Unnamed: 0
int64 0
287k
| id
stringlengths 40
40
| article
stringlengths 117
14.7k
| highlights
stringlengths 37
3.97k
|
|---|---|---|---|
75,763 | d6dd68329ade24391bd6ee26c31ecdd0f65a9a79 | A group of cannibal seals have been blamed for a mystery wildlife slaying which saw the bodies of 80 others wash ashore. Police launched an investigation when the carcasses of dozens of harbour seals first appeared on the North Sea coast five years ago with 'corkscrew' wounds on their skin. They were the victims of a batch of larger rogue grey seals, scientists have revealed, after previously blaming the deaths on sharks in Greenland. Predators? A batch of rogue grey seals have been fingered as the culprits of more than 80 seal pup deaths across the North Sea coast (file image above) The animals washed up in a sea colony near Blakeney Point, Norfolk, and in the waters of the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay, their bodies partially eaten. Investigators considered other factors such as boat propellers and other sea life before discovering the animals had been killed by the larger species . Keepers even watched one of the creatures killing five smaller seals at the Sea Mammal Research Unit in St Andrews. The animal left wide, slashed cuts known as spiral or corkscrew wounds on each of the victims. There are only two species of seal permanently residing in Britain. They are the Grey Seal and the Common or Harbour seal. Both spend much of their time in the sea but come ashore to breed and moult. The animals, which often co-exist in patches of water along the coastline, can be difficult to tell apart - especially when their coats are wet. Grey seals have a more distinctive face with hooked noses. They are also larger than the Common seal, with an adult male the largest land- breeding animal in Britain. 'Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: . 'The clusters of ”corkscrew seal” deaths were unusual and worrying,' said Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead. 'In common with many of the creatures that live in our seas, seals are animals that are loved by the public. 'It is very important that we understand what caused these unusual deaths and we now have important evidence that natural predatory behaviour is likely to be the main cause, rather than ship propeller injuries as we first thought. 'This provides some reassurance for the shipping industry . 'This information will help to inform regulators, developers and others enabling them to take it into account in their activities. 'Marine Scotland will continue to monitor our seal population for further injuries and any evidence about the causes.' More than 80 harbour seals and pups were killed in the slaying. The species (pictured above) is slightly smaller than the grey Seal . | Carcasses of 86 harbour pups and seals washed ashore five years ago .
Investigators thought the animals had been killed by boat propellers .
Sharks in Greenland were also suggested as culprits for the deaths .
Marine experts have the revealed pups were killed by larger grey seals . |
230,296 | b639ddfb7ed909efd2b9c7026c1da2c9ff74ffdf | Protests outside the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh have turned violent, after news of an agreement to allow Australian refugees to be sent to Cambodia. The plan, which will see refugees sent from the Australian detention centre on Nauru, was signed today by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Cambodia's Minister of Interior Sar Kheng. Hundreds gathered to demand Australia renounces the agreement. One protester was knocked over by riot police and escorted from the rally bleeding from the head. Scroll down for video . A cambodian rights activist clashes with riot police outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh . Protesters assist a woman who was injured by riot police in the rally, which saw hundreds gather to demand the plan is abandoned . Scott Morrison revealed the resettlement costs of the plan would be paid for by the Australian government . The plan will see no limits placed on how many refugees will be directed to Cambodia, however they would only be sent if they came to Australia by choice. The details of the arrangement are otherwise shrouded in secrecy. ABC has reported that the arrangement could begin as early as late this year. This morning, Mr Morrison revealed the resettlement costs would be paid for by the Australian government. 'The Australian Government will be providing over four years, and $40 million to support various overseas development aid projects,' he said. 'That's on top of the $79 million - or thereabouts - we currently provide in aid to Cambodia.' The agreement has been widely criticised, largely due to Cambodia being a poverty-stricken nation. The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)-the peak body for overseas aid, humanitarian and development NGOs-has branded the Australian Government's deal with Cambodia cruel and unnecessary. The companies executive director Marc Purcell, said 'Refugees being sent to Cambodia are being set up to fail in a poor country. 'The deal places vulnerable people in a country ill-equipped to deal with their needs and it misuses aid, while ignoring other options. 'Cambodia should not be a country of resettlement. It has a total of 68 refugees and 12 asylum seekers currently, so receiving 1,000 refugees from Nauru would increase Cambodia's current refugee caseload by 1570%,' he said. Protesters are blocked by police. The agreement has been widely criticised, largely due to Cambodia being a poverty-stricken nation . The plan has also been condemned by Cambodia's opposition group, who said the Australian money from the deal would be corruptly spent by Cambodia's ruling party . The Australian Government will be providing over four years, and $40 million to support various overseas development aid projects . Human rights and aid groups in Cambodia have called the deal disgraceful, since the country has a terrible record for protecting refugees . The plan has also been condemned by Cambodia's opposition group, who said the Australian money from the deal would be corruptly spent by Cambodia's ruling party. Human rights and aid groups in Cambodia have called the deal disgraceful, since the country has a terrible record for protecting refugees. Virak Ou, president of Cambodia's Centre for Human Rights, told ABC the deal was also illegal. 'The Australian Government has an obligation to protect refugees and sending them Cambodia's way is not how a responsible country protects refugees. 'Cambodia is in no position to take refugees. We are a poor country, the health system is sub-par at most. I don't know how the refugees will send their kids to school. 'I don't know what the Australian Government is thinking nor what they expect from this deal.' The plan will see no limits placed on how many refugees will be directed to Cambodia, however the details of the arrangement are otherwise shrouded in secrecy . Virak Ou, president of Cambodia's Centre for Human Rights, says the deal was illegal . Virak Ou, president of Cambodia's Centre for Human Rights, says Cambodia is in no position to take refugees . | Hundreds protested outside the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh .
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has signed a memorandum which allows refugees to be sent from Australian to Cambodia .
There will be no limit on refugees sent, and Australia will pay the resettlement costs .
The details of the agreement are otherwise shrouded in secrecy .
The deal has been largely criticised since Cambodia is an impoverished nation . |
46,384 | 82b3a86569959a7a98a1bc5c8894ed80bbcef1e5 | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 14:47 EST, 24 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:04 EST, 24 February 2013 . Hotel plunge: Abbie Emmett, 27, died just days after she had arrived in Dubai with her new husband . A 27-year-old British bride is believed to have plunged to her death from a hotel room while on honeymoon in Dubai. Abbie Emmett died just days after she had arrived in the United Arab Emirates with her new husband Sean, 43, a former professional Grand Prix motorbike racer, following their wedding in South Africa. Police in Dubai were investigating what happened after Mrs Emmett, who is a vicar’s daughter, was reported to have fallen out of a window at the hotel last Tuesday. She had been sharing a flat in Addlestone, Surrey, with Mr Emmett, a divorced father of three, and was said to have married him around two weeks ago in Cape Town. Their neighbour Nicolene Turvey, 27, said: 'I feel so sad. She is such a young girl, the same age as me. 'It's devastating for everyone. She really wanted to have kids.’ Mr Emmett has now retired from racing but is still a private instructor and has been the winner of 19 superbike races as well as clocking up more than 50 MotoGP appearances. A Foreign Office spokesman said it was providing consular assistance to the family at 'this difficult time'. He added: ‘We were made aware of the death of a British national in Dubai on 19 February. Professional racer: Sean Emmett is pictured left in 1999 before he raced in Cheshire and right in 1998 when he learnt into a corner during the World Superbike Championships at Donington Park . | It is believed Abbie Emmett of Addlestone, Surrey, fell out of window .
It was only days after she married MotoGP racer Sean Emmett, 43 .
Couple wed in Cape Town, South Africa, around two weeks ago . |
130,032 | 34189728e61509f0d79ce5c12e6e698cf95d777c | By . James Chapman and Tim Shipman . PUBLISHED: . 17:51 EST, 23 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 10:37 EST, 24 September 2012 . Radical plan: Business Secretary Vince Cable aims to break the stranglehold of the four big lenders with a state-backed business bank . A state-backed small business bank will be handed £1billion of taxpayers’ money to break the stranglehold of the big four lenders, Vince Cable will say today. The Business Secretary will unveil details of Treasury plans to sponsor a new bank which is to offer credit through smaller providers such as Handelsbanken, the Co-Op and the Aldermore. Mr Cable has scored a significant victory over Chancellor George Osborne in securing new public money for the institution. The Treasury had initially intended simply to put existing Government lending initiatives under one roof and call it a business bank. Both Mr Cable’s business department and the Treasury will contribute to the £1billion public money put into the project, potentially meaning more spending cuts. The private sector is expected to contribute at least as much again, allowing the bank to underwrite around £10billion of lending to small businesses. However, despite the urgency of the squeeze on firms, the new bank is not expected to be up and running for 12 to 18 months. Mr Cable admits many firms still face serious problems in raising finance, with 33 per cent which applied for a loan in the last year being turned down. The creation of the state-backed business bank is a tacit admission that Project Merlin, the Government’s attempt to set tough new lending targets for the big four banks – Lloyds TSB, Barclays, RBS and HSBC – has done little to help. Business groups have been calling for a single institution, backed by the state, to address the gaps in the supply of finance for several years. The proposal is inspired by similar models in Germany, the U.S. and Ireland. The Business Secretary will say: ‘For decades British industry has lacked the sort of diverse, long-term finance that is normal elsewhere. We need a British business bank with a clean balance sheet and a mandate to expand lending rapidly and we are now going to get it. ‘Alongside the private sector, the bank will get the market lending to manufacturers, exporters and growth companies that so desperately need support. It will be a lasting monument to our determination to reshape finance so it can finally serve industry the way it should. ‘Its success will not be the scale of its own direct interventions but how far it shakes up the market in business finance and helps to ease constraints for high-growth firms.’ Not lending: The creation of the state-backed business bank is a tacit admission that Project Merlin, the Government¿s attempt to set tough new lending targets for the big four banks ¿ Lloyds TSB, Barclays, RBS and HSBC ¿ has done little to help . Mr Cable will tell the Liberal Democrat conference that the bank will support up to £10billion of finance to small and medium businesses – a significant portion of all the lending available. The bank, he will say, will operate at arm’s length from Government and be commercially focused. John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘We are pleased that ministers are heeding our call to create a business bank that goes well beyond a re-badging of existing schemes. ‘The funding announced by Vince Cable is the first step in a journey toward a British Business Bank that enables new and growing companies to get access to capital in the same way that they do in Germany, South Korea, and the USA.’ John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘The small business bank is a good thing – we’ve been calling for this for a long time and we are delighted to see it finally get off the ground. ‘We are certain it will help boost confidence and deliver growth.’ Business lobby: John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, left, and John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, right, both back the move . The Daily Mail has highlighted the plight of struggling small firms with its ‘Make the Banks Lend’ campaign for several years. The small business loan market currently has around £50billion of outstanding loans, and the typical amount of capital set aside by a large high street bank for supporting this area of the economy is at most a few billion pounds. Mr Cable warned Tory colleagues last night that regional public sector pay – an idea being examined by Chancellor George Osborne – was ‘completely unacceptable’ and ‘terrible economics’. He said, however, that the Lib Dems were prepared to contemplate a degree of flexibility in different parts of the country to aid recruitment. | New bank will underwrite around £10billion of lending to small businesses .
Proposal is similar to models in Germany, Ireland and the U.S.
Business lobby groups BCC and FSB welcome the plan . |
125,136 | 2dc481e8b8c7ef27de233b7f06358c42672b4150 | A top lawyer who hid his depression hanged himself on holiday after his bouts of drunken rage forced his wife to flee back to Britain with their two young children. Lahra Tyndall, a BBC Breakfast producer, had persuaded her husband Adrian to see a local doctor while they were away. But he began ranting in the taxi on the way to his appointment and stormed out of the car. After his wife left for the UK, she expected Mr Tyndall to follow her on a later flight. But instead she received a text message from him saying: ‘I came back to the villa and you were all gone. Adrian Tyndall, 44, (left), the lawyer husband of BBC Breakfast producer Lahra, 41, (right) hanged himself after his behaviour led her to leave him behind at their luxury holiday villa in Portugal, an inquest heard . ‘I can’t for the life of me remember what happened once we got in the car, just it was cruel. Try to forgive me. I’m not bad, just weak.’ Portuguese police were alerted but his body was found in their villa by its manager. Mr Tyndall, a specialist in employment law who ran his own practice, having previously worked with top law firm Eversheds, struggled with depression for years, an inquest was told. But he had tried to keep up appearances at home and work because he was ashamed about having the illness. Mrs Tyndall told the hearing: ‘Adrian viewed himself as weak but he wasn’t at all – he tried extremely hard to overcome his problems. The inquest was told that Mr Tyndall's outbursts eventually forced his wife (pictured after the hearing) to fly home to the UK, believing he would follow her . ‘We went to see the mental health nurse, and he was terrified of being sectioned. The nurses put him under the care of the crisis team. I raised with them his sense of shame that was holding him back from recovering. I also talked about his ability to cover things up, pretending he was OK when he wasn’t.’ To block out negative thoughts, Mr Tyndall began drinking heavily, putting a strain on his marriage. Two years ago his wife told him they would have to separate if he didn’t sort out his problems. They had marriage counselling but she later found his wedding ring and a suicide note on a shelf in the house. Then in April last year he was discovered on the bathroom floor of the family home in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, with a knife and a bottle of gin. Mr Tyndall agreed to have five sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to address his depression. But his wife told the inquest: ‘He felt embarrassed and scared of his problems and had little or no faith in the CBT.’ The family’s three-week break to the rural area of Ourique in central Portugal was in August last year. But despite pleas from his wife and mental health team not to drink on holiday, Mr Tyndall hit the bottle soon after arriving. He also confessed: ‘I can’t go on like this. I’m too weak. I need to end it all.’ His wife then booked a taxi to take him to see a doctor. She eventually flew home when he became particularly aggressive. ‘Adrian had never behaved like that before,’ she recalled. ‘It was like dealing with a stranger.’ Coroner John Pollard recorded a verdict of suicide. | Lawyer Adrian Tyndall, 44, died last August at villa in Ourique, Portugal .
He had been on holiday with BBC Breakfast producer wife Lahra, 41 .
Inquest in Stockport told Mr Tyndall had drunk heavily during the trip .
Anger outbursts caused Mrs Tyndall and children to fly home to Britain .
Mrs Tyndall thought he would follow, but he was later found dead in villa .
South Manchester coroner John Pollard records verdict of suicide .
For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details . |
80,484 | e429629b2335b88c89d21cb1d88b56b5ab1b508d | A U.S. health authority poster claiming Ebola can be transmitted by droplets through the air has been removed from its website, prompting concerns the deadly virus can be caught through a sneeze. The poster, which caused alarm because it seems to go against medical advice that the virus cannot be transmitted by air, said Ebola could be contracted if someone came into contact with objects that had been sneezed on by people who were infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) poster said droplets, such as those from a sneeze, carried the virus and could remain infectious on surfaces for up to several hours. The CDC image which shows their warning that droplets from a sneeze could transmit Ebola . Debate about government-imposed quarantines for people exposed to the virus has grown over the past few weeks, as isolated cases are diagnosed in the U.S. and it continues to spread across West Africa. So far, more than 4,900 people have been killed - the vast majority in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - in the deadliest outbreak of the virus on record. The CDC poster, now removed, stated: 'Droplet spread happens when the germs traveling inside droplets that are coughed or sneezed from a sick person enter the eyes, nose or mouth of another person,' the New York Post reported. It warned someone could become infected should they accidentally touch the sneeze droplets and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. Today, the CDC internet page dedicated to the subject stated it was being updated. It read: 'The What’s the difference between infections spread through air or by droplets? Fact sheet is being updated and is currently unavailable. Please visit cdc.gov/Ebola for up-to-date information on Ebola.' Medical experts have repeatedly stated the Ebola virus is not transmittable by air. It is contracted when someone comes into contact with the body fluids, such as urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk and semen, of a person who is infected. An image of the Ebola virus, which has killed nearly 5,000 people in West Africa and recently reached the U.S. But experts have repeatedly warned of the frightening possibility the Ebola virus could mutate and become airborne. Although the risk of it doing so is thought to be low, experts cannot discount it entirely. Two weeks ago leading scientist Lord Robert Winston warned the risk of Ebola spreading could dramatically increase if it becomes airborne. In a House of Lords debate, the fertility doctor demanded answers from the government about how closely they were monitoring the virus. Lord Winston said: ‘We know that viruses mutate, we know that the Ebola virus can mutate. ‘We know perfectly well that it is not airborne at the moment, and we know that the pharyngeal and upper respiratory tract cells are unlikely to harbour the virus. ‘However, can you assure us that people are looking at the risk of mutation of this virus so that we can make certain that its mode of transmission does not change?' And the chief of the UN’s Ebola mission, Anthony Banbury, also warned earlier this month that the virus could become airborne. He said aid workers were racing against time to control the epidemic in case it mutates in a ‘nightmare scenario’. Health workers in Liberia pictured suiting up to continue working around people who have caught the virus . | CDC poster claimed Ebola virus could be spread via contaminated droplets .
Droplets could be spread by sneezing, and virus lives on surfaces for hours .
Experts say Ebola only transmitted by contact bodily fluids such as blood .
CDC pulled the poster from its website, says it is 'being updated' |
271,019 | eb0cf1618e17f958975d80f8d94442ce8e0f9171 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 05:06 EST, 1 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 21:08 EST, 1 January 2014 . In another era, it would have been seen as undignified. But in the newly populist royal family, everyone seems to be getting in on the act. After Prince Charles and the Queen set the trend by agreeing to pose for mobile phone photos with members of the public, Prince William has joined in. And this time it was the royal who actually took the picture. William, 31, photographed himself with Madison Lambe, 12, on her phone – because she was too nervous to press the button. The Duke of Cambridge took the snap after she visited the Sandringham Estate on Christmas Day to watch the Royal family walk from their house to church. Selfie: Prince William followed in his father's footsteps when he posed with Madison Lambe at Sandringham . Madison is now the most envied pupil . at her school after posting the image of herself standing with the . future king on Facebook. She . said: 'I couldn't believe it when William came over to me and I asked . for a picture. He just said to me 'you can't beat a good selfie on . Christmas Day' and took the picture. 'It was really good, I didn't expect it. 'He . was really nice and I was so excited. I've put the picture on Facebook. My friends think it is really good and they have been commenting on . it.' Madison had . travelled with her mum Paula Scrupps, 38, from their home in Boston, . Lincolnshire, to Sandringham on Christmas morning. Single mum Paula, who works for tractor dealership John Deere, said: 'We got up early on Christmas morning and opened our presents and then drove down to Sandringham to show our support for the Royal family. Meet and greet: Prince William stopped to say hello to the waiting crowds at Sandringham . 'Madison took some flowers for the Queen and the children line up near the church wall. 'Parents aren't allowed to go so she asked if she could borrow my phone so she could try to a "selfie" with the Queen. 'I didn't really expect her to get any pictures but certainly didn't think she would come back with a "selfie" with William.' Last . month Prince Charles proved he was a good sport when an unnamed boy asked him to pose for a selfie during a visit to the Coptic Orthodox . Church Centre in Stevenage. The Queen and a fan, Jessica Fitch, pose at the Palace in July . Like father like son: Prince Charles was in his own selfie at during a visit to Hertfordshire . Stunned: Madison Lambe was too stunned to press the buttons herself so Prince William took the snap . | Madison Lambe went with her family to see the Royals at Sandringham .
The 12-year-old was trying to get a snap of her with the Queen .
Schoolgirl is the envy of her friends after posting the image on Facebook .
Youngster was too shocked to take the picture so the Duke stepped in . |
249,368 | ceb237ba4f1751b7110c2229670109a3bcdd0e5f | By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . PUBLISHED: . 09:30 EST, 18 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:37 EST, 18 December 2013 . Forget pairing the right wine with the right meal - what you should be doing is pairing your tipple to the TV show you’re watching. This is according to latest research that suggests tuning into a certain programme this Christmas can change the way a festive drink tastes. According to the study, Cabernet Sauvignon should be paired with Downton Abbey while Chardonnay tastes better with the Eastenders Christmas special. Latest research suggests tuning into certain TV programmes this Christmas can change and enhance the way a festive drink tastes . The study, carried out by Mindlab on behalf of Aldi, asked 50 people to rate wines, beer and brandy while watching four classic Christmas TV shows. Unbeknown to the participants, the drinks served remained constant however the flavours and characteristics detected by the group changed considerably depending on which programme they were watching. Downton Abbey seemed to produce the strongest response, with people rating the drinks as more elegant and refined when watching the popular period drama. They were also significantly more likely to pick out traditional English flavours which would have been popular in Edwardian times when the series is set. Of all of the programmes shown, Downton Abbey elicited the strongest response, with respondents rating the drinks as more elegant and refined when watching the popular period drama . These included vanilla, mint and cherry in the red wine; grassy, floral flavours in the beer; and rose, wood and oak in the brandy. Researchers suggest that based on these flavour preferences, an elegant Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of dark fruit, vanilla and mint would be the perfect red wine pairing when catching up on the latest escapades of the Crawley family. When watching Only Fools and Horses, 16 per cent of respondents were more likely to rate drinks as fun, 22 per cent as more refreshing and 11 per cent as more enjoyable. They were also more likely to pick out sweet and fruity flavours, some similar to those found in DelBoy’s beloved Pina Coladas. When watching Only Fools and Horses, 16 per cent of respondents were more likely to rate drinks as fun, 22 per cent as more refreshing and 11 per cent as more enjoyable . Flavours included cherry in the red wine, fruit in the beer, and apricot, apple and citrus in the white wine. When tuning into Strictly Come Dancing the drinks were more likely to be rated as fun, refreshing and elegant reflecting the nature of the show and costumes. Meanwhile people watching EastEnders rated the drinks as more refreshing and lively but overall less refined. They were also more likely to pick out sharp notes, such as bitter in the beer and cherry in the red wine perhaps reflecting the show’s tumultuous story lines. With EastEnders, respondents rated the drinks as more refreshing and lively but overall less refined. They were also more likely to pick out sharp notes, such as bitter in the beer and cherry in the red wine perhaps reflecting the show's tumultuous story lines . ‘We all know that tasting is a multisensory experience, with sight and smell almost as important as taste but this study shows that the effects of sight and sound expand way beyond the glass,’ said Duncan Smith, of Mindlab. ‘What we are seeing here is cognitive priming theory where the stimulus, in this case the TV programme, sets up our brains and in turn our taste buds to respond in a certain way.’ Traditionally, scientists have thought the tongue, nose, and brain changehow people experience the flavours of food and drink. When watching Only Fools and Horses, respondents were more likely to pick out sweet and fruity flavours, some similar to those found in DelBoy's beloved Pina Coladas . More recently, studies have found that what you see can be just as important. And it's not just the programmes you watch that can affect the taste of your drink. According to Professor Charles Spence, the room you’re in has a much larger impact on your taste buds than you might think. His latest study undertaken in October found that different environments can affect the sensory experience of whisky by as much as 20 per cent. The room you're in has a much larger impact on your taste buds than you might think. The grassy room featured a green light, real grass, plants, the sounds of lawnmowers and sheep and the smell of the countryside . In what Professor Spence described as the world’s first science experiment to look at how the surroundings can impact flavour perceptions, three hundred whisky drinkers were let loose in a bar. The specially designed Singleton Sensorium in London’s Soho saw people tasting exactly the same single malt whisky in three rooms that had very different environments. They then had to rate the different flavours they were able to taste in each room. The first was a grassy room which featured a green light, real grass, plants, the sounds of lawnmowers and sheep and the smell of the countryside. The second was a fruity room with red, round fruits and chiming bells hung on the ceiling. A final aftertaste room had wood panels and sounds of crackling wood fires. ‘The ratings of the grassiness in the grassy room were about 15 to 20 per cent higher than in the sweet or aftertaste room,’ said Professor Spence . ‘Similarly the sweetness of the whisky in the red room was about 10 per cent higher than in either of the other rooms. ‘You can almost think about using the rooms to season, and bring out the flavours, in the drinks.’ | When watching Strictly Come Dancing, drinks were more often rated as fun .
During Only Fools and Horses, people were more likely to rate drinks as light .
Cognac should be paired with Downton and Chardonnay with Eastenders .
Earlier research found the room you're in can also change flavour of drinks . |
142,584 | 4466f1e8faa585fdcfcfc83492f9e64c3aa0597d | ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Melting glaciers in the Alps may prompt Italy and Switzerland to redraw their borders near the Matterhorn, according to parliamentary draft legislation being readied in Rome. Glaciers in the Alps near the Matterhorn are receding, forcing the border to be redrawn. Franco Narducci of Italy's opposition Democratic Party is preparing a bill to redefine the frontier with neighboring Switzerland, his office said Wednesday. Narducci is a member of the foreign affairs panel in Italy's lower Chamber of Deputies. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has authorized the bill. Switzerland also has cooperated with Italy on the matter. The Italian Military Geographic Institute says climate change is responsible for the Alpine glaciers melting. "This draft law is born out the necessity to revise and verify the frontiers given the changes in climate and atmosphere," Narducci said. "The 1941 convention between Italy and Switzerland established as criteria [for border revisions] the ridge [crest] of the glaciers. Following the withdrawal of the glaciers in the Alps, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock." The border change only affects uninhabited mountaintop terrain. The deputy excludes the possibility of any family having to change citizenship. The border between Italy and Switzerland was fixed 1861, when Italy became a nation, but it has been occasionally modified, the Military Geographic Institute said. The border was last modified in the 1970s when the Switzerland-Italy highway was built at the Brogeda crossing. The bill is expected to become law by the end of April, Narducci said. Unlike Switzerland, Italy can change its border only with new laws approved by parliament. Narducci said the same negotiation will be proposed to France and Austria . "Once upon a time, the border line demarcation between two nations was synonymous to war and bloodshed," he said. "Instead , today we proceed with photograms." | Melting glaciers in Alps forcing Italy and Switzerland to redraw their borders .
Italian Military Geographic Institute blames climate change for melting .
Switzerland cooperating with Italians on potential changes . |
68,300 | c1bcbe965fa073b7bcad568f89c5d5f5bef66e54 | By . Ruth Styles . She's less than two weeks into her reign but Spain's Queen Letizia was every inch the royal style icon as she was welcomed by Portuguese First Lady Maria Cavaco Silva in Lisbon today. Fresh from a successful trip to meet the Pope at the Vatican, Letizia was immaculate in a silver-grey sheath dress and tailored jacket, accessorised with a chic snakeskin clutch. Letizia and her husband, the new King Felipe VI of Spain, are on a state visit to Portugal, the first of a series that also includes trips to France and Morocco. Glamorous: Spain's Queen Letizia meets Portuguese First Lady Maria Cavaco Silva in Lisbon . The royal couple travelled to Portugal at the request of President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who sent an invitation along with a message of congratulation following their coronation on the 19th June. Since then, their duties have included a trip to Rome where they met Pope Francis at the Vatican and a number of engagements in Spain, among them the 150th anniversary celebrations for the Spanish Red Cross in Madrid. There, the new Queen, immaculate as ever, was mobbed by adoring crowds - although even that failed to leave her looking less than lovely. Now considered one of the world's most glamorous monarchs, Letizia is as famous for her dress sense as she is for her charity work. The 41-year-old mother-of-two has carved out a name for herself as a royal style icon and even, on one memorable occasion, managed to outshine the ultra-glamorous Carla Bruni. Elegant: The Spanish queen was on her second overseas visit since being crowned on 19th June . Stylish: Letizia is now considered one of the world's most glamorous monarchs thanks to her killer wardrobe . Her current wardrobe of tailored sheath dresses, sky-scraping court shoes and eye-catching jewels is all a far cry from her early days as a newsreader, when she embraced the bland Armani suit and was rarely seen in public wearing anything else. But since marrying into the Spanish royal family in 2004, her wardrobe has undergone a remarkable transformation. She adores a leg-lengthening nude heel and is almost as addicted to her Magrit suede tan court shoes as the Duchess of Cambridge is to her nude patent L.K Bennett 'Sledge' heels. The Spanish queen also shares another trait with the UK's future queen: a penchant for homegrown labels and the high street. In Letizia's case, that means slim-fitting sheath dresses picked up in Mango, Zara and Uterqüe - many of which she wears time and time again. Royal welcome: Queen Letizia looks on as King Felipe signs the visitors' book at Portugal's Presidential Palace . Warm: The newly crowned Queen of Spain smiles as she chats to President Anibal Cavaco Silva of Portugal . That, however, doesn't mean she won't splash out on a more expensive frock should one catch her eye. Her favourite piece is reportedly a black guipure lace dress by local designer, Felipe Varela, which she wore on her last visit to Portugal in 2012, again for her 40th birthday party and again in March this year. Another favourite is a softly fitted yellow and royal purple print dress by Hugo Boss which made its first appearance in summer 2012 before being dusted off the following year and spruced up with a black blazer. Off duty, the Princess' style becomes markedly more relaxed, with cropped trousers, billowing shirts and even the odd pair of jeans making up the bulk of her wardrobe. But as her occasional foray back into grey Hugo Boss tailored trousers reveals, some style habits die hard - Queen or not. Looking good: Letizia was the picture of elegance as she and King Felipe met with the Portuguese leader . Busy schedule: Along with their visit to Portugal, the Spanish royals will travel to Morocco and France . | Queen Letizia was glamorous in silver as she arrived in Portugal .
Newly crowned Letizia was welcomed by First Lady Maria Cavaco Silva .
The royal couple are on their second overseas trip since the coronation .
King Felipe and Queen Letizia are also due to visit France and Morocco . |
23,934 | 43e9d988417d90e85868aa09b5c53e2ddf0364bf | (CNN) -- At the sentencing of Jared Loughner, Mark Kelly, speaking on behalf of his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, called out politicians for their "feckless leadership" when it comes to addressing gun violence in America. "We have a political class that is afraid to do something as simple as have a meaningful debate about our gun laws and how they are being enforced," Kelly said. "We have representatives who look at gun violence not as a problem to solve, but as the white elephant in the room to ignore." Giffords was shot at close range in the head by Loughner at a constituency event outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011. Her survival and recovery are indeed miraculous, yet after many months of physical therapy, she struggles with her speech and walking. There were 18 other victims in the mass shooting, six of whom died. Despite being rejected by the military because of a history of illicit drug use and being kicked out of a community college for repeated incidents of threatening and bizarre behavior, Loughner legally purchased a semi-automatic pistol with a magazine capable of holding 30 rounds of ammunition. The politicians called out by Kelly and Giffords let the National Rifle Association bully them into thinking that gun owners don't want key flaws in our current gun laws fixed and that you can't win elections without the backing of the NRA. The millions of dollars the NRA spent in unsuccessful attempts to win close Senate races in swing states with high gun ownership rates -- Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin -- suggests that candidates can and do win despite strong NRA opposition. The NRA portrays itself as an organization that speaks for and advocates for gun owners. The reality is that they speak for gun owners with the most extreme views and for the gun industry. A case in point is their opposition to requiring background checks for all firearm sales. Under federal law and most states' law, only individuals who attempt to purchase firearms from licensed gun dealers must present a government-issued ID, sign a form stating that they do not fit any of the firearm prohibition categories and pass a criminal background check. But criminals and gun traffickers are given an easy alternative. They can simply purchase firearms from private sellers who do not require any of these checks. 5 things gun owners want you to know . Closing this absurd loophole would not be political suicide for politicians who fear losing the support of gun owners. A recent survey found that more than 80% of gun owners and 74% of NRA members want this loophole fixed. It seems likely that Giffords and Kelly, both gun owners, would be among this large majority favoring this reform. Gun owners don't want dangerous people to have guns. So it seems doubtful that most gun owners think gun dealers should continue to be offered the special protections that Congress has bestowed on them, which reduce accountability and make it easier for criminals to get guns. When states require background checks for all handgun sales and have strong regulation and oversight of licensed gun dealers, far fewer guns are diverted to criminals. Politicians could also strengthen our gun laws so that, for example, individuals convicted of misdemeanor crimes of violence (often pleaded down from felony charges) or those who have been convicted of multiple alcohol-related crimes are prohibited from possessing firearms. Studies have shown that these groups commit violent crimes at rates many times higher than population averages. Keeping guns from criminals and alcoholics isn't anti-gun -- it's pro-safety. While nonfatal crime rates in the U.S. are comparable to other high-income countries, our homicide rate in the U.S. is seven times higher than that of other high-income countries, due in part to greater availability of handguns. We can reduce the homicide rate by restricting high-risk individuals from owning guns and eliminating legal protections that shady gun sellers and criminals exploit. Science and public opinion are in alignment. It's time for elected officials to listen to the common sense reforms supported by the majority of gun owners and gun violence survivors such as Giffords. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Daniel W. Webster. | At the sentencing of Jared Loughner, issue of gun violence came up .
Daniel Webster: It's time for elected officials to address key flaws in our gun laws .
He says the NRA speaks for gun owners with the most extreme views .
Webster: Politicians should push for reforms supported by most gun owners . |
226,822 | b1b5ffbaa8e3c36c3866ca8af5389eab43266bad | (CNN) -- Eighteen people are stranded in the town of Mogollon, New Mexico, after the only road in and out of town was washed away, according to a spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez. New Mexico declared a statewide disaster Friday because of flooding. The torrential downpours and severe flooding that hit the state left one person dead. Mogollon is a secluded mountain town surrounded by the Gila National Forest. It once was a mining hub for silver, copper and gold and was home to about 2,000 people before the mines closed in 1942, according to Mogollon Enterprises, which operates tourist storefronts in the city. Billing itself as "the ghost town that refuses to die," Mogollon hosts an antiques store, artisans gallery, cafe, museum and theater, most of them re-fashioned out of the town's original 19th-century structures. The Mogollon Theater is considered the oldest "intact" movie house in the state, Mogollon Enterprises says. Roughly an equal distance from Albuquerque, New Mexico, El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, Mogollon is now largely a tourist attraction boasting hiking, hummingbirds and stargazing. The National Guard will be providing food, water and sanitary supplies Tuesday, and a bulldozer will scrape the road to provide access to the village, said Enrique Knell, the governor's spokesman. The plan now is for the National Guard to bring supplies to the village on foot instead of flying them in. "It is only about a mile walk, and they had trouble finding a good landing zone," Knell said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to assist. No air evacuations are expected. Colorado flooding: Residents return, but some find no home . CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report. | 18 stranded when town's only road is washed away .
Mogollon billed as "the ghost town that refuses to die"
New Mexico declared a statewide disaster last week . |
264,464 | e2864f73578e867148f5ff8b3dde303fac432a3d | By . Sarah Michael . Fresh Australian milk has hit the shelves in Chinese supermarkets for the first time since a trade deal was struck by farmers to speed up the process of quarantine. With milk selling at up to $9 a litre in China it is set to provide a lucrative new source of income for dairy farmers in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, who have suffered in recent times due to drought and Australian supermarket 'milk wars'. Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce said the deal would see an additional 20 million litres of milk exported to China over the next year. Fresh Australian milk has hit the shelves in Chinese supermarkets for the first time since a deal was struck by farmers in Queensland and New South Wales to speed up quarantine processes . With milk selling at up to $9 a litre in China the market is set to provide a lucrative new source of income for dairy farmers . 'With potential retail prices in China of $7 to $9 per litre of milk, this government strongly supports industry initiatives like this as they help our valuable agriculture sector improve international competitiveness, which also contributes significantly to better returns for producers at the farmgate,' Mr Joyce said. The deal cuts quarantine assessment time from two-to-three weeks down to about eight days, meaning fresh Australian pasteurised milk can now be sent to China within its shelf life. The new quality assurance protocols were developed by industry body Dairy Connect NSW, agricultural co-op Norco and export consulting firm Peloris Global Sourcing Pty Ltd along with Chinese officials. Norco CEO Brett Kelly said he had been inundated with requests from potential customers and retailers in China since making the deal. 'We sent over 4,500 litres in the first order and we've got customers talking to us in numbers of tens of thousands to millions,' he said. Farmer Luke Cleary, whose milk will sell to China, moves his dairy cows down the paddock on his dairy farm in Wauchope, NSW on Thursday . Mr Cleary, 33, said it was good to be expanding into a market where demand and prices are growing . 'It's all very exciting, the reaction has been bigger than what we thought. 'Our plan is to take it just a step at a time - every time you increase volume you need to be able to meet that supply.' Norco, an agricultural co-op made up of 190 farmer shareholders, is targeting the growing middle class in Shanghai, Sozhou, Nanjing. 'We've aimed specifically for the middle class which is a huge market, very wealthy, very well educated and have a very strong focus and desire on health,' Mr Kelly said. 'When they look at the Australian brand it is very high in terms of clean and green.' Norco farmer Luke Cleary, who owns 300 dairy cows in Wauchope near Port Macquarie, said costs on his farm were always increasing and it was good to expand into a market where demand and prices are growing. Luke Cleary, his wife Meaghan and their dogs Matilda and Darcy . Norco, an agricultural co-op made up of 190 farmer shareholders, is targeting the growing middle class in Shanghai, Sozhou, Nanjing . 'With all our costs going up we need to see the milk price follow suit otherwise there's less money at the end of the day,' he said. 'There seems to be a real demand for protein [in China] and as their personal wealth is increasing they're looking for better food sources and I feel that Australian food products should be able to fit that bill well.' Mr Cleary, 33, said local farmers suffered heavily during Coles and Woolworths milk wars last year which saw a litre of milk selling for $1. 'It was causing a negative feel in the whole industry that it was devaluing what the product was,' he said. 'Milk was seen cheaper on the shelf than bottled water.' A calf stands in a field as cows are being fed after a morning milking at a dairy farm on the Darling Downs, Queensland in 2013 . Adding to pressure on dairy producers was the recent drought which saw farmers forced to use up much of their stored feed. 'We've had one of the driest springs for 20 years, this summer just gone,' he said. 'A lot of stored feed that would have been put out into the autumn and winter months had to be fed out then because of it being so dry, the grass wasn't there that would have normally been there in summer time.' Milk for sale inside a Woolworths grocery store in Brisbane. Australian farmers suffered heavily during Coles and Woolworths milk wars which saw a litre of milk selling for $1 . | Australian dairy farmers strike a deal with China to speed up quarantine .
Fresh milk sells for $9 a litre providing a lucrative new source of income .
Deal will see 20 million extra litres of milk exported to China in next year . |
145,095 | 47a88f82ef2b20618d6388217025aa03cb6e7c46 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 11:46 EST, 6 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:19 EST, 7 April 2013 . A brave woman dances topless while 12,000 bees buzz all over her body in an alarming video. Sara Mapelli, who calls herself the Bee Queen, has been doing it for more than a decade as a form of meditation. The woman, from Oregon, US, allows the stingers to crawl all over her for up to two hours - and even sits down and drinks a cup of tea as they cover her body. Scroll down for video . Bee Queen Sara Mapelli allows 12,000 bees to crawl all over her body. Scroll down to see the video . 'Meditation': Sara allows the bees to crawl all over her body for up to two hours. When they first fly onto her upper body she says it is painful . Sharp flavour: Sara drinks a cup of tea as the bees swarm all over her . Clear-up: The stingers are flicked off the back of the self-styled Bee Queen using a brush . The first layer of bees has to bite to stay on Sara's body, which she said is extremely painful. Sara wrote on her website that when dancing she moves with the bees as they push against her in a 'deep meditation'. 'I think of this dance as a duet among many. These 12,000 bees push with their powerful wings from each side of my body, I resist and then I let go and flow and move with them,' she wrote. Brave: Sara sits at a table eating while she is covered in bees in Oregon, US . Stingers: She walks in a garden with bees completely covering the upper half of her body . Bee dance: Sara wrote on her website: 'It is a deep meditation and I feel the hive mind surround me, hold me, and expand my body on a cellular level' 'It is a deep meditation and I feel the hive mind surround me, hold me, and expand my body on a cellular level. I am a healer, dancer, artist, builder of structures and bee keeper. 'As bee keepers, my partner, Theodore and I hope to help the bees of the northwest by encouraging them to swarm and become hardy in the ever changing environment.' The bees cling on to her armpits, hair, breasts and chin as they crawl all over her body. Crawling: 12,000 bees cover Sara - creating a quilt which completely covers her body . The first layer of bees has to bite to stay on Sara's body, which she said is extremely painful . The bees cling on to her armpits, hair, breasts and chin as they crawl all over her body . Meditation: Sara Mapelli closes her eyes as 12,000 bees crawl all over her body . Picture of concentration: Sara does not look even slightly scared as the bees cover her body . Tea party... with 12,000 extra visitors: Sara sits down at the table with bees all over her body . | Sara Mapelli allows the bees to crawl all over her body for two hours as a form of meditation .
The woman, who calls herself the Bee Queen, has been doing it for more than a decade .
The bees cling to her armpits, hair, breasts and chin . |
146,285 | 49274055d2db41422a601a0f2453e661fc32bb65 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 10:15 EST, 3 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:30 EST, 3 May 2013 . Fiona Anderson fell to her death in April after she allegedly killed her three children . A heavily pregnant woman who is believed to have killed her three children before she fell to her death left messages on the walls of her home asking for them to be buried together. Fiona Anderson had written notes saying that she loved her children and would 'keep them safe' shortly before she died last month. Officers found her children - Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden - dead at their home in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Ms Anderson suffered fatal head injuries after she fell to her death from a multy-storey carpark on April 15. The parents of the 23-year-old appealed to the father of the . children to grant Ms Anderson's last wish. Ms Anderson's father Michael Anderson said in a pre-recorded interview shown on ITV's Daybreak this morning: 'She'd written that the children were asleep in their bed all together, all tucked up with their bears. 'They were all looking very peaceful and happy together. 'And she also wrote "please bury us together, we want to be together to keep them safe".' The father of the children, Craig McLelland, reportedly does not want his children to be buried with their mother. Mr McLelland had recently separated from Ms Anderson, who was depressed at the time of her death, according to neighbours. Scroll down for video . Fiona's parents Kerry and Michael Anderson are urging the children's father Craig McLelland to allow the children to be buried with their mother . The heartbroken mother said she reacted with disbelief when she heard the news of Fiona and her children's deaths . Mr Anderson said: 'We must understand that that was not Fiona, Fiona would never have done anything to hurt her children. 'So that evening, Fiona, whatever happened, she had in her mind that what she was doing was correct. 'She was looking after the children . and she wants to be with the children to look after them still. Everybody must understand that.' Fiona Anderson is thought to have penned messages in green felt tip after she allegedly killed the children and fell to her death . The father of the children, Craig McLelland, reportedly does not want his children to be buried with their mother . After allegedly penning the messages, CCTV images showed eight-months pregnant Ms Anderson walking around Lowestoft holding a teddy bear before she was found . CCTV . images showed eight-months pregnant Ms Anderson walking around . Lowestoft holding a teddy bear and wearing a white coat shortly before . she was found. Her mother Kerry said Fiona seemed happy when she last saw her. Mrs Anderson said: 'She adored the children. Everything was the children, they were just everything to her.' Precious: Levina in school uniform and a smiling Addy enjoying a joke . Family: Father Craig McLellan pictured with his children (left to right) Addy Kyden and Levina. The three were found dead in their mother's flat . Innocent: Addy McLelland was just two. He was found dead at the flat with his brother and sister . The heartbroken mother said she reacted with disbelief when she heard the news, saying: 'Things like that just don't happen.' Both . parents were emotional during their interview, and Mr Anderson said . they would be unable to move on from their grief until their daughter is . buried. He said: 'Until we can actually bury our daughter we can't even comprehend going forward.' Kyden McLelland (left), who was 11-months-old and Levina McLelland, three. It is not known how they died . Happy siblings: Levina, Kyden and Addy in Halloween fancy dress . Speaking . on ITV's Daybreak this morning, Mirror columnist Fiona Phillips, who . interviewed Michael and Kerry Anderson, said: 'Obviously Craig, the . children's father, must be hurting too and Michael and Kerry realise . that and the reason they wanted to do this interview is they're . appealing to Craig.' At the . time of her tragic death, Fiona's parents and her sisters Claire and . Laura Anderson said that 'life was sometimes overwhelming' for her. In . a statement, they said: 'Fiona was a beautiful, intelligent girl and a . loving and caring person, but she had suffered from mental illness since . she was young and we believe she was driven to her actions yesterday. Fiona Anderson clutching a teddy bear moments before she fell to her death in Lowestoft . Anderson died from injuries sustained from jumping 40ft from a multi-storey car park . Police have released these CCTV images to help piece together Fiona Anderson's final moments . Deaths: Suffolk Police have confirmed that officers briefly spoke to Fiona Anderson, pictured, hours before the tragedy . Deaths: Police have sealed off this multi-storey car park in Lowestoft today after a woman fell to her death here, which led officers to discover her three children dead at home . This was not our Fiona - she was not . herself. She cared passionately about others but often brought stress . on herself by caring too much. She was gentle but ended up under too . much pressure. 'As a . family we were close but she would often push us away, keen to do her . own thing and not to listen when we offered support. Life was sometimes . overwhelming for her.' They . added: 'She was really popular but just didn't believe she was and had . forgotten there were people there that could help her. 'We wish more had been done to recognise her mental health problems.' The inquest into the deaths of Ms Anderson and her children was adjourned last month. There has been a huge outpouring of grief in Lowestoft since the tragic events of Monday, and dozens have laid tributes . A tearful Craig McLelland arrives at . the home where his three children were found dead on Monday with his . mother Mandy who comforted him as he lay a balloon and a toy . Police let the distraught father through their strict cordon as the continue to investigate the suspicious deaths . Distraught: The pair had three children together and are believed to have recently split up . Mr McClelland is comforted by a friend as he surveys the growing mountain of tributes . Investigation: An officer guards the doorway to . the flat as forensics scour the rooms inside and messages continue to be . left outside . | Fiona Anderson, who is believed to have killed her three children, wants to be buried with them .
Died after falling to her death from multi-storey car park in Suffolk .
Her parents made a plea on television this morning for children's father to fulfill her last wish . |
61,819 | af9906a58acb1933a0fe149498260576045f38f8 | By . Ian Parker, Press Association . Niki Lauda has questioned the wisdom of Flavio Briatore's return to Formula One as the potential head of a group designed to increase the sport's popularity. Briatore is the former Renault team principal forced out of F1 for his involvement in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix 'crashgate' saga, resigning from his post the following September. The Italian has rarely visited the paddock since, but was the name mentioned during a meeting between F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the team principals during the recent race weekend in Hungary as they sought ways to improve the show given the decline in audiences. Mercedes: The German manufacturer's non-executive chairman says Briatore should not return . Crash-gate: Flavio Briatore resigned from his role in Formula One after becoming embroiled in scandal . Three-time champion Lauda, who currently serves as Mercedes' non-executive chairman, has been left bemused by the links surrounding Briatore. 'Why do we need Flavio?' said Lauda. 'Bernie is the man in charge, and he should stay in charge. We should think together with Bernie as he is the master of what we can improve.' It is understood Ecclestone was initially supportive of the idea, but has seemingly backtracked on the suggestion. Speaking to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Ecclestone said: 'We do not need Flavio. We can do it ourselves.' Regardless of whether or not Briatore is involved, it is understood F1 is pushing ahead with a plan to set up the 'popularity working group'. CEO: Bernie Ecclestone should remain in charge of Formula One, says Mercedes' Niki Lauda . Renault: Briatore talking to Nelson Piquet when the two both worked for Renault's F1 team . Despite sell-out crowds in Canada, Austria and at Silverstone, the empty grandstands at Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix sent alarm bells ringing. Germany currently boasts a four-time champion in Sebastian Vettel and has Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes leading the world championship, yet just 52,000 showed on race day at a 95,000-capacity venue. It is believed the popularity taskforce is to include Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya. With a meeting also planned with the governing FIA, Ecclestone added: 'We simply want to see if there is the possibility to look at the rules because there has been so much negativity. 'We need to have a look at all of this and clear some things up.' | Niki Lauda says Flavio Briatore should not return to Formula One .
Bernie Ecclestone originally supported move but now agrees with Lauda .
Briatore left F1 after 'crash-gate' in 2008 . |
140,230 | 4153ffd964329ac9d6728612222aa9dedf9d5dd9 | The bosses of taxi phone app Uber are being pressured by taxi regulators to cancel its unaccredited driver service Uber X. Uber, a smartphone application that connects passengers with hire-car drivers, was founded in San Francisco in 2009. Since then, it has been valued at a whopping $US15 billion. Uber X is a variation of the original service that allows members of the public to transport people around for a lower cost. The Passenger Transport Act states that drivers being paid for driving services must be accredited, a law which has led State Governments to threaten drivers with fines of up to $110,000 . Uber is being pressured by Taxi regulators to cancel its unaccredited driver service Uber X, which they argue is dangerous and unlawful . In Victoria, the Taxi Service Commission has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company, demanding they terminate the Uber X service. A spokesperson for the Taxi Service Commission in Victoria told Mashable: 'The cease and desist letter requires Uber to immediately cease and desist offering the UberX product in Victoria. Unaccredited drivers are not subject to the same ongoing criminal checks that accredited drivers are, and this poses a safety risk to passengers and drivers.' In New South Wales, taxi drivers are demanding the government cancel the service on the grounds that it is dangerous and unlawful. The Taxi Service Commission has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company, demanding they terminate the Uber X service . Uber X is a variation of the original service that allows members of the public to transport people around for a lower cost . The Passenger Transport Act states that drivers being paid for driving services must be accredited. This law has prompted the New South Wales government to threaten Uber drivers with fines of up to $110,000. The company has said they are willing to work with the Governments on the issue. 'We understand that introducing change can be difficult but we continue to work with governments in Australia and around the world to recognise the role ridesharing plays in improving transport options for their cities,' an Uber spokeswoman told The Guardian. | Uber is an application that connects passengers with hire-car drivers .
The Taxi Service Commission has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Uber .
In New South Wales, taxi drivers are asking the government to crack down .
State Governments have threatened Uber drivers with up to $110,000 fines .
Uber have said they are willing to work with the Governments on the issue . |
285,400 | fdd2a1d8d23c9e8edb79fbefbc1ac4613e53dd0a | Washington (CNN) -- Consider tonight's speech by President Barack Obama to be the antidote to his now-infamous comments two weeks ago that his administration lacks a strategy for combating ISIS in Syria. The beheadings of two Americans -- journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- have propelled ISIS into the center of the American public consciousness. The group is no longer a distant, local threat, but an immediate threat to American lives. Obama knows he must now give a comprehensive answer to this threat. Is ISIS a threat to the U.S.? First, he will need to explain to Americans to what degree ISIS threatens U.S. national security. The administration's current assessment is that, for now, it is principally a threat to the region, as well as to American diplomats, soldiers and other personnel based in Iraq. However, the U.S. intelligence community believes ISIS also threatens U.S. interests outside the region, including in the U.S. homeland. Gingrich: 10 questions for Obama on ISIS . Intelligence officials tell me that while ISIS is focused on strengthening the Islamic state, or caliphate, in Syria and Iraq, this does not mean its aspirations end there. ISIS is believed to be encouraging the many foreigners now fighting for it (including about a dozen Americans) and other sympathizers to carry out attacks in the West when they return home. When I asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week whether ISIS is a threat to the U.S. today or some day down the road, he said the administration doesn't have the luxury of making that distinction. "We can't take a chance, Jim, on saying, 'Well, let's technically define this -- is it a real threat today or tomorrow, or is it going to be in six months?' " Hagel said. "That's the way the threats don't work in little, neat boxes and emanate on our time frame. They emanate on their time frame. We know they're a threat. We know they're brutal. We know that they are, as I've said, as others have said, something that we've never seen before." What's Obama's strategy? Second, the President will need to lay out in detail his strategy for dealing with ISIS. This follows another confusing rhetorical moment for the White House. Obama is open to airstrikes on ISIS . Officials including the President now say the goal is "degrading and destroying ISIS," but only after the President indicated last week that his goal may be simply to make ISIS a more "manageable" threat. Now that the goal is to defeat ISIS, exactly what steps will the President order to accomplish that? Sources tell CNN he is "open to" ordering airstrikes inside Syria. And Hagel told me in our interview that the Pentagon has already presented him with military options to do so. Kerry: 'Broad coalition' of nations will help fight ISIS . We also now know that the President is asking for so-called Title X authority to arm and train Syrian rebel groups. However, the President has said, and will likely repeat tonight, that military action alone will not accomplish his goals. He needs an international coalition, particularly involving regional states directly involved in the conflict. He needs a more inclusive government in Iraq. And he needs a continuing and broad humanitarian mission to serve the many Iraqis and Syrians that ISIS is driving from their homes, starving and murdering. Kerry's mission: Mideast buy-in for anti-ISIS efforts . How long will this fight last? Finally, Obama will need to explain to Americans how long and how intense this new war will be. He campaigned on ending the long American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Until very recently, his administration continued to emphasize that Americans are war-weary and that the administration was loathe to bring the nation back to war, short of very direct threats to U.S. interests. Remember the administration's -- also infamous -- mantra "Don't do stupid stuff" as the driving force of the President's foreign policy. Now, the President is taking the nation back to war. For how long? How costly will it be? As a candidate in 2007, he famously called Iraq "a dumb war." Why won't this war be dumb? Opinion: Could Obama's plan against ISIS spark backlash? Round-up: Did Obama sell his ISIS strategy? | Beheadings of two Americans put ISIS into Americans' consciousness .
Obama must explain to public the threat ISIS presents .
The President must also lay out what his strategy is for eliminating the ISIS threat . |
9,942 | 1c335fc5d9ed729c8f6cf00a1e48f7ba487ec7fa | (CNN) -- Canadian authorities are investigating reports that debris fell Monday from a troubled airliner and caused damage to vehicles in southern Ontario. The incident centers on Air Canada Flight 001, which took off from Toronto at 2:10 p.m. ET, destined for Tokyo's Narita Airport, with 318 passengers and 16 crew members aboard. One of the Boeing 777 aircraft's engines shut down after takeoff, prompting the flight crew to follow "standard procedure" and return to Toronto Pearson International Airport, said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick. The crew requested an emergency landing, which Fitzpatrick said was standard because it gives certain planes first priority, though he also noted the aircraft involved is designed to run on a single engine if necessary. The plane landed normally, and passengers returned to the gate, according to Fitzpatrick. Constable George Tudos, spokesman for police in the regional municipality of Peel, said the aircraft returned to Toronto's airport at 3:53 p.m. Yet more than an hour before that, around 2:30 p.m., people began reporting seeing smoke, and one spotted what may have been debris coming from a large airliner, according to the spokesman. Peel Regional Police ended up receiving several calls from people reporting vehicles had been damaged by things that plunged from the sky, said Tudos. As of about 4:30 p.m., three to five such vehicles were being investigated for damage. Sarabjit Sandhu told CNN affiliate CP24 that she and her husband had just gotten gas at a Petro-Canada station in Mississauga when they "heard a big noise, a bump, like boom." "The first thing I said (was), 'Oh my God, what is this?' " Sandhu said. A number of vehicles around the parking lot were damaged, including a Nissan Altima with its back window shattered to pieces while its owner was inside the gas station's convenience store. Pieces of gray, heavy material littered the scene, according to CP24. "It was so hot you couldn't even touch it," Sandhu said of the material. No injuries have been reported on the plane or on the ground, added the spokesman. Fitzpatrick, the Air Canada spokesman, noted around 5 p.m. that there had been "no confirmation at this time" that debris had fallen from his company's plane. "There will be a full investigation into this incident, as there always is, and that will determine what happened," said Fitzpatrick. Tudos, the Peel police spokesman, said officials from the national transportation agency Transport Canada are investigating. "Transport Canada will follow up with the company to ensure compliance with safety regulations," agency spokesman Kelly James told CNN on Monday by e-mail. "The department will not hesitate to take immediate action if safety issues are identified." CNN's Aaron Cooper, Todd Sperry and Jake Carpenter contributed to this report. | NEW: A woman whose car was hit says the debris was "so hot you couldn't even touch it"
Police note witness reports of smoke and possible debris coming off of an airplane .
Several vehicles were damaged by mysterious debris seemingly from the sky, police say .
An Air Canada spokesman says there's "no confirmation" yet anything came from its plane . |
159,432 | 5a188a95a7fb16b5c016ad57819302a87ae31152 | Framingham, Massachusetts (CNN) -- If Sarah Sellers' warnings had been taken seriously 10 years ago, 12 people might be alive today. Sellers, a pharmacist and expert on the sterile compounding of drugs, testified to Congress in 2003 about non-sterile conditions she'd witnessed. "Professional standards for sterile compounding have not been consistently applied," she told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. "The absence of federal compounding regulations has created vulnerability in our gold standard system for pharmaceutical regulation." Nearly 10 years later, there are still no federal sterility guidelines for compounding pharmacies that make and distribute drugs all over the country. Now, 137 cases and 12 fatalities nationwide are blamed on a rare, noncontagious form of meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections made by the Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center. The latest death to be connected to the outbreak was that of a 70-year-old man who died in Florida in July, prior to the discovery of the contamination. Tennessee is the hardest-hit state, with 39 infections and six deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three deaths occurred in Michigan and one each in Maryland and Virginia, the CDC said. Patients contracted the deadly meningitis after being injected in their spines with a preservative-free steroid called methylprednisolone acetate that was contaminated by a fungus. The steroid is used to treat pain and inflammation. As many as 13,000 people may have received the medicine between May 21 and September 24, the CDC said. The New England Compounding Center announced Wednesday it has established a recall operations center to manage the removal of all its products from circulation. Last week, the pharmacy voluntarily surrendered its license to operate until the Food and Drug Administration's investigation into the contamination is complete. Health officials say 75 medical facilities in 23 states received the contaminated steroid injections from NECC. At least two lawmakers are introducing bills to strengthen the FDA's oversight of compounding pharmacies. "Unfortunately, compounding pharmacies are a 19th century service operating in a 21st century industry, and we need to update and strengthen the rules that govern these operations so that patients can safely benefit from the unique service they offer," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement. "I look forward to working with my colleagues to introduce this legislation and to ensure FDA has the authority it needs to oversee these pharmacies and protect patients." Meningitis outbreak: Your questions answered . Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, vowed similar action. "This outbreak and the corresponding recall of products from the New England Compounding Center expose dramatic gaps in our drug safety standards that create an unnecessary risk to the public health," she wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. While compounding pharmacies were intended to create customized medications for specific patients, some "have evolved into large scale operations that produce sizeable quantities of some drugs," she wrote. "For example, cases in the current outbreak are spread across nine states and more than 17,500 doses of the potentially contaminated drug were shipped to 23 states. At the same time, the FDA lacks clear authority for ensuring the safety of these products and last updated its guidance for (the) industry in 2002." The FDA has been working on new guidelines since at least 2006, but the effort is "still in progress," FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson said. Currently, the FDA does not have jurisdiction over compounding pharmacies until there is a problem. FDA officials say they have been fighting to change that for more than 20 years. The compounding pharmacy industry has challenged those efforts, and courts have ruled that individual state health departments are in charge. "These facilities are inspected upon initial licensure and in response to complaints," said Alec Loftus of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. One woman's fight for compounding pharmacy guidelines . Massachusetts requires compound pharmacies to be licensed by the state board, but does not require accreditation. That's a voluntary process that only 162 out of 3,000 compounding facilities have obtained, according to the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board. "The oversight appears to be quite lax," said CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reporting from Massachusetts about the contaminated drugs. The New England Compounding Center "can distribute thousands of doses of drugs and it doesn't necessarily have to be accredited." The center's building in Framingham is also home to a garbage compactor and recycling center. CNN observed a medical waste truck making a drop, as well as piles of garbage, boxes, and old mattresses on the back side of the pharmacy compound building. Both companies are owned by the same people. If the site had been accredited, officials would have examined the facilities and considered whether there are concerns about the site sharing space with a garbage facility, Gupta said. "Our investigation into NECC and the outbreak with our partners in Massachusetts are ongoing, so I can't comment directly on how this factors in," said Jefferson, the FDA spokeswoman. There is no law that specifies a minimum proximity between a compounding pharmacy and other establishments. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has warned the NECC multiple times since 2002 about unsanitary conditions at its facility. Statutory and regulatory requirements stipulate that compounding can be done only on receipt of a patient-specific prescription, Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo, director of the department's Bureau of Healthcare Safety and Quality, told reporters Wednesday. Asked if there had been a violation, she said some organizations may have operated contrary to the licensing regulations, but that is part of the investigation. Compounding pharmacies were originally created for doctors or pharmacists to make small amounts of custom medications -- for example, adding flavored syrup to a cough medicine, or creating a smaller dose for an individual patient if it's not created commercially. They've grown into a much larger business. Pharmacy compounding accounts for 37 million prescription drugs in the United States each year. Some compounders ship thousands of custom drugs all over the country. NECC is licensed to distribute to surgery centers and pain clinics in 50 states. Nearly 10% of drugs administered in the United States come from compound pharmacies, according to a 2003 Government Accountability Office report. Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is usually caused by an infection, frequently with bacteria or a virus, but it can also be caused by less common pathogens, such as fungi in this case, according to the CDC. Fungal meningitis is very rare and, unlike viral and bacterial meningitis, is not contagious. Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN that fungal infections are not usually mild. He said when a fungus invades small blood vessels, it can cause them to clot or bleed, which can lead to symptoms of small strokes. In addition to typical meningitis symptoms like headache, fever, nausea and stiffness of the neck, people with fungal meningitis may also experience confusion, dizziness and discomfort from bright lights. Patients might just have one or two of these symptoms, the CDC says. Health officials say any patients who received an injection at one of the facilities beginning May 21 and who began showing symptoms between one and three weeks after being injected should see their doctor right away. The earlier a patient gets treatment, the more likely he or she will survive. Patients are treated with anti-fungal medication, which is given intravenously, so patients have to be admitted to the hospital, the CDC said. Patients may need to be treated for months. The FDA is urging anyone who has experienced problems following an injection with the NECC product to report it to MedWatch, the FDA's voluntary reporting program, by phone at 1-800-FDA-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm. CNN's Danielle Dellorto reported from Framingham; CNN's Elizabeth Cohen and William Hudson reported from Atlanta. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Josh Levs and Ann Curley contributed to this report. | There are no federal sterility guidelines for compounding pharmacies .
The FDA has no jurisdiction until there is a problem .
Two lawmakers are introducing legislation to strengthen the FDA's oversight .
12 people have died in a meningitis outbreak linked to a steroid . |
126,386 | 2f561ecd48f333112635a996544581285cbe9a04 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 08:49 EST, 28 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 11:11 EST, 28 January 2014 . Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn is joining the Today show as a correspondent for the Sochi Winter Games after she was forced to bow out of the competition due to an ongoing knee injury. The alpine skier is set to report daily in the U.S. on the early morning show and provide additional coverage for NBC Sports. Vonn, 29, appeared on the Today show on Tuesday from her home in Pensacola, Florida, with her new rescue dog Leo to discuss her recovery from a recent knee operation and her painful decision to skip Sochi. Scroll down for video . Champion skier Lindsey Vonn was joined by her rescue dog Leo on Tuesday as she spoke on the Today Show about her new role as the network's correspondent for the Sochi winter games . Ski champion Lindsey Vonn will be working for NBC as Olympic correspondent during the Sochi winter games but she won't be traveling to Russia . Vonn, who has been dating golfer Tiger Woods since last year, had a second surgery on her busted right knee earlier this month. She said: 'I feel okay, I've been through this once before so I know the drill. It's a bit complicated because it's pretty major surgery but I've been doing therapy and I'm alright.' The athlete was asked by Today show presenter Matt Lauer if she had the strength to go through another round of training and rehabilitation to return to competition level. Vonn said: 'I can do it. After . making the decision not to commit in Sochi, I've made the commitment to . race through to the next Olympics. I felt a bit rushed for Sochi but I'm going to be racing next year and the year after that and the year after that.' The Olympic skier said it was difficult to watch Team USA heading for Sochi and gearing up for the games. With . tears in her eyes, she told the Today show: 'It's going to be hard to . watch, it's already hard, you guys run commercials every two minutes. Vonn, 29, appeared emotional when she discussed her painful knee injury and decision not to compete in this year's Winter Olympics . Vonn put herself through a grueling, and often painful, rehab and training program after knee surgery last year but was forced to bow out of the Sochi Games because she was not ready to compete . 'It will be hard to watch the alpine events, I always watch the figure skating and the luge but it's hard to watch the alpine.' However the champion skier was excited about her new challenge as a TV presenter but added: 'I'm not looking forward to waking up this early.' Vonn revealed on January 7 that despite undergoing major surgery to repair her anterior cruciate ligaments 11 months ago, the same injury had once again flared up. In a statement, she said: 'I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. Lindsey Vonn competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Downhill in December in Val d'Isere, France. An ongoing knee problem, however, left her unable to compete at an Olympic level . 'I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. 'Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!' she added. Vonn adopted her dog Leo - who also has a bad knee - on the same day she revealed she would be pulling out of February's Olympic Games in Sochi. Lindsey Vonn was forced to bow out of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to a leg injury . | The ski champion will report daily from the U.S. during the games .
Vonn had second surgery on her busted right knee earlier this month .
She admitted that it would be hard to watch others compete in alpine skiing during the games in Russia . |
59,701 | a9897ec6db4226cc28ab06009232deab68dc8f49 | By . Mark Duell . Last updated at 11:18 PM on 5th September 2011 . In one of the most partisan speeches of his presidency, an under-fire Barack Obama today went back to his core supporters to try to revive his flagging fortunes. President Obama was expected to preview his ideas for job creation and economic growth in Detroit, Michigan, after world stock markets slumped. But it turned into far more of a Democratic political rally, leaving him open to accusations of being short on important details and high on rhetoric. Scroll down for video . Warm-up: Barack Obama was previewing his ideas for job creation and economic growth at a rally in Detroit after world stock markets slumped . Mr Obama, 50, even alluded to his first campaign slogan of 'yes we can', ahead of his vital jobs speech to Congress on Thursday. The President's appearance follows . last Friday's dismal jobs report, which showed employers added no jobs . last month for the first time since 1945. President Obama mentioned a speech made by Harry Truman in Detroit on Labor Day in 1948. Mr Truman, right, had said the government managed to turn 'the greatest depression in history into the most prosperous era the country has ever seen'. He talked of a 'danger...for those who do not belong to unions' and said there was 'much to hope for' from a Congress 'friendly to labour'. Mr Obama said 'things haven't changed' and that the gains of labour will help U.S. prosperity. Global stock markets also took a hit on . Monday after the awful data that revived fears the world's largest . economy is heading back into recession. Supporters chanted 'four more years' before Mr Obama began speaking. 'This day belongs to you,' he told . the labour union crowd. 'You've been working hard to make ends meet and . build a better life for your kids.' 'We've gone through a difficult decade - where wealth was valued over work and greed was valued over responsibility,' he said. 'We've got a lot more work to do to recover fully from this recession. We've got to fully restore the middle class of America. 'There is work to be done and the workers to do it. We just need to get Congress on board. Let's get America back to work.' Under-fire: Mr Obama's speech turned into far more of a political rally, leaving him open to accusations of being short on details and high on rhetoric . He pushed for Republicans and Democrats . to 'work together'. 'The time for Washington games is over,' he said. 'The time for action is now. 'We've got a lot more work to do to recover fully from this recession. We've got to fully restore the middle class of America' President Barack Obama . 'We're fighting to give our kids a better life than we had' and for a system where 'everyone's got a shot at the American dream'. Mr Obama insisted he will stand up for collective bargaining - and that every American has the right to have a voice in labour negotations. 'We are one nation - we are one people,' he said. 'I'm not scared of tough times because I know we're all going to be marching together.' With a steady 9.1 per cent unemployment . rate, he needs to help millions of jobless people back into work - and . improve his re-election chances. Gloomy outlook: Across the world markets slumped following the worst U.S. employment report in almost one year . Public polls show the economy and jobs . are top concerns, with approval of Mr Obama's economic stewardship at a . new low of 26 per cent. Mr . Obama’s GOP critics who are hoping to take him on for the 2012 . presidency have also been given fresh ammunition to use against him. '(Mr Obama) is very mindful of what the . needs and concerns are of those individuals who have been out of work . for so long' Labor Secretary Hilda Solis . Mitt Romney, set to unveil his own jobs . plan on Tuesday, called the report unacceptable and ‘further proof that . President Obama has failed’. Mr Obama's plan is expected to include a combination of individual and business tax credits and public works spending. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said on Monday that both political parties should get behind Mr Obama's efforts to improve hiring. Mr Obama ‘is very mindful of what the needs and concerns are of those individuals who have been out of work for so long’, she told NBC. ‘We need to focus like a laser beam on this right away,’ she told ABC. Concerns: German traders monitor the DAX index board after a five per cent fall . Mr Obama spent part of the holiday weekend at Maryland's Camp David presidential retreat, ‘putting the finishing touches’ on proposals. Meanwhile, oil prices extended losses to below $86 a barrel as the jobs data suggested a weak U.S. economy will lessen demand for crude. European stocks tumbled four per cent on Monday, with banks plumbing a more-than two year low, as fears for the future of the euro zone intensified. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 3.6 per cent, Germany's DAX fell 5.3 per cent and France's CAC-40 toppled 4.7 per cent on a bad day for the markets. It was the FTSE's second-biggest fall of the year, although its losses were smaller than Paris and Frankfurt's. U.S. markets are closed for Labor Day. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average sank 1.9 per cent to close at 8,784.46 as the Yen shows persistent strength, which hurts exporters. Bad day at the office: A Korean currency trader covers his face with his hands . Investors were staying out as . expectations mounted the Federal Reserve would take action at its . September meeting to support the U.S. economy. Analysts said that a third round of bond purchases, dubbed quantitative easing III or QE3, could take place. ‘Right now the possibility has increased,’ said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. ‘I think they have to do something. The markets are expecting QE3.’ The Dow Jones industrial average closed 2.2 per cent lower on Friday, wiping out its gain for the week, after the August jobs report. It lost 253.31 points to close at 11,240.26 in its biggest fall for two weeks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.5 per cent to 1,173.97 while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.6 per cent to 2,480.33. 'Obama will face a decidedly colder . and more sceptical audience on Thursday, when he presents his jobs plan . on the House floor - in front of the lawmakers he is increasingly . decrying as obstructionist and out of touch.'(Zeke Miller, Business Insider) 'The rally at times felt like a campaign event, with enthusiastic supporters wearing Obama buttons and hats'(David Nakamura, Washington Post) 'The tone of the Labor Day speech indicates advisers inside the White House pushing for a jobs agenda to trump talk of debt and deficits have momentum going into Thursday's speech'(Ryan Grim, Huffington Post) 'Anyone who thinks Obama has lost his mojo should watch (the) Detroit speech. He had a godawful summer but only a naïf would underestimate this guy'(Jonathan Alter, Bloomberg) 'It was feisty and framed in part as a challenge to Republicans to join his jobs push and, as the President put it, to prove they care as much about the middle class as they say they do.'(Naftali Bendavid, Wall Street Journal) See video here . | Obama speaks at union rally in Detroit on Labor Day .
Planning for key Congress jobs address on Thursday .
Zero growth in jobs last month for first time since 1945 .
European stocks fall - DAX & CAC down five per cent . |
64,215 | b65acc30312304e6fd767713e350b12d2a5669a1 | (CNN) -- Lava and ash from Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano forced the closure of Guayaquil Airport until Saturday afternoon, an airport spokesman said Friday. The glacier-capped, 16,478-foot (5,023-meter) volcano has erupted periodically since 1999, with major eruptions occurring in August 2006 and February 2008, the government's emergency management agency said. Officials evacuated the towns of Cusua and Juive Grande in central Ecuador, the emergency agency said, but no injuries or fatalities had been reported. No further evacuations were planned, the agency said. Death toll climbs from Guatemala eruption . The eruption sent a large ash cloud into the air, the Geophysical Institute of Peru said. The height could not be determined because of cloudiness in the area. Are you in Ecuador? Share your volcanic activity images . Before the long-term eruption beginning in 1999 that caused the temporary evacuation of the city of Banos at the foot of the volcano, the last major eruption had occurred from 1916 to 1918, and minor activity continued until 1925, the Smithsonian Institution said on its volcano Web site. The volcano is 87 miles (140 km) south of Quito, the nation's capital. Tungurahua means "throat of fire" in the native Quechua language. It was the second volcanic eruption reported in Latin America in the past few days. The Pacaya volcano erupted Thursday in Guatemala, killing at least three people. | NEW: Guayaquil Airport closed until Saturday afternoon .
Emergency agency: No deaths, injuries reported, no more evacuations planned .
Tungurahua volcano has erupted periodically since 1999 . |
218,352 | a6ad4c5d21151134afe6c23e1defd158c12f56a8 | By . Lucy Crossley and Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 09:09 EST, 26 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:53 EST, 27 November 2013 . Bosses at pizza chain Domino’s put up a sign telling workers they could only speak English. Foreign staff at one takeaway were told they could be sacked for speaking their native tongue. Managers put up a notice which read: ‘All staff whilst you are working at this store you must speak in English. This is for ease of communication, safety and due to some complaints from staff at other stores. ‘Anybody ignoring this could find disciplinary procedures followed, as it could be seen as a form of workplace bullying.’ Pizza delivery man Stuart Horton has quit his job over a notice written by a Domino's manager warning staff to speak in English or face disciplinary action . The red and blue felt-tip poster had the word ‘English’ boxed in and written in green. Employees at the branch in Preston, Lancashire, claimed the policy was discriminatory. Around . 15 staff work at the takeaway and most, including those from Poland, . Hungary and Asia, do not speak English as a first language. The franchise is operated by the private firm Topwest Limited. Area manager David Woods has reportedly agreed to meet staff to discuss concerns. A . spokesman for Domino’s Pizza Group PLC said a common language was . ‘vital’ for safety, but agreed the tone of the poster was ‘a little . strong’ and the firm ‘will be picking this up’. They said: 'To . ensure a good flow of communication in our stores, the use of a common . language is spoken at work to avoid confusion and to create a more . welcoming environment. The message, which was written on a staffroom noticeboard banning workers from speaking their native tongue . 'It . is also paramount that all safety aspects are adhered to and for this . reason a common language is vital. The tone of the poster shown is a . little strong and we will be picking this up with the franchisee.' Angry Stuart Horton, 47, claims he left his job of five years at the Domino's Pizza after the message was written on a staffroom noticeboard . Mature college student Stuart Horton, 47, who has worked part time with the firm for five years said around 15 staff worked at the branch, the majority of whom do not speak English as a first language. Among them are Asian, Polish and Hungarian workers. Mr Horton who is studying for a community policing and justice management degree said: 'The notice was on there for about a week. It was long enough to strike fear among people. 'It shocked me and angered me. I’m aware of the health and safety act and having to speak English doesn’t feature in any law. 'The manager took the staff on in the first place knowing full well their native tongues are from different regions and they are trying to learn English. 'Some of them have a basic grasp of English but it isn’t a problem and there isn’t a communication barrier. Everybody speaks English if talking to customers or answering the phone. 'I don’t feel comfortable in that work environment. I’m not being part of an organisation that adopts this stance. 'Domino’s Pizza have been operating in the area for a long time. We have a lot of customers of different ethnic backgrounds and staff of different ethnic backgrounds and migrant workers.' The branch is one of many Domino’s Pizza franchises across Lancashire operated by Topwest Limited. The Domino's Pizza store at Preston West, Tulketh Mill, where the offending note was posted in the staff room . | Workers were threatened with disciplinary action for not speaking English .
Notice in Preston shop said ignoring language rule could be seen as bullying .
Order toned down after company bosses said wording was 'a little strong' |
21,491 | 3d123ad17e56cec0d6262671f06412eb506a2351 | By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 10:34 EST, 3 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:41 EST, 3 January 2013 . If you're planning a January diet to shift the extra pounds piled on over Christmas, you had better make sure you can find time in your schedule. A new survey has revealed that more than 50 per cent of British people are too busy to eat properly and instead rely on food eaten on the go. As a result, healthy eating is made harder, with many relying on snacks and sandwiches to get through the day. Too busy to diet: For many of us, lunch is nothing more than a sandwich at eaten at the desk . The research, conducted by the New York Bakery Company and reported in Cosmopolitan, also found that the traditional lunch hour is becoming a thing of the past, with 47 per cent of respondents too busy to do anything more than grab a sandwich at their desk. Breakfast, said by nutritionists to be the healthiest meal of the day and essential for dieters, was also affected by busy schedules, with more than 40 per cent of those polled admitting to spending less than 10 minutes on getting a healthy start to the day. Worse, nearly one in three combined breakfast and lunch, instead consuming a gut-busting brunch to compensate. The brunch, revealed the survey, is usually eaten in less than 20 minutes by just under half of those surveyed. A fifth of respondents said they skipped breakfast and lunch altogether, instead choosing to snack throughout the day. Healthy: Finding time to prepare healthy meals is impossible for almost 50 per cent of Brits . Most of the snackers also revealed that their constant nibbling left them unable to face a proper supper. In more bad news for our bellies, 16 per cent of those asked said that they regularly ate their supper after 8pm - just as the digestive system begins to slow down in preparation for sleep. Londoners were particularly prone to late night dinners, with 14 per cent admitting to eating their final meal of the day after 9pm as a result of working late into the evening. In Yorkshire meanwhile, midnight feasting - another belly-busting habit - proved popular, with 16 per cent of those surveyed in the county admitting to waking up for a snack during the night. | More than 50 per cent of Brits say they are too busy to go on a diet .
40 per cent revealed they eat breakfast in less than 10 minutes .
A fifth admitted to skipping breakfast and lunch altogether, instead choosing to snack throughout the day . |
204,672 | 94fc3a302ccd897a53a638ce87a4f013a7be3634 | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor, James Chapman and Hugo Duncan . PUBLISHED: . 03:30 EST, 25 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:47 EST, 25 April 2013 . Britain was warned economic recovery will be a ‘marathon, not a sprint’ yesterday as official figures showed an unprecedented triple dip recession has been avoided. In a significant boost for Chancellor George Osborne, gross domestic product grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year. The figure is far better than expected and comes in spite of the unseasonably cold weather, which helped depress retail sales and construction. The economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first three months of 2013, avoiding the third recession since 2008, the Office for National Statistics said . Mr Osborne, pictured today, has been boosted by news that the economy has grew by 0.3 per cent in the first three months of this year . The Chancellor used Twitter to say the figures were proof that the 'economy is healing' Mr Osborne said ‘the economy is . healing’ but warned there could be further difficulties ahead. He said: . ‘Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress. ‘The deficit is down by a third, . businesses have created over a million and a quarter new jobs, and . interest rates are at record lows. ‘We all know there are no easy . answers to problems built up over many years, and I can’t promise the . road ahead will always be smooth but by continuing to confront our . problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy . fit for the future.’ Between January and March GDP grew by . 0.3 per cent, which is well ahead of the 0.1 per cent rise expected by . analysts. It was enough to stave off a third recession in five years . after the economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the final three months of . 2012. The service industries including hotels and transport accounted for most of the growth in the economy, while construction suffered a 2.5 per cent slump . Business Secretary Vince Cable said the 'road to recovery would be a marathon, not a sprint' while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg insisted the economy was not out of the woods yet . A recession is defined as two . consecutive quarters of decline and Britain has suffered two since the . financial crisis struck – the first in 2008-09 and the second in . 2011-12. Growth was driven by the dominant . services sector, a bounce-back in North Sea oil and gas production, and . soaring demand for energy, as households turned up the heating during . the cold snap. Output from services firms – which range from hairdressers and hotels to accountants and train operators – rose 0.6 per cent. Industrial production rose 0.2 per . cent, thanks largely to a 3.2 per cent increase in ‘mining and . quarrying’ as North Sea production recovered from extended maintenance . work on crucial oil rigs at the end of last year. Meanwhile the energy . supply sector rose 0.5 per cent. But factory output fell 0.3 per cent . and construction was down 2.5 per cent as vast swathes of the economy . remained firmly in recession. It also appears increasingly likely . that the Office for National Statistics will revise away last year’s . ‘double dip’ recession. The change in GDP in the last quarter . of 2011 was recently revised from minus 0.4 per cent to minus 0.1 per . cent – and further amendments are expected, particularly to the first . quarter of 2012, which was also just minus 0.1 per cent. Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince . Cable said that the growth was ‘modestly encouraging’ but added that the . recovery was a ‘marathon, not a sprint’. The government was hit by the news that an extra 70,000 were unemployed in the first three months of 2013 . Meanwhile, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls . made the startling claim that the deficit had only fallen because of . the ‘inheritance’ left by the Labour government. He added: ‘These lacklustre figures . show our economy is only just back to where it was six months ago... If . we’re to have a strong and sustained recovery we need urgent action to . kickstart our economy and strengthen it for the long-term.’ John Mann, a Labour MP on the Commons . Treasury Select Committee, claimed the figures confirmed ‘the . Japan-isation of the British economy’. Latest figures reveal how government borrowing remains stubbornly high at £120.6billion in 2012-13, down just £300million on the year before . He said: ‘In Japan, the economy . stagnated. Sometimes it went down to below zero, sometimes just above it . but it kept on this very low-growth trend and kept there for 15 years. ‘We are in the same cycle and breaking out of it will need a change of policy.’ Weak growth has pushed Mr Osborne’s . plans to cut the record deficit racked up by Labour off course, and . borrowing fell by just £300million to £120.6billion last year. Tory MPs Brian Binley (left) and Mark Field accused the Chancellor of being timid and complacent about the need for bold action to secure strong economic growth . But the return to growth will have . come as a huge relief to the Treasury just days after Britain suffered . another downgrade to its AAA credit rating, this time by ratings agency . Fitch, and the Chancellor was criticised by the International Monetary . Fund. IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard . said Mr Osborne was ‘playing with fire’ by pressing ahead with . austerity while the economy was so weak. Now the Chancellor’s position will be bolstered as he prepares to defy any formal recommendations from the IMF to change course. Rob Carnell, an economist at banking group ING, said the figures were ‘one in the eye’ for the IMF and the ratings agencies. Of the major economies listed in the IMF's World Economic Outlook, the prediction of 0.7 per cent growth for 2013 puts the UK well below the US, Canada, Japan and much of Europe . The unrelenting gloom over Britain’s economic prospects has lifted, with growth making an unexpectedly bright reappearance in the first three months of the year. Timing could not be better for George Osborne ahead of what had promised to be a bruising encounter with the examiners from the International Monetary Fund, who are due in London early in May. The 0.3 per cent lift in output, after a decline in the final months of last year, was described as ‘lacklustre’ by the Chancellor’s critics on the Labour benches. But it does mean that the fearful vision of a triple dip, so avidly discussed by broadcasters ahead of the data being published, has been vanquished. Indeed, revisions to past data suggest the double dip – two successive downturns in the economy since a peak in 2008 – will also turn out to have been a fiction. This does not mean Britain is in the midst of a storming upturn. But what is absolutely clear is parts of the economy are, with the help of the shock treatment of record low interest rates, back to where they were before the ‘Great Recession’ of 2009-10. Behind the emerging recovery is a sharp bounce back in the services sector, which includes everything from the high street to financial services and creative industries, and comprises some 80 per cent of the nation’s output. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing . Director Christine Lagarde suggested Mr Osborne should consider changing . the pace of his deficit reduction programme . It is now 1.5 per cent higher than a year ago and has fully recovered from the trough of the recession. The buoyancy of services is one of the reasons some 500,000 new private sector jobs have been created in Britain over the past year. Unfortunately for the Chancellor, his desire to rebalance the UK economy back to manufacturing and exports is not going so well. Manufacturing remains deep in the doldrums, despite a sharp devaluation of the pound that was meant to help exports. The depression in manufacturing can largely be blamed on the disastrous conditions in the eurozone, with unemployment in Spain surging to an incredible 27 per cent. Construction is also disappointing, partly because of the exceptionally cold winter weather than dragged on for months. However total industrial output is on the mend, largely as a result of greater output from North Sea oil and gas that was sharply down late last year. The Chancellor had expected a difficult encounter with the IMF team. The Fund’s top economist, Olivier Blanchard, has argued publicly that Britain is ‘playing with fire’ with its continuing austerity measures. The latest numbers suggest that even with our biggest trading partner in the eurozone mired in chaos the UK economy is still capable of expanding, if not at the pace the Government would like to see. | Overall figures better than expected easing pressure on George Osborne .
Economy overall grew by 0.3% but construction slumps by 2.5% .
Deputy PM Nick Clegg warns: 'We're not out of the woods yet'
Labour blames coalition for slowest recovery for 100 years .
Government borrowing remains stubbornly high at £120billion .
Tory MPs accuse coalition of being 'timid' and 'complacent' about growth .
IMF urged Britain to rethink pace of cuts in face of sluggish recovery . |
78,528 | de8595393c08e58bf1ce47531e399f5dfd93f79e | Dogs stolen: Walter, 40, and Gemma Clay, 32, with their daughters Isabel, seven, and Robyn, one . A family of four have been left devastated after five of their dogs were stolen from their garden, with one of them on the verge of having a litter. Sisters Isabel, seven, and Robyn Clay, one, are upset after their pets were snatched in the night from their home near Bradford, West Yorkshire. Bella the Jack Russell, who is due to give birth to a litter today, was among the five bitches stolen in the raid, leaving the family distraught. Others taken included Schnauzer dogs Sugar and Mathilda, and Jack Russells Tiny and Ruby. The family are appealing for the thieves to hand themselves in after the pets were discovered missing from their kennels last week. Mother Gemma Clay, 32, said: ‘My daughters are devastated. They spend so much time with the dogs around the farm. They are really into them and can’t bear to be without them. ‘Isabel is gutted. She was beside herself when I picked her up from school and told her. She can’t understand why it happened. She keeps asking why bad men would be so cruel.’ The registered dog breeder added: ‘My one-year-old Robyn is also devastated. I don’t think she quite understands what happened. ‘She sits and plays with them all the time in the kitchen so to be without them is upsetting for her. She can’t talk properly yet but just keeps saying “woof, woof”, hoping they’ll answer.’ Mrs Clay, whose husband Walter, 40, is a full-time farmer, said the theft came to light when they found the kennels had been broken into and the canines’ beds empty on Thursday morning. Gone: Bella the Jack Russell, who is due to give birth to a litter today, was among the five dogs stolen . Tiny the Jack Russell: The family are appealing for the thieves to hand themselves in after the pets were discovered missing from their kennels last week . Concern: The family are particularly worried about Sugar, four, as she had recently had a litter or her own . Taken by thieves: The other missing Schnauzer from the Clay household is Mathilda, also four, who is grey . On a lead: Ruby is a rough-coated black and white dog aged three of the Jack Russell breed . She explained: ‘Walter had been working late the night before and everything seemed fine. But when he was out early the next morning he saw they were gone. ‘We have a back building where the dogs stay and one of the panels was missing. He thought it was just the wind, but when we both looked we saw someone had barged through three doors and taken our five girls. ‘Our other Jack Russell, Stanley, was running round wondering where his friends were. We are most concerned about Bella as she is about to give birth any day now, and you can see by looking at her swollen belly. I’m just heartbroken that someone would take a dog when she’s so vulnerable. ‘I don’t tell many people about our dogs because I know they’re valuable - I’ve been very careful about it in the past. Despite their value, they are all just lovely little dogs and so sweet-natured. Isabel with Sugar: The girl is devastated after her five dogs were snatched in the night from outside her home . Isabel with Bella: The family's dog has been described as a tan and white Jack Russell aged four . 'Gutted': Mrs Clay (left) said Isabel (right) was 'beside herself when I picked her up from school and told her' 'They love our girls to bits. They are all micro-chipped too. That’s probably why we didn’t hear them when they were taken - with our dogs no visitor is unwanted so they wouldn’t have put up a protest.’ Jack Russell pups can fetch £350 while miniature Schnauzers are worth £800. Bella has been described as a tan and white Jack Russell aged four, while Ruby is a rough-coated black and white dog aged three of the same breed. The missing Schnauzers are Mathilda, four, who is grey, and four-year-old Sugar who has a fluffy white coat. Mrs Clay said they were also particularly worried about Sugar as she had recently had a litter of her own. She added: ‘We just want to make life as awkward as possible for whoever is responsible by letting them know how heartbroken we are - especially Isabel and Robyn. They just want their friends back safe on the farm.’ Sergeant James Firth, of West Yorkshire Police, said: ‘We would urge anyone with information about this offence or the whereabouts of any of the stolen dogs to call us.’ | Dogs snatched from kennels outside Clay family home near Bradford .
Other pooches taken included Schnauzer dogs Sugar and Mathilda .
Mother Gemma Clay is appealing for thieves to hand themselves in .
Youngest daughter is saying 'woof, woof', hoping dogs will answer . |
142,214 | 43e9f15b705652b0988a01929e1d4363e6fd3413 | A dream 50th birthday trip to New York for 15 life-long school friends into a nightmare after they lost £11,000 when her travel agent went bust. Organiser Mandy Weston, 50, saved for three years to go to New York with her friends to have a joint birthday celebration. But she was left seething when Kent-based Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd went into liquidation - and the Big Apple trip looked doomed. The 15 friends eventually made their trip to New York, but only after being loaned the money by a friend . The trip to New York was supposed to be a 50th birthday celebration between friends - but the travel company 'lost' their money causing stress and worry . The friends - all born in 1964 and 65 - had each forked out £750 for the three-day trip. But they were left heartbroken when the travel company registered with ATOL collapsed just weeks before they were set to fly to America. Organiser Mandy Weston was left devastated when Blue Skies (UK) Ltd failed to honour their booking . Mandy, who booked the trip, had paid for flights, hotels and theatre tickets - but the company had not booked anything or paid a single penny to any firm. The group from Caerphilly, South Wales, had paid their deposit on protected Visa cards. But the majority of the holiday was paid by bank transfer after the company claimed that if they paid quickly, they would receive £70 worth of vouchers to use on the trip. It looked doomed - until a friend loaned them the cash to rebook the holiday despite it costing double the original cost. The company went under owing consumers almost £415,000 in un-booked holidays. Mandy said: 'I am seething. What breaks my heart is how they can get away with ripping off £415,000 from people. 'This was a holiday of a lifetime, but some people lost their weddings. I can't believe that suspicion wasn't raised. 'I don't think there's a hope in hell of us getting money back from the creditors. 'We had a great time in New York but it has cost a lot - in money, worry and pain.' A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority - of which ATOL is a part of - said: 'We can confirm we have received a number of complaints from customers who have booked with Bright Skies Travel, which we are looking into.' A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: 'We are investigating a travel company based in Kent relating to a number of allegations of fraud against that company. At this stage we've made no arrests and inquiries continue.' It should be made clear that the company, though of similar name, is not connected to Blue Skies Travel in Cardiff. Although Mandy Weston's group eventually made it to New York, many other customers have been left high and dry by Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd . MailOnline Travel have previously tried to contact Clive Allard without success. The company's office in Kent is believed to have closed, and the website is no longer active. It's not new news concernign complaints about the company. Online review site TripAdvisor has been flooded with furious holidaymakers who have received poor treatment at the hands of Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd, which also shares its phone number with Bright Skies Travel and Fly Vacations. On the most recent discussion thread about the company on TripAdvisor, started on September 7 2014, there have already been 117 posts, few of them positive. Thomas D from Belfast says, ‘Do not book with this Travel Agents!!!!!! We are due to leave on Sunday 26th October and we still have no holiday booked! When querying with Clive he sent us over a confirmation of a reservation for flights. 'I spoke directly to United airlines who confirmed that infact all he did was reserve it and not paid for our flights!!! and after numerous calls and emails Clive is ignoring us and we are now getting from trading standardas [sic]' Bernadette C from Blackpool added, 'I have not received any paperwork and have left countless messages with Clive Allard and his 'team'. We have been advised by the police to take further action which is what I will be doing as Jet2.com have no record whatsoever of our flights....and I too am completing a form with the Fraud Squad immediately - Jet2.co were very interested too in wanting all his details and I will certainly not be fobbed off any further!!!!!!!' Kirb80 equally despairs, ‘Like all of the previous postings, I have tried numerous different ways to try and contact him. He is not currently answering his mobile and you cannot leave a message as it is full. Both my hotel and flight had reservation numbers but last Wednesday the flight reservation was cancelled due to Clive not paying for it.' Have you been left out of pocket by Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd? If so, contact John Hutchinson at [email protected] . | Mandy Weston had booked trip with friends to celebrate turning 50 .
Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd went into liquidation and trip looked doomed .
The group were able to fly out thanks to generous loan from a friend .
Believed Blue Skies Travel (UK) Ltd owes around £415,000 to customers . |
145,789 | 488227a488a1a18c273b308fd20075716f6d16ab | Stoke defender Robert Huth has been charged by the Football Association with aggravated misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media. Huth appeared to respond to a Twitter account which posts sexual images of individuals and asks users to guess their gender. The 30-year-old German has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the charge. VIDEO Scroll down for Mark Hughes: Robert Huth investigation by FA is ongoing . Stoke City centre back Robert Huth has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the FA's charge . Huth has been charged by the FA for responding to Twitter account 'C**k or no c**k' Huth apologised for causing any offence on January 2 after the backlash . The FA said in a statement: 'It is alleged the comments were indecent and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, contrary to FA rule E3(1). 'It is further alleged that this breach of Rule E3(1) is an 'aggravated breach' as defined in rule E3(2), as it included a reference to gender and/or gender reassignment.' Huth apologised earlier in January for interactions he made after participating with a Twitter account which invited users of the social media site to guess from cropped photographs of people in explicit poses whether those pictured have male or female genitalia. A series of tweets posted from Huth's official account showed the former Chelsea and Middlesbrough player taking part and making indecent remarks. He deleted the tweets and posted a message saying: 'Clearly no offence was meant or directed to anyone, but apologies if I've offended anyone.' In October the FA handed Rio Ferdinand a three-match suspension, as well as a £25,000 fine, for comments he made on Twitter, though that was not the QPR defender's first offence on social media. QPR defender Rio Ferdinand was made to serve a three-match ban and fined £25,000 by the FA . | Robert Huth sent several messages to Twitter account 'C**k or no c**k'
The FA have charged the Stoke defender for indecent social media posts .
Huth has until 6pm on January 21 to respond to the charge . |
283,535 | fb4647c3155b2a18a9eb1f0a6ccda208cbfb58f5 | By . Russell Myers . PUBLISHED: . 19:20 EST, 5 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:01 EST, 7 January 2013 . The director of Italian fashion house Missoni was feared dead last night when a small aircraft he was travelling in vanished off the coast of Venezuela. Vittorio Missoni, heir to the family-owned label, and his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, were among six people on board the twin-engine plane when it disappeared on Friday morning. Missoni's clothes have a host of celebrity fans, including the Duchess of Cambridge and Kate Moss. The 58-year-old, who co-owns the brand with his siblings Luca and Angela, is understood to have been returning from a Christmas and New Year holiday with his wife and two friends, Italian businessman Guido Foresti and his wife Elda Scalvenzi. Missing: Vittorio Missoni and his wife Maurizia Castiglioni are feared dead after the aircraft they were flying in disappeared . Beautiful: Los Roques, a pristine archipelago of 42 islands 95 miles off Venezuela's coast. Missoni was there on a fishing holiday . Two Venezuelan pilots were also on board, German Mechan, 72, and Juan Fernandez, 45. Last night, Venezuelan air and sea rescue services, including an ocean-searching naval vessel, continued to look for the plane, which went missing after taking off from the resort of Los Roques. The archipelago, 95 miles off Venezuela’s coast, is a popular holiday destination. The alarm was raised after the plane failed to land at Simon Bolivar international airport, about 12 miles from the capital Caracas. No trace of it has been found. Royal blue: The Duchess of Cambridge, pictured with the Queen and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is often seen in her blue Missoni coat . Luxury: Actress Sofia Vergara in a Missoni dress . Celebrity fans: Kate Moss wears Missoni in a picture taken in 2003 . Maddalena Aspes, a spokesman for Missoni, said: ‘The family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing. 'We don’t know any more.’ She added that relatives were travelling back to Italy from a holiday in France. It is also understood that Mr Missoni’s younger brother Luca, the company’s creative director, is travelling to Venezuela to help in the search. Messages of support flooded on to social media site Twitter yesterday, while Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani posted a message on the magazine’s website saying: ‘Bring Vittorio Missoni home.’ Mr Missoni worked as marketing director of the company, which was founded by his parents ex-Olympian runner Ottavio, 92, and Rosita in 1958, while his sister Angela designed both womenswear and menswear. Kate Middleton is frequently pictured in her frayed collarless blue tweed Missoni M coat, which she bought at at an Oxfordshire designer outlet for £765. Another plane with eight Italians on board disappeared in the same area exactly five years ago. Only the body of the co-pilot was found. Venezuelan air and sea rescue services continued to look for the plane (pictured) which went missing after taking off from the resort of Los Roques . Vanished: The plane's last known position was over the sea between Los Roques and the north coast of Venezuela . | Director of Italian fashion house Missoni was returning from a holiday .
Venezuelan air and sea rescue services continue to look for the plane . |
279,854 | f686f8fda8f6923ff052b2474e1c519bd62d842e | Rachel Reeves: Labour frontbencher is set for a Cabinet role if Ed Miliband wins the election in May . David Cameron yesterday distanced himself from remarks by a Conservative MP who questioned a Labour frontbencher's plan to go on maternity leave straight after the election. Rachel Reeves hopes to become Work and Pensions Secretary if Ed Miliband wins power in May, but is due to have her second baby just five weeks later. She said at the weekend that she would begin maternity leave shortly before her baby is due and stay away from work until September. That prompted Tory MP for Romford Andrew Rosindell to say: 'I don't want to say someone who is having a baby is not eligible to be a Cabinet minister, but I certainly think perhaps the demands of that particular job will require someone to give it their full attention. 'I don't expect Rachel Reeves to be in the Cabinet after the election because I expect the Conservatives to win, but clearly people need to be put in the positions they can handle.' Yesterday, however, when asked whether the Prime Minister believed a pregnant woman could serve in the Cabinet, Mr Cameron's official spokesman replied: 'Why on Earth not?' He added: 'The Prime Minister's views around maternity leave (entitlements) is that they are universal, they apply to everyone and it is entirely a matter for individual families to take the decisions that they think are right for them, and the Government's job is to support them in those decisions they take.' Despite Mr Cameron's support, Miss Reeves last night accused the Conservatives of having a 'women problem'. She wrote on Twitter: '300,000 women a year take maternity leave but @AndrewRosindell thinks can't do big job & be a mum. Tory women problem?' The election Miss Reeves, 36, hopes will propel her into the Cabinet is on May 7, and she is due to have her second child on June 15. She has said she believes she will have time before she goes on maternity leave to abolish the so-called bedroom tax – the reduction of benefits for claimants in social housing who are deemed to have more living space than they require, which ministers refer to as ending a 'spare room subsidy'. Miss Reeves said: 'I'm having a child and I shall be on maternity leave for the early weeks and months of the next government. Miss Reeves took to Twitter to hit back at criticism of the idea of taking maternity leave from the Cabinet . 'The first thing I would do is abolish the bedroom tax. That's something I can do really quickly. My baby's due in June and I want to cancel the bedroom tax before I go on maternity leave.' Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem minister for employment relations, yesterday joined the criticism of Mr Rosindell. She said: 'The suggestion that a woman should be turned down for a job because she is pregnant is clearly outrageous. 'That kind of discrimination would be illegal under employment law and is an appalling attack on the right of pregnant women to take on high-profile leadership roles in government or business. It echoes the outdated sexist view that women can't be good mothers and also good at their jobs.' David Cameron (left) distanced himself from remarks by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell who questioned whether Miss Reeves could give the job her full attention . Mr Rosindell was last night unavailable for comment. Miss Reeves, who is married to civil servant Nick Joicey, does not have a nanny or any formal childcare and relies mainly on her mother and aunt. She took five months' maternity leave from Parliament after her first child was born in March 2013. During the election campaign she is expected to be one of Labour's most prominent public faces with regular TV appearances. She has been pushed forward by Ed Miliband, becoming shadow chief secretary to the Treasury in 2011 before being promoted to shadow work and pensions secretary in 2013. But she insisted last night that she does not want to become Labour leader, telling LBC radio: 'I see the sacrifices my leader Ed Miliband makes and the toll I think it must place on family life. It's not something that I want to do.' | Rachel Reeves hopes to be Work and Pensions Secretary if Labour wins .
But she is due to have her second baby just five weeks after the election .
Tory MP questioned whether she would be able to give job full attention .
David Cameron has distanced himself from Andrew Rosindell's comments .
Despite this Miss Reeves accused Tories of having a 'women problem' |
54,435 | 9a2e10c1204c55029edaa33dce509cd1ae01cc6f | By . Lizzie Edmonds . A former model who used sunbeds for over 20 years has called for them to be banned after she was diagnosed with rare eye cancer and given weeks to live. Mother-of-one Debi Gibson from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, starting using sunbeds at the age of 14. She decided not to use protective goggles when on the sunbed so she would be free of any tan lines. The 42-year-old was diagnosed with rare eye cancer in April 2012 - and has now been given a terminal diagnosis after the disease spread to her liver. Debi Gibson, pictured with her husband Darren, 36, and her daughter Sienna, seven, left, and in her modelling days in 2000, right. Mrs Gibson has called for sunbeds to be banned after she was diagnosed with eye cancer . The mother, who had one eye removed in October 2012 because of the disease, is now calling for sunbeds to be banned. Speaking today she said: 'I want . something good to come out of my death. All this because I wanted to be . brown. I would like sunbeds to be banned. 'I am going to have to leave my . daughter behind. She knows it all. She doesn't understand everything, . she just knows that mummy is going to go to heaven soon, that mummy has a . nasty disease called cancer and it is going to kill her.' Mrs Gibson, who has starred in Eastenders and alongside Madonna in musical Evita, gave up sunbeds in 2005 after hearing stories of others being struck down with cancer. But after suffering blurred vision in April 2012 she was told she had a choroidal melanoma, a type of cancer that affects the eye. Debi Gibson in 1987 aged 16, left, and in 1998, right. The former model started using sunbeds aged 14 after feeling pressured to be tanned for her work . Mrs Gibson in 2005. The mother was forced to have an eye removed after chemotherapy on the cancer failed . A year later surgeons removed her left . eye after chemotherapy failed to kill the deadly growth, which was . covering half of her eyeball. Earlier this year she was handed the devastating news that the disease had spread to her liver. She said: 'There . is this pressure when you are modelling or in the acting profession to . be the perfect colour. I saved up the money myself when I was 14 to buy a . sunbed and had it at my parent's house. 'I used it all the time, back then there weren't any guidelines around, people thought this was the safest way to tan. 'I eventually became a personal trainer at a gym and I used to use the sunbed there as well. 'They came with goggles, but those left you with ugly tan lines so I didn't use them, I never thought that would kill me. 'I moved to London when I was 18 to become an actress and a model. There was so much pressure to look tanned, I went through that with the film industry. Ms Gibson aged 25. The mother decided not to use protective goggles while on sunbeds to avoid tan lines . 'Then around 2005, there was a lot of bad press around sunbeds, so I stopped using them. 'In 2012 I woke up and found everything was blurry, I went to my doctors and he sent me to the hospital. 'They did a scan and sat me down and told me that half of my eye was covered in a tumour. 'It's rare, only around one in every six million people get it, the doctors said it is only seen in sunny countries and they only thing they could think caused it was my use of sunbeds without the protection. 'They tried chemo but eventually they told me it hadn't worked as they had hoped. 'I was already going blind at this point, so it felt easier when they told me they were going to take the eye out. 'It . happened pretty quickly. They told me I needed the operation in the . October, and it was removed in the November. It was a horrendous time. 'Then after about a year I went back for another scan and they told me it had spread to my liver and I was going to die. 'The doctor gave me eight weeks to live, which runs out next week.' 'At first I went mad, completely mad, I pulled my daughter straight out of school and we all went on holiday. Ms Gibson wants sunbeds to be banned after her cancer spread to her liver and she was told it was terminal . 'But after a little while I came to terms with it. The doctors have me on a trial drug and are giving me chemo to shrink the tumour. That could give me months or years more time.' Her husband Darren Gibson said: 'It has been horrendous. Nurses have been coming out to see her from the Douglas Macmillan Hospice and they have been fantastic.' 'Debi is an amazing woman. She never seems scared, I'm sure she's struggling inside sometimes, but she is an actress.' The Sunbed Association (TSA) was set up in 1995 and is a non-profit representing operators, manufacturers and distributors of sunbeds. Members of TSA agree to comply with the Sunbeds (Regulations) Act. It includes making sure sunbeds . meet European standards, that trained staff are on duty at all times and . that protective goggles are always worn. A new law introduced in 2011 . means it is illegal for under-18s to use sunbeds. Research has shown using sunbeds increases your risk of skin cancer by up to 75 per cent. The Health and Safety Executive advise people with fair skin and moles not to use them at all because of the risks involved. Members of The Sunbed Association (TSA) agree to comply with the Sunbed (Regulations) Act. It includes making sure sunbeds meet European standards, that trained staff are on duty at all times and that protective goggles are always worn. A new law introduced in 2011 means it is illegal for under-18s to use sunbeds. A TSA spokesman said: 'Millions of people use sunbeds safely and responsibly following correct usage guidance, which includes the wearing of protective eyewear. 'Therefore, to call for a ban on a product or service when it has been used inappropriately is unfortunately misguided and even more so when self-diagnosis on the cause of a disease has taken place. 'Education about responsible use of sunbeds and sunbathing in general is of course very important, which is why we would always recommend anyone using a sunbed does so in a Sunbed Association member salon, where they will receive correct advice and information from properly trained staff. 'UV penetrates the skin, so it is insufficient either on a sunbed or when sunbathing just to close your eyes, as this will not protect them.' | Debi Gibson, 42, started using sunbeds when she was 14 years old .
Former model didn't wear protective goggles to avoid unsightly tan lines .
She was diagnosed with rare eye cancer in 2012 and had an eye removed .
Cancer has now spread to her liver and she was told it was terminal .
Mother-of-one is calling for a sunbed ban after she was given weeks to live . |
146,438 | 495b965e8ca140c888afea70c68b921e8cef8836 | A final meeting with the president. A farewell address to the State Department staff. A terrorist attack at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey. Hillary Clinton's last day as secretary of state on Friday seemed to be a microcosm of her four globe-trotting years as America's top diplomat. The former first lady had a full schedule, as usual, meeting in private with President Barack Obama at the White House and then attending the send-off ceremony with clapping, cheering workers at the agency she led. Those events were clouded by a suicide bombing earlier in the day in Ankara that killed the attacker and a Turkish security guard at the embassy. No Americans were killed or injured. Clinton traveled nearly 1 million miles and visited 112 countries in her quest as secretary to promote better understanding of the United States and its role in the world. On the road with Hillary Clinton . However, her tenure will also be remembered for last September's attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Amid the good wishes and emotions of Clinton's farewell, Friday's bombing in Turkey was a grim reminder of the continuing threats and challenges to U.S. diplomatic efforts. "Of course we live in very complex and dangerous times as we saw again just today at our embassy in Ankara," Clinton told the State Department ceremony. "I know the world we are trying to help bring into being in the 21st century will have many difficult days," she added. "But I am more optimistic today than I was when I stood here four years ago." Standing in front of a sign that said "Thank You," Clinton told the staffers jamming the area that she would miss them and the important work they do around the world. "I will probably be dialing ops just to talk," she said to laughter. Clinton sent her resignation letter to Obama a few hours before her successor, John Kerry, was sworn in on Friday afternoon. Opinion: Clinton, secretary of empowerment . "It has been an honor to serve in your administration and to represent our country around the world," the letter said. "I am proud of what we have accomplished together on behalf of the American people and in pursuit of our interests and values. And I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good around the world," she said. In what was billed as Clinton's farewell speech on Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations, she said the United States needs to build "smart power" in a world where the levers of influence are changing rapidly. American diplomats have to work with entrepreneurs and activists, use new technological tools such as social media and update the global and regional institutions that have dominated international affairs since World War II, Clinton said. "We need a new architecture for a new world -- more Frank Gehry than formal Greek," she said. "Now some of his work at first might appear haphazard, but in fact, it's highly intentional and sophisticated. Where once a few strong columns could hold up the weight of the world, today we need a dynamic mix of materials and structures." Clinton defends her diplomatic legacy . Clinton called the United States "uniquely well-positioned" to help construct that metaphorical global edifice. "Those things that make us who we are as a nation --- our openness and innovation, our diversity, our devotion to human rights and democracy --- are beautifully matched to the demands of this era and this interdependent world," she said. Kerry, who served nearly 30 years in the Senate, stepped down Friday ahead of his swearing-in as the nation's 68th secretary of state. He was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, when he lost to incumbent President George W. Bush. Kerry expects to take his first official overseas trip in coming weeks, according to a U.S. official who said stops would likely include Israel and Egypt. Exiting State, Clinton looks to writing, speaking . Clinton, 65, now faces persistent questions about whether she will mount a second White House run in 2016 to break perhaps the highest remaining glass ceiling. "Well I'm not thinking about anything like that right now. I'm looking forward to finishing my tenure as secretary of state and catching up on 20 years of sleep deprivation," Clinton said Tuesday at a global "town hall" forum in Washington. Observers note her answer was a less emphatic denial than previous responses that seemed to rule out any possibility of reentering the political fray. According to a CNN/ORC International poll conducted last month, 85% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party said they would be very or somewhat likely to support Clinton if she sought the Democratic nomination. Clinton was considered a favorite in 2008, but Obama, who served with her in the Senate, got an early jump in the primaries. Clinton was unable to capture the momentum in a fierce political battle. Despite the rugged campaign, Obama chose Clinton for his Cabinet and she embraced the role. In a joint interview with CBS that aired on Sunday, Obama said that he believes Clinton's legacy will rank among the best. "It has been a great collaboration over the last four years," Obama said. "I'm going to miss her." Clinton touts 'smart power' in farewell talk . | Kerry sworn in, first trip likely to include stops in Egypt and Israel .
Clinton cites Turkey attack as example of challenges in the world .
Clinton visited 112 countries and flew almost 1 million miles in four years .
At 65, Clinton faces questions about whether she'll run for president in 2016 . |
236,086 | bd9f40f31b5dcecc7ed9676943624fe4de40c147 | By . Laurie Whitwell . Follow @@lauriewhitwell . Louis Van Gaal is sweating on the fitness of Jonathan De Guzman after the Swansea City midfielder injured his hamstring in training. De Guzman has forced his way into the Netherlands starting XI with recent displays but faces an anxious wait to discover his World Cup fate. Van Gaal named the 26-year-old in his 23-man Dutch squad over the weekend and was planning to pick him for the opening game against Spain on June 13. Playing the waiting game: Holland boss Louis Van Gaal is sweating on the fitness of Jonathan De Guzman . But Van Gaal revealed De Guzman will miss the friendly with Wales in Amsterdam on Wednesday night, adding: ‘He felt something in his hamstring and therefore I stopped the training session as were playing 11 v 11. ‘Now we have to wait and see in the coming days whether it is bad or not so bad. Hopefully it’s a light injury. ‘De Guzman has earned his position in the team. He had a rather good game against Ghana. I liked him. I said it to him. So now I have to adapt and play another player in his position which is always not so good.’ Blow: The Swansea City midfielder had looked as if he'd start the first World Cup game against Spain . | Swansea City midfielder made Louis van Gaal's 23-man squad .
It had looked as if De Guzman would start against Spain . |
7,435 | 151179b38bee1c6c3f356db396b5c9a9c47d31dc | Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Three people were killed when a parked car rigged with explosives blew up Saturday in Najaf on the eve of parliamentary elections, the Interior Ministry said. At least 54 others -- 17 Iraqis and 37 Iranians -- were injured in the attack near the Imam Ali Holy Shrine, which houses the tomb of Ali, cousin of the Prophet Mohammed. Two of the dead were Iranians, the interior official said. Najaf, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, is frequented by Shiite pilgrims from Iran. Iraqis will go to the polls Sunday to choose a 325-member parliament. The election has been marred by violence despite heavy security. It is Iraq's fifth nationwide vote since 2003, but only the second for a full four-year-term parliament. Three attacks happened Thursday during early voting for those who will be unable to cast ballots Sunday, such as military and security personnel, detainees, hospital staff, and patients. A total of 12 people were killed and dozens were wounded. There have been warnings of further insurgent attacks around the vote. These are Iraq's first national elections since 2005, when the Sunni Arab population boycotted the elections and the political process. A Shiite-led government emerged and the Sunnis, feeling disenfranchised, went on to form the main part of the insurgency. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq calls the elections an "important milestone in Iraq's democratic progress," serving to strengthen the country's sovereignty and independence as the United States draws down its military presence there. Sunday's elections were supposed to happen in January but were delayed because of political disagreements and a delay in passing the election law that paved the way for this vote. There are 18.9 million eligible voters, casting ballots for 325 seats in the Council of Representatives, as Iraq's parliament is called. The seats represent Iraq's 18 provinces. At least a quarter of the positions -- 82 -- are guaranteed to go to women, and eight more have been allocated for minorities. They include five set aside for Christians and one each for the Shabak, Sabaeans (Mandaeans), and Yazidis. The number of seats is increasing from the previous 275. Seat allocation was based on 2005 population data from the Ministry of Trade and adjusted for a 2.8 percent annual growth across all governates. Voting for Iraqis abroad also is happening in 16 countries starting Friday -- including the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Iran, Canada and others in the Middle East and Europe. There are no exact figures for those eligible to cast ballots abroad. Estimates on turnout have ranged anywhere from 300,000 to 3 million. Around 6,200 candidates from more than 80 political entities are vying for seats. It is the first parliamentary vote to use an open list, in which the voters vote for political entities and, if they want, also can vote for candidates within those entities, according to the U.N. Assistance Mission. Although open lists complicates the training of election staff and the counting of votes, the system enhances the role of the voter in the election beyond casting a vote simply for a political party, the assistance mission says. At least 25 percent of the candidates on the ballot list of each political entity must be women. The assistance mission is providing technical assistance to the Independent High Electoral Commission, which is organizing the vote. The commission has ordered that all political campaigning must end as of 7 a.m. Saturday. A number of other special measures are being put in place for security reasons. Since Monday, there has been a ban on motorcycles and bicycles in Baghdad until further notice, and on Sunday a two-day ban on any vehicles in cities will begin, Iraqi authorities announced on state television. Provincial borders will be sealed, preventing movements between provinces, from Saturday to Monday. And international borders and all airports will be shut from midnight Saturday. A curfew will be in place in cities from midnight to 5 a.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, officials said. Civilians may not carry weapons on those days, they said. More than 47,000 polling stations will be open across the country, each one able to accept a maximum number of 420 voters. Polling stations are clustered into polling centers. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. All those in line at the time the polls are open will be able to vote. About 300,000 trained election staff -- mostly teachers, principals, and lawyers -- will be on hand at polling sites. There will be more than 494,000 local and international observers, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission. The number includes about 500 to 600 international observers, according to the United Nations. Voter turnout figures should be available shortly after polls close, and preliminary results are expected by Tuesday or Wednesday, the United Nations said. Results will start emerging for each province as soon as 30 percent of polling centers in that province are tallied. Counting will take place at the polling stations at the end of voting, under the gaze of observers. Ballots will be counted twice to ensure accuracy. The number of ballots cast will be reconciled with the number of ballots issued to each polling station, and in case of a significant discrepancy, the station will be audited. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. | Explosion near Imam Ali Holy Shrine kills 3 on day before parliamentary elections .
Seats in the 325-member parliament are up for grabs .
Elections were supposed to be in January but were delayed by political disagreements .
18.9 million people are eligible to vote, and will choose from about 6,200 candidates . |
130,209 | 3452dadd474f855551bef0394a5a93492685249c | (CNN) -- An Iranian actress has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for appearing in a film critical of the country's government, an opposition website said. Actress Marzieh Vafamehr stars in the recently released "My Tehran, For Sale," which challenges the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic, according to the website, Kaleme. "As producers of the film ... we would like to express our deep shock and sadness at the sentence imposed by the Iranian government against actress Marzieh Vafamehr and we continue to offer our support to Marzieh and her family by respecting their wishes to let the case and the appeal follow the proper legal channels," said Kate Croser and Julie Ryan. The movie features Vafamehr playing an actress who is banned from working in Iran and then tries to leave, the Kaleme website said. The website did not offer specifics about what Vafamehr was convicted of or when she was sentenced. In August, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said it had interviewed the actress's husband, Iranian filmmaker Nasser Taghvai. "It is a bitter tale why our artists should end up in prison for their profession; this is so painful. An actor cannot say I would do this in a film, or I wouldn't do that in a film. (If they did,) nobody would give them work anymore," the rights group quoted Taghvai as saying on its website. "This film has a producer and a director. If there is a problem, they should be accountable," he was quoted as saying. "Why should my wife be punished for them? These arrests have a bad reflection both inside and outside the country." CNN's Reza Sayah contributed to this report . | The film producers express "deep shock and sadness"
Actress Marzieh Vafamehr stars in the film, "My Tehran, For Sale"
There are no specifics about what Vafamehr was convicted of or when she was sentenced .
Opposition group says actress is sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes . |
196,425 | 8a35af3a35c61c7a7cdd7ecbd10ab45c902bd691 | Short people are up to 50 per cent more likely to die from dementia than the tallest, it is claimed. And men are most at risk, according to a study. Being short does not cause dementia, say the experts, but it may be a marker for poor nutrition in childhood or other early life factors that affect growth. Scroll down for video . Men who are shorter than 5ft 6ins are 50 per cent more likely to die of dementia than those taller than 5ft 10ins, a new study has found. File picture . Such factors are already linked to a higher risk of heart disease among shorter people. ‘We found shorter adult height was associated with an increased risk of subsequent dementia death and that this association was stronger in men,’ said Dr Tom Russ, who led the study. Researchers from the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre at Edinburgh University analysed data from 18 studies involving almost 182,000 people between 1994 and 2008. The height of participants was measured and other information, including social status and health history, collected. Of 17,553 deaths during an average follow-up period of ten years, 1,093 were from dementia. The study found the risk of dying from dementia was 50 per cent higher among the shortest men compared with the tallest. For every 2.87in decrease in height from the average 5ft 6ins for men, a person was 26 per cent more likely to die from the condition . Among women, the risk of dying from dementia was 35 per cent higher among the shortest. There was a 13 per cent increase in risk for each 2.5in reduction in height . There was a 24 per cent increase in risk for every three inches of reduced height among those in the studies. Among women, the risk of dying from dementia was 35 per cent higher among the shortest. There was a 13 per cent increase in risk for each 2.5in reduction in height. Dr Russ, of the University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, said it was the biggest study of its type. Senior author, Dr David Batty, of the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at University College London, added: ‘Short height in itself of course does not “cause” dementia. Rather, height captures a number of early life factors, including early-life illness, adversity, poor nutrition, and psychosocial stress, and so allows us to examine the effect of these on dementia more closely.’ Tim Frayling, professor of human genetics, University of Exeter Medical School, said: ‘The authors are not claiming that height directly alters risk of dementia. They are claiming something more subtle and less controversial – that height is a marker of early life factors which predict death from dementia.’ | Being vertically challenged increases risk of dementia in men and women .
Scientists at Edinburgh University found results more pronounced for men .
Findings show lack of inches does not cause dementia .
But it could be an indicator of poor nutrition, stress or other hardships .
For every 2.87in decrease in height from the average 5ft 6ins for men, a person was 26 per cent more likely to die from the condition .
For women a 2.68in drop from the average height of 5ft 3ins was linked to a 10 per cent increase in dementia mortality risk . |
156,842 | 56cb429aeecad337535b8b373391351c7713d341 | (CNN) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun a review of the status of the manatee to determine whether the lovable sea cow should be moved from the endangered to the threatened list, officials said. The agency said Tuesday its review of the West Indian manatee, which includes the Florida manatee, will include a 60-day comment period. The review follows a 2012 petition and a lawsuit this year from Save Crystal River Inc., an organization that wants to "improve and preserve the unique beauty of the waters of Crystal River and the community," according to its Facebook page. A lawyer for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative/libertarian organization that represents Save Crystal River, said that changing the listing won't necessarily change the federal protections for the animal. "But not changing that status -- when the science says it should be changed -- will undermine the credibility of environmental oversight, and that's bad news for all species and all environmental concerns," attorney Christina M. Martin said in a post on the Save Crystal River website. An endangered species is one that is in danger of extinction now, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Threatened species are ones that likely will be on the verge of extinction in the future. Manatees are slow-moving, large marine mammals and many die in collisions with boats. Boaters are required to move at idle-speed in manatee protection zones. In 2013, federal wildlife officials broadened protections for manatees in Kings Bay, the headwaters for the Crystal River. Patrick Rose, executive diretor of the Save the Manatee Club, told Florida Today there are still problems, including losses in the main item in a manatees' diet -- sea grass. He said habitat loss and disease are other primary threats. Rose said his group will fight to keep manatees an endangered species. Wildlife officials say it is unclear how many manatees are in Florida waters. A statewide survey in 2011 suggested there were about 4,800, but counting manatees, who surface every four minutes to breathe, is difficult. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the numbers appear to be increasing in some parts of the state or are stable in others, but researchers need updated numbers. There were 830 documented manatee deaths in 2013 and 218 for the first six months of 2014, according to information published on the commission's website. Many have died in algae blooms. Manatees have been on the federal endangered species list since it was first published in 1967. Photos: Strange and endangered species . Opinion: Jamaica selling out its paradise . Off the menu: China moves to protect endangered species . | There may be about 4,800 manatees in Florida waters .
They have been on the endangered species list since 1967 .
Group says changing manatees' status won't mean change in protections .
Supporters say the sea cows are still at risk . |
272,310 | ecb72976d06d73ff3fdafbb51440c5f24e4487d3 | (CNN) -- Ferrari's team principal Stefano Domenicali has insisted there is no "political intention" in the Italian marque's decision to bear the country's naval flag on their cars at the Indian Grand Prix. Both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will carry the symbol on their livery, a move that has been interpreted as a message of support for two Italian navy officers arrested after an incident that resulted in the death of two Indian fishermen in February. The officers are understood to have mistaken the fisherman for pirates who they thought were trying to attack an oil tanker they had been protecting. They were jailed in March and later bailed ahead of their trial. Ferrari posted a statement on their website on Wednesday that read: "Ferrari will carry the flag of the Italian Navy on the cars driven by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in this weekend's Indian Grand Prix. "In doing so, Ferrari pays tribute to one of the outstanding entities of our country, also in the hope that the Indian and Italian authorities will soon find a solution to the situation currently involving two sailors from the Italian Navy." Ferrari's decision to bear the flag on their cars was applauded by Italy's minister for foreign affairs, Giulio Terzi, who took it as a show of support for the sailors -- Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. He wrote on his official Twitter page: "Congratulations to Ferrari for displaying the the Navy's symbol at the India GP. It will show the sailors the whole country is behind them." Formula One's governing body, the FIA, states clearly that it "shall refrain from manifesting racial, political or religious discrimination in the course of its activities and from taking any action in this respect." But when questioned about the flag at a press conference ahead of Sunday's race in New Delhi, Domenicali was coy about the reasons behind it. "I think that you have to refer to that (Ferrari's statement) to be honest, and look what is written exactly, and the reason why we put that on," he said in quotes carried on the sport's official website. "There's not any political intention or discussion in that. If you look at that, that's really what is written. "If you look behind in the past we've done a lot of initiatives but there's nothing that I want to go into very specifically because it's not really the place where I should do it." AFP reported that Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had said the matter should be dealt with by India's national motorsport association, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). "What we'd do, we'd look at the national sporting authority (FMSCI) here to have a look at that... we are not political," Ecclestone was reported to have said in New Delhi. As for matters on the track, both Ferrari drivers trail behind reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions. Red Bull's German driver sits six points ahead of Alonso at the top of the drivers' championship standings, as he goes in search of a third straight title. Vettel and teammate Mark Webber were over half a second quicker than Alonso in the second practice session with Nico Rosberg fourth fastest for Mercedes. Qualifying is on Saturday before the race on Sunday. "The track improvement was quite big today, it was dusty to start and improved lap by lap, so I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow the order is different, but we've had worse Fridays, so I am happy," Vettel told F1's official website. Alonso, who has seen his championship lead eroded by Vettel in recent weeks, added: "This is an interesting circuit: after the longest straight, there's a combination of high-speed corners which are very nice to drive. "Today the track was still very dirty, which is usually the case at new tracks that aren't used very often. Tomorrow, when it will deliver more grip, it will be even more fun." | Ferrari denies making a political statement having the Italian navy flag on its F1 cars .
Marque says flag is there in hope Italy and India can settle a political dispute .
Two Italian sailors were arrested after incident that left two Indian fisherman dead .
Sebastian Vettel goes quickest in practice ahead of Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi . |
3,860 | 0b215dc1c9a9e9ea896842c7c2e4ba97c692cb82 | A Native American tribe in Oklahoma has been awarded custody this week of a four-month-old baby who was adopted by a South Carolina couple. The case has drawn comparisons to the long-running adoption dispute over three-year-old Cherokee girl Veronica and led to criticisms of 'human trafficking' from tribes. In the latest case, an Oklahoma County District Court judge awarded custody of baby Desaray, who had been adopted by a couple from outside the state, to the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Inquiry: Tribe attorney Charles Tripp says adoption lawyers should be investigated . Custody: Raymond Godwin is representing the South Carolina couple . The case echoes that of . three-year-old Veronica, who was also put up for adoption by her birth . mother, only for the biological father to later object. A . federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act mandates strict . procedures for guardianship and custody of Native American children. The . unnamed couple who adopted Desaray were present at her birth in May. They returned with her to South Carolina in June so the father could . return to work. But the . baby's biological father, Jeremy Simmons, who is not Native American, is . seeking custody. Because Desaray's biological mother is a tribal . member, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe stepped in and was awarded custody . this week. The Indian Child . Welfare Act mandates that Native American children enrolled in a tribe . must first be placed with an extended family member, another tribal . member who is not a family member or another Native American from a . different tribe. This . summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dusten Brown, a Cherokee . Nation member who is seeking custody of his daughter, Veronica, could . not use the law to press his claims for custody. Veronica's . biological mother is not Native American. Courts in South Carolina and . Oklahoma have ordered Mr Brown to hand over the girl to Matt and Melanie . Capobianco, but Mr Brown has refused. Custody battle: Veronica, pictured above with biological father Dusten Brown has been at the center of a custody tug-of-war for her entire life . A . lawyer representing the Absentee Shawnee Tribe in the Desaray case said . he fears the tribe could have trouble in its effort to bring Desaray . back to Oklahoma. Charles Tripp said he believes the South Carolina-based adoption lawyer, Ray Godwin, who helped set up adoption cases involving Veronica and Desaray, and other adoption lawyers should be investigated by the Department of Justice. He told Indian Country Today Media Network last month that tribal attorneys were caught off guard in May when they heard that Desaray had been moved to Oklahoma. 'She was already gone and out of the state before we even received notice,' he claimed. 'The adoptive couple paid their money and took off with the kid without the required approval of either the State of Oklahoma or the Absentee Shawnee.' Mr Tripp had called for an investigation to end the 'human trafficking of our tribal children in South Carolina'. 'Part of the reason for an investigation is the fact that I think we've got women, primarily, who are in bad situations financially, maybe emotionally, maybe societal issues – whether that's drug and alcohol issues or criminal issues – who are being selected, preyed upon, by these agencies,' he said. 'I think they prey upon people in dire straits.' In a statement, Mr Godwin said the Absentee Shawnee Tribe were aware of the plan for adoption before the birth and did not voice any objections. He acknowledged that the couple did leave Oklahoma without obtaining an interstate compact agreement, which governs the placement of children from one state to another. 'But they only did so under dire circumstances,' Mr Godwin said in the statement. 'Any statements by the birth father or the Absentee Shawnee Indian Tribe that the child was whisked out of Oklahoma a couple of days after birth are patently false.' Mr Godwin said the couple went to family court in South Carolina where a temporary custody order was put in place. It's unclear if the adoptive couple plan to appeal the Oklahoma order, though Mr Godwin did write that the couple are trying to obtain an interstate compact agreement. | Law on Native American adoptions says child must be placed with tribe first .
Couple had been present for birth before returning home with new baby . |
14,055 | 27dc879956dbc48b7aafe1fcfc960a06dc55f5cb | MONTGOMERY, Alabama (CNN) -- From the time he first emerged as a civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived with the threat of death, but he never wavered in his commitment to non-violence. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed the cause they were fighting for was worth dying for. "Dr. King made it rather clear that the cause that we were fighting for was not only worth living for, but it was worth dying for, if need be," said Fred Gray, the lawyer who helped King lead the fight to desegregate city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956. A month after blacks began a bus boycott, a midnight caller warned King that he would be sorry he ever came to Montgomery. Three days later, his house was bombed. Angry blacks gathered outside King's home, but Gray said, "Once he found out his family was safe and secure, he simply went out, talked to the crowd, and told them to go home, and they went." King knew what could happen when he led demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, facing fire hoses and police dogs in an effort to desegregate downtown businesses. Longtime aide Andrew Young said, "Going to Birmingham was to him the possibility of an imminent death." Another aide, the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, said when he kissed his own wife and children goodbye to go there, "I thought I would never see them again. I didn't think I would come out of Birmingham alive. I didn't think King would." But in September, after the city had yielded, it would be four young girls who would be killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. King felt responsible, Young said. "Most of those days he was in a deep depression." When King delivered the eulogy for the victims, lawyer Clarence Jones said, "It was one of the few vivid times ... where I observed tears, him crying as he was speaking." Yet King told the mourners, "In spite of the darkness of this hour ... we must not become bitter, nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence." King flew into Memphis, Tennessee, the first week of April 1968 to try to lead a peaceful march in support of a strike by black garbage workers. On a stormy night, he spoke at a church rally. "He talked about death more than I heard him talk about it at any one given," Memphis NAACP leader Rev. Billy Kyles said. King told the crowded church, "I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind." Young said the speech was one that King had made before when times were dangerous. "Because he had done it before, and we'd gone on to the next place, I wasn't really taking it seriously," Young said. "It was just a great speech, but I never thought I was listening to his last speech." King ended: "I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." "We were just boo-hooing. And we had to actually help him to his seat," Kyles said. "He gave it his all, and somehow, I guess he knew that would be his last hurrah." The next evening, King walked out of his motel room to have dinner at Kyles' home. "I said, 'Guys, come on, let's go,' and I walked to the stairs," Kyles remembered. "Before I could get to the stairs, the shot rang out. 'Ka-POW!' "Blood was everywhere," Kyles said. "I took a spread from one of the beds and covered him from the neck down. He never said a word." | Lawyer: Dr. King believed the cause was worth dying for .
After his house was bombed, King simply told supporters to go home .
King went to Memphis to lead a peaceful march in support of garbage workers .
Observers said King talked more about death on that fateful trip in 1968 . |
79,455 | e13f16835e174eafb8a044765334726fcf0833f4 | (CNN) -- The melting glacial ice in places like the Alps, Greenland and the Himalayas is a dramatic visual document of how our planet's climate is changing. For U.S.-based environmental photographer James Balog, it is a vision he has spent more than six years trying to record and preserve. After an assignment for National Geographic in Iceland in 2005, he was shocked by the changes taking place and wanted to find a way to capture what was going on, in the Arctic and glaciers elsewhere around the world. The result has been a new documentary film, "Chasing Ice," based on 36 time-lapse cameras looking at 16 different glaciers in locations in Alaska, Bolivia, Canada, France, Greenland, Iceland, Nepal, the Rocky Mountains and Switzerland. Each camera has been taking a photograph every half-an-hour during daylight, producing almost one million pictures in total. Balog says putting the documentary together has changed his initial skepticism about climate change. "What we've seen has been a complete shock. I never really expected to see this magnitude of change. Every time we open the backs of these cameras it's like 'wow, is that what's just happened.'" At one point in the film, Balog is shown looking at the memory card he has just removed from a camera and saying: "This is a memory of a landscape. A landscape that is now gone and will never be seen again in the history of civilization." Watch: CNN special 'Secrets in the Ice' Of all the places he has filmed, it is the Arctic that has attracted most attention in recent years. In September this year, the ice cap fell to its lowest extent on record. It grows each winter but is retreating further and further every summer, according to data collected by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center. The summer ice extent has declined by 13% each decade since the ice was first monitored in 1979. Climate scientists have previously predicted the Arctic could lose almost all of its ice cover in the summer months by 2100. However, the recent accelerated ice losses have led some to believe that date could come much sooner. While accepting that glacial ice melting has happened many times before in human history, Balog says what he is documenting now can no longer be considered a natural process. "What we're seeing is a much more accelerated rate of change, especially in the past 40 years or so and that has clearly been traced by scientists to the impact of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions into the atmosphere." "In the past 100 years, the atmosphere has accumulated 40% more carbon dioxide in it than had been seen in the peak over the past one million years. "So, in the past one million years the peak of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere has been 280-290 parts per million (ppm). We're now at 395 ppm and adding more every year. It's gone beyond natural and is affecting the entire world," he says. Balog, who lives in the Rocky Mountains near Boulder, Colorado, believes the economic and technological solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change already exist. "What we need is a greater political and public understanding of the immediacy and reality of these changes. I believe that this film can help shift public perceptions by telling people a story that is real and happening now," he says. | New documentary captures glacial ice retreating at sixteen different locations around the world .
"Chasing Ice," by U.S. photographer James Balog, recorded glacier melt since 2007 .
Balog's cameras have captured nearly one million images for the project .
Balog hopes film will "shift public perceptions by telling people a story that is real and happening now" |
199,782 | 8ea0e94dd18964406f1b5554548fa95fed32bdbb | CNNU is a feature that provides student perspectives on news and trends from colleges across the United States. This year's student journalists are: . Alyson Weiss from University of Florida . Amanda Giger from Syracuse University . April Daley from Northwestern University . Brandon Gates from University of South Carolina . Brett Stephen Okamoto from Colorado State University . Cheyenne Glenn from Ohio University . Christian L. Tom from Stanford University . Christopher Twohig from University of South Florida . Dan Kagan-Kans from Carleton College . Darren Cunningham from University of Michigan . Eunic Ortiz from University of Florida . Johanna Peace from Wellesley College . Joshua Molina from Brigham Young University . Nneka Egbujiobi from University of Michigan . Sarah Lynch from New York University . Susan Pedrotti from St. John Fisher College . Susan Tart from University of North Carolina . Sophia Tewa from Lehman College . Sally Tunmer from Loyola University . Tanisha Harris from University of Miami E-mail to a friend . | CNNU's correspondents come from across the country .
They report on news and trends from their campuses .
Here is the CNNU class of 2007-2008 . |
73,430 | d03580b4cb1b955e6cba748cd7106b9093c76fc5 | Alamo Heights, Texas (CNN) -- A campus police officer who fatally shot a Catholic-college honor student following a traffic stop told the student to stop resisting arrest 56 times before shooting him five times, police said. Cpl. Christopher Carter, who is on administrative leave after the shooting, is "very remorseful," police say, but he shot 23-year-old Robert Cameron Redus only after Redus took his police baton and hit him with it. Carter was able to get his baton back, but Redus then charged him, prompting the University of the Incarnate Word officer to shoot six times, hitting Redus five. Redus was pronounced dead at the scene, Alamo Heights police Chief Richard Pruitt said Monday. There is no dashboard video of the shooting available, but a microphone recorded sound from the altercation Friday. It started with a traffic stop. Redus had been drinking, according to a witness, and drove past Carter, who was patrolling in a campus police pickup truck, Pruitt said. The student sped into a construction zone in "bad weather conditions," he said. Carter followed him. Redus struck a curb on the right, Carter reported, then swerved left into the opposite lane of traffic, so the officer switched on his emergency lights and pulled him over, Pruitt said. Redus pulled into the apartment complex where he lived, and Carter followed, but he made a fateful slip. He reported the wrong street location to police dispatchers, which caused his call to be routed to a police department farther away. Alamo Heights police could have made it there to assist him sooner, but his call went to their San Antonio counterparts. This caused a delay of several minutes in response time. He was left alone with Redus, and things went wrong. Had Pruitt's officers, who were closer, been called to respond, Redus might still be alive, the chief said. The scuffle . By the time Carter got out of his patrol truck, Redus was already walking away from his vehicle, Pruitt said. Carter later told police that Redus was drunk, and one of the student's friends later confirmed she had been barhopping with him. Carter ordered Redus to put his hands on his vehicle, and he obeyed, but when the officer pulled out his handcuffs, the student refused to cooperate, Pruitt said. The two scuffled for more than six minutes. The dashboard camera's mount was not working. It had been glued in place two days before the incident, but the adhesive didn't hold, the school said. The camera was pointing in the wrong direction, but its microphone recorded the altercation. "Officer Carter instructed Robert Redus 14 times to place his hands behind his back, and informed him three times that he was under arrest, and to stop resisting 56 times," Pruitt said, referring to the recording. "During the struggle, the officer attempted to subdue the suspect with his baton. ... The baton was taken by the suspect who used it to hit the officer," the university said in a statement. Pruitt said the officer had injuries on his arm and head. Carter was able to wrestle the baton away from Redus, but then the student charged at the officer with his arm raised; Carter warned him four times that he would shoot if Redus did not stop, Pruitt said. Carter opened fire. Witnesses . One of Redus' neighbors reportedly heard an argument and the shots. Mohammad Haidarasl, 22, told the San Antonio Express-News that Redus was his upstairs neighbor and that he was on his apartment sofa at 2 a.m. when he heard noise outside and a voice he believes was the officer's, saying, "Stop resisting, stop resisting." The newspaper quoted Haidarasl as saying he thought he heard a struggle, and "Then the cop said, 'I'm going to shoot.' " A male voice replied, " 'Oh, you're gonna shoot me?' like sarcastic almost," Haidarasl said. Less than a minute later, Haidarasl said, he heard shots. Pruitt said there were other witnesses who heard and saw parts of the struggle. One of them called police. Friends at the school say the Cameron Redus they knew wasn't the type to attack police. They knew a student who made the dean's list at college and had been co-valedictorian at a Christian high school back home in Baytown, Texas, east of Houston. They knew a fun-loving campus television news anchor who was "the sweetest, kindest, gentlest person," Annie Jones told CNN affiliate WOAI-TV. "That is nothing like him at all," Redus' friend Jonathan Guajardo said. "He is one of the nicest, most caring, compassionate guys ever. Not a mean bone in his body." Carter, who has "an extensive law enforcement background," has been placed on administrative leave -- standard procedure in these types of incidents, a university statement said, adding that all campus officers "are licensed and trained as certified peace officers by the state of Texas." Guajardo believes deadly force was unnecessary and grilled Pruitt on the topic at a news conference. He questioned whether Redus was a real threat to Carter, who Pruitt conceded was much taller and heavier. "The officer is very, very remorseful over this," Pruitt said. "This is not an easy thing for him, I can assure you." Family devastated . Redus' family released a statement to CNN affiliate KENS-TV saying, "We are understandably devastated by the death of our dear son Cameron and we ask for your prayers as we deal with our tragic loss. We trust that God is faithful and will see us through this most difficult time." Friends have set up a Facebook page, Cardinals for Cameron (the UIW mascot is a Cardinal), and a memorial fund to assist the family. University President Lou Agnese said in a statement released to WOAI, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the student and officer involved in this incident." This was the first shooting in university history, it said. Hundreds of people, including relatives of Redus, gathered at the university's convocation center Saturday for a vigil. Students brought a slide show of Redus in happy poses and many wore green ribbons, Redus' favorite color. Shooting leaves 2 high-schoolers dead at house party near Houston . Video captures beating of college student in Atlantic City; student sues cops . Joshua Rubin reported from Alamo Heights, Texas. Ben Brumfield and David Simpson reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin and George Howell contributed to this report. | Student hit police officer with officer's own baton, university and police say .
University of the Incarnate Word says Cpl. Christopher Carter is now on administrative leave .
Police say campus officer said Robert Cameron Redus struggled with him .
Friends: Redus was on college dean's list, was co-valedictorian at his high school . |
163,408 | 5f46d41bf7442415d372159fcd21bcec6a7c42b4 | Nahuala, Guatemala (CNN) -- Officials say at least 46 people were buried in two landslides here. Four of them were Carlos Coti's family members. "They left behind 20 orphans, because each one had 4, 5 or 6 children they left," he said. The first landslide knocked a number of vehicles and a bus off the road. When nearby residents rushed to the scene to help, a second mudslide crashed down on the same spot, the nation's disaster agency said. Constant rains have forced rescue crews to stop and restart their searches for the missing, as anxious family members look on. CNN video shows men, dressed in rain-jackets, digging through the thick mud with shovels and then later carrying bodies on stretchers. Disaster officials report that torrential rains and landslides have left at least 46 people dead, 56 injured, and 16 missing. On Monday, President Alvaro Colom declared three days of national mourning. "The firefighters and rescue teams are working with the government's equipment so that we can come out of this human tragedy," Colom said as he visited one landslide site. Around 11,500 residents have been evacuated and 9,000 have taken refuge in shelters, the nation's disaster agency said. More than 50,000 people have been affected by the punishing rain, said to be the strongest in 60 years. Over the weekend, authorities closed parts of the Inter-American Highway after rains washed out sections of the road and caused at least two accidents. Thousands of homes, in addition to infrastructure and fields of crops, also were damaged by the heavy rains. The torrential downpours come several months after more than 150 people died when Tropical Storm Agatha hit Guatemala in May. Destruction from that storm was widespread throughout the nation, with mudslides destroying homes and buildings and burying some victims. At least nine rivers had dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges collapsed, Guatemala's emergency services agency said. The May downpours created a sinkhole the size of a street intersection in northern Guatemala City. Residents told CNN that a three-story building and a house fell into the hole. Roughly 263 people have died in Guatemala so far this year as a result of rain, the president said. Journalist Alexia Rios Hayashi contributed to this report. | NEW: Emergency officials report 46 dead and more than 50,000 people affected .
One family mourns four dead .
About 11,500 people have been evacuated and 9,000 are living in shelters .
The president says some 263 people have died this year in Guatemala as a result of rain . |
126,650 | 2fb86c7408a434516da8bb1476a555fff99db11c | Universities were under pressure tonight to crack down on Islamic extremists who spout hatred on campuses. An investigation has been launched into claims that a series of radical speakers were invited to events and distributed leaflets to students at the University where both killers are thought to have studied. The probe will consider whether Greenwich University’s Islamic society had any role in radicalising Michael Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22. Theresa May, appearing on BBC's Andrew Marr Show, criticised universities for being 'complacent' in tackling the risk of radicalisation . Claims have been made that a pamphlet written by a preacher who was banned from entering Britain by the Home Secretary was distributed during a freshers' fair at Greenwich University . Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday pledged to look at introducing new powers to tackle Al Qaeda sympathisers who try to recruit impressionable students at colleges. She has criticised universities for being ‘complacent’ in tackling the risk of radicalisation. One of Drummer Lee Rigby’s killers, Michael Adebolajo, 28, converted to Islam in 2003 at the same time that he studied at the University of Greenwich. He was radicalised by the banned group Al-Muhajiroun. His accomplice in the gruesome murder outside Woolwich Barracks, Michael Adebowale, 22, is also said to have been an undergraduate there and studied on a business course. The announcement of the investigation came amid claims that a pamphlet written by a preacher who was banned from entering Britain by the Home Secretary in 2010 was distributed during a freshers’ fair at Greenwich University in 2011. Dr Zakir Naik, the author, said in the booklet: 'Every Muslim should be a terrorist,’ it was alleged. Michael Adebolajo, 28 (centre) converted to Islam in 2003 at the same time that he studied at the University of Greenwich. Adebolajo studied there for two years but was thrown out because of poor academic progress . Dr Naik had been banned from entering Britain the previous year by Theresa May after she ruled that his presence was 'not conducive to the public good'. Other figures known for their extreme views are said to have appeared in person at the university, including Dr Khalid Fikry, who has supported convicted terrorists. The society has also promoted videos by another radical preacher, Abu Usamah, on its Facebook page. Abu Usamah, a Birmingham based imam, featured on the Channel 4 Dispatches programme Undercover Mosque in which he expressed support for Osama bin Laden and said homosexuals were 'perverted, filthy dogs who should be murdered'. He has been banned from several academic institutions for his extreme views. Professor David Maguire, vice-chancellor of the university, confirmed that Adebolajo had been a student there for two years but had been thrown out because his ‘academic progress was unsatisfactory’. This picture, believed to be of Micahel Adebowale at a Muslims Against Crusaders rally, shows the radical six years ago. The now-banned group became famous after members set fire to poppies on Remembrance Day and chanted 'British soldiers burn in hell' He said: ‘The university takes its responsibilities very seriously in terms of preventing extremism. ‘We are committed to ensuring that the university is a safe and secure place of study and debate within the confines of the law. 'We have diverse communities on campus and these include a range of different faiths. ‘Given the seriousness of issues raised, the university is setting up an investigation into the association of these two individuals with the university, to assess whether there is any evidence of extremism in the university (past or present) and whether we need to update our policies and practices.’ Professor Maguire said the university had ‘no record’ of Adebowale being a student at Greenwich. Mrs May is determined to stop extremist clerics using schools, colleges and universities - as well as prisons and mosques - to spread their ‘poison’. She said: ‘We need to look across institutions like universities, whether there is more work we can be doing in prisons.’ Universities UK, which represents higher education institutions, is drawing up guidelines on how to handle preachers who have a track record of inciting hatred. It has launched a new campaign to show students, unions and academics what they can do to constrain controversial preachers. The last Labour government introduced its Prevent strategy in a bid to stop young people becoming involved with extremist groups but ministers acknowledged this has stalled. Rupert Sutton, from Student Rights, an organisation aimed at preventing extremism at universities, said he hoped chancellors would draw up lists of speakers liable to preach hatred or violence. He said: ‘There is a problem with Prevent at many universities, partly because it comes from government and partly because it is seen as anti-Muslim. 'It needs to be refocused much more clearly as being opposed to extremism of both right and left.’ In January it was revealed that Islamic extremists preached at more than 200 university events last year raising fresh fears over radicalisation on campus. Calls for a crackdown on radicalising forces come after the killing of Lee Rigby last Wednesday. Theresa May said extremist clerics must be stopped from using schools, colleges and universities to spread their message . A dozen events featured speakers with links to the fanatical group Hizb ut Tahrir – a controversial organisation banned by the National Union of Students. A study by Student Rights warned Islamic extremists were using social networking sites to radicalise students. Videos of armed insurgents and hate-filled speeches from Al Qaeda figures had been posted on websites linked to Islamic societies at several leading universities. In 2011, Mrs May said universities were not taking the issue of radicalisation seriously enough and that it was too easy for Muslim extremists to form groups on campuses ‘without anyone knowing’. | Investigation launched into Greenwich University .
Claims that Islamic Society could have had role in radicalising alleged Woolwich killers .
Home Secretary Theresa May criticised universities for complacency in tacking radicalisation .
Michael Adebolajo, 28, converted to Islam at the same time he studied at Greenwich . |
78,120 | dd7fe5784ba3f6eda50460b279ba107589ed5a75 | President Barack Obama is under fire this week for the way his White House has excoriated the previous administration for employing tactics it would categorize as torture all the while launching drone strikes on terrorism suspects abroad. The enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA during the George W. Bush administration on 39 detainees resulted in just one death, Obama's critics have pointed out. Drone strikes conducted by the current occupant of the White House have killed more than 2,400 people. After claiming all week that the release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report detailing the brutal tactics employed by the Bush administration to elicit information from terrorists was necessary in order for the U.S. to reassert it's 'moral authority,' the White House was forced on Friday to state on record that it doesn't believe its drone policy erodes the moral high ground on which it thinks it stands when it comes to human rights. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . President Barack Obama and his administration have been aggressively criticized this week over the number of civilians its drone strikes kill . Charges of hypocrisy were levied at the Obama administration this week by a former director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, Jose Rodriguez, on Tuesday evening after the Senate committee's published its review of the so-called torture program, operated from 2002 - 2007. Appearing on Sean Hannity's Fox News program that evening, Rodriguez and the conservative television host chastised the Obama administration for its own questionable anti-terrorism tactics. Hannity wondered how the Obama administration's drone program is 'not far more morally problematic than enhanced interrogation' to the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate's Intelligence Committee. 'This administration does not take any prisoners, they prefer to kill them from afar, using drones,' Rodriguez chimed in. 'And somehow, they feel that because they kill from a distance, somehow, it’s more ethical … more ethical than the difficult and messy and unpleasant task and mission of actually interrogating prisoners,' he continued, adding, 'I think it’s a distortion of what our values are.' Hannity went on to say that if he had to choose between being waterboarded, one of the approved interrogation tactics of the Bush administration's CIA, or being droned, he'd prefer to be waterboarded. 'I think I’ll take the waterboarding, too,' Rodriguez replied. While waterboarding has been the most commonly cited enhanced interrogation technique since Obama banned the use of the harsh tactics during his first days in office, its one of 13 on the list that the CIA used at the time. Others include sleep deprivation, cramped confinement, nudity and stress positions. Unapproved tactics that the the Bush administration says the CIA used without authorization were rectal feeding and a process referred to in the report as 'rectal rehydration.' A young Yazidi refugee stuck on Mount Sinjar cries in this November photo after a gauntlet of older and stronger refugees pushed their way onto an Iraqi Air Force Mi-17 Hip helicopter sent to evacuate them. The White House pushed back on criticism this week that its drone strikes against terrorists kill thousands of innocents by pointing out that ISIS' terror tactics kill substantially more . Taking the argument against the Obama administration drone policies a step further on Wednesday morning former Republican congressman and current MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said present U.S. policy appears to be: 'Let’s just go ahead and just kill them all, and if we kill 5-year-old girls and 85-year-old grandmas, so be it; we feel better about ourselves because that seems cleaner. 'That’s what liberals are saying today,' he charged. 'That’s what [Vice President] Joe Biden’s been saying, that’s what Barack Obama’s been saying.' Continuing, he claimed 'the drone program went into overdrive on January 21st, 2009' when Obama took office. 'When you talk about five years from now, ten years from now, the information comes out about this drone program, and people actually report on this drone program, it’s going to look a hell of a lot worse, a hell of a lot deadlier, a hell of a lot more random, and a hell of a lot more inhumane than waterboarding three prisoners in 2002 and 2003,' he said. On Friday Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest was confronted about the possibility that this White House's drone policies would be disparaged by a future administration with as much hostility as the current one is showing the Bush era program. Earnest told the inquiring reporter, SiriusXm radio's Jared Rizzi, he 'would not envision a scenario where that would occur.' 'Letal operations, lethal counterterrorrism operations, are only conducted as a last resort,' he said, 'and the president has emphasized that extraordinary care needs to be taken' to ensure that such counterterrorism measures are 'carried out in accordance with all applicable domestic and international laws, and are consistent with U.S. values and policy.' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Friday he doesn't think the Obama administration's drone policy undermines its self-proclaimed 'moral authority' After stating that '40x more' people 'are affected by drones than held in Guantanamo,' Rizzi then asked Earnest if 'the animating principle here' is 'if the president does it, it is not illegal?' A visibly irritated Earnest told him, 'No, I think the animating principle here is that the president is committed, in fact, to upholding both American and international law and ensuring that all of the actions that are taken are consistent with our values and our policy. 'Those values are what uphold our moral authority around the globe, and that's why the president is determined to ensure that our counterterrorism operations are consistent with those values,' Earnest said, restating already established administration policy that the United States' 'moral authority' is one of the 'most powerful tools' in its 'arsenal to protecting American interests around the globe.' Rizzi pressed the Obama administration further and asked him any aspect of the White House's drone policy undermines its self proclaimed moral authority, at which point Earnest again stressed that 'great precautions are taken' to make sure that innocents are not killed in U.S. drone strikes. Backing him into a corner, the White House correspondent repeated his question. 'No,' Earnest curtly said before moving on to another reporter's questions. Earlier this week Earnest faced a similar cross-examination of administration policy from Fox News' senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. 'You have repeatedly talked about moral authority,' Henry said. 'So can you explain how the president believes that it’s un-American to use these [enhanced interrogation] techniques, but it’s OK to ramp up the drone policy and basically thousands of people across the world, innocent civilians were killed? 'What’s the moral equivalency there? How do you have moral authority when innocent civilians are killed by drones?' Henry asked. Earnest told him there's a 'stark difference in the way the United States conducts our policy, and the way that terrorists around the world conduct their policy,' stating the strict precautions taken. 'I understand there are safeguards,' Henry said. 'But in the end, we’ve seen many cases around the world where U.S. drones have killed innocent civilians despite those safeguards. So how do you have moral authority?' he again asked. 'What I’m saying is that is a stark difference from the tactics that are employed by our enemies, who seek to use car bombs to actually target innocent civilians,' Earnest said, adding that the U.S goes 'to great lengths to protect the lives of innocent civilians.' 'In fact, many of the terrorists that we’re talking about, and again, many of these counterterrorism activities that are used against terrorists are targeting terrorists that themselves have targeted local populations, that have targeted fellow Muslims in some situations. 'So the efforts that are taken by this administration to limit or to prevent innocent civilian casualties are consistent with our values, and are consistent with our broader strategy for protecting the American people,' he contended. Asked on Wednesday whether the U.S. still has any moral high ground left in light of the Senate's damning report on the Bush era programs, released the day before, a top U.S. general that oversees the operations at terrorist-holding prison Guantanamo Bay made a similar argument. “I would say that people who said to me, "Well, we have now lost the moral high ground," I think that’s foolishness,' Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, the chief of U.S. Southern Command told attendees of a human rights summit, per a report in the Washington Post. 'Some might say that. The jihadists were saying it today,' he noted. 'Gimme a break. [The Islamic State] is telling us we lost the moral high ground? I love it.' | The CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques, used on 39 detainees, resulted in just one death, Obama's critics have pointed out .
Drone strikes conducted by the current occupant of the White House have killed more than 2,400 people .
'This administration does not take any prisoners, they prefer to kill them from afar, using drones,' a former CIA official said .
White House was asked directly today about 'killing thousands of people across the world, innocent civilians'
The White House was forced on Friday to state on record that it doesn't believe its drone policy erodes its self-proclaimed moral authority . |
245,134 | c946885213df63a9a62b40fe178d82833f72880e | LA GLORIA, Mexico (CNN) -- Tucked away in this small mountain village in Mexico, off a dusty road flanked by pig farms, is where the earliest case of swine flu -- a virus spreading globally -- was confirmed. Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez, known as "patient zero," survived the earliest documented case of swine flu. Meet the child known as "patient zero" by his doctors -- 5-year-old Edgar Hernandez, who survived the earliest documented case of swine flu in an outbreak that, officials say, has now spread across four continents. His family lives in the 3,000-population village of La Gloria in the state of Veracruz, where a flu outbreak was reported on April 2. State officials arrived and tested dozens of people. Lab tests confirmed that Edgar was the only patient in Veracruz to test positive for the swine flu virus; the others had contracted a common flu. Health officials had returned to Edgar's sample only after cases of the new flu strain were spotted around the country. Watch Dr. Gupta meet little Edgar » . "In this case, there's a patient who turned out to be positive for the swine-flu virus, with the exception that at that time in no region of the world it had been established as an etiological, epidemic cause," said Mexico Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova. Edgar has managed to bounce back from his symptoms and playfully credits ice cream for helping him feel better. His mother blamed a huge pig farm in the neighborhood for the virus. Officials have conducted tests at the farm owned by U.S. company Smithfield Foods, and those tests came back negative. Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. When the flu spreads person to person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Learn more about swine flu and how to treat it » . Common seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year worldwide, far more than the current outbreak of swine flu. But there is no vaccine for this new disease, and little natural immunity, an expert said. "I think the reason to be concerned is ... we had a vaccine for regular flu," said Dr. Carlos del Rio of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. "This is a totally new virus. ... You have a virus to which there's no pre-vaccination, there's no prior immunity. And, therefore, the mortality rate may be higher than other influenza viruses." Watch why swine flu is a "sloppy virus" » . Researchers do not know how the virus is jumping relatively easily from person to person, or why it's affecting what should be society's healthiest demographic. Meanwhile, in hard-hit Mexico City, the government closed universities, postponed sporting events, asked restaurants to serve only take-out food, and canceled church services in an effort to try to stem the spread of the virus. Worried residents continue to flood in night and day at hospitals, only to be turned away by armed guards. Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta inside a Mexico City hospital » . Two of the most common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza -- which are effective against swine flu -- are in short supply in Mexico's capital. It also has become impossible to find protective surgical masks, which the government had handed out to one out of every five residents. "I was looking for a mask at my local pharmacy, but they sold out," supermarket worker Rafael Martinez said as he rode the subway. "I know it's a risk, but I can't find one." CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in La Gloria, Mexico, contributed to this report. | Boy, 5, with first documented case and only in village, is recovering .
Mother blames a nearby pig farm for virus, but tests there came back negative .
Thousands flood Mexican hospitals, scramble for masks . |
247,230 | cbf47cfbaf8150dae3f21eb4799d99d7e7dbb058 | A year ago Jacqueline Sparks was healthy, pregnant and looking forward to becoming a mother for the first time. Now she is a 27-year-old going through menopause and feeling ashamed that she can never give her husband the large family they both desperately wanted. Ms Sparks lost her daughter Mia and her ability to ever have a family naturally when a drug-affected driver crashed into the car she was travelling in with her two brothers. 'What makes it worse is I have this guilt that I'm holding [my husband] back from having a family, because he'd make such a wonderful dad, but it's not my fault,' Ms Sparks told Daily Mail Australia. Jacqueline Sparks lost her unborn baby and her ability to have children in a horrific car accident . On September 30 last year she was travelling in the front passenger's seat of her brother's car on the Princes Highway at Dapto in Wollongong, NSW, when Marco Paulo Silvestri crashed head-on into the vehicle as he tried to overtake another car. Ms Sparks was air-lifted to Liverpool Hospital following the incident where doctors discovered the extent of her injuries: head trauma, broken ribs, fractured ulna, lacerations to the bone, punctured lungs, lost vision and the 'loss of her 32 week foetus'. The car crash was so severe her womb catastrophically ruptured upon impact and had to be removed. In local court earlier this year, Silvestri pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, the Illawarra Mercury reported. In a hearing in the district court in Sutherland on Wednesday, a victim impact statement read out on behalf of Ms Sparks described the pain she felt when she realised she had lost her daughter Mia. She was injured when drug-affected driver Marco Paulo Silvestri crashed into the car she was travelling in Wollongong, NSW last year . Ms Sparks' brother Tim McNamara (left) was driving the car at the time of the accident . 'I do not remember understanding nor being told what had happened but I do remember a single tear falling from my face onto the perfect little nose of my lifeless daughter in my arms,' she wrote. 'I have lost my daughter, my womanhood and my chance to ever become a mother naturally.' Ms Sparks, from Farmborough Heights in southwest Wollongong, feels angry at Silvestri for taking those things away. 'As remorseful as he did seem yesterday, everyone's remorseful after the act,' she said. 'If you get caught doing something you feel sorry. 'How many times before that had he driven on drugs?' Ms Sparks also feels upset that he was charged with dangerous driving and not manslaughter. 'It's frustrating with driving charges, it's seen as an accident it's not seen as a crime, but the car's a weapon as well,' she said. Ms Sparks hopes to see a bill known as Zoe's Law passed through NSW Parliament, which would criminalise grievous bodily harm to a foetus of 20 weeks or more. The bill is named after Brodie Donegan's unborn daughter Zoe, who died at 32 weeks when she was hit by a drug-affected driver in 2009. Ms Sparks said her husband Chi Nguyen was devastated by the accident as the couple were looking forward to raising a large family together . But due to the accident Ms Sparks can no longer naturally give birth to children, and is already going through menopause at just 27 . In November 2013 the bill passed through the NSW Legislative Assembly 63 votes to 23, but it has yet to be introduced to the NSW Upper House. The controversial bill has faced strong opposition over concerns about the implications it would have for women seeking abortions. Ms Sparks just hopes to prevent other women from suffering in the way that she has. 'I know [Silvestri] won't be charged for manslaughter now but if it does happen again I think it's an important thing to realise it was a child,' she said. 'I just think a baby should be recognised as a baby and that person should be charged with something more.' Ms Sparks said the crash has devastated her husband Chi Nguyen. 'We both come from a big family - I come from four and he's from ten – and we both want a big family,' she said. 'If we do have to go into commercial surrogacy we're going to need literally $1 million to have four children.' And even if they choose to pursue surrogacy, they will face a number of obstacles including finding a surrogate and confirming that Ms Sparks can still produce eggs. The 27-year-old hopes to see a bill known as Zoe's Law passed through NSW Parliament, which would criminalise grievous bodily harm to a foetus of 20 weeks or more . The crash had a major impact on Ms Sparks' family, pictured here are her brother Tim (left) who was driving the car, sister Jo, brother Jonathan who was a passenger, and her mum (right) 'I'm 27 and I'm going through menopause, it's ridiculous,' she said. 'Plus all these issues around Thailand surrogacy, surrogacy in NSW is illegal and for us to even have that option we'd have to consider overseas.' Ms Sparks said the crash has also affected her social life, especially at an age where many friends are getting married and having children. 'People don't really know how to be around you, they wonder if they should give their baby to you to hold or is that insensitive,' she said. 'Some of my best friends have recently had babies and I avoid it, I feel like I'm putting an awkwardness on them.' Her brothers Jonathan Sparks, 25, and Tim McNamara, 29, have also been severely affected by the crash. Mr Sparks' spine was crushed and he will never again be able to bend over or lift more than 15kg, which has had a major impact on his career as a chef. Ms Sparks also revealed the impact the loss of her only daughter had on her own life, and the difficultly she faces while her friends are all having children of their own . Mr McNamara feels guilty as he was the one driving the car. 'I know he's really depressed, he hasn't found work,' Ms Sparks said. 'Being the driver you have guilt like you could have swerved differently or braked sooner, even though it's not his fault at all.' On Tuesday this week, exactly one year after the crash, Ms Sparks and Mr Nguyen bought Mia a birthday cake and reflected on what life would have been like if she was there with them. In court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Bill Whitby read out apology to Ms Sparks and her brothers on behalf of Silvestri. He was remanded in custody until Judge Paul Conlon hands down his sentence on October 22. But Ms Sparks finds the apology difficult to accept. 'Your actions have completely changed my life. I feel like a different person - mentally and physically. My happiness, my career, my self-esteem, my social interaction, my sleep, my energy, my laughter and above all, our daughter, is now gone,' she wrote in her victim impact statement. 'You chose to take drugs and you chose to drive dangerously. This is our life now and you gave us no choice.' | Jacqueline Sparks lost her unborn daughter and her ability to fall pregnant .
She was injured when drug-affected driver Marco Paulo Silvestri crashed into the car she was travelling in Wollongong, NSW last year .
Ms Sparks is now a 27-year-old going through menopause .
'I lost my daughter, womanhood and my chance to ever become a mother'
Silvestri pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and he will be sentenced on October 22 . |
14,547 | 293f564a56eff2aa343183e964356d088259e7b0 | (CNN) -- Hello BET. Was it Lionel Richie you were looking for? The 2014 BET Awards aired Sunday, and the show honored the legendary singer with the lifetime achievement award. The only problem was that Richie's last name was spelled "Ritchie" in the graphic, prompting the trending of #lionelritchie on Twitter and deliberate misspellings of his name. But that moment was just one of the hits and misses for the night. HIT: Chris Brown's performance . The star, recently released from jail, returned to the stage to perform his song "Loyal" with a little help from rappers Lil Wayne and Tyga. His performance energized the crowd -- and also sparked much discussion about his plaid fashion choice. MISS: Beyonce and Jay Z's 'live' performance . Plenty of TV viewers stayed up to catch what they believed would be a live performance by a superstar couple. Instead, the performance turned out to be a prerecorded video of the pair during a stop of their tour in Cincinnati. It was hot, but not live, and Billboard tweeted that "People are leaving the awards show in droves right now during Jay Z and Beyonce clip #BETAwards." HIT: Chris Rock's opening monologue . The comic hosted this year's ceremony, and he killed. Rock poked fun at everyone from the performers -- of Chris Brown, he said the singer "just signed a new deal -- too bad it's a plea deal" -- to celebs in the audience, and even got topical with the controversy over racial remarks made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. "What exactly did he say?" Rock asked. "What exactly did Donald Sterling say? 'I don't want my woman around black basketball players.' Me neither!" MISS: Nicki Minaj's acceptance speech . The rapper and former "American Idol" judge won the best female hip-hop artist award and gave a speech that left many scratching their heads. After declaring "I don't look at myself as a female rapper 'cause I know what I do," she went on to offer that "When you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it," which some took to be a diss directed at new rapper Iggy Azalea. (Although Minaj quickly added "No shade," meaning she was not directing her remarks at anyone.) Minaj then went on to describe her recent -- sort of -- near brush with death. "I just want to say that the other day, literally, I didn't tell anybody this, I really thought I was about to die," Minaj said. "Like, I was saying my prayers to die. And I didn't even want to call an ambulance because I thought, 'Well, if I call the ambulance, it's gonna be on TMZ.' And I would rather sit there and die. And it made me realize -- I don't care anymore what anybody gotta say." It may take us until the 2015 BET Awards to sort that one out. | Richie's name is spelled "Ritchie" in graphic .
Chris Brown returns to the stage .
Nicki Minaj talks about thinking she was going to die . |
203,031 | 92dc5256a62b5bd0dc23b64de115882a7266934d | Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (CNN) -- A brazen daylight shooting in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Monday afternoon left four people dead and injured two others, including a 5-year-old boy, a Juarez municipal police spokesman told CNN. Among the dead was a 10-year-old who was nearly decapitated by projectiles from the high-caliber weapon used in the attack, spokesman Adrian Sanchez said. The 5-year-old and the other injured person, 16, were taken to a local hospital where they were being treated for their injuries, police said. Witnesses said an armed man approached their vehicle while it was stopped and opened fire, according to journalist Arturo Chacon. There was no motive for the attack, Sanchez said. Images from the scene showed a white sedan the victims were driving in when they were attacked. The car's side windows were broken and large bullet holes peppered the body of the car. On Sunday, five men were shot and killed at a bar in Juarez, and three others were injured. There are no suspects in either incident. The police offered no other details when asked about the shooting. "There are no reasons why some days the violence is high and some days the deaths are low in number. This is an ongoing war. It is impossible to try and justify why these things happen here," Sanchez said. Journalist Arturo Chacon contributed to this report . | Armed man shoots into stopped car, witnesses say .
Boy among the victims in Ciudad Juarez .
Police say there was no motive . |
240,876 | c3d99e83931b900d9f938962f74a512a32a8f551 | Editor's note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com. Think back to your first job at the local ice cream shop. Working after school, 15 hours per week at $7 an hour was enough to fulfill your wishes, hopes and dreams. (Let's be honest, back then, none of us wished for much more than a reciprocated crush and a big allowance.) Those days have long since passed. Unless you're a waged worker (paid hourly) like 59 percent of U.S. workers are, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you probably don't have a clue what your salary translates to per hour. The median household salary is $48,201, according to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau report. This makes the average hourly rate $23.17 based on a 40-hour workweek. We've made a list of jobs in various industries; each position earns between $20 and $30 per hour and is experiencing job growth through 2016, based on data from the BLS. Here are 10 jobs that earn more than $20 per hour: . 1. Gaming supervisors -- $20.38/ hour* . Gaming supervisors watch over assigned areas in casinos and gaming facilities to make sure that all gaming stations are covered and gamblers are following the rules. Annual salary: $42,390* Growth through 2016: 23 percent Industry: Personal care and services . 2. Health educators -- $21.81/hour . Health educators encourage people and communities to live healthy lifestyles by teaching them about healthy behaviors and how to prevent diseases. Annual salary: $45,370 . Growth through 2016: 26 percent . Industry: Community and social services . 3. Subway and streetcar operators -- $22.20/hour . Subway and streetcar operators control or drive trains, electric-powered streetcars, trolleys or light-rails that transport passengers through cities, suburbs and metropolitan areas. Annual salary: $46,180 . Growth through 2016: 12 percent . Industry: Transportation and materials moving . 4. Respiratory therapists -- $23.37/hour . Respiratory therapists practice under a physician's supervision to treat patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Annual salary: $48,610 . Growth through 2016: 23 percent . Industry: Health care practitioner and technicians . 5. Curators -- $24.03/hour . Curators manage museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, nature centers and historic sites. They direct collections storage and exhibitions, including negotiating and authorizing the purchase, sale, exchange or loan of collections. Annual salary: $49,980 . Growth through 2016: 23 percent . Industry: Education, training and library occupations . 6. Cartographers and photogrammetrists -- $25.29/hour . Cartographers and photogrammetrists analyze and map geographic data provided by surveys, satellite information and photographs. Annual salary: $52,600 . Growth through 2016: 20 percent . Industry: Architecture and engineering . 7. Multimedia artists and animators -- $27.90/hour . Multimedia artists and animators create special effects, animation or other visual images seen in movies, television programs and computer games. Annual salary: $58,030 . Growth through 2016: 26 percent . Industry: Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media . 8. Arbitrators, mediators and reconcilers -- $28.27/hour . Arbitrators, mediators and reconcilers decide or recommend resolutions, penalties and liabilities on claims regarding legal matters. Annual salary: $58,790 . Growth through 2016: 11 percent . Industry: Legal . 9. Urban and regional planners - $28.33/hour . Urban and regional planners develop plans and programs for land use and physical facilities in towns, cities, counties and metropolitan areas. Annual salary: $58,940 . Growth through 2016: 15 percent . Industry: Life, physical and social sciences . 10. Loan officers -- $29.77/hour . Loan officers approve various types of credit loans and advise borrowers on financial status and methods of payments. Annual salary: $61,930 . Growth through 2016: 11 percent . Industry: Business and financial operations . More $20 an hour jobs: . • Clergy -- $20.70/hour . • Gas pumping station operators -- $21. 52/hour . • Electricians -- $22.41/hour . • Dieticians and nutritionists -- $23.02/hour . • Appraisers of real estate -- $24.57/hour . • Editors -- $25.59/hour . • Public relations specialists -- $25.85/hour . • Zoologists and wildlife biologists -- $26.98/hour . • Food scientists-- $28.49/hour . • Detectives and criminal investigators -- $29.03/hour . *All wages and salaries are mean averages provided by the BLS. E-mail to a friend . Copyright CareerBuilder.com 2009. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority . | 59 percent of U.S. workers are waged labor (paid hourly)
U.S. Census Bureau: median household salary is $48,201 .
That puts the average hourly rate at $23.17 based on a 40-hour workweek .
Other $20/hr jobs: clergy, electrician, and food scientists . |
86,469 | f56d016aa8ae9197c849b28f3877cd8930e42a5f | A long time ago in a studio far, far away... artist Colin Cantwell created these incredible sketches of spaceships that would be made into icons by the Star Wars movies. The artwork includes early versions of the X-wing fighters, piloted by Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of films, and the Imperial Star Destroyer - the flagships of Darth Vader's fleet. The pencil drawings were done in 1974 and 1975, two years before the release of the first Star Wars film, and show George Lucas's franchise could have looked quite different. A long time ago: The original sketches of spaceships from Star Wars show how different the films could have looked, including this X-Wing fighter with just two wings . Iconic: Later sketches show how the two-wing design turned into a craft with four wings that flipped out from the sides, as in the final movies . Different: This strange ship is actually an Imperial Star Destroyer but flipped around. The fighters emerging from its sides suggest that the design of the TIE fighter also changed several times . As it appeared: This is how the Star Destroyers appeared in the final version of the Star Wars films . The Imperial Star Destroyer appears back-to-front, with the bridge at the traditional front end of the ship, while the flat back end has a large pillar coming from it and fighter bays to each side. Rather than a series of laser cannons, the ship is instead equipped with three large satellite-dish weapons, and judging by the fighters spilling from its side, was originally intended to be much smaller than the version which appeared in the films. As for the TIE fighters themselves, these drawings seem to suggest the originals would have been small, white, triangular craft which bear no resemblance to the bat-like ships they became. And judging from one sketch, the X-Wings could have had only two wings instead of their iconic four - though a later sketch shows them almost as they appear in the films. The artworks were kept by Mr Cantwell in his own provate collection, but are going up for auction in Beverly Hill in December. Evolving: This later design of a Star Destroyer shows it has taken on something resembling its final form, although rather than laser cannons it is now armed with weapons that look like satellite-dishes . Use the force: In this sketch, completed some time between 1974 and 1975, an X-wing fighter attacks a Star Destroyer, foreshadowing the epic space battles the films would become famous for . Far, far away: These pencil sketches were completed between 1974 and 1975, two years before the first Star Wars films was ever released . Almost identical: Bar a few minor changes, the X-Wings appeared almost identically in the film version . Alongside the drawings is an original screenplay for the first Star Wars film from January 1975, when it was called 'Adventures of the Starkiller (Episode One)'. Mr Cantwell's career spanned film, television and news programming, and items from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the very first IMAX film called Voyage To Outer Planets, will be up for grabs. Also on sale is a set of NASA Apollo 11 flight plans that Mr. Cantwell used in studio at CBS as he worked with Walter Cronkite in his historic broadcast of the 1969 moon landing. Mr Cantwell's career began in 1955 when he attended the University of California Los Angeles as an art and engineering major. After suggesting that UCLA add an animation major to their curriculum, he then became the first animation graduate from the University. After working for Hewlett Pakcard and as a PR agent for NASA, he moved into film and moved to England to work with Kubrick. Unfamiliar: This ship seems to be based on the early version of the TIE fighters seen coming out of the Star Destroyer, but perhaps more closely resembles the snow speeders used in the battle on Hoth . On the attack: A snow speeder is seen during the famous Hoth battle scene, the design of which could have been taken from the craft above . For sale: The sketches, all done by artist Colin Cantwell, will be auctioned as part of a collection of his film memrobilia, which also includes items from the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Battlestar Galactica . During a midnight snack at Kubrick's home, the director told Colin that he had replaced his fourth composer and still was not satisfied with the music. Mr Cantwell was the one to suggest Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss as the opening music, and mentioned Adagio by Aram Kachaturian and Atmospheres by Gyorgy Ligeti. After working with Kubrick, Mr Cantwell helped to design and direct the first IMAX film - then called OMNIMAX - before going to work for George Lucas. Mr Cantwell worked on both the first Star Wars film and Star Wars: A New Hope, designing the X-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Fighter, Star Destroyer, Landspeeder, Sandcrawler, and Millennium Falcon, and Death Star. Valuable: Also included in the auction is this fist edition of the original Star Wars script when the series was still called Adventures Of The Starkiller . He was also responsible for designing the tench and hole which Luke fires into to destroy Vader's ultimate space station. During the moon landing in July 1969, Mr Cantwell was also behind the 'Hal 9000' computer that was feeding Walter Cronkite landing data that was broadcast live on CBS. Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, said: 'The Colin Cantwell Collection is beyond extraordinary. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for collectors to own a piece of history from some of the most important moments in film and television.' | Sketches were done by Colin Cantwell two years before first film released .
Show X-wings with only two wings and oddly-shaped Star Destroyers .
Are being sold with original script called Adventures Of The Starkiller . |
124,665 | 2d20a1180e07d931387727a3abb4f7cc507ced29 | (CNN) -- Google has revealed a prototype of its latest driverless car -- and this one doesn't even have a steering wheel. The car will only have a stop and go button. No steering wheel. No pedals. Unlike Google's previous self-driving vehicles, which have been based on conventional cars adapted to navigate around without a driver, this model has been designed from scratch. "They won't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal... because they don't need them," Google said in a statement. The car can carry two passengers and has a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. Google says the car's most important feature is its safety. "They have sensors that remove blind spots, and they can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections," the company said. With its front designed to look like a friendly smiley face, the Google autonomous car is not just efficient and futuristic, but also cute to look at. Google said it planned to build around 100 prototypes, which it will start testing in a few months. The company started developing its self-driving cars in 2005, and is testing previous models across the U.S. They are expected to be available to buy by 2020. Read more: Driverless car tech gets serious at CES . Google: Self-driving cars are mastering city streets . | Google has unveiled its own version of a driverless car with no steering wheel and pedals .
The vehicle can go at maximum speed of 25 mph and can carry two people, the company says .
Google says it would build around 100 prototypes and start testing them this summer . |
131,262 | 35be0f545ad7fa315a16d69ce655c7eea75272be | A husband and wife married 67 years died only hours apart this week. Arthur Orvis Beard, 93, died Sunday of a stroke at his Nederland, Texas, retirement home. Wife Oneida Beard, 95, passed away the next day. The pair met in 1945 shortly after he returned from fighting in World War II, brother John Beard told the Beaumont Enterprise. They married the next year. Til death do they part: Arthur Orvis Beard and Oneida Beard died within hours of each other after being married 67 years . ‘It's almost like they were waiting for each other to die,’ said John Beard. ‘They couldn't live without each other.’ The childless couple lived together and then died together. ‘They were fine people,’ the 85-year-old brother added. ‘They were just good people with many friends.’ Relatives spoke glowingly in comments left online about their lives. ‘When we would visit their home in Nederland, there was always a big evening dinner in the dining room with the best iced tea in the world,’ a woman identified only as Leslie wrote on Arthur Beard’s obituary. Together into their 90s: Arthur Orvis Beard was 93 when he passed and Oneida Beard was 95 . ‘I remember the smell of his workshop where he loved to make grandmother and grandfather clocks,’ Leslie continued. ‘He made one for each of us kids when we grew up. ‘They lived life the way it should be lived’ Others spoke fondly of time spent fishing with the uncle they referred lovingly to by his middle name Orvis. Another said the couple ‘were my heroes during my teen years.’ They were buried Wednesday after a joint funeral, of course. Over 100 people attended, according to the paper. The Reverend who presided over the service said ‘it’s most natural to talk about them together. ‘When two people marry, they become one.’ | Arthur Orvis Beard, 93, died Sunday of a stroke .
His wife Onaieda Beard, 95, passed away the next day . |
270,842 | eaceb8016a9e456db76b5d7b1db62db67b28b94c | Convicted Al Qaeda fundraiser Baghdad Meziane, 49, (pictured) is fighting deportation back to Algeria under the Human Rights Act . A convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist with close links to the Paris massacre cannot be deported from Britain because it would breach his right to a family life, it emerged yesterday. Baghdad Meziane was jailed for 11 years in 2003 for running a terror network recruiting jihadists and fund-raising for Al-Qaeda. But despite a judge saying he was a dangerous man and should serve his full sentence then be deported, he was released from prison five years early and allowed to return to his family home in Leicester. The 50-year-old is an associate of Djamel Beghal, a convicted terrorist whose wife and family live in Leicester and who is said to have mentored two of the Paris attackers while they were in jail together in France. Britain is believed to have spent the past six years trying to deport Meziane, a father of two. The Home Office has repeatedly described him as a ‘danger to the community of the United Kingdom’. The British-Algerian, who was born in the Midlands, successfully claimed that his deportation would breach his human right to a family life and that he might face torture if sent home. He had close links to Beghal, who converted Amedy Coulibaly – the killer of four hostages in a kosher supermarket as well as a police woman in Paris – to radical Islamism while in jail in France. Beghal – known as one of Al-Qaeda’s top recruiters in Europe – also heavily influenced Cherif Kouachi, one of the two brothers who committed the Charlie Hebdo attack on January 7 in which 11 people died. He was initially imprisoned in France over a plot to blow up the US embassy in Paris. Under questioning – he claims he was tortured – he confessed to the plot, leading to the arrest of Meziane and other Algerians living in Leicester – Brahim Benmerzouga and Kamel Daoudi. Meziane had close links to Al Qaeda recruiter and convicted terrorist Djamel Beghal (pictured), who said to have radicalised Kosher supermarket killer Amedy Coulibaly and Charlie Hebdo gunman Chérif Kouachi . Daoudi was extradited to Paris and jailed. He was released in 2008 but France was unable to deport him, due again to the Human Rights Act, and he is under house arrest. Meziane and Benmerzouga were jailed in the UK and are believed to have been released into probation hostels in 2009. Benmerzouga was subsequently deported to Algeria but Meziane is so far believed to have fought off attempts to remove him and is understood to be living in the Midlands with his family. There is a growing row over whether the UK’s security agencies have adequate powers to tackle the terrorist threat. Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph that the Meziane case highlighted the need to scrap the Human Rights Act. ‘It’s a nonsense that people who are a threat to our society are able to use their human rights to avoid being sent back to their home country when it is clear they have no regard for the human rights of our citizens,’ he said. A Home Office spokesman said it would continue to press for the deportation of terror suspects. Abu Rahin Aziz, 32, a father of two from Luton, fled in March last year after he was charged with affray following an attack in London. Beghal (left) with supermarket killer Coulibaly (right). He also organised crossbow training for Coulibaly's wife Hayat Boumeddiene, now the world’s most wanted woman . He boasted online about skipping bail and joining Islamic State, and has urged other Muslims in the West to ‘attack or emigrate’. Migrants will also be stopped from avoiding removal on the grounds they have fathered children in Britain, if they play no role in their upbringing. Meziane and Benmerzouga were found guilty of 'entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism' in April 2003 at Leicester Crown Court. They had raised thousands of pounds through a credit card fraud for an international network of terrorists planning a Jihad, or holy war, against the West, and worked together to make military equipment, false travel documents and recruitment material available to the terrorist organisation. Benmerzouga also admitted one charge of conspiracy to defraud by manufacturing and/or using false bank cards and card details, as well as three charges of possessing false passports. Meziane had denied conspiracy to defraud but was also found guilty by the jury. He earlier pleaded guilty to possessing a false passport. Mr Justice Curtis, sentencing the two men, said: 'You have not directly taken life or seriously injured anyone but the terrorists, in order to carry out their terrible killings and maimings, need money, false papers and military-style materials. Beghal with Charlie Hebdo killer Chérif Kouachi in 2010. Beghal and Meziane lived near to one another in Leicester, and Meziane is said to have given Beghal the false passport which enabled him to visit a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan . 'You both provided terrorists with the vital support and ran a well-organised and secretive cell.' After the pair's release, Benmerzouga was deported, but Meziane is still in the UK. It is not known if he has ever received legal aid to support his battle to remain in Britain. A Home Office spokesman has confirmed that Meziane is still in Britain, but would not comment on an individual case. A source told The Telegraph: 'We are in the process of removing Meziane.' The spokesman told MailOnline: 'Deportation with assurances enables us to remove people from the UK, in line with our existing international obligations, even when there are substantial grounds to believe they face a real risk of treatment contravening their human rights in their home country. 'We have already removed nine individuals under our Deportation With Assurances agreement with Algeria. However, we do not routinely comment on individual cases.' | Baghdad Meziane, 49, was jailed in 2003 for helping to fund terrorism .
He was released in 2009 and is fighting deportation back to Algeria .
Meziane claims deportation would breach his right to a family life .
He has close links to Al Qaeda recruiter and terrorist Djamel Beghal .
Beghal thought to have radicalised Amedy Coulibaly and Chérif Kouachi .
A fugitive British jihadi who skipped bail to flee to Syria has called for British Muslims to launch Paris copycat attacks. |
171,821 | 6a5fa58d626e26b02658342b34162f7ec758ca10 | By . Phil Duncan . Follow @@PhilDuncanF1 . Azerbaijan will make its debut on the 2016 Formula One calendar. A move for Baku, the capital city, to host the race was first revealed by Sportsmail in March. It had been thought it would be ready to stage its inaugural grand prix next season, but it was confirmed on Friday the first race will be now held a year later. On track: Nico Rosberg, pictured during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, will head to Baku in 2016 . The event will become F1's latest street race, joining the likes of Monaco and Singapore, with Baku's old medieval city and the Caspian Sea forming part of the backdrop. It will also become the venue for the European Grand Prix which has been absent from the calendar since Valencia dropped out in 2012 over a failure to meet the race fee. 'I am delighted to officially announce that we have signed a contract to bring Formula One racing to Baku in 2016,' Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport, Mr. Azad Rahimov said. 'Our location at the crossroads of eastern Europe and western Asia is a new frontier for Formula One racing. 'Azerbaijan is a modern European country that has established a reputation as a centre of sporting excellence. Centre of attention: Hungary plays host to this weekend's race - the 11th of the season so far . 'The deal to bring Formula One racing to Baku is a very significant new chapter in our ongoing success to attract the world's largest sporting events to our country.' Bernie Ecclestone was key in reaching the deal for Azerbaijan to stage its first race and marks another step in taking the sport across the globe, and in particular to eastern Europe, with Moscow to stage its first grand prix later this year. The announcement also comes after it was confirmed that Mexico would stage its first race in more than two decades next season. 'We are very happy that Baku has joined the Formula One family,' said Ecclestone. 'This will be a street race, which will pass through interesting and picturesque parts of Baku. 'The event will meet the current Formula One criteria.' VIDEO Baku European Games 2015 . | Azerbaijan will stage its first Formula One race in 2016 .
Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, will play host to the street race .
It will become the latest venue to stage the European Grand Prix .
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone integral in taking F1 to eastern Europe . |
138,152 | 3eaba4d1f3dc002158d2ef9eef628780b3818fcb | By . Jonathan O'Callaghan . What lengths would you go to to watch your team play during the World Cup? According to research, a surprising percentage of football fans would bribe their spouse, postpone their wedding, or even miss the birth of their baby. The study also revealed the vast array of superstitions football fans have to ‘ensure’ their team wins. A survey has revealed how far football fans will go to watch their team play in the World Cup. Some 7% would postpone their wedding for a match, while 18% said they would bribe their partner out of the house. England's first game is against Italy on Saturday 14 June at the Arena da Amazonia stadium in Manaus (pictured) In the research, carried out by OnePoll for Pringles, 2,000 UK football fans were asked a series of questions. The fear of bad luck can be reversed by carrying out rituals like touching wood and throwing salt, according to a study by the University of Chicago. Touching wood is the most common superstition in Western culture used to reverse bad fortune or undo a ‘jinx’, while other cultures maintain similar practices, like spitting or throwing salt, after someone has tempted fate. Even people who aren't particularly superstitious often participate in these practices. The study found that these superstitions actually do ‘reverse’ perceived . likelihood of bad fortune. And people believe that negative outcomes are especially likely after a jinx. This uncovered the tactics some fans will be using to ensure they don’t miss a match when the tournament kicks off next week. For example, almost one fifth (18 per cent) admitted they would bribe their partner with cash to shop or go out with friends, so they can watch the match undisturbed. Some . steadfast supporters would also reschedule life events; 7 per cent said they'd be willing to . postpone their wedding to watch their team's match, while nearly one in . ten (8 per cent) said they’d even skip the birth of their baby. Of the respondents, 45 per cent were men. The research also revealed how superstitious football fans are, with half of the respondents saying they had a matchday superstition or ritual. Of these superstitious participants, half insist on sitting in the same ‘lucky seat’ to watch each match and 45 per cent only drink from a special, ‘lucky’ pint glass. Items of clothing also proved popular good luck charms with more than one in ten (12 per cent) men donning ‘lucky undies’ and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) wearing a lucky T-shirt while watching a game. Is this the only safe way to watch England in a penalty shoot-out? In the study one in eight football fans admitted that, if a game in the World Cup comes to spot kicks, they will be watching from behind their sofa in the hope that it will help the team win . When it . comes to penalty shoot-outs, though, one in eight football fans believed . hiding behind the sofa would increase the team's chance of winning. ‘We . usually carry out rituals to help us deal with worries about . uncertainty and bring about good luck,’ said Richard Wiseman, Professor . of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of . Hertfordshire. ‘But . these superstitions can have a real effect, with research showing that . sportsmen’s rituals, such as wearing lucky boots or tying their laces in . a certain way, can focus the mind and actually enhance on-pitch . performance.’ | A study by Pringles reveals the measures fans take to watch football .
Some resort to bribery and others admit they have several superstitions .
Of the 2,000 respondents, 7% would postpone their wedding for a match .
18% said they would bribe their partner out of the house during a game .
And 1 in 8 say if England go to penalties they'll watch from behind the sofa . |
85,245 | f1c3a3d0c31852d43956fb6687f83b0b8e7d3258 | A group of women, outraged that a couple's gay wedding had been ruined by a homophobic bigot invited the happy couple back to California for a second ceremony. Gary Jackson and Oscar De Las Salas tried to get married on Cononado Island near San Diego almost two months ago when a man roared abuse at them from an apartment window. When a group of local women, described as 'The Island Ladies', heard about the incident, they emailed Jackson and De Las Salas and invited them back to their community to make amends. Scroll down for video . Gary Jackson, left, and Oscar de Las Salas were 'remarried' by Mayor of Coronado Casey Tanaka, centre . The couple were invited back to the exclusive resort after their first wedding was ruined by hecklers . A group of ladies, from left, Cerissa Keiffer, Alisa Kerr, Rita Alipour and Kate Bloumenthal, known as the Island Ladies, invited De Las Salas and Jackson, centre, back to their community for a special 'do-over' wedding . Better still, the ladies arranged a new wedding ceremony for the couple and 300 guests, with local businesses donating towards the good cause. De Las Salas told NBC Los Angeles 'I hear [the heckling] and then he grabs me by the hand and said it’s alright we're ok,.' According to Jackson: 'The ceremony was over, taking photos all we could think of was that guy and those condos where that person was staying.' Local lawyer Alissa Kerr heard about the abuse and decided to act as she felt the homophobic abuse had no place in a community like Coronado. She established a Facebook page where local businesses made donations for the 'do-over ceremony'. De Las Salas added: 'What we're experiencing today is the biggest expression of love someone can have, the biggest expression of a community gathering themselves together to make it right.' The second ceremony was held at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in front of 300 guests - many of whom did not know the happy couple before the event. The couple, pictured, from Phoenix, Arizona, said they had no idea what to expect on their return to Coronado . | Gary Jackson and Oscar De Las Salas married in Coronado in August .
However, the ceremony was ruined after a bigot shouted abuse at the pair .
Outraged locals heard about the abuse and invited them back to California .
Locals arranged a 'do-over' wedding, with hotels, caterers and even a band .
Even the mayor of Coronado presided over the second ceremony . |
173,577 | 6c9feacc3eea64610bb6341a72bfac51eead9e4d | EXCLUSIVE By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . A healthy eating campaign funded by the taxpayer has come under fire for giving free advertising to junk food firms. Shoppers are being offered money off fizzy drinks, tinned vegetables and ready meals with vouchers sent to more than 100,000 people who want to improve their diet. Now the government has been accused of ‘endorsing’ companies like Pepsi and Uncle Ben’s while 'doing nothing' to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis. More than 100,000 people have been sent Smart Swap packs after signing up online . The campaign has been condemned for giving free advertising to firms like Pepsi, Flora and Uncle Ben's while appearing to endorse fizzy drinks, ready meals and tinned vegetables . The Smart Swaps campaign was launched by Change4Life, run by Public Health England, last month. It encourages people to switch from unhealthy food and drink to low fat, low sugar alternatives. People who sign up are sent money off vouchers, fridge magnets and a ‘Smart Swapper’ wheel containing advice on how to eat more healthily. One of the tips on a magnet states: ‘You oughta swap to water.’ But the vouchers enclosed in the same pack include 25p off a 600ml bottle of Pepsi Max and 25p off a 1litre bottle of Robinson Fruit Squash. After being contacted by MailOnline, Change4Life said the inclusion of sugar-free fizzy drinks is now being 'reviewed'. The packs also include 30p off a tub of Flora light, £1 off Cheeky Cow cheese and 30p off Green Giant tinned sweetcorn. There is also a 30p discount on a £1.99 Uncle Ben’s RiceTime, an instant pot snack from the company owned by Mars. The companies paid nothing to be included in the promotions and just had to offer some form of discount to encourage people to reduce the amount of fat, sugar and calories in their diets. The government-backed support for some of the world’s biggest food firms has been condemned by MPs and food experts. Critics claims the campaign should be focussed on fresh, nutritious food not swapping to food which is just less harmful than full fat alternatives. The discounts on fizzy drinks have been criticised on Twitter and Facebook . Free fridge magnets urge people to 'swap' to water, but the vouchers give money off squash and fizzy drinks . The scheme has also been criticised on social media. On Twitter @Herders76 wrote: ‘Our esteemed & illustrious government have sent me a 25p off Pepsi Max voucher in a healthier you, change for life campaign. Just odd.’ Leanne Herdman added: ‘Was expecting fresh veg/fruit/milk vouchers, disappointed to see fizzy drinks promoted.’ Others argued the government should be promoting fresh British products not ‘junk’. Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston condemned the ‘free advertising’ being given to big name brands. She told MailOnline: ‘I agree with the principle of swapping, so you have something which is very similar but actually causes less harm.’ Fizzy drinks are one of the biggest causes of obesity in children, she added. ‘If you cannot persuade some parents to stop giving them to children, you could get them to make a less harmful choice. ‘I share the concern that sending people vouchers starts to look a bit more like advertising. There are other mechanisms that much more powerful.’ The Smart Swapper suggests making drinks using fresh fruits and fizzy water, instead of buying branded pop . Dr Wollaston, a former GP and member . of the health select committees, suggested discounts and offers should . be offered on low-sugar and low-salt products in store to encourage . shoppers to switch. ‘Uncle Ben’s and Pepsi are getting a bit of free advertising. It is a form of product endorsement. ‘Do . I think it’s the best way of reducing harm? No. It is a good way of . ticking a box and getting endorsement from Her Majesty’s government. Is . that really going to address the nation’s obesity crisis?’ Tam . Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘I regard it as . being straightforward advertising which has been foisted on the . Department of Health by an industry which wishes to put itself in a good . light and has convinced DoH it is a brilliant idea. ‘It’s . just another way in which the punter is being persuaded to go off and . buy this, that and the other and the only winners are the stores that . you buy them in.’ Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston said the campaign was giving government endorsement to global food brands . Change4Life insists that there are no obesity or dietary related health risks to drinking diet versions of carbonated drinks. The campaign highlighted extensive . consumer research which shows that people need 'swaps' to be as . simple as possible and to not feel like they are having to give-up their . favourite foods and drinks. Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director of Health and Wellbeing, said: 'No company paid to be included within the packs. All organisations that signed up to be Change4Life partners for the campaign were able to support in ways appropriate to the campaigns objectives. 'All partners were asked to supply money off next purchase vouchers to help incentivise families to make healthier swaps and reduce the amount of fat, sugar and calories in their diets.' Change4Life will consider the results of the campaign and review whether no added sugar carbonated soft drinks is permanently included into the retail guidance. Prof Fenton added: 'Smart Swaps is about encouraging families to make some easy like-for-like swaps to their diet in January and beyond to remove calories, fat and sugar. ‘Clearly the "ideal" swap would be from sugary drinks to water, hence the fridge magnet fun reminder ‘you oughta swap to water’, but there are still significant benefits to be had in encouraging a nationwide shift from sugary to sugar-free/diet variants. 'Research shows there are no obesity/dietary related health risks to drinking diet versions of carbonated drinks. 'In fact, there are significant health benefits to switching from a sugary drink to a diet or sugar free version.’ Chaneg4Life was criticised for a similar campaign in 2011, when it offered £50 worth of vouchers for losing weight. It . later emerged that many of the 'deals' on offer were available to . anyone, and in some cases the same or similar items could be bought more . cheaply without the vouchers. | More than 100,000 people sign up to Change4Life's Smart Swap campaign .
Website and phone app encourages shoppers to swap to healthier food .
But vouchers give money off Pepsi, Uncle Ben's snacks and tinned veg .
Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston accused government of 'endorsement'
National Obesity Forum condemns 'straightforward advertising'
MailOnline is told the inclusion of fizzy drinks is now being 'reviewed' |
188,060 | 7f89e8bca8c129cf5b91cdef80963a650db657c5 | Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Officials working to free 33 trapped miners in a collapsed Chilean mine said Tuesday they had cleared a drilling hole that was blocked by a shattered drill bit. Engineer Rene Aguilar said all the pieces of the broken drill bit that were in the hole drilled by the Plan B operation had been removed, and drilling could begin again soon. The Plan B drill is widening a narrow hole drilled when rescuers first searched for the miners after the mine collapsed August 5. That drill was making the fastest progress of the other rescue operations -- Plan A and Plan C -- when it hit an obstruction, possibly a reinforcement beam, at a depth of 268 meters (879 feet). "This bit was upside down and we used a spider ... to pull it out," Aguilar said, holding up the "nose" of the bit that he said weighed about 12 kilograms (about 26 pounds). "Spiders" are specially designed claws that were made to pull out the broken drill pieces. A second customized bit was expected to arrive later Tuesday, and Aguilar said a camera was being lowered into the hole to check it out before drilling restarts. But a rescue crew member who is not authorized to speak to the media said workers are not certain all the pieces of the drill bit have been pulled out. "We're not out of the woods yet, there may be some steel down there," the crew member said. Meanwhile, the Plan A drill -- the only drill currently operating at the mine -- reached a depth of 283 meters (928 feet) Tuesday, Aguilar said. The Plan C oil platform drill was under construction and about 70 percent finished. Drilling in that operation, which is expected to go faster than the other two, will likely begin September 20, Aguilar said. The miners are trapped in a safety chamber, 2,300 feet underground. Officials have acknowledged that it could be November before they're freed. Brandon Fisher, whose Pennsylvania-based company Center Rock Inc. is rushing the replacement bit for Plan B to the site, described what happened when the drill hit the beam. "All of a sudden, the penetration rate stopped, the drill string torqued up violently, and we tried to pull off bottom," he said Monday. "We were hung in the hole -- we worked at that for a while, and the bit passed out of that obstruction and then out of the hole. "At that point in time, we really didn't know what the problem was until we cleared the rotary table and brought it back to surface." A power line dropped down to the men Sunday will allow them to install electrical lights in their safety chamber, officials said. They also were granted a long-standing request for cigarettes. Officials are sending down two packs a day to be split among the miners who smoke, Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said. Cigarettes were among the first requests made by some of the miners, but they were instead supplied with nicotine patches and gum. Upgrades made to ventilation in the mine led officials to decide to allow them to smoke, Golborne said. CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Copiapo contributed to this report. | NEW: Engineer says all the pieces of the drill bit have been removed .
NEW: The Plan A operation reached a depth of 283 meters Tuesday .
A rescue crew member, however, says it's not certain all the pieces are out .
Tuesday is Day 40 for the miners . |
15,125 | 2af8f5faec5db24d0bb9e799c7967b3816a07e18 | Washington (CNN) -- The top NSA official tasked with assessing the damage from Edward Snowden's leaks says he would consider amnesty for the former contractor in exchange for a halt to the flow of top secret information about U.S. spying. Snowden, currently in Moscow evading a U.S. warrant for his arrest on espionage charges, leaked information on widespread data collection that's spurred outcry and forced President Barack Obama to review the spy agency's powers. "My personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured, and my bar for those assurances would be very high. It would be more than just an assertion on his part," Rick Ledgett said on "60 Minutes" on Sunday. He said the agency's assessment of Snowden's leaks has cost millions of dollars. Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA's director, said on the same program that he didn't support allowing Snowden to go unpunished, and the White House said Monday it hadn't changed its stance. Obama's 2013: A very tough year . "Mr. Snowden is charged with a felony, and he should return home to face those charges, where he will be afforded all due process," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. On Friday, a review panel of outside officials delivered dozens of recommendations to Obama on ways the U.S. can balance necessary intelligence gathering with expectations of privacy among both Americans and foreign governments. Convened amid a series of leaks from Snowden, the review board operated in private, and its recommendations won't be made public until next month. "We expect our overall internal review to be completed in January and the President thereafter to deliver remarks to outline the outcomes of our work," Hayden said Friday. The review came as newspapers published story after story detailing the spying powers of the NSA and other federal agencies, including reports that the U.S. government tracked the cell phones of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders. The revelations prompted outcry from Americans and foreign governments, concerned the U.S. was overreaching in its efforts to thwart terrorist attacks. Reports published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times last week indicated the recommendations from the review group included transferring the command of the NSA from military to civilian leadership and handing over control of cell phone records to a third party. Opinion: Big Brother spying is reaching scary levels . Some opponents of the NSA programs have called for the agency's spying and military cybercommand to be split into two; however, on Friday the White House said the dual NSA missions would remain under one chief to avoid duplicated work and foster cooperation. Michael Hayden, a former NSA director, said on Sunday the agency's boss doesn't necessarily have to be a military commander. "My view would be take the best American out there and put them in the job, don't make it a requirement that they'd be in (or) out of uniform," he said. Obama has come under pressure from his liberal base to find ways of curbing the federal government's spying powers, including demands from lawmakers that more oversight be enacted to prevent abuses during the secretive legal process allowing spying to take place. "Nothing short of stopping the mass, suspicionless surveillance of Americans is acceptable," Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said last week, as reports of the review panel's recommendation leaked. "We look forward to evaluating the report's details and whether the reported 'stricter rules' for obtaining U.S. records are a meaningful and substantive improvement. In the end, however, Congress must pass legislation to end bulk collection of Americans' sensitive call records. Requiring third parties to store Americans' records for the government is not a solution." Obama vowed at the beginning of December to find ways of reforming the NSA, though in making the pledge he also defended the agency's work. "I'll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA, and you know, to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence," he told MSNBC on December 5. "But I want everybody to be clear: The people of the NSA generally are looking out for the safety of the American people." Leak: Government spies snooped in 'Warcraft,' other games . CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta contributed to this report . | NEW: Official who's assessing damage says he's willing to talk if it cuts off flow of secrets .
Reports say one NSA reform recommendation is changing leadership from military to civilian .
Another reported proposal is giving control over cell phone records to a third party .
A review board's recommendations won't be made public until next month . |
56,107 | 9f06d60e275f06173a8d13d192e234a877bd887d | Arsene Wenger believes the strong British core of his current Arsenal squad will ensure the team does not break-up. Having ended their trophy drought against today’s opponents Hull City in last year’s FA Cup final, there is a belief the Gunners can go on to emulate some of Wenger’s previously successful sides. Over the years Arsenal have begrudgingly allowed their top stars move to rival clubs; the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Robin van Persie have all left the Emirates Stadium in recent seasons despite the Wenger’s attempts to keep them. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arsene Wenger: We've been hit hard with injuries . Gunners full backs Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs train together on England duty . Danny Welbeck (back, second left), Chambers (back, right), Jack Wilshere (front, right) and Gibbs (front, second right) all started for England against San Marino last week . Speaking at the club’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Wenger spoke of his determination to ensure the club’s playing staff develop an emotional affiliation with Arsenal. Having been criticised over the years for a seeming reluctance to use British talent, Wenger has come full circle and now has seven key first-team members who are homegrown, including Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck. And Wenger is confident having a strong homegrown contingent will make it easier to ensure his current group doesn’t disband like previous squads. Arsene Wenger says English players find it easier to stay loyal to the club if rivals try to sign them . Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (left) and Welbeck are two key members of Wenger's young English contingent . Theo Walcott made his return to football after nine months out for Arsenal's U21s on Friday night . ‘Are English players more loyal? It’s easier for them,’ said the Frenchman. ‘When you buy a player from Barcelona at some stage he might want to go back to Barcelona because Barcelona is a big club as well. ‘A guy who is English, who is from London and plays for Arsenal, why should he go? ‘But we had loyalty from people like [Thierry] Henry and [Patrick] Vieira, too. ‘They had a lot of success here. They were respected here and respected the values here. They live in London - that is also a special attraction.’ Arsenal have failed to hold on to the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in recent years . Five Arsenal players - Wilshere, Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers - played for England in the European Championship qualifier against Estonia on Sunday. And Wenger added: ‘I am very proud of that because for years I have been accused of not developing English players. ‘It shows you, when they are good, they play. In a good class you become better. That shows the good players will learn.’ | Arsenal provided five players for England against Estonia this week .
Wenger hopes this generation will be more inclined to stay at club .
Previous young Arsenal stars including Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri have left to join rivals in recent years . |
154,924 | 5436aaee042dae50d694241222326b66518a1e74 | (CNN) -- The deal ending the shutdown may not have put a dent in Obamacare, but the battle over implementing the health coverage law is not over. CNN Fact Check: Obamacare . One venue that Republicans are turning to for leverage, starting next week: oversight hearings, beginning with some tough questions about why the rollout of the website for enrolling in health care exchanges is having so many problems. "The American people deserve to know what caused this mess," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Delays and technical failures have reached epidemic proportions." Obama: Website glitches unacceptable . Upton has already asked officials from the Department of Health and Human Services to brief his committee on the problems at a hearing scheduled for next Thursday. He also is asking them to turn over records of their communications with website contractors about the preparations for the site's launch, and the problems people have had trying to use it. Logging into Healthcare.gov tough for some early registrants . Additionally, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, last week wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius demanding information about the rollout problems. Joining him was Sen. Lamar Alexander, ranking Republican on the Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions. HHS official: Sebelius not available to testify Thursday . One issue has been the ability to log in to healthcare.gov. A senior administration official told CNN some users, especially those who signed up "early on," have been having trouble logging in, but the administration is working on a fix. There also was conflicting word on whether some passwords were deleted if they were created in the first week or so after the launch. Sebelius concedes there have been implementation difficulties. "I'll be the first to tell you that the website launch was rockier than we would have liked," she told an audience in Cincinnati on Wednesday, during her tour to promote Obamacare. But, she told CNN affiliate WLWT, "There are constant improvements under way, so that we are getting people in much more quickly." Nevertheless, a couple of Republicans have called on Sebelius to resign. "Enough is enough," said Sen. Pat Roberts, who has called for her to step down in spite of being a longtime friend of her family. "Secretary Sebelius has had three and a half years to launch Obamacare, and she has failed." Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana tells CNN he is working to collect signatures calling for Sebelius to leave. White House spokesman Jay Carney pushed back on Tuesday. "The secretary does have the full confidence of the president," he told reporters. And when he was asked Thursday who would be held accountable for the problems with the website, Carney replied, "The people who are responsible for making it work are hard at work, fixing the problems that need to be fixed." He focused instead on the benefits the uninsured Americans are now entitled to. "The result will be millions of Americans who have insurance who did not have it before. That's the goal. And the goal is not about the website. The goal is that the American people who have been shut out of affordable health care options in the past have those options available to them." But former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, while not naming names, said of the website on MSNBC, "when they get it fixed, I hope they fire some people that were in charge." Gibbs: Fire those who botched website . Public attention may have been focused more on the shutdown fight this month than the problems with enrolling in the exchanges. But with the shutdown ended, part of the emerging Republican message is that the problems with the Obamacare website reflect broader problems with the law overall. "I think this is emblematic of how problematic this is going to be in the future," said Fleming. At a minimum, the implementation of the individual mandate, requiring people to get health care, should be delayed, he said. But a spokeswoman for Sebelius said the online enrollment process is proceeding. "While traffic is down somewhat from its peak on day one, it remains high as Americans continue to seek to learn more about their new coverage options," said spokeswoman Joanne Peters. How many have signed up for health care? Well, it depends . | Republicans point out problems with healthcare.gov .
Some want HHS secretary to step down over rollout .
White House says technical problems are being fixed .
It says real story is all Americans can get insurance . |
225,056 | af6edac2f758df38c90d1554da354bfc7fa74b1c | By . Louise Cheer for Daily Mail Australia . The father of notorious suspected terrorist Mohamed Elomar has spoken out for the first time, saying he is ashamed of his son. Lebanese immigrant Mamdouh Elomar - who came to Australian shores 40 years ago - said Mohamed had always been a devout Muslim, but his jump into jihad was only recent. Mamdouh is also close friends with the man his son threatened on Twitter, Dr Jamal Rifi - who condemned the younger Elomar for his role as a fighter for terror group Islamic State in Syria. Scroll down for video . Australian jihadist Mohamed Elomar posed holding two decapitated heads in a disgusting display posted on social media in July . Mohamed's father Mamdouh Elomar is friends with Dr Jamal Rifi (pictured) who has denounced the actions of the younger Elomar . Coincidentally, the friends grew up on the same street as the father of Mohamed's Islamic State brother-in-arms, convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, in Tripoli, The Australian revealed. Mohamed targeted Dr Rifi - who lives in Sydney - on August 13 in a tweet that read: 'Anyone in Sydney who can give me the details of Habashi dog Dr Jamal Rifi, anything, house details, wat (sic) area am willing to pay $1000'. In a further tweet, he asked: 'Any details were he works or knows if his (sic) got kids which school they attend.' Dr Rifi's comments came after pictures posted by Mohamed's fellow Islamic State brother-in-arms, convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, showed a boy believed to be his son holding up a severed head as well as others of young children brandishing weapons. Mamdouh said every time he saw his son on the news he could not help but feel ashamed by Mohamed's actions. The senior Elomar has not heard from his son in two years after he kicked him out of his western Sydney home when his son was caught shoplifting at Sydney Airport. Before taking up with Islamic State, Mohamed was a boxer and worked as a surveyor or a draftsman at his father's business. These images of Khaled Sharrouf's son holding a severed head (left) and Sharrouf with young children holding weapons sparked condemnation world-wide, including from Dr Rifi . 'I haven't heard from him for two years, only what I have seen on the TV,' Mamdouh told The Daily Telegraph. 'I cannot understand what my son did, it makes me want to vomit.' To restore Australians' goodwill in the religion that has been smeared by the likes of Mohamed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf, Mamdouh and Dr Rifi are holding a 'Muslims 4 Australia' barbecue on September 14 in Lakemba 'to show the rest of society that Muslims view ourselves as part of Australia'. Despite having threats levelled at him, Dr Rifi has previously told Daily Mail Australia he was not afraid. 'Their actions shouldn't instil fear among us to the point where that fear will paralyse us,' he said. 'And that's why I would refuse to be fearful of their threats'. Dr Rifi made a number of public statements where he denounced the actions of the Australian terrorists. 'What we saw to be honest, (is) very disturbing, especially when it's done in the name of Islam,' Dr Rifi said. 'And it can only be done by a very sick person'. Sharrouf fled Australia on his brother's passport to Syria last year to fight for ISIS. Mohamed Elomar (pictured) threatened Dr Rifi but Mohamed's father has stood by the Sydney doctor . Sharrouf's (pictured) father, Dr Rifi and Mamdouh all grew up on the same street on Tripoli in Lebanon . Dr Rifi, a prominent member of Sydney's Islamic community, was a finalist in the 2009 Australian Local Hero awards. Dr Rifi said he was familiar with Khaled Sharrouf's father, but had never met the younger Sharrouf who has turned to terrorism. He has played an instrumental part in forging positive relationships between the Muslim and wider Australian communities. He was a founding member of Muslim Doctors Against Violence and the Christian Muslim Friendship Society. He helped recruit and train Muslim youth as surf lifesavers at Cronulla beach following riots in the Sydney Shire suburb in 2005. | Mamdouh Elomar has not talked to his son in two years after a falling out .
His son, Mohamed, worked as a surveyor or draftsman at the family business .
'I cannot understand what my son did, it makes me want to vomit,' Mamdouh said .
The Elomar patriarch is also friends with community leader Dr Jamal Rifi .
Mohamed threatened the doctor on Twitter after Dr Rifi condemned him . |
128,567 | 322304bf23c9512ec6fc6ed55403481db119d898 | This is the adorable moment a three-year-old Manchester United fanatic throws a tantrum when she learns her new school uniform is blue. Lilly Rae Doyle was getting ready for her first day at school in Wythenshawe when her mother, Faye Cummins, handed her the royal blue cardigan. The toddler quickly breaks down in tears, refusing to sport the colours of her team's arch rivals, Manchester City. Scroll down for video . Lilly Rae Doyle breaks down immediately after trying on the uniform for her first day at school as she does not like the colour blue . Despite her mother's desperate pleas, the three-year-old is determined to avoid wearing the royal blue cardigan . Her tantrum is filmed, with her shouting: 'I don't like blue, I want to get it off,' while trying on the primary school uniform. After pleading with the child that Manchester United sometimes wears a blue away strip, Ms Cummins and her partner Andrew Mitchell admit defeat. 'I knew she wasn't going to be happy. She just loves United, she is such an avid fan and loves everything to do with them. It's always United, United, United,' said the 28-year-old bank worker. 'We went to buy the uniform earlier this week and we thought once she had it on we might be able to talk her round. 'It was a nightmare,I don’t know how we’re going to get on when it’s her first day at school because she’s not changing her mind. I don’t think it’s going to be easy. 'It’s tough to see my little girl upset but I’m sure she’ll get used to the new uniform. She’s so passionate about United and I think the video’s brilliant, I hope it’s something which will make other people smile as well. Avid fan: The toddler's mother said she knew getting her into the blue uniform would be difficult . Eventually Lilly Rae begins to calm down but is not easily talked out of her objections to the uniform . Her mother tries everything to make her come round to the colour, and gently reminds her that even Manchester United wears blue sometimes too . The toddler will have to wear the grey and blue uniform when she joins school later this month. Unsurprisingly, her favourite outfit is her red home strip (right) which she pairs with matching Doc Martens . 'Most of my family are City fans, it’s just me and my sister that are United. 'They’ve all seen the video and they all think it’s quite funny, they’d much rather she was a Blue.' Lilly Rae doesn’t have a favourite United player as she ‘loves them all the same’ and unsurprisingly lists her Manchester United shirt as her favourite item of clothing. She will be joining the school’s ‘Foundation Stage One’ pre-school class later this month. | Lilly Rae Doyle, three, is distraught when she sees royal blue cardigan .
Pleads with her mother to take the uniform off moaning 'I don't like blue'
The three-year-old is an 'avid' Manchester United fan, says her mother .
Despises the colour blue as it is the colour of rivals Manchester City . |
76,070 | d7ca6467f69fe1101d913d34b429d796eda57740 | (CNN) -- When Mexican Airways Flight 704 crashed into the mountains near Monterrey on June 4, 1969, it claimed the lives of 79 people including a national hero and one of the greatest players to wield a tennis racket. He had carried the hopes of his country for a decade until his life was tragically cut short, just days after leading Mexico to an epic victory over all-conquering Australia in a Davis Cup tie, the crowning achievement of a remarkable career. He was a grand slam winner, a former world number one and one of the most innovative doubles players in the sport's history. Rafael Osuna Herrera was, quite possibly, the greatest tennis player you never knew, a compelling and inspirational figure, but more than 40 years since his death he has been largely forgotten. Perhaps this is because Osuna was at his peak during the 1960s, before the blanket television coverage of grand slams and major competitions such as the Davis Cup. Clips of him in action are mostly in grainy black and white, but even to the non-expert eye his style of play and breathtaking speed on the court stood out. His modern namesake Rafael Nadal batters opponents into submission with grueling baseline rallies, but Osuna used his lightning-fast reactions to shorten points, rushing to the net behind his service to pull off unlikely volleyed winners. "He was the quickest of his era," recalled legendary tennis broadcaster Bud Collins, who commentated on many of the Mexican star's biggest matches, including his 1963 U.S. Open final win over Frank Froehling on the grass of Forest Hills. Osuna's nephew Rafael Belmar said his uncle had developed his quickness about court from his early days as a junior table tennis player, when forced to run around the table to reach the drop shots of canny older opponents. Belmar also recalled a chance conversation with karate legend Chuck Norris, who he met while studying in the United States. Norris was telling a story about the only two men he knew who could catch a fly with two fingers. One was the martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, the other was Belmar's uncle Rafael. "I was amazed," Belmar told CNN. "But in a way not surprised, he could intercept an opponent's drop shot before it bounced!" Osuna, who came from a middle-class Mexican family, studied at University of South California (USC), going there as a raw freshman and developing his game under the tutelage of coach George Toley. "Everything he did on court was bad fundamentally, in part because he was such a natural and could get away with it," Toley wrote in a book about his experiences at USC. "We had to tear his game apart, but he could move like a GOD!" Osuna's first notable success came at Wimbledon in 1960 when he won the doubles with his USC roommate Dennis Ralston, the first unseeded pair to achieve the feat. It was the catalyst for an outstanding doubles career, which saw him claim further grand slam titles at the U.S. Open in 1962 and Wimbledon in 1964 with his compatriot and Davis Cup partner Antonio Palafox. Their doubles combination helped Mexico to the Davis Cup final in 1962, but they were beaten by one of the greatest Australian line-ups of all-time, spearheaded by Rod Laver. Collins believes that had Osuna maintained his college partnership with Ralston, his success might have been even greater in grand slams, but it was with Palafox that the pair experimented with a new formation that is commonly used today. When serving, the other player would straddle the center line, keeping hunched down low to avoid being hit, before springing up to intercept their opponent's return. It's called the "I-formation" but Collins said Osuna and Palafox were the first to use it. Such unconventional tactics were Osuna's hallmark and played a major part in his only grand slam singles success in 1963. Froehling was renowned for his big serve-and-volley game. Osuna confounded him by standing way back behind the baseline and then floating back lobbed returns. An easy 7-5 6-4 6-2 victory followed and a place is tennis history as the first and only grand slam champion from Mexico. It earned Osuna the International Tennis Federation's world No. 1 ranking at the end of 1963, the same year he graduated from USC with a degree in business administration. In the pre-Open era, a professional circuit ran in opposition to the regular tennis calendar, with players like Laver joining the paid ranks after accumulating grand slam titles. Osuna, however, spurned the opportunity and took a job with the tobacco giant Phillip Morris, while still playing full time. "He was offered $120,000 in 1962 by Jack Kramer (who ran the pro tour) but turned it down," claimed Belmar. "My uncle had houses in Beverly Hills, in Mexico City and the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, so money was clearly never an issue." Keeping his amateur status meant Osuna could continue to play at Wimbledon, where with Palafox he won his final grand slam doubles crown and became the first and only Mexican to grace the cover of the official tournament program in 1964. Osuna reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open the following year, and when the Olympic Games came to Mexico in 1968 he won the exhibition tournament in both singles and doubles. Tennis did not become an official medal sport until the 1988 Games in Seoul but the Osuna family still hold dear the gold medals he was awarded. Approaching the end of his career at the top, Osuna continued to play Davis Cup and on the clay in Mexico City summoned up one last giant effort as 17-time winners Australia visited for a zonal final. Osuna won all three points for Mexico in a 3-2 victory, including a crucial singles win over Australian No. 1 Bill Bowery, again deploying unusual tactics in the fourth set to prevent his opponent from volleying before breaking his service for the final time. No-one can know if Mexico might have progressed further -- the team lost in the next round to Brazil after Osuna had lost his life in one of his country's worse airline disasters. Since his death, Osuna has been honored, with a statue erected and a tennis stadium in Mexico named after him. The ultimate accolade came in 1979 when he was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, but in recent years, with Mexicans struggling to make an impression on the courts of the world, his place in the national consciousness has waned. "Maybe Mexico is not so good at celebrating our heroes, he has become an obscure figure from the past," Belmar said. Belmar tried to follow in his uncle's footsteps, playing collegiate tennis, while others such as top 10-ranked Raul Ramirez were also inspired by his achievements. Spanish player Manuel Santana, the 1966 men's Wimbledon champion, perhaps best sums it up: "The man surpasses his achievements." | Rafael Osuna is Mexico's greatest ever tennis player .
He was tragically killed in an air crash in 1969 aged just 30 .
Osuna was the first player from Latin America to be World No. 1 .
He won the U.S. Open in 1963 and three grand slam doubles titles . |
215,629 | a31df9a130f8db9f062ab2fdca730fc204227caa | In London on Tuesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for more Western involvement in Syria to fight ISIS, and praised the U.S.'s British allies for everything from their love of defending freedom to the boy band One Direction. Perry's foreign policy address at the Royal United Services Institute, a British national security think tank, was greeted with laughs and applause -- especially when he highlighted reasons Americans get along so well with their English-speaking friends across the pond. "It's not just because to Americans, you always sound so darn smart and refined no matter what you're saying," he said. "And it's not just because of your many cultural exports from James Bond to Julie Andrews to Simon Cowell to One Direction -- well, that might be a bit of a mixed bag. So many good things in the world began in Britain, and so many good things in the world to this day depend on Britain." Perry's stop in London comprises the first leg of his European excursion this week, which also includes visits to Germany, Poland and Ukraine. The purpose of his trip is to explore trade opportunities between Texas and the European countries, according to a press release from Perry's office. His decision to travel away from Texas as a second case of Ebola was diagnosed there has drawn the ire of top Texas Democratic party operative Will Hailer, who called the governor an "irresponsible leader," according to Bloomberg news. Perry, referring to himself as a "proud patriotic Texan," outlined a moral argument in favor of robust Western intervention in Syria by drawing a stark contrast between the "so-called religious warriors of ISIS" and the "special strength and character" of Western forces. "To see to it that security is defended -- that is what is required of Western nations and the great alliances we have formed," he said, admitting that the overseas conflict "will draw heavily on our wealth, our will and our wisdom." "The plainest imperative of all is the resources we commit to the common defense, holding nothing back if it will better insure our security." He called out his political adversaries at home -- and even the United Nations -- for their reluctance to get involved in foreign affairs. "This attitude of cultural relativism, it certainly doesn't approve of harsher violent actions," he said, "but it does question the right of Britain, the U.S. or other western powers to do anything about it." Toward the latter half of his address, Perry got emotional about the plight of innocent people living in the Middle Eastern war zone, lowering his voice and pausing periodically for effect. "Who cannot identify with the mother or the father running with their baby, or with an elderly woman who is struggling to keep up with the others?" he asked, drawing similarities between Syrian civilians and victims of bombings over London during World War II. "Who can't identify with the children who got away but saw what happened to their parents?" "And when they look up and they see and RAF or a Danish or an American bomber, they feel precisely as you and I would feel. The sight must seem like an answer to a prayer, a prayer that can be understood in every faith: Save my family. Save my home. Save my village. Save me from this evil." | Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivered a foreign policy speech on ISIS in London.
He highlighted the strong relationship between Britain and the U.S.
This is the first leg of a European tour that includes stops in Ukraine and Poland. |
285,232 | fd97ecceb34d2bda7d1cc36f431ba2b96bb82e32 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- Katy Perry is the "most rewarded digital act" ever, according to the organization that hands out gold and platinum records. Perry fans have bought 72 million singles online, which is 20 million more digital singles than the No. 2 artist, Rihanna, has sold, the Recording Industry Association of America announced. Taylor Swift is third with 51 million digital singles sold. How iTunes changed music, and the world . The music industry group, which started honoring vinyl record sales in 1958, launched its digital sales awards in 2004 when online music downloads -- not including the pirated versions -- became a mainstream way of buying songs. The RIAA added online music streaming to its tracking last year. Katy Perry is the most followed on Twitter . Perry has earned 18 gold, 16 platinum and 56 multiplatinum digital singles awards in addition to her multiplatinum awards for her album "Teenage Dream" and a platinum award for the album "One of the Boys." Perry's top hits include "I Kissed a Girl," "Hot N Cold," "Dark Horse" and "Birthday." RIAA Chairman Cary Sherman, at a ceremony Wednesday, called Perry "a force to be reckoned with in music." "She embodies all that makes a true global superstar: the musical talent, the extraordinary drive and genuine charisma, and an intrinsic connection with her fans," Sherman said. "The award is a reflection of her deep commitment to those qualities and to her music, which has propelled her to this historic milestone." Katy Perry disses Miley's tongue, Miley bites back . | Her fans have bought 72 million digital singles online .
She has 18 gold, 16 platinum and 56 multiplatinum digital singles awards .
Recording Industry Association of America began awarding gold and platinum digital singles in '04 . |
270,638 | ea820e6156b38ce8e177db31bc5e1565f4d076ed | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 05:44 EST, 24 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:10 EST, 24 January 2014 . British workers risk becoming ‘unemployable’ because EU red tape means foreign firms will take their business elsewhere, David Cameron warned today. The Prime Minister launched a sustained attack on Brussels, claiming Eurocrats fear if they do not produce more rules and regulations they are ‘not doing their job’. He urged global firms to bring jobs back to Britain, but warned that ‘complex and overwritten directives’ impose such heavy burdens on business that those looking to relocate will opt for countries outside the EU. Warning: David Cameron launched a push to attract more customers to bring jobs back to Britain but warned they would be deterred by excessive EU regulations . Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Cameron launched a drive to reverse the trend of ‘offshoring’, which has seen thousands of British jobs shifted to low-cost countries in the East over recent years. He argued that cheap energy from shale gas and less red tape could be key to attracting firms to move posts back to the UK. He said it was wrong to write-off western countries told they cannot compete with cheap labour overseas, but warned the European Union it will prevent jobs returning to the continent if it imposed excessive and unnecessary rules. Progress had been made in curbing the impact of Brussels but ‘the fight is not yet won’, Mr Cameron said. He added: ‘There are still people who think that the key to success is ever greater social protections and more regulations. ‘Some in the European Commission seem to think that if they’re not producing new regulations they’re somehow not doing their job and that removing existing regulations is somehow an act of self-harm, while many in the European Parliament are tempted to gold plate every piece of legislation. ‘Let’s be clear. We don’t protect workers by piling on the regulations and directives to such an extent that they become unemployable. ‘We have to maintain the flexibility for companies to grow and expand. ‘Incredibly complex and overwritten directives that take this flexibility away, that make life difficult for temporary workers, or that stop firms moving people between plants just mean that companies who want to re-shore will re-shore somewhere else.’ The Prime Minister yesterday visited the headquarters of ventilation manufacturer, Vent-Axia in Crawley, East Sussex which has recently created 26 new jobs by moving production back to the UK from China . He also issued a warning to Brussels not to stand in the way of Britain exploiting its reserves of shale gas through the controversial practice of fracking. The Premier said the prospect of developing ‘cheap and predictable’ energy sources could help to attract back to the Europe jobs which had been ‘off-shored’ to the rising economic powers of Asia. But he warned that the opportunities presented by shale gas - which had helped transform the US economy - could be undermined if the European Union sought to impose unnecessary new regulations. ‘To relocate in Europe, businesses will be encouraged by cheap and predictable sources of energy,’ he said. ‘We should be clear that if the European Union or its member states impose burdensome, unjustified or premature regulatory burdens on shale gas exploration in Europe investors will quickly head elsewhere. ‘Oil and gas will still be plentifully produced, but Europe will be dry.’ Mr Cameron also warned that Britain could miss out on the benefits of fracking if European legislation failed to keep pace with the rest of the world . According to Government figures, some 1,500 manufacturing jobs have already come back to the UK since 2011. Today ministers launched a new service called Reshore UK to help firms which want to do the same. Mr Cameron admitted that companies will still move production facilities to countries like India and China but he insisted that the West should not be ‘written off’. Citing recent research which found that one in 10 small and medium-sized businesses have brought production back to the UK over the last year - twice as many as have sent it abroad - he will said that reshoring could become ‘a fresh driver of growth in Europe’ and Britain should take advantage of the trend. He added: ‘For years the West has been written off. People say that we are facing some sort of inevitable decline. They say we can't make anything any more. ‘Whether it's the shift from manufacturing to services or the transfer from manual jobs to machines, the end point is the same dystopian vision - the East wins while the West loses; and the workers lose while the machines win. I don't believe it has to be this way.’ | Prime Minister says Eurocrats think producing more rules is 'their job'
Insists draconian rules designed to protect workers will deter companies .
Tries to persuade firms to reverse trend of taking British jobs offshore . |
241,001 | c4040078f7454fe01c67380e828eee8999104225 | By . Alisdair Glennie . PUBLISHED: . 19:19 EST, 9 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:39 EST, 9 July 2013 . Popular storyline: Sunny Ormonde who plays Lillian Bellamy in The Archers. Producers caused outraged when they broadcast the outcome of her affair on Radio 4's sister station . When an Ambridge stalwart began an affair with her husband’s brother, regular listeners knew it was only a matter of time before they were treated to a huge marital showdown. So dedicated fans of Radio 4 soap The Archers were understandably upset when BBC schedulers ruined months of suspense – and played the key scene on its digital spin-off show instead. Hundreds of listeners have expressed their fury at being ‘cheated’ of the chance to follow the crucial story line to its conclusion. Some pointed out the show is a favourite among older listeners, many of whom do not have access to a digital radio or the internet, while another said: ‘No point in listening to the Archers again, if one does not get all the story line.’ The showdown between property developer Matt Crawford and his wife Lilian Bellamy was played on Ambridge Extra, which was set up in 2011 to give Archers addicts behind-the-scenes material to supplement the main Radio 4 show. The programme is broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, meaning it can only be accessed with a digital radio, through a digital television or online. Since November, fans of the rural soap have been kept in suspense as Lilian continued a clandestine affair with Matt’s brother Paul. Although the romance was cut short by Paul’s unexpected death from a heart attack last month, listeners were kept on tenterhooks by the knowledge that Matt had discovered his wife was unfaithful months earlier but chose to keep silent. Last week, he finally confronted her with the knowledge, exclaiming: ‘Oh for God’s sake Lilian, stop lying. I know you were sleeping with Paul. I know you were screwing my brother, alright.’ However, the dramatic scene was heard by just a quarter of The Archers’ regular fans. The main programme on Radio 4 is heard by an average of 5.1million listeners each week, while just 1.6million tune in to Radio 4 Extra. Many of those who missed the scene wrote to the BBC’s own Radio 4 programme Feedback – which regularly discusses listeners’ views – to complain. One said: ‘I’m outraged at the way in which the ordinary listener to the Archers has been deprived of listening to this scene…I think people who listen to the Archers on ordinary steam or FM radio should have been able to hear this scene. Popular: The Archers is listened to by an average of 5.1million viewers a week . 'If we can’t hear the scenes for ourselves, we might as well just read the summaries and not bother with the radio at all. Is this what the BBC want?’ Others took to online fan forums to air their discontent. One said: ‘Thousands of Archers fans are of an age where they neither have, now want, a computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone (talking loo, radio toothbrush, or any other gizmo), so they are missing out on these plotlines.’ A second added: ‘‘Thumbs down to the Archer’s producer for putting the Lillian & Matt storyline on Ambridge Extra. 'I'm outraged at the way in which the ordinary listener to the Archers has been deprived of listening to this scene.' Angry Archers fan . 'I am regular listener of Archers and very angry at this after hearing it on BBC Feedback. No point in listening to the Archers again, if one does not get all the story line.’ A third said: ‘Join in the protest. Switch off your radio at 7.05 every day next week in protest of producers switching main story-lines from The Archers to Ambridge Radio 4 Extra.’ Stand-in Archers editor Julie Beckett, who took over from Vanessa Whitburn in May, defended the scheduling decision to Feedback. She said: ‘Almost everybody I believe has access to digital television and Ambridge Extra is available on there. 'What we wanted to do was to take this lovely moment and project us into a story which will in fact be carried on both series this time. 'So you will be hearing aspects of the story in Ambridge Extra and in the Archers. ‘Those listeners who listen to both will get the whole story, but if you listen to one or the other you will hopefully get a satisfying story there as well. Outcry: The BBC defended the scheduling decision to Feedback . 'If you do feel frustrated by that [not hearing the scene] there are plenty of places you can go and hear that moment.’ But one listener said: ‘I’ve got internet, but I never knew - till today - that the R4Extra stuff was anything other than tongue-in-cheek alternative episodes! 'If I had known, I’d have certainly set my DAB to record the “Extra” progs. Now I feel very definitely cheated out of who knows what extra plotlines that really should have been mainstream Archers, not R4Extra!!’ Now in its fifth series Ambridge Extra airs two 15-minute episodes every week to supplement the main programme, which is aired daily on Radio 4. When it was created in 2011, the BBC said it would run ‘in parallel’ with the main show and promised listeners would not miss out on vital plotlines if they did not listen to the digital series. | The climax of an affair storyline was broadcast on Radio 4 Extra .
Fans are unhappy with BBC's decision to play scenes on Ambridge Extra .
The channel is only available online, through a digital radio or television . |
163,656 | 5fa3e03b1275ee6557c3283ad0fa2659c22401d5 | Karl Lagerfeld has long been a favorite among grown-up fashionistas, and now he is set to try his hand at a whole new category - children's clothing. The German designer, 81, has partnered with France's Groupe CWF to create a line of rock 'n' roll-inspired childrenswear, featuring apparel and accessories for boys and girls aged zero to 16 years old. No doubt the designs will have been approved by Hudson Kroenig, Lagerfeld's adorable five-year-old godson and muse who frequently walks the catwalk in his high-fashion shows. Karl Lagerfeld (pictured on Friday at New York Fashion week with godson Hudson Kroenig, five) is launching a line of childrenswear in spring 2016 . A sketch of the future collection depicts two boys - one decked out in a suit reminiscent of Lagerfeld's signature look, and the other wearing a white and red T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Karl' The children's collection will be unveiled in spring 2016, with two seasonal collections released each year thereafter and prices reportedly averaging £17. A sketch of the future collection depicts two boys - one decked out in a black tie and suit reminiscent of Lagerfeld's signature look, and the other wearing a white and red T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Karl' and a silhouette of the designer's face. Pier Paolo Righi, president and chief executive officer of Karl Lagerfeld, said in a release that the Karl Lagerfeld Kidswear collection 'presents a unique opportunity to share our cool, ironic, iconic DNA with a wider Karl Lagerfeld audience.' Calling the venture a 'natural fit', he added: 'The announcement reflects the brand's ongoing commitment to newness and will allow Karl Lagerfeld to share its ironic, playful, creative vision with a young audience.' Lagerfeld regularly features his godson Hudson (middle, with Cara Delevingne in January 2014), the son of model Brad Kroenig, in his shows . This may be Lagerfeld's first foray into children's-wear, but it's a move that makes sense, seeing as he regularly features his godson Hudson, son of model Brad Kroenig, in his shows. Hudson made his runway debut in the Chanel spring/summer 2011 show, and he's racked up quite the portfolio since. The photogenic youngster has graced the pages of German Vogue, been photographed by his godfather - whom he calls 'Uncle Karl' - multiple times, and last October was chosen to model in a Chanel campaign alongside Joan Smalls. He held hands with Cara Delevingne while his godfather took a bow at the Chanel spring/summer 2014 couture show in Paris, and he has starred in a Fendi campaign with supermodel Anja Rubik. Before Hudson, his father Brad (pictured with Hudson at the Chanel Metiers d'Art Collection 2014/15 in Paris) was Lagerfeld's longtime muse, having first met the designer on a shoot in 2003 . Before Hudson, his father Brad was Lagerfeld's longtime muse, having met the designer on a shoot in 2003. Lagerfeld, who does not have any children of his own, even made a four-volume book of photos, Metamorphoses Of An American, devoted entirely to Brad. But now, it appears 35-year-old Brad has been replaced by his son, and with Hudson's impressive track record, it will come as no surprise if he is chosen to model the new collection when it launches next year. | Designer, 81, releasing children's line in spring 2016 for children up to 16 .
There'll be two Karl Lagerfeld Kidswear collections a year, at £17 per piece .
Thought to be inspired by his godson Hudson Kroenig, five . |
15,597 | 2c4b9cf3f7522321a8b213c5d1d412c1892afe73 | New York (CNN) -- The American Automobile Association is suing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over toll increases that recently went into effect at New York City bridges. AAA of New York and North Jersey filed a complaint in federal court in Manhattan Tuesday, alleging that toll hikes that began on September 18 breach a federal law that requires interstate tolls be set at "just and reasonable" rates, according to a statement released by the agency. "Clearly, drivers are already paying more than their fair share -- and they are doing so at a time when federal, state and local authorities are hard pressed to meet routine road and bridge maintenance needs," said Marta Genovese, AAA New York's vice president and counsel in a statement. The lawsuit seeks to stop the toll increases, which affect commuters using the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington, Bayonne and Goethals bridges, as well as the Outerbridge Crossing. Port Authority officials responded to the lawsuit in a statement, saying the complaint "is without merit." The lawsuit alleges that commuters are footing the bill for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, according to AAA's statement. "The Authority is attempting to burden commuters and travelers with public expenditures that are in no way related to transportation," Genovese said in the statement. A Port Authority press release from August attributes the toll increases to "multiple unprecedented challenges," including declining revenues, increased security costs in the wake of September 11 as well as the cost of the World Trade Center rebuilding project. Drivers crossing into Manhattan must now pay $12. E-ZPass holders pay $7.50 during off-peak hours and $9.50 during peak hours. E-ZPass tolls increased $1.50, and all other cars were subject to a $3 uptick. The tolls will continue to increase every December for four years. The AAA suit comes in the wake of another lawsuit aimed at the Port Authority's newly implemented tolls -- this one by New Jersey resident Yoel Weisshaus. Weisshaus, whose income falls below poverty level, filed a civil complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week alleging that the toll hikes constitute an abuse of power that violate his rights by unfairly targeting poor commuters. | Complaint says tolls are not "just and reasonable"
Lawsuit also says drivers are paying for rebuilding of World Trade Center .
Port Authority says suit is "without merit" |
100,110 | 0cfb660acb7c984413bcc70776a57856853c007b | (CNN) -- It was a tight squeeze for a giant new cruise ship sailing from Europe to its home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend. Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas passed under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge with about a foot to spare, drawing applause from people on board the ship. The captain called it "the great excitement of the day." The normal height of the ship from the water level to the top is about 73 meters (240 feet), said Capt. Hernan Zini, but the vessel couldn't be higher than 65 meters (213 feet) in order to safely go under the bridge, the captain said. To make that happen, the crew lowered the ship's retractable twin smokestacks, carefully adjusted the ballast so the ship wouldn't be too light (and therefore sitting too high in the water) and boosted its speed. "When you increase the speed in relatively confined waters, the ship has a suction effect from the bottom, and that actually makes the ship go a bit deeper into the water," Zini said. The plan went off without a hitch, and the ship safely cleared the bridge. Video: Watch from up close (advance video to 2:05) YouTube: Watch from the shore . The vessel is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas. The pair are the largest cruise ships in the world. The Allure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive in Florida on November 11. Its official naming ceremony will take place on November 28, and the ship will sail on its inaugural cruise in early December. | Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas safely passes under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge .
Crew lowered the ship's retractable twin smokestacks and adjusted the ballast .
The vessel is sailing to its home port in in Fort Lauderdale, Florida . |
197,046 | 8b0b90626dda629c40823a47e6326883c9071409 | Jose Mourinho appears to have a happy camp on his hands ahead of Chelsea's Wembley showdown with Tottenham in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday. The Portuguese boss split his players into two teams as they worked on ball skills, as well as an extra tactical session at the Cobham training centre. Mourinho, who last won the competition eight years ago, told the media on Friday that he is trying to bring his new generation through with a mentality that playing at Wembley is 'normal', and hopes they show no fear against Mauricio Pochettino's side. The Chelsea players show they're in a jolly mood ahead of their Capital One Cup final with Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday . Jose Mourinho's men were split up into two teams as they competed in a series of small games . Brazilian midfielder Oscar and in-form Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic celebrate at the Cobham training ground . A team including Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba and Diego Costa are all smiles as they pose for the camera . 'Chelsea in the last 10 years won the League Cup twice. Many times they were at Wembley, winning FA Cups, and won Premier League and European competitions,' he said. 'Chelsea have done very well.' 'Now, with a new team and people who were not with dozens of finals at Wembley, we will try and bring this new generation of players and this new team to make Wembley something "normal" for us, "normal" in the sense that we will try and get there year after year.' It certainly seemed to be working, as Chelsea squad looked in relaxed spirits at training. Mourinho has revealed that Nemanja Matic (suspended) and John Obi Mikel (injured) will be the only two absentees against a Tottenham side that beat the Blues 5-3 in their last encounter. Chelsea striker Diego Costa will be looking to return to the scoresheet when he faces Mauricio Pochettino's side . Filipe Luis is congratulated by his Chelsea team-mates during a training session on Friday . Nemanja Matic will be missing on Sunday after he was sent off for reacting to an Ashley Barnes challege last week at Stamford Bridge . Jose Mourinho speaks to the media ahead of Sunday's Capital One Cup final against Tottenham at Wembley . Centre backs Gaty Cahill and John Terry compete for the ball two days before the cup final . January signing from Fiorentina Juan Cuadrado twists and turns as French defender Kurt Zouma looks to intercept . Many Premier League sides, especially near the top of the table, often somewhat disregard the competition and play weakened sides, but Mourinho is fully focused on another trophy and insists he respects the competition. He added: 'I have affinities with every competition. I respect every competition. It would be easy now because we lost against Bradford to say we didn't take the FA seriously, but we did. 'Probably lots of teams follow us since 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 when we took the League Cup as a real competition, a real challenge, and we were trying to reach finals and to win. 'For sure, lots of clubs are chasing us. In the semi-final against Liverpool a couple of months ago, we and Liverpool played at the maximum of our potential. We respect every competition.' Ramires is expected to replace Matic in a holding midfield role, with Diego Costa will be looking to return to form up front. Branislav Ivanovic hooks the ball towards goal as Cahill looks to block the ball from reaching Thibaut Courtois . Eden Hazard and Diego Costa compete for the ball as Willian and Kurt Zouma watch on . Cesar Azpilicueta and Ramires go up for a header during a training session at Cobham on Friday . Chelsea and Tottenham players pose with the Capital One Cup, which they will battle for on Sunday . Youngster Izzy Brown looks to control the ball as Chelsea team-mate Loic Remy closes in . | Chelsea and Tottenham meet in the Capital One Cup at Wembley Stadium on Sunday .
Nemanja Matic missing through suspension while Jose Mourinho confirms John Obi Mikel is also out .
Blues players appear to be in fine spirits as they take part in small games in Cobham training session on Friday .
Mourinho also prepare an extra tactical session for his side ahead of the cup final .
Portuguese boss wants to make a date with Wembley a regular occurrence for his new generation . |
86,788 | f650069d3a505280983723a204e922bacc22be85 | By . Wills Robinson . The widow of poisoned spy Alexander Litvinenko has said the 'whole world' will know the truth about what happened to her husband as a public inquiry was formally opened into his death today. Marina Litvinenko told reporters outside the Royal Courts of Justice it was a 'special day', adding that she felt positive the inquiry would begin on schedule next January. Earlier in the hearing, the inquiry's chair Sir Robert Owen praised the widow for her patience in the face of 'highly regrettable' delays. Her husband, who fled to Britain in 2000, was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 while drinking tea with two Russian men, one a former KGB officer, at the Millennium Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square in 2006. Scroll down for video . Statement: Marina Litvinenko, pictured left outside the Royal Courts of Justice today, said the 'whole world' will now know the truth about the death of her husband Alexander (right) After formally suspending the inquest into Mr Litvinenko’s death, Sir Robert opened the public inquiry. He told the hearing that alleged Russian state responsibility in the 43-year-old’s death was of 'central importance to my investigation'. Sir Robert explained that Britain’s responsibility for protecting the former KGB officer would not be investigated as there was no evidence to suggest any failings on the state’s part. However, he added that if evidence was discovered during the course of the inquiry to suggest Britain could have prevented his death he was able to bring the issue into the scope of the process. And Sir Robert explained that some of the inquiry would have to be kept secret and held in private. Progress: She added that she was 'confident' the inquiry will open on schedule next January . Success: The public inquiry, which formally opened in London today, was announced when Ms Litvinenko challenged opposition from the Government and the Home Secretary in the High Court . Submission: Ms Litvinienko did admit that some parts of the inquiry will remain secret and she may never know the content of some of the evidence . He said: 'Because of the sensitivity of Her Majesty’s Government’s evidence it is inevitable that at least some of my final report will also have to remain secret but I make it clear now that I intend to make public my final conclusions on the issue of Russian state responsibility together with as much as possible of my reasoning in that regard.' The Government had previously resisted launching a public inquiry, and instead said it would 'wait and see' what a judge-led inquest found. But Ms Litvinenko challenged this and the High Court ruled that the Home Secretary must reconsider the decision. An inquiry will allow investigators to probe whether the Russian state was behind the former KGB officer’s murder. Ms Litvinenko said the coroner had thanked her for her patience because of the amount of times the inquest had been delayed, but added: 'I believe genuinely 2015 it will start.' She added: 'Everybody around the world will know the truth.' Asked if she thought last week’s announcement was due to the strained political situation with Russia, she said the 'political situation' may have contributed to it, but she did not think there had been any 'political involvement' in the process. She added that she had always been aware parts of the inquiry would have to be in secret, and admitted she may never know the content of some of the evidence submitted to the inquiry. But Ms Litvinenko said she was reassured it would be viewed by the chair and other lawyers. Daily Mail comment . | Marina Litvinenko said the 'whole world' will now know the truth .
Made the statement outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London today .
The public inquiry into the Russian spy's death was formally opened .
Sir Robert Owen, chair of the inquiry, praised the widow for her patience .
Said the Russian state's responsibility in his death was 'central' to the probe .
The spy died after drinking poisoned tea at a London hotel in 2006 . |
135,261 | 3af464033c1d4deba799ff35c2dc56c7f50da157 | Liverpool fans will have the perfect opportunity on Thursday night to see if World Cup teenager Divock Origi really is the answer to all their problems at Anfield. With Luis Suarez gone, Daniel Sturridge injured and Mario Balotelli struggling badly, it is ironic that their £10million striker Origi will be in action against Everton in the Europa League for his loan club Lille. A goal or two will undoubtedly lead to calls from the Kop that he is brought back from France straight away to ease the Reds out of a mini-crisis following an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat against Real Madrid. VIDEO: Scroll down to see Liverpool loan star Divock Origi firing the goals in for Lille . Belgium international Divock Origi signed for Brendan Rodgers' men in June after an impressive World Cup . Origi celebrates scoring Lille's opening goal against Wolfsburg in his side's Champions League clash . Origi (left) in action for Belgium against Bosnia's Senad Lulic during the 1-1 draw between the sides in October . Brendan Rodgers swooped for the 19-year-old after he starred for Belgium last summer but agreed to immediately send him back to Lille on a season-long loan to aid his development. Officially, that is still written in stone though when a club as powerful as Liverpool are paying out millions of pounds, they usually find a way if they wanted Origi back earlier, possibly in January. Former Anfield striker Michael Owen thinks they should but Everton manager Roberto Martinez, whose side have the task of stopping Origi tonight, advises caution about rushing the 19-year-old into the Premier League. Origi celebrates with Chelsea star Eden Hazard after he opened the scoring against Russia at the World Cup . Roberto Martinez's Everton will look to limit Origi's influence for Lille in their Europa League meeting . 'You need to think about what the best step is to get a player ready for the Premier League. Sometimes as a young player you need to play games and you need to play minutes,' said the Everton boss. 'Remember that Origi didn't have many starts last season. He was more coming on as substitute, and slowly in the second half of the season he had a bigger role. So maybe he needed more starts before coming over. That is a strategy that has been put in place. 'I don't know the details surrounding the loan, but for me it's not strange.' Origi (left) shields the ball from Mile Jedinak during Belgium's friendly against Australia in September . Origi will come up against Tim Howard for the first time since the keeper's heroics against Belgium in Brazil . You can see Martinez's point of view. Liverpool's current predicament is borne out a perfect storm of losing Sturridge for two months with thigh and calf injures and the disastrous form of Balotelli and another summer signing Rickie Lambert. That doesn't mean Origi is the answer either at this moment. He had an explosive World Cup where his pace and movement shocked defenders. But towards the end of the tournament he was less effective, and has spoken himself of missing seven or eight chances against Tim Howard when Belgium played USA. Howard of course will be in Everton's goal against him tonight. This season, Origi has scored five goals to underline his potential, four for Lille and once for his country. And yet his overall form has blown hot and cold. He is inconsistent – something Liverpool don't need. Having said all that, if Origi does well against Everton, it may look odd to keep him in France while his parent club are struggling in front of goal. Martinez, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of world football and was in Brazil as a television summariser last summer, knows Origi's qualities. 'The World Cup showed he is intelligent and has a real strong personality. He has got real pace and power, a striker that can play really well in wide areas and a real threat on the counter attack. 'When he faces space he can be really dangerous. Origi can finish with both feet but is probably more right footed. I think he is someone that needs to be facing the space to be at his very best.' Liverpool fans don't have to take Martinez's words for it. They will be able to see Origi with their own eyes against their Merseyside rivals and whatever happens it's unlikely he'll be swapping shirts with an Everton player at half-time. | Liverpool loanee Divock Origi will feature for Lille against Roberto Martinez's Everton in the Europa League on Thursday night .
Brendan Rodgers swooped for the 19-year-old after he starred for Belgium last summer but sent the youngster back to Lille to aid his development .
Former Anfield striker Michael Owen thinks Rodgers should bring Origi back to the Premier League .
But Toffees boss Martinez thinks the striker should stay put .
Origi set to face Tim Howard again after American goalkeeper's heroics against Belgium at the World Cup . |
121,096 | 2888b21865c4015cde049ba88d0558a2a77e9ef7 | By . Lucy Crossley . PUBLISHED: . 08:58 EST, 28 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:20 EST, 28 November 2013 . Police are hunting thieves who stole a stretch of historic pavement worth thousands of pounds after setting up fake roadworks. Posing as workmen, the suspects pulled off the brazen theft by using stolen barriers and roadworks signs to cordon off a large area of paving, before taking the 72ft stretch of Yorkshire stone slabs. Police said the stones, which were taken from the historic centre of Rochester, Kent, were worth at least £7,000. Missing: Thieves set up fake roadworks in order to steal historic paving stones worth £7,000 in Rochester, Kent . Medway councillor Phil Filmer said: 'This appears to be a brazen operation to make it . look genuine. 'It would have taken time and effort to set up and work in . this way. 'It could be very difficult for the council to replace the missing . slabs with matching Yorkstone as it is difficult to get hold of. 'I would ask any resident who may have seen what was going on to contact the police as soon as possible.' The slabs were removed from St Margaret’s Street, which runs into the . historic heart of Rochester, next to the famous cathedral and . castle. Before: How St Margaret's Street appeared before the thieves stole the paving slabs . After: Barriers and roadsigns have been put up along the historic walkway, hiding the stolen paving slabs . The yellow sandstone blocks, which traditionally come from Yorkshire, . are highly sought after for their durability and colour, and have been . used in construction for centuries. A 35-year-old man from Chatham was arrested on suspicion of theft, and released on bail until January. Medway Council and Kent Police have appealed for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious when the stones were removed on Friday, November 22. It was not known how long the thieves had been working at the site. Appeal: Medway Council and Kent Police have asked witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward . Locals took to Twitter to express shock and bemusement at the outrageous theft. Petitia Wiles tweeted: 'Can you believe it? Someone has stolen the pavement in Rochester, £7000 York slabs gone and no one saw anything.' A council spokesperson said: 'Although police have arrested one person in relation to the theft, they have yet to recover any of the paving slabs. 'We are hopeful they will recover them and we will be able to put them back in place, without having to spend taxpayers’ money on new ones.' Valued: The yellow sandstone blocks, which traditionally come from Yorkshire, are highly sought after for their durability and colour . | Suspects used stolen barriers to cordon off stretch of pavement .
Valuable Yorkshire stones taken from historic Rochester, Kent .
Man has been arrested and released on bail over alleged theft . |
135,181 | 3adbc7070dbdad2bf4aebd21e23ace4db4f0e862 | Narsarsuaq, Greenland (CNN) -- Every year, we hear stories of global warming advancing and the effects that has on the earth's climate patterns. One phenomenon that is often used to illustrate ice melt in the Arctic is giant icebergs, often the size of whole towns or even small countries, breaking off the ice shield and drifting south. In reality, icebergs constantly break off both the arctic ice shield and Greenland's inland glaciers, a process that scientists call calving. To find out whether that process is accelerating a CNN crew traveled to southern Greenland, to the small village Narsarsuaq, where the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) keep a unique unit of experts. They are called the Ice Patrol and the unit consists of ship navigators and pilots who fly across the south of this vast island to monitor the movement of icebergs, to prevent collisions with cargo ships navigating in the waters around Greenland. "We keep an eye out for icebergs that are bunched together in narrow waterways," said ice observer Jane Robertson on an airborne mission around the southern tip of Greenland. While big icebergs can pose a threat to vessels going through here, surprisingly it is smaller ice pieces that are even more dangerous. "The smaller icebergs are much harder to detect," Robertson said as she was surveying the ice with her binoculars, "especially if the icebergs have been traveling in the water a long time they become almost colorless and nearly invisible in the ocean." Flying over the majestic landscapes of this part of Greenland, observers see a huge amount of icebergs, some almost the size of aircraft carriers and several stories tall, others shaped in a distinctive blue coloring because the air has been pressed out of the ice in its glacial journey. Some experts believe that the glaciers in Greenland are calving at a higher rate as temperatures rise, but the ice observers say their observations are not long term enough to speak of a general trend. "In the past two years there have been more icebergs here," Robertson says, "but then again in the years before there were a lot fewer so it really varies from year to years." However, other observers point to the fact that Greenland's glaciers have been receding for years, pointing to increased ice melt in the polar region. But even on fairly clear days it takes an experienced captain to navigate a ship through the waters around Greenland. Robertson is also an officer on the Royal Arctic Line, Greenland's own shipping company and says it takes years to understand the challenges involved sailing in Greenland. "When you encounter masses of icebergs you can either try and go through it or you can go around it," Robertson said. "In most cases the captain will usually try and go around it if he can because no matter how slow you go and how careful you are there will always be damage to the ship and then the weather can get much worse very quickly and you don't want to be in a field of icebergs if it does." Her experience as a ship's navigator make her so valuable as an ice observer for the DMI, but the everyone in the crew needs to be at the top of their game. Karsten Andsbjerg pilots the helicopter through the fjords and hills in this extremely rugged terrain. A difficult task as he often deals with severe weather while having to make the ride smooth enough for the observers to do their job. "Yeah, there are some pretty heavy and gusty winds here," Andsbjerg said shortly after landing at a Danish weather outpost right at the southern tip of Greenland. "The other thing is that the weather changes so quickly here, you always have to call ahead to all the airfields and weather stations and keep yourself updated. Otherwise you can be in severe weather in no time." The observers fly missions three times a week if the weather permits. Afterward they file reports on the location of dangerous ice clusters with photos that show vessels what they are in four if they try to get through. The Ice Patrol's reports are vital and may have already saved lives. The unit was founded after a ship sank off the coast of Greenland in 1959, killing all crew and passengers on board. The MS Hans Hedtoft disaster is known as the "Greenlandic Titanic" in this part of the world. Eydun Simonsen, the chief ice observer during CNN's stay with the unit said: "Just like the Titanic, it was her maiden voyage. To this day we don't know exactly what happened, but we do know that she hit an ice berg and sank with all souls on board. She did manage to send an SOS and later some rescue equipment was recovered." There hasn't been a major incident in the waters off Greenland since the ice patrol was founded. Better satellite images and more advanced ships will also have played a role in this improved track record, but there is no doubt that captains navigating the cold and often treacherous water of the Arctic value the detailed and up to date information the observers provide. | CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins Danish meteorologists as they chart the passage of Greenland icebergs .
More icebergs have been observed in recent years but experts unsure of long-term trend .
Observers fly missions three times a week before filing reports on dangerous ice .
Ice Patrol founded after "Greenlandic Titanic" sank off the island's coast in 1959 killing all crew and passengers . |
89,721 | fecb57fe0933a293831dbb0c3537aab3b4ccf31a | Sportsmail takes a look at 10 things we learned from the Premier League and Football League this week, including how one Argentine is consigning another to distant memory at the Etihad. Click here to follow @ralphellis56 . 1) Carlos Tevez, once the biggest and most controversial name at Manchester City, continues to be pushed deeper into the club’s history books by the goal scoring of fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero. Match of the Day highlighted the fact that Aguero’s goal at Aston Villa – his 57th in the Premier League since arriving in England – made him at 114 minutes per strike the most frequent scorer in the League’s history. It also brought him to within two of the 59 struck for City by Tevez – at an average of 140 minutes wait per goal. Sergio Aguero celebrates after scoring in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Aston Villa . 2) Nathaniel Clyne can join the England squad this week knowing he’s beaten the persistent groin injury problems which he suffered during the second part of last season. He finished Southampton’s 1-0 defeat at Spurs as one of only nine Premier League outfield players to have played every minute in every competition for their club so far. The 23-year-old has not played so many matches in a row for nearly 18 months. Nathanial Clyne has overcome injury problems to be an ever present for Southampton this season . 3) Queens Park Rangers might be a tad too nice for the Premier League – Karl Henry’s booking near the end of the 2-0 defeat at West Ham was only the ninth collected in all competitions by Harry Redknapp’s side this season. That’s the lowest total of any top flight club – leaders Chelsea are far from having the worst disciplinary record, but the four yellow cards in their win over Arsenal took them to 20 in all competitions. Karl Henry (L) picked up a booking against West Ham but QPR have been far too timid this season . 4) Alan Pardew tried to get rid of Gabriel Obertan this summer but literally couldn’t give him away after the French winger, troubled by hamstring injuries and poor form, had played just 34 minutes of Premier League football all last season. The Toon boss might just end up being glad of that after the performance the 25-year-old gave at Swansea in his first top flight start of this campaign. The former Manchester United player, who has two seasons left on the five-year contract he signed at Newcastle in 2011, set up one goal and made two more chances with a bright right wing display. Gabriel Obertan (L) surprised Newcastle fans with an adventurous performance against Swansea . 5) Andrew Robertson wasn’t the most glamorous of Hull’s summer signings, but the Scottish full back is blossoming as one of Steve Bruce’s best bits of talent spotting. The 20-year-old, who cost £2.85million after playing only 36 games for Dundee United, set up one goal and made three more chances with his crossing in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. He can defend too – winning 100 per cent of his tackles and condemning Jason Puncheon to an afternoon where he gave the ball away 31 times. Steve Bruce completed an astute piece of business by signing Andrew Robertson for Hull City . 6) Uwe Rosler will be hoping that Wigan owner Dave Whelan is too wrapped up this week following the town’s Rugby League club to Saturday’s Grand Final against St Helens to notice how badly his side are performing. The German, touted as the next big thing when he took the Latics into the play-offs last season, has collected only ten points from the first quarter of the season despite signing 11 new players in the summer. Wigan had taken 14 points from their previous 11 games when Whelan sacked his predecessor Owen Coyle last December . 7) Aussie midfielder Scott McDonald fell out with new boss Ian Holloway last January having tried, and failed, to force through a move to Hibernian. He started only six matches for the rest of the season, and his future looked far from certain until the 31-year-old former Celtic and Middlesbrough star agreed to let bygones be bygones. Millwall boss Ian Holloway has seen Scott McDonald come tio life since making up with the midfielder . Both club and player have reaped rewards from making up. McDonald has not missed a game this term, and was outstanding for the Lions as they battled to a goalless draw away to promotion favourites Derby. 8) Former Manchester United and West Ham goalkeeper Roy Carroll is finding his feet again in English football after four years playing in Denmark and then Greece. The 37-year-old starred in a 1-0 win over Gillingham that lifted his new club Notts County to just a point off the League One play-off places. Former Manchester United keeper Roy Carroll (2L) has been starring for Notts County . Carroll, likely to take his total of Northern Ireland caps to 37 in next week’s two Euro 2016 qualifying games, has now kept four clean sheets in his last seven matches. 9) Even in these days of Academies and Development Squads it is still possible for a late developer to come from the bottom rungs of the football ladder to break through. Step up striker Charlie Walker, who made his League Two debut for Luton in the 2-1 win against local rivals Stevenage. The 24-year-old was discovered playing for Peacehaven, a village club just up the road from Brighton, where he scored 43 goals helping win the Ryman South title and the Sussex Senior Cup. Louis van Gaal allegedly saw that only United's half of the pitch was watered during the Everton game . He was close to a goal on his professional debut, too – with a header that manager John Still claimed had crossed the line but the ref ruled didn’t. 10) Louis van Gaal is not averse to a bit of gamesmanship. The sprinklers at Old Trafford were switched on at half time against Everton – but only to water the half of the pitch that Manchester United would be attacking after the break. That meant the Dutchman’s attacking stars could enjoy a slick surface to ping the ball around going forward, while his defenders would find it easier to keep their feet. | Sergio Aguero is beating compatriot Carlos Tevez's record at Man City .
Nathanial Clyne has played every minute of Southampton's season .
Gabriel Obertan gave a bright display for Newcastle against Swansea .
QPR have received fewer cautions than any other team in the league .
Andrew Robertson is proving a shrewd investment by Hull City .
Uwe Rosler is failing to live up to expectations at Wigan .
Millwall are reaping rewards of Scott McDonald's reunion with Ian Holloway .
Louis van Gaal allegedly only had Manchester United's half of the pitch watered during half time of clash with Everton . |
139,302 | 401a1f563c721aa1cccaeae9d075994c748a51be | Great Britain captain Leon Smith will be keeping his fingers crossed for a home tie when the draw is made for the 2015 Davis Cup World Group on Thursday. Smith's first seven ties were all at home, with Britain winning six of them to climb from the depths of a Europe/Africa Zone Group II relegation play-off to the brink of the top tier. The Scot's team then won away at Croatia to book their place back in the World Group. Leon Smith will be hoping for a home tie when the draw is made for the 2015 Davis Cup World Group . Britain then stunned the USA in San Diego for their first victory at the elite level of the team competition since 1986 before losing narrowly to Italy in the quarter-finals. All those three ties were on clay and, with it being Andy Murray's weakest surface, Smith knows an away tie would almost certainly mean another outing on the red stuff. Britain are unseeded so will be paired with one of the eight seeds for the first round, which takes place from March 6-8. They are only guaranteed to be away if they draw Novak Djokovic's Serbia, while a tie against Canada would require the drawing of lots. Andy Murray has endured a frustrating year, but will be key to Great Britain's Davis Cup hopes . World No 121 James Ward beat Sam Querrey in this year's Davis Cup clash against the USA . But should Britain draw either of this year's finalists, France or Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Italy or USA, they would play at home. The highest-profile home tie under Smith's leadership came in April 2013, when Britain recovered from 2-0 down to defeat Russia at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. With Murray likely to play and the potential of some of the world's top players coming to visit, a home tie would provide the opportunity to play at a large arena and with the choice of surface up to Smith and his team. Dan Evans reached the 2013 US Open third round but his ranking has plummeted to 269 . The main barrier to further British success in Davis Cup remains the lack of a world-class singles player to support Murray. James Ward, whose win over Sam Querrey was the crucial result in the USA upset, has continued to make steady progress and is ranked at a career-high mark of 121. But Dan Evans, another of Britain's recent Davis Cup heroes, has slumped to 269, and Ward is the only player other than Murray in the top 230. Another option could be world No 144 Aljaz Bedene, who is in the process of applying for a British passport and could be eligible by March. The Slovenian is particularly at home on clay and Smith was keeping a close eye on him at the US Open. | Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith thinks home advantage is key .
The draw for the 2015 Davis Cup World Group is made on Thursday .
Andy Murray and co will face either Serbia, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Argentina, Italy or USA . |
176,338 | 70487900486fd2c00a4eeaf32eee3f7b90e25e0d | (CNN) -- Forgive the pun: Want a slice of early Apple history? Three of the legal documents that detail the founding of the revolutionary computer company are going up for auction soon -- some two months after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. Sotheby's, the auction house that's hosting the sale, expects the legal papers to sell for $100,000 to $150,000. "The 1976 document, which once belonged to Ronald G. Wayne, one of Apple's founders along with Steven P. Jobs and Stephen G. Wozniak, is the first chapter in the story of one of America's most important companies," Sotheby's says in a press release. Here's a list of what's included in the auction: . -- Apple's original partnership agreement, signed on April 1, 1976, by Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Apple's "forgotten founder," Ron Wayne. According to Walter Isaacson in his new "Steve Jobs" biography, Jobs signed the document in lower-case letters, "Wozniak in careful cursive and Wayne in an illegible squiggle." The trio signed the document in Wayne's apartment and split their stakes in the company unevenly: Jobs and Wozniak both got 45%; Wayne, who came to the confab late as a consultant of sorts, got a 10% share. -- A dissolution of contract, in which Wayne excused himself from the company for $800. He later received an additional $1,500 payment. Bad move, right? His stock options today would be worth more than $30 billion. But Wayne told CNN in 2010 that he doesn't regret the decision, which he based on the fact that another company he founded had gone poorly. "What can I say? You make a decision based on your understanding of the circumstances and you live with it," he said. -- And a second founding agreement, in which Jobs, the marketing master, and Wozniak, the coding genius, outlined their plans for the company that would help bring about the personal computer revolution and create the iPod, iPhone and, most recently, the iPad. The documents originally belonged to Wayne and were given to Sotheby's through a university archives, the auction house's website says. A Sotheby's spokesman said the company could not provide more information but emphasized that Wayne had not sold the documents directly to the auction house. "The consigner bought the documents in the mid-1990s from a manuscript dealer who had acquired them from Wayne," Bloomberg reports, citing Richard Austin, head of manuscripts at Sotheby's in New York. Austin told that news organization: "It was right before Jobs rejoined Apple. At the time, everyone thought that Apple was pretty much finished." The auction will be held on December 13 in New York. People can also bid on the documents simultaneously online. So far, Twitter chatter about the sale is mostly positive, with online pundits joking that they want to add the documents to their holiday shopping lists and pondering what will be the ultimate sticker price of these bits of history. | Original 1976 Apple contract is going up for auction on December 13 .
Sotheby's New York is auctioning off three original Apple documents .
The founding agreement is signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne .
The auction house expects the docs to fetch at least $100,000 . |
11,639 | 21142a947e9a38c5bb9dcd452a6d1902f5621467 | By . Jill Reilly . A multimillionaire Russian telecommunications boss has gone on the run after beating his model girlfriend up so brutally that she was left looking like a 'zombie from a horror film'. Pavel Ushanov, 33, who is CEO of the Russian communications company Devino Telecom, had been dating model Alexandra Sereda for two years when she told him that she wanted to end their relationship. But Ushanov was so enraged by her decision that he launched a brutal attack on the 27-year-old. Pavel Ushanov, 33, a multimillionaire Russian telecommunications boss has gone on the run after beating up Alexandra Sereda his model girlfriend so brutally that she was left looking like a 'zombie' Speaking from her hospital bed she told Russian media: 'I was leaving for work and it was 7 am in the morning when I heard the doorbell, and then I heard his voice' Speaking from her hospital bed she told Russian media: 'I was leaving for work and it was 7 am in the morning when I heard the doorbell, and then I heard his voice. 'I could hear that he sounded annoyed . and I didn't want to open the door, but he obviously wasn't going away . so then I did and without saying anything he just went inside and punched . me in the head.' She . said that the man had then kicked and punched constantly for 10 minutes. She said that even when she screamed that he was going to kill . her, he had simply replied: 'Good, that's what I want'. Telecommunications boss Pavel Ushanov pictured with Alexandra Sereda . She said: 'When I looked at the pictures of myself after the attack I looked like a zombie from a horror movie' She said that the man had then kicked and punched constantly for 10 minutes and had not stopped even when she told him that he was going to kill her . Miss Ushanov only escaped after managing to open the door and run off and fortunately because she had her mobile phone with her was able to call the police. Paramedics took her to hospital to be treated for her injuries. She added: 'When I looked at the pictures of myself after the attack I looked like a zombie from a horror movie.' Police say Ushanov has since gone on the run, and they have issued a warrant for his arrest. Miss Ushanov only escaped after managing to open the door and run off and fortunately because she had her mobile phone with her was able to call the police also alerted medics . | Pavel Ushanov, 33, beat up 27-year-old model Alexandra Sereda .
Dating for two years when she said she wanted to end relationship .
He 'kicked and punched constantly for 10 minutes' in her apartment .
Only escaped after managing to open the door and run off to get help . |
219,992 | a8be7e7c8ba6b6ca6322909ad469056e3c08c910 | More than half of the ballot boxes from last weekend's Mexican presidential election -- 54.5% -- will be individually recounted, the executive secretary of Mexico's Federal Election Institute said Wednesday. That represents 78,012 ballot boxes, Edmundo Jacobo Molina told reporters. The political parties will supervise, review and watch over the recount, which will be carried out by the election institute, he said. The announcement came as the official ballot count in Mexico's presidential elections began Wednesday and as the presumptive president-elect sought to consolidate his reported victory even as a challenger refused to concede. Enrique Peña Nieto received the most votes, according to preliminary results released the night of Sunday's balloting, and according to a quick count released by the election institute, known by its Spanish acronym IFE. The quick count gave Peña Nieto a margin of victory of between 6.07 and 7.65 percentage points. But Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the candidate for a progressive coalition, has said he has evidence of irregularities at most of the 143,000 polling stations and wants a full recount. Lopez Obrador demands recount in Mexican election vote . Lopez Obrador made a similar demand after losing in 2006 to Felipe Calderon. The process that started Wednesday is intended to check all election returns recorded in each district and can carry out recounts in certain cases. IFE predicted a final count on Sunday. Officials have called this election the most transparent in Mexico's history. It was the first election in which scanned copies of district-by-district election returns were posted on the Internet. But accusations have arisen of electoral manipulation by Peña Nieto's party -- the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. The party, which was in power for 71 years before being voted out in 2000, was known for being corrupt and authoritarian. Its apparent victory last weekend would mark a triumphant return after 12 years of rule by the right-wing National Action Party, known by the acronym PAN. But supporters of Lopez Obrador accused the PRI of having returned to its old ways of corruption. Political tensions flare after Mexican presidential vote . Daniel Avila, a representative for the anti-Peña Nieto student movement #YoSoy132 (I am 132), told CNN en Español that his group had already received 1,100 allegations of vote-buying, stuffed ballot boxes and intimidation. The group has photos, video and audio proof of these violations, the group said. "What we're going to try to do is find all these people to get testimonies, and then take that evidence to the IFE," Avila said. Lopez Obrador supporters pointed to long lines that were reported at the Soriana chain of supermarkets. Voters flocked to the stores to use gift cards handed out by the PRI in exchange for votes, some allege. Calls to PRI offices were not returned. Mexican election regulators said they were investigating the allegations related to the gift cards. The electoral authorities should question the owners of the chain, said Irma Erendira Sandoval, a political analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Wednesday's count will help determine whether there was fraud, she said. "This is a fundamental stage where the transparency and cleanliness of the entire election is at stake," she told CNN en Español. According to the group Alianza Civica (Civic Alliance), which seeks to ensure elections are free and fair, a poll of Mexican voters found that nearly 30% reported being exposed to at least one example of vote-buying or coercion. Taking advantage of the fact that election returns are available online, critics began circulating copies of what they described as suspicious returns. One such document shared by PRI opponents is an electoral return from a district in Michoacan. It appears to show that 362 of 732 registered voters cast ballots, but that the PRI won 945 votes. For his part, Peña Nieto, in an interview with "NewsHour" on PBS, praised Mexico's democratic system and said he was putting his trust in the electoral authorities. "We have electoral tribunals that will be responsible for addressing these issues and attending to these complaints, the ones filed by candidate Lopez Obrador," he said. Ballots will be recounted in cases where the difference between the top two finishers is 1 percentage point or less; where the number of annulled votes is greater than the difference between the top two; where all the votes go to one party; and where there are obvious irregularities such as the votes not adding up. Lopez Obrador must wait until Sunday to formally submit any application for a recount to the Federal Election Tribunal. Avila, the youth activist, acknowledged that Peña Nieto will likely be confirmed as president, but contended that that was because of PRI's alleged maneuverings. "The amount of evidence we present does not matter. It is a fact that Enrique Peña Nieto will remain," he said. "We have had a position since before the election that this was being imposed by fraud, and it's what we've been seeing." Opinion: Is Peña Nieto good news for Mexico? | The political parties will supervise, review and watch over the recount, IFE chief says .
The official ballot count began Wednesday .
Preliminary results give victory to PRI's Peña Nieto . |
136,807 | 3cfadf47109207fd990391fc1f4e7ab8c8607b0d | Facebook and Apple are offering women employees the chance to put their dreams of motherhood on ice – by paying for them to freeze their eggs. The extraordinary perk is aimed at boosting the number of women staff by allowing them to focus on their careers without sacrificing the opportunity to have children later in life. The Silicon Valley giants – the first major employers to offer the procedure for non-medical reasons – are willing to pay £12,500 a time to cover the cost of putting the eggs on ice plus an additional £300-a-year for deep freeze storage. Scroll down for video . Payout: Women working for Facebook can receive £12,500 a time for freezing their eggs so they work longer . The eggs can then be planted into the patient’s uterus at time of her choosing when she may no longer be producing them naturally. According to NBC News, Facebook has begun paying for egg freezing and Apple will start in January. Preserving eggs has been described as a key to ‘levelling the playing field’ in the male-dominated tech industry and a possible game-changer for women who have traditionally had to choose between their careers and starting a family at a time when their male counterparts are climbing the ladder. ‘Having a high-powered career and children is still a very hard thing to do,’ Brigitte Adams, an egg-freezing advocate and founder of the patient forum Eggsurance.com, told NBC. ‘By offering this benefit, companies are investing in women and supporting them in carving out the lives they want,’ she added. Paying for the procedure can be seen as rewarding women employees for their commitment, said San Francisco specialist Philip Chenette. Women who know they want children someday ‘can go on with their lives and know that they’ve done everything that they can’. In the past year, fertility doctors in New York and San Francisco report that egg freezing cases have nearly doubled. In a 2013 survey published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, a majority of patients who had their eggs frozen reported feeling ‘empowered.’ Bank: The eggs will be put in deep freeze so women can continue their careers, the technology giants said . The fact that two of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are introducing the initiative is no coincidence. Tech giants are fighting for talented staff in what has become known as the ‘perk arms race’. Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, in particular, is known for her pro-women stance. The social media firm gives new parents £3,000 in so-called ‘baby cash’ to spend however they like. Both firms also offer generous wellness-orientated benefits to staff. Critics say the move is simply a ploy to persuade women to stay with the company. Last night an Apple source indicated the company had no plans to extend the policy to the firm’s UK workforce. An Apple spokesman in the US said: ‘We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families.’ However Harvard Law School academic Glenn Cohen, asked: ‘Would potential female associates [staff] welcome this option knowing that they can work hard early on and still reproduce, if they so desire, later on? 'Or would they take this as a signal that the firm thinks that working there as an associate and pregnancy are incompatible?’ | Silicon Valley giants willing to pay £12,500 a time to put eggs on ice .
According to NBC, Facebook has already started and Apple will in 2015 .
One egg-freezing advocate said the move was 'investing in women'
But one academic warned employees may see babies as 'incompatible' |
218,283 | a695b1114f93f35442da0942542a4a66c54816be | Sarah Palin has sparked outrage by posting pictures on Facebook of her son standing on her dog. The former Alaska governor described the three images of her six-year-old son Trig using the black Labrador for a stepping stool as 'a symbol of perseverance'. But the message was met with an instant tirade of anger, with people branding Palin irresponsible. Outrage: Sarah Palin sparked anger by posting this picture online of her son Trig standing on the family dog . It spelled a rocky start to the year for gaffe-prone Palin, who has spent the end of 2014 defending her family's involvement in a physical brawl outside her husband's party. Thursday's post read: 'Happy New Year! May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward. 'Trig just reminded me. He, determined to help wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for "up!", found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. New Year's message: The former Alaska governor touted the incident as a symbol of perseverance . Backlash: Commenters raged that Palin should have stopped the six-year-old climbing onto the dog . Message: Palin posted this message with the images, saying stumbling blocks should be used for good . 'He made his stepping stone.' One commenter raged: 'This is animal abuse!' Another said: 'Purchase a step stool!!!! GEEZ!!! This angers me!' 'He made his stepping stone': The 50-year-old lauded the pictures as inspiring for her and others . | The former Alaska governor posted three photos of Trig, 6, on her dog .
She said the images are a symbol of using a stumbling block for good .
Outraged commenters branded the incident as an example of animal abuse . |
14,401 | 28d3d9f6e5f073c395e7e1e7bce3bd7f7b70c174 | (CNN) -- Last Saturday, Sarah Palin stood before the huge crowd at the 2014 National Rifle Association annual meeting and condemned liberals for coddling terrorists. She loaded her speech with religious metaphors, claiming that true leaders would put "the fear of God in our enemies." She said, "They obviously have information on plots to carry out jihad. Oh, but you can't offend them, can't make them feel uncomfortable, not even a smidgen. Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists." Palin's invocation of forced baptism shocked both conservatives and liberals, inspiring few defenders. Christian commentators, in particular, focused on her link between torture and baptism. On Wednesday, the National Religious Campaign against Torture released a powerful condemnation of the speech. To Palin, the organization's executive director wrote, "Your statements play into a false narrative conveying that somehow, the conflict between the United States and the terrorist cells is a conflict between Christianity and Islam, or Islam and 'the West.' " The group's letter to the NRA, signed by 17 faith leaders from many different religions and denominations, reads, "For Christians, baptism is a profoundly holy act. It is in stark contrast to the abhorrent act of waterboarding. Equating baptism to an act of torture like waterboarding is sacrilegious -- and particularly surprising coming from a person who prides herself on her Christian faith." But it's not actually all that surprising. Palin's public rhetoric relies on crafting existential binaries between "us" and "them," creating a kind of sacred empowered victimhood among her listeners. She draws from the language of militant Christianity to claim the status of both persecutor and persecuted. This is not an accident, and I do not believe she will repudiate her remarks. I'm an historian. While people of faith such as the National Religious Campaign against Torture are concerned about blasphemy, I worry about history. When powerful Christians such as Palin start speaking about forced baptism to a cheering throng, they evoke, intentionally or not, some of the worst episodes in Christian history. Here's one. On Valentine's Day 1349, the citizens of Strasbourg, Germany, rose up against the Jewish population of their city. The Chronicle of Mathias of Neuenburg describes it as follows: . "And so, on the following Saturday (February 14), the Jews were conducted to the cemetery to be burnt in a specifically prepared house. And 200 of them were completely stripped of their clothes by the mob, who found a lot of money in them. But the few who chose baptism were spared, and many beautiful women were persuaded to accept baptism, and many children were baptized after they were snatched from mothers who refused this invitation. All the rest were burnt, and many were killed as they leaped out of the fire." This is just one of the many examples of forced baptism of Jews and Muslims under threat of massacre. Notice the specifics. The Jews were forced into a building, stripped, robbed and burned alive. Their only pathway out was through baptism and rape. As parents died, babies were taken from their mothers to be baptized. The church condemned these practices, but if someone went into a church and was baptized, even under threat of death, it counted. Such issues led to the terrible excesses of the Spanish Inquisition in which forcibly converted Jews and Muslims were held under constant scrutiny and suspicion. When Palin stood before the huge crowd of mostly white people, she told her audience to be afraid and to be prepared for civilian violence. She spoke about "that evil Muslim terrorist Maj. (Nidal) Hasan ... his Allah Akbar (sic) praising jihad." She said, "Ammo is expensive, don't waste a bullet on a warning shot." She divided the world between "us" and "them," with no room for dialogue. At one point she pretended to apologize for saying all liberals were hypocrites, then joked, redrawing the divisive line, "I'm kidding, yes they are." Finally, she said, "If I were in charge," and paused to let crowd cheer. Then, with great deliberation, she linked a torture method that makes the sufferer feel like they are dying to the ritual of Christian inclusion. The crowd went wild. "Thank God," she said, "more and more Americans are waking up." I don't read her invocation of a deity as accidental. For Palin, this is a holy struggle. Last Sunday wasn't the first time Palin used rhetoric invoking one of the worst chapters of Christian history. In January 2011, in the wake of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona, she and some right-wing defenders used the term "blood libel" to describe those linking the shooting to Palin's martial rhetoric. (She had used on her website a map with cross hairs on Giffords' district). Blood libel refers to the medieval myth that Jews murdered Christian children in religious rituals and baked their blood into matzos for Passover. It's a myth that has resulted in massacres of Jews for centuries. I appreciate the efforts of the National Religious Campaign against Torture and others to contest this language in public. We can't pretend, though, that Palin's invocation was an aberration or that her status as a failed politician makes her irrelevant. The crowd was cheering; then they went into the exhibition hall to buy weapons. Sarah Palin and her followers want it both ways. They are the persecuted chosen people of God, targeted by lies and threatened with violence by those who do not share their faith. They are also the Christian triumphalists, ready for a Day of Reckoning in which all will be converted or destroyed. This is not a joke or an accident. This is not new rhetoric. And it never ends well. | Sarah Palin told NRA meeting, "Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists"
Interfaith group of religious leaders called on her, NRA to repudiate those remarks .
David M. Perry: Equating torture with religious sacrament evokes horrors of the past .
He says Palin's divisive rhetoric evokes persecution of Jews and Muslims . |
126,484 | 2f7718a28f1e5c660821a8c7613d6fcde2dde67f | By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 09:32 EST, 4 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:51 EST, 4 December 2012 . Horrific: Anthony Judge, 35, was jailed for life after admitting kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl in Huddersfield. She was praised for remaining calm throughout the ordeal and even asked Judge to use a condom . A 15-year-old rape victim has been praised by a judge after she tried to talk her drug-crazed attacker into using protection and remained calm throughout her ordeal. Anthony Judge, 35, was jailed for life yesterday after he admitted kidnapping the schoolgirl at gunpoint as she walked to her friend's house for a sleepover in Huddersfield - before raping her twice in a motorway lay-by. He must serve at least six years for the 'horrific offence' before being considered for parole. Judge James Spencer QC described the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as 'remarkable' and 'brilliant' for showing such bravery. Judge had driven from his home in Manchester to Huddersfield on the evening of June 4 when he pounced on the young girl - putting a loaded gun to her temple and demanding she get into his car. Prosecuting at Leeds Crown Court, Kitty Taylor said: 'She was in the middle of her exams at the time and was walking home to get some things before going to her friend’s house for a sleep over. 'As she walked past the defendant’s car he leapt out with a silver revolver in his hand and put it to her temple. 'He told her to get in to the car and she did, thinking at first that it was some kind of joke. It soon became apparent that it was not. 'She tried to hide her mobile telephone in her bra but he took it from her and removed the battery. 'She thought she was going to be killed or prostituted and asked if she could send a text to her mother to say she would not be home but this request was refused. 'He asked her age and she told him she was 15. She thought that if she talked calmly to him it would be better for her.' Despite her terror, the brave teenager managed to talk manic Judge out of killing himself as he wildly snorted cocaine from a key in the front of the vehicle. The car then stopped in a layby, near Marsden, where Judge sexually assaulted and raped her. He said women and cocaine had ruined his life and all women deserved to die. Jailed: Anthony Judge was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection at Leeds Crown Court after admitting kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl . 'After raping her he said that he needed to refuel the car but told the girl that he had seven bullets in the gun and would use them on her if she tried any funny business,' added Mrs Taylor. 'At the petrol station she tried to make eye contact with other members of the public and described herself as feeling scared and in shock. 'After setting off they again stopped and again he raped her. This time she asked him if he would use a condom but he refused. 'By this point she was crying and being physically sick. He said I haven’t done anything wrong to you why are you upset. 'Throughout this ordeal she has tried her very best to keep this man calm. He then dropped her off in Huddersfield and said I’m going to leave you here because I’m going to go and kill myself. For what it’s worth I’m sorry. 'She then ran to a nearby hotel where she told two women what had happened they then phoned the police.' Judge slept rough for two nights before handing himself in at a police station in Congleton, near Manchester. He told officers 'I believe you are looking for me' and pointed to a gun in the car. Judge James Spencer QC said: 'You have pleaded guilty to the most horrendous crimes. 'You raped her not once but twice and did not use any protection not withstanding the fact that on the second occasion she asked for it. 'You had no regard for her whatsoever. Afterwards you left her and she had to find someone to help her all the while you were thinking of yourself. 'I have nothing but the utmost admiration for this girl. She is a remarkable, brilliant girl. One wonders what would have happened had she not been so unbelievably calm throughout the process.' Judge pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, kidnap, sexual assault, assault by penetration and possession of a fire arm at an earlier hearing on August 31. Along with the indeterminate sentence for public protection, Judge was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from contact with his victim and from anybody under the age of 16 for life. | Anthony Judge, 35, jailed for life after kidnapping the schoolgirl at gunpoint then raping her twice in Huddersfield .
'One wonders what would have happened had she not been so unbelievably calm throughout the process' says judge James Spencer . |
135,402 | 3b29cee3f91841d56450ab1e7dbf8c6cf24ac63a | By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 05:38 EST, 19 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:12 EST, 19 July 2013 . It could be a scene from Disney classic The Fox and the Hound. Rosie, a 15-week-old fox cub, was left abandoned when her father killed most of her litter before the cubs had opened their eyes for the first time. Now she has formed a firm friendship with terrier Maddy, a Lakeland Patterdale cross, at the home of her owner Richard Bowler in Wales, despite the two creatures being natural enemies. Rosie the fox cub and Maddy the terrier have become firm friends, even snoozing together at the North Wales home of Maddy's owner Richard Bowler . The pair do not usually share a bed because of their difference in size but Maddy's owner Richard Bowler hopes that could change when Rosie gets bigger . The pair have the run of Mr Bowler's five-acre estate in Corwen, North Wales, including this venture in to the vegetable patch . The four-legged friends have plenty of energy and like to chase each other around vegetable patch . The friends have separate feeding times so they don't fight but are trained together with treats . The pair indulge in rough and tumble while Mr Bowler, 44, and his girlfriend Helen, 41, try to teach Rosie a few tricks so she can settle in at their home in the Berwyn mountains near Corwen, North Wales. Mr Bowler said: 'Nothing is known about what happened to . Rosie's mum. All we know is that her dad went rogue and she was the only . survivor and was hand-reared before her eyes had even opened. 'Rosie was slowly introduced to Maddy. Maddy has always been playful and it's a natural instinct for a fox cub . to play so they get on great. 'They have become best of friends, although we always supervise them playing together as Rosie is still quite small. Maddy and Rosie are reminiscent of Disney classic The Fox and The Hound, where Tod the fox and Copper the hunting dog become firm friends despite being natural enemies . Mr Bowler and his girlfriend Helen are training Rosie with a little help from their terrier Maddy . Rosie, posing in front of a portrait of a fox, has made herself at home at the Bowler residence . Although she rests and dozes around the house, Rosie sleeps in a crate at night to stop her chewing through the television's wires . 'They chase each other around and Rosie often dives on Maddy. The living room is usually a wreck after they have been playing.' Mr . Bowler, a wildlife photographer, and his girlfriend moved to the area . last year from Bedfordshire to run a holiday home in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Now they've acquired a new friend in . Rosie while Maddy pitches in to help show the fox cub what to do. Most . importantly, the cub has already learned to sit nicely to earn a treat. Maddy's owner Richard Bowler, with his pet terrier at his feet and Rosie in his arms, is trying to house train the cub . The pair create 'destruction' while they play together, according to Maddy's owner Mr Bowler . Despite the differences in their size, the pair indulge in good-natured play tussles around the house and grounds . Rosie's slight build helps her get the better of Maddy in the battle for the tennis ball as she looks to run away . 'I feel it's important that Rosie has . a good bond with Maddy as when it comes to training Maddy shows Rosie . what is required,' Mr Bowler said. 'Rosie is very quick to pick things up though. 'I've . been amazed at how clever she is, certainly quicker to pick up things . than Maddy ever was. Her recall and sitting is 100 per cent and we're . almost there with toilet training. Rosie is only 15 weeks old but has already lost all of her siblings when their father attacked and killed them. It is not known what happened to her mother . Rosie is quicker at picking up her training than Maddy the terrier was, Mr Bowler said . Rosie moves in on a plant as she explores her new home in the Berwyn mountains . Mr Bowler's five-acre estate near Corwen, North Wales, has plenty of space for Rosie to roam . 'They don't sleep together, we have a . large dog crate in the living room for Rosie that has her bed in it. We . only put her in her crate at night and that's just to stop her chewing . through the wires of the TV. 'When she's awake the door to the crate is open allowing her access to the living room, she also has access to our fenced in patio/veg garden while we train her. The cub is being gradually introduced to different parts of the property, starting with a fenced in patio and vegetable garden . The fox cub has almost mastered her toilet training and quickly learned to sit nicely to earn a titbit . The pair have the run of their owners' home in the Berwyn mountains near Corwen, North Wales . Maddy is helping Mr Bowler and his girlfriend Helen to train Rosie as well as being her playmate . 'We will then start introducing her to our bottom paddock that we have fenced in with two inch chicken wire, this area is about an acre and we are developing it as an orchard and wildflower meadow so she will have a lovely area to run around in and play with Maddy. 'When Rosie gets bigger we hope that her and Maddy will sleep together at the moment though as soon as they are together it's just fun and games and destruction.' Foxes and dogs may be natural enemies but nobody told Rosie and Maddy, who have formed a strong bond . Once she's had a bit more training, Rosie will be allowed to explore the orchard and meadow . She was abandoned shortly after her birth but Rosie is thriving in Maddy's company . | Rosie, a 15-week old cub, was abandoned when father killed her siblings .
She and Lakeland Patterdale cross Maddy have become firm friends .
Maddy's owners are training Rosie at their home in the Berwyn mountains . |
224,178 | ae4724a059aa0fa5918a1cbe0db2ba957a68babb | A Spanish man who tweeted about his 'absolute and sincere happiness' at the death of a football fan from a rival team has been fined £44,000. The unnamed man had posted on Twitter about the death of 43-year-old Francisco Javier Romero Taboada, who died in clashes between fans of two rival Spanish football clubs in Madrid last November. The hateful post went on to call the Mr Romero Taboada a 'son of a b*** who won't be fighting ever again.' Victim: The man tweeted about his 'sincere happiness' at the death of football fan Francisco Javier Romero Taboada, 43, (pictured) in a clash between Deportivo and Atletico supporters in Madrid last year . 'I want to express my most absolute and sincere happiness at the death of the Deportivo fan,' the unnamed man posted on social media, according to The Local. 'A son of a b**** who won't be fighting ever again. Hopefully many more will die.' Spain's Secretary of State for Security fined the man 60,001 Euro (£44,180) for 'threatening and offensive' behaviour. He has also been banned from attending any Spanish sporting events for five years. Spanish police arrested a total of 82 following the clash between Deportivo La Coruna and Atletico Madrid supporters that lead to the death of Mr Romero Taboada. Brutal: The man was fined £44,180 for the tweet about Deportivo fan Mr Romero Taboada, calling him a 'son of a b**** who won't be fighting ever again,' and adding that 'hopefully many more will die' Playing hard: Mr Romero Taboada was killed during a violent clash between Deportivo La Coruna (pictured) and Atletico Madrid supporters in Madrid last year . In memoriam: A couple stop to look at words painted on the ground by the Manzanarez river in Madrid, reading, 'Here, Francisco J. Romero was murdered. I will never forget or forgive' Mr Romero Taboada died from injuries sustained in a brutal street fight between rival 'ultra' groups before a match in Madrid in November 2014. A video of the brawl, later uploaded onto YouTube shows Mr Romero Taboada being thrown into Madrid's Manzanares River. Another 11 people received minor injuries, including one police officer, following the fight that raged near Vicente Calderon Stadium, along the banks of the river. Three men have been charged in connection with Mr Romero Taboada's death, including two men from radical groups associated with fans of Atletico Madrid, including 'Atletico Front.' All other arrested men were released without charges. | Spaniard fined £44,000 for tweet 'celebrating death of football fan'
Francisco Javier Romero Taboada, 43, was killed last year .
The Deportivo fan died in clashes with Atletico Madrid supporters .
Twitter user posted of his 'absolute and sincere happiness' at the death . |
159,794 | 5a904395db01e5a5bbc6c0adcf31048c6510b5dd | (Mental Floss) -- People have been eating pickles ever since the Mesopotamians started making them way back in 2400 B.C.E. Here are some even more important things you should know about them. Pickles have gotten credit for health and beauty and winning football games. 1. In the Pacific Islands, natives pickle their foods in holes in the ground lined with banana leaves, and use them as food reserves in case of storms. The pickles are so valuable that they've become part of the courting process, helping a man prove he'll be able to provide for a woman. In Fiji, guys can't get a girl without first showing her parents his pickle pits. 2. Cleopatra claimed pickles made her beautiful. (We guess it had more to do with her genes.) 3. The majority of pickle factories in America ferment their pickles in outdoor vats without lids (leaving them subject to insects and bird droppings). But there's a reason. According to food scientists, the sun's direct rays prevent yeast and mold from growing in the brine. Mental Floss: 8 disastrous product names . 4. In the Delta region of Mississippi, Kool-Aid pickles have become ridiculously popular with kids. The recipe's simple: take some dill pickles, cut them in half, and then soak them in super strong Kool-Aid for more than a week. According to the New York Times, the sweet vinegar snacks are known to sell out at fairs and delicatessens, and generally go for $.50 to a $1. 5. Not everyone loves a sweet pickle. In America, dill pickles are twice as popular as the sweet variety. 6. The Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year. 7. When the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in sweltering heat in September 2000, many of the players attributed their win to one thing: guzzling down immense quantities of ice-cold pickle juice. Mental Floss: 31 unbelievable high school mascots . 8. If it weren't for pickles, Christopher Columbus might never have "discovered" America. In his famous 1492 voyage, Columbus rationed pickles to his sailors to keep them from getting scurvy. He even grew cucumbers during a pit stop in Haiti to restock for the rest of the voyage. 9. Speaking of people who get credit for discovering America, when he wasn't drawing maps and trying to steal Columbus' thunder, Amerigo Vespucci was a well-known pickle-merchant. 10. Napoleon was also a big fan of pickle power. In fact, he put up the equivalent of $250,000 as a prize to whoever could figure out the best way to pickle and preserve foods for his troops. 11. During the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, H. J. Heinz used pick-shaped pins to lure customers to his out of the way booth. By the end of the fair, he'd given out lots of free food, and over 1,000,000 pickle pins. 12. Berrien Springs, Michigan, has dubbed itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World. In early December, they host a parade, led by the Grand Dillmeister, who tosses out fresh pickles to parade watchers. Mental Floss: Curious, bizarre and storied state symbols . For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved. | Average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year, according to Dept. of Agriculture .
Southern state treat: Dill pickles soaked for week in Kool-Aid .
Philly Eagles players said pickle juice helped them beat Dallas Cowboys in 2000 .
Christopher Columbus and Napoleon were fans of pickle power . |
151,994 | 506ff7e4484ac3565ebb731d6264582a0092d611 | (CNN) -- Globe-trotters everywhere, it's time to raise your champagne glass and toast to all the wonderful new journeys you'll take in the new year. But where exactly should you go in 2012? As always, some places will stand out above the rest when it comes to unforgettable things to do and see. To help you decide, we sought out recommendations from four travel experts: Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet; Martin Rapp, senior vice president of leisure sales at Altour; Anne Banas, executive editor at SmarterTravel; and Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor for Orbitz.com. We also sprinkled in a couple of suggestions from Travel+Leisure and Budget Travel. Here are nine of the top destinations for 2012: . England . The royal wedding made it one of the world's most buzzed about destinations this year, but England is about to get even hotter. There will be so much going on in 2012 that it's hard to keep count. The country will celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee -- marking her 60 years on the throne -- with a river pageant on the Thames and a concert at Buckingham Palace at the beginning of June. Then all eyes will be on London as it hosts the Summer Olympic Games in July and August, and the Paralympic Games in August and September. Looking for more? There will be festivals, tours, performances and exhibitions to mark the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. "I love London. I think it's kind of the greatest city on Earth," Reid said. "A lot of people think it's too expensive but ... there are all kinds of fantastic free attractions in London, so it makes it more affordable than you think." Lonely Planet: 20 free attractions in London . Banas predicted travelers will have more choices than ever to stay in and get around the city, with new lodging options and better transportation in place for the Olympics. World of the Maya . Some see it as an approaching apocalypse, others as the beginning of a new era. Whatever your beliefs are about December 21, 2012, interest is skyrocketing in the Maya, the ancient civilization known for the great cities it left behind in Mexico and Central America. The date marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle on the Long Count calendar developed by the Maya, and there will be events on the occasion in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, Banas said. If you want to see incredible ruins, Reid recommended skipping the tourist hordes at Tulum and Chichen Itza in Mexico and instead head to places such as Tikal, Guatemala (which George Lucas used as a location in the original "Star Wars"), and Chiapas, Mexico. Reid was once exploring a site near Comitan, Mexico, and said he was astonished to discover he was the only person there. "I had a pyramid to myself," Reid said. "You're just looking out over this mountainous valley, and you have the complete Mayan site to yourself. It's an unreal travel experience." Myanmar (also known as Burma) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this month that she sees signs the country -- ruled by a military junta for almost 50 years -- may genuinely be opening up. The changes mean tourists who didn't feel they could support the regime can finally start planning a trip to Myanmar, Rapp said. "It is extraordinary," he said. "It is really as close to authentic and unspoiled as you can get in that part of the world." Reid also found it unforgettable. "There's really no place in the world that you will find sweeter, more welcoming people," Reid said. Rapp suggested starting the journey in Yangon (once known as Rangoon) and staying at either the Governor's Residence or The Strand. Don't miss "extraordinary" Inle Lake, he added, where you can stay at the Golden Island Cottages. Chicago . The Windy City will be prominent on the world stage in 2012, hosting the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in April, and both the NATO and Group of Eight summits in May, Tornatore noted. Golf fans will also descend on a country club just outside the city for the Ryder Cup in September. But even if you're not planning to be there for any big event, Chicago is ready for an influx of visitors from all over the world during 2012. "Chicago is a huge tourist destination in its own right," Tornatore said, citing the city's museums, major sports teams and shopping. St. Vincent and the Grenadines . What's not to like about a tropical paradise that bills itself as "one destination, 32 gorgeous Caribbean islands"? Located between St. Lucia and Grenada, this island chain has long drawn stars and vacationers with deep pockets, but it will become more accessible to a wider range of travelers thanks to a $240 million airport scheduled to open on St. Vincent, Travel + Leisure reports. Travel + Leisure: Hottest travel destinations of 2012 . The Netherlands . Flower lovers who flock to the country's stunning fields of tulips and who have made the colorful Keukenhof gardens one of the most popular attractions in the Netherlands will get an extra treat next year at the Floriade. The horticultural expo, staged once every 10 years, showcases the world's best flowers, plants, trees, fruits and vegetables. "This is a once in a decade flower show so it's even more spectacular than Keukenhof, and Keukenhof is already amazing," Banas said. "It actually runs from April all the way through October, so there's a pretty wide range of time that you can go and see this." The expo is expected to attract 2 million visitors. Atlantic Canada . Canada's Maritime Provinces are always a beautiful destination, but the region will be in the spotlight next year as it commemorates its connection to the Titanic and the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking. After the Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, three ships were dispatched from Halifax, Nova Scotia -- the closest major port -- to bring back the bodies of the victims. Some of the passengers were laid to rest in the city's cemeteries. Halifax is planning lots of events to mark the anniversary, including a town parade, concerts and a film festival, Budget Travel reports. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic -- which has a huge collection of wooden Titanic artifacts, including a deck chair -- will have a temporary exhibit on the crews involved in the Titanic recovery effort. Budget Travel: Top budget travel destinations for 2012 . Uruguay . There are extraordinary hotels opening in this South American country, which has stayed below the radar for many tourists, Rapp said. "People don't know it ... so it's a real find," he said. "I rode horses, because the horseback riding is superb. The beaches are completely unspoiled." He recommended checking out the art-filled Playa Vik and the Estancia Vik as well as the Hotel Fasano in the seaside resort of Punta del Este. Orlando . Reid conceded some people might think of this choice as "ridiculous," but he called Orlando a legitimate surprise. "By Orlando, I refer to Orlando the city," he said. "Local Orlando (residents) will tell you that the amusement park scene has no connection to the city itself." The metropolis most people breeze by as they head to Disney World will transform into celebrity central as it hosts the 61st NBA All-Star Game in February. Reid advised travelers to check out the city's lakes, museums and scenic neighborhoods, including the bohemian Milk District. He also praised Orlando's food scene. "There's this very big, wonderful, authentic, fantastic and tasty Vietnamese restaurant community called ViMi -- it's more authentic Vietnamese restaurants than you find in New York or San Francisco," he said. | Travel experts name nine great destinations to explore next year .
England will host the Olympic Games, celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee .
Date sparks interest in the Maya; big flower show is set to take place in the Netherlands .
Canadian city will commemorate its connection to the Titanic 100 years after disaster . |
88,681 | fbaee32fa2525ad20c7c0b920bd12d5e3f8cee5a | MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia's president launched a verbal volley at Georgia's leaders on Monday, as Georgia hit back with renewed accusations that the Russian invasion was premeditated. Russian soliders on patrol outside the Georgian city of Gori on Monday. President Dmitry Medvedev said: "The world has seen that even today, there are political morons who are ready to kill innocent and defenseless people in order to satisfy their self-serving interests, while compensating for their own inability to resolve complicated issues by using the most terrible solution -- by exterminating an entire people. "I think that there should be no mercy for that. We will do our best not to let this crime go unpunished." He was speaking at a visit to the military headquarters at Vladikavkaz, near the Russian-Georgian border. Each side accuses the other of "ethnic cleansing" during the conflict over South Ossetia, which erupted August 7. In Washington, Georgia's ambassador to the United States said the Russian push into Georgia the following day had been long planned. "You just don't move more than 1,200 tanks and 15,000 soldiers into a country within 12 hours without previous planning," Ambassador Vasil Sikharulidze said. The conflict began more than a week ago when Georgian troops entered the breakaway territory of South Ossetia to attack pro-Moscow separatists. Russia responded by invading the country on August 8, prompting heavy fighting with Georgian forces that spread to another breakaway territory, Abkhazia. The Georgian troops withdrew and Russian forces took control of several areas -- prompting an international outcry. After diplomatic efforts led by France on behalf of the European Union, Georgia and Russian signed a cease-fire. France is the rotating EU head. Russia's military says its withdrawal from Georgia has begun, but a senior Pentagon official told reporters Monday evening that there has been little evidence of Russian troops pulling out. The official did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. Watch more on Russian withdrawal » . "We're talking about pulling our troops away to the borders of South Ossetia. They will not be on Georgia territory," Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the Russian armed forces deputy chief of staff, said Monday. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Russia needs to start pulling back "without delay," saying the "Russians have committed to withdrawing, and they need to withdraw. And so that is what we are looking for." A Georgian Interior Ministry official said there have been "no signs" of a Russian troop withdrawal despite Russia's pledge to start moving back on Monday. News footage showed Russian tanks pushing away Georgian police cars about 20 miles (32 km) south of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. Watch tanks deal with the police car » . Witnesses said Georgian police cars had been blocking the road and the police told Russian tank commanders that they were carrying out orders. The tanks proceeded to plow ahead, damaging the police cars in the process. The Georgian Foreign Ministry said a Russian armored column had been seen moving a bit deeper into Georgian territory, traveling south from Kashuri to Borjomi. Kashuri is about 10 miles (16 km) south of South Ossetia. Another column was moving north from the Kashuri area to Sachkhere. Nogovitsyn told reporters Russian troops were leaving Gori on Monday, the Interfax news agency said. He did not say how many troops were withdrawing or how many would return to South Ossetia or Russia. However, CNN journalists in Gori, near South Ossetia, said it was still under Russian control and there was no evidence the Russians were pulling out. Also, Russian tank and artillery positions were seen extending nine miles (15 km) south of Gori. Nogovitsyn said Russia was not yet moving vessels in the Black Sea from their positions near Georgia, but they would return to Sevastopol after the settlement of the conflict. He said Russia's deputy foreign minister had presented the U.S. ambassador to the country with a timetable of the events that led to Russia's actions and clearly indicated Georgia's responsibility. He said a prisoner exchange involving the transfer of 12 Russians and 15 Georgians had been set up. "We were all set and then the Georgians came up with a bunch of new requirements with no time for us to act so the time to exchange prisoners was interrupted," Nogovitsyn said. Georgia said Russia was spreading "false" accusations and that it was ready to pursue an exchange. The six-point deal gives no timetable for a Russian withdrawal, nor any other specifics, according to a copy of the agreement provided by Georgia's government. A U.S. defense official told CNN about evidence of Russian SS-21 missiles and launchers in South Ossetia. Lt. Gen. Nikolai Uvarov, a Russia Defense Ministry spokesman, disputed that, telling CNN that "no, they are not present." The U.S. official said while "Russian forces continue to consolidate their enclaves in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," they "are expected to slowly remove forces from Georgia." Diplomatic discussions continued Monday. Finland's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was in Brussels, Belgium, to meet with representatives from the European Union, NATO, and the United Nations. The OSCE is working on a plan to increase its observers in the region to 100 people. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said there was "mounting evidence that Russian and Georgian military used armed force unlawfully during the South Ossetian conflict" and it emphasized that this "highlights the need for international fact-finding missions in Georgia." "This conflict has been a disaster for civilians," said Rachel Denber, Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia deputy director. The conflict has devastated parts of Georgia and South Ossetia, with many casualties reported. The U.N. refugee agency said more than 158,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Georgia, mostly from districts outside the breakaway territories where the fighting began. CNN's Bruce Conover, Jill Dougherty and Max Tkachenko in Moscow, Fred Pleitgen in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tommy Evans and Michael Ware in Gori, Georgia, and Barbara Starr at the Pentagon contributed to this report. | NEW: Pentagon official: Little evidence that Russian troops leaving Georgia .
Russia begins Georgia troop "pullback," military chief says .
Russian tanks pushed through a Georgian police road block, witnesses say .
Human Rights Watch: This conflict has been a disaster for civilians . |
282,885 | fa701077ad19f9cbb100e1f809009d9cf7a71e70 | By . Steve Hopkins . Two lovestruck pensioners have finally exchanged vows - 42 years after they got engaged. David Barker and Daphne Thorp from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, spent the past four decades waiting for the perfect moment to marry. Despite getting engaged just four weeks after they met at a dance in 1972, Mr Barker said the couple simply 'didn't want to rush' into married life. Intimate ceremony: David Barker and Daphne Thorp during their ceremony at Huddersfield Town Hall, which happened 42 years after they first got engaged . Flashback: Mr Barker and Mrs Thorp pose for a picture together soon after they met at a dance in 1972 . You may kiss the bride: Mr Barker and Mrs Thorp formalise their nuptials with a kiss . After Mrs Thorp had a heart attack last year the couple decided not to wait any longer, and despite her engagement ring not fitting anymore, they tied the knot yesterday. Mrs Thorp said: 'I suddenly realised I wasn’t getting any younger. I thought, ''I’m not going to live another 40 years, let’s just do it now,'' and I’m glad I did.' The ceremony, which coincided with Mrs Thorp's 82nd birthday, was held at Huddersfield Town Hall before a reception took place at her daughter Susan’s cafe in nearby village Slaithwaite. Mrs Thorpe said her wedding day was 'perfect'. With this ring I thee wed: Mr Barker takes his wife's hand during the ceremony . It's official: Mr Barker signs the wedding register with his new wife who he has 'always loved and always will' She said: 'Everything I had hoped for and more. 'It was a brilliant day and luckily the good weather has lasted.' Mrs Thorpe, who has two children from her previous marriage, added: 'I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams.' Young love: Mrs Thorp and Mr Barker in the early days of their now four decade romance . Life partners: Mrs Thorp said she was 'so excited to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams' The wedding, attending by about 30 people, was in stark contrast to Mrs Thorpe's first one which she said took place in a church 60 years ago, 'it was interesting to see how traditions have changed since then'. Before the big day, Mr Barker spoke of his unconditional love for Mrs Thorpe. 'She’s fantastic - a great woman and I don’t know what I would do without her. I’ve always loved her and always will.' And told of the night she picked him out from a crowd: 'I remember the night we met. I was at my local dance hall while Daphne was taking a beginner’s class upstairs. They were all told to go and find a partner and make them dance with them. Outdoor adventure: The happy couple enjoying the great outdoors together in the 1980s . Holding on: Thirty-odd years later the couple are still holding hands and are very much in love as they become a married couple at last and set off on a honeymoon in North Yorkshire . 'She came and picked me while I was standing at the bar, all I could think at the time was she was gorgeous. 'We danced together and we’ve been together ever since. She’d been nagging me we ought to get engaged and we’ve just never found the right time - we didn’t want to rush.' Mr Barker originally popped the question on his birthday, when he took his now retired post office wife to a restaurant and got down on one knee. The retired rail worker said: 'She was screaming across the restaurant ''We’re getting married!''' The couple will go on a short honeymoon in North Yorkshire before returning to married life. | David Barker asked his wife to marry him after just four weeks in 1972 .
But then they waited 42 years to tie the knot in a Huddersfield ceremony .
The wedding eventually took place on Daphne Thorp's 82nd birthday .
She can't wait to spend the rest of her life with the 'man of my dreams' |
71,307 | ca24a92ba6a87653178708b18d3170802937da2f | Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A man in an Afghan police uniform opened fire on NATO troops in Afghanistan, killing one, NATO said, in what seems to be the latest of dozens of cases of Afghan security forces turning their weapons on international troops who are supposed to be their allies. An Albanian soldier was killed, and three other troops were injured, including two Albanians and an American, according to the provincial government in Kandahar, where the shooting took place. The violence resulted from an argument between Afghan police and coalition soldiers who were distributing paperwork to students in the area, the Kandahar media office said. An arrest was made and the incident was being investigated, the media office said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force released a short statement confirming the shooting and the death without giving the nationality of the soldier or any other details. There have been at least 42 attacks by Afghan security forces on their international allies in the past five years, a top U.S. lawmaker said earlier this month. Most attackers were acting on their own, rather than being puppets of insurgent groups, defense officials testified before the House Armed Services Committee. France suspended its operations in Afghanistan this year after two such incidents left six French troops dead. U.S. Rep. Buck McKeon, a California Republican who chairs the Armed Services Committee, detailed at least 42 attackers, all members of the Afghan National Security Force, between 2007 and 2011. The panel heard testimony from defense officials who laid out delicate issues pertaining to Afghan security forces, among them the vetting of Afghans brought onto coalition bases to provide security. The defense officials said that in 58% of cases, the attackers acted on their own accord, perhaps over a personal dispute. Such disputes can arise from cultural misunderstanding, religious and ideological friction or combat stress, said Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend, director of the Pakistan/Afghanistan Coordination Cell in the Joint Chiefs of Staff office. He said cultural training has been vital for U.S. soldiers, and now the Afghans are considering doing the same in providing better understanding of Americans. Another group of perpetrators involved insurgents who were able to pass themselves off as Afghan soldiers and infiltrate bases. The incidents represent a fraction of the total coalition deaths in the war but are are extremely damaging, fueling a mutual distrust in a critical moment in Afghanistan's transition, the experts said. The NATO-led military coalition is attempting to help transition local forces to take over security in war-ravaged Afghanistan as foreign troop levels fall. President Barack Obama has announced a U.S. withdrawal in 2014. France suspended its operations after four French soldiers were killed by Afghan counterparts in eastern Kapisa province in January. That shooting followed an incident in December where another Afghan soldier killed two French soldiers. "The French army is not in Afghanistan to be shot at by Afghan soldiers," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the shootings. CNN's Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report. | Three other ISAF soldiers were wounded in the shooting .
A U.S. congressional panel recently addressed this issue .
Similar shootings have angered France . |
233,765 | baa456327d87586feccea40d4e6607074fdf6f9f | By . Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 20:00 EST, 22 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:49 EST, 23 December 2013 . A Florida restaurant hopes to identify the man who wrongly accepted $1,000 in lost money from a waitress earlier this week. Samantha Knight was waitressing at Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda on Tuesday when she found a wad of $100 dollar bills on the seat at one of her tables, and ran to the front of the restaurant to return the money before the patron left. Security footage shows the moment the waitress catches the customer just as he's walking out the door. 'I was like you left this in the booth. He said thanks, patted his pocket, took it and walked away,' Ms Knight told WBBH. Take the money and run: Surveillance footage at Laishley Crab House shows a waitress handing over $1,000 in lost cash she believed belonged to the man leaving on the right . Mix-up: Waitress Samantha Knight says she thought she was returning it to the right customer, and he acted like the lost money was his . The mix-up happened last Tuesday at Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda, Florida . It was only after the man left that the waitress realized she mixed up tables, and handed the money to the wrong customer. The man who actually dropped the money, Chuck Behm, was filmed leaving the restaurant just one minute prior and is now already back home in Chicago, Illinois. The restaurant would have been able to track the customer if he paid his bill with a card, but he paid in cash leaving no identity behind. There's that money I forgot: The man is filmed taking a mint from the restaurant's front desk on his way out when Ms Knight stops him and hands him the money. He easily accepts the wad of $100 dollar bills . Taking the cash: The man even pats his pocket as if the wad of bills fell out . Left too soon: The man the money actually belonged to, Charles Behm, was filmed leaving the restaurant just one minute before Ms Knight ran to catch the customer . Now they're hoping that someone will see the surveillance footage and step forward to identify the man who wrongly took the money. 'I feel really bad,' Ms Knight said. 'I wish I had just held on to it and waited for someone to call. But I thought I was giving it to the right guy.' Ms Knight says she was surprised that the customer took the money, saying he was an older person who should have know better. Mr Behm agrees with his waitress, and doesn't blame her at all for the mix up. 'I felt awful. I still feel madder than anything at that guy,' he told WBBH from Chicago. He says if the money is returned, he plans to give it all to Ms Knight, who is currently several months pregnant. What a tip! If the money is returned, Mr Behm plans to give it all to Ms Knight, who is currently expecting a baby . | Waitress Samantha Knight found a wad of $100 dollars bills left behind at a table Tuesday night .
She ran to the front of the restaurant to return the money before the patron left .
She handed the money back to the customer and he accepted it as he was leaving .
Turns out, Ms Knight had mixed up customers and handed the cash to the wrong man .
Now the restaurant hopes someone will step forward to identify the man and return the cash . |
141,769 | 43560a6829fee7f6e299310f0969ccfd4302d55a | A shocking video has emerged which appears to show the racially motivated bullying of a three-year-old white girl by her five-year-old black neighbors. Two clips uploaded to Facebook and entitled 'When white people pi** black people off', show a heartbreaking scene - a little Minneapolis girl trying to play with another group of girls who are encouraged to hit, push and verbally abuse the toddler at the encouragement of an older boy off camera. Outraged viewers quickly seized upon the videos as evidence of racism and unleashed a torrent of threatening calls at the parents of the bullying children - who had no idea the incident had been filmed, let alone posted online and rushed to apologize to the equally clueless parents of the victim. Scroll Down for Video . Bullied: The three-year-old toddler has her own hands used to hit herself in this grab from the video shot by the other girls 12-year-old brother . In the video's, which have been watched with horror by over 250,000 people, a little girl is seen sitting on a plastic bike as two older girls yell, 'you ugly' at her. Identified as Mackenzie Peterson, the toddler, who is sitting on her small tricycle is seemingly spat at by one of the girls, who has been indentified as being a neighbor and five-years-old. Another girl grabs Mackenzie's hand and begins to hit her with it. 'Why you hitting yourself? Why you hitting yourself', the older boy filming, identified as the 12-year-old brother of the girls, asks. Watch Video Here: . Shocking: Little Mackenzie Peterson is treated mercilessly by the other girls who throw the toy she selflessly offered them away onto the ground (right) Beginning to cry loudly, the bullies leave the toddler in the middle of the street in her tricycle and another clip shows the girl off her trike and still attempting to play as one of the girls says 'hit her hard and slap her head like this.' In a wrenching scene, little Mackenzie attempts to share a toy with one of the older girls, but the older boy interrupts and tells her to 'throw it on the ground' - which she does, causing the girl to cry and run to pick it up. United in Disgust: 'Eddie' - the father of the bullying children and Shawn Peterson, the father of three-year-old Mackenzie, the victim, are dealing with the problem themselves and deny that there is anything more going on . But as the three-year-old bends down to pick the toy up the other girls rush over to hit her. Initially, the video was traced to a Facebook page for someone named Ray Wright, but that page has now been taken down and since revealed to be a fake account set up by the 12-year-old boy. While the video mentions the race of all the parties involved, at no point is any racial language used by the bullies towards the little girl. However, the problems began when the video began to spread virally across the Internet, leading to the parents of both children being identified. Upset: Eddie said that he has no idea where his children learned to behave in that manner and he says the appropriate punishment has been taken against them for their actions . Shocked and angered people began to make threatening calls to the father of the 12-year-old and younger girls, who has been identified by the MailOnline as 'Eddie' to protect his identity. Viewing the video for himself, Eddie walked across to his neighbor Shawn Peterson to explain and apologize for his children bullying his daughter, which he had no idea about. 'I wasn't happy with the video, obviously,' said Mackenzie's father, Shawn Peterson, to MyFoxTwinCities. 'I am disgusted with it.' Explaining that the first he heard that hundreds of thousands of people had seen his daughter being bullied on the Internet was when Eddie told him, Shawn said that he trusted his neighbor to do the right thing. 'He's taking care of it. Trust me,' Shawn told FOX 9. 'He's a good father and everything like that, so I'm not worried about what he's doing over there.' Refuting claims online from outraged viewers that his children were racially bullying Mackenzie Peterson, Eddie said that is not what his children are brought up to think. 'I honestly don't know where it comes from. We don't teach that in our household,' Eddie, the father of the girls involved, said. 'We're not racist, none of that.' Eddie and Shawn said that their children usually play together and added that the incident had been blown out of all proportion. Under Control: Shawn Peterson sits on the stoop of his Minneapolis home with his daughter Mackenzie and says that he is satisfied his neighbor, 'Eddie' has disciplined his children for bullying his . 'She's not that way. You can see she's -- they're -- clearly getting coached through the whole situation,' said Eddie about his five-year-old girl. 'When I saw it, I was disgusted with the video -- very disgusted.' Eddie said that his 12-year-old son was being disciplined for his role in the affair, with his Internet and television privileges being taken away. And while both father's have said that the matter is in hand, police did confirm they stopped by to check on the situation, but left satisfied there was no larger issue. | Three-year-old girl on tricycle is videoed while two other slightly older girls hit and verbally abuse her .
The footage was shot by the older girls 12-year-old brother who uploaded it to Facebook .
The clip was named, 'When white people pi** black people off' and it very quickly went viral .
Over 250,000 people have viewed the clip with outrage .
The parents of both sets of children have said that there is no problem and everything has been settled amicably . |
1,249 | 0385c579db1bec7f01c498517ba8ee490b142d18 | It lived about 100 million years ago, weighed four tons and likely was at the very top of its prehistoric food chain. Researchers from Chicago's Field Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University announced Friday the discovery of Siats meekerorum, a dinosaur that stretched more than 30 feet long, in eastern Utah. Given its size and other characteristics, they believe this creature ruled its ecosystem in the middle of the Cretaceous, a period known as the last in the so-called "Age of Dinosaurs." It's not known if Siats meekerorum existed alongside Tyrannosaurus rex; fossils found from the same patch of Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation shows it did share the land with tyrannosaurs. But relatively speaking, these tyrannosaurs were much smaller (and below the 7 or so tons of later T. Rexes) and definitely down on the predatory food chain. "At least 98 million years ago, we know that (tyrannosaurs) were small and somebody else was top dog in the neighborhood," said Peter Makovicky, The Field Museum's dinosaur curator. "(Siats meekerorum) is a large dinosaur," he adds. "And we have no evidence -- nor do the teams that worked in this area prior to us -- of anything bigger." Its size and appearance alone are reason enough to excite paleontologists. But there are a few other facts that make this find noteworthy, said Makovicky. One is that Siats meekerorum helps to fill in a roughly 30-million-year gap in the geologic record in North America, a period for which relatively little is known about dinosaurs on the continent. Another: Its closest carchardontosaurian (the family it hails from) kin hailed from elsewhere in the world, suggesting there was more movement and dispersion of dinosaurs at a time the continents had largely already drifted apart than had been thought. "Until 10 years ago, we thought this was a time period when North American dinosaurs were isolated," Makovicky said. "The evidence is growing that was not actually the case. Dinosaurs were quite good at spreading around the world." Name means 'cannibalistic monster' Desert heat of 110 degrees Fahrenheit -- so hot that Makovicky's dog burned his paws -- is bad enough. But for a paleontologist, working in this oven all summer without any big finds? That's definitely a lot worse. But with a few days in the 2008 field season, Lindsay Zanno from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences spotting something she and her colleagues, including Makovicky, found curious. The group returned the next year, opening up a bigger area, but still had more work to do once the season ended. Finally, with the help of a jackhammer, they finished unearthing their discovery in 2010, according to Makovicky. He said, initially, these experts would have speculated the new creature was related to T. rex or Ankylosaurus, both of which roamed what is now North America. South Carolina team finds new hammerhead shark species . The more they dug, literally and figuratively, the paleontologists realized the species belonged to the carchardontosaurian family, with relatives like the giant Giganotosaurus, a carnivore that dates to the Late Cretaceous period and has been found in Argentina. The name for the new dinosaur, Siats meekerorum, refers to a cannibalistic monster in mythology of Utes, a Native American people who lived where it was found. "This dinosaur was a colossal predator second only to the great T. rex and perhaps Acrocanthosaurus in the North American fossil record," said Zanno, the lead author of the study in Nature Communications announcing the discovery, in a press release. New legless lizards found in California . And it hasn't been an isolated breakthrough. Makovicky notes that, since Siats meekerorum, their crews found two other dinosaur species nearby from the same period that likewise are related to others from different continents. Zanno expects more such fresh insights in the years to come. "Siats is just the tip of the iceberg," she said. "Our teams are unearthing a lost dinosaurian ecosystem right here in the badlands of North America." Rare 'Asian unicorn' caught on camera . | Paleontologists say they found a new dinosaur species, Siats meekerorum, in Utah .
At more than 30 feet long and over 4 tons, it was a dominant carnivore predator .
It predates T. rex, filling a hole in the geologic record from 100 million years ago .
Its closet kin were in other continents, indicating dinosaurs spread widely . |
240,892 | c3dc372d83245d41a8dd617bd891d4c1ff3be5fd | By . Michael Powell . PUBLISHED: . 17:04 EST, 22 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:46 EST, 23 February 2014 . It was a deal that made headlines around the world. Kissing Coppers – the celebrated Banksy mural which shows two uniformed policemen locked in an embrace – was sold at auction in Miami last week for £345,000. But now it has emerged that the mystery buyer of the life-size black-and-white image may have purchased a work that was created with the help of a Brighton barman called Jez. Kissing Coppers first appeared on the wall of a pub in the seaside town in 2004. But two years later it was vandalised and all but obliterated. The stencil graffiti of kissing policeman by street artist Banksy on the wall of a pub in Brighton, in its scrubbed up state after it was vandalised . Staff at the Prince Albert did a hasty restoration job with the assistance of Jez the bartender, who touched up the damaged paintwork so effectively that customers joked he could be the next Banksy. The work was then placed behind a sheet of Perspex to protect it. The original Banksy stencil graffiti on the wall of the pub before it was vandalised . In 2008, however, the mural was removed by specialists and replaced with a replica. The landlord of the Prince Albert, Chris Steward, sent the original to New York in 2011, with a view to finding a buyer. When Kissing Coppers was auctioned on Tuesday, there was no mention of its chequered history – an omission that has left punters at the Prince Albert baffled. They recalled the day in October 2006 . when two men in a plumber’s van pulled up outside the pub and sprayed . black paint over the mural. Paul Zenon, who lives in Brighton and is a regular at the Prince Albert, said: ‘The damage was awful. The pub tried to clean off the paint but the scrubbing pretty much erased the copper on the left. ‘One night, I was going past the pub and I saw a barman called Jez touching up the damaged paintwork. 'He was repainting it. Jez did a really good job. I joked with him that he could be the next Banksy.’ Mr Zenon, who is a professional magician, said he was stunned when he heard Kissing Coppers had been sold for such a large sum. ‘It can’t be claimed to be the original. Banksy’s work might be . underneath it all, but the paint you can see was done by the fair hand . of a barman. The wall after it was tarted up by the barman Jez, among others. The work has now been sold in Miami . 'It seems incredible that it could be considered to be a genuine Banksy. ‘But I guess if you’ve got that much money to buy an airbrushed piece of graffiti you’ve probably got more money than sense.’ The . paint attack was captured by CCTV and Peter Wheatley and Paul Biggs . pleaded guilty to criminal damage in 2006. They were given a six-month . conditional discharge. The work was eventually extracted from the wall and put on sale in a fine art auction in Miami, Florida . Kissing Coppers was sold alongside Banksy's other work"Crazy Horse Car Door" (foreground), along with artwork by about 50 other artists . When he was planning the New York deal, landlord Chris Steward explained: ‘When Banksy put it on the pub, it belonged to the pub and, if it is sold, all the money will go back to the pub.’ Mr Steward declined to discuss the . matter this week and a spokesman for Banksy said the reclusive artist . would not be commenting on the controversy. The . Miami auction house says in its catalogue: ‘First painted in 2004 in . Brighton, England, on the side of the Prince Albert Pub, the Kissing . Coppers is estimated between $500,000 (£300,000) and $700,000 . (£420,000). The building housing Fine Art Auctions Miami, where the Banksy work was sold for £345,000 . The original street work is 89 x 65 x 3.5in, stencil and spraypaint on emulsion and aluminium substrate.’ A spokesman for the auctioneer said: ‘Fine Art Auctions is in the business of selling original artwork. They are satisfied it is 100 per cent original and they do not want to comment any further.’ | Banksy's celebrated work 'Kissing Coppers' was sold in Miami .
The work originally appeared on a wall of a pub in Brighton in 2004 .
Two years later it was vandalised and obliterated .
Staff at pub carried out restoration work with help from Jez the bartender .
It was then placed behind a plexiglass screen to protect it .
After, it was removed to be sold, and replaced with a replica . |
258,995 | db3a84e21f29d7184226dade881da2fee65728a6 | By . Brendan Carlin, Mail on Sunday Political Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 19:12 EST, 11 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 06:53 EST, 12 January 2014 . George Osbourne and other Minister splashed out £10,000 on lessons from the acting school . Chancellor George Osborne and other Coalition Ministers splashed out £10,000 of taxpayers’ money on acting lessons from Britain’s premier drama school at the same time as overseeing deep public-spending cuts. They paid the world-famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) for actors and voice experts in a bid to boost their performance. Rada, which helped launched the careers of Sir John Gielgud and Sir Kenneth Branagh, offers ‘role-playing’ with actors, voice-coaching and tips to boost ‘confidence and gravitas’. Embarrassingly for Mr Osborne, details of the Treasury’s own £3,000 drama bill emerged just days after he warned of the need for fresh cuts. Treasury officials refused to give details on what the lessons involved. Mr Osborne famously took voice-coaching from a £100-an-hour Harley Street expert to improve his own image when the Tories were in Opposition. The Mail on Sunday revealed in 2008 that Mr Osborne had received help from leading speech therapist Valerie Savage to make him sound less ‘posh’. According to Government credit card records, the Treasury last year paid for two sets of Rada courses – £1,541 in October and £1,500 in February. The Department of Health spent just over £3,500 for three courses in 2012 while the Cabinet Office ran up a £675 bill in December, 2012. The Department for International Development spent £2,370 on coaching in 2012/13. Rada Enterprises, which provides the courses, lists eight other ministries and public bodies as ‘clients’. Neither the Government departments nor Rada would yesterday say exactly what had been taught in the lessons. But Whitehall officials insisted the coaching was for civil servants – not for Ministers. Figures revealed thousands of taxpayers' money was spent on lessons at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London . Last night, a government spokesman said: ‘Civil servants need the right skills to perform at the highest level and deliver better, more efficient services for the public.’ A spokeswoman for Rada Enterprises insisted it provided ‘communication skills training’ – not acting lessons. She added: ‘Communication is a core skill for in any professional environment and our training increases effectiveness in meetings, panels and presentations.’ But Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: ‘When Ministers are rightly looking for extensive savings so that resources can be focused on delivering essential frontline services, people will be astounded that they are still splashing out on this kind of coaching.’ | Ministers paid for lessons from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art .
George Osborne among politicians to have received coaching .
Treasury officials refused to reveal details on what lessons involved .
Whitehall officials insisted lessons were for civil servants, not Ministers . |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.