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66,595 | bce2eaa924823ad3ed1b9cdb6ef26b5d3e8d0ae8 | Micah Richards believes Chelsea target Juan Cuadrado has all the attributes to be a huge success in the Premier League and reveals the Fiorentina winger has asked him about England. Chelsea are pursuing a deal for the 26-year-old, who was linked with a host of top European clubs after starring at last summer's World Cup, with it looking increasingly likely that Andre Schurrle will join Wolfsburg this January. The German outfit, who are second in the Bundesliga, are trying to finalise a £23million move for the World Cup-winner, while Mohamed Salah could also leave the club before the transfer window closes. Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado (centre) takes on Roma's Daniele De Rossi (left) and Kevin Strootman . Chelsea are reportedly ready to meet the winger's £26.8m buyout clause to bring him to Stamford Bridge . The inclusion of the Egyptian in the transfer of Cuadrado has also been discussed as the Blues look to tie up a £26.8m deal for the former Udinese wide man. After playing alongside the Colombia international for the last few months Richards can understand the interest in him and has even offered advice about playing in England. 'After the World Cup I think he had a lot of teams looking at his situation and I've heard all the top teams in England are looking at him, and they should be. Micah Richards joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan from Manchester City last summer . Cuadrado (centre) celebrates after scoring against Atalanta to reach the Copa Italia quarter-finals . Cuadrado was one of the stand-out players alongside James Rodriguez for Colombia in last year's World Cup . 'I train with him every day, he's got everything; technique, speed, power. He's got everything, all the attributes suited to the Premier League. 'He's loved here at Fiorentina, so if he was to leave the fans would be gutted. But as a player he's got to decide what's best for him. 'Everybody asks me, "what is England like?" and he was one of the players that asked me, and I told him, "it's really nice. The weather's not as good as Italy, but the football's really good and if you can go there one day it will be good".' | Juan Cuadrado is wanted by Premier League leaders Chelsea .
Jose Mourinho wants to replace Wolfsburg-bound Andre Schurrle .
Cuadrado has a £26.8m buyout clause in his Fiorentina contract .
Micah Richards is on loan at the Italian club from Manchester City .
The full back has backed his team-mate to be a success in England . |
14,231 | 285f7bd85666ccd3b255fa0496c7d34efb4d073f | (CNN) -- For more than a year, there have been rumors that Amazon is working on a smartphone. Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is actually working on two. The Journal reported Thursday that Amazon is "developing a wide-ranging line-up of gadgets," including two smartphones, one of which will have a 3D screen. Citing multiple anonymous sources, the Journal says the 3D-capable smartphone will not require special glasses and may even let users navigate just by moving their eyes. In addition to the two smartphone models, Amazon is also said to be working on a device for streaming music and a set-top box, the latter of which was also reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek last month. Amazon did not immediately respond to our request for comment. Until now, Amazon's hardware efforts have centered around its Kindle e-readers and tablets. However, CEO Jeff Bezos suggested in an interview with AllThingsD in September that Amazon was planning to expand on its hardware offerings in the coming year. "We will certainly — not any time soon — but next year. We have some more things that we hope people will enjoy," he told the publication. "It's premature for me to talk about them." While it's not particularly surprising to hear about Amazon working on a smartphone, it is a bit strange to hear news of a possible 3D-enabled device. Despite a fair amount of hype a couple years ago, 3D-technology has had mixed success at best in the consumer technology market. Amazon's stock was up by about 1.5% on the day as of publication. This article originally appeared on Mashable. © 2013 MASHABLE.com. All rights reserved. | A new report says Amazon is making two smartphones -- one of them in 3D .
Company also supposedly making music streaming, TV set-top devices .
Amazon did not respond to questions about the report . |
157,145 | 572b385ee529e011d32382bd8039ef594bdbdfa5 | The crumbling St Ita's hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin was the most expensive building ever sanctioned by the British Government in Ireland when commissioned in 1895. With a capacity of 1,200 beds, the facility, known then as the Portrane Lunatic Asylum, was seen as being at the frontier of mental health care. Over the past decade Irish health authorities have been gradually closing the final Victorian era facilities. The last 27 patients housed on two wings were moved to accommodation late last year as the neo-Gothic style hospital was closed. Now, the building in Portrane is silent. However an urban explorer called Obscuraprints accessed the site and took this series of eerie images, offering a fascinating insight into Victorian mental health care. Scroll down for video . When it was commissioned in 1895, the Portrane Lunatic Asylum was the most expensive ever building paid for by the British in Ireland at a planned cost of £200,000 . The asylum was designed by architect George Coppinger Ashlin in a neo-gothical style and as a result the costs spiraled to £300,000 - £32 million in today's money . St Ita's at its height housed 1,200 patients but there were just 27 remaining by mid 2013 as health authorities prepared the decaying unit for its eventual closure . The hospital was divided between men and women, and then it was further divided into four further sections depending on a the severity of the mental illness involved . When the final patients were removed from the Victorian facility, not all of their personal effects were collected and left strewn across the floor . Despite the decay, St Ita's was considered state of the art, with each of the wings having a view of the sea just 500 metres away to aid in the patients' recovery . The building was designed to be functional as well, with the clock tower doubling as a water tower which could be used in the event of a fire at the facility . The project was supervised by Alfred Ignatius McGloughlin who was forced to flee to the US during construction after he had an 'illicit liaison' with one of his maids . According to the Irish Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht: 'Ireland had a leading place in the establishment of lunatic asylums in the nineteenth century' | In 1895 Portrane Lunatic Asylum was the most expensive building in Ireland paid for by the British Government .
The hospital had an initial budget of £200,000 but this rose to £300,000 by the time it was finally completed .
The facility was seen as being at the forefront of mental health care when it was opened in 1903 . |
98,636 | 0b03dc8b3646ce9f6903c77ce36b7520cf879e2b | By . Daniel Mills For Daily Mail Australia . Melbourne has edged out three other Australian cities and world renowned destinations Vienna, Vancouver and Toronto as the globe's most liveable city for a fourth time. Ranked against 140 cities worldwide, Melbourne scored top of the list for its lifestyle challenges ahead of Adelaide in fifth, Sydney in seventh and Perth in ninth, which were the three other Australian cities ranked in the top 10. Brisbane finished 20 places below the Victorian capital which was given perfect scores out of 100 for health care, education and infrastructure and high scores of 95 for stability, culture and environment. Scroll down for video . Melbourne scored 100 for infrastructure and 95 for the environment category . The number one city also ranked top well for culture, scoring 95.1 for culture . Melbourne beat 139 other cities to be top of the list for fourth year . 1. Melbourne, Australia2. Vienna, Austria3. Vancouver, Canada4. Toronto, Canada5. Adelaide, Australia5. Calgary, Canada7. Sydney, Australia8. Helsinki, Finland9. Perth, Australia10. Auckland, New Zealand. The Economist Intelligence Unit Survey considered any city with a rating of 80 or more had 'few, if any, challenges to living standards' while the lowest rating of 50 or less meant 'most aspects of living are severely restricted.' Melbourne has remained top of the list since first taking over the number one ranking from Vancouver in 2011, which has slipped to third in the last three years. The Austrian capital Vienna finished second to Melbourne, averaging 97.5 out of a possible 100. Each of Australia's top four cities ranked scores of 94 or more for the five categories - Stability, Healthcare, Culture and environment, Education and Infrastructure. The survey considered a score of one to be 'intolerable' while at the other end of the scale 100 was considered 'ideal'. Adelaide, also known as the City of Churches, finished in fifth spot in the world rankings . The Syrian capital Damascus was ranked at the bottom of the list due to ongoing conflict in the war torn zone. It scored just 109.6 out of a possible 500, an average of just 30.5 for each of its five categories, and dropped a massive 28 per cent over the last five years. One of the key trends of the survey, according to its editor Jon Copestake, is the decline in living standards for the lowest ranked cities. He said while it is unsurprising to see little or no movement among the top ranked cities, a period of 'destabilisation' over the last five years has hit other cities hard. Some 50 of the cities surveyed have seen declines in liveability over the last five years. 'Liveability trends tend to move slowly, so it is unsurprising to see little or no movement among the top ranked cities, but destabilisation has had a catastrophic impact for some cities with a possible knock-on effect in neighboring countries.' Recent conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, the Palestine and North Africa - as well as the recent global financial crisis - are all issues which have affected livability, the report stated. Sydney was ranked seventh, ahead of Perth which came in at ninth . Perth was given an overall ranking of 95.9 beating Auckland, in New Zealand, for ninth spot . | Melbourne ranked the most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit .
Adelaide, fifth, finished ahead of Sydney in seventh and Perth, ninth .
The Global Liveability Ranking saw Brisbane come in at 21st place .
The report suggests living standards have declined over last five years . |
275,808 | f1492f24822c80c9808b620a7388ad8af2e18ace | By . Beth Stebner and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 18:44 EST, 27 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:27 EST, 28 March 2013 . Won: A jury awarded former Hodgekiss student Cara Munn, now 20, more than $40million after a tick-borne illness left her brain damaged and unable to speak . A former student of a prestigious Connecticut boarding school was awarded $41.7million by a jury after she said she contracted a tick-borne illness on a school trip to China that left her brain damaged and unable to speak. Cara Munn, now 20, was 15 at the time of the 2007 Hotchkiss School class trip to China. Her attorney said that she was bitten in a remote part of the Asian country. However, the college preparatory school announced today that it intends to appeal the jury award. Munn, of New York City, was a ninth-grader at Hotchkiss when she joined a school-supervised trip to China during the summer of 2007, according to her lawsuit. The then-15-year-old suffered insect bites that led to tick-borne encephalitis, her attorneys said. The school failed to ensure that the students take any precautions against ticks and allowed them to walk through a densely wooded area known to be a risk area for tick-borne encephalitis and other tick- and insect-transmitted illnesses, her attorneys said. 'Hotchkiss failed to take basic safety precautions to protect the minor children in its care,' Munn's attorney Antonio Ponvert III said. 'I hope that this case will help alert all schools who sponsor overseas trips for minors that they need to check the CDC for disease risks in the areas where they will be traveling, and that they must advise children in their care to use repellant and wear proper clothing when necessary. ‘Cara's injuries were easily preventable.' Prestigious: The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut is a college prep boarding school, costing more than $45,000 per year in tuition . Attorneys for the school argued that tick-borne encephalitis is such a rare disease that it could not have foreseen a risk and could not be expected to warn Munn or require her to use protection against it. Hotchkiss officials said they remain very saddened by Munn's illness and hope for improvements to her health. 'We care deeply about all our students,' the school said in a statement. 'We make every effort to protect them, whether they are here or participating in a school-sponsored activity off-campus. 'We put great care and thought into planning and administering off-campus programs, and we extend the same care to students on these trips as to students on campus.' Historically, Hotchkiss students have undertaken study, service projects and travel in the United States and throughout the world and derived great benefit from the opportunities, the school said. The case lasted eight days, and the jury deliberated for about eight hours before returning their verdict. Room and board for the college preparatory school was $46,775 for the 2012-2013 school year, not including laundry, health, and technology fees. It has one of the largest endowments in the country. | Cara Munn, 20, was 15 when she made class trip to China .
She was bit by a tick and caught tick-borne encephalitis, leaving her brain damaged and unable to speak .
Hotchkiss School says they're going to appeal jury's decision . |
24,571 | 45a7b385e1744c1afa298e8ae9852bb4ea077adc | By . Lucy Thackray . The federal government has confirmed that an 18-year-old Melbourne boy was the terrorist in a suicide bombing that killed five people in Iraq last week. Attorney-general George Brandis’ office verified that the boy was living in Melbourne until last year, when he left at the age of 17. The killer was named in a social media post by the extremist Sunni Muslim group responsible as Abu Bakr Al Australi. He is believed to be the first Australian responsible for a suicide attack in Iraq. Scroll down for video . A teenager from Melbourne has been confirmed to be responsible for a suicide bombing that killed at least five people and injured 90 in Baghdad on Thursday . The post on twitter from Islamic extremist group that names Abu Bakr Al Australi, the young Australian responsible for a suicide bombing in Baghdad that claimed the life of five people. Intelligence sources confirm the culprit was from Melbourne, but fled the country through either Perth or Sydney at some point in 2013. It is believed that the teenager detonated a belt bomb in a market place in Baghdad, near the Shiite mosque of Abdullah bin Rawah in the main wholesale market of Shorja. The attack killed five and injured as many as 90 people. The boy is understood to have first arrived in Syria, before travelling to Iraq to become a martyr for terror group, ISIS. The Islamic militant group have celebrated the attack on social media and is hailing the young Australian as a 'knight'. The suicide attack has been condemned by Sydney's Muslim leaders. 'It's shocking for me to hear this because we have tried to promote peace and harmony, not violence,' Sydney Muslim leader Keysar Trad said, according to The Daily Telegraph. The youth is not one of the two Australian teenagers who escaped Australia last month, planning to fight in Iraq and Syria. The post on twitter from Islamic extremist group that names Abu Bakr Al Australi, the young Australian responsible for a suicide bombing in Baghdad that claimed the life of five people. Feiz and Abdullah secretly left their homes in June and flew to Turkey from where they are last known to have contacted family members. They are believed to have been trying to cross the border to Iraq to join the war . 16-year-old Feiz, from Bankstown in Sydney's south west, has been found and is preparing to return to Australia. He and his father are allegedly in Lebanon and will return to Australia with assistance from the Australian Federal Police. Australian teenager Abdullah Elmir's whereabouts remain unknown despite 16-year-old Feiz, who disappeared with him, being found safe and preparing to fly back home with his father . However the second Australian, Abdullah Elmir, 17, is yet to be found. Elmir's family are gravely concerned for his safety and say he showed no signs of radical behaviour before he fled to the Middle East. Attorney General George Brandis revealed the number of Australians believed to be supporting extremist groups at a press conference last week. 'There are probably about 60 Australians in Syria fighting for one side or the other but predominantly the anti-government side, and an alarming number of those people are gravitating towards the Al-Qaeda off-shoot,' Mr Brandis said. 'We have some 10s of people who have already returned and we have probably another 150 who we are looking at here in Australia who have . inclinations to support those two extremist movements.' Online Jihadist recruitment videos are being partially blamed for brainwashing young teenagers to join an Islamic terror group. Abdullah is believed to have been brainwashed by recruitment videos such as this one by the ISIS, titled There Is No Life Without Jihad, which urges people to 'respond to Allah' and 'wake up and be part of the effort' | Australia's first suicide bomber in Iraq confirmed to be Melbourne teenager .
Governor General says 'Abu Bakr Al Australi' left Melbourne last year .
A belt bomb killed five and injured 90 in a Baghdad market place on Friday .
Suicide bomber is NOT one of two teenagers who fled Australia last month .
Online Jihadist recruitment videos blamed for brainwashing Aussie teens . |
12,465 | 2353c6ef156821038df30be13895ccd9f1fd349e | An Indian bride ended up marrying a guest at her own wedding after her husband-to-be suffered an epileptic fit during the ceremony. Groom Jugal Kishore was just about to exchange vows when he collapsed with a seizure and was rushed to hospital. Angry that she had not been informed of his condition, the 23-year-old bride, Indira, asked a member of her brother-in-law's family, Harpal Singh, to marry her instead. Scroll down for video . An Indian bride ended up marrying a guest at her own wedding after her husband-to-be suffered an epileptic fit during the ceremony because she angry she had been told about her fiances condition (file picture) Mr Singh, who was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, was caught off guard, but agreed to go ahead with the wedding. After the ceremony, Mr Kishore returned to the venue after being treated in hospital to find that his fiancee had married someone else, it was reported by The Times of India. Mr Kishore is said to have begged Indira to reconsider, saying that he could not face his family and friends after her humiliating snub. When she refused, violence is said to have broken out between the two families, with cutlery and plates being thrown at each other. The incident took place in Rampur town in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (above, file picture) Mr Kishore and his family later filed a complaint with police which was later retracted. Police chief RP Solanki said: 'Both families have amicably resolved the matter. 'The complaints have been withdrawn. Kishore and his family have now returned in peace to Moradabad.' The incident took place in Rampur town in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. | Groom rushed to hospital after collapsing with seizure during ceremony .
Bride married guest in anger because she wasn't told about his condition .
Fight broke out when groom recovered and realised what happened . |
202,771 | 928a4347ab53fb348277b95b7a345950f374af35 | WARSAW, Poland (CNN) -- In Poland, it's polite to bring flowers when you visit someone's home, so there's a flower shop on virtually every street corner in Warsaw. Crowds flock to Rynek Starego Miasta, Warsaw's Old Town Market Place. But the city is now realizing flower power on a bigger scale. There are buds and blooms adding color all over the capital, from the quaint Old Town to the bustling city center to the massive concrete apartment blocks left over from the communist era. It's Warsaw in bloom, in many ways: A city thriving, growing and blossoming six decades after much of it was destroyed during World War II and almost 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union brought many radical economic and social changes. Modern Warsaw is a mix of shiny new skyscrapers, tree-lined boulevards, ornate prewar buildings and somber concrete communist relics. Hamburger joints and pizzerias compete for customers with restaurants offering traditional Polish fare like pierogi. Expensive new cars share the road with crowded buses and trams. Traffic jams frustrate drivers throughout the day. But it's the older Warsaw -- faithfully restored and full of churches, palaces and parks -- that seems to attract the most visitors. See more photos of Warsaw's places and people » . To get a feel for the city that was known as the Paris of Eastern Europe before World War II, stroll down Nowy Świat Street, lined with restaurants, cafes, bookstores and small shops. It's part of what's known as Warsaw's Królewski Trakt, or Royal Route. On a recent visit, the music of Frederic Chopin wafted down from an open window of one of the elegant apartments occupying the upper floors. The street is also home to a sweet Warsaw tradition. Blikle, one of the city's best-known confectioners, has been serving up cakes and pastries since 1869. It's probably most famous for perfecting the Polish version of the donut: Fist-sized balls of sweet, fragrant yeast dough fried until they're golden-brown and covered with icing. But it's what's inside that gives them their unique taste: A filling of preserves made from pureed rose petals and sugar. They're best when they're still warm, when it's especially hard to eat just one. Bustling Nowy Świat Street flows into elegant Krakowskie Przedmieście Street as you near the Old Town, Stare Miasto. Follow the crowds to the Royal Castle and the column bearing the statue of Poland's King Zygmunt III, first erected in 1644. Cobblestone streets lead to the heart of the district: Rynek Starego Miasta, the Old Town Market Place, where visitors are surrounded by picturesque pastel blue, pink and yellow buildings capped by red-shingled roofs and where the mood is as merry as the colors. Sit down for lunch at an outdoor cafe, buy an amber necklace at one of the shops lining the square, have your caricature painted by artists displaying their work, or just feed the pigeons. No matter the activity, it's a great place to relax and people watch. This historic center of Warsaw -- which Nazi troops almost completely destroyed in 1944 and which was carefully rebuilt after the war -- is designated as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. "It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century," UNESCO says. To get away from the crowds, return to the Royal Route and head towards the Aleje Ujazdowskie, a grand boulevard lined with embassies. It's here that you'll find the entrances to Warsaw's Łazienki Park, once the summer residence of Poland's royalty. Today, it's almost 200 acres of calm in the middle of the city and the perfect place for a stroll on wide alleyways surrounded by lush green trees and manicured lawns. The serene Pałac na Wyspie, Palace on the Isle, is one of several historic must-see sites in the park. Among the many other pleasures: Watching the playful red squirrels roaming in the grass and taking in the colorful plumage of the peacocks strolling the grounds. Nearby, another Warsaw tradition awaits. For decades, the statue of Frederic Chopin has drawn music lovers and pianists for outdoor concerts of the Polish composer's works. They're held each summer underneath the monument as crowds gather in the surrounding rose garden that also serves as an auditorium. But any stroll through Warsaw is also a walk through the city's tragic history. "In this spot, the Nazis shot to death 30 Poles," a stone tablet reads on Nowy Świat Street. There are many such plaques across the capital. Monuments pay tribute to the many thousands killed during the Warsaw Uprising -- a civilian struggle to free the city from German occupation in 1944. Some of the buildings that survived World War II still have visible bullet holes in their façades. They're all unforgettable reminders of the city's painful past and how much it has overcome. "Fall in love with Warsaw," the capital invites visitors in a slogan printed on posters all over town. It's not hard to do. E-mail to a friend . | The historic center of Warsaw is designated as a World Heritage site .
Statue of Frederic Chopin draws music lovers and pianists for outdoor concerts .
Much of Warsaw was destroyed during World War II, then faithfully restored .
Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004 . |
51,212 | 90f3091b0e7e720e72d89237988158ddcd51e4f3 | An Islamic terrorist has stopped Britain deporting him – by refusing to give his name for 21 years. A judge ruled that the Algerian is a ‘trusted and senior’ member of a violent terrorist group and has helped suspects abroad. But his lawyers have used human rights laws to prevent the Government from throwing him out of this country. Officials cannot draw up crucial paperwork guaranteeing his safety without knowing his true identity. Scroll down for video . 'Running rings round deportation laws': The Algerian has relied on human rights laws to stay in the UK. Pictured is the European Court of Human Right . Meanwhile, taxpayers have been left to pick up the multi-million pound bill for his legal aid and months of NHS hospital care. Astonishingly, the terrorist, known only as B, is free to walk the streets because his bail conditions were ‘relaxed’ to allow him to go swimming and worship at a mosque. The legal stand-off provoked a furious response from a senior Tory who branded human rights laws ‘a farce.’ Dominic Raab, MP for Esher and Walton, said: ‘It is a damning indictment of the human rights farce in this country that this man has been able to run rings around the deportation system. 'Damning': Conservative MP Dominic Raab . ‘If a dangerous criminal or suspected terrorist can frustrate deportation, by spewing out human rights objections while refusing to give his name so the claims can be checked, it turns the system on its head. ‘Even the human rights lawyers should be embarrassed, it’s so ridiculous.’ The saga emerged in a recent court ruling when B tried to halt deportation proceedings. But judges struck out his appeal. His lawyers had said the failure to resolve the stand-off was a breach of his human right to an ‘effective remedy’ by the State to his legal limbo. But the judges criticised the failure of the mystery man to identify himself as a ‘deliberate distortion of the evidence’. They said his ‘manipulation of information, his contempt and abuse of process’ must not succeed because it would encourage others to ‘behave in a similar way’. The terrorist arrived illegally in Britain in 1993. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission found he bought a satellite phone and airtime for extremists in Algeria and Chechnya in 2000. The terrorist originally gave his name as Nolidoni, later claiming to be Pierre Dumond. Both identities were false. He then refused to identify himself, as his lawyers cited two sections of the European Convention on Human Rights. They said revealing who he is would put his family in Algeria in danger, a breach of article eight, and he could be at risk of torture, a breach of article three. In response, the Government spent huge sums trying to independently establish his identity with a global investigation. His fingerprints and DNA were taken but the Algerian authorities, as well as international counter-terrorism agencies, were unable to find a match. An Algerian language expert was employed to study his speech to pinpoint where he was from. Officials were even sent to Canada to speak to a fellow Algerian whose identity he stole after obtaining his passport. But no progress has been made. One source close to the case said: ‘He has admitted the name he was using is not his real name and the Algerians confirmed this. ‘Because of this the Government cannot obtain the individual assurances needed to secure his removal. It is not possible to deport him without these assurances because of our international human rights obligations.’ The terrorist is now on bail, with a nine-hour curfew and is banned from leaving a defined area without giving prior notice. He is also banned from meeting a list of named associates, using his mobile phone or accessing the internet. A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We continue to pursue every avenue to ensure this dangerous man is removed from the UK.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Judge ruled Algerian man is 'trusted and senior' member of violent group .
But lawyers used human rights laws to stop him being thrown out .
Officials can't draw up official paperwork without his true name . |
64,696 | b7bcd32127bd7606be364c48a3159b4cdcaa66bc | By . Ruth Styles for MailOnline . Wayne Rooney might have proposed on a garage forecourt but with 75 per cent of women saying they were unhappy with the way they got engaged, it seems more effort is needed. One woman who certainly subscribes to the make an effort school of thought is Daisy Amodio, 32, from Hertfordshire who has turned popping the question into a lucrative business. The proposals organised by her firm, The Proposers, range from simple musical serenades to lavish designer shopping splurges followed by a helicopter ride to a country church for the big moment. Popping the question: Daisy Amodio, 32, spends her days organising other people's perfect proposals . 'It all started when we spotted a man in Hyde Park one evening who was trying to spell "make me the happiest man alive" but who had spelled happiness wrong,' explains Amodio. 'He proceeded to . tell us that he was planning to propose in five minutes time and we were so . excited that we offered to hide and take pictures of the happy . moment. 'Needless to say, we captured the yes and so The Proposers was born.' Since that moment just over two years ago, Amodio, a petite blonde in skyscraper heels, has gone on to orchestrate hundreds more proposals, some restrained and others endearingly wacky. Popular choices include flash mobs, musical serenades and champagne picnics, while others involve splashing out on helicopters, super-cars and even, in one case, recreating the wedding scene from Love Actually. Surprise! A girl is surprised by her boyfriend (and a flash mob) in the middle of Covent Garden . Romantic: This proposal was set up in an art gallery and included a personalised painting . But while Amodio says she and her team can pull off most of her clients' more outlandish ideas, some are beyond even her network of contacts. 'One of the wackiest proposal requests we’ve received was from a guy who honestly thought we could arrange for the Queen to be at his proposal,' she chuckles. 'We politely told him that unless we hired a lookalike, there was absolutely no way the Queen would come to his proposal. He didn’t call us back.' Others have asked for all-action affairs, with the result that Amodio and her team have had to gird their loins and get to grips with everything from abseiling to skiing and even scuba diving. It all sounds fairly intense - even more so when Amodio reveals that some of the most simple seeming proposals can turn out to be among the most challenging. 'We recently got asked to help with a proposal at Barafundle Beach in Wales,' she explains, 'which was once voted the best beach in the world. 'It was to be sunset proposal surrounded with love notes, fairy lights, candles, cushions and rugs and so on but when we arrived, the beach was nowhere to be seen.' Popular: Like this beach proposal, romantic champagne picnics are a popular choice with would-be grooms . Venue: Venues include private beaches, churches and in this case, an art gallery . Instead, laden with candles, cushions and champagne, Amodio had to spend half an hour hiking along the clifftop before navigating a tricky descent down 100 steep steps. Struggling to light the candles in the face of bitter sea winds, matters grew worse when, unbeknown to Amodio, who had no phone signal on the secluded beach, the client arrived early. 'Luckily enough, we spotted them in the distance and hid,' she chuckles, 'and the proposal went without a hitch. 'It then dawned on us that we would have to pack everything up at midnight and then hike back along the cliff in the dark. 'Let’s just say that it was a horrendous walk back but it was all in the name of a couple getting a gorgeous proposal.' Happily, not all involve candles and cliff top treks. Others have included unique artwork and rose petals, while more still were traditional with a twist - among them, Amodio's own. 'I’m more of a private person and always . said that I’d love to turn the lock on our front door to find something going on inside,' she smiles. 'Well one day I did turn that lock and was surprised by a trail of rose petals and candles leading to the roof terrace . door. 'The door had a huge sign on it that said, "Is this how you . pictured your future?" and I opened it to find him . surrounded by thousands of lanterns, candles and flowers. 'He had my . ring made for me . and even booked a nail appointment because he knew I’d want to show my . ring off. It was certainly how I pictured my future.' And Amodio isn't the only woman looking for something special from a proposal. 'Times have changed,' she explains. Splashing out: Grooms with cash to splash can ask Daisy (pictured left) to charter a private helicopter . No luck: One client asked Daisy to invite the Queen to his proposal - unfortunately, she had to say no . 'In 2014, couples want . more of a story. It doesn’t need to cost the earth but it does need to be thoughtful and personalised.' This is where Amodio and The Proposers come in, offering unique proposals that cost between £500 and £50,000. 'Everybody has a different opinion on proposals but I think it should whatever you want it to be,' she continues. 'If you want to declare it to the world via a dancing flash mob in Covent Garden then that’s amazing but if you’d prefer to keep it private and simple then that’s fabulous too. 'Some people want a great story to . remember and tell everyone and some people wouldn’t care if it was in a . car park – everyone’s different,' she adds. 'The men we deal with are . usually extremely romantic and just want to make sure they propose in the very best way.' | Daisy Amodio, 32, from Hertfordshire founded The Proposers in 2011 .
Lavish proposals involve charting helicopters or recreating film scenes .
Says serenades and flash mobs remain popular as do champagne picnics .
Her tailor-made proposals start at £500 and can cost as much as £50,000 .
One client asked for the Queen to be at his proposal - it was a no . |
250,344 | cffd933bf640d64c6cb2ec7034a8eb5f34163476 | By . Emily Allen and Martin Delgado . PUBLISHED: . 10:52 EST, 26 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:49 EST, 28 May 2012 . Surrounded by glorious yellow, Stephanie Koch and her three-year-old daughter Kadie don sunglasses for a walk in the sunshine through a rapeseed field in Whitley Bay, north-east England. Yesterday was one of the hottest days of the year so far and thousands of people took the opportunity to spend a few hours at the seaside. The Met Office reported unbroken sunshine with roads to coastal resorts clogged with extra traffic. Sunshine stroll: Stephanie Koch and daughter Kadie, 3, enjoy a walk through a rapeseed field in Whitley Bay today. Forecasters predict it will be the hottest weekend of the year . Find a space... and relax! Britons made their way to parks, outdoor spaces and - of course - the coast to soak up the sun. Thousands found themselves jostling for position on the beach near Brighton Pier . A scorcher! Thousands of sun worshippers flock to Brighton beach today to bag themselves a spot in the sunshine and paddle in the water . Keeping cool: Georgia, 8, and Evie, 3, Marriott enjoy an ice cream during the hot weather in Heacham, Norfolk . In Bournemouth, the beach was almost overrun with sun-worshippers basking in temperatures of up to 25C. A weekend outside school holidays would normally see a maximum of 20,000 people heading to the town, but that number almost quadrupled yesterday. A spokesman for Bournemouth Tourism said: ‘This is what we have been waiting for. The hotels and restaurants are looking forward to this weather continuing. Let’s hope it lasts.’ It was a similar picture in Brighton, where tens of thousands of residents and visitors flocked to the beach. Adam Bates, spokesman for Visit Brighton, said: ‘It is absolutely heaving here. There is a carnival atmosphere.’ The forecast for today is for more fine and dry weather. River rush hour: People relaxing on the River Cam in punts in Cambridge as the heatwave continues this afternoon . A kite surfer performs some impressive tricks at Ryde Beach on the Isle of Wight on a glorious day in Britain . A man barbecues hamburgers on Longsands beach at Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear as a little boy gets busy with his bucket and spade . Three men leap into the sea in Brighton to cool off as temperatures are hotter than parts of Egypt today . Three girls relax in bikinis in deckchairs in Brighton and enjoy ice creams to cool down . Colourful: People fly kites in Poole in Dorset today which enjoyed a light summer breeze . Family affair: A mother and father walk their little ones down to the beach at Southsea, Hampshire as they all enjoy a paddle . Heatwave: The entire British Isles is seen without a cloud in the sky in a satellite picture taken earlier this morning . Temperatures will again reach 25C, but it will be slightly cooler in some breezy coastal areas. Yesterday, Britain was hotter than showery Alexandria, Egypt, which only reached 24C, and Safed, Israel, which saw 25C. Temperatures were a staggering 20C warmer than last Saturday, when snow fell and frost hit parts of the North, which saw highs of just 8C after a -4C night. Scotland, which hit 28.7C on Friday at Kinlochewe, Ross and Cromarty, enjoyed its second hottest May heatwave in 102 years of records. The only hotter May spell was the 29.0C record at Edinburgh in 1992. This is Scotland’s hottest weather at any time of year since 2009. England’s 28.5C at Bournemouth, on Friday, shattered local records. England’s record May temperature is 32.8C, dating from 1922 and 1944. There's not an inch of beach left on the Brighton coast as thousands of sunbathers squash in to soak up the warmth . People enjoying the fine weather on Longsands beach at Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear . Leonardo Hyra, 5, splashes about in the water in Bournemouth and right, Dilo Kocher enjoys the hot weather in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh . Flat out: Three girls in bikinis avoid the beach and soak up the sun on Southsea Common in Hampshire instead . Nadine Abeledo (left) and Tish Dunlop enjoy the hot weather in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh . Young racegoers enjoying the sun and a few drinks at Haydock in Merseyside this afternoon . Independent forecasters said the hot spell was the nation's best period of weather for two years and the early summer sizzle is expected to return for next weekend’s Diamond Jubilee too. Meanwhile, tourism is enjoying an estimated £1billion spending boost as Brighton reported 150,000 visitors - matching peak summer days - with Blackpool seeing 100, and Bournemouth 35,000. Beach visitors take in the view as riders prepare for the Portsmouth leg of UK World Nude Bike Ride at Southsea, Hampshire . Scorching: A crowded beach at Southsea, Hampshire, where beachgoers make the most of the sunshine and their weekends . Wish you were here? While Britain basks in another glorious weekend of sunshine, with crowded beaches and high temperatures, the holiday island of Tenerife endures dull, cloudy weather today in Los Abrigos . Hot stuff: A woman soaks up the sun in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. The Met Office predicts yet more unbroken sunshine with some independent forecasters suggesting the current hot spell is Britain's best period of weather for two years . Similar numbers are expected today with Bournemouth’s ice-cream sellers ordering extra stocks as 30,000 cones are expected to be sold. Meanwhile, swimmers had a shock as giant sharks were spotted off beaches in Cornwall and the Isle of Man. But beachgoers can relax as they are harmless seven-metre basking sharks, the world’s second largest fish, drawn towards land by soaring sea temperatures. They have been sighted 30 times this week. Thronging: Crowds descend on Blackpool beach this morning. Forecasters say the hot, dry weather will remain for much of the UK over the weekend and into Monday, before breaking on Tuesday, when temperatures are likely to drop as rain returns . In Scotland, tens of thousands hit breaches across Ayrshire, Stirling, East Lothian and Fife. Skiers stripped down to shorts and T-shirts at at Cairngorm, Highlands, as they enjoyed the remainder of last week’s snow. Olympic torch runners sweated it out and sports fans sweltered at cricket’s Second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge, football play-offs at Wembley and rugby’s Premiership final at Twickenham. Doctor Who actor Matt Smith was up bright and early at 6.30am to carry the Olympic Flame on the Torch Relay leg through Cardiff. Timelord: Doctor Who actor Matt Smith took a break from battling Daleks this morning to carry the Olympic Flame on the Torch Relay leg through Cardiff . Blazing a trail: The actor was cheered on by hundreds of fans as he set off on his leg of the relay at 6.30am. He said: 'It’s a huge privilege. A once in a lifetime thing.' Weather . Despite the early start he was cheered on by hundreds of fans as he made his way across the bay under a clear blue sky. Matt, 29, said: 'It’s a huge privilege. A once in a lifetime thing.' But it wasn't all good news. Roads were clogged with the AA seeing an expected 10 per cent breakdowns spike due to overheating, with jams expected on beach routes including the A31 in Hampshire, A23 in Sussex and M55 in Lancashire. Train firms expected a 25 per cent surge in passenger numbers on coastal routes, with the threat of more speed restrictions after Network Rail ordered East Midlands Trains to slow down this week when rails expanded. On Friday, temperatures rocketed to 28C in Bournemouth, hotter than Athens which reached 24C, while Casablanca in Morocco could only manage 22C. Supermarkets reported a surge in sales of sausages and burgers for the barbecue, while at Goodwood racecourse, in West Sussex, horses had to be doused in water in between races to keep them cool. Tens of thousands of children and adults turned out in the sunshine and lined the streets of Abergavenny, Monmouth and Raglan to wave the Olympic torch along the Welsh leg of its journey. In Bristol and London hundreds packed into the city’s open air swimming pools to make the most of the hot temperatures. Forecasters say the hot, dry weather will remain for much of the UK over the weekend and into Monday, before breaking on Tuesday, when temperatures are likely to drop as rain returns. Easterly winds from the Continent and a high pressure system over the Northern Isles have caused temperatures to reach almost 10C higher than the average for this time of year. The May average for London is 17C, and while in June it is 20.4C. Forecaster Sally Webb said: ‘Most places are still warm and hot, with temperatures over the seasonal average. ‘Most of the UK will be sunny and very warm on Saturday, but showers could reach the end of Cornwall by late afternoon . ‘Sunday will continue to be dry and sunny, although there is a chance of it being cloudier. There might also be showers in the South-West in areas like Devon and South Wales.’ The hot weather is not agreeing with everyone. David Cameron revealed the soaring temperatures have brought on an attack of hay fever. The Prime Minister told ITV’s This Morning that he had to take medication to combat the condition. ‘There’s obviously one or two plants that, when they flower, hit me and so, just this morning, I woke up and I had it,’ he said. The hot spell is also doing little to ease the drought conditions affecting much of the South and South-East. According to the Environment Agency, this week has been the driest since the end of March, with less than 0.08 inches falling in the South-East and 0.35 inches in the North. Average maximum temperatures for England in May are 14C to 17C, while Scotland would normally be 13C to 15C. | Temperatures will remain in the mid to high 20s this weekend with the West Country expected to really feel the heat .
Warm weather will continue next week although it won't be quite as hot and there's a risk of scattered showers .
Yesterday nudged 28C in South Wales and western Scotland, with Bournemouth at 26C and the East coast at 20C . |
119,836 | 26e13df157e27e0a480be8d110cb3644aaaf8449 | By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 05:37 EST, 10 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:37 EST, 10 May 2012 . It was definitely one small step for robotkind - the Mars Opportunity Rover drove just 12 feet on May 8 - but it's a sign that the robot is still going, eight years into a mission that was meant to last just three months. Opportunity had spent 19 weeks stuck in one place to 'weather out' the dark months of the Martian winter on an outcrop called Greeley Haven. This week, the solar power rose enough for it to drive again. A view captured by Opportunity before starting its first drive of 2012. The Rover has been 'stuck' in the same place for 19 weeks, waiting for the sun to provide enough power. This week, it drove 12 feet . Forward view from Opportunity this week: Opportunity has worked through four Martian southern hemisphere winters since it landed in in January 2004 about 14 miles northwest of its current location . Opportunity has worked through four Martian southern hemisphere winters since it landed in in January 2004 about 14 miles northwest of its current location.Closer to the equator than its twin rover, Spirit, Opportunity has not needed to stay on a sun-facing slope during the previous winters.Now, however, Opportunity's solar panels carry a thicker coating of dust, and the team is using a strategy employed for three winters with Spirit: staying on a sun-facing slope. Since landing in the Meridiani region of Mars on Jan. 25, 2004, Opportunity has driven 21.4 miles.Opportunity and its rover twin, Spirit, completed their three-month prime missions on Mars in April 2004. Both rovers continued for years of bonus, extended missions. Both have made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for supporting microbial life. Spirit stopped communicating in 2010. Opportunity knocks: The rover has been on Mars for nearly eight years . Water discovery: Opportunity helped confirm that Mars used to be much warmer and wetter . On average it lies 141.6 million miles from the Sun. With a diameter of 4,222 miles, it’s around half the size of the Earth. It’s absolutely freezing there, with an average temperature of -85F (-65C). Gravity is much less powerful - slightly less than 40 per cent of ours. The . atmosphere is desperately thin – one per cent of Earth’s pressure – and . not very nice for us humans because 95 per cent of it is carbon . dioxide. It boasts the solar . system’s biggest mountain – Olympus Mons, a dead volcano with . staggering proportions. It measures 335 miles across and rises to a . height of 88,000ft, which is almost three times higher than Everest. Mars has two cosmic sidekicks – the moons Deimos and Phobos. Mars’s red colouring comes from the iron oxide that coats its surface. Mars . has huge amounts of ice at its polar caps. If they melted, it would . cover the whole planet in water 11-metres deep, according to Nasa. Among its chores is studying bedrock . and soil at its chosen winter site. While Opportunity can drive short . distances from one outcrop to another, it cannot venture far in the . cold. It is a . bittersweet juncture for Opportunity, which along with its twin, . Spirit, landed on opposite sides of the red planet in January 2004. Spirit . suddenly stopped communicating with Earth last year, shortly after it . became stuck in fluffy sand. Nasa diligently listened for any sign from . Spirit and finally gave up this past spring. Despite . Spirit's demise, Opportunity continued to trek across the Martian . plains and arrived at the western rim of Endeavour Crater in August. The . rover has wowed scientists with discoveries at the site, which includes . rocks and soil unlike any it has encountered during its years roaming . the planet. Opportunity recently uncovered a mineral deposit that formed from water flowing out of volcanic rocks. Chief . scientist Steve Squyres of Cornell University called it the ‘single . most powerful piece of evidence’ that Opportunity has found so far of . liquid water existing on Mars long ago. The finding was presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. With . a little over 21 miles on the clock, Opportunity is showing some wear, . including an arthritic shoulder, but is otherwise in good health. ‘It's . going on eight years, but we're not done yet,’ said Ray Arvidson, the . mission deputy scientist from Washington University in St Louis. Exploring: This picture show's Opportunity's arm in the extended position. The wheels of the rover can be seen in the foreground . Happy landing: This image shows where the rover's airbags left impressions in the martian soil. The drag marks were made after were retracted . That is eight years as measured in Earth time. A Martian year is equivalent to 687 Earth days, or nearly two Earth years. Opportunity . will soon get some company on the surface. Nasa launched its latest . spacecraft to Mars last month, a mega-rover named Curiosity that's set . to land next summer. The . £1.6billion mission will study a mountain inside a crater to determine . whether the environment was conducive for microbial life. Hardy: Opportunity has covered an impressive 21 miles on the Martian surface . Rock on: The Mars rover's microscopic imager found these intriguing round pebbles . | 12-foot drive after solar panels charge up .
Rover has 'wintered' in the same spot for 19 weeks .
Eighth year of mission to Mars - supposed to last three months . |
148,133 | 4b8923a7ba378c09da539225cf162ec0bb9b28b8 | (CNN) -- Not everyone wishes others well in fulfilling their New Year's resolutions. Giyen Kim has gone from 190 to 186 pounds in four weeks. A doctor says that's "very reasonable." On a video that Giyen Kim recently posted on iReport.com about her frustration with trying to lose weight, one user commented, "Who cares how much you have lost you are still a fat a**. Stop eating and go to the gym." In the past, Kim might have cried and turned to a pint of ice cream for comfort, she reflected. But this time, she hit the gym -- a reaction she views as a revelation. "I think that when you are doing what you need to be doing, things like that don't matter," she said. See Kim talk about losing weight . Kim, 34, is one of many CNN readers who are using CNN's iReport.com to share frequent updates of progress on their New Year's resolutions. iReport.com: Share your journey to change . Kim started out at 190 pounds on January 1 with the intention of losing about a pound or two a week throughout the year. Lately she has been cooking more for herself and trying to stay away from foods that have refined carbohydrates. She also tries to eat one vegan meal every day, but still occasionally indulges in bacon, the namesake for her blog Bacon is My Enemy. She exercises six days a week, mostly cardio, but wants to work on strength training and resistance training. She would also like to take step classes. So far she's shed four pounds in four weeks, but the pace feels slow compared with her diet regimens in the past, she said. She found that those extreme diet plans were not realistic options in the long run for maintaining a comfortable weight. Still, Kim maintains a positive outlook on her situation. "No matter if you get derailed, if you just pick yourself up again and get back on track, it makes a big difference," she said. "If you're in a place of feeling good about yourself, regardless of how your self-image has been in the past, it propels you to go forward." Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist from San Francisco, California, said losing a pound per week is very reasonable. At most, Kim could probably lose an additional half-pound to pound a week, "but any more than that and she would probably be losing water weight and muscle," Jampolis said. Jampolis recommends that Kim keep a daily journal of what she eats, and review it to see where she might be able to cut 50 to 100 calories, and where there might be hidden calories in her diet. Kim should also make sure she is varying the intensity, duration, and type of workout, Jampolis said. "As she loses weight and becomes more fit, she is burning fewer calories doing the same thing, so it is critical to change things up," Jampolis said. But generally Kim's current pace is great -- "At that rate, she will be down another 20 pounds by summer!" Jampolis said. As far as Kim's professional goals, she has secured an interim position at a non-profit organization, and continues to do video blogs for Momversation.com. The market for freelance writers is tough, particularly with many newspapers struggling, she said. Still, Kim is optimistic about following her dream to become a writer. "I'm not optimistic about our economic future as a country, but as far as me and my journey to find happiness, and accomplish some of these goals that I've had -- weight loss and following my writing passion -- absolutely, I'm still really positive about it," she said. | iReporter Giyen Kim has been losing a pound per week since the start of 2009 .
She exercises six days a week, eats one vegan meal per day .
Dr. Melina Jampolis says a pound a week is a reasonable pace .
Share your journey to change with iReport.com . |
188,168 | 7faad36bbeb46d6c425f78b3024698427b5d78de | By . Ryan Gorman . Google has another new logo, but can you spot the change? Hint - it's nearly identical to its predecessor. The search giant’s latest corporate logo has a tiny difference that’s nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. Spacing in the second ‘g’ and the ‘l’ has been slightly tweaked to give make it look more evenly positioned for smaller screens, according to a Google spokesperson. Out with old: The search giant's logo as of last week . In with the new: Can you spot the difference? The letter ‘g’ has been moved one pixel to the right. And the ‘l’ has been moved one pixel down and another to the right. Eagle-eyed Reddit users first flagged the updated look Sunday. Google did not publicize the change as they sometimes have in the past. The look is much cleaner than the search engine's original logo, but not a major departure from its predecessor. The search giant did the alteration in-house and claimed in a statement to MailOnline that it has a much bigger purpose than its scale would imply. A Google spokesperson said that the company 'tweaked the logo a little while ago to make sure it looks its sharpest regardless of your screen resolution.' MailOnline staffers polled while viewing the Google homepage on a mobile device did not notice a difference between the old and new logo. | The logo was updated over Memorial Day weekend .
The difference was first flagged on Reddit . |
271,890 | ec31ac0c11ca512d459815e49e1d93b1e85af44a | (CNN)That statue wasn't the only thing that was golden. This year's Oscars ceremony also yielded some hysterical memes. From Lady Gaga's lobster-like gloves to Reese Witherspoon's forehead, social media had zero chill. But don't just take our word for it. And what the heck, John Travolta? No, seriously, what are you going through? | Celebs at the Oscars made for great memes .
Lady Gaga's gloves were mocked .
John Travolta was all over it . |
99,674 | 0c6caf1ccc7277cc19df93d659ef8a7a601db897 | (CNN) -- The mosque in Roxbury was crowded past capacity, with about 1,200 college students, urban hipsters and East Africans lining the hallways and front stairs. They wanted to hear Imam Suhaib Webb, resident scholar of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center and widely considered one of the country's most influential Muslims, respond to Sam Harris and Bill Maher, who recently called Islam the "mother lode of bad ideas" and compared Muslims to the Mafia. The lanky, blue-eyed imam, a convert originally from Oklahoma, is known for tackling taboo topics and spicing his sermons with pop culture references. Before Friday's sermon, the last time the Roxbury mosque had been this crowded, Webb said, was when he preached about the finale of "Breaking Bad." (On the Sunday after his sermon, Webb, who has extensive training in classical Islamic learning, answered religious questions on Twitter about "The Walking Dead.") Instead of attacking Maher and Harris, though, Webb challenged his fellow Muslims. "It's code red," he preached last Friday, pounding the minbar for emphasis. "People do not like us, and we need to get with it!" "One day we're attacked by Fox News, the next day we're attacked by Muslims who actually pay to have Facebook ads about us," Webb said. "I mean, that's the level of attacks that we're dealing with as a community and as a people. One brother told me, like what's going to happen next? It's like a soap opera." Webb himself has been subject to some of those attacks, as conservative media outlets have sought to tie him to Alton Nolen, an Oklahoma man accused of beheading a co-worker, and the Tsarnaev brothers, suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. Webb said he never met the three men. "It's guilt by nonassociation," he said with a sardonic laugh. At one point during his sermon last Friday, a man interrupted to argue that Muslims shouldn't care about what others say about them. But when even avowed liberals like Maher and Harris lash out against Islam, Webb said, then it's time to worry. "The last bastion of support we'll find in this country are among the liberals and some moderately conservative people," Webb said. "What happened on that show that night was to challenge that community and its traditional support of religious minorities in this country, and if we don't think that's something we should be worried about, then basically we are building our own coffins." Those are strong words, Webb acknowledged in a phone interview after his sermon, which was posted on YouTube last Friday. But necessary ones for American Muslims, who find themselves caught between Islamophobes and Islamists like ISIS, he said. "No community survives that fails to identify itself," Webb said, "and right now the rhetoric and the perception of the Muslim community, whether we believe it or not, is not very good." Instead, American Muslims frequently find themselves judged by how Islam is practiced overseas: stories about the group calling itself Islamic State, death sentences in Sudan, and restricted rights for women in Saudi Arabia. "What is constantly invoked is that Muslims are bad because of what is happening overseas, or Muslims are good because of what is happening overseas," Webb said. "In other words, we are being measured and weighed and determined by events that are completely outside of our hands." Webb challenged Muslims to assert control of their image in three ways: by forging an American-Islamic identity, building institutions and shifting away from the view that male scholars have the final view on the faith. "We need to appreciate the value of being seen as trusted ... that's the key to having a license to speak about religion," Webb said. "It's a beautiful thing in this country: that if you want to talk about God, you have to be someone who has a certain type of character." You can view Webb's full sermon here. In addition to his role as resident scholar at Boston's Islamic society, he is also founder of the Ella Collins Institute. | Bill Maher and Sam Harris set off a fierce debate about Islam .
Instead of attacking critics, one imam challenged American Muslims .
Imam himself has been under attack from conservatives . |
141,567 | 4312a26cd956590b5f75436570cf9e04500d226a | By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 08:53 EST, 25 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:19 EST, 26 July 2013 . This was the moment armed police surrounded a suspected gunman next to a children's playground. Half a dozen officers wielding Heckler & Koch submachine guns swooped on the bare-chested man in an Exeter park while members of the public enjoying the hottest day of the year were kept back from the scene. After an hour-long stand-off, the man gave himself up and lay face down on the ground as he waited to be handcuffed. The moment armed police swarmed around a man believed to have a gun at Exeter Quay on Monday was captured by a photographer . The bare-chested man lay on the ground following an hour-long stand-off with armed police . A member of the public called police to report a man brandishing a gun in the park. Officers found a replica gun at the scene following the scare on Monday in Exeter Quay, Devon. Earlier that day, Prince Edward had opened the Haven Banks activity centre at the quay, but the two incidents are not thought to be linked. One witness told the Exeter Express & Echo: 'It’s the sort of incident that happens once in a blue moon around here.' Marc Carpenter, 33, of Exeter, has been charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear and violence. At least half a dozen armed police officers with submachine guns surrounded the man while members of the public were kept out of the way . The 33-year-old man has been charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear and violence . He pleaded not guilty at Exeter Magistrates Court yesterday was remanded in custody to appear before the city's crown court on August 15. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'Our role was to contain the scene and clear members of the public away from it. 'The armed response was authorised at 4.30pm and a negotiator was also called. He was eventually arrested at 5.25pm.' Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Man, 33, charged with possession of an imitation firearm following incident .
After an hour, the suspect gave himself up and lay down on the ground .
Half a dozen armed officers were at the scene at Exeter Quay in Devon . |
24,101 | 4464d95bc444470a7f612bdbe69936473ed87c89 | Angel di Maria has only been at Manchester United since August - yet already it seems his affection for the club has rubbed off on his family. His wife Jorgelina Cardoso posted a picture of herself and their daughter, Mia, wearing Red Devils tops - with 'Di Maria - 7' on the back on Friday. Di Maria signed for United from Real Madrid in a £60million summer deal and has certainly hit the ground running at Old Trafford. Angel di Maria's wife Jorgelina Cardoso and his daughter Mia are pictured in Manchester United tops with 'Di Maria - 7' on the back. Cardoso posted the photos on to her Instagram on Friday . Di Maria himself shows his love for Manchester United after scoring against Queens Park Rangers . Di Maria (right) and his wife Jorgelina Cardoso (left) celebrate with the Champions League in May . Three goals in nine appearances - including a sublime chip against Leicester City - have already endeared him to the United faithful. And now, it seems his wife and daughter have done too. Louis van Gaal's United host Hull City at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday. The Manchester United star (right) shoots against Manchester City during the derby . Di Maria slides on his knees after scoring against QPR in September at Old Trafford . | Angel di Maria signed for Manchester United for £60million this summer .
He has scored three goals in nine appearances for the club already .
His wife Jorgelina Cardoso posted a photo on Instagram .
Cardoso and daughter Mia were wearing United shirts with 'Di Maria - 7 on' |
151,095 | 4f5bff0dd9fce41e75ee10cebc4fa9e79e5b88c3 | (CNN) -- A California judge ruled Wednesday to allow cameras in a federal courtroom to document a challenge to Proposition 8, a measure banning same-sex marriage. The courtroom footage will not be streamed live, but will be uploaded on the Web site YouTube daily, CNN affiliate KGO reported. Proposition 8 passed with about 52.5 percent of the vote in November 2008. A lesbian couple and a gay couple who were banned from marrying filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the new measure, the affiliate reported. The nonjury trial is to begin on January 11 in federal court in San Francisco. The rare decision to allow cameras in a federal courtroom was influenced by intense media attention, court officials said. The legal battle over Proposition 8 has prompted passionate debate and in the past has spurred protests outside courtrooms. Opponents of the ban say it improperly altered the state's Constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state charter. Ban supporters say Californians long have had the right to change their state Constitution through ballot initiatives. | California judge rules to allow cameras in a federal courtroom .
Courtroom footage will not be streamed live, but will be uploaded on YouTube daily .
Lesbian couple and gay couple banned from marrying filed lawsuit .
Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, was passed by voters 2008 . |
75,477 | d60a95722926daec2eaca445425ffd1e0d613d38 | (CNN) -- Sunday night brought the beginning of the end for Walter White of "Breaking Bad." The first of the final eight episodes featured an unbelievably tense scene, one that left fans with two words of wisdom as they barrel toward the conclusion. They were uttered by Bryan Cranston's corrupt meth kingpin after his brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank, tells him he doesn't even know who Walt is anymore. Walt's advice? In that case, "tread lightly." (Mindy Kaling's advice on Twitter wasn't half-bad either: "If you didn't see breaking bad tonight, tomorrow you better take your spoilers like a man.") Keeping that in mind, we'll tread lightly on revealing too much in case you're still catching up or somehow nodded off during the mid-season premiere. The expectations were intimidatingly high for Sunday's "Blood Money," but in the eyes of critics, creator Vince Gilligan and his team delivered -- as did stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The journey kicks off with another flash-forward, showing the White home in disarray, its pool drained of its contents with a yellow "Heisenberg" tagged on a wall. We watched Walt grab the ricin capsule from behind an electrical socket, and then we're back in the present again. And that's when the real fun begins. We knew that Hank suspected that Walt was the meth kingpin he's been chasing, but we didn't know how he'd put those pieces together. Sunday's episode wasted no time answering one of our big questions, and by the end of it, Hank and Walt were stunningly face-to-face. It was at this point that we sort of wished AMC would go the Netflix route and just give the episodes to us all at once, and we're not the only ones. "This TV version of a literary thriller has reached the point where the pieces are finally coming together and all we want to do is whip through its pages and finally devour that much-craved resolution. But we can't, because there are seven more episodes to go," said Salon's Jen Chaney. "There's a lesson in it ... After watching a show about a man who comes to think he can have everything his way, whenever he wants, it's good to be reminded that most people can't. We are not in control, so we must accept it, respect it and patiently savor the prolonged, delicious agony." The New Yorker found the climactic scene to be "a classic opener for the season: a cowboy showdown that placed Hank, once a minor, comic character on the show, dead center in the role of hero." And yet, the magazine's Emily Nussbaum predicts, "Based on that terrifying cold open, it's a solid bet that Hero Hank is a red herring, and the show's real endgame will be Jesse, the one most damaged by Walt." Esquire's Alex Berenson agrees, believing that there's no way Walt is making it out of this series alive -- flash-forwards to his 52nd birthday with a head full of hair, be damned -- and that Jesse is going to be the one to do it. "Like all good psychopaths, Walter has convinced himself that his prior crimes don't matter as long as he lives decently in the future," Berenson writes. "But Jesse can't forget what they've done. Jesse has grown a conscience, and it's killing him. And if Jesse is to find any kind of peace for the rest of his life -- even in prison -- he's going to have to destroy the monster he knows better than anyone else." With just seven more episodes to go, we'll find out soon enough. Judging from the premiere, though, the rest of the season is bound to be just as fantastic as whatever end we find. As Time magazine's James Poniewozik put it, "Game freakin' on." | "Breaking Bad" returned for its final eight episodes on Sunday .
The episode featured a tense showdown that answered a big plot question .
Expectations were high, but the mid-season premiere delivered . |
248,597 | cdab6554fc907e6cea7286c2e14f58ac3c18c0ff | (CNN) -- Russia provided both women's singles finalists at the 2008 Olympic tennis competition, but only one will make it through to the title match at London 2012. Maria Sharapova set up a semifinal showdown with compatriot Maria Kirilenko after overcoming fellow former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters on Thursday. The French Open champion triumphed 6-2 7-5 to end the Belgian's hopes of a first major championship on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon before she retires for a second time at the end of this year. "It's a nice experience every time you go out on Centre Court so I'm happy to say that my last match at Wimbledon was on Centre Court," the 29-year-old Clijsters said. Sharapova completed her collection of grand slam titles by winning the French Open in June, and Russia's first female flag bearer now has the chance to secure a "Golden Slam." "I was just really happy that I was able to step up in terms of the way that I played compared to previous matches," she said. Men's big three set for Olympic showdown . Kirilenko, seeded 14th, upset last year's Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to reach the last four of a top event for the first time in her career. The 25-year-old -- a Wimbledon quarterfinalist last month -- also has a chance to earn a podium place in the women's doubles, reaching the semifinals with Nadia Petrova. The Russians beat China's Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie (7-5 6-7(7-9) 6-4. Serena Williams can also win double gold, which her older sister Venus achieved at Sydney 2000, as she seeks the only major title to elude her so far. The American faces a rematch of her Wimbledon semifinal against world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka after overpowering eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-3. "I love playing Victoria," said the 14-time grand slam singles winner, who holds an 8-1 career advantage over the Belorussian. "I have nothing to lose. She is world No.1. That's what I love, playing when there's no pressure. It will be fun." Venus Williams exits Olympic singles tournament . Azarenka beat Venus' conqueror Angelique Kerber, battling to a 6-4 7-5 win over the German seventh seed -- whose 48 match wins this year is the most on the WTA Tour. "We had the longest rallies. At one point I just couldn't believe when it was going to be over during the point," Azarenka said. Defending champions Serena and Venus are also through to the women's doubles semifinals, where they will face Kirilenko and Petrova following Thursday's 6-1 6-1 romp against Italian second seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. The Americans beat the Russians on the way to winning the Wimbledon title for the fifth time. The other semifinal will be between top-ranked Americans Liezl Huber and Lisa Raymond and Czech fourth seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, the runners-up at Wimbledon. | Maria Sharapova to play fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in semifinals at Olympics .
Sharapova beats Kim Clijsters while her compatriot upsets sixth seed Petra Kvitova .
The other semifinal will be between world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams .
Williams and Kirilenko both also made it through to the women's doubles semifinals . |
44,585 | 7dac21b8d8425dad37557ca1720d0f94ae8fd681 | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 12:57 EST, 7 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:47 EST, 8 February 2013 . Suspended eviction order: Gateshead mother Julie Burnham, 43, said that she no longer has the horses . A 43-year-old mother has been threatened with eviction after turning her outside shed into a stable for her pet horses. Julie Burnham, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, cut off the top half of her outhouse door and scattered hay inside to create a stable for the animals. Her family were said to regularly ride their ponies up and down the street where they live and horse manure was allegedly even posted through a neighbour's letterbox. Housing officers visiting her home spotted a pony in the back yard and the outhouse being used as a stable. Burnham was threatened with eviction if she failed to clean up the house. The family are said to have committed a catalogue of anti-social behaviour offences. Neighbours have complained that the two ponies being kept at the property were being ridden on the footpaths around the estate. It is also claimed that a group of teenagers at the house were shouting, swearing and breaking branches off the trees, while on another occasion visitors to the house were fighting and neighbours had to complain about loud music. Burnham said that she no longer has the horses and that they have now been sold. Gateshead County Court heard of more than 60 incidents of anti-social behaviour and placed a year-long suspended eviction order on Burnham. Converted: Burnham cut off the top half of her outhouse door and scattered hay inside to create a stable . Home road: Her family regularly ride their ponies up and down the street where they live in Gateshead . If she, her son or any visitors to the home are involved in any anti-social activities between now and January 2014, she will be evicted. Neil Bouch, the Gateshead Housing Company's director of customers and communities, said: ‘We want to help people feel safe in their homes and neighbourhoods. ‘So we will not tolerate the unreasonable behaviour of a small minority of residents, which causes a disturbance to other residents. ‘The housing company will continue to work with Gateshead Council, the police and the courts to reduce the threat of antisocial behaviour across the borough.’ | Julie Burnham, 43, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, threatened with eviction .
Family 'regularly ride their ponies up and down the street where they live'
Neighbours complained ponies kept at property were ridden around estate . |
114,042 | 1f22054a4131118546bd0f4c960f51ccbae24944 | (CNN Student News) -- May 21, 2010 . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . • Korean Peninsula • Washington, D.C. • London, United Kingdom . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: We know that Fridays are awesome, but you know what today's show could use? A mascot! And we've got one coming up for you in about eight minutes. I'm Carl Azuz. Let's get to it. First Up: Gulf Oil Spill . AZUZ: First up, top kill. It sounds like something pretty bad. Officials are hoping it'll do something good, though: stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The top kill -- it's also called a "dynamic kill" -- is something we mentioned earlier this week. You basically clog up the well with a special kind of mud. BP, the company that owns the well, has been trying a bunch of ways to deal with this leak. One strategy is using dispersants, chemicals that help break up the oil. The Environmental Protection Agency is worried about the specific kind of chemical that's being used. It's ordered BP to start using a different dispersant in the next couple days. The Minerals Management Service is part of the U.S. Interior Department. It's in charge of regulating offshore oil drilling. It's gotten some criticism lately for being too close to the industry it's supposed to oversee. There've been accusations of improper gifts or improper behavior. Ken Salazar is the secretary of the interior. He's in charge of the Interior Department. He says he's working to clean up the Minerals Management Service, and he's keeping an eye on the different strategies to clean up this oil spill. KEN SALAZAR, SECRETARY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR: If something doesn't work, you need to immediately fall back to other alternatives. We, every day, are on top of BP, relative to the different work streams that they have going on. This particular work stream that they call the dynamic kill is something that should come, according to their schedule, in play on Sunday. That will be an effort to essentially kill the well through the insertion of mud. We're doing everything we can to hold BP accountable, and we will hold them accountable on behalf of the American people. Blog Report . AZUZ: You've been talking about what you think the worst part of the oil spill is; most of you have discussed its impact on marine life. Listen to what Keenan says: "The thing that will be affected most is the fishing industry. If oil spilled near my town, it would ruin the economy because about 90 percent of it is fishing." From Tara: "Our seafood will become more expensive, and I'm not ready to cut back on my favorite food just yet." Brian says "this spill is becoming eerily similar to the Exxon Valdez spill back in 1989. Once we get this cleaned up," he says, "we're gonna be reluctant to build another oil rig." Aaron thinks "we should get neighboring countries to try to help us in such a bad ecological crisis." Carley notes that "ocean life is the base of the food chain; when we pollute the oceans, we are affecting ourselves too." And Jonathan says "it's obvious the fishing industry is taking a hit. The disaster will damage hundreds of years worth of marine life and the ecosystem." Economy Check . AZUZ: We have a quick look at some economic headlines for you now, starting with a drop in the Dow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 376 points yesterday. Not good news; the Dow indicates how the whole stock market is doing. Some experts argue that the debt crisis that's happening over in Europe is making investors nervous, and that's causing some of the declines in the U.S. market. Next up, jobless claims. We're talking about the number of people who are filing for unemployment for the first time. The number went up last week for the first time in a month. And finally, a Wall Street reform bill is moving forward in the U.S. Senate. Yesterday, they voted 60 to 40 to end debate and have a final vote on the bill. That could happen within days. Is this Legit? TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? The Yellow Sea is off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Not legit. Actually, it's next to the Korean Peninsula. The Iberian Peninsula is in Europe. Korean Tensions . AZUZ: It's the Korean Peninsula that's getting a lot of attention right now because of something that happened in the Yellow Sea back in March. A mysterious explosion tore a South Korean warship in half. The ship sank. 46 sailors were killed. It was near part of the Yellow Sea that both North and South Korea say belongs to them. Several countries -- including South Korea and the U.S. -- investigated the incident. The results point the finger at North Korea, that a North Korean submarine launched a torpedo that sank the South Korean ship. The North denied the accusation. The South vowed to respond. Here's why all of this is important. The U.S. has an agreement with South Korea to defend it against any aggression. So, if a military conflict breaks out, the U.S. will have to get involved. The tension on the Korean Peninsula goes back decades. The Korean War, fought from 1950 to 1953, killed millions of people on both sides. When it ended, the Demilitarized Zone -- or DMZ -- was established as a kind of barrier between the two countries. Eunice Yoon takes us there now. (BEGIN VIDEO) EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on Freedom Highway driving towards the Demilitarized Zone. It splits the North from South Korea, and it's been described once by former President Bill Clinton as the scariest place on earth. After the Korean War, a line was drawn at the 38th parallel, two-and-a-half miles wide, cutting 155 miles across. The DMZ was set up as part of a truce in 1953, but no peace treaty was ever finalized. So, the two Koreas are technically still at war. Here, the Cold War lives. This is the joint security area in the truce village of Panmunjom. This is a very highly controlled part of the DMZ, and only certain soldiers and military officers are allowed here. This is one of the conference rooms where the United Nations command led by the Americans would meet with the North Koreans, and they would discuss all matters regarding the border and the armistice. These mikes record everything in this room, and they also happen to be right on the demarcation line. So, if I cross over here, I'm in North Korea. There are reminders of the hostilities. This is the Bridge of No Return. Over there is the North Korean side of the demarcation line. And the prisoners of war, after the Korean War, were brought here and told to choose a side. Once you cross this bridge, you could never go back. This is the only place where you're going to see South and North Korean soldiers staring each other down. The South Korean soldiers are chosen for their stature, so they look more intimidating. They also are highly trained in martial arts, hence the Tae Kwon Do stance. What's so surreal about this place is that it's become a tourist attraction for both sides. We were just with a tour of U.S. war veterans, and over here, the North Koreans are holding their own tour. And 60 years on, we're still waiting for peace. (END VIDEO) Address to Congress . AZUZ: Mexican President Felipe Calderon wrapped up his trip to the U.S. with a speech to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. On Wednesday, he and President Obama talked about some of the issues that affect both of their countries. President Calderon brought up those same concerns in his speech yesterday. He pointed out the benefits of working together. MEXICAN PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERON: Mexico and the United States are stronger together than they are apart. Together, we can renew our partnership to restore stronger and faster economic growth on both sides of the border. A stronger Mexico means a stronger United States. Shoutout . STAN CASE, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Ms. Bisom's intervention class at Fourth Avenue Junior High in Yuma, Arizona! In what city would you find Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and part of the River Thames? You know what to do! Is it: A) London, B) Athens, C) Moscow or D) Vancouver? You've got three seconds -- GO! London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is home to all of these famous landmarks. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! London Mascot Unveiled . AZUZ: London is also home to... these. They're the mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. We promised you a mascot; we never said it'd be recognizable. London is hosting the 2012 Olympics, and it unveiled the face of the games this week: Wenlock -- that's the thing on the left -- and Mandeville. The designer that came up with these guys says they were inspired by the steel that was used to build London's Olympic stadium. He designed them specifically for kids, and says he hopes that the mascots will help connect young people with sports and the legacy of the Olympics. Before We Go . AZUZ: Well, before we go, you've heard of the leaning tower of Pisa? This is the leaning press box of Giants Stadium. That's leaning pretty far. Don't worry about it; it's not a disaster. It's a demolition! The stadium's being torn down, or pulled down, in this case. The Giants and Jets are moving into a new home next door, and the old stadium's spot is being turned into a parking lot. Goodbye . AZUZ: So, you've got demolition, you've got a parking lot. Sounds like it requires car-ful planning. You guys keep standing tall; the weekend's just hours away. We'll see you on the other side of it. I'm Carl Azuz for CNN Student News. | Find out why officials are hoping for good things from special 'mud'
Journey into an area that's been called the scariest place on earth .
Meet the mascot of the 2012 Olympics, and hear what inspired its design .
Use the weekly Newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on CNN Student News . |
27,151 | 4cf93425774339bf7f35e42e5b503abeb0fe8071 | By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 06:30 EST, 15 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:59 EST, 15 October 2013 . These smashing pumpkins really are the scream of the crop as they light up the night in New York state this autumn. A total of 10,000 super squashes are illuminating the evening across New York state as two exhibitions open to display the carved creations. The first, called Pumpkinville, is located in Rhode Island's Roger Williams Park Zoo and features designs which encapsulate different regions of the US. Taking eight weeks to create these pumpkins are on display at Rhode Island's Roger Williams Park Zoo and represent different regions from across America . The display includes celebrities like this iconic image of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's . Other political heroes such as John F Kennedy are depicted on the works which took eight weeks to make . The final display in the Zoo is named the laughing tree, and is the most spectacular of all . From the Heartland of America, Pacific Coast, Mid-Atlantic, New England, and Appalachian Highlands, the meticulously designed displays feature American heroes past and present . From Hollywood starlets Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn, to freedom fighters John F Kennedy and Rosa Parks, there is even a moving tribute to the Sandy Hook shooting victims . The designers, Passion for Pumpkins, will spend 30 days from October 3 until November 3 tending to the prized pumpkins, which are all lit with LED lights. The artworks, like this one featuring rock legend Bruce Springsteen, are drawn with a permanent marker before special carving tools are used to add highlights . Rosa Parks, the rights campaigner who refused to sit at the back of a bus, is depicted on this squash . The pumpkins, like this one of Mark Twain, will be constantly altered and perfected throughout the exhibition . This image represents New York and features the Statue of Liberty towering over a street . The second display, The Great Jack . O'Lantern Blaze, runs from October 5 to November 11 and and features . gorgeous gourds made into a working doomsday clock, a spooky spider and . several different dinosaurs. The . museum of pumpkin art will also feature and exhibit entitled The Art of . the Pumpkin: Contemporary Sculpture Inspired by the Hudson Valley’s . Legendary Squash, with work from 25 local artists chosen by a panel of . experts. All of the displays . have been individually hand carved and will be accompanied by backing . music written specifically for the event by Richard Kristy who attended . the event in previous years. The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor features 5,000 pumpkins including this spooky spider . The Jurassic Park themed exhibit features huge dinosaurs brought to life using electric lights . The museum of pumpkin art will also feature squash-inspired sculpture from 25 artists . A riverside scene, featuring swamp monsters and a brilliantly lit-up house is from the Hudson Valley display . Speaking about the Pumpkinville display, . Roger Williams Park Zoo owner Paul Cadieux said: 'We usually start . planning about 12 months in advance as the key to a successful pumpkin . is knowing your ability so that you don't get frustrated. 'First . we start with an image and a black sharpie marker. The image is drawn . on and then the highlights are etched out with our custom carving tools. 'The . team keep carving and enhancing the displays throughout the life of the . show - we expect to go through about 20,000 pumpkins during the course . of the 30 day-run. At the end, the pumpkins are collected and . composted. These before and after pictures show the pumpkins as they appear during the day and then the dramatic transformation that takes place at night . What a difference the day makes: black metal struts are revealed during the daylight making this web much less impressive compared to the night-time version which floats in mid air . Toil and trouble: each of the pumpkin sculptures are hand carved by a team of expert artists . 'It really is a remarkable collection that everyone involved in is extremely proud of.' The widely acclaimed Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular event uses pumpkin art to represent individual regions of the country, highlighting their unique attributes as well as historical and cultural landmarks of each of the states . And unsurprisingly there are zombie scenes stretching throughout the collection to celebrate Halloween. The show's dazzling grand finale, the . Laughing Tree, features half a ton of glowing Jack-o-Lanterns on the . ground and high up in the trees surrounding carved giant pumpkins. This witch symbolises Massachusetts and the Salem witch trials which happened there and made famous by Arthur Miller's play The Crucible . These voodoo zombies are illuminated by an electric light which shines through the skin which has been shaved away with a paring knife . Melman the giraffe from children's film Madagascar has been horrifyingly re-imagined as a zombie which forms part of the exhibit . Zombies are a feature throughout including these bizarre chickens which are back from the dead . The crew from Passion for Pumpkins, led by John Reckner, consists of full-time artists and many part-timers who use ballpoint pens, oil-based markers and paring knives to create spectacular pumpkin art. Instead of cutting through the pumpkin, the crew shaves off the skin, then the bottom is cut out and the inside is cleaned, leaving the skin about a quarter of an inch thick. This allows the light bulb to illuminate the image on the outside. | One exhibit in Rhode Island features famous faces .
Another in Hudson Valley has giant dinosaurs .
In total 10,000 pumpkins were used to make them . |
259,521 | dbfc579fe08a0aa42b2551eca27f69af46be1468 | Arrested: Mark Williams, 33 was hauled from his own wedding . A western Pennsylvania groom spent his wedding night in jail after he allegedly got handsy with a pregnant waitress at the reception, tried to force the underage woman to have shots or liquor with him and then resisted arrest after an altercation with her boyfriend. Groom Mark Williams, 33, is accused of touching the waitress several times during his wedding aboard a Gateway Clipper cruise down Pittsburgh's Monongahela River on Sunday, a criminal complaint says. The 19-year-old woman, who is pregnant, said Williams tried to pour liquor down her throat and force her to have shots with him, WTAE reported. 'The groom was so drunk,' the waitress, who asked to not be identified, told the station. 'He came over and started rubbing my head and put his hand on my body, . just touchy-feely.' The woman got uncomfortable and called her boyfriend, 20-year-old Tyler Smith, to come pick her up at the end of the cruise. When Smith arrived about 1am on Monday, he confronted Williams and they started to trade punches — all while the shocked bride Edyta Williams watched, KDKA reported. Scroll down for video . Groom Mark Williams and his wife Edyta Branch pose for pictures hours before their wedding turned into a brawl in Pittsburgh early Monday morning . Bride Edyta Williams watches on as her new husband is arrested the night of her wedding . That's when Williams' brother David and groomsman Brian Taylor jumped into the altercation. David . Williams, a 35-year-old Pennsylvania State trooper, ignored police . orders to back down and eventually assaulted two Pittsburgh police . officers who were called to the scene, authorities said. Taylor, 31, who is a member of the Sto-Rox School Board, punched through a car's window. 'I'm . not clear if he was trying to break it up, or if he was trying to . participate in the fight, but whatever happened, his hand went through a . window of a parked car, which caused blood to go all over the place,' Pittsburgh PD spokeswoman Sonya Toler told WTAE. 'I do know there was a lot of blood at the scene. It was kind of confusing and loud.' Bizarrely, . a bleeding Taylor began to yell that he was HIV positive while he . resisted arrest, KDKA reported. He later denied ever saying that, . according tot he station. Police say that groomsman Brian Taylor, 31, punched through car window during the altercation and started to yell he was HIV positive while resisting arrest. He was covered in his own blood . State Trooper David Williams (center), the brother of the groom, was also arrested for getting involved in the fight. He is accused of striking two cops during the altercation . David Williams (left) and groomsman Brian Taylor were also hauled to jail and booked on charges stemming from the brawl . The groom, his brother and Taylor were all hauled to Allegheny County Jail. Williams faces charges including riot, harassment and resisting arrest. He declined comment to reporters outside court Monday. His . brother David faces charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and . obstructing law enforcement, according to KDKA. The Pennsylvania State . Police is conducting an internal investigation of his conduct, according . to the station. Video Source KDKA . Mark Williams leaves a Pittsburgh police station with his wife Edyta the morning after the brawl . The happy couple poses for photos in the days leading up to their riverboat cruise wedding in Pittsburgh . Taylor also faces charges. The bride, meanwhile, just looked on in horror as this all unfolded, said the 19-year-old waitress. 'She was very understanding — she didn't at all argue with anybody,' the woman told WTAE. 'She was probably shocked and in tears that this happened on her day.' We do: Mark Williams and Edyta Branch say their vows aboard a riverboat cruise in Pittsburgh on Sunday . | Groom Mark Williams, 33, tried to force a pregnant waitress, 19, to have shots with him before getting 'handsy' with her, she says .
The brawl started when the woman's boyfriend confronted Williams .
Also in the altercation were the groom's brother, state Trooper David Williams, and groomsman Brian Taylor, a member of a local school board .
All three were hauled to jail as the shocked bride, Edyta Williams, looked on . |
270,382 | ea2d965f6909e088152ffe927f6150af3efb2348 | By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 01:09 EST, 29 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 03:16 EST, 30 July 2012 . This is the horrifying moment that a mother discovered her seven-year-old daughter had been shot dead and son, nine, seriously injured by her estranged husband before he committed suicide. The bodies of Abigail Benway and her father Daryl, 41, were discovered in the master bedroom of the family home by a relative on Saturday evening. Nine-year-old Owen was taken to hospital in serious condition after being shot in the head. When the children's mother . Kelleen Benway arrived at the house in Oxford, Massachusetts she was arrested by police . officers down to confusion over who was responsible for the . shooting. She was later released and was at her son's bedside in UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center. Distress: Kelleen Benway is taken into custody after confusion over the mass shooting at her home in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was later released . Horror: Mrs Benway is taken away by an officer after the tragic murder-suicide . Mrs Benway had returned home after the shootings, unaware of what had happened and found a swarm of police cruisers and television crews. Worcester District Attorney Joseph D . Early Jr said that he would not speculate on a motive but that Mr . Benway and his wife separated about a month ago. Neighbors of the pair confirmed that Mrs Benway, known to some as Kelly, had been looking for a new place to live. 'It doesn’t get much worse than this,' said Mr Early. 'It’s horrible. It’s a horrible scene.' Daryl Benway (centre) his wife Kelleen, (right), daughter Nickole (left) daughter Abigail (bottom left), son Owen (centre), and granddaughter Arianna (bottom right) Daryl Benway, 41, with his wife Kelleen and son Owen and daughter Abigail . The Benways lived on the second . floor of the residence and Mr Benway's brother Shawn apparently occupied . the first floor with his wife and the brothers' mother. Shawn Benway called 911 after hearing the shots come from upstairs. While . police would not divulge the type of gun used in the shooting, they did . confirm that Mr Benway's license had expired in 1999. No restraining orders had been filed against Daryl Benway and he had no criminal record, the DA said. Mrs Benway was accompanied to hospital by her 25-year-old daughter Nickolefrom a previous marriage. Neighors described Mr Benway as an . overweight man who had a career in information technology. According . to his Facebook page, he worked at TJX Companies and attended Oxford High . School. 'I don’t understand how you can do something like that,' said neighbor John Forand. Other's wrote on Mr Benway's Facebook page to express their shock and disbelief. 'I . wished you would have called me I can’t believe this when we talked the . other day everything seemed kool I’m gonna miss you,' wrote one. Others . simply asked:'Why?' Daryl Benway posted this picture of the first fish his daughter Abigail caught. Mr. Benway killed his daughter in Oxford, Massachusetts on Saturday 28th of July . | Kelleen Benway was arrested in confusion over multiple shootings in Oxford, Massachusetts . |
139,523 | 406c176eacf5015f19c515f6dc46ffc03f6c0f10 | By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 13:19 EST, 18 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:04 EST, 19 October 2012 . A killer was caught on camera stalking his victim minutes after she was refused a lift home by police. Carl Powell, 24, was filmed walking a few yards behind Caroline Coyne in the residential street in which she would meet her death. Six minutes later he is pictured running away after battering the 28-year-old mother of two to death with a lump of concrete. Scroll down for video . Stalker on CCTV: Caroline Coyne (right) walks on one side of the road, with Carl Powell (left) on the other . Tragic: Police suggested Caroline Coyne (left), 28, should call a cab when she asked for a life, but she walked away and within an hour had been attacked in Nottingham by Carl Powell (right), 24, who has been jailed for life . After leaving relatives at around 11pm, Miss Coyne climbed into the back of a marked police car and asked to be taken home, Nottingham Crown Court heard. The officers told the jury they advised her to get a taxi, adding: ‘We are not a taxi service.’ She then tried to board an out-of-service bus before heading toward the road in which she was murdered. One after the other: Ms Coyne (left) was seen quickly passing a CCTV camera, soon followed by Powell (right) Spotted again: Later, Powell (top left) was seen on the same camera running back in the opposite direction . Her body was found in an alleyway the next morning. Miss Coyne is believed to have been killed there after refusing Powell’s demands for sex. Speaking outside court, Ms Coyne's stepfather Jason Stansfield said the family held Nottinghamshire Police responsible for putting her in the path of her murderer that night. He said the police could have used their powers to take Ms Coyne home when she jumped into their car, as she was clearly intoxicated and in need of assistance. ‘Instead they were dismissive of her and, in the words of the defence barrister Mr Smith, she was treated as an inconvenience,’ Mr Stansfield said. ‘The two officers simply pointed her in the direction of home and watched her stagger off for a few seconds until she disappeared from view. ‘It is the family's opinion that Caroline was failed by Nottinghamshire Police that night (who had) the chance to ensure a vulnerable young woman, worse the wear for drink, was taken to a place for safety. 'So the police, in our opinion, failed Caroline and their advice to take a taxi put her right in the path of her murderer.’ Mr Stansfield added that a bus driver and a colleague, who drove past Ms Coyne and swerved out of her way when she stepped into the road and tried to flag the vehicle down, were also accountable. ‘The bus was not in regular service,’ he said. ‘It was effectively a taxi for other bus drivers finishing their shifts and did not come off duty until 5am that day.’ He added: ‘I was always led to believe that bus drivers would give free passage to children and vulnerable adults if it was needed. Caroline flagged them down and was asking for help and was ignored. ‘The bus driver who was a passenger on that bus reported during the trial they get drunk people a lot flagging them down and it was normal. ‘So too it seems was their callousness and disregard for public safety whilst at the same time expecting their custom.’ A second camera had earlier captured . Powell watching Miss Coyne wandering apparently the worse for drink . after a family gathering. Yesterday he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years after being found guilty of murdering Miss Coyne and sexually assaulting another woman he dragged off the street a month later. The man who found Miss Coyne’s body was awoken by her cries of ‘Get off me’ but went back to bed when he failed to find anyone outside. A post-mortem examination found she died of head injuries. At the time of the attack – in July 2011 – she was living in Top Valley, Nottingham, with her partner and sons, aged seven and one. The court heard that Powell’s second victim was also walking home after a night out in Nottingham when he grabbed her by the throat and dragged her into the grounds of a college where he assaulted her. She persuaded Powell not to harm her further and was able to recall enough of the encounter to help police identify him. The 22-year-old said yesterday that she believes she survived the attack by remaining calm and trying ‘to convince him I liked him’ – promising that she would meet him again on another day. Powell was found guilty of false imprisonment, false imprisonment with intent to commit a sexual offence and sexual assault in relation to that attack and was handed a concurrent four-year jail term. Passing sentence, Mr Justice Flaux said Powell had ‘effectively stalked’ Miss Coyne, putting on gloves and a hood before following her down a garden pathway. He added: ‘Only you know what happened in that dark alleyway, but it is clear you cornered and attacked her. You subjected Caroline to a savage attack, bludgeoning her over her head, causing injuries from which she would die alone and defenceless.’ After the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Heydon of Nottinghamshire Police said many officers were asked for lifts home and the two in this case had acted in accordance with protocol. The victim’s mother, Mandy Coyne, said her grandchildren could not understand ‘why their mummy isn’t around’. Plea for help: Ms Coyne was seen on a bus . CCTV camera trying to wave it down just minutes before she died . Assistance plea: The driver of the out-of-service bus was taking staff members home when he spotted her . Dangerous: The driver claimed he was forced to brake and swerve to prevent the bus from hitting Ms Coyne . Caroline's mother Mandy Coyne said: 'Caroline (right) was a beautiful little girl, who grew into a strong-willed and determined young woman. She lived for her two sons, and played a big part in our family life. 'Her murder has devastated everyone and it has been so difficult for us all, and especially her boys to understand why their mummy isn’t around.'Cameron, who is now nine, keeps asking questions about what happened and who did this. While it doesn’t change the fact she can’t see them grow up, it will be slightly easier now to explain to him that the person who did this has been sent to prison.'Caroline had an extremely loving nature. She is missed every day and somehow we have to find a way of living without her.'I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support, the prosecution, DCI Tony Heydon, DC Mark Petrovic, Emily and Kathy from victim support.' Video: Ms Coyne seen on a bus CCTV camera trying to wave it down . | Family holds police officers responsible for putting her in murderer's path .
Caroline Coyne, 28, was attacked in Nottingham at 1am on July 23 last year .
Wanted lift from police after leaving party - who said 'we're not a taxi service'
She refused sex demands of Carl Powell, 24, who bludgeoned her to death .
Force says it's done nothing wrong and isn't there to give people lifts home . |
51,981 | 9335c8932d0b7db84b773b5873ce309e37285e54 | (CNN)Kiev will ask the Hague tribunal to investigate alleged "crimes against humanity" in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced Monday. There has been a surge in fighting between Ukraine government forces and pro-Russian separatists in recent days. On Saturday, at least 30 civilians were killed in shelling in the southeastern city of Mariupol, while eight people died when a transit stop in the city of Donetsk was shelled Thursday. Both sides blamed the other for the deaths. Speaking after a meeting with the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Poroshenko said "the actions of Russian-backed terrorists and regular Russian troops" had caused Ukrainians to suffer. "We are going to file a suit to the Hague tribunal, which must investigate into these crimes against humanity," Poroshenko said. "It is a test for humanity and moral dignity. Because turning a blind eye to such horrible and shameful crimes means indulging terrorists and aggressors and violating high European values for which Ukrainians are suffering and dying." On Sunday, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council authorized the government to initiate the Hague action, it said in a statement. It said it would ask for the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic to be designated terrorist organizations. The International Criminal Court at the Hague is a permanent body established by 120 nations to investigate "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community." Earlier Monday, Moscow stepped up its war of words over Ukraine, warning Western countries not to give Kiev the impression it had their automatic support regardless of its actions. At a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed Kiev for the renewed fighting and civilian deaths and questioned the West's lack of condemnation. Lavrov said Moscow -- which accuses Ukrainian forces of responsibility -- had not heard a single statement from the West criticizing Kiev. "We hope our Western partners won't stay away, and European countries, primarily France and Germany who are taking part in so called Normandy format, and mainly the U.S. won't do anything to create an illusion for Kiev's government that its actions lead to automatic support in the West." Lavrov said there was no other path to resolve Ukraine than direct dialogue between Ukraine's conflicting sides. Fighting between Ukraine government forces and pro-Russian separatists broke out last spring, slowing for a short-lived ceasefire agreed to in Minsk, Belarus, in September. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of sending troops and equipment over the border to help the separatists, allegations that Russia denies. The United States and European Union have imposed financial sanctions against Russian interests. The U.S. State Department on Sunday said Secretary of State John Kerry and Lavrov had spoken by phone about the shelling of civilians. "The secretary reiterated our condemnation of the separatists' grad missile attack on civilians in Mariupol yesterday 25 kilometers beyond the Minsk line, and other separatist attacks in blatant violation of the agreement. "The secretary reiterated the need for an immediate resumption of the ceasefire, a withdrawal of heavy weapons, and closing the border. He also underscored U.S. readiness to participate in serious settlement efforts, making clear that de-escalation is in everyone's interests, that Russia will be judged by its actions, and that the costs to Russia will only increase if attacks continue," a representative said. The White House says Vice President Biden also spoke with Ukrainian President Poroshenko on Saturday. They "expressed grave concern over Russia's blatant disregard for its commitments under the September Minsk agreement and unilateral escalation of the conflict," the White House said. The two leaders vowed to "ensure that the costs continue to rise on Russia for its aggressive actions against Ukraine." "Those who give such criminal orders bear responsibility for this. People doing that should know that there is no other way of resolving such conflicts than peace negotiations and political measures," he said. On Monday, the state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying a "NATO legion" was working in Ukraine with the aim of containing Russia. "In essence, this is already not an army, but a foreign legion, in this case NATO's foreign legion that certainly does not pursue the goal of defending Ukraine's national interests," Itar-Tass quoted Putin as saying. But following a special session of NATO's Ukraine commission in Brussels, Belgium, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told journalists that Putin's allegations were "nonsense." Stoltenberg said there was no NATO legion and "the only foreign forces in Ukraine are Russian." The conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out last spring after Russia annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region and as pro-Russia separatists claimed control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The ceasefire from Minsk crumbled long ago. From mid-April to January 21, the conflict killed at least 5,086 people and injured at least 10,948 others, according to the United Nations. No truce with Ukraine, rebel leader says . "We fear that the real figure may be considerably higher," the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said about the death toll in a report released Friday. | Ukraine's President says Kiev will ask Hague tribunal to investigate alleged crimes .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blames Kiev for civilian deaths in Ukraine .
Kiev and the U.S. blame pro-Russia separatists for shelling that killed civilians last week . |
128,845 | 3276629771a73f0e78a9c622ebdf363a2bd8b470 | (CNN) -- Iran and six world powers ended talks on Tehran's nuclear program with plans to meet again next month, the EU said Friday. The four-day meeting that came to a close Thursday in Vienna brought together technical experts, said Michael Mann, a spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. "There will now be consultations in capitals, in the expectation that technical talks will continue soon," Mann said. The talks come after an interim deal last month aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting crippling economic sanctions. That six-month deal, reached between Iran and the United States, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany, eases some $7 billion in economic sanctions in return for limiting aspects of Iran's nuclear program. Iranian state news agency IRNA said the next round of talks will be in Tehran on January 21. | The talks ended on Thursday .
More talks will happen soon, an EU spokesman said . |
40,195 | 716d87f8412d1702e2fe69f1e6474a724123f59f | By . Australian Associated Press . and Ryan Lipman . Bali police have confirmed they searched a man at the scene of a drug bust that resulted in Sydney woman Leeza Ormsby being charged with drug possession - but let him go because he was not a suspect. The Australian man named Marco Mazzucco, a Sydney DJ and reportedly Ms Ormsby's ex-lover, turned up at the villa after police arrived, an officer confirmed. He has since left Bali. Ms Ormsby, 37, is on trial for drugs possession charges carrying a jail term of up to 12 years after being arrested with 'half of a joint' of marijuana. Scroll down for video . Behind bars: Leeza Ormsby in a holding cell, talking with her lawyer Ari Soenardi, before her drugs possession trial, in Denpasar, Bali on Thursday . The Australian resident was arrested at the scene of a drug bust in February after a police tip-off and Bali police have confirmed they searched her ex-lover Marco Mazzucco at the scene, but let him go because he was not a suspect . An Australian resident, Ms Ormsby does not plan to fight the charges but has maintained since the February sting that MDMA and hashish found in a Canggu villa did not belong to not her. But Indonesian police were also trying to link the New Zealand born woman to the other drugs found at the villa, including 132 grams of MDMA and 26 grams of hashish, while she remained in a cramped police cell for months. On Thursday, the police who arrested Ms Ormsby gave evidence at her trial. They described how they staked out the villa from 11pm the night before the bust, after being told the occupants, suspected of holding a 'drugs party' were not there. Police officer Cok Putra Sutrisna told the court Ms Ormsby, who was staying at another villa, arrived in the early morning by motorbike, looking dishevelled. Ms Ormsby appeared in Denpasar District Court on drug possession charges on Monday May 26, where she was charged with possessing, carrying and using a half-joint of marijuana . The 37-year-old was arrested on February 12 and has since been held in a cramped police cell . 'Her physical appearance looked messy with her hair uncombed,' he said. 'She looked like a drunk person.' Police officer Made Sudiarsa said they approached Ormsby as she was opening the villa door with a key. When they found the joint in her handbag, the former Paddington shop assistant admitted it was for her own use, the court heard. But when drugs were found in a cupboard drawer, Ms Ormsby claimed they were not hers. The drugs appeared to be 'a black chunk of something, a big capsule and four small capsules'. Brig Sudiarsa confirmed reports a man named Marco (Mazzucco), believed to be Ormsby's Australian ex-lover, then turned up. Ms Ormsby does not plan to fight charges of possessing a marijuana joint, but has maintained that MDMA and hashish found in a Canggu villa did not belong to not her . 'We then searched him and we found nothing, that's why he was released,' he told the court. After the raid, police promised to investigate the other people who had been at the villa, but they have all since left the holiday island. Instead, Ms Ormsby's lawyer Ari Soenardi said they kept his client in custody for three months without charges, trying to link her to the other drugs. She was finally charged in mid-May for only the three offences and denied having any knowledge about the other drugs seized from the scene. The villa where the large quantity of drugs had been found, was being rented by Sydney rock band frontman Azaria Byrne at the time of the tip-off, but Mr Byrne jetted off to Sydney the night before the stake-out. After the raid, police promised to investigate the other people who had been at the villa . Ms Ormsby had received the key to the villa from her former boyfriend, Mr Mazzucco, who denied involvement when being questioned by police and left Indonesia soon afterwards. Prosecutor Ni Putu Oka Ariani confirmed Ms Ormsby had admitted to smoking the joint police found in her bag. 'The defendant admitted that the joint was given to her by her friend named Robert, with the intention of using it together,' the prosecutor said. The chief of the three-judge panel, Parulian Saragih, asked Ms Ormsby whether she understood the charges and through an interpreter, the Rotorua-born woman said she did. Lawyer Ari Soenardi says his client won't fight the charges, but rather aim to receive a reduced sentence due to being a drug victim in need of rehabilitation. 'We will try to show the medical examination test results, which state that the defendant is a narcotics user, and hope for leniency later,' he told reporters outside court. Ms Ormsby will remain in custody in Kerobokan jail while the trial continues . The court heard that Ms Ormsby often uses hashish, marijuana and ketamine and has twice undergone therapy and rehabilitation for her drug addictions. Ms Ormsby was relaxed in court on Thursday, wearing a loose-fitting white shirt and carrying a fan that with the word 'paradise' on it. She told the court through a translator that she did not disagree with the police evidence. Mr Soenardi says he will ask the court to treat Ms Ormsby as a drug user and consider leniency when sentencing her. She remained quiet and calm at her court appearance on Monday, May 26, in contrast to her state when she was charged two weeks earlier. Then, she cried and called out to reporters: 'I want to go home.' Her flatmates in Sydney, where she was living, have told media that Ms Ormsby had not been working before she suddenly left for Bali, but had spoken of feeling stressed. The trial continues next week and Ms Ormsby will remain in custody in Kerobokan jail. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Bali police confirm they searched at man a scene of villa drug bust .
The man was let go after it was decided he was not a suspect .
Sydney woman Leeza Ormsby faces drug charges in relation to the bust .
The man, named Marco Mazzucco, is reportedly Ms Ormsby's ex-lover . |
185,213 | 7beaafb3c22b7f2998c13234aa7b9381921d7aab | A funeral has been held in Madrid for the Spanish missionary priest who became Ebola's first European victim as it emerged another leading physician has been claimed by the disease. Miguel Pajares, 75, died five days after being airlifted from Liberia - where he was involved in treating patients suffering from the disease - to receive expert care in the Spanish capital. It comes as reports emerge that the chief doctor treating Ebola in Sierra Leone, Sheik Humarr Khan, had come down with the disease but colleagues decided against giving him the treatment ZMapp. He died days later. The current epidemic has so far killed more than 1,000 people - including several leading physicians - and has hit Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia. Now experts warn Kenya is the next country in danger of an outbreak. Scroll down for video . Funeral: Miguel Pajares, 75, died five days after being airlifted from Liberia - where he was involved in treating patients suffering from the disease - to receive expert care in the Spanish capital . Grief: A funeral service was held for Miguel Pajares in the chapel of Madrid's San Rafael Hospital today (right). The missionary priest arrived in Spain from Liberia in a stable condition but died five days later . The country has been placed on the World Health Organization's list of countries considered at 'high risk' of an Ebola outbreak. Kenya is considered to be at particular risk because it is a major transport, with a large number of flights from West Africa arriving in the country every day, a WHO official said. The warning is the most serious yet that the deadly disease could spread to East Africa. News that Kenya is now considered at 'high risk' of an Ebola outbreak came as a top African doctor suffering from the disease had been considered for an experimental drug treatment, but did not receive it before he died. Despite the huge number of Ebola deaths and infections in West Africa, only Mr Parajes and two Americans have so-far received an experimental anti-Ebola medication called ZMapp. Although the drug did not save Mr Parajes' life, it has been credited with the 'miraculous' recovery of two American aid workers. Spread: Miguel Parajes' funeral service was held as it emerged that Kenya is the latest country to be place on the World Health Organization's list of countries considered at 'high risk' of an Ebola outbreak . Doctors considered giving . ZMapp to Sheik Humarr Khan, the chief doctor treating Ebola in Sierra . Leone, but eventually decided against it, World Health Organization . officials claimed. WHO then tried to airlift Khan out of the . country, but 'his condition had deteriorated too much to be transported . safely' and he eventually died on July 29. Doses . of ZMapp for two Liberian doctors could arrive as soon as Wednesday in . Liberia, according to Health Minister Walter Gwenigale. They would be . the first Africans known to receive the treatment. The . California-based company that makes the drug, Mapp Pharmaceuticals, has . said that its supplies are now exhausted, and it would take several . months to make even a modest amount. Canada . announced yesterday it would donate 800 to 1,000 doses of its . experimental Ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of . Canada to the World Health Organization. 'The . trouble is, of course, with this very, very limited number of vaccines, . who would you give that to?' said Dr. Gregory Taylor, deputy head of . the agency. Health worker: Miguel Pajares (right) was working at a hospital in Liberia, which is run by a Catholic humanitarian group. He had spent time there treating patients suffering from Ebola . Meanwhile, yet . another doctor in Sierra Leone, Modupeh Cole, died today, according to . Sidie Yayah Tunis - director of communications for the Ministry of . Health and Sanitation. Cole, trained in the U.S. and was one of the top doctors working in the . Ebola isolation ward in Connaught Hospital in Freetown, the capital. He . tested positive for the disease last week and was transferred to the . eastern district of Kailahun, where Doctors Without Borders is running a . treatment center. Cole's . sickness spread fear throughout the hospital where he worked, and staff . there went on strike Friday and Saturday after learning that he had . tested positive for the deadly disease. They returned to work on Sunday. Both . Cole's and Khan's deaths are a major blow to Sierra Leone's health . system, which is struggling to cope with the deadly outbreak. Transport: The missionary priest was flown back to Spain for treatment after he tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus. He had been forced to make the journey inside a small isolation chamber . The . outbreak, which was first identified in March in Guinea, has strained . the resources of the poor West African countries it has hit and of the . international community, which is struggling to mobilize enough . qualified doctors. Today the German government is calling on its citizens to leave the west African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia because of the Ebola epidemic. Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Wednesday that this appeal did not apply to urgently needed medical workers or to diplomatic staff. Meanwhile Guinea-Bissau has decided to close its frontier with eastern neighbour Guinea in a bid to prevent the entry of the deadly Ebola virus, Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira said. There is no known cure or licensed treatment for Ebola. | Miguel Pajares died five days after being airlifted from Liberia to Madrid .
Priest had been working in a Monrovia hospital treating Ebola patients .
Funeral service was held in chapel of Madrid's San Rafael Hospital today .
Sierra Leone's chief Ebola doctor has died of the disease, it has emerged .
Current Ebola epidemic has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa .
Now World Health Organization warns Kenya is at 'high risk' of an outbreak .
Declaration is most serious yet that disease could spread to East Africa . |
38,770 | 6d94f7f790a07b7d38ee1cec6b0a1e1b1ec66a81 | (CNN) -- The stunning assassinations of several key Syrian leaders and the outbreak of serious combat in Damascus last week momentarily held out the possibility that President Bashar al-Assad's regime will rapidly fall. Many hoped for a cascade of defections, a rise in popular demonstrations and a rebel surge to bring down the government. Those hopes were exaggerated, fueled by a feverish rumor mill, psychological warfare and notoriously unreliable information coming out of Syria. While the regime has been shaken, its military capability stands as demonstrated by its bloody reassertion of control over Damascus. Along with the support of Russia, its determination to survive at any price could draw out the endgame. The assassinations struck at the heart of the security machine that sustains the regime, and they highlight the extent to which political and military tide has long since turned against al-Assad. The assassinations were more of an inflection than a turning point. Diplomatically isolated, financially strapped and increasingly constrained by a wide range of international sanctions, al-Assad's regime has been left with little room to maneuver. It resorts to indiscriminate military force and uses shabiha gangs and propaganda to inflict terror. The government's violence against peaceful protestors and innocent civilians has been manifestly self-defeating. Al-Assad has failed to kill his way to victory. Day by day, through accumulating mistakes, the regime is losing legitimacy and control of Syria and its people. Nonetheless, it's premature to think the end is close. The opposition's progress, reportedly with increasing external funding and training, has put greater pressure on al-Assad's forces. But the opposition's military success has exacerbated the fears of retribution attacks and a reign of chaos should the regime crumble. The much-maligned political efforts of U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan, backed by the United States, were meant to find a political solution that could prevent precisely such a deterioration of the situation on the ground. Now, even if al-Assad's regime collapses, violence may prove difficult to contain given that the country is deeply polarized and awash in weapons. Al-Assad's end could pave the way for an even more intense civil war. Making matters worse, the continuing fragmentation among the Syrian opposition groups raises deep fears about their ability to unite themselves or to establish authority. Few foundations exist for an inclusive and stable political order after al-Assad. The Obama administration was prudent and wise to avoid a direct military intervention in Syria. A legion of pundits deemed an American military role necessary for any progress against al-Assad. Clearly, it was not. Indeed, a limited intervention would likely have strengthened al-Assad's hand at home and abroad. Had the U.S. chosen to carry out airstrikes to enforce a no-fly zone or safe havens, Syria's crisis would likely be no closer to resolution but America would be deeply embroiled. Some have suggested that the U.S. should provide weapons to favored factions among the opposition groups. This, too, is a dangerous idea. There is no reason to believe that these factions would reward the U.S. with loyalty. What the U.S. should do is focus its efforts on maintaining international pressure and sanctions on al-Assad while preparing for a transition. It should disseminate credible information about the regime's atrocities. It should aggressively plan to bring the architects of Syria's well-documented massacres to face international justice. (It is far too late for an amnesty for al-Assad and his top aides, but lower-level officials should be offered a deadline to defect to avoid prosecution.) When al-Assad falls, the Syrian opposition will urgently need to unite Syria and short-circuit the emergence of an insurgency from supporters of the old regime. Preventing reprisal killings, including all groups in the political process, and incorporating public servants who are not implicated in war crimes will be essential. The U.S. should help prepare the Syrian opposition for the challenges of governing a fractured country by facilitating the negotiation for a representative and unified political entity, with a greater role for pragmatic leaders on the inside. It could send a small U.N. stabilization force to Syria to as a monitor. And it will have to persuade the armed insurgency to police its own ranks to avoid sectarian fights. The hopes of a soft landing in Syria have been destroyed by the regime's violence. The U.S. must now try to deal as best it can with the grinding struggle to come. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Marc Lynch. | Last week, key Syrian security leaders were assassinated by Syrian insurgency .
Marc Lynch: Briefly, many thought that Bashar al-Assad's regime would rapidly fall .
He says the regime's determination to survive at any price could draw things out .
Lynch: The U.S. is prudent to not interfere, but it can help in the transition . |
223,510 | ad5b813f711fd5cc4bd3af7c512ffd66ca0eb0e5 | (CNN) -- War criminal John Demjanjuk has been released after voluntarily spending time in prison while German prison officials found a nursing home able to take him on short notice, the officials said Friday. Demjanjuk had been freed pending an appeal after being convicted Thursday in the murder of tens of thousands of Jews at a Nazi concentration camp, capping a 30-year legal saga. "He came back to our prison voluntarily yesterday even though he was a free man" during the appeal, said Michael Stumpf, the director of the Stadelheim prison in Munich. The regional court in Munich found Demjanjuk guilty of assisting in mass murder as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Poland. The 91-year-old Ukraine native was sentenced to five years in prison, but was allowed to remain free pending appeal due to age and a lack of flight risk. "The guards knew exactly what would happen to the people arriving at the camp, from everyday abuse to gruesome murders," the court said in announcing the verdict. Duties rotated around the camp, "so that every single guard would be involved in all parts of the process," it said. Demjanjuk's defense argued that he was a prisoner of war who was forced to do what the Nazis wanted. But the court rejected that claim, concluding that Demjanjuk could have fled "despite a certain degree of risk for himself." The Nazis and their sympathizers killed at least 167,000 people at Sobibor in 1942 and 1943, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Munich state prosecutors charged Demjanjuk as an accessory to about 27,900 of those deaths, and the court found the killings were "motivated by racial hatred." Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of six years in what is likely the last major Nazi war crimes trial in Germany. Jewish groups hailed the verdict soon after it was announced. Israel's Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, said the trial and ruling show there is no statute of limitations for the crimes of the Holocaust. The accusations against Demjanjuk date to the late 1970s, when the U.S. Justice Department accused him of being a Nazi guard known as "Ivan the Terrible." His U.S. citizenship was revoked in 1981, and he was extradited to Israel in 1986. He was convicted in an Israeli court in 1988 and sentenced to death, but that conviction was overturned in 1993 amid evidence that someone else was "Ivan the Terrible." A U.S. federal court restored Demjanjuk's citizenship, ruling that the government withheld evidence supporting his case. But the onetime Ohio auto worker's citizenship was revoked again in 2002 after a federal judge ruled that his 1952 entry into the United States was illegal because he hid his past as a Nazi guard. CNN's Roman Lehberger contributed to this report. | He was convicted Thursday in the murder of tens of thousands of Jews .
The 91-year-old Ukraine native was sentenced to five years in prison .
The former Ohio auto worker was freed pending an appeal .
German prison officials had to find him a nursing home on short notice . |
274,709 | efda54f9593f71b4fb5e60fa36a4528094b7f76d | By . Nick Fagge . PUBLISHED: . 06:54 EST, 17 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 20:01 EST, 17 June 2012 . An immigrant is suing the Government for £11million for making him unhappy after he and his family were ordered to leave the country. In what appears to be a legal first, Daniel Kiunsi has issued a High Court writ for the distress he says he has suffered since the decision to eject him. He claims officials violated his human rights by confiscating his passport three years ago and says it caused his family ‘great unhappiness’. Complaint: Daniel Kiunsi, whose home is pictured, has issued a High Court writ for the distress he says he has suffered since the decision to eject him . Mr Kiunsi, who is still here, . complains that the state has failed to provide the family with their . ‘basic needs’ of accommodation and food, so he has had to pay rent, . council tax and other living expenses himself. The electrical engineer from Tanzania . says he has ‘scientifically calculated’ the appropriate figure to . compensate him and has reached the figure of exactly £11million. Conservative MP Philip Davies . yesterday described the case as ‘outrageous’ and added: ‘The whole thing . is completely ridiculous. This just goes to show how so many people see . the UK as a soft touch.’ No comment: Kiunsi's daughter told the Daily Mail her father did not want to talk about the case . The case revolves around a Home Office decision to strip Mr Kiunsi and his family of the right to live in Britain in May 2009. Mr Kiunsi arrived in the UK with his wife and three children from Tanzania on a work visa. But the Home Office revoked his right . to live in Britain when he breached the terms of the visa by returning . to the UK after working abroad. The UK Border Agency confiscated his . passport but allowed him in to the country after he gave assurances that . he and his family would return to Africa. Officials said he would be able to collect his passport when he left the country, but he remained living in Britain. Now Mr Kiunsi is demanding the right . to stay in the country as well as compensation for the ‘torture, inhuman . and degrading treatment’ he has received from the UK authorities, . citing the controversial Human Rights Act. He is understood to be citing his right to liberty, a fair trial and a private and family life to mount his case. Last night Mr Kiunsi, who is in his . forties, was unavailable for comment at his large, red-brick terraced . home in a tree-lined street in Upminster, Essex, when approached by the . Daily Mail. Miserable: Kiunsi says the UK Government's decision to seize his passport has caused him 'great unhappiness' Requests to members of his family for . an interview via telephone went unanswered, but a young lady at the . £222,000 home, who identified herself as Mr Kiunsi’s daughter, told the . Mail: ‘My father does not want to talk about this.’ However, he is reported to have said: ‘It’s the issue of the happiness.’ The Home Office has vowed to fight the case. A UK Border Agency spokesman said: ‘We . are aware that Mr Kiunsi has made an application and we will seek to . challenge this robustly at every stage’. In a recent report by the US . government, Tanzania was judged to have serious human rights problems . including the use of excessive force by military personnel, police and . prison guards. The report also highlighted the . country’s ‘harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, lengthy . pre-trial detention, judicial corruption and inefficiency, restrictions . on freedoms of the Press and assembly and restrictions on the movement . of refugees.’ | Daniel Kiunsi says the Government's decision to seize his passport caused him 'great unhappiness'
The Tanzanian believes the UK should pay for his basic needs including food, rent and council tax .
He cites human rights laws relating to 'torture' and 'degrading treatment'
UK Border Agency vows to challenge his claim robustly in the High Court . |
9,919 | 1c281aa052ab6ec3650185a5d1d6436f68de9242 | By . Claire Coleman . Sales of scented candles are booming. Last year we spent £91.4 million on them, an increase of almost 14 per cent since 2011. But does a pricier product get you a longer-lasting and more fragrant candle, or are you literally burning money? Fragrance expert Lawrence Roullier White says that, on the whole more expensive ingredients do make for better candles but also points out that some unscrupulous manufacturers have all sorts of tricks to save money and seduce you into thinking you’re buying a better quality product. ‘Some will just scent the top layer of the candle, or even the wick,’ he says. But can even Lawrence’s expert ‘nose’ sniff out a cheap candle? We asked him to compare some high-priced candles with cheaper alternatives . . . Last year we spent £91.4¿million on them, an increase of almost 14¿per cent since 2011 . Marks Spencer White Grapefruit Scented Candle . Jo Malone Grapefruit Scented Candle . Marks & Spencer White Grapefruit Scented Candle, £15, marksandspencer.com. At least 60 per cent natural wax, burn-time up to 40 hours (38 p per hour). Jo Malone Grapefruit Scented Candle, £39, jomalone.co.uk. Paraffin wax, up to 45 hours (87 p per hour). Lawrence says: I instantly recognised the Jo Malone one. But, though the M&S one lacks the complexity, it’s not at all bad. We say: Everyone loves Jo Malone, but for a fraction of the price, the M&S one is a good buy.BEST BUY: Cheaper, M&S. Baldwins Eucalyptus Peppermint candle . Espa energising candle . Baldwins Eucalyptus & Peppermint, £6.99, baldwins.co.uk. Soy wax and beeswax, up to 15 hours (47p per hour). Espa energising candle (with mint & eucalyptus), £21, espaskin care.com. Paraffin wax, up to 40 hours (53p per hour). Lawrence says: While the Espa candle had a strong scent, the Baldwins one had a lovely eucalyptus hit. I could tell it was based on essential oils. We say: At £6.99, the cheaper candle can’t be beaten. BEST BUY: Cheaper, Baldwins. Tesco Glade Vanilla Sandalwood Candle . Neom Organics Serenity Home Candle Vanilla Sandalwood . Glade Vanilla & Sandalwood candle, £7, tesco.com. Paraffin wax, up to 30 hours (23p per hour). Neom Organics Serenity Home Candle — Vanilla & Sandalwood, £39.50, neomorganics.com. Vegetable wax, up to 50 hours (79p per hour). Lawrence says: You can tell the Neom one is scented with pure essential oils. Plus, having three wicks rather than one will help it burn more evenly. The Glade one smells sickly. We say: We’d rather save up and buy the Neom one. BEST BUY: Pricier, Neom. St Eval Candle Company Sea Salt Candle . Jonathan Adler Sea Salt Candle . St Eval Candle Company Sea Salt Candle, £8.92, stevalcandle company.co.uk. Blended mineral wax, 45 hours (20p per hour). Jonathan Adler Sea Salt Candle, £38, jonathan adler.com. Paraffin wax, about 40 hours (95p per hour). Lawrence says: I thought the St Eval candle was the more expensive one! We say: The St Eval tin packaging, potent fragrance and rock-bottom price makes it our winner. BEST BUY: Cheaper, St Eval. Price's Candles Fresh Fig Jar . Daylesford Fig Scented Candle . Price’s Candles Fresh Fig Jar, £5.26, prices-candles.co.uk. Paraffin wax, 30 hours (18p per hour). Daylesford Fig Scented Candle, £25, selfridges.com. A blend of non-GM rapeseed oil, no burn time given. Lawrence says: The Price’s one smelled soapy. The vanilla I could smell takes away from its freshness. We say: If you like a sweeter smell, the Price’s might be for you, but for perfume snobs it has to be the Daylesford one. BEST BUY: Pricier, Daylesford. BHS Cotton Co Sicilian Lemon with Mint candle . Urban Apothecary Sicilian Lemon . BHS Cotton & Co Sicilian Lemon with Mint, £8, bhs.co.uk. Natural wax, 38 hours (about 21p per hour). Urban Apothecary Sicilian Lemon, £25, urban apothecarylondon.com. Natural soy wax, 12 hours (£2.08 per hour) Lawrence says: The Urban Apothecary one has a stronger, almost sherberty lemon scent, while the mint in the BHS version gives it a mossy edge. We say: For £25, the beautifully presented Urban Apothecary is a great gift. But if you’re not sold on sherbet lemons, the BHS one is just as good. BEST BUY: It's a tie between the two . Write caption here . Yankee Candles White Gardenia Small Pillar, £9.95, yankee candle.co.uk. Paraffin wax, 35-45 hours (22p per hour) Diptyque Gardenia Candle, £40, diptyqueparis.co.uk. Vegetable/paraffin wax mix, up to 60 hours (67p per hour) Lawrence says: The cheaper one smells sugary, and the smell is less defined. The Diptyque wax looks creamy and even, while the Yankee Candle one is unnaturally white. We say: Yankee gives an inexpensive sweeter scent. But for luxury and fragrance depth, Diptyque justifies its price. BEST BUY: Pricier, Diptyque. | Fragrance expert Lawrence Roullier White puts some candles to the test .
Is worth shelling out for expensive candles? |
286,699 | ff75ce0a70fc902a09404b8b65d85c9f1921c975 | (CNN) -- Twitter just made it a little bit harder to be a troll. In the wake of reports about death and rape threats as well as other abuse targeting women as part of the so-called Gamergate movement, Twitter announced Tuesday that it has improved its reporting and blocking features. The changes, Twitter said in a blog post, will make it easier to police, and respond to, bad behavior among its roughly 284 million active users. Particularly on mobile, abuse will be easier to report, requiring less information and simplifying the way a user flags accounts or specific tweets for review. It also will become easier for users to report abuse that they see but were not the targets of themselves. Survey: 40% of Web users have been harassed . The blog post also says Twitter has improved its "behind the scenes" procedures to make reviewing and responding to abuse reports faster. Unlike Facebook, which requires that users create accounts using their real names, Twitter allows anonymity. That's why Twitter is sometimes the forum preferred by people who want to harass others. The service has at times come under fire for not doing enough to clamp down on such abuse. In the past few months, Gamergate has been the driving force behind a new wave of nasty, and widely reported, abuse on the site. Ostensibly an effort to improve ethical standards in video-game journalism, it quickly devolved into ugliness, with Web users identifying themselves with the movement targeting female game developers and journalists online. | Twitter has improved tools for reporting abuse .
Easier mobile reporting among is among the changes .
The move comes after wave of Gamergate harassment . |
168,764 | 665228ed2b50f2732335c01acfc2c2df24baf855 | Tucked away in the Cotswolds, the village of South Cerney provides the perfect getaway for families, pensioners and the odd celebrity looking for a more traditional way of life. Grade II listed cottages and Audi TTs line the high street, where the tight-knit community comes together for cake sales and flower shows. But, according to its furious inhabitants, this way of life could all now be under threat. They are in uproar over plans for a Co-operative store to be opened in the heart of the village – where houses fetch up to £2million – claiming it will hit house prices and ruin the ‘ambience’. Idyllic: The village of South Cerney provides the perfect getaway for families, pensioners and the odd celebrity looking for a more traditional way of life . Residents say the supermarket is not in keeping with the village, which dates from Saxon times, and could have a ‘reverse Waitrose-effect’. The estate agent Savills indicated in 2013 that house prices in ‘Waitrose postcodes’ were 25 per cent higher than the UK average. One house in South Cerney has reportedly already dropped by £70,000 in value – suggesting that, in contrast to a supermarket boosting house prices in the village, the prospect of one is being blamed for bringing them down. Cotswold District Council has already approved plans for a disused building to become a supermarket – despite 144 objections from residents. There is uproar over plans for a Co-operative store to be opened in the heart of the village . Now there have been 168 objections to a new planning application to keep the shop open from 7am to 11pm every day of the week. Objectors have nicknamed it the ‘inconvenience store’. The row comes a week after it emerged that Emma Thompson is backing a campaign against a Tesco being built in Belsize Park, North London. The Oscar-winning actress claimed the feeling of the ‘villagey’ neighbourhood near Hampstead Heath would be destroyed. Many of the 3,500 residents in South Cerney are fiercely proud of their village – founded in AD999 by Saxon settlers with a charter from King Aethelred II. The river Churn flows past two pubs, while nearby is a 13th-century manor house, part of which TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is renting. Residents said the few local amenities – which include a post office, a fish and chip shop, a pharmacy, and a small Spar convenience store – were all they needed. For the weekly grocery shop, many said they were happy to drive less than five miles to the large 24-hour Tesco Extra in Cirencester. Mother of two Sarah Forbes, 40, said the supermarket would be ‘hideous’ and ‘completely out of keeping’ among the ‘quintessentially English cottages’. Michael and Christina Pollard, both 69, have lived in the village for 32 years but felt ‘forced’ to put their four-bedroom house up for sale because of the plans. Backing: Emma Thompson is giving her support to a campaign against a Tesco being built in Belsize Park, North London . Mrs Pollard, a retired college lecturer, said: ‘We brought our family up here. We have a nice, quiet life and that’s what we wanted to keep.’ Brian Viner, 76, and wife Anne, 68, have relished taking part in local flower shows and charity concerts. Mrs Viner, a retired care worker, said: ‘There will be people outside loitering. 'It’ll be worse when they know it will stay open till 11pm. They’ll sit there drinking, doing drugs, and goodness knows what.’ Local estate agent Christian Slade said the store would certainly have a ‘negative impact’ on house prices ‘directly affected’ by it, although he stressed it would only affect houses close by. It is not known when the Co-op store will open. A Co-op spokesman said: ‘Our experience suggests that many customers appreciate being able to use our stores at times convenient to them. ‘Planning officials have concluded that the opening hours will not generate noise or disturbance that would impact upon local residents.’ | There is uproar over plans for a Co-operative store to open in South Cerney .
Residents say it's not in keeping with village which dates from Saxon times .
One house in South Cerney has reportedly dropped by £70,000 in value .
Row comes a week after it emerged actress Emma Thompson is backing a campaign against a Tesco store being built in Belsize Park, North London . |
20,259 | 397e7a79e432c8611f8aa3b15566b81434fb5ea3 | (CNN) -- The attack was shocking. Three older students pummeling a 13-year-old boy in a school bus, leaving him with a broken arm. The video of the assault brought home its ferocity. Now, the alleged assailants are facing the consequences. Three teenagers appeared in a juvenile court Tuesday in Gulfport, Florida. They were charged with aggravated battery. If they had been in adult court, the charges would have constituted a second-degree felony, Judge Raymond Gross said. "That may not mean anything to you, but that's a way of telling you this is an extremely serious charge," the judge said. Opinion: In teen beating, don't blame bus driver . Father promises 'consequences' As they left the courtroom, the three 15-year-olds stayed silent when asked if they had any words for the victim. The father of one of the accused offered a few brief words: "Consequences, just consequences is all I can say." Prosecutors say the older boys were seeking revenge after the 13-year-old told teachers that they tried to sell him drugs. The juvenile justice department is recommending nine months probation and anger management for two of the accused. The third, the alleged ring leader, is facing an additional robbery charge for allegedly stealing money from the victim after the beating. Opinion: Why I wouldn't break up a school fight . Call for tougher punishment . The prosecution asked to enter the bus surveillance video as evidence to support its argument that the juvenile justice department's proposed punishments don't match the severity of the crime. The three accused teenagers will be back in court on August 27. All of them attended Lealman Intermediate School, a dropout prevention middle school. The attack took place July 9 in Pinellas County, Florida. The driver of the bus, John Moody, has said he was "petrified" during the attack and has experienced nightmares about it since. Moody, 64, retired soon after the assault, ending an 18-year career of driving buses. | An attack on a Florida school bus leaves a 13-year-old boy with a broken arm .
Three 15-year-olds accused of the attack appear in court on aggravated battery charges .
"This is an extremely serious charge," judge says .
Prosecutors say the punishments recommended for juveniles don't match the crime . |
254,118 | d4e7f2f451d7f0ae5d59df0602da98843b1227c7 | By . Jessica Satherley . Last updated at 11:44 AM on 30th August 2011 . For most families, playing on a sunny beach is the perfect day out. But for parents Wendy Shires and Richard Harpin, they know that a hot day could kill their eight-year-old daughter. Hannah Harpin, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, suffers from genetic disorder Ectodermal Dysplasia, which prevents her sweat glands from working. The Lower Hopton Junior and Infant School pupil is one of eight people in the UK and 30 worldwide known to suffer from Hay-Wells syndrome, a type of Ectodermal Dysplasia. Rare condition: Hannah Harpin is one of 30 people worldwide known to suffer from Hay-Wells syndrome (pictured with her mother Wendy and father Richard) If she gets too warm she could overheat and suffer a fatal fit. Her parents ensure she is kept cool by carrying around cold water spray, ice-packs and a fan. Banson Toolhire manager Richard, 40, said: ‘We have to be so careful that she doesn't get too warm, we use cold, wet towels on her and we often soak her baseball cap in water. ‘She always sleeps with a fan on and will not go outside on warm days and when she is out in the garden she has to be really careful. ‘If we didn't do this, we just don't know what would happen, she would fit which could be dreadful.’ As a result of the disorder, Hannah barely has any hair, her eyelashes are sparse and her left eye has never properly opened. She has webbed toes, uses a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA), a new type of hearing aid that enters its sound output into the cochlea by vibrating the mastoid bone, and also has no tear ducts. Her mother, 37, said: ‘As a baby, we would only know that she was upset because she wouldn't settle as she couldn't produce tears. ‘Just after she was born we found that we had so many doctors to deal with, we didn't know what to think. Hannah suffers from genetic disorder Ectodermal Dysplasia, which prevents her sweat glands from working . ‘She was trying to cry and they discovered she had a cleft palate, so they carried out lots of tests and found out that she had this rare condition. ‘Doctors said it is genetic, so it could have been in the family for as far back as 100 years. ‘We don't know of anyone that has it but it could be there. It is a lot more common in women. ‘Her school is much better at dealing with her condition now and they know how to look after her. ‘We are so proud of her and are so amazed in the way that she copes. ‘Hannah is starting to know herself, how to deal with her condition and she regularly asks for her water bottle. ‘She has started to ask a lot of questions about her condition and because of her hair sometimes she will ask, 'mummy I don't have cancer do I?' and then we discuss Hay-Wells syndrome. ‘Our other daughter Amelia, who is only four, sometimes asks if she is special like Hannah and I explain that they are both very special in different kind of ways.’ The couple, who are due to marry on Hannah's ninth birthday in two weeks, have had lots of support from the Ectodermal Dysplasia society. Wendy said: ‘They have been so helpful and Diana Perry who runs the society is more of a friend, she offers such fantastic support. ‘I was in touch with other families suffering with the disorder, but we have so much to worry about that often it is better that we just concentrate on Hannah.’ They aim to raise awareness of Jeans for Genes, a support group that helps people cope with rare genetic disorders. Hannah is going to attend Jeans for Genes Day in Cheltenham on October 7 to meet another two girls who suffer from the condition. | Hannah Harpin is one of only 30 people worldwide known to suffer from Hay-Wells syndrome . |
228,192 | b379638ace4651628077f4db3d088d10d8e0a6ae | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 01:46 EST, 22 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:46 EST, 22 November 2013 . A reclusive copper heiress' estate is seeking more than $100 million from a doctor and a hospital where she spent two decades, furthering a fight over her fortune after a feud over her disputed will was resolved. Dr. Henry Singman and Beth Israel Medical Center were less dedicated to Huguette Clark's welfare than their own, says a lawsuit filed on Thursday. A public administrator's office, a local government entity, represents the estate of Clark, whose father was a Montana copper baron and founded Las Vegas. Gracious: Huguette was shy, but not sad. Her friends and the few relatives who knew her describe her as cheerful, gracious, stubborn, and devoted to her art. She poses at about age 37 . 'Beth Israel abandoned its duties and responsibilities when it learned that a very rich patient was in its eye,' and Singman 'placed his own interests above those of his patient,' the lawsuit says. Singman's lawyer, Harold L. Schwab, called the lawsuit 'outrageous'. The hospital's lawyer, Lawrence Fox, declined to comment. Clark died at Beth Israel at age 104 in 2011, leaving no close relatives and a roughly $300 million estate. She had glorious homes in New York, Connecticut and California but had lived in the hospital since 1991, though she didn't need its care most of that time. Distant relations raised concerns about gifts Clark had lavished on those around her, including more than $4million to the hospital, more than $800,000 to Singman and his family and about $31 million to her main private-duty nurse, court papers say. The nurse isn't among those being sued in the newly filed case. The questions deepened as it emerged . that Clark had signed two very different wills within six weeks in 2005. The first mainly benefited her distant kin; the second cut them out. A . September settlement in the will fight largely benefited arts charities . and the relatives. It left a door open to further court action over . gifts doled out during Clark's life. Family of fortune: Ms Clark, right, as a child in 1917 with her wealthy father and her sister Andree . The new lawsuit says the hospital and Singman let Clark stay - violating regulations that require discharging patients once they no longer need treatment - to extract presents from her. It also faults Singman for not having Clark undergo psychiatric evaluation and says he and others violated hospital policies against employees accepting personal gifts. The hospital, Singman and others who tended to Clark have long maintained she was mentally sharp, if eccentric, and lived and gave as she desired. Singman was unaware of any gift policy, wasn't a hospital employee part of the time in question and provided care that helped Clark live as she chose, his lawyer said Thursday. "The concept that Dr. Singman did something improper, in any way whatsoever, is absolutely absurd," Schwab said. Any money recovered would be split among Clarks' relatives and arts institutions. A biography about Huguette Clark's life, Empty Mansions, lifts the lid on her mysterious, reclusive life. Behind closed doors: Few people entered the 42-room home of the reclusive heiress which was filled with rare dolls . | Dr Henry Singman and Beth Israel Medical .
Center were less dedicated to Huguette Clark's welfare than their own, .
says the new lawsuit .
Clark died at Beth Israel aged 104 in 2011, leaving no close relatives and a roughly $300 million estate . |
19,648 | 37d05d5f087053b167782882d1349c729af5e01c | (CNN) -- Tiger Woods offered glimpses of a return to the form that secured him 14-major championships as he fired an opening round 68 at the Bridgestone Invitational. Playing his first tournament for nearly three months after an injury lay-off, Woods finished day one in Ohio at two-under-par, six behind leader Adam Scott, of Australia. With three birdies and just one bogey Woods looked in good touch in his first competitive action since he dropped out of The Players Championship back in May. After his round he told Sky Sports: "I felt good today, I hit the ball really flush. The hardest part was to control my distance. It was fun. "I've got much more speed and compression through impact and the ball is taking off. I was hitting numbers I haven't hit before." Asked what he missed most about being away from the game he replied: "The competition, by far. "I'm right there. Six back, three rounds to go I'll keep plugging forward and playing my way round the golf course. It's fun to be walking around pain free." He fared much better than his playing partner, British Open champion Darren Clarke, who eagled the eighth hole but slumped to a seven-over round of 77. Scott is one shot ahead of compatriot Jason Day, who finished the day on seven-under after a bogey-free 63. American Nick Watney is third on five-under and nine players are a shot back on four-under, including Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and American Stewart Cink. Phil Mickelson is on three-under. "I really enjoy playing against the best golfers in the world on the biggest stage," Day told the PGA Tour's official web site. "I've always wanted to play on the big stage, and I'm finally here. I just want to keep the year going in the right direction. I don't want to go backwards. "My putter was good all day. It felt like it was a boring kind of a game. It was down the middle, on the green, and every two or three holes was a birdie." U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who said on Wednesday he is close to renewing his card on the PGA Tour in America, matched Woods with a round of two-under. On his potential return to the U.S. Tour he said: "It's something I've thought about, especially after winning at Congressional. I'd like to give it another go. "Ninety-five percent of me wants to come over here, and it was just making sure everything is in place by next year to make sure that coming over here and playing is as easy as possible logistically, get a place over here and maybe spend three or four months at the start of the year here." The world's number one and two players, English duo Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, finished with opening round scores of 68 and 67 respectively. | Tiger Woods cards a two-under round of 68 on his return to golf .
Former world number one sits six shots off the lead at Bridgestone Invitational .
Australian Adam Scott leads the tournament on eight-under-par .
British Open champion Darren Clarke is joint last on seven-over . |
121,824 | 2978558e91c85635178730b3ec7f641f2067255b | (CNN) -- David Remes used to be a partner at a top Washington law firm, but he left four years ago to defend, for free, prisoners at the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The U.S. Supreme Court had just opened its door to Guantanamo prisoners in Boumediene v. Bush. The case recognized the prisoners' right to challenge their detentions in court, even if they weren't U.S. citizens and even though they were imprisoned abroad. At the time, the controversial detention center was frequently in headlines and talked about on the campaign trail. As one of his first acts in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order requiring that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within a year. Three and a half years later, it's still open, and it's faded from the public eye. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to take a fresh look at the habeas corpus petitions by the suspected foreign enemy fighters for the second year in a row. Supreme Court declines fresh review of Guantanamo detainee issue . Guantanamo prisoners still have the right to challenge their detentions, Remes said, but it's more symbolic than real. In his opinion, the Supreme Court has shut the door on Guantanamo. "I wouldn't say I'm numb," Remes told CNN. "But I am realistic. I tell my clients my pessimism has never failed me. I don't want to give them hope unless there is hope. There's less hope now than ever." Hear CNN's Libby Lewis talk to David Remes on iTunes about the court's decision . Of the 169 people still detained, the government says 89 aren't a threat, but Obama and Congress have blocked their release. As for the rest, some of them have a shot at a military hearing, but 46 don't have that chance because the government says they can't be tried for one reason or another but are too dangerous to be released. "So now, the executive is against transfers, Congress is against transfers and the courthouse doors are shut," Remes says. "All three branches of the government are aligned against us." If there was any Guantanamo prisoner case that lawyers thought the Supreme Court would take up, it was Adnan Latif's of Yemen. Remes is his lawyer. Federal appeals court rules against Guantanamo detainee . The government says Latif went to Afghanistan to fight for al Qaeda. Latif says he went to Afghanistan and Pakistan to get medical treatment with the help of an Islamic charity. He's been at Guantanamo for 10 years. "Adnan is a very disturbed young man," Remes says. "He has been in the psych ward. He's been on suicide watch. He has eaten screws, urine cups, plastic bags. He would smear excrement all over his body. I once said to him: How can you stand the smell? He said, 'That's nothing compared to what I'm feeling.' " Over the years, Remes has gotten to know Latif. He says he's familiar with his mental problems, his apparent suicide attempts, his poetry. At one meeting he had with his client -- then in his seventh year as a prisoner -- Remes says Latif threw a cup of his blood on him. He'd cut a vein in his wrist and let the blood flow into an empty cup under the table where they sat. The next time they met, Remes says, the prison guards had Latif in so many restraints that Remes had to call a federal judge for help when Latif wanted to use the bathroom. They had to litigate it over the phone. He said the judge "didn't want to second-guess the security aspect and he said, 'Well, he's got to be able to clean himself,' " Remes said. About a year later, that same judge, U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy, reviewed the evidence against Latif in a petition for habeas corpus -- the right that was granted to Guantanamo prisoners in the Boumediene case. Kennedy found the government's evidence, based on an intelligence report by U.S. agents, wasn't reliable enough to keep Latif locked up. And he found Latif's story was plausible, so he ordered Latif's release in July 2010. But in a 2-1 vote, the appeals court that reviews all Guantanamo habeas cases reversed that in October 2011. The appeals court said Kennedy should have automatically presumed the government's intelligence report on Latif was reliable and rejected the case. Latif is still a prisoner at Guantanamo. Federal appeals court rules against Guantanamo detainee . After the Supreme Court turned down Latif's case on June 11, Remes called Latif to tell him. He also called Latif's family in Yemen. Remes asked Latif's younger brother, Ibrahim, whether he had any questions. Ibrahim wanted to know why his brother hadn't been released even though a federal judge said he should be. Remes said he explained what happened, and they talked a bit more. Then, Remes said Ibrahim thanked him "from the depth of my family's heart for all you have done," and hung up. | Lawyer David Remes says the Supreme Court has shut down on Guantanamo .
The high court this year turned down all requests from Gitmo detainees .
Guantanamo detention center houses 169 prisoners . |
165,183 | 619772571f51465b8bba5c72f7d6691d9b5293fe | The Arctic blast which has swept Britain could kill one person every seven minutes a charity has warned, with temperatures set to plummet even further and yet more snow on the way. Almost a million elderly people are at risk from the bitter cold as they cannot afford to heat their homes, Age UK warned. But the big freeze is expected to continue throughout the weekend and into Monday with the mercury forecast to drop as low as -15C following a night which saw six inches of snow fall in some parts of the country. Scroll down for video . A man trudges along the A62 during a heavy snow shower in Oldham, Greater Manchester, last night - more snow is on the way . A horse grazes on frozen ground in the Chilterns - southern England saw a dusting of snow last night as temperatures drop . A volunteer helps clear Spotland, the home of Rochdale FC, of snow ahead of the match against Crawley Town yesterday - the home side won 4-1 . A man struggles through a blizzard as he returns to his car in the Peak District last night - temperatures will fall below freezing tonight . A winter walker with his dog gazes out from Stanage Edge in the Peak District in Derbyshire on a bitterly cold day . Father and son duo Craig and Christopher Wallace took on the snow this morning as they went sledging in Eaglesham, Glasgow . The snow came just in time for the weekend for schoolchildren who were out enjoying the wintry weather that has hit Britain . There was a more peaceful scene in Dartmoor, where frost covered the moors as dog walkers enjoyed the crisp conditions . A blanket of snow covered much of Britain yesterday, including in West Yorkshire where temperatures fell well below zero overnight . A snow plough clears the A66 in Cumbria after up to six inches fell in parts of the county, with more snow expected through the weekend . Those who dared go out in freezing conditions near Blencathra in Cumbria could just about make out its snowy peak through the mist . Warning: Almost a million elderly people are at risk from the bitter cold as they cannot afford to heat their homes, Age UK said . Lorries trundle through the snow in Cumbria as Britain is gripped by freezing conditions which are set to remain for the rest of the weekend . A blanket of snow covered much of the UK yesterday, with as much as six inches in parts of Cumbria and the Lake District, according to the Met Office. Freezing temperatures were experienced by much of the nation as snow fell across most of Scotland, the north of England and the south-west. In Leeds, two constables had to pull a woman from the freezing River Aire last night. The 22-year-old woman was taken to hospital but sustained no serious injuries. A police spokesman said the 'quick thinking and commitment' of the officers prevented a tragedy. The Chilterns, Cotswolds and the Pennines were also hit by snow, while gritters were out once more to deal with ice on the roads, with the south told to expect more 'wintry showers' and a dusting of snow last night. Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams said the cold would put almost a million elderly people at risk as they cannot afford to heat their homes. 'The cold weather can be particularly dangerous for older people who are more at risk of suffering health problems when the temperature drops,' she said. 'It's a shocking fact that this winter one older person could die every seven minutes from the cold. 'With just under one million older people living in fuel poverty, many simply cannot afford to heat their homes to a temperature high enough to keep warm and well. 'We are calling for the Government to commit to improving the energy efficiency of homes across the country in order to provide a long-lasting solution to the scandal of fuel poverty and preventable winter deaths.' People enjoyed the snow in Halifax Park, in Yorkshire, - more snow, sleet and sub-freezing conditions are forecast . A motorist stranded in the centre of the A62 after struggling to negotiate the road after a heavy snow shower receives a tow from a 4x4 . West Yorkshire got a smattering of snow overnight, with forecasters predicting another deluge over the next 48 hours at least . A man grits a snow covered road near Ripponden in West Yorkshire as temperatures will plunge below freezing across large swathes of the UK . Tundra: The residents of this isolated cottage in Cumbria awoke to a fairytale scene . It was a wintry sight near Saddleworth, West Yorkshire, this morning, where the hilly landscape was served more than a sprinkling of snow . Country lanes were covered in snow in parts of Yorkshire this morning, with more snow forecast for the next few days . The big freeze is expected to continue throughout the weekend and into Monday with the mercury forecast to drop as low as -15C in Scotland and -10 in the north west . Two horses gallop through a snow-covered field in the Chilterns, where wintry showers are expected once more on Sunday evening . The Met Office issued a level three amber alert - the second highest - for the North East and the North West of England as well as Yorkshire and Humber . A snow plough clears the roads in Cumbria, with drivers warned of icy conditions throughout Britain today . The Arctic blast which swept Britain today could kill one person very seven minutes, charity Age UK warned . A snow plough clears the worst of the snow from the A66 in Cumbria as people travel through the challenging conditions . Met Office forecaster Calum MacColl said temperatures plunged to -6.5C near Inverness overnight, but that the cold would only get worse today with temperatures dropping to -15C tonight. He said: 'The wintry showers will go in Scotland on Saturday night, but they will be replaced by clear skies on Sunday, shortly after dusk. 'We could be in for minus double digits in Scotland, perhaps even -15C. In high ground further south, for instance the Pennines, we could be looking at -10C. 'Tonight we'll see more wintry showers - a mixture of sleet and snow - with southern England could get a bit of a dusting. 'North and western areas will see wet snow and sleet, while the south-west may get snow as it comes in from west to east. 'There will be a severe frost across the north and most of Scotland with temperatures of around -8C in places tonight.' Dr Angie Bone, from Public Health England, warned vulnerable people to keep themselves warm over the weekend as the cold bites. She said: 'When indoors, have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm and try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18C, particularly if you are not mobile, have long-term illness or are 65 or over.' Snow covered the fields in Reeth, North Yorkshire, as the Met Office issued an amber warning over the wintry weather . Jill Armstrong encountered something of an Arctic tundra as she made her way on skis to the Tan Hill pub in North Yorkshire . One way of keeping warm: A man runs through Richmond Park, south west London, this morning, where snow is yet to fall . Freezing temperatures were experienced by much of the nation as snow fell across most of Scotland, the north of England and the south-west . London has as yet avoided the snow, with two deers rutting in Richmond Park where frost covered the ground . Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams said the cold would put almost a million elderly people were at risk as they cannot afford to heat their homes . Crisp and clear: Frost covered the fields of Richmond Park as the sun rose early this morning as the wintry weather continued . Tranquil: Runners and walkers brave the cold for a bit of early morning fresh air as dawn broke today . Icy conditions led to more crashes on the roads yesterday in Dorset, where the A35 Upton bypass was shut because of 'nightmare' conditions. There were also reports of a crash between a lorry and cars around Lytchett, near Poole, and a truck is blocking the road after its tyres could not grip the icy surface on steep hill near the village. Public transport was not faring much better in the south-west, with no trains running between Bournemouth and Weymouth because of icy rails. Bus drivers in Plymouth were also warned not to pick up passengers queueing at some stops because of the dangerous ice. And the travel chaos is likely to affect the Monday morning commute because of the freeze expected tonight. Yesterday the Met Office issued a level three amber alert - the second highest - for the North East and the North West of England as well as Yorkshire and Humber last night, with average temperatures set to fall below 2C. The deep freeze brought 2cm and 6cm of snow in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north of England throughout last night and the early hours of tonight, with snow expected further south soon. Met Office forecaster Laura Young said the cold weather was set to continue for the rest of the weekend. She said: 'It doesn't really warm up in Scotland and northern parts of England all weekend, so there is a very good potential for ice on Sunday. People really need to be aware of that. 'Basically, snow and sleet, then it becomes very, very clear, but then the temperatures really drop, and then it freezes.' | Britain's big freeze is set to continue for the rest of the weekend with temperatures plummeting well below zero .
Cold could kill one person every seven minutes with one million elderly people unable to heat homes, Age UK warns .
More snow is on the way tonight after as much as six inches fell in parts of Cumbria .
Swathes of the south of England will be hit by 'wintry showers', with at least a dusting of snow .
Temperatures will drop to -15C in Scotland and -10C in the Pennines on Sunday night, the Met Office says . |
72,059 | cc3fc6f7a6480e82cb94297e568454b9e1c64664 | By . Peter Rugg . PUBLISHED: . 09:47 EST, 18 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:10 EST, 19 November 2012 . Police are on the hunt for a methodical serial killer responsible for at least three killings with the same .22 caliber handgun over the last four months. The .22 Caliber Killer's latest victim, a New . York City boutique owner was shot to death in the head Friday night with the same gun . that killed two other shopkeepers in the same borough over the summer. Ballistics tests matched in each killing, all of which occurred in Brooklyn shops with an '8' in the address. Suspect: Following one homicide at a 99 cent store that used the same gun, police released this sketch of the suspect . A sketch of the killer has been released after a witness told police he noticed a disturbed man at a previous victim's store just before a body was discovered, muttering to himself about putting a bullet in someone's head. He is said to be roughly 5-foot-5 and around 140 pounds. The Daily News reports that the shop owner Vahidipour Rahmatollah of Great Neck was behind the counter of She She in Brooklyn's . Flatbush section when he was shot Friday night. The gunman . dragged the victim's body toward the back of the store and covered it . with clothing. Murdered: Vahidipour Rahmatollah was killed with thre gunshots, but it seems nothing was stolen from his shot . Police found the 78-year-old with two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the torso, DNA Info reported. On the floor of the shop were the killer's calling card: shell casings matching casings left at the scenes of the last two homicides. 'Now it's like he's telling us, 'It's me again,'' a police source told the New York Daily News. casings that police have matched to two other murders. “Now it’s like he’s telling us, ‘It’s me again,’ ” a police source said. The way Rahmatollah's body was hidden was also consistent with the previous shootings. On July 6, Mohammed Gebeli, 65, was found shot through the neck in his Bay Ridge clothing shop. His body was also hidden. Police believe the methodical killer does this to buy himself more getaway time by delaying the discovery of the bodies. 'I hope they catch the son of a b****,' Gebeli's son, Mourad said. When Rahmoatollah didn't come home at the usual time Friday his family called the police, who discovered his body. It wasn't not clear if the killer actually took anything, or if the murder was his sole motivation. 'He never had in his whole life one enemy, he didn't have, he was a very . kind man,' his sobbing wife, Naima Rahmatollah, told reporters. Saturday he was supposed to be at his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah. Victims: Isaac Kadare and Mohammed Gebeli were killed by the same handgun earlier this year . Police believe the murderer had been . watching the store in preparation for the attack, noting that he'd . chosen a shop with no security cameras. Issac Kadare, 59, was found dead in his Bensonhurst store at 1877 . 86th St., was shot in the head and stabbed in the neck. Besides owning stores, each victim was of Middle Eastern descent, prompting suspicion the killer could be racially motivated. It appeared nothing was taken from Rahmatollah's shop but both Kadare and Gebeli had money taken from them, and it remains unclear whether robbery is a motive. Unguarded: believe the killer was attracted to the store because, as with previous crime scenes, there were no cameras . Fernando Mateo of the Bodega Association of the U.S. said they were sending copies of the police sketch to their members but were mostly concerned with those fitting the previous victim's description. 'The only members that we would be concerned about are Middle Easterners,' he said. It's also possible the killer has a fascination with numerology, as the address for each homicide includes the number 8: Kadare at 1877 86th St., Gebeli at 7718 5th Ave., and Rahmatollah at 834 Flatbush Ave. None of the stores had working surveillance cameras. Scene: Police believe the killer may have been casing the shop, as it had no security cameras to catch him in the act . Neighbors called Rahmoatollah a 'neighborhood staple.' 'He was a regular guy,' said customer Xanius Patterson. 'He never hurt nobody.' Police are offering $12,000 for any information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction. | Casings from the same .22 caliber handgun found at all three crime scenes .
Killer may have chosen stores based on lack of surveillance cameras .
All three victims are Middle Eastern, prompting fears of racial motivation .
Police offering $12,000 reward for information . |
252,513 | d2cdefb364c3c845cdb795ffd31ffe3d02764864 | By . Becky Evans and Ap Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 04:32 EST, 6 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:04 EST, 6 November 2013 . A former Black Panther, who hijacked a plane and forced it to fly to Cuba, is set to return to the U.S. to face justice today. William Potts said he is homesick and wants to return to America for the first time in almost three decades. Mr Potts, 56, who has been working with U.S. diplomats in Havana in recent weeks to get a passport, said they told him yesterday that his travel arrangements were made . and he could leave on a charter flight to Miami today. Scroll down for video . William Potts is due to return to the U.S. today for the first time since he hijacked a plane in 1984 and forced it to take him to Cuba where he has lived since . Mr Potts has worked with U.S. diplomats in Havana to secure a passport and return to Miami . Because the two countries have no extradition treaty, Mr Potts was beyond the reach of U.S. justice but he still faces an indictment for air piracy that could carry a 20-year prison sentence. He hopes the 13 years he served in Cuba for the hijacking will be taken into consideration by U.S. authorities but admits he may be sent to prison. Mr Potts said he seeks 'closure' by . facing the U.S. justice system. He argues that the time he served in the . Combinado del Este prison outside Havana should mitigate further . punishment back home. 'I'm . ready for whatever,' Potts said. 'My position is, of course, I did the . crime and I did the time, and the United States has to recognize that.' Mr Potts was jailed after hijacking a commercial plane in 1984 when he pulled a gun hidden in a plaster cast and forced it to land in Cuba, where he expected authorities to offer him guerrilla training. Instead he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Since his release, he settled down became a farmer and had two daughters with his second wife. Revolutionary Times: Armed members of the Black Panther Party leave the Capitol in Sacramento May 2nd, 1967 . He was granted permanent . residency in Cuba and he and his now ex-wife live in a modest Soviet-style . apartment block east of Havana. Mr Potts said: 'I've got kind of mixed emotions, let me say that at least, about touching American soil for the first time in nearly 30 years. 'So much has changed, and I'm just going to have to wait and see what it looks like when I get there.' The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary organization in the U.S. calling for empowerment of African Americans and protection from police brutality. Set up in 1966, the leaders of the group backed socialist and Marxist doctrines and eventually had affiliations with Communist Cuba. The organization created a Ten-Point Program that cemented its economic and political grievances and the party gained national prominence during the rest of the 1960s and 1970s. The party was officially disbanded in the early 1980s. Notable Black Panther members fled to Cuba, including Assata Shakur - the aunt of murdered rapper Tupac Shakur. She was accused of murdering two New Jersey State Troopers in 1973 and indited in relation to other crimes including attempted murder and armed robbery. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984. He said his understanding was that he would be escorted by U.S. officials and delivered into the custody of U.S. marshals on arrival in Florida. 'What happens after that I couldn't tell you,' he said. 'I hope to be arraigned soon.' In the 1960s and early '70s, there were dozens of American hijackings to Cuba. As a way of discouraging them, both sides signed a 1971 agreement under which each government agreed to prosecute hijackers or return them to the other country. The U.S. has limited travel to Cuba since 1960 when Fidel Castro came to power. The rules were amended in 2011 to allow all Americans to visit Cuba but direct flights by U.S. airlines are still illegal. It is unclear what stance U.S. authorities will take against Mr Potts as the U.S. Interests Section, FBI and Cuban officials did not have any comment on his case. U.S. authorities have aggressively prosecuted some returning fugitives, while others saw their sentences reduced significantly for time served elsewhere. Even though Potts intends to continue to call Cuba home for the foreseeable future, he decided to return to the U.S. and take his chances with the legal system. The pending case against him keeps him from living his life fully, he said. He said: 'It's time it had closure. Why leave it hanging, why leave this gaping uncertainty? 'So I want to resolve that because... having completed my sentence, I feel like I want to put all that stuff behind me. 'I don't want that lingering over or impeding anything I might want to do. Once you've paid your debt to society you're entitled to a fresh start.' | William Potts, 56, is due to land in Florida today for the first time in 30 years .
Hijacked plane at gunpoint in 1984 and forced it to fly to Communist state .
Jailed in Cuba for 13 years and then started family but wants to return home . |
125,525 | 2e489b53225f71cc5b73f9aaef5c692737c0f6bf | Britain enjoyed the warmest day of the year so far yesterday with temperatures rising above 26C. But the warm weather gave way to heavy rain overnight with up to 20mm expected to have fallen in the space of an hour in the south-east from midnight. Yesterday afternoon, the Met Office confirmed the temperature had hit 26.4C in Herstmonceux, East Sussex. Hottest day: University students (pictured left to right) Lindsay Varty, Zosia Gamgee, Maryna Farrell, Billie Blue and Jennifer Grant enjoy the warm weather on Barry Beach, Wales . Hottest day of the year: Sarah Balogh, 24, sunbathes near the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol today, as temperatures hit 26C yesterday . Storm: Lightning seen in Kingsdown, Kent, this morning ahead of what was the warmest day of the year so far . Summer sun: Hannah Woolley, 23, and Jess Gray, 24, enjoy an ice cream in Bristol . Meanwhile, it was slightly cooler at 25C on Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach in Brazil. At Ascot, racegoers fanned themselves to try and stay cool in the Royal Enclosure and sunbathers were out in force on Brighton beach. It was not just London and the South East that enjoyed balmy conditions with maximum temperatures of 24C in the Midlands; 22C in Northern Ireland; 21C in Manchester and 20.3C in Scotland. Taking a dip: Paddle Boarders make their way up the River Chelmer at Maldon as the sun blazed across the UK . Temperatures reached 25C in Essex the hottest day in the UK since September 2012 - which was also in Essex . Flower garden: Philippa Christie, 22, from South Shields, enjoys the sun in the Rhododendron garden at Belsay Hall in Northumberland . Summer bloom: People enjoy the sun at Belsay Hall in Northumberland as Britain enjoyed the warmest day of the year so far . Warm weather: Philippa Christie, 22, from South Shields (right), and her friend Alex Hughes, 21, from Hartlepool, enjoy the sun in the Rhododendron garden at Belsay Hall in Northumberland . Beautiful day: Gardeners tend to the grass at Belsay Hall. While temperatures hit 26C in the south-east, there were temperatures in the low 20s in the north . Cooling off: University students (left to right) Lindsay Varty, Zosia Gamgee, Maryna Farrell, Billie Blue and Jennifer Grant paddle in the sea on Barry Beach, Wales . Hot weather: As temperatures reached 26C, these university students were on the beach enjoying the weather . Summer day: Harry Tate, aged two, from North Shields, enjoys some fishing near St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay . Warm weather: Daniel Reber, aged four, builds sandcastles on Charlestown beach in Cornwall as Britain enjoyed the hottest day of the year . Beach day: Daniel, aged four, enjoys the sunshine in the south-west as temperatures are set to hit 26C . The pollen count will be high in the next few days as Britain enjoys warmer weather, the Met Office warned today. Britain has had a relatively low pollen count so far this year because of unsettled weather. Yolanda Clewlow, Health Manager at the Met Office said: 'We have seen some very high pollen counts during the recent fine weather. 'Further high counts are also expected during periods of warmer, drier weather across most parts of England and Wales.' The Met Office said the pollen season is split into three phases and we are currently in the 'grass pollen season' which lasts from mid-May through to August. Tuesday had been tipped to be the . warmest day of the year but the sunshine struggled to break through the . cloud, and the highest temperature recorded was 24C in Manchester - . slightly below 25C on June 6 in Lee-On-Solent, Hampshire. Further north today, temperatures are remaining lower, with the driest weather expected in Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England. North-west Scotland will be the coolest region. The warm weather comes as Met Office experts warned that Britain faces a decade of wet summers, as they got together to discuss recent unusual weather patterns. They blame natural warming in the . Atlantic for pushing a current of fast-flowing air in the upper . atmosphere, known as the jet stream, further south. Scientists say the likelihood of . successive heavy downpours is increased if Britain is stranded north of . the jet stream for long stretches of summer. They claim more traditional summers will return after between five and ten years. Game on: David Cameron shares a joke with Commons Speaker John Bercow at the LTA's #TennisIS event in the grounds of the Houses of Parliament . Summer sun: Racegoers at Royal Ascot (pictured from left to right) Denise Enstone, Stephanie Lewars, Denise Rogers, Rachael Richley and Cath Riggs . Warm weather: Racegoers try and stay cool in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot on what was the warmest day of the year so far . Good day for winter sports: Shelley Rudman practices the skeleton bob at Bath University . Winter sports: Shelley Rudman trains on the specialist track at Bath University . Summer sun: A sunbather on Brighton beach enjoys the wonderful warm weather . Warm weather: A woman enjoys the sunshine lying on the beach at Brighton . Best of the sun: People relax in deckchairs in Hyde Park, central London, . Summer bloom: Ebony Costello, aged 22 months, finds some shade in the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, South Yorkshire . Summer flowers: Matthew May, 11, and his sister Hannah, seven, make their way to school in Portchester, Hampshire . Summer bloom: Hannah May, seven, among the flowers in Porchester, Hampshire . Since 2007, when forecasters suspect . the phenomenon began, six of the seven summers have been washouts with . higher than average rainfall. Known as the ‘Atlantic multidecadal . oscillation’, it is a natural warming or cooling of the ocean over a . period of several decades. Britain experienced a series of wet summers when Atlantic conditions were similar in the Fifties, early Sixties, and the 1880s. The country endured the coldest . spring since 1962 this year, with a mean temperature across March, April . and May of 6C (43F), 1.7C below the long-term average. Feeling the heat: A robin sits on a garden fence in the sunshine in Fareham, Hampshire, on the warmest day of the year so far . Cooling off: A European bear in his pond covered in pond weed at Whipsnade Zoo . Meet the horse that looks more like a zebra after being dressed in an animal-print suit to stop him scratching. Charlie has been dressed up in a black and white striped jacket to keep the flies away. His skin becomes itchy when he is bitten, and the scratches become sore because of the irritation. His owner Laura Forsyth said: 'It's a fly suit which keeps the flies from biting him. Zebra horse: Charlie, who looks like a zebra in this stripey coat, is fed by owner Laura Forsyth, 23, in his field . 'The flies get confused when they see stripes so they tend to avoid him. Charlie gets a reaction to flies and becomes extremely uncomfortable as they make him itch and causes him to have sores from where he scratches his bites. 'It protects him from them and covers his back, neck and legs, as well as going round his stomach. 'There's also a mask which I can put over his face if the amount of flies dramatically increases.' Equestrian clothing company Bucas came up with the stripey design, specifically for horses with allergies to insects. The £100 suit, which is made from a specially developed light mesh fabric is part of the Buzz-Off Zebra range by Bucas. Passing motorists stop to look at Charlie in Plompton, North Yorkshire, because of the unusual design of his jacket. | Temperature hits year-high of 26.4C in Herstmonceux, East Sussex .
Forecasters warn we could face a decade of wet summers .
Six out of the last seven summers have seen above average rainfall . |
221,675 | aaf72cbfadd4b8224d5dc9f68ada1eb843d5656d | By . Paul Thompson . PUBLISHED: . 14:14 EST, 26 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:15 EST, 26 June 2013 . Arrested: Jennifer Clevenger, 43, of Florida, had an alleged affair with her daughter's teenage friend . A 43-year-old woman has been arrested for having an alleged affair with one of her teenage daughter's 14-year-old riends. Jennifer Clevenger, from Florida, is alleged to have plied the teen with alcohol before having sex with her during a trip to Orlando for her daughter's birthday. The relationship ended when the mother's teenage daughter found out about the affair. Police are investigating to see if there are further victims of Clevenger from West Melbourne, Fl. Clevenger was silent as she left Brevard County jail on Tuesday after being released on $180,000 bond dodging film crews and hiding her face. Investigators said she and the teen met in December 2012 and the relationship soon became physical. Court records show that the couple had sex at a friend's home and at an Orlando hotel. Clevenger was visiting Orlando to celebrate her daughter's birthday and invited several friends along. The teen victim, who is now aged 15, was plied with alcohol along with other friends. Police said they were tipped off about the affair after Clevenger and the teen were seen together in the Melbourne area. 'Through our investigation we learned that they met in December of 2012 and their relationship became physical back in the month of December as well as the month of January,' said Lt. Richard Cordeau of West Melbourne Police. 'They traveled to Orlando for Ms. Clevenger's daughter's birthday. 'We are unaware of any other victims at this time, but we would ask anyone who's had this type of relationship with her to come forward.' Clevenger was charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious battery and nine counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. | Jennifer Clevenger plied the 14-year-old with alcohol before having sex .
Affair began during a trip to Orlando for her daughter's birthday .
Clevenger charged with lewd and lascivious battery and delinquency of a minor . |
277,452 | f375097ba25cbd95cac3ee3fc3a5b3742fce33f5 | Everyone's heard of the crocodile hunter, well meet the crocodile huntress - a school girl from Australia's Top End. This Northern Territory 17-year-old has been posted on possibly the most dangerous internship any school student has ever faced, catching crocodiles with some of Australia's most experienced reptile handlers in Darwin. It's a job not for the faint-hearted and probably one most adults wouldn't do if they were paid. But Rebekah Gesch, channeling the late Steve Irwin, is getting up close and personal with the river monsters while working on a school-based internship. A 3.4 metre crocodile is one of the trophy crocs that Rebekah Gresch helped pull in during the croc expedition . No fear: Rebeka Gesch is a natural at working with one of Australia's most dangerous animals . Gotcha: A 3.4 metre croc was caged during an internship expedition Rebekah Gesch was on in Darwin . And although she might seem young, those with an enthusiasm for taming wild animals seem to start at an early age. By the time Steve Irwin was nine years old, he was helping his dad catch small crocodiles in muddy creek beds and wrestling them back to his dinghy. It was a skill he carried on into in his adult years spawning the television series The Crocodile Hunter. And it appears his legend is living on through Rebekah who might have inherited the similar thrill seeking genes made famous by Irwin. In one of the teenager's pictures the crocodile management team, from the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission, tempt a large crocodile with a long piece of rope with some bait attached to a pulley. Steve Irwin was catching crocodiles from the tender age of nine . The reptile takes hold of the bait and wrestles its way towards the boat before being captured and caged. Once boxed inside the security of the steel structure, it's counted alongside hundreds more caught by the handlers to get an idea of the number swimming in Australia's far northern rivers. It is one of two crocs the handlers captured that day, the other being a two-metre crocodile pulled from a nearby creek. It brought the number of crocodiles caught in the Top End this this year to 151. From Darwin's Good Shepherd Lutheran College, Rebekah has been volunteering on a school-based internship and venturing out on tours like this for the past two months. She told the NT News being on 'croc patrol' was part of the daily tasks of the internship which also saw her working inside Charles Darwin National Park. The crocodile management team are capturing and surveying the reptiles to get a better idea of its habitat, how many and to warn humans of the locations where they should never go. | Rebekah Gesch is on a school internship catching crocodiles in Darwin .
She has been pictured at the helm of a boat and holding a baby crocodile .
The high school student joined team which caught 3.4-metre and two-metre crocodiles in Northern Territory . |
218,899 | a75776f2a990df8e65da12cdaff31f585ad1b330 | By . Alasdair Glennie . They were briefly the most infamous couple in showbusiness. Now you could pass John Leslie and Abi Titmuss in the street without even knowing it. A decade after his career was destroyed by unfounded sex allegations, the pair are both single and living at opposite ends of the country. Former Blue Peter host Leslie, 48, has not worked on TV since he was named as the alleged rapist of presenter Ulrika Jonsson in 2002. Worlds apart: John Leslie, pictured in Edinburgh and Abi Titmuss, in Hampstead, a decade on from their 15 minutes of fame . United front: Titmuss and Leslie were rarely out of the headlines ten years ago, but have since disappeared from the public eye . After a stint as a property developer, . he now volunteers as a local radio DJ in Edinburgh. He lives alone in a . bungalow at the edge of the city and catches the bus into town with . other commuters. Miss . Titmuss, 37, made a fortune as a glamour model after the scandal and . worked as a presenter on a porn channel. She has since reinvented . herself as an actress, appearing in Casualty last year. Wearing . large glasses and no make-up as she walked her dog near her home in . Hampstead, she was a far cry from the brash model who adorned the cover . of magazines such as Nuts. She and Leslie, who once dated Catherine Zeta-Jones, met in 1998 when she was a nurse and he was hosting ITV show This Morning. Hand in hand: The couple look a world away in these shots after Leslie's name was cleared in 2003. The glamorous pair have since split . Supportive: Titmuss, who appeared in Nuts magazine at the time, looked on lovingly in 2003 as John Leslie's was cleared of indecent assault . Standing by her man: Titmuss was noted at the time for supporting Leslie amid accusations of sexual assault . In 2002, Miss Jonsson claimed in her autobiography she had been raped by a presenter. Leslie was wrongly named as that man on daytime TV, prompting his sacking. The next year he was acquitted of two counts of indecently assaulting a 23-year-old actress in 1997. Miss Titmuss stood by him, but they soon split. Then a sex video of them and another woman emerged amid reports they had taken cocaine. In 2008 Leslie was arrested after more rape allegations but no charges were brought. | Former Blue Peter host John Leslie, 58 wrongly named as the alleged rapist of TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson in 2002 .
Glamour model Abi Titmuss stood by her man amid further assault allegations in 2003 until split .
Leslie now volunteers as radio DJ in Edinburgh and Titmuss had role in casualty last year . |
30,242 | 55f3ab6dc751208495c4ec59f050550cff5f5f0a | Will Real Madrid retain the Champions League? Gareth Bale wrote his name into European Cup final history on Saturday night as he set Real Madrid on their way to an extra-time victory against Atletico. The Welshman helped the Spanish giants claim their 10th European triumph in his first season with the club following his staggering £86million move from Tottenham last summer. Anyone who doubted Bale's abilities and whether he'd be able to conquer Europe with Real have been proved wrong. The header which saw Real Madrid crowned Champions of Europe once more has repaid the faith shown in him by the Bernabeu hierarchy. Bale has justified that fee. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Real Madrid fans erupt as Bale scores . Man of the moment: Gareth Bale's extra-time header helped Real Madrid win their 10th European Cup . Welsh wonder: Bale with the flag of his home nation as he celebrates Real's victory over rivals Atletico . Living the dream: Bale is congratulated by UEFA president Michel Platini and walks past the trophy with a smile . Winner: Bale smiles and bites his medal (left) after lifting the Champions League trophy (right) Speaking to Sky Sports after one of the . greatest night's of his career so far, Bale said: 'The price tag means . nothing. This is why I came here, to win big competitions and it's paid . off. Lifting the trophy is a feeling you can’t describe.' Question marks were raised over such a huge fee but ask anybody linked with Real Madrid and every one will insist it was money well spent. Madrid went on to win 4-1 courtesy of a Marcelo strike and Ronaldo penalty but it was Bale who set them on their way, heading home at the backpost to nod Carlo Ancelotti's men in front. 'I was thinking do not miss! Literally, do not miss!' said Bale, who luckily kept his calm during such a huge moment. Bale's used to keeping his calm and producing when the stakes are high and the pressure is on. Last season, the No 11 was the match-winner on countless occassions for Spurs in the Premier League. Tottenham's talisman gave defences nightmares and just couldn't stop scoring screamers. Bale made his brilliance look simple, as the world's best players tend to. Heading home: Bale climbs highest at the back post to guide the ball past a helpless Toby Alderweireld (right) Dream duo: The £166m partnership of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale enjoy Real's victory at the Stadium of Light . Twelve months on, and the 24 year-old was helping Madrid claim their first Champions League win in 12 years. Big games need big players and Bale is certainly a world-class star. Admittedly, Real's deadly duo of Bale and Ronaldo had a quiet night by their standards but duly stepped up when it mattered. Nobody will remember the match as a game when Bale wasn't at his best. They'll simply remember his extra-time goal which helped his side finally achieve La Decima. 'I had a little feeling things were not going my way after missing chances! But I’ve learnt from past experiences to forget chances missed and keep persevering. Thankfully I got the decisive goal which gave us momentum in the last 10 minutes,' said Bale. Magic moment: Bale screams at the camera with delight and is congratulated by Real legend Zinedine Zidane . Lifting the Champions League trophy in Lisbon, the former Southampton graduate has come along way. After all, Bale was nearly sold by Tottenham after failing to make the desired impact during his first few seasons at White Hart Lane. The feeling of achievement - the sense he was living the dream - was clear to see as Bale walked past the coveted trophy with a beaming smile on his face. The wideman showed his class on Saturday and proved to the football world just why Real Madrid parted with such a vast sum of money in order to secure his services. The man is a match-winner. Lifting the Champions League trophy alongside Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, Bale now belongs on that platform. Madrid's Prince of Wales has now joined a long illustrious list of Real greats - Puskas, Di Stefano, Raul, Zidane, Ronaldo, Bale. Club greats: Bale now joins a long illustrious list with other Real stars who lifted the European Cup including Raul (left) and Ferenc Puskas (right) | Gareth Bale scored with a header in extra-time to put Real Madrid 2-1 up against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final .
The Welshman moved to Madrid last summer in a sensational £86million transfer from Tottenham .
European Cup victory will have cemented Bale's place in Real Madrid history .
Goals from Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo followed Bale's header to secure the infamous La Decima . |
20,049 | 38e65a9ade1e59867e70cd85ad9f931e88f7be6c | LONDON, England (CNN) -- South American nations have always played a major part in the world of football, and when it comes to the World Cup they are considered among the main contenders every time. But this time around there may be a new threat from the continent making its mark internationally. Nelson Valdez (left) celebrates his goal against Venezuela, Tuesday, to keep Paraguay top in qualifying. Out of 18 World Cup Finals to date, a South American team has won the competition nine times, demonstrating that although Europe may be where the money is, the other side of the Atlantic has the raw talent. Generally speaking, however, the continent's dominance has been largely down to two countries: Brazil, who have won the title an astonishing five times; and Argentina, who have made it to the tournament's final match four times and taken the trophy home twice. The rest of the continent has rarely played a major part in the proceedings. Now, though, as the qualifying stages for the 2010 World Cup Finals gather speed, the two giants are being put to shame by a footballing nation that has, until now, had very limited success at international events: Paraguay. Having only qualified for the finals seven times, and never made it further than the second round of the competition, Paraguay aren't usually seen as a serious threat to the big international teams, but this year the bookmakers may have to take a serious look at the small country from the center of the continent, with a population of just 6.1 million. Following Tuesday night's 2-0 victory over Venezuela, Paraguay cemented their position at the top of the South American qualifying group, with 17 points from eight matches -- four points clear of the faltering Argentina and Brazil, who share second place. So far in the group, the Paraguayans have recorded a 2-0 home win over Brazil and managed to secure a 1-1 draw away to the recent Olympic champions Argentina, proving they can keep up with the best in the world, even without one of their star players, striker Roque Santa Cruz, who was injured for the Buenos Aires fixture. So, how are they managing it? And can they continue this form through the qualifiers and into the finals themselves? Since 2006, the team has undergone some radical changes. A lot of big names in the squad and behind the scenes left the team following Paraguay's relatively poor performance in the World Cup Finals in Germany. So it was goodbye to the old, including Paraguay's most capped player, Carlos Gamarra and coach, Anibal Ruiz, who has been replaced by Argentine Gerardo "Tata" Martino. But this left the door open for a whole new face for the nation's team. And the new breed of players clearly have a lot of skill, impressing people all over the world. Players like Santa Cruz, for the English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, and Edgar Barreto, an integral part of the Reggina Calcio squad in Italy's Serie A, represent Paraguay's swelling talent in the major European leagues. The Paraguayan presence in the world's top leagues, shows the depth of their squad, and it also means players will be given the benefit of experiencing top level football on a regular basis; something that can only aid the development of an already talented player. The style the team plays -- emphasizing a strength in attack, boosted by Santa Cruz and his gifted strike partners, Club America's Salvador Cabanas and Borussia Dortmund's Nelson Valdez -- hints at a tactical change, as well. In the past, the Paraguayans have relied heavily on a solid defense to secure results, and not always had the goals to back that up. Now, although the defense is still strong -- featuring Boca Juniors regular Claudio Morel Rodriguez, and the powerful partnership of Paulo Da Silva and Julio Cesar Caceres -- there is some flair up front, which the manager is capitalizing on. So, with an influx of good players, who are getting the necessary top level experience and a manager who knows how to get the most out of his team, this may be an opportunity for a new country to step to the foreground from South America and end the dominance of Brazil and Argentina. As the table stands now, Paraguay are looking good to qualify, and if they can exercise the same level of skill they have shown in the opening eight matches, they could top the group and head to South Africa as the team to watch in the finals. | In the past Brazil and Argentina have dominated South American football .
Paraguay are challenging, beating Brazil and topping World Cup qualifying group .
The team has had a reshape since 2006, many new, talented players .
Experience of playing in major leagues across the world helps player development . |
1,744 | 050447b58ffc927f3b91492692658ea4bfab6526 | Prime Minister Tony Abbott has promised 'good government starts today,' after surviving an attempt to spill the Liberal leadership that he called 'a very chastening experience.' But Mr Abbott's future as prime minister remains in doubt after 39 of his own MPs voted for the spill in the secret party room ballot. A majority of the Liberal backbench is thought to have voted against the prime minister, with the vote count totalling 61 votes to 39. The vote count is considered so dire for Mr Abbott because there was no direct challenger for his leadership. In a recorded statement released following the vote, Mr Abbott said: 'The Liberal Party has dealt with the spill motion and now this matter is behind us.' 'We are absolutely determined to work for you, the people.' Scroll down for video . Relieved: Mr Abbott enjoys a moment of peace during a press conference this afternoon. He survived a leadership motion, telling reporters: 'Good government starts today' While Mr Abbott expressed contrition about his performance in recent weeks, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten today revelled in the prime minister's misfortune, questioning whether he had the mandate to remain leader . Isolation: Prime Minister Tony Abbott, pictured in Parliament, was deserted by 39 of his colleagues who voted against the spill . Leadership murmurs: Mr Abbott was not opposed by any of his colleagues, including Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The pair are pictured sharing a moment on the floor of Parliament today . Discussion: Mr Abbott is now formulating plans on how his team can claw back support in the polls . Survivor: Mr Abbott has survived the threat to his leadership, but 39 of his own MPs voted against his leadership . The victor: Prime Minister Tony Abbott walks from the party room after a majority of his backbench voted against his leadership . Mr Abbott is due to give his first statement to the media following the vote shortly . At a press conference later, Mr Abbott conceded the government had been having a difficult time recently, citing the Queensland election result that delivered a massive swing against the Liberals. 'Who wouldn't be nervous after watching the result in Queensland,' he said. 'So all of us are determined to lift our game and the fundamental point I make is that the solution to all of these things is good government. 'And good government starts today.' Mr Abbott swept into the party room meeting on Monday morning flanked by a large throng of supporters. Malcolm Turnbull - his potential leadership rival - was not one of them, sidling into the meeting on his own. Mr Turnbull has remained coy about his position and has not publicly challenged the leader. Today's vote was instigated by rebellious backbenchers, who revolted following his controversial decision to knight Prince Philip and the disastrous defeat of Campbell Newman's Liberal National government in Queensland two weeks ago. Mr Abbott faced more grim news this morning, with a Newspoll commissioned by the Australian newspaper finding that more than 68 per cent of voters are dissatisfied with his performance. Worse, the Newspoll figures revealed Mr Turnbull was by far the preferred Liberal Party leader, with 64 per cent voting in support of him compared to just 25 per cent backing Mr Abbott. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor led the Coalition by 14 points, 57 points to 43. The poor approval ratings are the most bleak ranking for a Prime Minister in more than 20 years, comparable only to Paul Keating in 1994. Mr Abbott began today with a visit to a Canberra church. It was a traditional service held at the beginning of each parliamentary sitting year. He told reporters afterwards that the government would 'get on with being the government we were elected to be' following the vote. Contrast: Mr Abbott swept into the party room meeting accompanied by his deputy leader, Julie Bishop and a huge column of supporters . On his own: Malcolm Turnbull arrived to today's party room meeting without any supporters in tow . Cheeky stunt: Labor bigwigs Bill Shorten (centre), Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong swept by the assembled media after buying coffees . Time to pray: Mr Abbott appeared with his wife, Margie, at a traditional church service prior to the beginning of the year's first sitting week of Parliament . After grim polling this morning, Mr Abbott is facing one of the most critical tests of his leadership in the form of a spill motion this morning . Tony Abbott and his family spent time in Sydney's China Town on Sunday afternoon after he had announced the spill motion would take place in Canberra on Monday . Tony Abbott claims he has moved the spill motion forward because, 'the last thing Australia needs right now is instability'. However, others believe he made the decision to avoid an awkward question time on Monday . Senior Liberal figure Arthur Sinodinos has said he is very disappointed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott's decision to move the spill motion forward to Monday, and revealed he will vote in favour of a spill . The most influential person to come out in favour of the spill motion was Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister John Howard. 'I believe it will help precipitate a discussion', Senator Sinodinos told Fairfax Media on Sunday. He said he was 'very disappointed' with the Prime Minister's decision to move the spill forward from Tuesday to Monday. He said: 'MPs should be given time to discuss the matter at hand. Tuesday is the time to do that.' Treasurer Joe Hockey has said any Cabinet minister who supports the Liberal leadership spill motion should resign. Mr Hockey said he expected all cabinet members to reject the spill motion, but if they supported it they should declare their hand now. 'If I disagreed with the prime minister and if I believed he wasn't the best person to lead the team I would step down from the cabinet - that is the appropriate thing to do,' he told Sky News on Sunday. He said he trusted his Cabinet colleagues Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. 'If you are going to be disloyal to someone, you should front them,' Mr Hockey said. He expected the motion would be voted down, but not unanimously. 'There will always be a third of the party room that are upset about one thing or another,' he said. The treasurer rejected media reports that he could lose his job in a compromise to head off the leadership spill. 'I think everyone should do the jobs they have and properly serve the Australian people, not engage in commentary on gossip.' Mr Hockey stood by the government's controversial decisions to overhaul Medicare, higher education, pensions and welfare, which have contributed to the leadership unrest. 'We have no choice,' he said of the budget changes. Queensland MP Wyatt Roy, 24, has also declared that he will vote in favour of the motion to spill the leadership of the government. Wyatt (left) is pictured with Abbott in 2010 . Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomed Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to Sydney on Sunday . Mr Turnbull has only voiced his opposition to Mr Abbott moving the vote forward, labelling it a 'captain's call' - what the prime minister has dubbed some of his less popular decisions, including knighting Prince Philip. Mr Turnbull said anyone was in a position to contest the leadership without being disloyal. 'If, for whatever reason, the leadership of a political party is vacant then any member of the party can stand, whether they be a minister or a backbencher, without any disloyalty to the person whose leadership has been declared vacant,' he said outside his home on Sunday. On Sunday Mr Abbott said he wanted to deal with the spill line 'as quickly as possible' so the Liberal party can put the matter behind them. 'The only question for our party is do we want to reduce ourselves to the level of the Labor party in dragging down a first term prime minister,' he said. 'Now obviously I've been talking to many colleagues over the last few days and my very strong sense is that we are determined to do what we are elected to do - to clean up Labor's mess and to give our people the economic security and the national security that they need and deserve.' Turnbull has refused to deny he will challenge the Prime Minister for leadership of the Liberal party, and said if anyone stands for a vacant position that does not mean they are disrespecting the person whose leadership has been declared vacant . Malcolm Turnbull refused to say if he will run for the leadership but maintains he supports Mr Abbott in line with cabinet solidarity . As Prime Minister Tony Abbott battles to secure the backing of his own party members amidst next week's leadership spill motion, a new Galaxy poll has revealed that 55 per cent of voters want him to stand down . As reports that Malcolm Turnbull will contest the leadership continue to circulate, the poll showed he would improve the Liberal's chance of winning at the next election if he were made Prime Minister . Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is also preferred as leader when measured up against Mr Abbott, but still not as much as a Labor government according to the 53:47 two-party preferred vote focused on her taking the top spot . There may be some hope yet for Mr Abbott, as sources reveal Mr Turnbull would offer him his support on Tuesday if he were to be promised the role of Treasurer, dumping Joe Hockey (pictured) from the position . The Communications Minister took to Twitter this week to deny he was in secret meetings with deputy leader Julie Bishop . He also revealed he believes the spill will fail and if so he will take that as an endorsement of his leadership . Ms Bishop said as Mr Abbott's deputy, she supported the prime minister . Luke Simpkins, pictured with potential leadership contender Malcolm Turnbull, has announced he will move for a federal Liberal leadership spill . | Prime Minister Tony Abbott says today's leadership vote was 'a very chastening experience'
He has promised that 'Good government starts today'
He survived a leadership spill motion, though he is weakened after a majority of backbenchers voted for a spill .
Failure of the spill motion meant Malcolm Turnbull did not have a chance to challenge Mr Abbott's leadership . |
859 | 02769885a005b2a4c26edaab9e7a0dad5036a5c4 | Ryan Giggs made his first television appearance since becoming Louis van Gaal's No 2 at Manchester United, but it wasn't quite the unveiling you might have have imagined. The 40-year-old has certainly been busy since ending the season as United's interim boss and even interrupted his holiday in Dubai to link up with Diego Maradona for a new football show. Giggs even hit the stage in full kit and boots as he joined Maradona and Michel Salgado on The Victorious, which aims to find the next football star in the UAE. VIDEO Scroll down for Giggs to appear on Maradona's football talent show The Victorious . All smiles: Giggs (right) poses with Michel Salgado (second left) and Diego Maradona (centre) V for Victorious: The show's presenter Nathalie Mamo . Speaking in a rather awkward interview after the show, Giggs said: 'I'm here in Dubai on holiday but also to work on The Victorious programme. 'It's great to see the young players doing so well and being given a chance. 'I've really enjoyed it, it's been a really successful night.' He tweeted a snap of the famous faces along with the message: 'With Diego, Ryan Giggs, Jehad and my friend Bakoor in The Victorious' The United veteran recently revealed his decision to retire from football after 963 games for the club, during which time he won 13 Premier league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and the Champions League twice. Giggs will now be assistant to new United boss Van Gaal next season. Full kit: The United legend took to the stage in a special kit and boots for the show . Backstage: Giggs poses with The Victorious presenter Nathalie Mamo (right) Striker pose: The United veteran poses with Salgado backstage in Dubai . Veteran: Giggs retired from football after 963 games for Manchester United . Team: Giggs will join new United boss Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford next season . | Ryan Giggs makes first television appearance since becoming Manchester United assistant manager .
Giggs appeared alongside Diego Maradona for Dubai football talent show .
Programme aims to find next star in the United Arab Emirates .
United veteran made awkward speech to camera after 'successful night' |
83,861 | eddd235da2543cb73c4b1d233d92fc7ec768ea8d | Madrid (CNN) -- A treasure worth an estimated half billion dollars in gold and silver coins, recovered from a Spanish warship that sunk two centuries ago, arrived in Madrid Saturday, just weeks after U.S. courts ruled that Spain had rights to the loot, not the Florida deep-sea salvage company which found it on the ocean floor. Two Spanish military cargo planes, which retrieved the nearly 594,000 coins in crates from a secretive warehouse in Florida, landed at the Torrejon military air base in Madrid just before 2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET). The two planes arrived at a U.S. military base in Florida earlier this week -- on the heels of a team of Spanish government experts who did an inventory of the treasure -- and departed on Friday for the overnight flight to Madrid. That was after the Florida company, Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. had exhausted its legal appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined without comment Odyssey's motion for a hearing earlier this month. "Spain has now been victorious at every level in the United States courts, from Tampa to Atlanta to Washington," said Jim Goold, who defended Spain's claim to the treasure. "I am pleased and proud for all of us." Odyssey Marine Exploration made an emergency appeal to the high court in an attempt to block a lower court's order that it turn over the treasure to Spain. The dispute goes back to 2007, when Odyssey announced it had found a 19th-century sunken ship off of Spain. The company claimed ownership of the coins and said it had flown them to a guarded location in the United States. Spain filed suit in a federal court in Tampa, Florida, also claiming the treasure. Spain says its navy warship Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes was carrying the coins. The 34-gun frigate left Peru in 1804 and crossed the Atlantic to within a day's sail from Spain when British ships attacked the Spanish fleet. In the ensuing Battle of Cape St. Mary, south of Portugal, the Mercedes was hit in its powder magazine and exploded, according to the Spanish government's filing to the Florida court. In 2009, the federal court in Tampa ruled in favor of Spain and the federal appeals court in Atlanta upheld the ruling last September. Last January 31, the appeals court denied an Odyssey motion, which Odyssey appealed to the Supreme Court. Spain's Culture Minister, Jose Ignacio Wert, told CNN in Madrid earlier this month that the case was never really about the money. "We're not going to use this money for purposes other than artistic exhibition, but this is something that enriches our material, artistic capital and it has to be appreciated as such," Wert said in an interview. He said the coins would be exhibited at Spanish museums, and perhaps elsewhere. Peru, too, has followed the fate of the coins, which came from Latin America when Peru was a Spanish colony. "Formally, they haven't claimed anything, but we are completely open to consider the possibility of distributing some part of the treasure also among the Latin American museums," Wert said. The treasure includes fabled "pieces of eight," some minted in 1803 in Lima, Peru, Spanish officials have said. The treasure, which already has crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice, by ship in 1804 and then by plane in 2007, has now arrived on the Spanish mainland for the first time. A Spanish Defense Ministry official at the Torrejon base said the treasure will be turned over to Spain's paramilitary Civil Guard for safekeeping. The Culture Ministry is expected to hold a news conference and possibly show off a portion of the coins in the coming days. | A treasure estimated worth half a billion dollars arrived in Spain .
The coins had been the object of a legal battle in the United States .
The company that found the treasure lost its claim in the courts . |
118,351 | 24cba0695e158e3bf85f19cc0a380f6239a99b56 | Donald Sterling’s ex-assistant V. Stiviano claims the former L.A. Clippers owner is gay and that she spent three years acting as his beard so no one would suspect his true sexuality. Stiviano, who gained national notoriety earlier this year due to her alleged sexual relationship with Sterling, made the bombshell allegation in documents filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday in answer to a prior lawsuit filed by Sterling’s wife, Shelly Sterling. In her original lawsuit, Shelly had accused Stiviano of taking gifts from the Sterling Family including a Ferrari, $240,000 in cash and a $1.8 million house on the outskirts of Beverly Hills in exchange for sexual favors. Scroll down for audio . Donald Sterling’s ex-assistant V. Stiviano claims the former L.A. Clippers owner is gay and that she spent three years acting as his beard so no one would suspect his true sexuality . Stiviano denies those allegations and even claims that Shelly Sterling was well aware of the exact nature of the relationship between Donald Sterling and Stiviano. ‘V.S. was D.T.S’s beard for three years prior to the filing of suit,’ the answer claimed. ‘V.S. is informed and believes that (Sterling) is a homosexual and enjoys sexual acts and or sexual congress with males.’ The answer said that Shelly Sterling was ‘acutely aware of his orientation and condoned’ his behavior, including his decision to give ‘gifts, money and other properties’ to Stiviano for her public companionship, reports the Daily News. Stiviano also says that she ‘was not ever a sexual partner’ of Donald Sterling. In her original lawsuit, Shelly Sterling accused Stiviano of taking gifts from the Sterling Family including a Ferrari, $240,000 in cash and a $1.8 million house on the outskirts of Beverly Hills in exchange for providing Donald with sexual favors . She also states that the gifts are considered separate property, not 'marital or community property,' because they were purchased with funds earned by Donald after separation or 'estrangement' from her wife. Stiviano also filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the Sterlings on Thursday. She claims they slandered her in the media by calling her a thief and saying she embezzled money and property from Donald. 'She’s delusional,’ Sterling’s lawyer, Max Blecher, told The Daily News. The drama began in April when a recording surfaced of Donald Sterling berating Stiviano for bringing black men to Clippers games. The audio spurred the NBA to ban Sterling for life and fine him $2.5 million. Stiviano also filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the Sterlings on Thursday, claiming they slandered her in the media by calling her a thief and saying she embezzled money and property from Donald . Shelly, his wife of 58 years, then took control of a family trust and negotiated a record $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Shelly Sterling said she was initially given her husband's blessing to sell the team and he praised the deal she reached. When it came time to sign it at the end of May, however, Sterling said he would not sell and would sue the league. Ballmer officially became the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. | Donald Sterling's ex-assistant V. Stiviano claims the former L.A. Clippers owner is gay and that she spent three years acting as his beard .
The bombshell allegation came in documents filed on Thursday in answer to a prior lawsuit filed by Shelly Sterling .
She had accused Stiviano of taking gifts from the Sterling Family including a $1.8 million house on the outskirts of Beverly Hills .
Stiviano has also filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the Sterlings claiming they slandered her in the media by calling her a thief . |
258,548 | da9de0e069b74722d99919bad417809857d5c69c | By . Jessica Jerreat . A Kansas City sports writer who took his own life yesterday morning sparked a treasure hunt for gold coins after leaving what appeared to be GPS coordinates on a website. Before Martin Manley killed himself outside Overland Park police station, he set up a website that many believed suggested his $200,000 collection of gold and silver coins had been hidden. Details of the alleged hoard were revealed on a local radio station, leading several people to go in search of the money, according to Gawker. Hoax: Sportswriter Martin Manley caused a treasure hunt for gold after his website listed coordinates on the day he died . Trail: The coordinates led treasure seekers to Oakland Park Arboretum . However, family of the former sports statistician of the Kansas City Star said he gave the money away before his death, and police also confirmed the treasure hunt was a hoax. As treasure hunters started to dig around Overland Park Arboretum, the park was forced to close. In a statement it said: 'This morning sparked quite the treasure hunt. Overland Park Police have spoken with the family of the victim and they indicated that the victim had purchased gold but had given it away.' It added: 'The alleged "buried treasure" is a hoax. Please be mindful of this and that the Overland Park Arboretum does not allow digging.' Radio station 96.5 The Buzz fueled . the search, reading excerpts of Mr Manley's website live on air and . encouraging listeners and one of their team, 'Mark the Overseer' to go on . a treasure hunt. Sealed off: As rumors about a stash of gold circulated police were forced to bar entry to the park . Updates: Members of a radio station joined the search and tweeted details of their journey . Watch: The park had to be closed as people armed with shovels started to turn up . Through Twitter Mark and other treasure hunters, some armed with shovels, sent updates and pictures as they followed the coordinates to the arboretum. The . morning show presenters excitedly egged listeners on as they called in . updating the station on their hunt while the hosts speculated on Mr Manley's life. Coordinates were listed on Mr Manley's . website, which was seen by Mail Online, but he made no reference to his . assets being hidden. They were listed under a paragraph, with no explanation, as Mr Manley wrote: 'I sold my house which was completely paid for in 1998. The same year I bought $30,000 in 1/10 ounce gold coins and pre-1965 silver coins. Gold was $300/ounce when I bought it and silver was $4/ounce. Gold went up to $1,700 and Silver to $44 making my stash worth over $200,000.' He then listed the coordinates, which led to Overland Park arboretum. Clue: A member of the radio show tweeted a picture of a flag in the undergrowth, asking 'what does it mean' Mr Manley, who died on his 60th birthday, had worked as a sports reporter on the Kansas City Star until February last year. He had been married and divorced twice, and had two step-daughters. Editor at the Kansas City Star Mike Fannin said: 'Martin was a terrific guy and a good employee. This is a real shock, just an incredible tragedy. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family today.' For support on suicide matters call the National Suicide Prevention Helpine on 1-800-273-8255 or go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. | Oakland Park Arboretum closed as fortune seekers turn up with shovels .
Family of victim say 60-year-old gave away assets before his death . |
92,791 | 035a46818a364641f0fcce2884acd5d842d01cf5 | By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 09:40 EST, 15 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:40 EST, 15 February 2013 . Campaigners today slammed Google for violating Android users' privacy after it emerged that the company was sharing their personal details with mobile app developers. An Australian software developer revealed that the search giant was sending him the full names, email and post codes of everyone who purchased his app on Google's Play Store. He said the information was so detailed he would even be able to use it to 'track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase'. A model poses with Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, which run on Google's Android OS: An Android app developer has revealed that Google sends him the personal details of anyone who buys his app . Incredibly, it has emerged that the . data sharing was not the result of a software glitch, but is actually . part of Google's policies for its app store and its Google Wallet . payment service. Nick Pickles, director of privacy and . civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, today accused Google . of taking decisions about consumers personal data 'without their . knowledge'. 'The true facts about about what is happening are buried in vague privacy policies,' he told MailOnline. 'Apps are an increasing part of . everyday life, so it’s essential that it is made crystal clear to . consumers what happens to their data. 'App developers aren’t asking for this . data, no other app stores share data in this way, so yet again we’re . faced with a situation where it looks like Google has put profits before . user privacy.' His outrage was echoed by Marc . Rotenberg, executive director of the U.S.-based Electronic Privacy . Information Center, who said Google has 'buried' the notice about how it . shares users' personal information in fine print. 'Meaningful consent is about people understanding what they're getting into. It's about not tricking them,' said Mr Rotenberg. 'In a situation like this, where . people just don't know what information is being transferred or who it's . going to or for what purpose, it seems ridiculous to say that Google . has consent.' The episode is merely latest privacy flare-up for Google, whose position as the world's number one search engine has made it the biggest name in online advertising. The company agreed last August to pay a $22.5million fine to settle charges in the U.S. that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple's Safari browser. It also settled a privacy investigation by the Federal Trade Commission in 2011 related to its rollout of the now-defunct Buzz social networking service. Other Web companies, notably Facebook, have also drawn scrutiny over their privacy practices and entered into settlements with regulators. Don't be evil: The episode is merely latest privacy flare-up for Android-maker Google, whose position as the world's number one search engine has made it the biggest name in online advertising . Google said in an emailed statement that 'Google Wallet shares the information needed to process transactions, and this is clearly stated in the Google Wallet Privacy Notice.' But Mr Rotenberg said he believed that Google may be violating its 2011 settlement with the FTC. Developer Dan Nolan broke the issue online in a blog post on Tuesday. 'Let me make this crystal clear,' he wrote. 'Every App purchase you make on Google Play gives the developer your name, suburb and email address with no indication that this information is actually being transferred. 'With the information I have available to me through the checkout portal I could track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase.' Mr Nolan added: 'This is a massive oversight by Google. Under no circumstances should I be able to get the information of the people who are buying my apps unless they opt into it and it’s made crystal clear to them that I’m getting this information.' Microsoft took a pop at Google last week by accusing its rival of invading Gmail users' privacy when scanning the contents of their emails to target them with personalised ads. The attack, the latest volley in Microsoft's Scroogled campaign, comes with a website and is aimed to boost interest in the veteran software company's Outlook.com email service. It follows a series of Scroogled adverts last year which targeted Google's controversial privacy policies. 'Google goes through every Gmail that’s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads,' the website says . 'And there’s no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy.' It also includes a feed of quotes from Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt. These include his infamous declaration that '[i]f you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.' And also: 'We don’t need you to type at all. We know where you are, with your permission; we know where you’ve been, with your permission; we can more or less know what you’re thinking about.' Mr Nolan's app, which automatically generates insults in the style of a well-known Australian politician, is already a best-seller on the iPhone and he recently released a version for Google's Android operating system. He told Reuters that Google acts as a marketplace when an app is purchased, hence the transactions occur directly between developer and the purchaser. 'The way the system is designed, it (the information) is not what a user would expect to hand over,' he said. 'If you buy something on the iOS app store, you purchase it off Apple, and they pass the money to the developer.' The Google Wallet privacy notice states that Google will share users' personal information with other companies 'as necessary to process your transaction and maintain your account.' That's different than the way Apple's App Store works. According to an Apple spokesman, the company only shares general information about the number of downloads with third-party app developers. Apple does not pass along personal information, such as email, except with publications available through its Newsstand store, and only then if customers agree to it, the spokesman said. Others have said they are pleased with Google's policy of passing along customer information to developers. Barry Schwartz, an app developer and editor for the online blog Marketing Land, said it made it easier for developers to directly handle customer service issues, such as refunds. 'I want to be able to service my customers, and yes, they are my customers, not Google's and not Apple's customers. They download our products,' Mr Schwartz wrote. But Joel Reidenberg, Director of the Center on Law and Information Policy at Fordham University School of Law, said Google and other online and mobile services needed to be more transparent about what personal information was being shared with third-party firms. 'When you buy an app, you could have a pop-up that tells you this is the information that's going to the app developer,' he said. That was an opinion echoed by Mr Pickles, who said: 'Consumers could be asked for their permission if the data is required, but it’s wholly wrong for Google to take control of our data away from people like this.' | Australian software developer reveals online advertising giant is sending him the details of everyone who has bought his app .
He says information would be sufficient for him to 'track down and harass users who left negative reviews' on the Play Store .
Big Brother Watch slams Google for taking decisions about customers privacy 'without their knowledge' |
2,148 | 0647205294c2f2241f01de151e403ea4bab7a8ed | Victoria Beckham has never been short on 'girl power' and now the pop star-turned-fashion designer has been heralded as one of the most inspirational woman of her generation. The mother-of-four topped an illustrious list of women who 'inspire, empower and game-change' within the fashion industry. She saw off style royalty including Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and Mary Portas, in the survey by Grazia magazine, to be voted most inspirational woman in fashion. Victoria Beckham was voted most inspirational women in fashion in the last ten years in a new poll . Harry Potter star Emma Watson fought of competition from Kim Kardashian to be voted most influential woman in entertainment in the Grazia survey which marks the magazine's 10th anniversary . In 2006 the former Spice Girl launched her own denim label, which she followed with a sunglasses range in 2008. After appearing in a Marc Jacobs campaign she launched her label to a handful of fashion insiders in New York, and won rave reviews from her most sceptical of critics. Since then her designs have been worn by Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow. The publication has released the results of its reader poll, published to celebrate the magazine's tenth anniversary. Editor-in-chief Jane Bruton said that Victoria's tenacity and hard work made her a worthy winner. She said: 'Ten years ago, we knew Victoria as a Spice Girl and one half of an A-list power couple. She made no secret of her love for fashion but was known for wearing, not creating it. Lena Dunham (left) topped the culture poll, while Malala Yousafzai is the most inspirational figure in politics . 'The thought of Victoria as a credible fashion designer seemed outlandish but boy did we underestimate her. 'Last year she won British Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Fashion Awards and opened her first store in London. Through sheer hard graft and business clout, VB has become a great fashion designer.' Fashion: Victoria Beckham . Culture: Lena Dunham . Entertainment: Emma Watson . Politics: Malala Yousafzai . Sport: Jessica Ennis Hill . Technology: Zoe Sugg (Zoella) The poll saw 1,250 Grazia readers listing their most influential female figures in a survey online to mark a decade since the magazine launched. Harry Potter actress Emma Watson came top in the entertainment category, ahead of Kim Kardashian and Beyonce, while GB athletic star Jessica Ennis-Hill topped the list of most influential women in sport. Girls' Lena Dunham was voted most influential woman in culture, beating off competition from the likes of JK Rowling, Hilary Mantel, Katherine Bigelow and Oprah Winfrey. The politics category saw 17-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai heralded; the UK-based student was the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her campaigning work for the rights of the education of girls in her native Pakistan. Self-made millionaire Zoe Sugg, 24, aka Zoella, was named most influential woman in technology. | Mother-of-four praised for 'sheer hard graft' and 'business clout'
Beat off competition from Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and Mary Portas .
Emma Watson and Jessica Ennis-Hill win in entertainment and sport . |
83,108 | eba291da6bbc4459fe2890133284089bd3d5e3ef | By . Bianca London . She may currently be filming for a Made In Chelsea spin-off over in New York but Lucy Watson's latest fashion shoot is quintessentially British. The 23-year-old has just been unveiled as the new face of Lipsy's AW14 VIP collection, a capsule range of occasionwear. Lucy, who can be seen posing in an array of glamorous gowns in the English countryside, told MailOnline that she was honoured to be asked to work with Lipsy because she's been wearing their designs since she was 16. New campaign: Lucy Watson has landed herself yet another campaign, this time for Lipsy VIP . 'I was so happy to do this and the dresses are feminine, perfect for different occasions and perfectly reflect my style,' she told us. Sharing her top tips for prom dressing, which she says the range is perfect for, Lucy said: 'It's so important to go for a colour that suits you because it's a moment you'll remember for the rest of your life. 'I love dresses that are figure-hugging. Sadly, I went for a giant bright pink dress and I had really blonde hair, which was extremely girly. I looked like Barbie.' Horsing around: Lucy says she's honoured to be apart of the Lipsy team because she's been wearing their dresses since she was 16 . Monochrome madness: Lucy shows off her trim figure in the new campaign, which sees her posing in the British countryside . Classy: Lucy says the new range of occasion wear, which she is the new face of, is perfect for your school prom . Black out: Lucy looks trim in a black jumpsuit as she reveals she's been working out ahead of filming in New York with Made In Chelsea . In terms of her day-to-day style, Lucy says that she has no time to shop and buys everything online. 'I prefer to buy high street clothes because I usually only wear an item once,' she said. She has a stylist who 'buys her stuff that she likes' but she dresses herself and aspires to look like 'cool' Kylie Jenner or Miranda Kerr, who she thinks is 'sophisticated with a feminine edge to her'. Before she flew out to New York, Lucy was working out with a trainer twice a week to get in shape for her stint in the Big Apple. Working out: Lucy has been working out with a personal trainer a couple of times a week to keep her body in shape for the MIC spin-off show . They just can't get enough! Lipsy is also introducing a refreshed collection of its eyewear range, modelled by glamorous Made in Chelsea star and face of the new Lipsy VIP range, Lucy . Success story: Since joining Made In Chelsea a few short years ago, Lucy has been snapped up by countless fashion and beauty brands . 'I really wanted to be in good shape for our trip but filming has been so hectic, it's really hard. I definitely eat what I want and I'm obsessed with my smoothie maker,' she said of her diet. In between filming and unveiling her new jewellery range, Lucy has penned her debut tome, The Dating Game, which she describes as the modern girl’s no-holds-barred guide to 21st century dating, relationships and break-ups. 'I'm so proud of my book and I'm pretty overwhelmed with how it's done. I'm brutally honest, as always, and I think that's why people like me; they appreciate it.' Speaking about plans for the future, Lucy added: 'I . want to stay in the industry and being on MIC has taught me loads about . working behind-the-scenes producing and directing, which I love, so . maybe one day I will look into that. 'I also love presenting and would love to have my own show,' she said. Stateside: The Cast of Made in Chelsea were spotted filming today in downtown NYC (L-R) Spencer Matthews, Jamie Laing, Lucy Watson and Riley . | Lucy, 23, has been snapped up by Lipsy VIP to model its occasion wear .
Shares her top tips for prom dressing .
Says response to her dating book has been 'overwhelming'
Is currently filming in New York with Made In Chelsea cast . |
87,733 | f8f03908b8137d3412dbd380e2a7c36ad678e011 | Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere more than a billion years before the Earth, scientists believe. An examination of meteorites and rocks on the planet suggests that oxygen was affecting the Martian surface four billion years ago. On Earth, oxygen did not build up to appreciable quantities in the atmosphere for at least another 1,500 million years. By using the Spirit Rover to examine the meteorites and rocks on Mars' surface, scientists were able to determine that oxygen was affecting the Martian surface four billion years ago, one billion years before Earth . Scientists compared Martian meteorites that have crashed onto the Earth and data from rocks examined by the American space agency Nasa's Spirit rover. Differences in their composition can best be explained by an abundance of oxygen early in Martian history. Spirit was exploring a very ancient part of Mars containing rocks more than 3,700 million years old. The rocks bear the hallmarks of early . exposure to oxygen before being 'recycled' - drawn into shallow regions . of the planet's interior and then spewed out in volcanic eruptions. Volcanic . Martian meteorites, on the other hand, originate from deeper within the . planet where they would be less affected by oxygen. Martian meteorites travel to Earth after being flung into space by massive eruptions or impacts. Scientists compared Martian meteorites that have crashed onto the Earth and data from rocks on Mars . The new research, published in the journal Nature, has implications for the possibility of past life on Mars. On . early Earth, the atmosphere was gradually filled with free oxygen by . photosynthesising microbes. Scientists call this the Great Oxygenation . Event (GOE). The link between oxygen and life on Mars is less certain. Oxygen could have been produced biologically, or by a chemical reaction in the atmosphere. Lead . scientist Professor Bernard Wood, from Oxford University, said: 'The . implication is that Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere at a time, about . 4,000 million years ago, well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on . Earth around 2,500 million years ago. 'As oxidation is what gives Mars its . distinctive colour, it is likely that the 'red planet' was wet, warm and . rusty billions of years before Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich.' In . May, scientists revealed that they had recently discovered pebbles on . Mars, showing that a stream has flowed on the planet - and giving more . weight to the theory that it was once able to support life. On early Earth, the atmosphere was gradually filled with free oxygen by photosynthesising microbes in a process called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE). The rounded pebbles were found by the team from Nasa's Curiosity rover mission and published in journal Science. Pebbles are only formed when they are carried through water over long distances, according to researchers. It is the first time that evidence of sustained water flows on Mars has been uncovered. The discovery of pebbles came just before an announcement eight days ago that powerful evidence that water good enough to drink had been found by Opportunity, one of Nasa’s aging rover vehicles. Evidence of water of Mars has been indicated by a succession of discoveries on Mars but until now they have all suggested flows of sulphuric acid. This is the first time water has been found in a form that is likely to be drinkable. The discovery boosts the chances that one of life’s most important building blocks was once present on the planet, and might even still be there. Launched: 7 July 2003Landed on Mars: 25 January 2004Planned mission length: 90 daysActual mission length: Nine years and countingStatus: ActiveWhat has it found? The first evidence of drinkable or neutral water was discovered on Mars by Opportunity in June 2013. Previous assumptions had been that all liquid on Mars was sulphuric acid. The presence of water means that Mars is capable of supporting some kind of life-form. Launched: 26 November 2011Landed on Mars: 6 August 2012Planned mission length: Two yearsActual mission length: IndefiniteStatus: ActiveWhat has it found? Curiosity streamed the first ever live video from the surface of Mars. And in May, Curiousity uncovered pebbles on the planet's surface, showing for the first time ever that a stream or a sustained water flow inhabited the planet close to two billion years ago. As rounded pebbles are only formed after being carried through water over long distances, the evidence of flowing water is indisputable. | Rocks examined by Nasa's Spirit Rover suggest oxygen affected Mars' surface four billion years ago, more than a billion years before Earth .
Findings have implications for the possibility of past life on Mars .
'Oxidation makes Mars the 'red planet' - it was wet, warm and .
rusty billions of years before Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich' |
83,885 | edeffa135e23b39fce9595fa39e22c6dcae5cd14 | By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 08:46 EST, 27 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:01 EST, 27 September 2013 . Google has sent its Street View trike around the Large Hadron Collider and added it to the online service. The search giant spent two weeks riding a special trike fitted with 360 degree cameras around the huge experiment to capture it. Members of the public can now marvel at the sheer enormity of ATLAS as well as other giant machines at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva. Members of the public can take in the 7000-tonne ATLAS detector, which is probing for fundamental particles including the Higgs Boson, using Google Street View . This view is of ALICE, a heavy-ion detector on the Large Hadron Collider ring that's designed to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, where a phase of matter called quark-gluon plasma forms . The Science Museum in London is opening an exhibition this November to show the work of some 10,000 people across the globe to uncover the building blocks of the universe at the LHC . The museum will use theatre and video as well as real artefacts from CERN to recreate the famous laboratory. It promises to take visitors behind the scenes to witness the discovery of the Higgs boson and explore the 27km collider. ‘We’re delighted that CERN opened its doors to Google Maps Street View allowing anyone, anywhere in the world to take a peek into its laboratories, control centers and its myriad underground tunnels housing cutting-edge experiments,’ said Pascale Milite of Google. CERN is the world's largest particle . physics laboratory where some of the world’s best physicists and . engineers use advanced particle accelerators to help solve age old . questions about the universe like what it's made of and how it started. Google has already sent its trikes, cars and backpacks everywhere from the Antarctic to the Grand Canyon. It says the latest addition to Street View could even help scientists plan future experiments. This is a view of the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment, which will shed light on why we live in a universe that appears to be composed almost entirely of matter, but no antimatter. It was set up to explore what happened after the Big Bang . The 27-km LHC tunnel holding the circumference accelerator ring of superconducting magnets, is pictured. Its job is to increase the energy of particles that will be smashed at detectors around the ring . ‘Street View also lets scientists working on the experiments, who may be on the other side of the world, explore the equipment they're using.’ The Google team were able to capture the main experiments running at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory based in the suburbs of Geneva. ‘A team from Google, working with CERN personnel, took images across all of CERN’s sites using, among other things, a bike-mounted camera system known as the “Street View Trike”. ATLAS (pictured) is a particle physics experiment that is searching for new discoveries in the head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy. It aims to learn about forces that shaped our Universe since and that will determine its fate, including the dimensions of space and evidence of dark matter . A year ago, the world's largest particle collider identified what is believed to be the Higgs boson. But the experiment is now on a break as work is pushing ahead to give the vast machines an upgrade. The 27km circular lab went offline in February for an 18-month overhaul. When experiments resume in 2015, scientists at CERN will use its enhanced power to probe dark matter, dark energy and super symmetry. They also explored parts of the Large Hadron Collider tunnel and four experiments: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb,’ said Dan Noyes of CERN. Six-sided panoramic images were taken every three metres and four experiments were photographed, as well as 1200 metres of the LHC tunnel. The entire project generated 6,000 points that were coordinated with GPS locations to create a virtual tour of the laboratory. The project is ongoing and will expand and offer views of more of CERN experiments, Noyes said. This view is of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), a general-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider that's designed to investigate a wide range of physics, including the search for the Higgs boson, extra dimensions and particles that could make up dark matter . CMS is 25 metres long, 15 metres in diameter, and weighs about 12,500 tons. Approximately 3,800 people from 42 countries built and now operate the detector. In July 2012, along with ATLAS, CMS discovered a boson, which is very similar to the Standard Model Higgs Particle . | Google spent two weeks riding a special trike fitted with 360 degree cameras around CERN .
The search giant claims its latest addition to Street View could even help scientists plan future experiments .
They also explored parts of the Large .
Hadron Collider tunnel and four experiments: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and .
LHCb . |
88,837 | fc25b416b543cd89422f16de940b87c40b9d78eb | A bus carrying paintball players struck and killed a Washington state man inside a zombie attraction at a corn maze in northern Idaho, authorities said Saturday. Jeremy T. McSpadden Jr., 18, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was a role player in the "Zombie Slayer Paintball Bus" attraction at the Incredible Corn Maze in Hauser on Friday night, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said. Dressed as a zombie, he emerged from his hiding place and ran toward the modified school bus, but he tripped and fell in front of the rear passenger-side tires, witnesses reported. Jeremy T. McSpadden Jr., 18, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was a role player in the "Zombie Slayer Paintball Bus" attraction at the Incredible Corn Maze in Hauser on Friday night . Dressed as a zombie, he emerged from his hiding place and ran toward the modified school bus, but he tripped and fell in front of the rear passenger-side tires, witnesses reported . He was run over and apparently killed instantly. Because of the uneven terrain of the corn maze, the bus frequently rocks, and the occupants did not immediately notice what had happened, investigators said. 'It was not until the bus had traveled away from the victim's location and the role players began to reset for the next bus to come along that anyone realized something was wrong,' the sheriff's office said in a news release. The attraction is new this season, according to the corn maze's website. For $15, customers ride the bus, which has paintball guns mounted outside the windows, and shoot at the zombies as the vehicle drives through the corn maze. The bus was going forward, and neither speed nor alcohol was a factor, Sgt. Ward Crawford said. McSpadden was run over and apparently killed instantly. Because of the uneven terrain of the corn maze, the bus frequently rocks, and the occupants did not immediately notice what had happened, investigators said . 'The focus of the attraction is the bus creeps forward so the customers have plenty of opportunity to blast away at the zombies,' Crawford said. 'This looks like it was just a horrific confluence of events.' A recording on the corn maze's information line Saturday morning said, 'We are sad to announce that all of the attractions, including the free drive-in movie, will be canceled for the remainder of the weekend.' A message left seeking further comment was not immediately returned. Hauser is near the Washington border east of Spokane. | Jeremy T. McSpadden Jr., 18, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was a role player in the "Zombie Slayer Paintball Bus" attraction at the Incredible Corn Maze in Hauser .
He ran out towards the bus dressed as a zombie but tripped and fell .
Appears to have been killed almost instantly . |
255,190 | d651821ae8ee6a8a978dbbc6e9a882a3f001543b | Sticky fingers led to a sticky situation early on Wednesday morning when a Southwest Florida man got stuck in a chimney as he was allegedly trying to break into another man's home. Unlike Santa Claus, 25 year-old Richard Tyler Brandon was allegedly trying to break into Mike Whitley's home via the chimney to collect enough money for booze, not to grab a helping of milk and cookies. Scroll Down for Video . Santa: Alleged burglar Richard Tyler Brandon got caught halfway down the chimney . Santa's Helper: Derek Grenfell found police officers to help his friend break free . Empty stocking: Brandon's sooty foot dangles from the chimney in Mike Whitley's home . Brandon ended up getting stuck halfway down the chimney and needed police assistance to free himself from the narrow chamber. Brandon and friends were drinking at Pelican Larry's Raw Bar and Grill in Naples, FL when they realized they were out of cash. Brandon's friend Derek Grenfell, 26, told the police that he warned his friend not to go down the chimney and told him, 'Dude, you're not Santa Claus, what are you doing.' Grenfell and Brandon ran out of cash for booze at Pelican Larry's bar in Naples, FL so they attempted to burglar an unoccupied home . Mike Whitley's Florida home (pictured here) had an unwelcome visit from 'Santa' early Wednesday morning . The Naples Daily News reports that Grenfell found police officers at a gas station nearby to where Brandon required help. They called for more police officers and firefighters to help Brandon break free. When they arrived at Mike Whitley's home, which was unoccupied at the time, they saw a dirty and bare foot sticking out of the chimney. It took officers two hours to get Brandon out of the chimney using a harness. Richard Brandon was convicted on two counts of burglary and remained in jail until Thursday morning . Derek Grenfell acted as Brandon's accomplice but says he warned him not to climb down the chimney . 'There is a chance he could have died. The space he was jammed into was really tight. He couldn't move,' said Naples detective Robert Young. Brandon had difficulty breathing and complained of leg and back pain. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Both Brandon and his friend Grenfell were taken to Collier County Jail. They both remained in jail on Thursday morning. Brandon was charged on two counts of burglary charges and Grenfell was charged with two counts of burglary accessory. Richard Brandon is lucky to be alive after getting stuck in a chimney and injuring himself . Derek Grenfell saved his friends life by seeking help, even though both men were engaging in illegal activity . Homeowner Mike Whitley maintained a sense of humor about the situation. He was away at his other home in Kentucky during the incident and was contacted early on Wednesday morning. The company that provides security at Whitley's home told him there was a man stuck in his chimney. Mike Whitley thought that the call was a joke at first. He later said it was,'a reverse kind of Santa.' The Bradenton Herald reports that Mike Whitley and his wife Faye were planning on returning home to Naples in the next few days. They wondered what would have happened had no one called for help. 'I think if we'd have come back Sunday, he'd still be yelling,' Whitley said. 'By Tuesday, no. Maybe an aroma.' An employee at Pelican Larry's said she had not heard about the incident. Her manager refused to comment because they were in the middle of dinner service. | 'Dude, you're not Santa Claus, what are you doing,' said Richard Tyler Brandon's friend as he warned him not to go down the chimney .
It took police two hours to free Brandon who was injured after being stuck in Mike Whitley's chimney .
Both Brandon and his friend, Derek Grenfell, were arrested and put in jail until Thursday morning . |
188,643 | 805322cfb69ef34f7f98de6836c4eeffded74e0c | If something can connect to a network, it can be hacked. Computers and phones are still popular targets, but increasingly so are cars, home security systems, TVs and even oil refineries. That was the message at this year's Black Hat and DefCon computer security conferences, which took place last week in Las Vegas. The annual conferences draw a mix of computer researchers and hackers who present the latest bugs and vulnerabilities they've discovered. It's a combination of public service, business and sport. These are some of the more popular targets covered at this year's conferences. By drawing attention to them, the "white-hat" hackers hope to encourage greater security from the various manufacturers and industries, and more vigilance from consumers. Typically, the presenters inform manufacturers of bugs ahead of their talks so the companies can fix the issues before they are exploited by criminals. Remote-controlled cars . Someone hacking your computer can be an inconvenience. Someone hacking your car can be deadly. A pair of presentations on hacking cars kicked off the DefCon conference on Friday. Australian hacker Zoz outlined the security issues fully autonomous cars will face and said car-hacking is inevitable. Autonomous vehicles like cars and drones are essentially robots, and they rely on sensors to operate. He said a hacker could theoretically take complete control of a car over wireless networks or trick its various sensors into feeding a motorist false information about location, speed and the proximity of other cars or objects. Fully driverless cars are still a few years away, but computerized systems are common in vehicles on the road today. Electronic control units can control a range of car functions, including braking, accelerating and steering. They manage security features, in-car displays and even seat belts. Researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, funded by a grant from the U.S. military's DARPA, looked into what kind of damage hackers could do to a car by taking control of a Toyota Prius and a Ford Escape. To access the systems, they had to physically connect a computer to the cars through a diagnostics port. They wrote custom software that let them hijack the cars' systems. Once in control, they disabled brakes, changed the display to show incorrect speed or gas levels, and messed with the steering and seat belts. They were able to kill the engine and toy with with less consequential features like the car's horn and lights. Toyota played down the wired demonstration and said it is focusing on security measures to prevent wireless attacks. Compromising smartphones . Attacks on personal computers used to be the bread and butter of cybercriminals, spawning a lucrative industry of black-market malware and the anti-virus programs that fight them. The next big target is smartphones. Mobile devices are not impervious to attacks, even though walled-off app stores have kept much of the malware at bay. Kevin McNamee demonstrated how a piece of malware could turn an Android smartphone into a "spy phone" that remotely monitors its owner, sending information on the location, communications and content, like photos, back to a third party. The hack isn't new, but McNamee managed to inject the malicious code into popular apps like "Angry Birds." Once it was installed, the user would have no idea that their phone was acting as a remote surveillance device. Verizon "femtocells" -- small boxes used to extend cell service -- were hacked by security researchers at iSEC Partners to intercept calls and any other data sent over cellular networks like texts, images and browsing history. The wireless carrier issued a fix for all its femtocells, but researchers say other networks could still have the same issue. With $45 in hardware, researchers Billy Lau, Yeongjin Jang and Chengyu Song turned an innocent-looking iPhone charger into a tool for gathering information such as passcodes, e-mails and other communications, and location data directly from the smartphone. Apple thanked the researchers and said it is deploying a fix for the bug in its iOS 7 software update, which comes out this year. The too-smart home . Thanks to cheap, low-power sensors, anything in your house can become a "smart" device, helpfully connecting to the Internet so you can control it from a computer or smartphone. Smart home security devices have the potential to cause the most damage if hacked, and two separate demonstrations showed how to break in by opening "smart" front-door locks. Another unsettling trend at the conferences was spying on unwitting people through their own cameras. Home security cameras could be disabled by someone who wanted to break in, or they could be turned into remote surveillance devices. One researcher showed how she easily took over the camera stream on a child's toy from a computer. Researchers Aaron Grattafiori and Josh Yavor found bugs in the 2012 model of the Samsung Smart TV that allowed them to turn on and watch video from the set's camera. Samsung said it had released a software update to fix the issue. (Many security experts suggest placing a piece of tape over any cameras you don't want surreptitiously watching you, just to be safe.) Hackers get personal . Even in the wake of this year's NSA revelations, a homemade surveillance device that sniffs out pieces of data from your various computing devices, even when they're not online, is disturbing. Brendan O'Connor, who runs a security firm and is finishing a law degree, has created such a device, dubbed CreepyDOL (DOL stands for Distributed Object Locator; "Creepy" is self-explanatory). The device cost $57 to make and consists of a Raspberry Pi computer, a USB hub, two WiFi connections, an SD card and USB power inside an nondescript black case. Computers and phones act as tracking devices and leak information constantly, according to O'Connor. When plugged in, CreepyDOL detects nearby phones and computers and uses them to track people's location and patterns, figuring out who they are, where they go and what they do online. To demonstrate the device without breaking any laws, O'Connor showed his own information as sniffed out by one of the devices. Using a gaming engine and Open Street Maps, he hovered over his dot on a map. It brought up his name, e-mail address, a photo, the dating website he used, details about his devices and the locations he visited in town. In a worst-case scenario, as imagined by O'Connor, a miscreant could plug in one of the devices under any Starbucks near a capital building to pick up the scent of a state senator and wait for them to do something compromising. "You find somebody with power and exploit them," said O'Connor. The creation is remarkable for how simple it is. It's likely others have similar knowledge and setups that exploit the same security flaws in applications, websites, devices and networks. Industrial facilities . The most frightening targets highlighted at the conference were the opposite of personal. Critical infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines or water treatment plants are potential targets for hackers. Many industries are controlled with supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems. The systems are older, installed at a time when people weren't concerned about cyberattacks, and connect to the Internet over an unsecured network protocol. The reason the systems are online in the first place is so that they're easier to monitor. Some, like oil pipelines, are often in remote locations. Multiple demonstrations at the conferences showed just how simple it is to hack energy systems. Researchers Brian Meixell and Eric Forner staged a mock hack of an oil well using pumps and a liquid container filled with teal liquid. They got into the system, turned the pumps on and off and overflowed the containers by feeding the system false data. If it happened on an actual oil well, the hack could result in an environmental catastrophe, according to the researchers. It's possible to shut down an entire industrial facility from 40 miles away using a radio transmitter, according to researchers Carlos Penagos and Lucas Apa. They demonstrated injecting fake measurements, causing the device that received them to behave differently. For example, someone could trigger a water tank to overflow by faking an abnormally high temperature. The industries and U.S. government are aware that industrial systems are vulnerable, but their remoteness and age make upgrading difficult and expensive. There is no built-in system for releasing software patches, like there is with personal computers. | Security researchers showed the latest phone, home and car hacks in Las Vegas .
Smartphones were hacked through chargers, malware and femtocells .
Some cameras in computers, toys and smart TVs can be secretly viewed by third parties . |
137,031 | 3d4218b4ddae0979e3e40ba657059d96d167b1f1 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:06 EST, 29 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:46 EST, 30 July 2013 . After a prank pulled by Banksy got a homeless man kicked out of his longtime home in a Los Angeles water tank, the secretive British street artist made amends by giving the man enough money to live for a full year. The trouble began after Banksy turned Tachowa Covington’s makeshift Pacific Coast Highway home into a piece of art by spray painting along the side of the bus-sized tank ‘This looks a bit like an elephant’ and it only got worse when collectors who covet the elusive artist’s work bought Covington’s squat to sell to collectors. Though Banksy painted the joke on the homeless man’s home with its occupant’s approval, it left him without a roof over his head. Now, it has been revealed just how swiftly Banksy made amends with Covington and the high regard in which he now holds the controversial artist. Scroll down for videos . Accident: When elusive street artist Banksy made a visual joke on this Los Angeles water tank, he inadvertently got a homeless man kicked out of his home of seven years . ‘There ain’t no better man than Banksy,’ Covington told The Independent. ‘He was an angel to me. He helped me more than anybody helped me in my life.’ Covington, 54, has lived an eccentric life. He once made money by wearing a suit of armor and Rollerblading around Venice Beach to entertain tourists. He’s also, at various times, worked as a Michael Jackson Impersonator, choreographer, Chippendales dancer, and male escort. ‘Most of my life I’ve been a performer,’ Covington said. ‘I never had a real job.’ Covington has lived without what most people call a home for many years, since after what he calls a string of bad relationships. Tank man: Covington sits in his extraordinary tank home, which in its prime featured an electricity generator, television, an address and even mail service . Homeless again: Tachowa Covington made the abandoned bus-sized water tank his home with electricity and even mail service and a television (pictured) On his throne: Covington spent seven years working on his tank before Banksy's influence, and his art world adulation, pulled the red carpet out from under Covington . While living on a hillside above a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Monica and Malibu, Covington noticed a water tank being abandoned. It was initially park of a failed effort to build a park. ‘I watched it for a month or so,’ Covington said. ‘Eventually, I climbed inside and saw that it was empty. I thought, “Wow. This would be a cool place to make a house.”’ So for years, that’s what he called the metal tank. He refinished the inside with discarded building materials found in the surrounding affluent beachside neighborhoods and became a staple in the area. Homeless again: Covington perches atop his tank just before it was removed in 2011. After Banksy spray painted his joke on the tank, an art collector purchased it and hauled it away, leaving Covington homeless again . Police left him alone despite neighbor complaints. In its heyday, Covington’s tank had a generator, television, security camera, and its own address complete with mail service. Then, one day in 2011, he heard some people outside. ‘I looked out of the hatch, and there were two guys there,’ he said. The guys said they were making a joke as they spray-painted the vaguely elephant-shaped tank. Covington didn’t stop them, he thought it was funny, too. Eccentric: Covington says he has always been a performer and at various times has worked as a Michael Jackson impersonator, a male escort, and armor-clad rollerblader . ‘This looks a bit like an elephant,’ the tank now read. One of the men introduced himself as Banksy. ‘I didn’t know who he was, so I didn’t think twice about it,’ said the oblivious Covington. Unfortunately, other people weren’t quite as out of the loop and news quickly spread about the secretive graffiti artist’s Los Angeles cameo piece. Soon after, an LA-based art organization bought the tank and not long after that, they hauled it away. Covington was devastated. Like an elephant: A regretful Banksy gave Covington enough money to live for a year. He says he'll never forget what the artist did for him. 'There ain¿t no better man than Banksy' But before Covington had a single day to despair, Banksy righted his wrong. 'He helped me so fast': Covington says he'd never been treated as nicely by anyone before Banksy. 'It was like a miracle' Back on his feet: Though the money from Banksy has run out and Covington is back living on the hill sans tank, he's now on a waiting list for government-funded housing . ‘He helped me so fast, I didn’t have . to spend a single day more on the streets,’ Covington told the . Independent. ‘It was like a miracle.’ Banksy gave him money to get settled in an apartment and pay bills for a year. Though . that money has now run out, Covington continues to think highly of the . artist and has even decided to revisit his glory days as Rollerball, . the skating armored man. Since . his eviction, Covington has also become the subject of a what some some . Texas-based filmmakers hope will become a documentary on his unwitting . role in the world of high art called Something from Nothing. And this week, a play based on Covington and his elephant tank called Banksy: The Room in the Elephant begins a run at the UK's Edinburgh this Wednesday. | Tachowa Covington lived in an water tank for seven years before Banksy used it as a joke and caught the attention of covetous art collectors .
Covington soon found himself without a home again, but the elusive artist quickly stepped in to right his wrong . |
164,657 | 60ed51bd5464b0723b3917576fcfa3d3d6582c45 | The eyes of world were focussed on the Lindt café in Sydney as a mad lone gunman terrorised 18 innocent hostages. For 17 hours, little was known about the figure that TV cameras caught glimpses of in the window, or the nightmare he was subjecting his victims to. The man grew more agitated as he realised the demands he was forcing his hostages to post online were not being met, or even broadcast. But after his siege ended in gunfire killing two of his captives, details of self-proclaimed sheik Man Haron Monis - and a timeline of events during the terrifying hours he held his hostages captive - started coming together. Here are the events, as they played out. Scroll down for video . | Details of the terrifying hours Man Haron Monis held his hostages captive in Sydney have started coming together .
Monis forced his captives to post his demands in messages on Facebook and videos uploaded to YouTube .
Cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson were fatally wounded in a firefight which ended the siege . |
123,896 | 2c2a0fe4f272db7069590dfab01d5ad42433517b | (CNN) -- Reality singing competition "The X Factor" has lost its flagship star and its place on Fox's lineup. On Friday, judge Simon Cowell announced he was leaving the American version of "The X Factor" to return to the original UK iteration, news that came as Fox confirmed "The X Factor" is being canceled after three seasons. "Unfortunately, there is no 'X Factor USA' without Simon Cowell, but we understand and support his decision to focus on the international formats and on the next phase of his personal life," Fox Broadcasting's chairman of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, said in a statement. "We wish him the very best, and it's our sincere hope that we work together again soon." Cowell, 54, is expecting his first child soon, and he said Friday that the decision to leave has left him with "mixed emotions." "You (realize) how much you owe to the fans who have supported all of the shows we made in both countries," Cowell tweeted. "I have had a blast. Really the best time of my life. Thank you for the support and the fun we have had together. It's never forgotten. We found some amazing talent. And now the search begins to find the next star. That's why we make these shows." Cowell launched "The X Factor" in the United States in 2011 after serving as a judge on Fox's other singing competition, "American Idol," for eight years. The newer show had an uphill battle from the start, considering that it was up against both "Idol" and NBC's talent show, "The Voice." It didn't help that "The X Factor" had a revolving door of personalities as the series tried to stand apart: Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, Britney Spears, L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio have all joined Cowell, the mainstay judge, on the program. "X Factor" had just as tough a time securing consistent ratings. According to Entertainment Weekly, "The X Factor" averaged 7.1 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49 on Wednesday nights, an average that includes seven days of DVR playback. In a statement released by Fox, Cowell said that he's had "a fantastic time" on both "X Factor" and "Idol" and that "apart from being lucky enough to find some amazing talent on the shows, I have always had an incredible welcome from the American public (most of the time!)." Cowell hinted he's been considering returning to the UK since last year, although his move may not be permanent. "I want to thank Fox for being an incredible partner and I also want to thank everybody who has supported my shows," he said. "America, I'll see you soon!" | Simon Cowell announces he's leaving "The X Factor"
Fox cancels "The X Factor" after three seasons .
The reality show judge is returning to "The X Factor" in the UK . |
280,102 | f6de5a24b265c8825a68f89e90eb658b3423af04 | California's grape growers say they are expecting one of the earliest harvests seen to date - and it's all because of the weather. Although the state enjoys a balmy climate all year round, this year's unexpectedly dry Spring has hastened the arrival of this year's crop. What's more, say wine experts, the unseasonably early harvest could result in vintages that are 'bolder' and stronger than usual. Rapidly ripening: These syrah grapes are turning from green to purple with harvest now just three weeks away . The white stuff: For growers of white and champagne grapes, harvest has already begun . Flavoursome: Despite the early crop, the taste of the resulting wines won't be affected . Farmers usually have to wait until . August for the first signs of ripening but say grapes are already . turning purple and expect to gather in the fruit three weeks early. According to Tom Davies, the owner of V. Sattui Winery in Napa Valley, the sight of swiftly purpling fruit marks the start of a three week countdown to harvest. 'It's all due to the weather,' he revealed in an interview with ABC News. 'The dry spring kick started the grape growing season.' Although an early harvest isn't entirely without precedent, it happens on average once every 10 years, with the last recorded in 2009 according to growers. But while the red wine grapes still have another few weeks to go, the white grapes are ready now according to champagne grape growers, who say they will start bringing in the crop next week. Happily for Californian wine lovers, the unusually early harvest won't have an impact on the taste of the eventual wine. 'If we have an earlier harvest, for the north coast, it's a good thing because this is a cooler climate area,' added Davies. 'If we can get the grapes in sooner then we're not backed up into late October and early November and that's when bad things happen.' | Syrah and other red grape varieties are ripening three weeks early .
Early harvests happen, on average, once every 10 years .
Napa Valley growers will begin picking white grapes next week . |
200,593 | 8fabb84a93516b82a5f6882f60678c2a7db6315b | Bath have announced renewed contracts for back-row trio Matt Garvey, Leroy Houston and Guy Mercer. Both Garvey and Houston arrived at the Recreation Ground ahead of last season, while Mercer moved through the club's academy system to senior status in 2011. 'Matt, Leroy and Guy are all talented players and offer different qualities that give us a good variety and strength in depth in the back-row,' Bath head coach Mike Ford said. 'They are passionate about the club and committed to what we are trying to achieve here.' Matt Garvey, Leroy Houston (above) and Guy Mercer have agreed new deals with bath . Â . | Bath announce renewed deals for Matt Garvey, Leroy Houston and Guy Mercer .
Mercer has played through the club's academy system .
Garvey and Houston joined Bath ahead of last season . |
53,407 | 977c75f1ae856aeb03d459a6c91ad0e945e16fd5 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 07:00 EST, 13 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:46 EST, 13 July 2013 . A vicious pervert is facing a life sentence after a savage attack on a 23-month-old girl after a series of blunders by social services . Christopher Atkins, 30, tried to hide his face as he arrived at court before a jury found him guilty of sexual assault and child cruelty by neglect. After the case it emerged social workers did not spot injuries to the toddler and there were delays carrying out background checks which would have revealed Atkins was suspected of previous assaults on another child. Vile: Pervert Christopher Atkins who was found guilty of sexual assault and child cruelty at Nottingham Crown Court . The latest victim was brought to hospital heavily bleeding with 18 separate injuries to her body, including bite marks, burns and a fracture. She would have died without medical attention. Judge Michael Stokes, QC, warned Atkins at Nottingham Crown Court: 'I regard this as a quite appalling piece of behaviour. I am certainly . thinking of passing a life sentence.' The child was under a child protection plan and cannot be named for legal reasons. Atkins' former partner, Sarah Sheppard, 24, from Bideford, Devon, had earlier admitted child cruelty by neglect. Facing a life sentence: Pervert Christopher Atkins who attacked a toddler . A Daily Mirror investigation found that the child’s social worker in Nottingham, Sharon Smith, had concerns about Atkins but failed to record them on the council’s database before she went on sick leave. Warning: Judge Michael Stokes told Atkins: ' I am thinking of passing a life sentence' Ms Smith, who has since returned to her job, blamed her workload, saying she was 'shattered, exhausted and overworked', according to the paper. There was also a delay in carrying out requested background checks on Atkins. He had previously been investigated by police and social services in Manchester over an 18-month-old boy who suffered serious injuries, including a fractured leg and a broken nose. But police could not prove whether Atkins or another adult was responsible. An independent review found 'considerable shortcomings' by Nottinghamshire children’s services and said proper checks could have 'lessened the possibility of abuse occurring'. Atkins reportedly told police he had injured the girl by accident but later denied any responsibility. He had met Sheppard online and within weeks she moved with the child from Devon to Nottingham to be near him. The child's father told the Mirror: 'I feel totally let . down by the system. I . asked social services and police to do the checks on this maniac and . their failure resulted in my daughter being battered and sexually abused . and maimed for life before she was even two years old.' Steve Edwards, Nottinghamshire county council’s service director for children’s social care said: 'This is a very serious offence and we are pleased that justice has been done. 'The council regrets that the background checks on Mr Atkins were not undertaken in a timely manner.' | Christopher Atkins was suspected of previously assaulting another child, but there were delays on background checks .
Little girl had 18 separate injuries including bite marks, burns and a fracture .
'I feel totally let down by the system' says her father . |
47,932 | 874b9d8f4e721442c87513ef0df155db33c2e594 | By . Katie Davies . PUBLISHED: . 15:02 EST, 15 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:04 EST, 15 May 2013 . The FBI has agreed to review the mysterious disappearance of a honeymooner from a Caribbean cruise ship eight years ago. George Smith, 26, vanished from the . Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas, in the middle of the night . on July 5, 2005 just outside the Turkish port of Kusadasi. He had been partying into the early hours with his . 25-year-old wife Jennifer Hagel-Smith and a group of men. She was found passed out drunk in a corridor but George was missing - a large blood stain beneath his cabin balcony indicating he had fallen and then went overboard. Mystery: George Smith was on a honeymoon cruise with his new wife Jennifer Hagel-Smith when he died - presumed overboard . Partying: The couple had been drinking and gambling with new friends they'd made aboard the ship when it is believed Smith went overboard around 5am . After an eight year campaign his family this week got the answer they've been waiting for - FBI officers in New York will review his case and their suspicions that foul play was involved. 'Yesterday we put a circle on the calendar because that's the day we felt we went from a minus to a plus and we felt finally we were going to get answers,' George's father, who is also named George, told CNN. 'A lot of evidence has been accumulated now and I think with a fresh set of eyes looking at that evidence that arrests are inevitable,' George's sister, Bree Smith added to the broadcaster. Four men confirm they were the last to see George alive on the dream cruise he had planned with his new wife. Josh Askin, Rusty Kofman and Zach and Greg Rozenberg were also traveling on the ship with their families. The group had all been drinking Absinthe and gambling with the newly-married man earlier in the evening. They claim they left a drunken George . in his room and put him in bed, before returning to Zach and Rusty's . suite to order room service. However, a private investigator hired . by the family told CBS's 48 hours that the ship's records show no . details of any room service order. Lost hope: A photograph taken by a passenger showed blood on the edge of a lifeboat canopy . Several short phone calls were made . from the suite following 4.13am, according to Attorney Mike Jones, but . no food was documented as ordered on the ship's log. He also points out a video . exists of three of the men - Kofman and the two Rosenberg brothers - . allegedly 'joking' about Mr Smith's death over breakfast. Though the FBI has held the recording since 2005, Jones made public its alleged contents for the first time. He claims Kofman makes a joke about . the man parachuting off his balcony while Greg Rosenberg stands up at . the end and 'makes gang signs' and says 'told you I was a gangster'. All four men and lawyers acting on their behalf have denied any involvement in the death of Smith from Greenwich, Connecticut. CBS approached Kofman in the film and . questioned him about the alleged video comment. He said he had no . comment and urged the presenter to contact his lawyer. Albert Dayan who was previously represented him was interviewed by the network in 2006 and said the men put the newlywed in bed and never saw him again. 'They actually lay George on the bed . and took off his shoes and he displays tremendous gratitude to these . young men,' he told the broadcaster. Last seen: Josh Askin, top left, Rusty Kofman, top right, and Zach, bottom left, and Greg Rozenberg, bottom right, were the last to see George Smith alive . Cabin: This is the room where the men claim they left George Smith in bed . However, one witness - a former . police officer staying next door to the couple - told CBS he only saw . three men leave the suite - something the men also deny. He also claims he heard men arguing on the balcony. Dayan said he believed the 'three . men' spotting was a mistake by the witness and says the men deny ever . going onto the balcony. The neighbor said he later heard the sound of furniture being moved and a loud thud. The witness reports, cell phone video . and room service logs have prompted the Smith family to call for a . thorough new look at George's death. They suspect foul play. 'I just don't understand how the FBI . could have had this tape in their possession and still we sit here,' George's sister Bree said. 'Get the guys in there. Question them! In another new detail, it has emerged . that the men and their families were later ejected from the ship in . Naples over a claim of sexual assault against Greg Rosenberg and Rusty . Koffman. The men also denied those claims and no charges were brought by Italian police. Jones carried out depositions with all four men in the course of his inquiries. Greg Rosenberg, who was being held in a Florida prison on charges of trafficking, emphatically denied any involvement. Last night: George Smith was captured on surveillance cameras in the casino on the night of his death . Nightmare: George Smith went missing from Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas in 2005 while on his honeymoon . Never found: Mr Smith, 26, fell from the boat during a Mediterranean cruise close to the port of Kusadasi in Turkey . Although he added that he too doubted the explanation George fell. 'Something crazy went down that night and I hope one day they find out the truth,' he said. Josh Ashkin's lawyer says he has no doubt his client has provided all the information he has on the incident and believes it boils down to a drunken accident. 'I don't know why anybody's missin' the theme here. 'Cause there's one common element ... and it's too much alcohol!' he said. 'And we can go and, you know, blame it on murder and - and -- and blame it on aggressive sexual behavior here. You know what? It's just everybody drinkin' too much and stupid stuff happening. That fits.' FBI New York confirmed to the broadcaster that they would review the investigation. The honeymooner's family have been . frustrated by the investigation to date but hope the renewed focus may . bring them the answers they require. 'We'll get justice,' George's mother . Maureen Smith said. 'Somehow we'll get justice for George. Somebody will . talk. And shame on them that don't. Shame on the people that have put . us through this eight years of hell.' Much-loved: The Smiths of Greenwich, Connecticut say they still need answers over the night their son died . 'He was the funniest guy, you know?' George Smith senior said remembering his son. 'I would sit and have a couple of beers with him and he'd make me laugh . for the whole night. And besides he was so good looking the girls just . fell all over him. He was a just a lot of fun. He was a great guy.' Jennifer Hagel-Smith, an elementary . school teacher, passed an FBI polygraph test about what happened that . night and Jones believes she too was an innocent victim of what . occurred. The couple had been together for three years when they married in 2005 in a clifftop ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island. She has since remarried and did not take part in the CBS program. | FBI's New York field office agrees to review death of George Smith, 26, .
Connecticut man disappeared on honeymoon in 2005 aboard the Royal Caribbean Ship - Brilliance of the Seas .
Pool of blood could be seen under his cabin where it is believed his body fell before dropping into the ocean .
Private investigator unearths ship documents which question the final movements of four men who were the last to see Smith alive .
Video of three of the men allegedly shows them 'joking' about the death . |
106,271 | 1513beaa8795c640206c5db0b320b723e607a4d3 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- MIchael Jackson and Dr. Conrad Murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour, according to testimony in the AEG Live wrongful death trial. Murray arranged the meeting in March 2009 in which Jackson asked Dr. David Adams to travel with him to London, Adams testified. Adams said that after he offered to take the job for $100,000 a month guaranteed for three years, Murray stopped communicating with him. "I texted basically, you know, 'what's going on, I'm on board," Adams said. "And no response." Just weeks later Murray accepted an offer from an AEG Live executive to be Jackson's personal physician on his "This Is It" tour for $150,000 a month. Murray told investigators he began infusing Jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in April, a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon. Debbie Rowe: Paris Jackson 'has no life' since father's death . Jurors in the trial of Jackson's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of Adams and two other witnesses Wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony. Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live, contending the company's executives negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's propofol overdose death. AEG Live's lawyers argue it was Jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled Murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom. Jackson: 'Help me get my rest' Adams, who administered propofol to Jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in Las Vegas four times in 2008, said Jackson and Murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour. "I said 'I don't sing and I really can't dance, so to do what?" Adams testified. "He says 'Well, you know, I'm entertaining, I'm jumping around, I'm doing this. Every once in a while I need an IV," Adams testified. "And he says 'I just need you to help me get my rest.' They were pretty vague, but on hindsight I know what they were talking about." Jackson and Murray, however, never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour, the anesthesiologist testified. Jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate, Adams said. Adams hinted that there was jealously on Murray's part when Jackson courted him for a tour job. "Murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend" when Jackson was discussing it, Adams said. "Oh, he was truly upset." Defense expert: Promoter didn't pressure Jackson's doctor . Murray told CNN's Anderson Cooper in April that Michael Jackson had "his own stash" of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it. "I did not agree with Michael, but Michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked," Murray said. "And given the situation at the time, it was my approach to try to get him off of it, but Michael Jackson was not the kind of person you can just say 'Put it down' and he's going to do that." Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live was negligent for not checking out Murray's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $150,000 a month. It created a conflict of interest that led Murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to Jackson's health, they contend. AEG Live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that Jackson's health was deteriorating under Murray's care and another doctor should have been called in, they argue. Adams was in a Las Vegas operating room on June 25, 2009, when he learned Jackson had died. "I texted Murray 'I'm sorry to hear what happened. Take care,'" he said. Murray never responded, he said. Dr. Murray's connection to Michael Jackson . Murray did respond that night to a phone call from another Adams. Jeffrey Adams is the person who initially introduced him to Michael Jackson in February 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in Las Vegas. Jeffrey Adams -- no relation to Dr. David Adams -- had known Murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father's heart ailment in 2007. His video deposition was shown to jurors Wednesday morning. He testified that he called Dr. Murray to offer his help after he saw on television that Jackson had died. "I told him he had taken care of my father for me and I would be at his side until this situation was complete," Adams testified. Murray told him that night "he was going to need a lawyer," he said. He and Murray "did everything together" from June 26, 2009 --a day after Jackson's death -- until November 7, 2011 -- the day Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, he said. Jeffrey Adams said he served as Murray's bodyguard for more than two years without pay. Despite his close relationship to Murray, Adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail. Murray is expected to be released from jail on October 28, 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence, according to his lawyer. Doctor's competed to give Jackson painkillers, ex-wife says . Murray and Jackson: "Seemed very odd" Murray's relationship with Michael Jackson "seemed very odd," according to Las Vegas plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Gordon. Jurors also watched his video deposition Wednesday. "He presented himself as being Mr. Jackson's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent" when Murray accompanied Jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on May 14, 2007, Gordon said. Gordon had treated Jackson several times four years earlier, but not when Murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $1,300 check to pay for the procedure, he said. "The whole situation seemed very odd and it didn't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person," Gordon testified. "I felt like a successful cardiologist doesn't go around being somebody's private physician and speaking for them, in my experience." Jackson, however, appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own, Gordon said. "He gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do." Jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in Las Vegas to give him collagen and Botox treatments, he said. "At first I thought it was somebody playing a prank, one of my friends fooling around," Gordon said. He realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias "Michael Jefferson," he said. Wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial, which the judge predicted would last another month. | "I just need you to help me get my rest," Michael Jackson tells anesthesiologist .
Anesthesiologist David Adams offered to go on tour with Michael Jackson for $100,000 a month .
Jackson's offer to Dr. David Adams made Dr. Murray "truly upset," Adams says .
Murray "presented himself as being Mr. Jackson's personal physician and spokesperson" in 2007 . |
212,082 | 9ea5f00a870595374334749f47188833f5e74d46 | (CNN) -- Hero pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger on Tuesday joined the opposition to heightened airport security procedures that critics have called invasive and intrusive. Sullenberger, who landed a crippled US Airways jet on the Hudson River last year, said the use of full-body pat-downs and advanced imaging scanners for airline personnel "just isn't an efficient use of our resources." Federal transport authorities say the machines are both safe and a necessary security precaution, especially following recent airline terrorism attempts. Sullenberger argued that transport authorities should trust pilots and flight attendants because "we're trusted partners" who are already "thoroughly screened." "We're among the most scrutinized professional groups in the country, even more than doctors," Sullenberger said on CNN's "American Morning." "It's really not an efficient use of our resources to put us through this," he added, suggesting that flight crews should be allowed to bypass much of the pre-boarding security screening that is required of passengers. Transportation Security Administration officials are permitted to use "professional discretion" in determining if individuals should be subject to further screening, according to a TSA statement. In a letter to aviation authorities, Rep. John Mica, R-Florida, raised the idea of privatization at transport hubs, which he said could improve efficiency and enable airports to opt out of TSA safety regulations. "It is both inappropriate and inefficient for the TSA to serve as the administrator, quality assurance regulator, operator and auditor of its own activities," Mica, currently the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in the letter. "My aviation subcommittee staff would be pleased to assist you should you move forward with your decision to opt to have a certified private screening program at your airport," he said. Meanwhile, the Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization aligned with the Christian right, filed suit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole on behalf of two pilots who refused both the full body scan and the pat-down. "TSA is forcing travelers to consent to a virtual strip search or allow an unknown officer to literally place his or her hands in your pants," said Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead. It is not clear whether private screening is more efficient than TSA procedures or whether such screenings would meet federal safety standards. Earlier on Tuesday, a public interest research group said it is suing the Department of Homeland Security in a freedom of information lawsuit intended to obtain medical records and studies that it says the agency has relied upon for its use of body scanners. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has also asked authorities to suspend the use of advanced imaging technology and called for public hearings into its use, center spokesman Marc Rotenberg told reporters on Tuesday. Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader joined Rotenberg in the group's request for more information, calling the agency secretive and unresponsive. "[Scanners] present hazards when they malfunction or when they function routinely," he said. Nader said radiation emitted by the machines was potentially hazardous to passengers, but acknowledged that most passengers in 2009 had actually favored the new measures. Transport authorities say advanced imaging technology meets national health and safety standards. "These things ... have been examined six ways to Sunday," Napolitano said on Monday. "The [Food and Drug Administration], Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. Science and Standards Association have all measured the radiation involved in an AIT," she said. "It's almost immeasurable, it is so small." In a report posted on the FDA website, scientists say full body X-ray scanners pose "very low health risks." The FDA evaluates radiation-emitting products as well as foods and medications. But a representative for Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory said the group did not evaluate the advanced imaging machines for passenger safety. "That was not our role," said spokesperson Helen Worth. "We measured the level of radiation, which was then evaluated by TSA." CNN could not independently confirm whether scanners pose a risk to passenger health. Transport authorities say that passengers concerned about the technology can decline the full body scan and instead opt for manual hand-searches performed by TSA officials. But some passengers and pilots have expressed objections to TSA's too-close-for-comfort pat-downs. Over the weekend, a 31-year-old man refused a pat-down at a San Diego, California, airport. After arguing with a TSA agent, John Tyner left the airport facing a possible $11,000 fine, according to Michael Aguilar, the TSA's federal security director in San Diego. Anyone who refuses to complete the screening process will be denied access to airport secure areas and could be subject to civil penalties, according to a TSA statement, citing a federal appeals court ruling in support of the rule. The ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says "requiring that a potential passenger be allowed to revoke consent to an ongoing airport security search makes little sense in a post-9/11 world. Such a rule would afford terrorists multiple opportunities to attempt to penetrate airport security by 'electing not to fly' on the cusp of detection until a vulnerable portal is found." Tyner called the incident ridiculous and said he will not fly "until these machines go away." The mood among security officials is "anger over the way the media is playing this story," according to a senior Homeland Security official. "You had a dutiful [transportation security officer], someone who works on the front lines to protect this country from a terrorist attack, someone who did everything by the book and according to his training, and he was accosted and verbally abused by a member of the traveling public," the official said. "The fact that some in the media would hail the traveler as a kind of folk hero is shameful." The incident sparked a debate over passenger safety and personal privacy that has remained headline news, just ahead of the holiday travel season. Pistole, addressing a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on air cargo safety, veered off topic to plead with the American public to see airport security "as a partnership." "Those security officers there are there to work with you, to ensure that everybody on that flight has been properly screened," he said. "Everybody wants that assurance, so just try to be patient, work with our folks. They are there to protect you and your loved ones, and let's make it a partnership." Pistole also sent a memo to TSA staff praising the work of officers -- including those who met with Tyner in San Diego. "Everyone involved with these latest incidents put into practice their training and experience, as you all do every day on the front lines to protect our country from terrorist attack," he wrote. "They did their work with calm professionalism even as they were faced with a confrontational situation." Watch American Morning weekdays 6am to 9am ET. For the latest from American Morning click here. | NEW: Civil liberties group files suit against Napolitano, Pistole .
NEW: Pistole praises work of TSA employees, pleads with public to work with screeners .
Rep. John Mica sent a letter to aviation authorities discussing airport privatization .
A public interest research group said it is suing DHS over scanner information . |
134,337 | 39b4ebca521976b4caf07d83265537b5379b14bf | Google has taken action after its search engine was found to be suggesting vile racist terms when users searched for a number of UK cities including Bradford, Leicester and Birmingham. The search engine was found to be making crude and offensive suggestions when users typed in 'Why is' followed by the name of a city. For example, if a user typed in the phrase 'Why is Bradford...' the site automatically suggested the search 'Why is Bradford so full of P****.' Typing in the phrase with Leicester and Birmingham also produced similar results. Google took action after its search engine was found to be producing racist slurs. If users typed in 'Why is' followed by a number of UK cities it would auto-complete the search to 'so full of P****' (library image) Google took immediate action against the Autocomplete suggestions and removed all of them from the site. Certain other racist insults do remain, however. The site said the suggestions are produced by combining algorithms that predict what people will search for with popular searches. The internet giant said: 'Autocomplete is a feature of Google search that offers predicted searches to help you more quickly find what you’re looking for. 'These searches are produced automatically based on a number of factors including the popularity of search terms. 'We periodically update our systems to improve Search, so the terms that appear in Autocomplete may change over time.' Speaking with Matt Quinton at The Sun, Labour MP for Leicester East Keith Vaz said: 'I am shocked these search options come up. Google boss Eric Schmidt. Last year, he confirmed the site would block all links to child abuse online . 'It is totally unacceptable and I will be raising this matter in Parliament' Google has come under fire in the past for acting slowly to remove or block indecent images online. The company initially refused to sign up to an alert system that would block people from viewing vile images on the internet, saying it had its own methods of blocking such material. At the time, The Home Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Mr Vaz, accused 'complacent' internet service providers and search engines of being 'far too laid back about what takes place on their watch'. Speaking in July last year, he said: 'The Prime Minister was right to highlight the responsibility of the internet service providers, search engines and social media sites. 'They are far too laid back about what takes place on their watch and they need to do more to take inappropriate content down. If they do not act, the Government should legislate.' However, in November the company's CEO Eric Schmidt said the search engine would block all links to child sexual abuse online. In a piece in the Daily Mail, he wrote: 'We've fine-tuned Google Search to prevent links to child sexual abuse material from appearing in our results.' In 2012, Google rejected the White House’s request to remove a controversial anti-Islam YouTube clip that sparked violent anti-American protests across the globe. Instead the internet company, who own YouTube, censored the video in several locations as well as blocking it in Egypt and Libya - where U.S. embassies were stormed by protestors enraged over the depiction of the Prophet Mohammad as a fraud and philanderer. | Insults appeared when users typed in 'Why is' followed by number of cities .
If 'Why is Bradford...' was written 'so full of P****' was suggested .
Search engine immediately removed all offensive Autocomplete terms .
Suggestions based on algorithms and popular searches, company says . |
32,067 | 5b46662fb44ef14ce173b5f5f12ef366c6e0f104 | A lack of exercise is as dangerous as smoking and is directly to blame for one in six deaths in Britain, a report has warned. The UK is now even worse than America for inactivity – with half of women and a third of men moving so little in their daily lives that they are exposing themselves to diseases ever earlier in life. Officials from Public Health England warned that our sedentary lifestyles are not only causing obesity – they are directly responsible for a vast range of illnesses. Scroll down for video . A lack of exercise is as dangerous as smoking and is directly to blame for one in six deaths in Britain . These include muscle and joint complaints, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, dementia, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Together these cost the economy £17.6billion a year, and threaten to ‘destabilise’ the entire welfare state if current trends continue. The report goes on to state that one in six deaths every year are directly due to inactivity. This is about 84,500 in England and Wales – a very similar number to the number of deaths attributed to smoking. It also states that 63 per cent of adults do not take the recommended amount of exercise of two and a half hours over the course of a week. This compares to 18 per cent in the Netherlands, 28 per cent in Germany, 33 per cent in France and 41 per cent in the US. Figures show our average levels of exercise are a fifth lower than in the 1960s and the worst in the Western world – including the US. In Britain, 63 per cent of adults do not take the recommended amount of exercise of two and a half hours over the course of a week . Experts blame our demanding office jobs, less time being spent on the housework and DIY and a preference for watching television instead of being outdoors. Professor Kevin Fenton, executive director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, the agency responsible for tackling obesity, said: ‘Physical inactivity is unrecognised as a significant health, social and economic burden on individuals and communities in England. ‘It is a leading contributor to rising levels of many long-term conditions such as obesity, diabetes and dementia. Our modern lifestyles amplify the problem, with even those who are already taking regular physical activity at risk of damaging their health by spending long periods sitting down.’ He added: ‘We need to make physical activity the easy, accessible and natural choice for everyone. If physical activity was a drug we’d be hailing it as a miracle cure. ‘Our living environment and working environment has changed over the past four decades and it’s all dragging us to be inactive.’ Officials from Public Health England warned that our sedentary lifestyles are not only causing obesity – they are directly responsible for a vast range of illnesses . The report showed that women tend to exercise less than men, with a quarter of women and a fifth of men classed as inactive. Officials urged people to make simple changes to their routines such as cycling to the shops, gardening at the weekend or taking the stairs rather than the lift. And this week, the head of the NHS Simon Stevens urged companies to offer staff prizes and vouchers to lose weight and be active. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘A lack of physical activity far transcends any harm done by smoking.’ And Mike Hobday, director of policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘Physical inactivity is a serious public health concern. Young and old alike need to move more. ‘We must change this couch potato culture and put physical activity at the heart of our daily routine.’ Public Health Minister Jane Ellison said: ‘Whatever age you are, activity is vital for maintaining good health. Increasing physical activity is a priority right across Government.’ | Report says the UK is now even worse than the US for inactivity .
Lack of exercise can lead to depression, heart disease and dementia .
Experts blame demanding office jobs and preference for watching TV . |
73,806 | d14947c6734ce94b3fd3107166c268679a2c215b | Tragic socialite Casey Johnson desperately tried to reconnect with her estranged billionaire father before her sudden death in 2010, but he refused to respond, her mother has revealed. Sale Johnson said that her ex-husband Woody Johnson, who owns the New York Jets, did not pick up Casey's calls or return her letters after cutting her out following a string of public embarrassments. Casey, who was heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune before her death from complications of diabetes aged 30, also struggled with borderline personality disorder, her mother has revealed. In the years leading up to her death, it manifested itself in a turbulent lifestyle of heavy partying. In decisions deemed rash by her family, she also adopted a baby and started a lesbian relationship. Sale Johnson and other relatives and friends spoke to author Jerry Oppenheimer for a new biography, Crazy Rich, that details the scandals of the Johnson & Johnson dynasty and lifts the lid on Casey Johnson's turbulent life and tragic demise. Tragic: Socialite and Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson, pictured in 2008, passed away in 2010 after years of struggling with borderline personality disorder and diabetes . The book has now been excerpted in the New York Post. 'Borderline personality disorder ruled . Casey’s life,' Oppenheimer quotes Sale Johnson, who revealed her daughter's mental . condition for the first time in the book. 'It stole her teenage years and her young . adulthood life away from her. It’s a mental health disease that . confounds, scares, hurts the victim, her family, her friends, and her . doctors. 'They don't want to treat it because it has the highest suicide . rate, and no cure, and [someone like Casey] is a 24/7 patient.' Happier times: Casey is pictured with her father, Jets owner Woody Johnson, before their estrangement . Support: Casey with her mother Sale, left, who now looks after Casey's daughter, Ava-Monroe, right . Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental illness characterized by unstable moods, behavior and relationships. Sufferers have problems regulating their emotions and are susceptible to intense anger, impulsive and reckless behavior and often have stormy relationships with loved ones. Among sufferers, there are high rates of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, self harm and suicidal thoughts. While research is continuing into the causes and risk factors, scientists believe that genetic and environmental factors could be involved. Unstable family situations could also increase a person's risk. Around 1.6 per cent of adults in the U.S. have BPD, and symptoms usually begin to show in early adulthood. It can be treated with psychotherapy or medications that can help reduce anxiety or depression. It further complicated her diabetes, . which she had been diagnosed with aged eight, and which ultimately . claimed her life after she failed to properly take her insulin. Her . mother said that at first it was assumed that her disruptiveness at . home and school as a child was due to the diabetes, when in fact, it was . likely caused by her borderline personality disorder. And as she aged, the condition only took further hold, causing unstable moods and relationships. After . a charmed upbringing during which she was given anything she dreamed . of, she began partying, drinking and taking drugs in an attempt to help . her through her struggles, her mother said. She lasted just one semester at Brown . University and after her parents divorced in 2001, she moved to . Hollywood with dreams of becoming a star. Her parents moved to Los Angeles several years later to stage an intervention, but she rebuffed them, angering her father. 'After that, Woody basically washed his hands of Casey,' Sale Johnson said. Then, after a public falling out with Woody's sister Elizabeth Ross Johnson, he cut off all ties with her, including her trust fund of millions of dollars. Relationship: Casey was engaged to model and TV personality Tila Tequila at the time of her death . Party life: Casey Johnson is pictured left with fellow heiress Nicky Hilton in 2002, and right in 2008 . Troubled: Casey, in 2005, was known for her partying lifestyle, which was an embarrassment to her father . As she continued to struggle with her . health, Casey adopted a Kazakh baby girl, Ava-Monroe, in 2007, even . though her parents were concerned she could not look after the child. Revelations: The new details about the family have emerged in Crazy Rich, due out next month . A year later, her mother said Casey . was desperate to introduce Ava to her estranged father in an attempt to . reconnect and visited his home - where she was met by his second wife, . Suzanna Ircha. Ircha . demanded Casey leave and she refused, sparking a loud and heated . argument - and eventually Ircha called 911. Woody also arrived home and . demanded his daughter never return. Despite his hostility, Casey did not give up on a relationship with her father, Sale said. 'Casey . sent love letters to her father,' she said in the book. 'She called and . left voice mails, and Woody chose not to respond.' As Casey spiraled further out of control - being hospitalized for her diabetes, handing her daughter over to her mother and starting a public lesbian relationship with model Tila Tequila - Sale said she became bitter about how her ex-husband had just washed his hands of their troublesome daughter. 'He didn't want to have anything to do with Casey,' she said. 'It was too much trouble. But fathers are supposed to take a bullet for their kids, and he went the other way... I thought it was appalling.' After she became more distanced from her family towards the end of 2009, she is believed to have spent New Year's Eve alone in Los Angeles. Passing: Police officers leave Casey's Hollywood home, where she was found dead in January 2010 . Home: She died aged 30 after slipping into a diabetic coma after failing to properly regulate her insulin . Her body was discovered on January 4, 2010 - a few days after she is believed to have died after slipping into a diabetic coma. After his daughter's death, Woody . Johnson told the New York Times that she had been 'trying to find her . own identity. She was rebellious. She made some judgment errors. Been . there, done that. She had to take responsibility. And it couldn't be me . pushing. Or her mother. Or her doctor. She would ultimately have to do . it herself.' Tila Tequila, . who had become engaged to Johnson just weeks before her death, led the . tributes on Twitter, saying: 'R.I.P. my Angel, u will forever be in my . heart! I love u so so much and we will Marry when I see U in Heaven my . Wifey.' Sale Johnson continues to have custody of Casey's daughter Ava-Monroe, who is now seven. | Casey Johnson, heiress to Johnson & Johnson, died from complications from diabetes in January 2010 when she was just 30 .
Her mother, Sale Johnson, has revealed Casey's hard partying lifestyle and troubles stemmed from borderline personality disorder .
Her father, Woody Johnson, cut her out after a string of public spats - and he never reconnected with her despite her repeated efforts .
New details have emerged in biography about the dynasty's scandals . |
9,419 | 1ab63dab7c5da89ce6d9ba29ecda0276796da7c7 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 31 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:17 EST, 31 May 2013 . A blind Chinese woman has admitted to selling four of her new-born children to support her family because her husband can't hold down a steady job. Between 2005 and 2012 Du Xiurong, from Shibei Village in Mianyang, south-west China's Sichuan Province, sold four of her new newborn babies - three girls and one boy. In total Du, has given birth to six children, but has only kept her eldest son and eldest daughter. Desperate measures: Du Xiurong, pictured with . her grandson, admits she has sold four of her children in order to . raise money to support her family after her husband was unable to hold . down a steady job . Poverty: Between 2005 and 2012 Du, from Shibei . Village in Mianyang, south-west China's Sichuan Province, sold four of . her new newborn babies - three girls and one boy - for a total of 10,000 . yuan (£1,070) 'I love babies': She says that if she were capable to support the youngsters then she would have kept them all . 'I have no other choice. If I were not blinded I wouldn't have to do this,' she said. 'I am not selling them out, but giving them away. In return I only charge a bit for pregnancy fees. 'I love babies. If I were capable, I definitely would bring them up. But I really can't support them. I then find them good families to adopt them.' Claiming that she has done nothing wrong, Du said: 'I gave out babies to families which can't give birth. They want babies and I helped them.' She added: 'Rich people give out money for a daughter's wedding. Middle-class people earn money for a daughter's marriage, and poor people sell sons and daughters.' Rural: As China has a one-child policy, Du has had to hide her pregnancies from the village officials . Hard life: Du was blinded in an accident when she was five, and she got married when she was 14 . 'My parents saw me as a burden': Du was married off as soon as they found someone who wanted her . Scratching out a living: However, she soon found that her husband was unable to hold down a job . Poor: As Du's son and daughter grew up the family found themselves in need of money for the their education . The newborn baby rescued from a sewage pipe in China has been taken from the hospital by police and its maternal grandparents, officials said today. Images of the child being rescued from the drain shocked the world amid suspicions he had been flushed down the toilet because he was unwanted. But the infant has now been returned to his family after authorities decided he became trapped because of an accident. The unnamed mother claimed she fell pregnant following a one night stand - and then the father of the baby boy abandoned her. The 22-year-old woman said she could not afford an abortion or cope with the stigma of being a single mother. Now, the man has requested a paternity test and - if the baby is his - is ready to discuss with the woman how to support the child, according to an official in the Pujiang county propaganda office. This January Du was detained for selling her babies, but she was released not long after due to her disability. According to Du, who was blinded in an accident when she was five, she got married when she was 14. 'My . parents saw me as a burden,,' she said. 'They wanted to get rid of me . as soon as possible. So when they knew someone wanted to get married . with me they couldn't wait to push me out'. However, she soon found that her husband was unable to hold down a job. 'As a normal person, he can't earn any money. On the contrary, I, a blinded person, had to support the whole family,' she said. Du gave birth to her first baby, a boy, Cheng Jin, in 1991. Then in 2000 she gave birth to her first daughter, Sun Miao. As Du's first son and daughter grew up the family were found themselves in need of money for the children's education. So Du made a choice, which was to give birth and sell her babies. In 2005, Du sold her second daughter for 2,500 Yuan (£268). In the following seven years Du sold three more babies. Tough decision: Du sold a daughter for 2,500 yuan in 2005 and, over the next seven years, sold three more . 'I'll give the boy a good education, even if I have to sell everything': Du has now has become a grandmother and she is already planning how to raise money for her grandson's future education . As China has a one-child policy, Du has had to hide her pregnancies from the village officials. 'If I was discovered, they would force me to abort. I can't let them do that,' she said. In total Du has sold her four children for around 10,000 Yuan (£1,070). Du has now has become a grandmother and she is already planning how to raise money for her grandson's future education. 'I'll give the boy a good education, even if I have to sell everything.' | Du Xiurong has sold three girls and a boy between 2005 and 2012 .
She says she did it to raise money to look after her two eldest children .
She denies 'selling' the children, saying she only charges 'pregnancy fees' |
106,013 | 14b90ff7dbcb5d5ee4c297d9fd2571bc52744101 | In the latest propaganda video from Islamic State, hostages are paraded in cages through the packed streets of Iraq to cheers and jeers. But in a cruel twist, the orange jumpsuit-clad prisoners are interviewed by their captors - ahead of their presumably grim fate. The nine-minute video allegedly shows 21 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who are paraded through the crowded streets of the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, before being seemingly marched to their deaths. Scroll down for video . The video allegedly shows 21 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters paraded through the the Iraqi province of Kirkuk . A militant, whose microphone bears insignia associated with the terror group, talks to the camera in front of the cages . In a cruel twist, he even interviews prisoners who are shackled inside their cages and guarded by militants . A young hostage speaks to his 'interviewer' before he is dragged from the cage by by the scruff of his neck . The prisoners are driven one by one on the backs of pick-up trucks along with flag-waving militants - who are cover their faces and carry firearms - accompanying each prisoner. Several men are then interviewed by a militant, who carries a microphone bearing the terror group's insignia, before being taken out of their cages and pushed to their knees. The camera then stops on several hostages in turn and text appears on screen, apparently revealing details about each individual. And the footage ends with a haunting shot of an elderly man's face before abruptly cutting to black, hinting that a terrible fate awaits him and his fellow prisoners. The prisoners were driven on the backs of pick-uyp trucks along with flag-waving gun-toting militants . They were greeted with cheers and jeers as they were driven through the streets of the Kirkuk province . People are seen crowding around the pick-up trucks and shouting at the prisoners as they are paraded . Shiraz Maher, senior fellow at the International Center for Study of Radicalization at King's College in London, wrote on Twitter: 'New Islamic State video shows Peshmerga being paraded through Kirkuk province in cages.' He says the video is 'not as gory' as previous ones, but adds that although it ends before it is seen, the men were presumably murdered. Earlier this month, a video emerged showing a similar procession apparently taking place through Kirkuk in northwest Iraq. Those men were purportedly burned alive on camera in a horrific echo of the murder of Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh. Lt. al-Kaseasbeh was filmed being burned to death by Islamic State extremists in a 22-minute film which was expertly edited before being posted online. The scenes echo a video released earlier this month of 17 Kurdish Peshmerga paraded through the same area . The men were later grabbed and marched from their cages by militants and then forced to kneel in a row . The hostages are seen bowing their heads as menacing militants carrying guns force them to their knees . The video then focuses on each hostage in turn and appears to reveal information about the individuals . The nine-minute films ends with a lingering close-up of an elderly prisoner's face, before cutting to black . Titled 'Healing the Believers' Chests', it showed the captured airman locked in a cage before a trail of petrol leading up to its bars is set alight. The terror group and the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have been locked in a series of tense battles for control of the Kirkuk province since January. The video comes as a senior U.S. military official said a massive operation to retake Iraq's second-largest city from the Islamic State using up to 25,000 Iraqi troops will likely begin in April or May. The official from U.S. Central Command said the operation would involve 12 Iraqi brigades, five of which would be trained for the mission by the coalition in the coming weeks. Those five would make up the core fighting force that would launch the attack. But they would be supplemented by three smaller brigades serving as reserve forces, along with three Peshmerga brigades who would contain the Islamic State fighters from the north and west. News of the offensive comes amid reports the terror group is facing a growing number of defections and cases of corruption in its ranks in two of its major strongholds, Mosul and Raqqa. The terror group has faced a growing backlash over the brutal death of Jordanian pilot Lt Moath al-Kasasbeh, who was burned to death in an ISIS video released earlier this month . Terror expert Shiraz Maher tweeted that the video is not as gory as previous ones, but he presumes the men were later murdered . | Nine-minute video shows 21 Kurdish fighters paraded through Iraqi streets .
It echoes video released recently of a similar procession of prisoners .
But in an abhorrent twist, the prisoners are then interviewed on camera .
Then dragged from cages and forced to kneel in front of menacing militants .
Ends with a haunting shot of an elderly man's face, before cutting to black . |
137,540 | 3ddfc1bb75c3e01b1a2bc46a2d23a18ed4eaa9b0 | A New Jersey school bus driver who left two special needs children alone on a bus for nearly an hour in 90-degree weather has been sentenced to three years of probation. Kimberly Moumblow, 47, of Highland Lakes reportedly left two special needs boys, age seven and nine, on a school bus for 45 minutes in July 2013 with the door shut and the windows rolled up, authorities say. The bus was reportedly not running. Sentenced: Kimberly Moumblow, 47 (photographed), allegedly left two special needs children alone on a bus for nearly an hour in 90-degree weather and has now been sentenced to three years of probation . Judge Thomas J. Critchley also ordered Moumblow to pay various fines and undergo a mental health evaluation, The New Jersey Herald reports. In November 2014, Moumblow pleaded guilty to cruelty and fourth-degree neglect of a child in the incident. Moumblow reportedly skipped two of her three planned stops that July 23 day and, after driving the school bus to the Hamburg-based private bus company Macnova parking area, she left the vehicle without realizing the two boys were still inside, according to the Herald. According to NJ, Moumblow backed the bus into the company owner's home before leaving the children unattended in the vehicle in the 90-degree weather. Authorities have said the children were overheated and distressed, but were not seriously injured. Found: Police reportedly found the bus parked in front of the Macnova bus company owner's home (photographed here) The boys were found after their parents contacted the school, asking where the boys were, the Herald reports. The school board called the bus company, contracted to transport summer program students, and, when they couldn't reach the company, they contacted the police, CBS reports. Officers found the bus outside of the company owner's home, and CBS reports, that the company told school district officials that the children were on an air-conditioned bus and being attended to by an adult. Authorities soon learned that was not the case. Unacceptable: Charles Maranzano (photographed) described the situation as 'complete neglect,' saying Moumblow's actions were 'unacceptable and incomprehensible' 'I just want to say that I am sorry to the families, Moumblow said before her sentencing. 'Anything I say will sound like an excuse, but what happened was inexcusable.' Charles Maranzano, superintendent of Vernon Township schools, described the situation to CBS as 'complete neglect,' saying Moumblow's actions were 'unacceptable and incomprehensible.' Though Moumblow said what happened was 'inexcusable,' the woman, who had a special license to drive a bus for nearly a decade, said she could offer no explanation other than personal issues involving her own children and a prior marriage, according to the Herald. Moumblow will face the probation, evaluation, and fines although the fourth-degree crime of neglect of a child carries a potential weight of up to 18 months in jail, NJ reports. The school district has since fired the Macnova bus company, according to the Herald, and Moumblow is no longer allowed to work with children. | Kimberly Moumblow, 47, is accused of leaving two special needs children alone on a hot bus for 45 minutes .
Moumblow has been sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to pay various fines, and ordered to undergo a medical health evaluation .
Authorities have said the children were overheated and slightly dehydrated . |
145,067 | 47a034dedc2ec9ccd385096699073c6a8c5e5032 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 5:23 PM on 16th November 2011 . Two thirds of foreign wives could be banned from the UK under plans to stop immigrants becoming 'a burden on the state'. Government immigration advisers say that the minimum salary required to bring a spouse to Britain should go up significantly, and may even be doubled. The proposals could mean more than half of the UK's population would not be able to bring in a foreign partner, as they might not earn enough to support them without relying on benefits. And the threshold may be pushed even higher for those trying to bring children to the UK. Family: But British residents earning less than the national average wage could be barred from bringing in a partner from abroad (file photo) Professor David Metcalf, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, said a minimum salary of between £18,600 and £25,700 should be introduced for UK residents sponsoring a partner or dependant for UK citizenship. This minimum, which applies equally to British citizens and immigrants, is currently set at around £13,700. Some 40,000 foreign wives, husbands and partners were granted visas to join their family in the UK last year, but that number would be cut by up to 63 per cent under the proposals. The Government asked the advisers to identify the salary a worker would need to earn to support a spouse or partner 'without them becoming a burden on the state', Professor Metcalf said. The minimum salary could be even higher for those who wanted their children to join them from abroad, he added. The lowest figure in the proposed range, £18,600, is the income level at which many benefits, including housing benefit and tax credits, are withdrawn, while the highest figure, £25,700, represents the typical income of a one-adult household. It would mean that between a quarter and a half of full-time adult workers would be unable to bring their partners to the UK - but many others, including the unemployed and pensioners, could be prevented too. Wealthy: Only those earning above-average wages will be able to sponsor a spouse . Prof Metcalf said the proposals do not take into account Britons' right to a family life. 'We have to abide by the terms of reference that we are set up for, and that's to answer the questions which the Government sets us, and not go off on a track of our own,' he said. 'It's for others to then decide whether in some senses that question is a bit wrong, [if] it's in this case too economic focused, or quite possibly we've not addressed it properly.' He added that the current threshold was 'a bit low', and suggested there was 'justification for raising the pay threshold' to prevent a huge benefits bill for spouses from abroad. The MAC's figures show that of the 40,000 spouses and partners brought in from outside the EU, nearly a third were from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, while 6 per cent came from the U.S. and 5 per cent from Nepal. It added that while 94 per cent of those based in the UK with a spouse abroad wanted their partner to join them, half earned less than £20,100 and three quarters earned less than £30,500. The Institute for Public Policy Research warned that if the Government accepted the proposals and went ahead with the policy, 'it is likely to be challenged in the courts'. Matt Cavanagh, the think-tank's associate director, said: 'It isn't unreasonable - particularly in the current economic climate - to ask whether, if someone is destitute or entirely dependent on benefits, they should be allowed to bring in a spouse or partner who is likely to end up in a similar position. 'But introducing an income threshold at £25,700 - the level of the national median income - would effectively bar half the population from bringing a spouse or partner from abroad. 'We're not talking about people who are destitute or living on benefits, we are talking about people who are working and getting an average wage.' | 40,000 foreign wives, husbands and partners were granted visas to join their family in the UK last year . |
96,776 | 0889b9e12836f5237e9f811d805e9148e15ca8a9 | A perfectly preserved glass ‘witch bottle’ has been unearthed in Newark - three centuries after it was buried in the ground. The green vessel is believed to have been used during the 18th century to ward off witches and evil spirits, and survived for so long because it was placed so carefully on the site of the Old Magnus Buildings in the town. Archaeologists said such bottles were filled with hair, fingernails and even urine to stop spells and curses entering homes. The green ‘witch bottle’ (pictured) is 6-inches tall (15cm) and experts have dated the bottle to around 1680. It is believed to have have been used during the 1700s to ward off evil spirits. Suspicious people believed that by placing items that linked a homeowner to the property, it would successfully stop evil forces entering the home . Many people at the time believed that by placing items that linked a homeowner to the property, it would successfully stop evil forces penetrating the walls. The witch bottle was found during restoration work on the site of the Old Magnus Buildings and Tudor Hall, Appleton Gate, Newark-on-Trent. It is 6-inches tall (15cm), and was found placed carefully in the ground, so not to disrupt what would have been stored inside. Experts have dated the bottle to around 1680, although the site dates back to 1529 when Reverend Thomas Magnus provided funds to build a grammar school in the town. The witch bottle was found during restoration work on the site of the Old Magnus Building and Tudor Hall, Appelton Gate, Newark-on-Trent (marked). The grade II-listed structure will house the UK's first National Civil War Centre when it opens in spring next year, backed by £3.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund . The Old Magnus Buildings site (pictured) dates back to 1529 when Reverend Thomas Magnus decided to provide funds to build a grammar school in the town. The Tudor Hall survives and was later joined by a Georgian town house extension and Victorian school hall . The Tudor Hall survives and was later joined by a Georgian town house extension and Victorian school hall. Will Munford, of Pre-construct Archaeological Services, said: ‘We often forget that people were very superstitious - it was part of their everyday lives. ‘They thought that secreting such personal objects would offer protection from malign forces.’ In addition to personal items, bent iron nails, small bones, thorns, needles and cloth were also traditionally placed in witch bottles to ward off evil. Archaeologists said witch bottles were filled with hair, fingernails and even urine to stop spells and curses entering homes. In addition to personal items, bent iron nails, small bones, thorns, needles and cloth were also traditionally placed in witch bottles to ward off evil. A witch hunt is illustrated . The green 'witch bottle' found in Newark is believed to have been used during the 1700s to ward off witches and evil spirits. It survived for so long because it was placed so carefully in the ground, on the site of the Old Magnus Buildings in the northern town. Archaeologists said such bottles were filled with hair, fingernails and even urine to stop spells and curses entering homes. In addition to personal items, bent iron nails, small bones, thorns, needles and cloth were also traditionally placed in witch bottles to ward off evil. The bottles were most often found buried under a fireplace, although other known sites include under the floor, or inside walls. The fireplace is traditionally said to have a direct connection to the sky above, making it a good entry point for a witch to enter a home. Many people also believed doors could let witches and evil spirits into a home, so bottles were often found in doorways and entrances. The tradition dates to British folklore, travelling with British immigrants to America and beyond. The bottles were most often found buried under a fireplace, although other known sites include under the floor, or inside walls. The fireplace is traditionally said to have a direct connection to the sky above, making it a good entry point for a witch to enter a home. Many people also believed doors could let witches and evil spirits into a home, so bottles were often found in doorways and entrances. The tradition dates to British folklore, travelling with British immigrants to America and beyond. Kevin Winter, collections assistant at the National Civil War Centre is pictured holding the bottle on the Newark site. Newark and Sherwood District Council is working with Woodhead Heritage to turn the Old Magnus Buildings into a museum and visitor centre. It is hoped the bottle will go on display when the centre opens . Newark and Sherwood District Council is working with Woodhead Heritage and architects Purcell to turn the Old Magnus Buildings into a museum and visitor centre. The grade II-listed structure will house the UK's first National Civil War Centre when it opens in spring next year, backed by £3.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. And it is hoped the bottle will go on display when the centre opens. | Witch bottle was found during restoration of Old Magnus Building, Newark .
It is 6-inches tall (15cm), and experts have dated it to around 1680 .
It was found placed carefully in the ground and is perfectly preserved .
Green vessel is believed to have been used to ward off evil spirits .
Archaeologists said such bottles were filled with hair, fingernails and urine .
Suspicious people believed that by placing items that linked a homeowner to the property, it would successfully stop evil forces penetrating the walls .
British folklore tradition dates back to the 15th century . |
234,121 | bb160b9cc1f18be1fc40455272e4ea12f5ac464a | By . Vanessa Allen . PUBLISHED: . 06:48 EST, 18 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 03:02 EST, 19 June 2012 . Bombarded: Michelle Stone was still in hospital taking painkillers when she began receiving emails demanding her opinion on hospital restructuring . A hospital manager who was bombarded with work emails while she was on maternity leave has won £18,000 in compensation. Michelle Stone, who worked for a private health care chain, was still in hospital taking strong painkillers after undergoing a caesarean when she began receiving ‘insensitive’ messages from the woman covering for her. One was a demand for help only two days after she gave birth. The new mother told an employment tribunal she was bombarded with emails from her replacement, Tania Terblanche, for weeks after the birth of her daughter. When she stopped replying because her baby was ill, Miss Terblanche made a formal complaint accusing her of being ‘unsupportive’. And when Mrs Stone told her managers she wanted to take her full year’s entitlement of maternity leave, the tribunal heard one of her superiors went ‘ballistic’ and the married mother was branded unprofessional. Miss Terblanche said it was ‘ridiculous’ for a woman to want to take a year off to look after a baby and ‘effectively started a campaign to destroy [Mrs Stone’s] reputation’, it was claimed. Mrs Stone said her treatment had a devastating effect on her first year as a mother. She was under so much stress that her . health visitor referred her to a mental health worker. In a letter to . her employer, she said: ‘I have been genuinely concerned that I would . lose my job and have been made to feel incredibly guilty at taking . additional maternity leave.’ Failure: Winfield Hospital in Gloucestershire, where Mrs Stone worked, was given a damning judgement by the tribunal panel for the discrimination she faced . The tribunal panel found that the . 43-year-old hospital manager had suffered discrimination and awarded her . £18,000 in compensation. Mrs Stone was a general manager at . Winfield Hospital in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, when she became . pregnant in 2009. She gave birth in February 2010 and remained in . hospital for several days, and was prescribed strong painkillers. Two days after the birth she received . an email on her BlackBerry from Miss Terblanche, asking for her views . on a restructuring programme. When she did not reply within 48 hours, Miss Terblanche’s assistant phoned her asking her to respond. The tribunal in Yate, Somerset, said . it was a criminal offence for an employer to allow an employee to work . within two weeks of childbirth. Miss Terblanche did not give evidence . during the three-day tribunal hearing. | Michelle Stone was branded 'unsupportive' when quizzed by maternity cover over restructuring .
She had been working for hospital for 15 years .
Colleagues put her 'unprofessional' behaviour down to 'her hormones'
Mrs Stone said treatment had devastating effect on first year as mother . |
197,728 | 8beeca06d462342b23908c8504333343e76192eb | An outfield player being forced to go in goal is perhaps one of the most entertaining sights in football. However, nothing compares to one being forced to go in goal for a vital penalty shootout. This is the fate that befell Ludogorets centre back Cosmin Moti during the Bulgarians' dramatic Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday night. Hero: Makeshift goalkeeper Cosminn Moti celebrates after saving two penalties to send Ludogorets through . Progress: The Ludogorets players race to celebrate with Moti following his goalkeeping heroics . Natural: Moti dives to his left in an attempt to keep out a Steaua Bucharest penalty with the scores tied . Get in! Moti raced over the hoardings to celebrate with the Bulgarian champions' supporters . After substitute Wanderson scored a wonderful volley in the 90th minute to send the game to extra-time, 1-1 on aggregate, the defender was forced into goal for the shootout following the 119th minute dismissal of goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov. Moti, forced to wear the shirt of substitute keeper Ivan Cvorovic, was the hero of the night, scoring the first penalty for his side before making brilliant diving saves to deny Paul Pirvulescu and Cornel Rapa as Ludogorets won the shoot-out 6-5 to spark wild scenes. After such a display, the Bulgarian champions' No 1 Stoyanov will do well to win his place back in the side. Grateful: Dismissed goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov embraces a smiling Moti on Wednesday night . | Defender Cosmin Moti forced to go in goal and makes two penalty saves to send Ludogorets through to Champions League group stage .
Bulgarian champions' first-choice goalkeeper was dismissed in extra-time .
Centre back Moti was forced to replace keeper after Ludogorets had used all of their substitutes .
Moti made two saves as Bulgarians beat Steaua Bucharest in shoot-out . |
208,431 | 99db342f39bb95a681004a46e056c2e841196361 | By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:07 EST, 16 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:07 EST, 16 March 2013 . Thomas Hare (pictured) was found dead in a river in Cambodia . A young British actor described as being a ‘crazy, magical, man’ has been found dead in a river in Cambodia. Thomas Hare, 25, who went by the stage name of Tommy Vine, was reported missing on Thursday. He had last been seen swimming in the Mekong River in Kampot Province, in the south of the country, and his body was found by a fisherman yesterday. Mr Hare was originally from Bristol but lived in London, where he had studied at the Arts Educational theatre school. He had appeared on Casualty, Sky’s A Touch Of Cloth and Channel 4’s Top Boy as well as several stage productions. Colleagues and friends paid tribute to him online. Writer Jonathan Harvey, who created the BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, said: ‘Such sad, devastating news... Lovely human being.’ Actor Thomas Hare had last been seen swimming in the Mekong River in Kampot Province . We're sorry but reader comments are currently unavailable. | Thomas Hare last seen swimming in the Mekong River .
His body was found by a fisherman .
Had appeared on Casualty, Sky's A Touch Of Cloth and Channel 4's Top Boy . |
396 | 012c5bfe1ef1cf80d159dab760ff32fcbb270b70 | By . Gerri Peev . PUBLISHED: . 17:47 EST, 24 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:57 EST, 24 November 2013 . One in every four pounds collected in council tax in the last year has gone to funding local government pensions in England. Of the £22.4billion handed over by families in council tax in England in 2012-13, some £5.7billion went towards paying for council workers’ pensions. More than half of all council tax revenue collected in Scotland went on local government pensions in 2011-12. Uncertain future: Pensions expert Michael Johnson claims the figures are a sign that the Local Government Pension Scheme is totally unsustainable . Scottish councils paid £1billion in employer contributions for local government pensions, yet they collected just £1.9billion in council tax. The figures, unveiled by pensions expert Michael Johnson, are a sign that the Local Government Pension Scheme is totally unsustainable, he said. In a report for the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, he warned that high costs and lax governance are corroding the pension scheme for council workers. This would ultimately end with council taxpayers or the Treasury being landed with the liabilities for paying pensions. Mr Johnson told the Mail: ‘The implications of how much is spent on pensions out of the council tax collected are enormous. There is going to be an absolute societal schism in the years ahead when you compare the average public sector worker to the average private sector worker. ‘The public sector worker’s benefits will on average be three times more than what the private sector employee gets.’ Unlike other public sector schemes, employees do contribute to the Local Government Pension Schemes. Huge disparity: For city of London council workers the administration management costs are £317.30 compared to just £7.60 in West Yorkshire . But an ageing population and a public sector pay freeze has eroded the value of those contributions. Experts predict that within three years the scheme will run out of cash. The weakest funds were already selling off assets just to bankroll existing pensioners. ‘With no realistic prospect of recovery, they are probably in a death spiral, heading to an unfunded status,’ Mr Johnson said. He warned that the ‘ultimate liability will probable fall on council taxpayers’. There was also a ‘quiet assumption … that one day, the Treasury will step in’. ‘Successive governments, irrespective of political hue, have, for decades, acted with irresponsible abandon when making provision for their own staff’s pensions. Pension promises have historically been worth roughly 35 per cent of salary, yet contributions have been only around 21 per cent: pure Madoff economics,’ he said, referring to the pyramid scheme which has been described as the biggest financial fraud of all time. Mr Johnson’s report highlighted the massive disparities in administration management costs: £13.70 in Nottinghamshire per member compared to £119.40 in Durham. Fund management costs were even more varied with City of London council workers paying £317.30 each compared to £7.60 in West Yorkshire. Mr Johnson called for some of the 101 pension schemes to be merged into several regional ones. The also queried why councils were paying so much to fund managers to actively invest their money when studies showed they provided little value when compared to ‘passive’ investments. The Mail understands that ministers and senior civil servants are closely scrutinising his recommendations. A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: ‘The problems identified in this report are already being addressed and many of the suggested reforms are underway and well advanced. ‘The LGPS is one of the lowest cost pension schemes in the country and we will continue to work very hard to improve performance and value for both taxpayers and pension fund members. The steps we are taking to make it possible to compare costs and performance between funds, and make merging easier for those funds that chose to do so, will secure the long-term viability of the scheme. ‘We are in the middle of a formal call for evidence on the future structure of the LGPS which is considering a number of issues including the size of funds, investment strategy, deficit management and cash-flow. That will result in a formal consultation early in the new year.’ | Of the £22.4billion handed over by families in council tax in England in 2012-13, some £5.7billion went towards paying for council workers’ pensions .
In Scotland the figures are even worse where councils paid £1billion in employer contributions but collected just £1.9billion in council tax .
New figures show that high costs and lax governance are corroding the pension scheme predict that within three years it will run out of cash . |
111,729 | 1c13d1b6f7d5ba6e49912e24574cb24f343a53d9 | Joseph Chernach stands on the sideline during a high school football game in Crystal Falls, Michigan. He later committed suicide at the age of 25 after suffering from early dementia, his family claims . The mother of a 25-year-old man who hanged himself is suing Pop Warner football, claiming his suicide was the result of dementia and deep despair caused by brain injuries suffered while playing youth football. Joseph Chernach committed suicide in his mother's shed in Hixton, Wisconsin, in 2012, after brain injuries began to impair him in his sophomore year at college, it is claimed. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, says he suffered from a degenerative brain disease called dementia pugilistica, also known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, and that he also had post-concussion syndrome. It alleges he got them from playing in a Pop Warner league from 1997-2000, beginning when he was 11. Pop Warner Little Scholars, named after legendary coach Glenn Scobey 'Pop' Warner, is a non-profit organisation that facilitates youth football programmes for children aged between five and 16. The wrongful death lawsuit by Debra Pyka seeks at least $5 million from Langhorne, Pennsylvania-based Pop Warner Little Scholars, the Pop Warner Foundation and their insurance company. It says Pop Warner never warned Chernach, other children or parents about the risks of playing tackle football and alleges Pop Warner Football is an 'ultrahazardous activity' that's intrinsically dangerous to children. It stated: 'Pop Warner - by engaging in the business of sponsoring, organizing and promoting tackle football for children - engaged in conduct that was outrageous, malicious, intentional and was done with the intentional disregard of Joseph Chernach's rights as well as all other children who played Pop Warner football, not just in the State of Wisconsin but everywhere in the United States.' A Pop Warner spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday night. According to the lawsuit, Chernach got good grades in his freshman year at Central Michigan University. But it alleges the cumulative effects of CTE and post-concussion syndrome began to impair him in his sophomore year. 'From that point on his behavior became increasingly bizarre,' the complaint says. 'From that point on his mood became progressively depressed and ultimately paranoid, distrusting his closes friends and family. ... Joseph Chernach's suicide was the "natural and probable consequence" of the brain damage he suffered playing football.' In an interview, his mother said her son eventually stopped going to class. She said: 'The depression got worse as time went on. The last year was awful. He was in his room a lot. He lived back and forth with his brother and some of his friends. 'He would come to my house. He just could not stay in any place at once. He tried to hold down a job but it was difficult for him. He would sleep all day and then be up at night.' His family didn't learn of his brain damage until they received the autopsy results. The family's lawyer, Gordon Johnson, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, said it showed that Chernach was halfway toward the worst form of dementia seen in older football players. 'There really is only one thing that could cause CTE in a young person as this and that is repetitive head trauma,' he said. 'The only repetitive head trauma Joseph Chernach had was from playing football.' The attorney acknowledged that Chernach also played high school football, but said he was most vulnerable playing youth football. Mr Johnson said it was the first of what may be many cases against Pop Warner for exposing children to the kinds of risks that even the NFL is concerned about for its players. He said they think there have been hundreds of other suicides in which autopsies, had they been done, would have pointed the finger at youth football. 'I think that somebody should be held accountable for Joseph's death,' Mrs Pyka said. 'I want to see tackle football stop for these young kids... They should not be banging their brains together.' | Joseph Chernach committed suicide in 2012 suffering from early dementia .
His family also claims he had post-concussion syndrome due to football .
Mr Chernach's mother Debra Pyka is suing Pop Warner for at least $5m .
Lawsuit alleges he got the disease playing junior football from 1997-2000 .
It states he 'became progressively depressed and ultimately paranoid' |
186,652 | 7dc4a1a6a1298060876352817235f21adda6b8f9 | The United States is advising airlines with direct flights serving Russia to be aware of the possibility that explosive materials could be concealed in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday night. Rep. Michael McCaul said the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to airlines flying into Russia warning of the potential threat. The bulletin, the Texas Republican said, indicated that officials believed the explosives might be used during flights or smuggled into the city of Sochi, where competition at the Winter Olympics begins Thursday. The opening ceremony is Friday. A U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that the cause for the Homeland Security alert was specific to the imminent start of the games. According to the source, authorities have increasing confidence about the safety of Sochi and the Olympic venues. Still, U.S. intelligence is picking up increasing chatter that causes worry about targets outside the Sochi area, including regional transportation links. The biggest ongoing worry outside this new concern -- as expected -- is groups based in southern Russia's Caucasus region, in particular the restive Dagestan republic. However, U.S. officials also are worried that al Qaeda-linked groups from elsewhere could take advantage of the attention being focused on Russian militant groups. The concern about the use of toothpaste tubes is mostly focused on flights from Europe and neighboring Asian countries -- in part because the United States has less intelligence-sharing with those nations. A separate U.S. official with knowledge of the current situation, who would not speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the U.S. intelligence community is still assessing the credibility and scope of the threat. The official said the Russians brought some information to the United States. Two senior administration officials told CNN that U.S. authorities had intelligence that they shared with the Russians. Assessing the credibility includes looking at the latest intelligence about the location and capabilities of known terrorist bomb makers and which groups may have the ability to build a bomb in a container such as a toothpaste tube. Such a device would likely require hard-to-detect explosives and little or no metal content in other critical parts, such as the detonator. Observers ask: Is Sochi ready? No known threat to the United States . Earlier Wednesday, a different law enforcement source emphasized there was no known threat to the United States, but the notice to U.S. and international air carriers is based on new intelligence information. "It's real. It's real and we got very good information," a government source, who did not want to speak for full attribution, told CNN. "It's based on a credible source. We're taking it seriously. So are other countries. ..." Homeland Security said that "out of an abundance of caution" it routinely shares "relevant information" with domestic and international entities, "including those associated with international events" like the Sochi Olympics. A large majority of direct flights into Russia will come from Europe or neighboring Asian countries. Only a few will originate in the United States. Russian transportation officials have banned liquids in airline carry-on luggage ahead of the games, according to a report from the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. A former airline security chief anticipated that the threat will prompt authorities in the United States and Europe to clamp down on toothpaste and cosmetics. "My prediction is that they will give a direct order that they'll be removing toothpaste from passengers' hand-carried items" and possibly from checked luggage as well, said Glen Winn, a former security director at United and Continental airlines. CNN poll: 57% of Americans think terror attack likely at Sochi Games . How far-reaching is 'ring of steel'? Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration officials declined to say what, if any, security actions they are contemplating in light of the threat. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee's subcommittee on terrorism and Intelligence, said on CNN's "The Situation Room" that Americans, the airlines and those at the Olympics should take the threat "very seriously." King, a New York Republican, said he believes the athletes and American spectators are "reasonably safe," but noted that he would not go himself. "Just as a spectator, I don't think it's worth the risk. I mean, odds are nothing is going to happen, but the odds are higher than for any other Olympics, I believe, that something could happen," he said. King said he has some confidence in how the Russians are handling security, but "really not enough because they are not sharing enough intelligence" about what's happening inside the country. "We are getting some information about what's happening outside of Russia, some external threats, that type thing, or potential threats. I don't want to overstate that," he said. He noted a "ring of steel right around the Olympics itself" but said "there's a real cause for concern" about getting to Sochi and surrounding areas. 'Anybody who wants to go ... should go' The Obama administration has not indicated it is not safe to travel to the Olympics. Secretary of State John Kerry, in an exclusive interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" before the toothpaste alert broke, said that "anybody who wants to go to the Olympics, which are just a great event, should go. And we're not telling people not to go." Kerry added that people should be alert and take precautions, advice he says has been requisite since the 9/11 attacks. "We've got a new consciousness about this," he said. A senior administration official said it would make any information public through the State Department should it receive information that "changes our assessment of whether people should travel to Sochi." Matthew Olsen, a top U.S. counterterrorism official, highlighted concern in testimony to Congress on Tuesday about whether Muslim fundamentalists in disputed regions of Russia -- or other groups -- could launch attacks on selected targets. "There are a number of specific threats of varying degrees of credibility that we're tracking," he said. "And we're working very closely with the Russians and with other partners to monitor any threats we see and to disrupt those." CNN has learned this threat is the one Olsen was referring to in his testimony. Terrorism experts say that airlines continue to be a target of terrorists wishing to make a spectacular impact with an attack. The focus since 2001 has shifted from hijackings to bombs, especially those that might be hidden in luggage. U.S. authorities are also mindful of creative packaging or other novel ways to conceal explosives. For instance, a failed attempt to blow up an overseas flight heading to Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009 involved a bomb concealed in a passenger's underwear. Shortly after 9/11 a man was convicted of trying to blow up a transatlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. Russians say authorities rounding up, poisoning stray dogs before Olympics . | Two U.S. officials tell CNN that information was shared with the Russians .
Source says threat is specific to start of the Olympics this week .
Official tells CNN that Russians shared some information with U.S.
Warning to airlines globally that serve Russia based on new intelligence . |
1,726 | 04f6b789c27838de21d0e9fa685f2c0691ee4dd4 | (EW.com) -- Gru, the bald and beetle-browed rascal hero of "Despicable Me 2," is an infectious imp — as voiced by Steve Carell, he's like Uncle Fester with the personality of Nikita Khrushchev. But in the first "Despicable Me" (2010), he was a supervillain with a grand plan (he wanted to steal the moon), and in the surprisingly toothless sequel, he has been neutered into a boring nice guy. The co-directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, create a seductively tactile computer-animated landscape in which gentle slapstick rules the day. For some reason, though, they have mostly left out the flashes of egomaniacal dastardliness that even a movie for kids can thrive on (e.g., the far superior Will Ferrell animation Megamind). Kristen Wiig voices Lucy, the Anti-Villain League agent who has a crush on Gru and recruits him to be a spy. You keep waiting for Wiig to display some of her flaked-out inspiration, but she, too, has been given almost nothing to play but sweetness and light. The best thing in the movie is the army of chattery yellow minions who are injected with a serum that transforms them into gnashing purple beasties. By the end, every child in the audience will want his or her own monster-minion toy. Adults will just regret the way that "Despicable Me 2" betrays the original film's devotion to bad-guy gaiety. Grade: C . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. | The film is sequel to the 2010 original .
This time the main character Gru is a nice guy .
Reviewer says the best thing about the film is the minions . |
235,607 | bd01927d63dcc8286945fa34ad819bfd21227f9f | She's toured a museum and hosted the Panamanian president on a state visit already this week but there appears to be no let up in Queen Letizia's busy schedule. Today, Europe's newest monarch spent the day chairing a charity meeting at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, where she was joined by some of Spain's ministers. Among them were Ana Mato, the minister of health, social services and equality, and Ana Pastor, the minister for public works, but despite the high calibre guests, all eyes were on the Queen herself. Scroll down for video . All business: Letizia was back at work in Madrid today as she chaired a charity meeting on disabilities . Glamorous: The royal looked every inch the stylish businesswoman in her cream jacket and black skirt . Glamorous in a tailored cream jacket, a black pencil skirt and her habitual pearl drop earrings, Letizia cut a businesslike figure as she opened the meeting. Along with the two ministers, Queen Letizia is part of the council of the Royal Board for Disability and has long worked to improve the lot of those with physical and mental problems. Work is something the former newsreader has plenty of experience of and, fresh . from a month-long break in Mallorca with her husband King Felipe, 46, it has been back to work with a vengeance for Letizia. Yesterday saw the 41-year-old royal welcome Lorena Castillo de Varela, Panama's first lady, to the Zarzuela Palace as part of an official state visit. High powered: The royal was joined by Spanish ministers Ana Mato (left) and Ana Pastor (right) Hot fuzz: The 46-year-old king returned from his holiday with a beard while Letizia was as glamorous as ever . Back to work: Following a month off in Mallorca, the Spanish royals have returned to a packed schedule . Pretty in a . cream dress embroidered with seed pearls, Letizia showed off her . glamorous sense of style, accessorising the look with nude patent peep . toe shoes and pearl earrings. Not . to be outdone, King Felipe, dapper in a dark suit, showed off his salt-and-pepper holiday beard - a new look for . the usually clean-shaven royal. The visit was one of the first engagements . of an action-packed schedule planned for the next month, including a . visit to New York. There, the Spanish king will address the UN General Assembly in a bid to secure one of the seats on the Security Council for Spain. Elegant: Queen Letizia was chic in a knee-length cream frock embroidered with seed pearl flowers . Post holiday glow: Both King Felipe and Queen Letizia looked refreshed and happy following their holiday . Lots to do: Later this month, the couple will travel to New York so Felipe can make a speech to the UN . Looking good: Despite being busier than ever, Queen Letiza has remained a glamorous dresser . | Queen Letizia was hosting a meeting at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid .
Wore a businesslike tailored cream jacket and a neat pencil skirt .
Has had an increasingly busy schedule since returning from holiday . |
253,207 | d3bf8f62a9186ba0e6ed2f332cd7d0eee7ecdf34 | (CNN) -- The struggle for women's rights against the backdrops of the Arab Spring and democratic progress in Africa will be recognized by this year's Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, at a ceremony unlikely to repeat controversy seen last year. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Leymah Gbowee, a social worker and peace campaigner from the same country, will share the prize with Tawakkul Karman, an activist and journalist who this year played a key opposition role in Yemen. The three, chosen "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work," will be honored in Oslo, Norway, during a program of events that culminates on Sunday in a star-studded concert. All three will be interviewed by CNN's Jonathan Mann, a veteran of Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies, shortly after they receive their medals and $1.5 million in cash. The interviews and concert, hosted by actors Helen Mirren and Rosario Dawson, will be broadcast live online and mobile on CNN.com. Acts performing at the concert include David Gray, Jill Scott, rock band Evanescence and country duo Sugarland. Johnson Sirleaf, a 73-year-old Harvard graduate whose political resilience has earned her the nickname "Iron Lady," became Africa's first democratically-elected female president in 2006, three years after decades of civil war ended. Crediting women with ending the conflict and challenging the dictatorship of former President Charles Taylor, she declared a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and made education compulsory and free for all primary-age children. Gbowee, 39, led a women's movement that protested the use of rape and child soldiers in Liberia's civil war. She mobilized hundreds of women to force delegates at 2003 peace talks to sign a treaty - at one point calling for a "sex strike" until demands were met. Read more about this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners . Although Karman, 32, emerged as an icon of change as Yemen was swept up in the tumult of the Arab Spring, the mother-of-three has long been active in campaigning for women and human rights. Karman, the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize -- and one of its youngest recipients -- founded the rights group Women Journalists without Chains, and emerged as a key figure in protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime. While Johnson Sirleaf's Nobel achievement has stirred anger among Liberian political opponents who claim recent elections were rigged in her favour, this year's Nobel Peace Price is unlikely to attract the level of controversy seen in 2010. China and more than a dozen other countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, boycotted the event over the decision to award the prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, a key figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Read more about the Nobel Peace Prize . Liu, who is serving an 11-year-sentence in a Chinese prison for what the government called "inciting subversion of state power," was not allowed to travel to Norway to accept the prize, which China denounced as a "political farce." Awarded almost every year since 1901 (it has been halted during times of major international conflict) the Peace Prize has a history of contentious laureates. Previous winners include former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who won alongside Vietnamese revolutionary Le Duc Tho (who declined the award), and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who won jointly with Israeli President Shimon Peres and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 2009, the prize was awarded to U.S. President Barack Obama despite the fact he had spent less than one year in office. Two years earlier, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was a joint recipient in recognition of work highlighting climate change. • Just hours after officially receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, this year's three co-laureates sit down with Jonathan Mann for an hour-long special interview. The interview will broadcast live on CNN International and CNN.com on Saturday at 1600 GMT (11 am ET) and repeated on Sunday at 0300 GMT (10 pm ET Saturday). • The concert in honor of the Nobel prize winners will be broadcast on CNN.com on Sunday between 1900-2000 GMT (2pm-3pm ET) and 2030-2130 GMT (3.30pm-4.30pm ET). | Three women to jointly receive the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize .
Prize recognizes non-violent struggle of safety of women and women's rights .
Prize winners to be honored with a concert on Sunday hosted by Helen Mirren . |
160,554 | 5b906213b5632d5bc1fe579d148a56987288c223 | (CNN) -- Netflix knows you well. The streaming and DVD service knows what you've rented and streamed and how long it took you to watch. It knows what genres you like and what performers you prefer. Who knows? It may even have an idea whether you prefer your popcorn lightly salted or slathered with butter. (Don't want the rest of the world to know? It's also testing a privacy mode.) It has taken this knowledge and managed to produce a few hits of its own -- not just with audiences, but also within the industry. Netflix is having a moment. Its series, such as "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black," recently picked up 31 Emmy nominations. Wall Street approves of the strategy, having bid up Netflix's share price 10-fold in the last five years. Emmy nominations 2014: What we learned . And the audience? Netflix just announced it has cracked 50 million subscribers, more than double the number it had just four years ago. It has taken some old showbiz lessons -- trust the creatives, budget them appropriately -- and added some new twists: Binge-watching. Deep data mining. Exploiting the catalog as if there were nowhere else to go. (From the comments on this Mashable piece, you'd think Netflix owned the only copy of "Big Daddy" and had it transferred to flammable nitrate stock.) Can it maintain its dominance? It wasn't so long ago that the place was posting losses and alienating customers. Pop culture doesn't sit still, and neither does business. Netflix, which helped drive Blockbuster into oblivion, has to watch challenges from distributors such as Amazon and Hulu -- not to mention stay friendly with content providers like movie studios. In the meantime, however, Netflix can offer a few lessons on how to scale the media mountain. 1. It's not TV, it's Netflix. In an interview with CNN's Brian Stelter, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos made it clear Netflix wasn't going to operate by conventional TV rules. "Every kind of flavor of (traditional TV) should go out the window, as we have conditioned the universe to expect instant gratification by the Internet," he said. Netflix's plan is multifaceted. It has its original series, which give it cachet. But a majority of Netflix watching is of old TV series, as if the service is an old UHF channel offering reruns of classic shows. And then there's the binge-watching, something anyone who's ever sat down for a "Law & Order" marathon is quite familiar with. Finally, there's the library: tens of thousands of titles at your fingertips. Netflix is on target with its focus on "instant gratification," said Jim McKairnes, a former CBS executive who's now the Verizon Chair in Global Broadband and Telecommunications at Temple University. Today's audiences -- particularly younger viewers -- want what they want, when they want it. They have no concept of "sitting down to watch TV," he said. "That's a concept foreign to them. It's like trying to tell them what a phone booth is." There's also something else: Money. Broadcast and most cable networks are dependent on advertiser dollars. Netflix takes cash directly from subscribers. Comparing Netflix with traditional TV networks is like comparing "apples and furniture," McKairnes said. 2. Dig your data. It's worth noting that Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix with Marc Randolph in 1997, isn't from TV or movies. He's a techie, having made his first fortune with a software development company. So a number of Netflix's moves have been more striking in terms of technology than pop culture storytelling. Netflix was built for the Internet -- not for brick-and-mortar strip malls, like Blockbuster, its early competitor -- and embraced streaming as soon as broadband became widespread. Moreover, in 2005 it sponsored a $1 million "Netflix Prize" to go to the software designer who could best improve Netflix's algorithm -- and the improvements weren't even used. "House of Cards," its first major original success, was built as much on data as it was content. "Because we have a direct relationship with consumers, we know what people like to watch and that helps us understand how big the interest is going to be for a given show," Netflix's Jonathan Friedland told The New York Times. 3. Know your customers. Ah, the customer. For all the TV and movies we consume, it's surprising sometimes how little attention is paid to our desires. Shows are canceled or moved, quality is inconsistent and viewers are subjected to minor annoyances. Take one example: NBC's "The Blacklist." Next season, McKairnes observed, NBC is going to split its season in two. The show will debut in fall, take a break for the holidays and the Super Bowl, then return on a new night. The strategy runs the risk of alienating the show's fan base, he said. "I don't know if the Netflixes of the world would do that in terms of pissing off their customers," McKairnes said. And that's the thing. Netflix treats the customer well, said brand marketing authority Jeetendr Sehdev. "They have been very insight-oriented -- they've listened very carefully to the audience, been able to project audience's behaviors and they've developed services and a product operating around that," he said. That builds goodwill, he added. "Audiences are far more willing to forgive brands that behave authentically and whose intentions are good," said Sehdev. "(Netflix is) such a human, intimate, audience-centric brand. Even if they fail, that will be seen as being coherent with its brand image." 4. Trust the creatives. In a speech at last year's Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, "House of Cards" star and producer Kevin Spacey -- a biased party, to be sure -- said he and the show's other producers, David Fincher and Beau Willimon, appreciated the service's willingness to take chances. "Netflix was the only company that said, 'We believe in you. We've run our data, and it tells us our audience would watch this series,' " he said. Jenji Kohan, the creator of "Orange Is the New Black," agreed. Her show was turned down by both Showtime and HBO before Netflix grabbed it. The service "pretty much bought it in the room," Kohan told The New York Times. It's an old lesson, but one that has to be consistently relearned, said McKairnes. "HBO started it in the late '90s -- that's when broadcast network television was looking over its shoulder -- and AMC set the bar, and now Netflix is raising it," he said. The common bond: trusting creative types and letting them do their thing. 5. Get cool. "Chelsea Lately" host and comic author Chelsea Handler summed up a world of admiration about joining Netflix, where she's scheduled to host a variety of programs, including a new talk show. "I'm more excited than I've been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I've sat down with in ages," she said in a statement last month. The Emmy nominations -- which also included nods for Ricky Gervais' "Derek" -- only added to the buzz around the service. Netflix's shows are built around storytelling, and Spacey -- reiterating a point made by the late director David Lean -- noted that the movie studios' blockbuster mentality runs counter to storytelling. The movie business needs to be more flexible, said Spacey, so it can have both. Could Netflix have an effect on the movie business? Not right now, said University of Nebraska film professor Wheeler Winston Dixon. Their business is less about storytelling and more about spectacle. "The main thing studios have to do is to get people off the couch and into the theaters, and the thing that's going to do that is a huge blockbuster spectacle which offers IMAX, 3-D, blasting sound," he said. Still, with this summer's dismal domestic box office -- based on play-it-safe big-budget tentpoles and sequels filled with computer graphics -- it's worth watching if change is in the wind. 6. Watch -- out. If all the praise Netflix has earned sounds familiar, it's because we've seen this show before. The golden child is placed on a pedestal by the media and then knocked to the ground, or simply ignored. Netflix has been called the "new HBO," but the old HBO was just as golden as Netflix in the early 2000s, before shows like "John from Cincinnati" came along. (It has since recovered much of its luster.) AMC was magical when "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" were peaking, less so after "Cold Winter Sun" and "The Killing." Even Pixar, sainted Pixar, has dropped a notch or two from the days before it started revving the wanly reviewed "Cars." (In Pixar's defense, "Cars" has been a merchandising bonanza.) Netflix has had its share of missteps. There was the Qwikster debacle, in which an attempt at a DVD-only service failed. (To its credit, the company quickly apologized.) It's currently attracting negative notice for stopping Saturday DVD mailings, because not everyone has signed up for streaming. Its series "Lilyhammer" and "Hemlock Grove," though both renewed, haven't received a great deal of attention. Another original, "Bad Samaritans," barely registered at all. Now other series are in the works, and may be hit or miss. One recent Netflix announcement said siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski, of "The Matrix" fame, are developing a show called "Sense8." Given the Wachowskis' recent track record, that show could go either way. Still, Netflix appears to have a plan. And as the service blazes its trail, it's certainly worth watching, said McKairnes. "This is a whole new world," he said. "I wouldn't even know how to describe what failure is yet. I don't know that anybody does in the world of streaming." HBO is a unit of Time Warner, as is CNN. | Netflix has plenty of buzz .
Service picked up 31 Emmy nominations .
Netflix caters to instant-gratification consumerism .
Can other media learn from Netflix's success? |
212,564 | 9f3c9f702fa8d96bc6bd3ddeee9613142821cf76 | A Chinese obstetrician convicted of selling babies after telling their parents they were sick has been given a suspended death sentence, China's Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. Zhang Shuxia, a maternity doctor at a hospital in Shaanxi province, in central China, sold seven babies to a trafficking ring in six separate cases from November 2011 to July 2013, according to statements posted on the official microblog account of the local court. She persuaded her patients that their newborns were sick and they should give them up, according to the Weinan Intermediate People's Court. One baby died after being sold. Xinhua said the death penalty had a two-year reprieve, which typically means her sentence is likely to be life imprisonment if she doesn't commit any crimes during that period. The ring was exposed in July when a mother surnamed Dong told police she suspected her baby had been abducted after Zhang told her that her child had a congenital disease, Xinhua reported when Zhang went on trial in December. "The doctor told me that my son could not go to school and might endanger society as his mother was infected with syphilis and hepatitis," Xinhua quoted the father as saying. The court heard that Zhang sold the baby the same night for $3,500 to an individual identified as Pan in neighboring Shanxi province. Pan sold the baby onto a villager in Henan province for 59,800 yuan ($9,900.) The baby was found and returned to his parents on August 5. Twin baby girls, which Zhang sold for 30,000 yuan ($5,000) in May 2013, were reunited their parents in August after their mother Wang Yanyan filed a complaint. Zhang told her the twins had serious health issues and would be brain damaged or paralyzed. "I never suspected that she was selling my babies, because she was a family friend," Wang told CNN in August. Nine suspects were detained including Zhang, who pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court. "I am deeply sorry for the pain I have brought to those families and beg for forgiveness," said Zhang. The court said in a statement it believed Zhang should receive a severe penalty: "Her actions violated professional ethics and social morals. Although she partly admits her guilt, her case is considered serious." The court did not say whether Zhang would appeal. | A Chinese obstetrician has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve .
Zhang Shuxia was convicted of trafficking seven babies between 2011 and 2013 .
She told her patients they should give up their newborns because they were sick .
She sold them to traffickers for around $2,500 to $3,500 each . |
243,784 | c78c160c0320acc3a3890df0104ae5d2df683a2a | A new attraction where children as young as 13 fire military-grade weapons in zombie, gangster and cowboy-themed simulators has been slammed by gun control campaigners. Although management claim their Orlando, Florida, attraction provides a safe place for the use of firearms, critics claim it is unsuitable for an area known for its child-friendly attractions. The website for the business - named Machine Gun America - states it is Orlando's 'first automatic adrenaline attraction'. Scroll down for video . Machine Gun America (pictured) has been criticised for operating in an area that is historically family-friendly . The machine gun theme park caters to those aged 13 and up. Pictured is a woman firing an assault rifle at a target . Weapons available to be used adorn the walls of Machine Gun America's front counter . It explains: 'Whether you're looking to unleash your inner action star or become a zombie hunter, experience the exhilarating rush of shooting real machine guns and powerful firearms for a thrill like any other.' But Lucia Kay McBath, a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, said: 'You've got Holy Land right there in Orlando. You've got Disney World, and Epcot. All places for family fun where they should feel protected,' WTSP reported. Machine Gun America's management claim it is an attraction, not a firing range, and customers cannot bring their own weapons to shoot. Guests must be 13 years old and no alcohol will be sold. Wes Doss, Machine Gun America's safety and training officer, said it was unlike any other experience in the country. 'The live shooting experiences will include themed packages featuring some of the most famous firearms from around the world.' General Manager Bruce Nierenberg also defended accusations the attraction was unsuitable for children. 'No one ever shoots by themselves, and no guest is ever in control of the weapon without a range safety officer next to them and participating with them,' he told WTSP. Machine Gun America is located on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway (pictured), an area known for its family friendly attractions . The business is due to open on Saturday. In late August, a nine-year-old girl accidentally shot dead firing range instructor Charles Vacca, 39, after an Uzi she was firing recoiled upwards out of her grip. The shocking recording taken by the girl's parents and released by police shows Vacca standing closely next to the girl when the gun recoiled as she fired on full automatic mode. Mr Vacca died after being fatally struck in the head. | Machine Gun America bills itself as an 'automatic adrenaline attraction'
Children as young as 13 will be able to fire military-grade weapons .
The business includes cowboy, zombie and gangster-themed simulations .
It has been called unsuitable for the family-filled area it is operating in . |
151,320 | 4fa5f9e5cd223c478311eaaf6ac634da8fe590bb | By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 15:34 EST, 12 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:48 EST, 13 February 2014 . Chelsea Clinton was the butt of jokes at Stanford University in the late 1990s as her father battled impeachment and fended off the national scandal of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. And first lady Hillary Clinton kept careful track of her experiences in the White House, especially during her ill-fated 1994 'HillaryCare' effort to nationalize the health care industry, confiding in long-time friend Diane Blair that she might one day need her notes for 'revenge.' The new revelations come from a previously unknown archive of Blair's papers, willed to the university after the political science professor passed away in 2000. The Washington Free Beacon first unearthed the treasure trove, setting off a mad scramble of journalists eager to scrape up the bombshell collection's remains. SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE DOCUMENTS . Political science professor Diane Blair (R) kept meticulous notes of her conversations with Hillary Clinton . Photos like this 1992 post-victory snapshot made the rounds on TV at the height of the Clinton impeachment, drawing jeers from Stanford classmates of the then much older Chelsea (L) Hillary (C), kept notes about friends and foes during her 1994 attempt to reform the U.S. health care system, saying she would need them someday for 'revenge' Hillary Clinton told Blair that although her daughter Chelsea was a solid student at Stanford, her classmates mocked her whenever they saw family photos of the Clintons. '2 or 3 hissed; [it] just killed her,' Blair wrote in an excerpt found by ABC News. But she added that Hillary ultimately did ‘give Bill [Clinton] credit for being aware of pain and anguish he’s caused [Chelsea].' CNN spotted a reference to a question Hillary Clinton asked Blair about 'how best to preserve her general memories of the administration and of health care in particular.' On June 20, 1994, Blair's diary mentions that she asked Clinton why she would need notes about the episode. 'Revenge,' Clinton replied. She also predicted she would need recollections of her staff's insights for a future book project, according to Blair's diary on that same day, 'just to get it down while still fresh, so when everyone else is writing their books, she will have materials – dates, meetings, events, to write hers, and for at least that story to be told.' Other woman: Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern whose presidential affair launched the Clinton impeachment, testified in the Special Counsel investigation where the president later lied under oath . Chelsea (R) had to put up with Stanford classmates' jokes about her father's dalliance with Lewinsky, and with headlines like one the Daily Mail ran in 1996 . But Blair wrote the following January that Hillary decided not to keep any records of personal or 'intimate thoughts and conversations,' for fear of 'subpoenas' in years to come. Blair first befriended Bill Clinton, who later introduced her to his then-girlfriend Hillary. Her archived papers include a love letter to an unnamed woman, written by Bill Clinton. It's unclear why she had the letter, raising the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two. The Free Beacon noted that the intimate letter came with an attached photo of Bill playing the saxophone, telling his lover that 'I thought you might get a kick out of this – I was once even younger.' Blair was eight years older than the future president, who is one year older than his wife Hillary. Bill's reference to his 'even younger' self suggests that the letter was written to an older woman. Water under the bridge: As Hillary ran for president in 2008, Chelsea and Bill were by her side and all seemed forgotten . Fourteen years after the Drudge Report broke the news of the Lewinsky scandal and shamed the U.S. newsweekly that sought to cover it up, the Clintons were all smiles at Chelsea's 2010 wedding to millionaire banker Marc Mezvinzky, the son of a liberal former Pennsylvania congresswoman . The Blair archive caught political fire on Sunday for Hillary's reference to Monica Lewinsky as 'a narcissistic looney-tune.' Also drawing focus were the conclusions of a secret poll conducted by pollsters Celinda Lake and Stan Greenberg in 1992 that painted Hillary in a horible political light. 'While voters genuinely admire Hillary Clinton’s intelligence and tenacity, they are uncomfortable with these traits in a woman,' the public opinion gurus determined. 'What voters find slick in Bill Clinton, they find ruthless in Hillary.' Diane Blair Archives Selections by MailOnline . | Revelations come from the archives of Diane Blair, a University of Arkansas political science professor who knew the Clintons for decades .
Hillary, she wrote, thought she would need to remember who helped and who hurt her during her ill-fated march toward nationalized 'HillaryCare'
Bill Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky and his ensuing impeachment battle caused daughter Chelsea no end of embarrassment .
Stanford classmates would jeer whenever family portraits were shown on TV, Hillary recalled, and it 'just killed her'
A love letter in Blair's files from a young and passionate Bill may indicate a romance between the two, since the much younger future president jokingly refers to himself as having once been 'even younger' |
12,792 | 2444b8316611d91a220aa8ca835c54882949be58 | A fire that shut down and extensively damaged Nairobi's Kenyatta International Airport -- a major travel hub in Africa that is crucial to Kenya's export industry -- appeared to have restarted early Thursday. CNN Correspondent Nima Elbagir saw smoke behind the arrivals area and a small fire that seemed to be getting bigger. There was no immediate word from authorities about the new fire. Large parts of the international terminal were destroyed by the massive blaze that broke out before dawn Wednesday. The fire engulfed the terminal, Ken Mijungu of CNN affiliate NTV reported, before firefighters got it under control. No casualties were reported. Authorities later said the fire was contained, and domestic flights resumed in the afternoon. Video from NTV in the aftermath showed the burned-out interior of the international arrivals section with the roof caved in. International arrivals were supposed to resume Thursday from a different part of the airport, according to Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau, but it wasn't clear how the rekindled fire Thursday morning would affect them. There was no information about when departures would begin. The blaze could have a serious impact on the flow of tourists into the country and the export of agricultural products. Nairobi, Kenya's capital, is a major travel hub in Africa, and fresh fruits and vegetables are exported from there to Europe by plane many times a week. President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the scene Wednesday and reassured the aviation industry and local and international travelers that everything was being done to get back to normal, Secretary of Communications Manoah Esipisu said. "To the thousands of passengers, including tourists, whose journeys were disrupted, the president shares your concerns and regrets the inconvenience. We are concerned that the incident interrupted travelers' schedules and appreciate that they are being routed to their destinations as soon as is possible," Esipisu said in a statement. Some witnesses said the fire began in the customs section, but others said it started in the duty-free area, parts of which were demolished for construction last week, Mijungu reported. "The cause of the fire is being investigated. There is no reason to speculate at this point. There was no loss of life," Esipisu said. The blaze occurred on the 15th anniversary of the fatal terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. It also came days after the United States issued a worldwide travel alert and closed a number of embassies and consulates in large areas of the Middle East and Africa, though not in Kenya or Tanzania. In the 1998 near-simultaneous attacks, 224 people died and about 4,500 were wounded. | The fire appears to restart early Thursday in the arrivals area .
A CNN correspondent sees smoke and a small fire that seems to be growing .
Wednesday's fire at Nairobi's airport destroyed large parts of the international terminal .
No casualties have been reported . |
221,698 | aaff8a2a5700d0815124454da14e554882d94b29 | While his older brother was mixing with the stars in New York's Times Square, Ed Miliband was deep in Ukip country seeing in the New Year with pub locals in Kent. The brothers' lives now seem oceans apart as photographs that emerged on Twitter show David with his arm around top actor Patrick Stewart while a spectacled Labour leader Ed posed for a picture at Ukip leader Nigel Farage's local pub in Deal. Former foreign secretary David moved to the US as chief executive of the International Rescue Committee after losing out on the Labour leadership to his brother. Scroll down for video . Star attraction: David Miliband parties in New York on New Year's Eve with Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart . And he Tweeted from the organisation's exclusive New Year's Eve party: 'My friend @SirPatStew joining @the IRC in toasting to a better world in 2015. #HeresToHumanity' Mr Miliband was joined by models and ex-refugees Alek Wek and Nykhor Paul. Writing in the New York Daily News, Mr Miliband said 'the new year cannot come soon enough' for people served by IRC around the world. 'New York will send a message that it has not forgotten its roots in immigration, its values of providing shelter for poor and huddled masses or its commitment to send a message of compassion and humanity around the world,' he added. Country boy: Ed, holidaying in Kent, at the Kings Head in Deal, where he is seen with local James Stiles . My town: Ukip leader Nigel Farage pictured outside the same pub in Deal - which is his local . Meanwhile Labour leader Ed – understood to be on holiday with friends in Kent - was pictured with Kings Head pub landlord Graham Stiles' son James on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Stiles senior said: 'He came in at lunchtime with a friend but didn't have a drink - he was with friends, he came in, then left. Before going he posed with landlord's son James Stiles for a quick snap - wearing unfamiliar dark-framed glasses. A staff member from Platform 1 cafe at Deal station added: 'When Ed Miliband was told that Ukip leader Nigel Farage was a regular visitor at the Kings Head he laughed and said 'now you tell me!' Mr Stiles added: 'We're just waiting for David Cameron and that other one to come in now, and we'll have the full set.' | Ed and David Miliband saw in 2015 on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean .
Former foreign secretary David was with stars in New York's Times Square .
While Labour leader Ed posed for a picture in a pub in Deal, Kent .
The pub is a favourite of Ukip leader Nigel Farage who is a regular visitor . |
107,422 | 16898eaa5c8c4170130a3e360373c50906b5c914 | (CNN) -- Being a green employer isn't just good for the environment, it could also help a business attract the best and brightest staff. Going green in your office is easy, say the authors of 'True Green @ Work'. The 2006 Hayes Best Employer Survey showed that nearly 75 percent of 20-year-olds will not apply for a job unless if they are uncomfortable with a companies values. And for individuals, being more environmentally minded at work is easy, says Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, authors of "True Green at Work". Below are their ten tips to be greener in the office. 1) Keep a mug at work for coffee rather than using disposable cups. 2) Switch to using long-life refillable pens made from recycled plastic, paper or timber, or from fully biodegradable bioplastic (derived from cornstarch). 3) Choose recycled paper, rather than paper made from virgin timber - it makes up 70 percent of office waste. 4) Set your printer to double-sided copies to save paper. 5) Keep a paper recycling tray in addition to your waste bin. 6) Bring your own lunch to work in a reusable container to reduce packaging waste. 7) Remove your phone charger from the power point when not in use, as it continues to consume up to 40 percent of the current used to charge your phones. 8) Set your computer to sleep if you are away from your desk for more than 10 minutes, which reduces power consumption to about 5 percent of full operating power. 9) Look to maximize the natural light in your office, rather than relying on artificial light. 10) Join the environmental or sustainable committee in your workplace. If one does not exist, take the initiative and form a green task force. | Authors of True Green @ Work offer 10 tips for greener office life .
Many are simple to archive, but small steps can make a big difference .
Joining your workplace environmental committee a more progressive step .
Click here for more ways to go green in the office . |
176,054 | 6feb835c82b218e268d7e643f9487f55fd5a5122 | By . Joshua Gardner and Ap Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:27 EST, 7 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:19 EST, 7 October 2013 . A $35 million experimental military airship was damaged Monday when part of the World War II era blimp hangar in which it is stored collapsed, causing the dirigible to spew helium. The roof collapse was reported early this morning at the Marine Corps Air Station, a former military base in Orange County, California and a hazardous material crew rushed in to stop the leak. The accident is a blow to the hopeful collaboration between the Department of Defense and NASA, who’ve invested heavily in the futuristic vessel because of its potential to one day carry more cargo than any other aircraft to disaster zones and military bases. Missing: Following the roof collapse, a walkway and small tower appeared to be missing form atop the hangar (pictured) Deflating: The innovative prototype next generation dirigible could be seen deflating in photographs after the collapse . Accident: The Aeroscraft has the military and shipping industry eager for production on the breakthrough dirigible to start, but Monday's accident will likely dampen that enthusiasm, at least temporarily . ‘There's a giant hole in the roof,’ Captain Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority said after the 7:45am collapse. Big: After the collapse, which was reported around 7:30am Monday, a 25-foot hole could be seen in the ceiling of the 70-year-old hangar . The cause of the collapse was not known, but the partial collapse left a 25-foot by 25-foot hole in the hangar and part of the debris crashed through the 200 foot dirigible. The dirigible is being developed by Worldwide Aeros, which says it will be capable of carrying 66 tons of cargo. Marine Corps Air Station's Tustin Hangars were originally built in 1942 and became an historical landmark in 1978 after their role in World War II. The hangars were also a base of operations for helicopters during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The military closed the station in 1999. The groundbreaking airship, dubbed . Aeroscraft, has had government officials and aerospace enthusiasts . waiting anxiously for the first delivery in what has been envisioned as a . fleet of the craft—slated for as early as 2015. The extent of damage to the vessel is . not known, but photos taken by the Orange County Register show the ship . deflating noticeably. Worldwide . Aeros says the cargo airship's potential to carry more cargo more . efficiently than ever before would provide the U.S. military with an . advantage on the battlefield and greater capacity to save more lives . during natural disasters. Collapse: A section of a walkway on the top of the North Tustin blimp hangar appears to have collapsed damaging a 200-foot experimental zeppelin inside and causing a helium leak on Monday . Crash: A partial roof collapse on Monday left a 25-foot by 25-foot hole in the roof of the hangar and some of the debris caused a helium leak in the dirigible . Bummer: The mishap likely dampened the spirits of the Department of Defense and NASA, who've invested $35 million in the next generation zepellin for military use . The ship’s potential for super long range flights would also be a boon for the shipping industry. There . are two versions envisioned for the ship. One model would be able to . fly 3,567 miles on one tank of diesel and with a full cargo payload of . 66 tons. Another could carry 250 tons across 7,000 miles. It requires only a third as much fuel . as an airplane carrying cargo, and it can take off and land anywhere . even without a formal airstrip - including on water - making it well . suited to war zones and disaster areas. Worldwide . Aeros predicts that it will change the way goods are moved around the . world by providing a mode of transport which is cheaper than planes but . faster than ships. Revolutionary: The $35 million airship prototype is being developed by Worldwide Aeros, a company that hopes to revolutionize how cargo is shipped around the world . New: The biggest breakthrough in the Aeroscraft is its ability to compress helium and make the ship heavier or lighter as necessary . The key technological breakthrough . came when the firm's founder Igor Pasternak came up with a way to . compress helium, which allows the airship to control its weight. The Aeroscraft can take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, so it can visit destinations which do not have an airport. Ukrainian-born founder of Worldwide Aeros, Igor Pasternak, has turned his method for compressing helium into an aerospace breakthrough. By giving an airship the ability to become heavier and lighter when necessary, Pasternak's method allows it to stay in place while unloading cargo. The Aeroscraft will be able to fly directly to where goods are made and transport them directly to where they need to be delivered. The ship can take off and land vertically and without runways. On a single tank of helium, the dirigible can travel 3,567 miles along with a full cargo load of 66 tons. The soft, Mylar skin of the craft holds in smaller balloons of helium. The Aeroscraft is built to military specifications, so bullets cannot pierce its shell. Unlike balloons, though, the ship will no deflate from just one hole. Shown here on a test flight, the Aeroscraft was slated to soon make its maiden voyage when the roof collapsed, damaging its prototype. Worldwied Aeros says its hopes to put the ships into production by 2015 . The Aeroscraft was stored in a hangar at Tustin, California's Marine Corps Station when a huge chunk of the roof collapsed, damaging the dirigible. The hangars were originally built in 1942. They housed blimps during World War II. During the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the hangars and station were a base for helicopters. The station became an historic landmark in 1978. It was closed in 1999. This . means that even though its 115mph average speed is much slower than a . jet at 500mph-plus, the overall travel time could be lower because it . can travel directly from where goods are produced to where they are . needed. Worldwide Aeros . hopes that this will make it useful to the military and aid charities . operating in parts of the world with poorly developed infrastructure on . the ground. The lighter-than-air vehicle is not a blimp because it has a rigid structure made out of ultra-light carbon fiber and aluminum underneath its high-tech Mylar skin. Inside, balloons hold the helium that gives the vehicle lift. Unlike hydrogen, the gas used in the Hindenburg airship that crashed in 1937, helium is not flammable. The airship can take off vertically, like a helicopter, then change its buoyancy to become heavier than air for landing and unloading. The ship’s ballast can be controlled by the captain during drop off of cargo, which keeps the ship from tipping over. A call to a spokesperson for Worldwide Aeros was not immediately returned. | The Aeroscraft is a prototype helium dirigible that developers hope will change the way the world ships its goods .
The Department of Defense and NASA have pumped $35 million into the project in the hopes it will become an indispensable military craft . |
58,855 | a6f4b8a8d7f89dd224e3e82c3567becf30c46214 | Wayne Payne, 31, was travelling at 61mph when he hit a bike on which Cameron Ward was sitting in Erdington, Birmingham . A driver who knocked down and killed a five-year-old boy while travelling at twice the speed limit told his victim's grieving family: 'S**t happens, life goes on'. Wayne Payne, 31, was travelling at 61mph when he hit a bike on which Cameron Ward was sitting in Erdington, Birmingham. The . youngster, who was being helped along by his father John Ward, was . killed as he returned with his family from an Easter party on April 1 . last year. A . judge had bailed the killer driver over the weekend on 'compassionate . grounds' so he could see his two young daughters before being jailed. But . just minutes later Payne, of Erdington, argued with . Cameron’s grieving relatives outside Birmingham Crown Court - before . walking away saying: 'S**t happens, life goes on.' As . Judge Rafferty jailed the driver and told him: 'You were let out on . trust by me for the weekend and the fact that you behaved in that way is . a very unfortunate state of affairs.' Payne, who drove at 61mph in the 30mph area, did not brake and hit the rear of the bike, causing the youngster to be flung into the air. Police and paramedics were called to the scene but the schoolboy could not be saved. Unemployed Payne, 31, of Birmingham, denied causing death by dangerous driving but was found guilty by a jury, who took just 45 minutes to deliver a verdict at Birmingham Crown Court. He was sentenced to five years in . prison and told he would serve at least half of the sentence in custody. He was also banned from driving for five years. The . court heard he had convictions for drug possession dating back to 2004 . and two fixed penalty notices from 2010 and 2012 for using a phone while . driving. Gulan Ahmed, defending Payne, said: 'He is remorseful and sorry for what he did. Cameron Ward, five, who was being helped along by his father John Ward, was killed as he returned with his family from an Easter party on April 1 last year . Cameron, pictured with his mother Katie. The court previously heard extracts of a victim impact statement from her, which said: 'My heart breaks every time that I think about him' Grieving: Pictured with his father John, who was with him when he died. He told the court: 'Cameron was my life and I have lost him' He has two daughters himself and he puts himself in the position of the victims and tells me that he wishes he could turn back time and undo what he has done, but he can’t. 'He is going to have to live with what he did until the day of his own death.' A letter of apology was also handed to the court from Payne, via his legal team, which stated he had spent the weekend reflecting on his clash with the family of Cameron. Judge . Stuart Rafferty QC told him: ‘A five-year-old boy has lost his life . before he even had a chance to begin to live. If you had just been a few . seconds later you would have hit four people and not two. ‘You . were not doing 35mph, or even 40mph, you were doing twice the speed . limit and I’m satisfied that you had been doing that along the entire . length of the road. It was grossly excessive and there was no legitimate . reason at all for driving in that way. ‘Mr . Ward was blameless, but he will continue to ask himself if it was his . fault. One can only imagine his horror as a responsible parent when he . saw the speed at which the vehicle was approaching him at and he . realised that there was nowhere for him to go. Dozens of floral tributes were left at the scene of the collision in Court Lane, Erdington, Birmingham . Hundreds of people attended the little boy's funeral. His family told the court: 'Nothing is the same, nobody is the same and everybody hurts. We love and miss him so much' The judge has praised Cameron's family - pictured here at his funeral - for their dignity throughout the case . The little boy's coffin was taken by horse and carriage, and was covered in flowers and his favourite Spiderman character . ‘The . last memory the parents have of their little boy will not be a happy . one, it will be the sight of him after you had hit him.’ Howard Searle, prosecuting, told the . court how Mr Ward saw the headlights of a Vauxhall Vectra, being driven . by Payne, in the distance before he stepped into the highway. He . said: 'Mr Ward thought he had plenty of time to cross. As he got to the . middle of the road he heard the roar of a car engine and realised the . car was much closer to him. 'It was this defendant driving well in excess of the speed limit. He froze on the spot. One floral tribute, left by the youngster's parents, contained a heartbreaking tribute to their son . 'The car being driven by Payne did not brake at all but drove into the bicycle. It hit the rear. 'Cameron was flung into the air and his father was injured as well.' Mr Searle said the defendant lost control of the Vectra and it continued for 50 metres down the street before colliding with a parked car. He said the defendant, who later claimed he had tried to swerve, had admitted careless driving. Mr Ward, 37, who had been walking ahead of his partner Katie Lawrence and daughter Ruby at the time of the crash, said he had seen the lights of a vehicle about 200 metres away and had gone out into the road between two parked cars. 'I thought it was safe to cross the road,' he said. 'It happened very quickly. It was over in seconds.' 'I don't know how I got up but I did. I knew he was dead. I wanted to disappear. Cameron was my life and I had lost him.' The court previously heard extracts of a victim impact statement from mother Katie, 23, who had described his birth as the happiest day of her life. She said: 'My heart breaks every time that I think about him. Nothing is the same, nobody is the same and everybody hurts. We love and miss him so much.' The Judge also thanked the family for their 'restraint and dignity' shown during the case. | Cameron Ward was killed when a car driven by Wayne Payne hit his bicycle .
Accident investigators said Payne, 31, was driving at 61mph at time .
He denied causing death by dangerous driving but was found guilty by jury .
Jury at Birmingham Crown Court took just 45 minutes to deliver verdict .
Payne was sentenced to five years in jail and handed five-year driving ban .
Judge had bailed killer driver over weekend on 'compassionate .
grounds'
But minutes later he argued with victim’s grieving relatives outside court . |
202,438 | 9212e3686cab3aaf80217c45d673c73874ecd8a4 | These stunning images reveal the Milky Way shining a light on the beauty of the UK's South West coast, with Durdle Door appearing to offer a gateway to the galaxy, . The images were captured by Liverpool-born photographer Stephen Banks, who has spent the last two years learning how to capture the night sky. The shots were all taken in rural Dorset, one of the last remaining areas of the UK to have avoided excessive light pollution from roads and cities. These sensational celestial snaps show the Milky Way in all its glory over a series of stunning countryside landscapes. They were taken by amateur photographer Stephen Banks, 25, who has spent the last two years learning how to capture the night sky. This stunning picture of West Bay captures the headlights from a truck parked at the cliff top which look more like beams from an alien spacecraft . Mr Bank’s most recent photos, taken over the past month, include some of the county's most iconic locations such as the renowned beauty spots Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. One stunning picture of Durdle Door captures the headlights from a truck parked at the cliff top which look more like beams from an alien spacecraft. In another, lights from houses in the neighbouring villages of Chideock and Seatown appear to look like fire while high above the Milky Way looks like smoke. 'I pride myself on taking different photos so I like to take pictures of the Milky Way above recognisable landmarks,' said Mr Banks. 'That's why so many of my pictures involve Durdle Door (pictured), because so many people have been there' Lights from houses in the neighbouring villages of Chideock and Seatown appear to look like fire while high above the Milky Way looks like smoke. In order to capture the stunning scenes, self-taught Mr Banks programmes the shutter on his digital SLR camera to stay open for 30 seconds at a time to allow as much light in as possible . Boats in the distance casts a glow on the horizon, revealing the beauty of the Milky Way. Our galaxy is thought to be 120,000 light years across and contains more than 200 billion stars. On a clear night, when you look up into the night sky the most you can see from any one point on the Earth is about 2,500 stars . The Milky Way is thought to be 120,000 light years across and contains more than 200 billion stars. This makes it a ‘middleweight’ galaxy with the largest galaxy known, IC 1101, containing more than 100 trillion stars. On a clear night, when you look up into the night sky the most you can see from any one point on the Earth is about 2,500 stars. Like more than two-thirds of the known galaxies, the Milky Way has a spiral shape. At the centre of the spiral, a lot of energy and, occasionally, vivid flares are created. Based on the immense gravity that would be required explain the movement of stars and the energy expelled, astronomers believe the centre of the Milky Way has a supermassive black hole. Astronomers believe the Milky Way wasn’t always a stunning barred spiral. It formed into its current size and shape by ‘eating’ other galaxies. In order to capture the stunning scenes self-taught Mr Banks programmes the shutter on his digital SLR camera to stay open for 30 seconds at a time to allow as much light in as possible. The technique allows the camera to see the Milky Way and surrounding stars that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Mr Banks, 25, whose day job is as a digital executive for Bridport-based Watershed PR, said: ‘I started taking long exposures of the night sky about two years ago. ‘In order to get these photos you need the most clear night possible. Observing the Milky Way is best done at the height of summer when the outer spirals are most visible. ‘The best places to take photos from are those with the least amount of light pollution. There are no cities or motorways in Dorset so there are plenty of places where it is very dark. ‘I check out each location in daylight to make sure I know where I'm going then return at night with a torch, my camera and a tripod. ‘It is hard to see anything with the naked eye so often it is a case of trial and error to establish the best shot.’ Mr Banks explained the camera shutter stays open for 30 seconds to let as much light in as possible. Within five or 10 shots he claim to usually have a good shot. ‘I pride myself on taking different photos so I like to take pictures of the Milky Way above recognisable landmarks,’ he said. ‘That's why so many of my pictures involve Durdle Door, because so many people have been there. ‘I love to show people familiar landscapes that people will not have seen with stars in before.’ While there are dark skies reserves in other parts of the South West, Mr Banks says he would like to see similar schemed in Dorset to help others make the most of the stunning views on offer. Mr Bank's most recent photos, taken in the past month, include some of the county's most iconic locations including the renowned beauty spots Durdle Door (pictured) and Lulworth Cove . Mr Banks, 25, whose day job is as a digital executive for Bridport-based firm, said: 'I started taking long exposures of the night sky about two years ago. 'In order to get these photos you need the most clear night possible. Observing the Milky Way is best done at the height of summer when the outer spirals are most visible' These shots were taken by 25-year-old photographer Stephen Banks in Dorset - one of the few remaining areas in the UK to have avoided excessive light pollution . | These shots of the Milky Way were taken by 25-year-old photographer Stephen Bank over the past month .
They include some of the county's most iconic locations such as the renowned beauty spot Durdle Door .
In one image lights from the neighbouring villages appear to look like fire while high above the Milky Way .
To capture the scenes Mr Banks programmed the shutter on his digital SLR camera to stay open for 30 seconds at a time to allow as much light in as possible . |
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