars. 'Taking down Mr. Rodriguez would vividly demonstrate that Commissioner . Selig had learned from the errors of his previous explicit or tacit . tolerance of steroid use,' the lawsuit said. MLB spokesman Matthew Monte says the league has no comment. Appeal: Rodriguez is appealing the 211-game suspension levied against him in August by MLB for his alleged involvement with Bosch and Biogenesis . Defiant to the end: Mr Rodriguez blasted the Yankees and MLB during a minor league rehab assignment in August, saying they were conspiring to keep him off the field . The lawsuit was filed as Rodriguez . appeals a 211-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug agreement . and labor contract. The suspension stemmed from baseball’s investigation . of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. The suit accuses . the league and Selig of planting negative stories about Rodriguez in . the news and trying to muddy his name while protecting a witness under . investigation for allegedly providing steroids to minors. 'Such . are the lengths that Commissioner Selig and MLB have stooped to in their . witch hunt against Mr. Rodriguez — paying and protecting someone under . investigation for providing steroids to minors,' the lawsuit said. The . court papers noted that Rodriguez’s suspension was four times the . length of the other 13 players suspended in connection with the . Biogenesis probe and the longest non-lifetime ban in baseball history. They said the suspension was also 161 games longer than the 50-game . suspension contemplated by the Joint Drug Agreement in the players’ contract. The lawsuit said the suspension will cost Rodriguez . tens of millions of dollars in salary and could prevent him from meeting . certain performance goals in his contract that are worth millions of . dollars. It also said two potential sponsors — Nike Inc. and . Toyota Motor Corp. — have terminated negotiations with Rodriguez for . potential sponsorship contracts and Rodriguez’s voice work as a hero for . an animated movie, 'Henry & Me,' has been cut. The movie chronicles . the Yankees’ history and features baseball stars, past and present. Questions remain: The suit does not address whether Rodriguez used banned substances . Worked his way back: Despite all the forces working against him - age, rehabilitation after a second hip surgery, a looming ban - A-Rod worked his way back to the Majors after a successful Minor League rehab . Mr Rodriguez was suspended for his involvement with the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic in Coral Gables, Florida. The 13 other players penalized accepted their suspensions, which included a 65-game ban for Mr Braun and 50-game penalties for the others. MLB said Mr Rodriguez's was suspended under baseball's joint drug agreement 'based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years.' He also was disciplined under the collective bargaining agreement 'for attempting to cover up his violations of the program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the office of the commissioner's investigation.' Mr Rodriguez is being treated as a first offender under the drug program, which means any suspension doesn't start unless upheld by an arbitrator. Following hip surgery in January and a leg injury sustained during a minor league rehabilitation assignment in July, Mr Rodriguez returned to the Yankees on the day he was suspended. The 38-year-old hit .244 with seven homers and 19 RBIs in 44 games. 'I'm really looking forward to at least one full off season of hardcore training,' said the oft-injured third baseman. 'I haven't had that in quite a long time - then come back in tremendous shape and help this team win. This team has a lot of things to do over the winter. Obviously my situation is going to play a big part in it.' A-Rod and New York squawked at each other in the summer, with Mr Rodriguez maintaining the Yankees were trying to keep him from returning. The team denied the accusation. He is owed $86 million by the Yankees over the last four seasons of his record $275 million, 10-year contract. If he is suspended for the bulk of next season, the team has a chance to get under the luxury tax threshold of $189 million. | The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages .
Lawsuit says Selig wanted to secure legacy as 'savior' of baseball .
The 38-year-old third baseman is still owed almost $90million by the New York Yankees . |
285,796 | fe512e2fc3e9d92129c6bdad21448eb9fa12350d | The nine-day-old baby who died after being given infected feed through a hospital drip was a twin and his brother is still in hospital, it emerged yesterday. Yousef Al-Kharboush died on Sunday after contracting a deadly bacterial infection from the intravenous fluid at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. His father, Raaid Hassan Sakkijha, yesterday told of his agony at seeing his son suffer. He called for the contaminated feed blamed for his son’s death to be withdrawn from production so no other children would fall victim to the same fate. New tragedy: A second baby fed on a contaminated drip died today, ten days after nine-day-old Yousef Al-Kharboush died in the premature unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London . Hours after he spoke out, it emerged . that three more babies had been infected – bringing the total number of . vulnerable infants struck down with blood poisoning to 21 across ten . hospitals in England. This is despite the pharmaceutical company that . manufactured the product, ITH Pharma, insisting on Thursday that there . was ‘no reason’ for any more families to be concerned because the rogue . batch had been withdrawn. At a pre-inquest review at Southwark . Coroner’s Court yesterday, Mr Sakkijha described his agony at watching . as his tiny son deteriorated and then died last Sunday. His surviving . baby, Abdullilah, remains in hospital. Officials confirmed a baby at Peterborough City Hospital has tested positive test for Bacillus cereus . A baby at Basildon Hospital in Essex has a suspected case of the bug which has not been confirmed . ‘My son has just died and I . don’t want more children to die,’ he said. ‘If you look at Yousef, he . was dying because of this product. If you could see Yousef, he was . suffering. He died because of this.’ The twins were placed on life . support after being born eight weeks premature at St Thomas’ on May 23. But Yousef, who weighed just 1lb 9oz at birth, fell seriously ill on May . 30 when infected with the bacterium bacillus cereus, apparently as a . result of being given the contaminated feed. He died two days later. Mr . Sakkijha, who also has two older children aged seven and ten, asked . health officials whether investigations into the contamination would . consider if any children could be affected when they grow older. ‘How do we know that the solution will not affect babies at a later stage, maybe after one or two years?’ he said. ‘How can you guarantee this will not happen? Is that part of the investigations?’ He said he hoped that the inquiries into his son’s death would save other children. ‘I . was hoping to hear this product would be completely stopped from . production until they make sure that ... no other babies are being . contaminated,’ he said. Karen Hamling, the managing director of . London-based firm ITH Pharma, said further batches would not be supplied . until investigations are complete. ‘We are co-operating with all of our . regulatory bodies because we want to ensure something like this never . happens again,’ she told the hearing. It was announced yesterday that . three new cases of infection had been found at Stoke Mandeville . Hospital in Buckinghamshire, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in . London, and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The Whittington Hospital, London, (left) is one . of the six hospitals affected by the infection. The . trust in charge of Brighton General Hospital (right) said all three of . the babies infected were responding well to treatment . The trust in charge of the Chelsea and . Westminster hospital (left) has reported four cases while Addenbrooke's . hospital in Cambridge (right) said the two babies infected have responded well to treatment . | Nine-day-old Yousef Al-Kharboush died at London's St Thomas' hospital .
He was among the 21 babies infected by a suspected bug in drip-fed food .
Yousef has a twin brother who is fighting for his life .
His grieving parents met hospital chiefs today at start of review into death .
Father makes plea for no other children to go through pain of his son .
Yousef was born eight weeks premature and had twin, review hearing told . |
55,116 | 9c1e2a9f52652ed090a70e88953b26e4ca060dca | Former Manchester United assistant boss Mike Phelan has blamed Louis van Gaal’s fitness regime for the catalogue of injuries at Old Trafford after Chris Smalling became the club’s 43rd casualty of the season. It is also the third time that Smalling has been sidelined since Van Gaal’s arrival last summer after he limped out of Monday’s win at Southampton with a groin strain. The England defender will be assessed further on Wednesday but is rated extremely doubtful for Sunday’s game at home to Liverpool. United are currently also without summer signings Angel di Maria, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw, while Rafael and Phil Jones have just returned to training. Manchester United defender Chris Smalling (left) was taken off injured against Southampton on Monday . Former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has blamed fitness changes for the injury crisis . Phelan, who spent 12 years working alongside Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, believes that Van Gaal’s decision to bring in his own fitness specialist Jos van Dijk to oversee first-team training at the start of the season and give Tony Strudwick a broader role has led to the injury pile-up with so many players ‘breaking down’. ‘What’s happened is a continuation of the same players getting injured all the time, so you have to look to the reasons why,’ said Phelan, who is now first-team coach at Norwich City. ‘I think Manchester United changed their thoughts on the fitness regime. They looked at it a little bit differently. ‘Tony Strudwick, who was operating as head of sports science and was involved day to day with the first-team. He understood the ins and outs of how to keep players fit, how to keep them ready for competition. United boss Louis van Gaal believes he does not need to strengthen his defence in January despite injuries . ‘Then suddenly they moved him sideways and did something completely different. That may have had an effect. That one area has changed. ‘They’ve brought in new people with a different way of doing things. The intensity of training may be one thing – it may be too intense, or not intense enough – but obviously slight changes have been made with the present way of doing things. ‘I would have thought the squad is big enough at Manchester United, because they can go out and get players in, but obviously they keep breaking down and they don’t seem to be getting any better. They seem to get one back and lose another two.’ Phelan (left) enjoyed a trophy-laden spell as United assistant manager under Sir Alex Ferguson . Smalling went off after just 18 minutes at St Mary’s with what Van Gaal later said was a ‘suspected muscle tear’. The problem is understood to be in the player’s groin and he is set to go undergo further tests. The 25-year-old has already been sidelined for two months of the season after suffering a groin strain at Sunderland in August and then picking up a thigh injury in training in September just one game into his comeback. Smalling missed another match through suspension after collecting what Van Gaal called a ‘stupid’ red card in the Manchester derby. Robin van Persie, with Juan Mata (left) and Marouane Fellaini (right) celebrates their 2-1 win at Southampton . Smalling has already missed two months of this season through injuries and suspension . His future at United has been the subject of some speculation with Arsenal continuing to show an interest. However, United are unlikely to let any players leave – particularly centre-backs – while they continue to be plagued by injuries, and Van Gaal has ruled out trying to solve the problem by simply buying more players in the January transfer window. ‘When you have injuries you cannot solve the problem otherwise,’ said the United boss. ‘Do we have to buy players? No, we have more than enough.’ Head here to Like our Manchester United Facebook page. VIDEO 'Top four finish far from certain' - Van Gaal . | Manchester United have struggled to name a settled defence this season .
Chris Smalling picked up an injury at Southampton, adding to the injury list .
Manchester United beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary's on Monday night .
Smalling's injury was 43rd knock since Louis van Gaal took charge of club .
Mike Phelan sees fitness changes as the major source of the problem . |
134,231 | 398ba921e70a1d01a0b4f5c58c4b53f122b155e8 | By . Emily Allen . PUBLISHED: . 08:25 EST, 20 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:32 EST, 20 April 2012 . The Home Office came under fire yesterday when it emerged an illegal immigrant brutally raped a young woman - three years after a judge ordered him to be deported. Abdikarim Abbas Abdisamad, 33, originally from Somalia, befriended a 24-year-old woman in a nightclub claiming he had just lost his job and was penniless. The victim took pity on Abdisamad and invited him to her home where he raped her twice and battered her so severely she suffered 17 separate injuries. Abdikarim Abbas Abdisamad, 33, originally from Somalia, befriended a woman in a nightclub claiming he had just lost his job and was penniless . He was jailed for ten years after being convicted of rape at Coventry Crown Court on Monday. But during the hearing, it emerged Abdisamad was already a convicted criminal and a judge had ordered his deportation in 2009 when he was jailed for six months for grievous bodily harm. But he was allowed to remain in Britain because of his immigration status and civil war in his home country of Somalia. Now bungling Home Office officials are working to finally deport him. Alp Mehmet, vice-chairman of Migration Watch, said: 'Anyone who doesn’t have the right to be here who has been told to get out should leave and leave quickly. 'In essence I would say that those who have no right to be here and who have been sentenced for horrific crimes should go quickly. 'Unfortunately we do have to abide by certain agreements. We should do rather more to change the attitudes and rules and regulations that prevent some people being deported. 'I think there are far too many obstacles put in our way that need to be removed.' Abdisamad, who gave the court an address in London, was in the country on a working visa. The Home Office say that to deport a criminal, certain criteria needed to be met and in Abdisamad’s case that had not happened. Abdisamad was jailed for ten years after being convicted of rape at Coventry Crown Court (pictured) on Monday . But they refused to reveal what part of his immigration status prevented his removal. A spokesman said: 'We always seek to remove foreign offenders convicted of a serious crime once they have been punished. 'That is why we removed more than 4,500 of them last year. 'Removal can be a challenging process and we have to operate within the law.' Abdisamad’s rape victim suffered a broken cheekbone and several deep cuts - requiring stitches after the attack. He was arrested in October after police used items left in his victim’s home in Coventry to trace him to a location in London. Det Con Sunita Sharma, from Coventry Public Protection Unit, said: 'To see this man be given such a long custodial sentence is extremely satisfying for both his victim and those of us who have investigated the case and supported her throughout. 'The young lady thought he was a genuine guy, down on his luck and unaware of what fate lay in store. 'She has been left afraid to stay in her own home and unable to trust her own judgement or any man again. 'I hope this sentence offers some relief to the victim, and we admire her courage in speaking up to bring her attacker to justice.' Abdisamad, who admitted one count of rape but was found not guilty of another, was also put on the sex offender’s register for life. A count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was ordered to lie on file. | The 33-year-old raped the woman twice and battered her so severely she had 17 injuries .
Bungling Home Office is finally trying to deport him . |
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