Unnamed: 0
int64 0
287k
| id
stringlengths 40
40
| article
stringlengths 117
14.7k
| highlights
stringlengths 37
3.97k
|
|---|---|---|---|
45,365 | 7fd7706ea62dd6f8d1700ce31d12c8eecba4caff | (CNN) -- In an emergency, do you know how to best use your cell phone to stay safe, informed and in touch? Recognizing that Americans have been getting mixed messages from many sources, this week the Federal Communication Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Administration teamed up to publish a new list of tips for communicating before, during and after a disaster. These tips complement the advice already offered in the Get Tech Ready section of the government's emergency preparedness site, Ready.gov. In an interview Thursday, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski said that in the wake of Hurricane Irene, FEMA and the FCC realized that many Americans still don't understand some important basics about how communication technology functions in emergency situations. For instance, many people don't grasp the consequences of cordless phones. If the power goes out, you can't use a cordless phone to make or receive calls unless it has a battery backup. Consequently the FCC/FEMA tip sheet recommends: "If you have a traditional landline (non-broadband or VOIP) phone, keep at least one non-cordless phone in your home." Said Genachowski, "I have a 19-year-old son, and he was my guinea pig on this. I asked him if he could use a cordless phone when the power is out, and he didn't know." Recognizing that many of today's cell phones can do much more than make calls, the tip sheet also recommends using non-voice channels to conserve capacity on wireless networks during emergencies. According to the tip sheet, "For non-emergency communications, use text messaging, e-mail, or social media instead of making voice calls on your cell phone to avoid tying up voice networks. Data-based services like texts and e-mails are less likely to experience network congestion. You can also use social media to post your status to let family and friends know you are okay. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, you can use resources such as the American Red Cross Safe and Well program." Learn more about why your emergency kit should include a cell phone . Disaster response overlaps with day-to-day emergency response systems, which is partly why Thursday's FCC Open Commission meeting focused on next-generation 911, or NG911, systems. In emergencies, NG911 systems would allow people to contact local emergency responders by sending text or photo/video messages to 911. On Thursday the FCC announced that it's beginning to formulate rules to accelerate the development of NG911 technologies. "Some of these ideas used to be science fiction -- but implementing this technology is now within reach," said Genachowski . (The U.S. Dept. of Transportation also has an NG911 project.) The new FCC rules also would call for carriers to increase location accuracy in cell phone call tracking, and to "enhance the information available to Public Safety Answering Points and first responders for assessing and responding to emergencies." The FCC is also starting to examine how wireless carriers might start prioritizing 911 calls. "Surprisingly, this is not already happening," said Genachowski. "The way the system works now, if the phone network is so congested that nothing gets through, that holds up 911 calls, too. We definitely saw this after the earthquake a month ago. But when networks are congested, 911 calls should get priority over other call traffic." Social media is a growing part of the communication picture, especially in the wake of emergencies. "Social media is ultimately part of NG911. We need to make sure that emergency responders have access to social networks and wireless networks in their digital command centers, so they can see and integrate info from many sources and have it be actionable," Genachowski said. Russ Johnson, director for public safety and homeland security for Esri (a leading vendor of geographic information systems, or GIS) has offered advice on how social-media users could create actionable emergency response information through the words they use in emergency-related tweets and status updates. Johnson noted that currently the FCC/FEMA tip sheet offers "no direction or guidance on messaging to communicate a categorical problem. I still believe we are missing the boat by not providing a recommended list of key topics, hash-tags, etc. that could be quickly recognized and prioritized during emergencies for the social media domain." Despite safety problems posed by texting while driving, or how being distracted by your cell phone might make you an easier target for street crime, Genachowski said that in the big picture, cell phones have made the world a safer place. "Remember 911 calls in a world without mobile phones? If you were out on the street or in your car and you saw an emergency, you couldn't call 911 immediately. The fact that most people now have cell phones is a very significant improvement in public safety," he said. "Sure, we need to do more maximize this opportunity, but the fact that we have mobile networks is a big plus. The same is true for social networking. We are generally safer thanks to how people use social networks in emergencies." | The FCC and FEMA offer new tech tips for emergency preparedness .
Many don't know how to use technology in emergency situations .
If the power goes out, you can't use a cordless phone to make or receive calls .
FCC is developing new rules to foster development of next-generation 911 . |
14,129 | 281857c8d939dc2da94885a29d191b71624d4a36 | (CNN Student News) -- August 12, 2014 . This Tuesday on CNN Student News, we report on the Yazidis: who these people are, why they're trapped, and how some are escaping a besieged mountain in Iraq. We'll also update you on the crisis in Ukraine, and we'll explain why a mayor in Missouri said his town "lost control." Also featured: a ruling that could mean a payday for some college athletes. On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL . For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News! | This page includes the show Transcript .
Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary .
At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News . |
256,264 | d7b41a82f8fb7229bd693f888ea2f962988b218b | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 10:07 EST, 7 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:41 EST, 7 May 2013 . Hero: Watersports instructor Charlie Toogood brought a runaway speedboat under control in Padstow and saved the lives of four members of a family . The 'hero' watersports instructor who risked his life by leaping on to an out of control speedboat that killed a father and daughter was revealed as an experienced former RNLI lifeboat volunteer today. Charlie Toogood, 32, jumped from his own rib into the £60,000 vessel which had thrown the six members of the Milligan . family into the Camel estuary on Sunday - leaving two of them dead and two . severely injured. He and a friend sped to the rescue in another boat after seeing them in the sea off Padstow in Cornwall. They drew level with the stricken vessel as it raced round in circles, allowing Mr Toogood to jump into it. He then managed to stop the engine and halt the boat. Charlie was an RNLI crew volunteer at Rock lifeboat station for eight . years - and only finished two years ago because of business commitments. He is a married father of a five-month-old daughter and runs the Camel Ski School, . which rents out equipment for Cornish holidaymakers. Today he spoke about the incident for the first time, and said that it was important to remember the those who died or were hurt in the tragedy. 'There were many "heroes" in this tragic incident, all of whom did a remarkable job in difficult circumstances,' he said in a statement through the RNLI. 'However, now is a time to solely reflect on the bereaved and injured family members and their wider family and friends. 'My thoughts are with them all and will be for a long time to come. 'I have nothing more to add and would hope that our community can now be . left to deal with this tragedy in own own way and in peace and quiet.' Sky TV executive Nick Milligan, 51, and his eight-year-old daughter Emily were killed after they were run over by the out-of-control vessel. His yoga-teacher wife Victoria, 41, and their four-year-old son Kit both face losing their legs from 'life-changing' wounds caused by the £60,000 craft's propeller. The couple's other children Olivia, 10, and Amber 12, are in hospital after being injured when they were thrown from their boat and hit. Tragedy: The Milligan family, with father Nick holding eight-year-old Emily, left, both of whom lost their lives in the speedboat crash in Padstow on Sunday. Victoria, 41, Kit, four, Olivia, 10, and Amber 12, are in hospital . Aftermath: An amateur video showing the empty speedboat out of control at Padstow shortly after the fatal incident . Danger: The boat was completely out of control following the incident in Padstow, Cornwall, on Bank Holiday Sunday . Bravery: The video, filmed from the shore, shows Mr Toogood jumping on to the speedboat . Meanwhile the Milligan family are 'as well as can be hoped', Nick's elder . brother said today. Mark Milligan spoke briefly outside the family home in London this afternoon. 'The investigation is on going. The family is doing as well as they can,' the 53-year-old said. Asked about the condition of Mr Milligan’s wife Victoria and son Kit, Mr Milligan said: 'They are still being treated. 'I’ve seen the children, they’re all doing as well as you can hope for'. He added that 'Lots of people have been very understanding' when asked about the support offered to the family. He said he was at his brother’s detached house situated next to Wandsworth Common, 'to handle (his brother’s) affairs'. Instructor: Mr Toogood, 32, intervened to prevent further disaster after the speedboat killed two people . Experienced: Mr Toogood runs his own business hiring out boats to holidaymakers in Cornwall . Mr Toogood's actions are credited with saving the lives of Nick Milligan’s remaining family, with police and coastguards having . praised Mr Toogood’s ‘incredible seamanship and bravery’ which prevented . further tragedy during the horrifying accident. Matt Pavitt, from the North Cornwall Coastguard, said: ‘He managed to manoeuvre his boat alongside the vessel which was going round and round in circles, picked his moment and jumped.’ Detective Superintendent Jim Colwell added: ‘Without the brave and heroic efforts of local people and holidaymakers in the minutes immediately after this incident in assisting the family while they were in the water, I’m confident that this would have been far worse in terms of the overall death toll.’ Mr Toogood, a married father in his early 30s, had last night declined to talk about his heroics but his mother Sarah said he was ‘in a bit of a state’. Another friend added: ‘He is devastated. Everyone is rightly calling him a hero, but he felt he was helpless that he couldn’t do more to save the others.’ Teenager Will Jones was named as the helmsman of Mr Toogood’s boat. His sister Amy said: ‘My brother is still very shaken up from it all.’ Police at the scene of a boat crash at Padstow harbour where a father and daughter died . Hundreds . of holidaymakers watched in horror as the speedboat then raced round in . circles, its propeller slashing the helpless victims and turning the . water 'red with blood'. Mr Jones, 19, later wrote on Facebook: 'After today the next few days are going to be very difficult to process. Thoughts are with those who are involved in the accident.' Maria Chase wrote on Facebook: 'We . were down in Padstow today and saw the tragedy and saw a hero who saved . more lives by jumping on to an out-of-control speedboat from another . boat. 'He deserves a medal, whoever he was.' Another, Charlotte Jacobs, wrote to . the RNLI on Twitter: 'We witnessed incredible bravery in Padstow today . during the tragic accident that unfolded. The men involved deserve . medals.' | Charlie Toogood, 32, had been a lifeboat volunteer up until 2011 .
On Sunday the sports instructor jumped onto the out-of-control speedboat .
Officials say there would have been more deaths without Toogood's help .
'Time to reflect on the bereaved and injured family members,' hero said .
Nick Milligan, 51, and his daughter Emily, 8, died in Sunday's tragedy .
Wife Victoria and three other children in hospital with serious injuries . |
255,101 | d631b6bb7e9c59f9afdbe9ccfaeabde721f71eaa | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:55 EST, 18 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:47 EST, 18 September 2012 . A mental health nurse who started a sexual relationship with a patient in her care before bombarding him with texts when he broke it off has been struck off. Deborah Boulton was said to have met a male patient and given him her mobile number, texted him messages saying 'I miss you' and 'I love you'. The band 6 nurse's actions fell 'seriously short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse', a tribunal ruled, saying her ability to practice is impaired by reason of her misconduct. She was said to have met the man, known as Patient A, at the Sutherland Centre, for people with poor mental health, in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, in early 2009. Relationship: A tribunal heard Deborah Boulton had sex with one of her patients five times after meeting him at the Sutherland Centre in Stoke-on-Trent . A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing was told Boulton gave the patient, who had previously been treated in hospital for an alleged overdose of diazepam and alcohol issues, her mobile number and texted him, telling him 'I miss you' and 'I love you'. During their relationship the pair had sex around five times: once in a hotel, once in his mother's house and approximately three times in Boulton's house. The patient claimed when he tried to finish the relationship Boulton bombarded him with calls and texts until he destroyed his mobile phone to avoid contact from her. The panel heard Boulton went on to take sick leave leading to her case load being re-allocated, which eventually resulted in claims of their relationship emerging. The allegations came to light when Patient A attended a counselling session in August, where he suggested to a counsellor that he had suffered a relapse because of the relationship, the hearing was told. Boulton was not present and not represented at the hearing in central London last week, but had denied the allegations. The NMC Competence and Conduct Committee panel struck Boulton off, finding she breached professional boundaries by giving Patient A her phone number and instructing him to call her, and also found she had failed to maintain accurate records and failed to create a care plan for him. The panel accepted evidence given by Patient A that Boulton left voicemail messages on his phone saying words to the effect of: 'If you do not come and see me now then you will never see me again', and 'I will end the relationship and you will be alone because you will never see me again'. It also found proved allegations that the Boulton took the patient to Frankie and Benny's in Newtown, Stoke-on-Trent, between May and June 2009, and to dinner with a friend in May 2009, and also that she bought him alcohol on two occasions. The panel also found proved claims that the couple had sex on around May 12, 2009, in Patient A's bedroom at his mother's house in Longton; and that they stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn Express in Stoke-on-Trent near Britannia Stadium, where they also slept together. It was also found proven that during May and/or June 2009, the pair had sex approximately three times at Boulton's home. Deciding whether the facts proved amounted to misconduct, the panel ruled Boulton's actions fell 'seriously short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse and amounts to misconduct'. Striking her off, it said her failings were 'significant departures' from the standards expected. 'By placing her own needs above the needs of Patient A, Ms Boulton breached the fundamental tenets of the profession and the panel is of the view that to allow her to continue practising would fail to protect the public, and undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body.' An 18-month Interim Suspension Order was also put in place to allow for the possibility of an appeal. If Boulton does not appeal within 28 days, then the order will be replaced by the striking-off order. | Deborah Boulton had sex with male mental health patient five times .
She met him in 2009, but bombarded him with texts when he ended the relationship . |
207,521 | 98b0bf1475c599eb0292930d8281a76a48aabee0 | The space shuttle Enterprise - . named after the spaceship in Star Trek - floated past the Statue . of Liberty and One World Trade Center on a barge on Wednesday and docked near its new home . at a museum on New York's Hudson River. Crowds of people turned out to see the retired spacecraft . make its final approach to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum . where it was placed on display atop the World War II aircraft . carrier USS Intrepid. For a shuttle that never made it into space, Enterprise has had quite a journey. In April, hundreds of tourists and New Yorkers watched in awe as Enterprise flew over the city piggy-backed on a Boeing 747 Jumbo jet. Scroll down for video . Space Shuttle Enterprise is seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, as it is lifted onto the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York . The Space Shuttle Enterprise is lowered onto the flight deck of the USS Intrepid which floats on the Hudson River in New York City . Memories of former glories: The Space Shuttle Enterprise, is lifted onto the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum as a British Airways Concorde is seen below the shuttle . Space Shuttle Enterprise is lifted onto the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York, June 6, 2012 . The Space Shuttle Enterprise, strapped to a barge, cruised past One World Trade Center on Wednesday on its way to its new home at a museum on New York's Hudson River . However, despite never flying in space, Enterprise holds a special place in American history having been the first of NASA's space shuttles. In 1977 it was used for a series of approach and landing tests during a nine-month period. Enterprise was originally to be named Constitution in honor of the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. The Space Shuttle Enterprise is visible on the Hudson River from Manhattan as it passes on its way up to the USS Intrepid . The space shuttle Enterprise moves past the Statue of Liberty as it floats on a barge to the flight deck of the USS Intrepid . The Space Shuttle Enterprise is ferried on a barge past the Statue of Liberty on its way to the USS Intrepid Museum . The space shuttle Enterprise, a prototype which never flew in space, travels up the Hudson River by barge to it's new home aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum . The space shuttle Enterprise is brought past the Statue of Liberty on a barge in New York City. The shuttle is on it's way to the USS Intrepid, where it be on display for viewing by the general public . The Space Shuttle Enterprise was being moved up the Hudson River to be placed at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum . The space shuttle Enterprise is towed through the harbor in New York on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum . Cruising: The shuttle traversed down the river amid cloudy skies; there were thunderstorm warnings around the Tri-State area Wednesday night . Lady Liberty: The spacecraft passed the Statue of Liberty on its trip up the river . However, a fierce letter-writing campaign by Star Trek fans convinced White House officials to rename the shuttle Enterprise after the fictitious spaceship that Captain Kirk and Mr Spock flew to the frontlines of an intergalactic battle with the Klingons on the popular TV show. Experts say Enterprise captured the hearts and minds of many by embodying the best of American ingenuity. In April last year NASA announced it would retire its space shuttle fleet to locations in New York, Virginia, California and Florida. The Enterprise's original move-in date was Tuesday but bad weather had delayed preparation work . Space shuttle Enterprise, bottom right, riding on a barge, cruises on the Hudson River near a Lower Manhattan on its way to the Intrepid Sea and Space Museum in New York . The space shuttle Enterprise passes One World Trade Center under construction, as it makes the final leg of its journey by barge to its new home on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum . Enterprise is carried by barge past One World Trade Center up the Hudson River on route to its permanent home at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum . Space Shuttle Enterprise is seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, as it is transported on a barge up the Hudson River . It decided that Discovery would take Enterprise's place at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia and that Enterprise would be brought to New York. Since its joy-ride over the city in April, Enterprise has been kept in a protective de-icing tent at JFK International Airport. On Saturday, the 171,000-pound Enterprise was lifted by crane onto a barge, a process that took about three hours. The Space Shuttle Enterprise passes the midtown Manhattan skyline as it rides on a barge in New York harbor . The Space Shuttle Enterprise rides on a barge up the Hudson River . A flotilla surrounds NASA space shuttle Enterprise as it is carried by barge up the Hudson River on route to its permanent home at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum . The Enterprise, only used for atmospheric testing, will be hoisted by crane onto the flight deck of the retired Intrepid aircraft carrier . Followed by a small flotilla of boats, the Enterprise prepares to dock and be lifted onto the USS Intrepid . An aerial view of the Space Shuttle Enterprise as it floats up the Hudson River . Fire boats spray water in front of the Space Shuttle Enterprise as it floats up the Hudson River June . The Space Shuttle Enterprise on the Hudson River in front of the Aircraft Carrier Intrepid where it will be placed by crane . A craning crew prepares to lift the Space Shuttle Enterprise on to the deck of the USS Intrepid Museum . It toured Queens and Brooklyn on Sunday pulled by a tugboat, passing by Coney Island and traveling under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge before docking in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. Officials at Enterprise's new home, the Intrepid Museum, which itself is a repurposed former World War II aircraft carrier, expect the space shuttle to be a major attraction for years to come. Welcome to New York: An image taken by NASA . shows the space shuttle Enterprise behind the Statue of Liberty and the . Empire State Building as it arrived in Manhattan in late April . The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise flies free after being released from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) in 1977 . | Space Shuttle Enterprise floated past New York City landmarks Wednesday as it made its way north .
Was placed on display atop WWII aircraft USS Intrepid . |
132,007 | 36b5ed36684bfa34e09eda82226a27cc6f864d6d | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 06:30 EST, 19 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:50 EST, 19 July 2012 . The Kennedy clan has been accused of acting 'like an organised crime family' in the aftermath of Kerry Kennedy's hit and run arrest. The 52-year-old daughter of the late Robert F Kennedy has been charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs after she careered into a truck on Interstate 684 north of New York City on Friday. In the days following the crash, police sources claim her family members have taken part in an aggressive PR operation in a bid to cloud the facts surrounding her arrest. Scroll down for video . Family affair: Kerry Kennedy, centre, is flanked by her sister Rory, left and brother Chris right, as she arrives at court The Kennedy family have been accused of behaving like an 'organised crime' clan following her arrest . Arresting officers found Mrs Kennedy unable to walk, talk or see straight in the aftermath of Friday's accident. After initially admitting she may have taken the powerful sleeping pill Ambien prior to the crash, Mrs Kennedy has since insisted there were no drugs or alcohol in her system - claiming instead she suffered a seizure. She backed that up with the results of private blood and urine tests that she hurriedly underwent in the hours after the crash and which which were released just moments after her arrest was announced by police. The Kennedy family insist official tests will also come up clean. But officials are unhappy with the 'aggressive' way in which the clan are attempting to control the case. Kerry Kennedy, accompanied by her brother Chris, addresses the press outside North Castle Court in Amonk, NY . A law enforcement source told the New York Post: 'The family is so aggressive, they act like some organized-crime family. 'Ninety minutes after the State Police issued a press release, (Kennedy spokesman) Ken Sunshine puts out a release that says she’s clean. 'Right now, they’re obfuscating. I don’t believe any of it.' Mrs Kennedy was surrounded by relatives on Tuesday night as as she emerged from court in Amonk, New York after entering her not guilty plea. Speaking to reporters she claimed numerous neurological tests show that she suffered a 'partial seizure' which was the result of a previous head injury . She added: 'I want to apologise to the driver of . the truck who I apparently hit and all those who I apparently . endangered,’ ‘A MRI showed an area of hypo-density which appears to be the result of a head injury sustained some time ago,' she said. Kennedy concluded that doctors believe the accident was caused by a partial seizure. She added that this was the only seizure she had ever suffered and would continue to get treatment over 'the months ahead and, perhaps, indefinitely.' Recalling Friday's accident she said, 'I remember getting onto the highway and then I have no memory until I was at a traffic light and a police officer was at my car door.' 'I have never had any history of drug or alcohol abuse and in my discussion with the police officer I was confused and erratic,' she continued. She told the officers that she had possibly mixed up two prescription drugs before getting behind the wheel and taken the sleeping pill Ambien instead of a daily prescription that she takes for a thyroid problem. Heartbroken: Ms Kennedy speaking before the funeral of her best friend and sister-in-law, Mary Richardson Kennedy, in Bedford, New York in May . The driver of the truck Kerry Kennedy . crashed into on Friday spoke about the accident and recalled how RFK's . daughter's was driving erratically for more than three miles on the . Westchester highway before the Lexus slammed into his rig and careered . off the interstate. He told . the New York Post: 'My first impression was that she was really, really . drunk. She's very lucky she didn't kill somebody. 'I’ve been a truck driver for 22 years. I’m pretty sure she was half-asleep or very, very intoxicated. 'She scared the heck out of a lot of people. She was completely out of it.' He told the Post that right before the crash, he saw Kennedy's head drop down to the steering wheel before snapping up again and nodding off again, all while veering in and out of lanes. 'She started . coming at me, like she didn’t see me. She was starting to nod off, . her head was bobbing toward the steering wheel,' he said. 'I hit the horn. I couldn’t go back into . the breakdown lane because there was a disabled truck up ahead. I could . either hit that truck or let her do whatever she was going to do. 'I hit the brakes, but she hit the brakes at the same time and veered right into me. 'When she hit me, my left tire tore up . her passenger-side door. She woke up a little bit, not a lot — not the way you’d wake up if you’d just hit a 6,000-pound truck.' Arrested: Kerry Kennedy has been charged with driving while impaired with drugs in New York . One of the tires on her car came free and shot into oncoming traffic and smoke was pouring out of the Lexus, the truck driver said. Mr Scuitello told the Post he first thought she must be 'really, really . drunk' and recalled when he saw her she looked like she had just rolled . out of bed. Friday's collision came just two months . after her best friend and sister-in-law Mary committed suicide after . struggling with alcoholism and drug abuse. Political marriage: Ms Kennedy is the ex-wife of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, left . Family: Kerry with her brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and his (now deceased) wife Mary at a gala event in 2006 . Ambien: Ms Kennedy said she was 'confused and erratic' when she told officers she may have taken the sleeping pill Ambien, which has been known in rare cases to cause 'sleep-driving' Celebration: Ms Kennedy with Mr Cuomo during his first New York gubernatorial campaign in 2002 . Ms Kennedy, one of the most prominent . members of the legendary Kennedy family, is the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the niece of President John F. Kennedy. Her father was Senator for New York then U.S. Attorney General before being assassinated during his 1968 presidential campaign. She re-entered the public eye as the wife of Mr Cuomo, a member of Bill Clinton's cabinet who was elected as Governor of New York in 2010. The couple have three children but divorced in 2005 after 13 years of marriage. Ms Kennedy was best friends with her sister-in-law Mary Richardson Kennedy, who killed herself at her New York home in May after her marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr disintegrated. Kerry delivered an emotional eulogy at Mary's funeral, describing her friend as an 'angel' who had been destroyed by her own 'forces of evil'. Watch video here . | RFK's daughter retracts drug admission, now claiming she suffered a seizure .
Family issued press release and drug test results moments after police announced arrest .
Sources say Kennedys are aggressive and trying to cloud the facts . |
275,303 | f0a99dcbf41eb77026e6849a6ef6070a18744e49 | PUBLISHED: . 15:57 EST, 10 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:20 EST, 10 February 2014 . A Los Angeles entertainment anchor confused Samuel L. Jackson with Laurence Fishburne on live TV, making for an incredibly awkward interview. On KTLA this morning, Sam Rubin asked Jackson, who was appearing on the show from Atlanta to discuss his new movie 'RoboCop,' about his recent Super Bowl commercial. But the Snakes on a Plane actor didn't do a Super Bowl spot this year - Laurence Fishburne did - and Jackson, understandably, goes off the handle. Scroll down for video . Blunder: Los Angeles entertainment anchor, Sam Rubin, pictured left, confused Samuel L. Jackson, right, with Laurence Fishburne on live TV Monday morning, making for an incredibly awkward interview . Livid, Jackson suggests Rubin is being racist, shouting, 'We don't all look alike,' referring to black actors. All . the while, Rubin, who boasts on the KTLA website of being the . entertainment reporter for the No. 1 morning show in Hollywood, scrambles, . desperately trying to apologize and jokingly shrug off his offensive . blunder, but Jackson won't let him. He genuinely seems like he can't believe what's going on. Super Bowl: Actor Laurence Fishburne starred in a Matrix-inspired Super Bowl commercial this month . The mess begins right at the start of the chat, when Rubin asks, 'Did you get a lot of reaction to that Super Bowl commercial?' Jackson looks confused and responds 'what Super Bowl commercial?' The penny immediately drops, and there's a painful silence as a ghost white Rubin stars off screen, probably at a producer, in a desperate plea for help. But Jackson gets it almost as quickly. Pointing his finger angrily, he says, 'you see, you're as crazy as the people on Twitter. I'm not Laurence Fishburne!' Rubin chuckles uncomfortably, repeating, 'that's my fault, I know that, my mistake,' as he holds his hands up in surrender. But Jackson continues: 'We don't all look alike! We may all be black and famous but we don't all look alike.' As Rubin continues to backpedal, Jackson asks, baffled: 'You're the entertainment reporter? 'You're the entertainment reporter for this station and you don't know the difference between me and Laurence Fishburne?' He then quips, 'There must be a very short line for your job.' Still in disbelief, he exclaims . 'Really? Really?' before lightening the mood slightly by joking about . the various ads he, Fishburne and even Morgan Freeman have starred in, . to clarify to the less than qualified entertainment reporter just which . 'black guy' he is. Awkward: Rubin, left, stairs off screen as he realizes his offensive mistake . Angry: Jackson, right, then points his finger angrily at the reporter and says 'you see, you're as crazy as the people on Twitter. I'm not Laurence Fishburne!' Rubin joined the KTLA Morning News in 1991, according to the station's network. In that time he's 'established a reputation as someone who goes beyond the entertainment headlines of the day. His insights and exploration of the deeper meaning and impact of the stories within the entertainment industry generate conversation within the business, as well as outside it.' Perhaps in this case, the conversation he's generating is not the conversation he's after? KTLA and Sam Rubin have not yet responded to MailOnline's request for comment. | On KTLA this morning, anchor Sam Rubin asked Jackson, who was appearing on the show from Atlanta to discuss his new movie 'RoboCop', about his recent Super Bowl commercial .
But the actor didn't do a Super Bowl spot this year - Laurence Fishburne did .
Livid, Jackson suggested Rubin was being racist, shouting, 'We don't all look alike', referring to black actors .
All the while, Rubin scrambles, desperately trying to apologize and jokingly shrug off his offensive blunder . |
93,377 | 0417b3ba408548d4a6ed5fcca78014c883372e20 | By . James Slack . PUBLISHED: . 03:07 EST, 6 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:33 EST, 6 June 2013 . Warning: Home Secretary Theresa May says migrants are placing an 'unacceptable burden' on schools, hospitals and benefits system . Migrants are travelling from across the EU to ‘beg and steal’ on the streets of Britain, Theresa May will warn Europe’s leaders. The Home Secretary will demand action to end abuse of the EU’s free movement directive by people who have no intention of finding work. At a meeting of European home affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, she will highlight how gangs of beggars are setting up camps in London to launch raids on the unsuspecting public. She will also outline a case in which Romanian fraudsters fleeced the British taxpayer of almost £3million. Home Office officials say it is a huge achievement for the issue to even be discussed. EU leaders have been reluctant to even contemplate any changes to the rules – it has taken three years for Mrs May to get it on the agenda, . According to Whitehall sources, the Home Secretary will say that abuse of free movement rights by some EU migrants is placing an ‘unacceptable burden on our schools, our hospitals, our social security systems and our local communities’. She will stress that it is unacceptable that some EU nationals are able to come to countries such as the UK with no intention of working, but simply to access our state benefits and take advantage of our public services. Mrs May will then tell the rest of Europe that it cannot be right that national governments are unable to act to stop this abuse. In a significant move, she will present the council with examples of how EU nationals are fleecing the British taxpayer. They will include the case of a Lavinia Olmazu, who helped more than 170 Romanians illegally claim £2.9m in benefits has been jailed for two years and three months. Olmazu, a leading campaigner for the rights of Roma gypsies, helped mastermind the scam involving 172 Romanians. After gaining access to the Romanians through her outreach work with Haringey and Waltham Forest councils and the Big Issue charity, she set up companies with her boyfriend to help facilitate widescale fraudulent benefit claims. Problem: Police from Westminster regularly target Romanian beggars and rough sleepers in London . Mrs May will also say there is a ‘recurring problem’ with groups of EU nationals who set up camps in public areas in London, and beg and steal from tourists. She will say they arrive under the free movement rules but have no intention of working, studying or setting up a business. In 2012, over 70 per cent of individuals arrested for begging in one London borough – Westminster – were EU citizens. Police have warned of aggressive begging by people from some Eastern European states, including Romania. In April Mrs May secured the backing of Germany, Holland and Austria to campaign for tighter restrictions on migrants’ access to hand-outs and other State services. The four countries wrote to the President of the EU arguing that the free movement directive – a founding principle of the EU – must not be ‘unconditional’. They want to make to persuade the Eurocrats to make it harder for citizens of other member states to access benefits within days or weeks of arriving in another member state. The letter has led to the discussion at Friday’s meeting. Britain has long been seeking changes to the rules on entitlement to welfare. However, the chances of success were limited while the UK government was a lone voice in Brussels. Camps: Britain faces a 'recurring problem' with groups of EU nationals who travel to London to beg and steal from tourists, Mrs May warns . The fact that Germany, in particular, has joined the campaign will place huge new pressure on the other member states to agree to tighten the rules. Speaking last night, Mrs May said: ‘We are already taking tough action in this country to stamp out the abuse of free movement, to protect our benefits system and public services. ‘We will not allow this country to be a soft touch but this isn't just a UK problem - it will take the joint efforts of all our EU partners to tackle it.’ It comes at a time of heightened tensions between the British government and the EU. Last week, the European Commission announced it was taking Britain to court for insisting migrants pass a ‘right to reside’ test before they can access some State handouts. Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is planning to defy the EC and make existing restrictions even tougher. | Home Secretary warns of 'unacceptable burden' on schools and hospitals .
Uses speech to EU ministers to demand changes to border rules .
Highlights how EU nationals are fleecing the British taxpayer . |
63,808 | b5287833d50f0b28ce4c119cbc103b69c5e93bbe | By . Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 00:27 EST, 22 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:18 EST, 22 October 2012 . Newsman: Bob Schieffer, who has been at CBS since 1972, will be the moderator during tonight's debate in Boca Raton, Florida . The moderator in the third and final round of the debate slugfest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney may have a wealth of Southern charm, but don't expect him to be soft with the candidates. Millions of voters will be glued to the tube on Monday night for the last presidential debate, and many are wondering if longtime CBS newsman Bob Schieffer will steal the show as his fellow moderators have - for negative reasons. At 75, Schieffer is only three years younger than PBS’s Jim Lehrer, who came under intense criticism for how he handled the first debate between Obama and Romney. Schieffer’s career goes back to 1972, when he became anchor of the CBS Sunday Night News. Today, he remains the moderator of the network’s Sunday talk show Face the Nation. He is also the network's chief Washington correspondent. It's also not his first foray in the debate scene, as Schieffer was at the helm for the 2004 debate between President George W. Bush and John Kerry, and in the 2008 event between President Obama and John McCain. On the debate agenda are Iran-Israel tensions, China, terrorism and the war in Afghanistan - all subjects expected to come up Monday in the 90-minute encounter. Although polls show the economy is of top concern to most voters, global affairs have cropped up as a key issue in the final weeks due to unrest in Libya, Syria and elsewhere. Thanks to a bitter campaign rivalry, thriving partisan media outlets and the growth of social media, debate moderator is approaching baseball umpire on the scale of thankless jobs. Lehrer was criticized for not doing enough and CNN’s Candy Crowley was ripped for doing too much. Setting the stage: A worker adjusts the backdrop on stage in preparation for Monday's presidential debate between Obama and Romney . The big stage: Lynn University students serve as stand-ins during final preparations for the debate . One last debate: Romney and Obama, pictured during last week's debate at Hofstra University, will get together for the third and final time before Election Day . 'There are millions of people with . their hands over their keyboards ready to analyze every single moment of . what's happening,' said veteran TV journalist Jeff Greenfield. 'That . puts even more pressure on ... It's a no-win situation.' Conservative . columnist George Will called last week's get-together at Hofstra . University on Long Island the best presidential debate he's ever seen. It didn't take long, however, for Republican Mitt Romney's supporters to go after Crowley. They said questions that she chose from undecided voters on immigration, gun control and equal pay for women played to President Obama's strengths. They were incensed when Crowley, faced by two candidates in a dispute over what was said during a presidential address about Libya, corrected Romney by saying Obama had referred to an attack on Americans in Benghazi as an 'act of terror.' Crowley also noted that others in the administration suggested for nearly two weeks that the reaction to an anti-Muslim video was a motivating factor in the attack. Been here before: Schieffer moderated a 2008 debate between Obama and John McCain . Experience: chieffer, center, also moderated a 2004 debate between then-President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry . Radio host Rush Limbaugh called Crowley's work 'an act of journalistic terror.' 'If . there were any journalistic standards, what she did last night would . have been the equivalent of blowing up her career like a suicide . bomber,' he said. The conservative Media Research Center criticized Crowley for having only one question on a foreign policy issue, even though this Monday's Schieffer-moderated debate is supposed to focus on foreign policy. Thanks to a clock that airs on CNN's screen during the debate, some conservatives saw as a sign of bias that Obama spoke for 44 minutes, 4 seconds during the debate, compared to Romney's 40:50. This prompted CNN to count the actual words spoken by each candidate. The faster-talking Romney said 7,984 words and Obama 7,506. Criticism of Crowley was a relentless post-debate topic on Fox News Channel, which knows CNN isn't popular among Republicans in its audience. Presidential: Schieffer, pictured left, chats with President Gerald Ford in the White House . Conservatives on Fox and liberals on MSNBC offer an echo chamber for partisan complaints and have far greater prominence than they had even a decade ago. 'I knew from the start,' Crowley told The Associated Press, 'somebody is going to be unhappy no matter what you do.' Crowley's bosses leapt to her defense: 'She had to deal with the tricky format, the nervous questioners, the aggressive debaters, all while shutting out the pre-debate attempts to spin and intimidate her,' CNN U.S. chief Mark Whitaker said in a memo to staff. 'She pulled it off masterfully.' Even as each debate progresses, Twitter is crackling with reactions. Type in the moderator's name in a search and the screen immediately fills with tweets. Generally, it's a dependable way to gauge how a candidate is doing. The harsher one party's reaction to a moderator is, the tougher time their candidate is having onstage. 'I've never known the winning side to [complain],' said Aaron Brown, the former ABC and CNN anchor who is now a professor at Arizona State University. Lehrer was likened to a teacher who had lost control of the class during his debate. Frustration against Lehrer boiled over predominantly among Democrats like Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow who were witnessing Obama's admittedly poor performance in the first debate. The former PBS host said he essentially tried to get out of the way, asking general questions and letting the candidates go after each other. 'I wondered if we needed a moderator since we had Mitt Romney,' Obama's deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said, even though her candidate talked longer. As in the second debate, Romney spoke more words. 'Hey, I wasn't that bad': Jim Lehrer, another journalism industry veteran, came under intense criticism for the way he he handled the first debate between Obama and Romney . Show of support: Moderator Candy Crowley had the backing of CNN despite what her critics said . One motive of the pre- and post-debate criticism is to 'work the refs,' to let the moderators know that partisans are watching. If intimidation works, even on a subtle level, it can seep into their performances at a time when even modest advantages can make a big difference. During the second debate, George Mason University went so far as to count how many times each candidate and Crowley interrupted one another. They found that Romney was interrupted 58 times and Obama 43. The numbers came with little context, however, so it wasn't clear how many interruptions were related to candidates exceeding agreed-upon time limits. Leading the discussion: Schieffer has been at CBS since 1972, and is the current moderator at the network's Sunday talk show Face the Nation . Crowley's role in the Libyan discussion also raised the issue of how much the moderators should be prepared to practice journalism while onstage. If you hear something factually incorrect or misleading, is it your duty to point it out to viewers, or is that strictly the candidates' job? For most viewers, the answer no doubt has to do with which candidate is being corrected.So let's get this moderator's job straight: . Craft sharp questions to get the candidates to talk, while being meticulously fair not to challenge one more than another. Keep an eye on the clock so one candidate doesn't get to hog the time. Don't be bullied; be firm in forcing the candidates to move on. But be flexible enough to keep a productive discussion flowing. Know the difference. Keep the focus off yourself. And do it all on live television before some 60 million people. | Schieffer has been with CBS since 1972, and is the current moderator of the network's Sunday talk show Face the Nation .
He has moderated several debates, including one between Obama and John McCain in 2008 .
Debate tonight in Boca Raton, Florida, is the last before Election Day . |
80,139 | e3220d4cc331f7059c01400339a16994bd180a72 | (CNN) -- Juventus became the first Italian club to reach 100 points in the league after comfortably defeating Cagliari 3-0 in their final Serie A match of the season. The Old Lady of Turn had already secured their third scudetto in a row but goals from Fernando Llorente, Claudio Marchisio and an own goal by Cagliari goalkeeper Marco Silvestri, from a stunning Andrea Pirlo free kick that hit the post and bounced in off Silvestri, ensured that Juve finished on a record 102 points. It has been a chaotic season of football in Italy, marred by fan violence, racism and continued failure in the UEFA Champions League. Earlier this month the Italian Cup Final was delayed after three Napoli fans were shot before the game, causing Napoli's ultras to riot and throw flares on to the pitch. But, domestically at least, Juve has been devastatingly consistent with a season of records for Antonio Conte's side. The victory ensured that they maintained a 100 percent record of home victories throughout the season, winning 33 of their 38 games and finishing an incredible 17 points clear of their nearest rivals Roma. "I want to say a massive thank you to all the players, every one of them has been phenomenal," Conte told Sky Sports Italia after the match. "Our objective was to win a third consecutive scudetto, instead we've set record after record." Incredibly, given Conte's success since taking charge of Juventus, his position has been in some doubt with rumors suggesting he was Monaco bound. "Tonight the appointment is to celebrate the title," Conte said when asked about his future. "My appointment with the club will come later." | Juventus beat Cagliari 3-0 in their final game of the season .
They had already won the league title, their third in a row .
Juve finish on 102 points, an Italian record .
Coach Conte in discussions to stay in charge . |
267,700 | e6b08a9a9262328c123afe4e58e569aad34f5275 | Christopher Michael East is alleged to have beat his neighbor, 75, for cutting his nails outside their apartment building . A 75-year-old man was allegedly beaten over the head with a baseball bat for cutting his nails on the steps of his apartment building. Bill Newell was sat outside his home in Naples, Florida, when he was allegedly approached by Christopher Michael East, his 39-year-old neighbor. East is said to have told Mr Newell to 'get off his stairs', but he refused, continuing to sit on the steps and clip his nails 'because he lives in the building'. Mr Newell was then struck from behind, inflicting a large gash on the top of his head. Police officers found the pensioner lying bloodied in the fetal position, with the baseball bat a few feet away. He also had bruised legs, a bruised back and his manicure set had been stolen, the Naples Daily News reported. He spent eight hours being treated at North Naples Hospital on Tuesday but the next day said he was doing 'OK'. 'When someone beats you up with a baseball bat, you don't recover right away,' Mr Newell said. Before the alleged attack, Mr Newell said he had one previous encounter with East. Last year, Mr Newell said he went upstairs to East's apartment to inquire about his Comcast television reception. When he answered, Newell said East curtly told him he had DIRECTV and promptly slammed the door. East is facing charges of aggravated battery using a deadly weapon and unarmed robbery. Mr Newell said: 'I just want to let the courts take care of everything.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Bill Newell, 75, allegedly beaten over head with baseball bat for cutting nails .
Neighbor told him to 'get off his stairs' before allegedly launching attack .
Police found Mr Newell lying bloodied in the fetal position outside his home .
He also had his manicure set stolen but says he is now doing 'OK'
Neighbor Christopher Michael East charged with aggravated battery . |
156,741 | 56aaa26cedd746f9b38a9c51dade62577ee06a7b | By . Richard Shears . PUBLISHED: . 04:04 EST, 23 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:42 EST, 23 January 2013 . Gary the Goat was caught eating public vegetation and his owner fined. The fine was cancelled today . When a magistrate realised who the next defendant was on the court list she must have thought the police were kidding, so to speak. For the miscreant was Gary – Gary the goat that is. And while it was Gary’s owner who had been booked, it was the goat who was the real culprit, Magistrate Carolyn Barkell was told in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court today. Owner James Dezarnaulds, a comedian who is also known as Jimbo Bazoobi, had been issued with a £292 fine last August after police caught Gary chomping away on flowers outside Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which is located beside the city harbour. Mr Bazoobi decided the fine was unjust and elected to take the case to court. He took Gary along with him, too, but the goat, wearing a rainbow hat, was asked to remain outside while the case proceeded. Miss Barkell noted that ‘he did eat garden plants.’ But she said there was no evidence Mr Bazoobi had brought Gary to the area with the intention of vandalising vegetation. ‘He may have preferred to have an ice cream,’ she said. Mr Paul McGirr, lawyer for the goat, told the court that the police had issued the wrong infringement notice because it related to a person and not a goat. ‘The liability (for the fine) attaches to a person, but Gary’s not a person. ‘In addition,’ he told the magistrate, ‘it can’t be proved that Mr Bazoobi put Gary up to the act of eating flowers. Scroll down for video . Gary the Goat with owner comedian Jimbo Bazoobi outside Downing Centre Courts, Sydney, after their case was dismissed. A £292 fine was issued after police caught Gary eating flowers outside a Sydney Museum . Gary the Goat now has . his own Facebook page after he and his owner were charged with damaging . vegetation. He was not allowed into court today so waited patiently outside . Well-wishers kept Gary the Goat company as he waited for his owner to emerge victorious from court today . ‘We can’t guess what Gary might have been whispered in his goat ear.’ Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Rick Mansley said Mr Bazoobi was fined correctly because he knew Gary was hungry and had been reckless in letting him near the flowers. ‘Maybe we should just have an argument on whether Jimbo or Gary the Goat should be in the dock,’ said Mr McGirr. Mr Bazoobi told the police who dragged his goat from the flower bed that he had brought his companion to the park because he needed to eat. The magistrate cancelled the fine, saying it should never have been issued but dismissed Mr Bazoobi’s application for the Crown to pay his legal costs. Outside the court Mr Bazoobi told a crowd of journalists that he was delighted Gary’s name had been cleared. ‘I just think there’s so many laws and regulations in Australia which are just an abuse of common sense. ‘This is actually an abuse of the laws of nature – a goat eating grass. ‘I’m a comedian – I can come up with jokes, but it’s pretty hard to compete with the cops coming out with this stuff.’ Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Rick . Mansley said Mr Bazoobi was fined correctly because he knew Gary was . hungry and had been reckless in letting him near the flowers . Outside court Mr Bazoobi told a crowd of journalists that he was delighted Gary’s name had been cleared. ‘I’m a comedian but it’s pretty hard to compete with the cops coming out with this stuff’ Gary the Goat's Facebook page, liked by nearly 10,000 people . | Police caught Gary the Goat chomping on flowers near Sydney harbour .
His owner, comedian Jimbo Bazoobi, was fined £292 .
His lawyer argued Mr Bazoobi didn't put Gary up to eating the flowers .
Magistrate cancelled the fine and said it should never have been issued . |
130,586 | 34e092ba0e5401add1532496c9c0727205423b3c | (CNN)The 2015 Dakar rally suffered tragedy on only its third day of competition when motorbike rider Michal Hernik was found dead. But mystery surrounds how the 39-year-old Pole lost his life. No damage was found to either his body or bike, said race director Etienne Lavigne. Hernik, who was located just a few hundred meters from the race track, had removed his helmet prior to his death. "The circumstances surrounding his death have yet to be determined, as the competitor did not show any external signs of an accident," said a rally statement. Hernik -- who was competing in his first Dakar -- was found at kilometer 206 on the stage between San Juan and Chilecito, in northern Argentina. Shortly after the rider, wearing bib number 82, failed to appear at the finish line, organizers tried to find him. The search was complicated by the absence of a signal from his satellite tracker. "When the race management detected the loss of his Irritrack signal and was informed that he had not completed the special stage at 15:16, it decided to start a search for the rider at 15:23," said a statement. "An ambulance helicopter found the rider 300 meters off the route at 16:03. "Unfortunately, the on-board doctor could only confirm the rider's death." Hernik's death means five competitors have died since the rally moved from West Africa to South America in 2009 because of security concerns in the Sahara region. All those five have been competing in the motorbike section. Since the Dakar began on December 26, 1978, a total of 24 competitors have died but there have been over 50 fatalities when including the deaths of spectators and officials. Speaking after the stage, the overall leader of the motorbike race -- Joan Barreda Bort -- said it had been a challenging section. "It was really dangerous because we were on river beds with a lot of stones and broken up tracks all day," the Spaniard told reporters. Race organizers said Hernik had previously competed -- and completed -- both the 2013 Morocco Rally and the 2014 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. "The whole Dakar family offers its condolences to Michal's family, close friends and team," added the Dakar statement. | Motorbike rider Michal Hernik was found dead by Dakar organizers on Tuesday .
Mystery surrounds his death, after both body and bike were found unharmed .
Hernik's loss takes Dakar death tally to 64 since rally began in 1979 . |
72,411 | cd3f6e27bbd62d96f07c4df5113a2ed4c5353963 | (CNN) -- Capt. Tadeusz Wrona still has trouble sleeping. The night after executing a spectacular belly landing in Poland, the veteran pilot tossed and turned until 4 a.m. The phone kept ringing, he told Polish media, and he kept reliving the chilling moments when his crew and passengers came close to a disaster. Now basking in his nation's adoration and fielding countless interview requests, Wrona is resting even less, he said with a weary smile. Wrona, who has worked for LOT Polish Airlines for 20 years, was at the controls of a Boeing 767 en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Warsaw on Tuesday when he realized there was a problem with the landing gear. When the second attempt to open it failed, he knew that everyone on board -- 220 passengers and 11 crew -- was in danger. "I've maybe flown this plane 500 times, and the landing gear deployed every time," Wrona said during a news conference in Warsaw on Wednesday. "I never had any trouble flying Boeing." Aware of comparisons to the 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson," when Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed a plane in New York's Hudson River after a flock of geese damaged both of the aircraft's engines, Wrona pointed out that his situation was less dire. Both of his engines were working fine and there was time to prepare. After notifying Warsaw's airport that there might be an emergency landing, the crew had time to perform checks and various functions, Wrona said. They circled the city to burn off excess fuel. While the crew reviewed the procedure in the cockpit, the flight attendants prepared the cabin, instructing passengers that they would have to evacuate as soon as the plane stopped on the ground. The autopilot helped the crew guide the plane until about two minutes before landing, Wrona said. That's when he took manual control. "We rested the plane on three points: two engines plus the rear portion of the fuselage," Wrona said. "We tried to do it delicately, and we were successful." There was less noise during the belly landing than a normal touch down, which shocked Wrona. It was just quiet, he recalled. Wrona, who has been dubbed the Polish version of Sullenberger, was praised by the original "miracle" pilot. "The captain and the crew obviously did a great job," Sullenberger told CNN. "It definitely requires skill to do this well, and from all reports and from watching the video, it looked like it was done very, very well." But for Wrona, there were still tense moments ahead. "When the plane stopped on the runway, I wasn't sure whether everyone was safe, because smoke appeared," he recalled. (Wind had blown the smoke caused by the friction of the landing toward the cockpit.) "I finally felt full relief only when the purser reported that the cabin was empty." Everyone got out safe and unhurt. Like Sullenberger, Wrona is now grappling with sudden fame and the gratitude of hundreds of families. He's a Facebook star, with several fan pages established in his honor. One page has more than 33,000 followers leaving messages of praise and adulation. But Wrona insists it's too much to call him a national hero. "I am convinced that all of us who work for LOT would do the exact same thing, and it would end in the same way, because we train for such situations on simulators," he said. Wrona is fully prepared to return to his duties as pilot, he said. In fact, his schedule -- prepared before the incident -- has him flying to Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday. He's not sure whether the commission investigating the emergency landing will let him go. Wrona's wife and two adult children beamed when they were interviewed by Polish media on Thursday. Marzena Wrona found out about her husband's troubled flight on television while the plane was still circling Warsaw and raced to the airport to watch the emergency landing, she told the program Dzień Dobry TVN. But she had to turn back when authorities closed off many streets leading to the airport as a safety precaution. When she got back home, the plane had already landed. "I knew the landing would be successful because I couldn't imagine otherwise," Wrona's wife said. | Pilot who executed a textbook belly landing in Poland is being hailed as national hero .
Tadeusz Wrona has worked for LOT Polish Airlines for 20 years .
"I finally felt full relief only when the purser reported that the cabin was empty," he says .
Wrona says he's flown the Boeing 767 about 500 times and never had any trouble . |
109,526 | 192d264c0bc4676a2ac9e0c3073e838fbd8c0707 | (CNN) -- Brazil and Portugal played out a disappointing draw as Group G reached its climax but both cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup. Striker Nilmar came the closest to breaking the deadlock for Brazil, as his shot was diverted onto the crossbar by Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo. Brazil finish as group winners and will face either Spain, Chile or Switzerland in the second round. Portugal go through as runners up and will face either Spain or Chile. Ivory Coast comfortably beat North Korea 3-0 in the group's other match but it wasn't enough to give them hope of qualifying in place of Portugal. Brazil 0-0 Portugal . During a cagey opening in Durban, neither side created any chances of note in the opening 20 minutes of the game, that was dominated by a series of niggly fouls. Brazil defender Juan was lucky not to see a red card as he hand balled a long pass that would have released Cristiano Ronaldo. The first real chance came on the half hour mark as Nilmar met striker Luis Fabiano's cross but Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo turned his effort onto the crossbar. Fabiano then headed narrowly wide of the target as he met Maicon's cross from the right flank. Ronaldo registered Portugal's first effort on target five minutes before the break but his powerful shot was easily gathered by Brazil goalkeeper Cesar. A series of fouls disrupted the flow of the game, as the referee produced seven yellow cards before half-time arrived -- including one to Tiago for diving. Fabiano forced Eduardo into another save with a looping header before Simao tested Cesar at the other end but his shot was right at the 'keeper. A powerful run from Ronaldo created a chance for Raul Meireles but his flick towards goal brushed the side-netting via a touch from Cesar. Substitute Ramires brought a superb save out of Eduardo near the end as his shot was deflected towards the top corner but both sides were content to hold out for a point. Ivory Coast 3-0 North Korea . Ivory Coast knew they needed to rack up as many goals as possible against North Korea to have any chance of qualifying and they opened the scoring within 15 minutes. Yaya Toure collected Arthur Boka's cross before stroking the ball into the far corner. Just a minute later, full-back Romaric hit the post. In the 20th minute striker Didier Drogba smashed a shot against the crossbar before Romaric nodded the rebound into the net. Gervinho nearly made it 3-0 seven minutes before half-time but his shot from an angle flicked off the outside of the post. Drogba came close to adding a third after the break but his diving header flew over the crossbar before substitute Salomon Kalou smashed a shot over the bar from close range. With ten minutes remaining Kalou met Boka's cross to fire into the net and despite having two goals disallowed for offside, the Ivory Coast couldn't add to their tally. | Brazil and Portugal draw 0-0 in Durban .
Brazil go through as group winners, Portugal as runners-up .
Ivory Coast beat North Korea 3-0 but fail to qualify . |
222,978 | aca8f063cb84a50d109b80cc53f30fd1a10d0809 | Nico Rosberg has paid tribute to Lewis Hamilton’s world championship triumph by declaring his rival as the ‘best driver on the grid this year’. Rosberg’s dreams of winning his first Formula One title took a huge dent in the opening moments of the season finale when Hamilton stormed ahead of him off the line. While Rosberg, who needed to win and hope Hamilton finish outside the top-two in order to triumph, kept his team-mate honest in the first phase of the season-ending race, mechanical gremlins then struck his Mercedes and he failed to finish in the points. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Nico Rosberg: Awesome to fight with Lewis until the last race . Nico Rosberg embraces his Mercedes' team-mate after Lewis Hamilton's world championship victory . ‘I am very disappointed. The chance was there today and it did not work out,’ said Rosberg, who limped home in 14th. ‘In the end my race did not make a difference because Lewis won the race fair and square. He deserved to win today and he deserved to win the championship. ‘This year he was that little bit better. He has done an amazing job and was the best driver on the gird this year.’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates after clinching the Formula One World Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . Hamilton celebrates on the podium after securing his second championship title . Lewis Hamilton's team-mate Nico Rosberg tweeted that Mercedes were looking forward to their celebration party. 'Now we fight out the partying championship!' he said. Rosberg and Hamilton’s relationship has boiled over on a number of occasions this year, most notably in Monaco, when the German was accused of deliberately scuppering Hamilton’s qualifying lap, and in Belgium when they collided. But the Mercedes pair shared an emotional embrace after the race with Rosberg congratulating Hamilton on his triumph. ‘It was intense, but I am very proud to be a part of this moment,’ added Rosberg, who was extremely magnanimous in his defeat. ‘It has been special and it has been an incredible experience for me this weekend in terms of support.’ | Nico Rosberg paid tribute to Lewis Hamilton's world championship victory .
Rosberg declated Hamilton as 'best driver on the grid this year'
'This year he was that little bit better. He's done an amazing job,' Rosberg said after the race . |
156,553 | 5667d4949fe77b752e1a93969a3a667948d0feb4 | By . Peter Allen . PUBLISHED: . 05:50 EST, 3 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:04 EST, 3 October 2012 . France's controversial First Lady has admitted that attacking the President's former partner was 'a mistake'. In her most soul-searching, apologetic interview to date, Valerie Trierweiler said that calling on voters to back Segolene Royal's opponent in parliamentary elections in June was the wrong thing to do. Ms Trierweiler also confirmed that she has given up ambitious plans to host her own television show. Contrite: Valerie Trierweiler (left), pictured with U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour at Paris Fashion Week on Monday, has said she regrets calling on voters to back Segolene Royal's opponent in parliamentary elections . The 47-year-old caused outrage by . turning on Ms Royal, who has four children with Francois Hollande, soon . after the May presidential election which saw him become head of state. Ms Royal had hoped to win the seat of La Rochelle, and then become speaker of the Paris parliament. But her ambitions were foiled following the tweet Ms Trierweiler sent calling on Socialists to back another candidate. Since then, Mr Hollande's children have refused to speak to Ms Trierweiler, while Ms Royal's political career has all but ended. Referring . to the tweet in an interview in today's Ouest France newspaper, Ms . Trierweiler said: 'It was a mistake that I regret. I was clumsy and it . was misinterpreted. I had not realised that I was no longer just an . ordinary citizen. It will not happen again.' There was, however, notably no direct apology to Ms Royal, who Ms Trierweiler still dislikes intensely. In the interview, Ms Trierweiler said she had given up plans to film documentaries for the Canal+ TV company D8. Angry: Segolene Royal, who has three children with Francois Hollande, had hoped to win the seat of La Rochelle, and then become speaker of the Paris parliament, before Ms Trierweiler's tweet . Companions: The French President and First Lady tour Ground Zero in New York last week . She said: 'After thinking about it, I have decided to drop it. I have worked with D8 for seven years and we had thought about one or two documentaries on big issues such as the schooling of young girls in the world or demographic problems. 'It would have been a wonderful humanitarian project but I understand that, for some, being the president's partner and working in television could cause questions and problems.' Despite this, Ms Trierweiler said she had no plans to give up working for celebrity magazine Paris Match, for which she has worked for 22 years, insisting that her writing now 'has nothing to do with politics'. Ms Trierweiler, who has three sons with her second husband, said: 'I have the care of my children and I do not see how I can do that without an income. 'France has a record for the number of working women - 85 per cent. I am one of them, it's as simple as that. Keeping my financial independence also seems equally good for keeping my feet on the ground.' | Valerie Trierweiler sent tweet calling on voters to back Segolene Royal's opponent in parliamentary elections in June .
She has now admitted that this was a 'clumsy mistake'
But Ms Trierweiler stopped short of apologising directly to the mother of Francois Hollande's three children . |
231,661 | b7ee015b9409c75da404ef59adce4b7e163d770d | Clad only in underpants, socks and trainers, a boy of four stands shivering in the snow. At the sound of a barked command, the freezing child is forced to perform press-ups. Repeatedly he pleads to be allowed to stop and asks for his mother, but his entreaties fall on deaf ears. Incredibly, the adults responsible for the little boy’s pitiful ordeal were his own parents. Scroll down for video . Sparked outrage: Filmed on the Chinese New Year's Eve, the video shows a man identified only as 'eagle daddy' stripping his son to his underwear and forcing him to run around snow-covered streets in temperatures below freezing . Bitterly cold: As he stands shivering in the cold, he is seen pleading with his father 'Please give me a hug!' They are facing demands for their son . to be taken into care after footage of the disturbing incident was . placed on the video-sharing website YouTube. It is not clear who posted the 99-second clip, headed Chinese Eagle Dad Trains 4-year-old Son To Jog Naked in NYC’s Heavy Snow. In comments posted online, ‘eagle . daddy’ claims his son was born several months premature and doctors . worried he might suffer developmental difficulties. To counter those fears, the father, . said to be a businessman from the eastern city of Nanjing and apparently . visiting the U.S. for Chinese New Year, came up with a harsh regime to . build the boy’s strength and mental toughness. Distressed: After running around for five minutes, the boy is then encouraged to do a push-up on the snowy ground, but the distressed little boy cries out . Father and son: In comments posted by 'eagle daddy' online, it states his son was born several months early and doctors said that he might suffer developmental difficulties so he has developed a strict education plan for his son to help him grow up healthy . The clip begins with a shot of the boy, named as Ho Yide, standing in the snow in clear distress. He is then shown walking, fists . clenched against the cold, past parked cars covered in several inches of . snow. At one point he begs: ‘Please give me a hug.’ His mother can apparently be heard . laughing and encouraging him to endure the icy ordeal. One viewer wrote: . ‘The child would be better off in care. This father is a monster.’ But online comments from a woman . described as the father’s assistant said the child had agreed to run in . the snow: ‘This child has received all sorts of forms of training since . he was small.’ She said the father ‘doesn’t care what others say’, adding: ‘The fact that the child lived shows he has tenacious vitality.’ | Shocking video shows Ho Yide outside in -13 degrees Celsius .
When he starts to shiver and cry, father makes him do push-ups .
Ho Yide is seen pleading to his father 'Please give me a hug'
Father says it is an education plan to counter developmental difficulties he was told his son may have to due to premature birth . |
126,686 | 2fc38317c250f8ca7070713c44368690efc81e53 | By . William Turvill . It can be a dangerous sport at the best of times, so spare a thought for these professional climbers who posed completely naked in a variety of perilous positions for a calendar photoshoot. These striking images show the women posing without any equipment in some of the most sensational landscapes across the United States and the world. Adventure photographer Dean Fidelman, from San Fernando Valley, California, travelled to Colorado, Spain, Argentina, Thailand and other exotic locations to complete the 'Stone Nudes' calendar. Perilous: This woman expertly clings on to a rock completely naked with no climbing equipment. The professional climber was posing for a calendar, Stone Nudes, put together annually by Dean Fidelman . The climbers posed for the photographs in areas from California, United States, to Spain and Argentina . Mr Fidelman would get the women to climb clothed to begin with to work out the best pose positions . In one image, a climber appears to be hanging perilously from a large rock in the desert, while in another a woman carefully makes her way up an almost totally flat boulder surface. ‘Each year I shoot new pictures and specifically go after these trips. I start around February and work until end of June to make the calendar,’ he said. ‘All of the girls are professional climbers - mostly I use two degrees of separation on everything. ‘I know a lot of guy climbers who know girls who are happy to climb naked so they put me in touch with the right people.’ This woman shows her strength by clinging on to a rock while wearing no climbing equipment . The series of images were taken throughout 2013 by adventure photographer Mr Fidelman . Mr Fidelman works on the calendar between February and June to complete it for the new year . Mr Fidelman explained that usually the women will climb the rocks clothed before the photographs are taken so he can work out the best positions for them to pose in. He added: ‘I have always worked in black and white - it has always been my medium... ‘Working in black and white sticks with the fine art medium I work in.’ The 12 nude photographs in Mr Fidelman's calendar always appear in black and white . 'All of the girls are professional climbers - mostly I use two degrees of separation on everything,' Mr Fidelman said. 'I know a lot of guy climbers who know girls who are happy to climb naked so they put me in touch' | Professional climbers pose for the 'Stone Nudes' calendar each year .
Adventure photographer Dean Fidelman, from California, this year travelled as far as Spain and Thailand to complete his black and white calendar . |
193,511 | 8684be147212c788637f42613a7121e6c365a790 | Owen Coyle has been announced as the new head coach of Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo. The former Burnley and Bolton manager admitted it was 'nice to be wanted' after securing his first coaching job in a year. Coyle left his post as Wigan manager in December 2013 after three defeats in a week left the Latics 14th in the Championship table. Owen Coyle has been announced as the new head coach of Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo . The 48-year-old is understood to have signed a three-year contract with Texan franchise Houston. 'First and foremost I'm thankful for the opportunity to come to the Houston Dynamo,' Coyle told the club's official website. 'It is nice to be wanted by a fantastic club and I feel we have a great opportunity to put a team on the pitch that is pleasing on the eye and can win games. 'I've been watching Houston Dynamo for many years and I know the atmosphere of the supporters. 'The league is thriving and the opportunity to join a big club like the Dynamo is very exciting for me.' Coyle has become just the second coach in the Houston franchise's history, following Dominic Kinnear. The former Bolton Wanderers manager was sacked of boss at Wigan Athletic this time last year . The American outfit were keen to cite Coyle's achievements in guiding Burnley to the Premier League and a first top-flight stint in 33 years in 2009. 'I am extremely excited to bring Owen Coyle to the Houston Dynamo and am confident he is the right fit,' said club president Chris Canetti. 'He brings a wealth of experience at the highest level and possesses the personal qualities we are looking for in our manager. 'Most importantly, I can feel his will to win and know that he is motivated to successfully lead us into the next phase of our club's future.' | Owen Coyle is the new head coach at Houston Dynamo .
The former Bolton boss has been out of work for a year .
Scot Coyle was sacked by Wigan Athletic back in 2013 . |
64,032 | b5cf57b7944934c585512864b7a51bd9c8371e38 | Many of us feel passionately about our choice of condiments, but few could claim to be as obsessed as one woman who eats tomato ketchup at least three times a day. Melissa Ibbitson, 19, just can't get enough of the red sauce and eats ketchup with almost every meal. She loves tomato sauce so much that she has even walked out of a restaurant because they didn't stock it. Melissa just cant get enough ketchup, adding it to almost every meal . Melissa loves tomato sauce so much that she has even walked out of a restaurant because they didn't stock her favourite condiment . The theology student, from Lincoln, has been a ketchup fan her whole life, but her addiction really gathered pace four years ago and she now gets through three bottles a week - which adds up to 11st a year, more than her own body weight. Melissa said: 'I started eating ketchup when I was a kid and we first went to McDonalds. 'I can't remember how it became such an obsession but now I can't live without it. 'My friends get really embarrassed when I ask for 12 sachets for my meals at the student's union, and I'll get extras to take home with me. 'I eat so much of the stuff - I dread to think what it's doing to my body.' With the average bottle of ketchup costing £1.85, the average year's supply sets her back about £300 . The tomato sauce addict says she dare not think about how much she spends on the sauce - but, with the average bottle of ketchup costing £1.85, a year's supply will set her back about £300. She said: 'Heinz tomato sauce is my favourite, but as a student I sometimes can't afford to be picky. 'I would rather have a brand that isn't Heinz than no ketchup at all. 'I pick up sachets anywhere I can - the union, the pub, fast food chains - it's the best way to keep my costs to a minimum.' Melissa's obsession with the sauce has no limits - she had a birthday cake shaped like a ketchup bottle last year and even gets ketchup-themed presents for Christmas. Melissa's obsession has prompted friends to give her ketchup-themed gifts, such as this personalised bottle (right) which she received for her birthday . She owns an 'I love ketchup' tea towel, a personalised ketchup bottle and a ketchup-bottle shaped tin. Melissa said: 'When I lived at home my mum used to get annoyed with me. I would get through the ketchup quicker than she could get to the shop to buy it. 'Since I've moved out and have been making my own meals I've got even worse. 'For breakfast I'll have spaghetti or beans on toast with ketchup, lunch will be a sandwich with ketchup and I have ketchup with whatever I have for dinner.' Although Melissa does like other condiments, she says nothing compares to her love for tomato sauce. She said: 'I like brown sauce and mayonnaise but it's quite rare that I eat that compared to how much ketchup I eat. 'My favourite thing to eat with ketchup is chips - I won't eat them without it. 'I've tried ketchup with more or less everything and it goes better with some things than others. 'I have it with my roast dinner and gravy some times, and it goes really well with salad.' | Eats ketchup with every meal including breakfast .
Three bottle-a-week habit costs her over £300 a year .
Tries to pick up free sachets from restaurants to lower costs .
Is given ketchup themed gifts including a personalised bottle .
Says she prefers Heinz but will take any brand over no ketchup at all . |
105,845 | 148516383dd03c9e5225b1ba5582755a1625d1de | Beijing (CNN) -- The diplomatic drama over Chen Guangcheng showed promising signs of a resolution Friday, with China indicating the activist could apply to travel to the United States and New York University announcing it has invited him to be a visiting scholar. China was incensed after Chen, who broke out of house arrest, sought refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. He left the embassy after six days and went to a hospital, where he was reunited with his wife and their two children. Since then, he has made several pleas to be allowed to leave China, including a call to a U.S. congressional hearing. China's decision to allow Chen to travel abroad to study was seen as a significant sign of progress in what has been a thorny and controversial impasse. "As a Chinese citizen, he may apply like other Chinese citizens according to the laws and normal procedures of the relevant departments," said Liu Weimin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was "encouraged" by Liu's statement. "From the beginning, all of our efforts with Mr. Chen have been guided by his choices and our values, and I'm pleased that today our ambassador has spoken with him again, our embassy staff and our doctor had a chance to meet with him, and he confirms that he and his family now want to go to the United States so he can pursue his studies," she told reporters in Beijing. New York University said Friday it has invited Chen to be a visiting scholar, working with its law programs. Chen would be in New York or one of the university's global sites, the university said in a statement, adding that the blind activist, 40, has "long-established relationships" with faculty at the NYU School of Law. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland earlier said Chen had been offered a fellowship from an American university, where he could be accompanied by his wife and children. "The Chinese government has indicated that it will accept Mr. Chen's applications for appropriate travel documents," Nuland said. "The United States government expects that the Chinese government will expeditiously process his applications for these documents, and make accommodations for his current medical condition. The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention." U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, who spoke with Chen by phone for 20 minutes, said Chen told him he wants to travel to the United States for study, senior U.S. officials said. The U.S. officials said that as long as Chen has a legitimate offer from an accredited institution and is serious about studying in the United States, he would be given a student visa. "We believe steps will play out expeditiously," one U.S. official said. The news that embassy staff had an opportunity to meet with Chen underscores the progress in the case. Chen had said early Friday that U.S. Embassy officials had told him Chinese security personnel stopped U.S. diplomats from entering his hospital room Thursday. He is in a Beijing hospital for treatment of a foot injury suffered during his escape. But the embassy staff and doctor met with Chen at the hospital for 45 minutes, the senior U.S. officials said. Friday was the 10th birthday of Chen's son, and embassy staff brought him presents. Clinton's long-planned visit to Beijing for strategic and economic talks became dominated by a flurry of negotiations between Chinese and U.S. officials over the Chen case. The diplomatic headache came just months before a presidential election in the United States and a once-in-a-decade change of leadership in China. The uproar prompted sharp Republican criticism of the Obama administration as soft on autocratic governments that abuse their citizens, and it has touched a nerve politically. In one remarkable development, Chen called into a congressional hearing Thursday chaired by Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey. "China pledged to guarantee my constitutional rights and called me a free man," Chen said, speaking from his hospital room early Friday in Beijing to congressional commission members who listened by speakerphone in Washington, 12 times zones and thousands of miles away. "I want them to keep their commitment by allowing me to travel abroad to recuperate," he said. "I want to go to the United States and rest for a while, since I haven't had a Sunday in seven years." The Chinese comments came as U.S. diplomats spoke with Chen in the hospital. The officials also met with Chen's wife, Yuan Weijing, according to a senior State Department official who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Clinton was due to leave China on Saturday for Bangladesh. It remains unclear whether a fresh deal over Chen's future will take shape before she departs. Chen, Bo rewriting China's script . Chen said he was worried about his relatives in his hometown in the eastern province of Shandong, which he fled last month. He said he has not been able to contact some of them and blamed local Chinese officials for his living situation there. "They have installed seven surveillance cameras in my house," he said. "In addition to have the guards stay in my place, they are building an electric fence around my house. They even scoffed, 'Let's see what this blind guy can do to us.' " In a telephone interview with CNN, Chen expressed optimism that U.S. officials would act on his behalf. "I believe they will help me," he said. Until last month, Chen had been forcibly confined to his home for 18 months after serving four years in prison, apparently over his legal advocacy for what he called victims of abusive practices such as forced abortions and sterilizations by China's family planning officials. When Chen left the embassy, U.S. officials announced that they had worked out a deal with China for his future and that Chen was leaving of his own free will. The officials said the Chinese government had committed to relocate Chen to a "safe environment" away from the province where he and his family say they had suffered brutal treatment by local authorities. In addition, the officials said, China agreed to investigate those allegations of mistreatment and promised Chen would face no further legal issues. Under the agreement, Chen was to be granted the opportunity to pursue university studies in the safe location. Locke said one of the proposals "allowed for the possible transfer some day to an American college or university." But Chen subsequently indicated he regretted having abandoned the embassy and made pleas through CNN and other international news organizations to U.S. leaders to get him out of China. His statements prompted bewildered reactions from U.S. officials, who reiterated that the decision to leave the embassy was Chen's and that he had repeatedly said he wished to remain in China. Did Obama betray a Chinese hero? On Friday, Chen mollified his tone compared with the comments he made a day earlier, when he said he was "very disappointed" in the U.S. government because he felt American officials had lobbied for him to leave the embassy and abandoned him at the hospital. Instead, he expressed "deep gratitude" to American officials in Beijing for having treated him "extremely well" during his six-day stay in the embassy. Jerome Cohen, an American law professor and friend of Chen, offered an explanation for Chen's statements after he left the embassy. "Everything changed when he got to the hospital," said Cohen, who advised Chen by phone while he was inside the embassy. "All of a sudden, the people who had worked so hard to secure his future from our embassy and our State Department, they were tired as can be and they went home to sleep." Chen is "in a very fragile emotional state," Cohen said. "You have to understand the enormous pressures in which he's been living and recently operating. And it got to be too much." Chen's case has touched a nerve in China. Comments from Chinese officials reported by state media have criticized what they call "interference" by Washington. Cohen said he is hopeful a deal can be reached to get Chen out of China. "They're practical people," he said, referring to China's leaders. "They're going to want to get rid of him and his family in the most humane appearance possible." Human rights advocacy groups, meanwhile, questioned whether Beijing would stick to its promises about Chen's future, noting that several of his friends and family members have been detained or are unaccounted for. Visitors unwelcome in Chen's hometown . One of those friends -- the fellow activist who revealed Chen's dramatic escape to CNN last week -- reappeared Friday after being missing for a week. He Peirong had been unreachable since she told a U.S.-based human rights organization that the Chinese security services had arrived at her home. On Friday, she said by phone, "I just got home and I'm doing OK." She declined to comment further. ChinaAid, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization, said it remained concerned about Chen's relatives and other human rights figures in China. "The fight for freedom and rights continues," said Bob Fu, ChinaAid's president "Beijing gives Chen freedom with one hand and beats rights defenders with the other." CNN's Jill Dougherty, Jaime FlorCruz, Steven Jiang, Dan Lothian, Eunice Yoon, Jethro Mullen and Stan Grant contributed to this report. | New York University wants Chinese activist to work with its law programs .
China says Chen can apply to study abroad "like other Chinese citizens"
U.S. Embassy staff had a chance to meet with Chen, Secretary Clinton says .
Chen says he wants to go to the United States to "recuperate" |
97,597 | 09a0895722e469fb63c5ac43c9e3e553d237dac5 | Washington (CNN) -- Mitt Romney's solid debate performance Wednesday night gives him the type of energy and momentum that President Barack Obama now will have to work overtime to undo. "The thing that this debate did is it gave people reasons to think about (a) President Romney," said John Geer, chairman of Vanderbilt University's political science department. "This often happens with challengers in the first debate. Now Obama needs to reconnect with the American public and (make the case of) why he should be re-elected." According to a CNN/ORC International survey conducted immediately after the debate, 67% of registered voters who watched the debate said that the Republican nominee won, with one in four saying that President Barack Obama was victorious. Before the debate, however, another CNN/ORC national poll of likely voters showed that 56% felt Obama would win. What a difference a night makes. But poor initial debate performances rarely shift the tide of an election, experts say. Romney wasn't stellar, but Obama fell short . "Obama can afford to lose this one," said Melissa Wade, a debate professor at Emory University in Atlanta. Historically, losing the first debate has the least impact on an incumbent president, she said. According to an analysis by Gallup, televised debates have affected the outcome of only two elections in the past half century -- Nixon-Kennedy in 1960 and Bush-Gore in 2000. Still, the stakes for Romney to pull off a good performance were high and, according to post-debate polls and commentators, he dominated the president. "Romney has a message and he was finally able to deliver it. He stopped playing small ball," Geer said. "Romney gets to play offense for a while. He can stress the message 'we can't afford another four years of this.' Talk about how (he's) going to get command of the economy. He has facts. The guy is smart." 5 things we learned from the presidential debate . Obama now faces the task of recovering from his debate stumble. "He was terrible last night and I don't understand why," Geer said. "Obama didn't seem like he wanted to be there. He needs to be much more aggressive. He let Romney get away with stuff he shouldn't have." Obama must work to slow Romney's traction. "Romney gains a little bit of momentum. The big question in this is whether or not he can sustain it," said Andra Gillespie, associate professor of political science at Emory. "At this stage in the game, with this race being as close as it is, you don't want to make unforced errors. Obama made unforced errors. That can't happen again." Inside the campaign, there already appears to be activity around retooling its approach. "Obviously, moving forward we will take hard look at this and make judgments where to draw lines in debates and how to use our time," said senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod Thursday in a conference call with reporters, adding that Obama is "eager" for the next debate. Obama and Romney returned Thursday to the campaign trail in battleground states. Obama wasted no time going back on the attack, accusing Romney of dishonesty over tax policy and other issues. "If you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth," Obama said during a campaign stop in Denver. Romney's supporters, meanwhile, crowed about his performance, saying it reshaped a race that the former Massachusetts governor had appeared in danger of losing. "He did exactly what he had to do for the undecided voter in Ohio or around the country," said Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who played the role of Obama in debate rehearsals for Romney. Body language: 'Romney was able to out Obama Obama' Campaign experts say the turnaround comes not a moment too soon. The Romney campaign spent much of September trying to recover from a series of gaffes ranging from his assertion that 47% of people were entitlement-dependent supporters of Obama to his politically-charged response to the violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya. "Romney did a good job of redeeming himself of all the gaffes of September. He gave a clear case of why he didn't think Obama deserved a second term," Gillespie said. But, with just a few weeks before the general election, Romney has to do a lot more than say Obama doesn't deserve a second chance, she said. "You have to convince voters your vision is better," she said. "It has to be consistent from here on out, or last night's performance was an anomaly." Democrats tried to downplay the impact of Romney's debate win. "I think that Governor Romney is certainly a skilled debater. And last night he was able to elevate his level of performance. But he did not change the fundamental dynamics of this race, nor did he change some of the policies that actually got us into the economic mess that we have," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a top surrogate for Obama, told CNN. Obama accuses Romney of dishonesty in debate . Both candidates have their work cut out for them heading into the next presidential debate October 16 in New York at Hofstra University. The town hall format is one that could easily trip both candidates, debate experts say. In town halls, Obama tends to sound too professorial and Romney runs the risk of coming off as stiff, Wade said. The unpredictable nature of the questions also sometimes throws candidates, she said. "The danger of the town hall is that you're getting them from the audience," Wade said. "The way the questions are asked are not the way they are in practiced debates because these are from people not policy experts." Analysis: 5 reason the president fumbled the debate . CNN's Tom Cohen, Dana Davidsen and Paul Steinhauser contributed . | Mitt Romney's debate win offers momentum moving forward .
President Barack Obama must work to recover from lackluster debate .
The next debate's town hall format could provide for impromptu moments . |
138,429 | 3f0787b71d9eed0048a079b23320aafa05a430ad | (CNN) -- After an apparent attempted military coup on Saturday, the people of the African nation of Lesotho are doing their best to return to every day life. According to the South African Department of International Relations, Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has been forced into hiding because of the unfolding security situation and out of fear for his life. Thabane became Prime Minister in 2012 and the next elections are due in 2017. During an interview that aired Saturday with South African broadcaster eNCA, he told the broadcaster he would not resign his position. Lesotho has been praised for its coalition government and a peaceful handover of power in 2012. But over the past few months, its growing instability had been a cause for alarm in the international community. The whereabouts of the deputy prime minister, Mothetjoa Metsing, are also unknown. He has not officially taken power -- although it would be constitutional for him to do so, since the Prime Minister is not fulfilling his duties. Sometimes referred to as the "Kingdom of the Sky," Lesotho is completely landlocked by South Africa and is the only country in the world where all of the land lies above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in elevation. It has a predominantly Christian population of nearly 2 million people and covers an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland, according to the World Factbook. It has been independent from the United Kingdom since 1966 but continues on as a member of the 53-nation Commonwealth. Residents return to normal . After Saturday's unrest, Maseru, the nation's capital, was calm. Despite the early-morning chaos and confusion, as all radio stations were temporarily muzzled, by afternoon most residents had returned to their normal Saturday activities. Since Friday was payday, many people withdrew cash from the ATMs, paid utility bills and shopped for groceries. At one main supermarket, one woman wondered aloud, "Who knows what may happen tomorrow or Monday?" On the streets, thousands milled about. Cows grazed by the side of the road. A trio of buddies lounged in wheelbarrows, soaking in the winter sun. Older women shuffled along the sidewalk, bundled in blankets. And amid the traffic, a wedding caravan honked, as the bride stuck her head out the window, ululating. No signs of the military were anywhere to be seen. Nereah Lebona owns a small beauty salon. She says she heard shooting around 4 in the morning, as she lives near police headquarters, where the main standoff occurred. But that didn't keep her from beautifying clients hours later. "I was worried, until the radio came back on and told us what had happened," said Lebona, 36, smiling. "But how else do I earn money if I don't go to work?" A stone's throw away was more evidence that locals were carrying on as if nothing had happened and life had already returned to normal: a Lesotho Premier League soccer match. One of the teams was that of the Lesotho military. Among the hundreds of spectators, one man named Thabo giddily noted, "The same soldiers who were shooting this morning are now playing football!" This tiny mountain kingdom has been faced with many tall challenges. Lesotho has the world's second-highest rate of HIV infection -- 23% -- and a 40% malnutrition rate for children younger than 5. The country is also known for its "herd boys," children as young as 5 who tend flocks of cattle in remote locations and often miss out on education. Britain's Prince Harry established a charity, Sentebale, to help the country meet educational challenges. But residents in Maseru are prepared for more uncertainty -- some fearing that an opposition demonstration planned for Monday could turn violent. Officials urge peace . Thabane told eNCA the Lesotho government is seeking the assistance of the South African government and other neighboring states. Clayson Monyela, a spokesman from the Department of International Relations of South Africa, said the government has no immediate plans to send troops into Lesotho, but the South African government is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to consult with Southern African Development Community countries and the African Union Commission. "We can't have coups d'etat in 2014. If there are political problems people must sit (down) and talk," said Monyela. Monyela added that the Lesotho military's actions "bear the hallmarks of a coup d'etat." Kamalesh Sharma, secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, condemned the reported coup attempt and urged the military in Lesotho to respect civilian authority, constitutional order and the rule of law. In a written statement, Sharma called for respect and urged all parties to "refrain from violence and work together towards a peaceful and lasting resolution." "There is zero tolerance in the Commonwealth of any unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government," the statement read. "Democracy and the rule of law are central tenets of our association ... and any action to subvert constitutional civilian rule is unacceptable." Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairwoman of the African Union Commission, echoed this sentiment in a written statement, saying that the AU "will not tolerate any seizure of power by illegal means" and giving "full support" to the SADC in addressing the challenges facing Lesotho. Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said the United States "is deeply concerned by clashes between security forces today in Lesotho." Psaki called upon all parties to "remain committed to a peaceful political dialogue and to follow democratic processes" in order to resolve the conflict. CNN's Nana Karikari-apau, Joshua Berlinger and Kay Guerrero reported from Atlanta. Michael J. Jordan reported from Lesotho. | NEW: Lesotho PM is in hiding out of fear for his life, according to a South African official .
Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says an attempted coup has taken place .
Lesotho is a mountainous nation of 2 million people landlocked by South Africa . |
144,937 | 4774f71e0114b72b9795737e9ae1fb55fc16cabc | Wales' Francesca Jones finished her competitive rhythmic gymnastics career by winning her first Commonwealth gold and five silver medals at her third and final Games in Glasgow. The 23-year-old claimed gold in the last final of the competition with the ribbon after winning silver medals in the hoop, ball and clubs to follow up Friday's individual all-around and Thursday's team success. Speaking on BBC One ,she said: 'It is beyond words. I have had the most amazing few days, I literally can't believe that we just got to have the Welsh flag flying - it is phenomenal, I am so proud of myself. Golden girl: Francesca Jones receives the first Commonwealth Games gold of her career in her final event . Career high: Welsh gymnast Francesca Jones won gold in the ribbon final on Saturday afternoon . What a way to go: Jones had already won five silver medals before her victory with the ribbon . 'Everybody who supported me to get . here - Sport Wales, Welsh Gymnastics, my coaches - they have been here . every step of the way and I would not be here today without all of . them.' Jones' team-mate Laura Halford added to her all-around bronze by winning the same colour medal in the ball final. Canada's Patricia Bezzoubenko looked set to take a clean sweep of all six golds on offer at the Hydro including in the team event and all-around in what was a dominant performance, only for Jones to see off her challenge after a stunning routine. Jones scored 14.500 with the ribbon but had to wait to find out if the gold was hers after Bezzoubenko, the penultimate gymnast to perform, launched an enquiry into her score of 13.800. The appeal was rejected meaning the gold went to Wales, with Malaysia's Wong Poh San taking silver with 14.250 and Bezzoubenko bronze. Jones, who also won silver with the hoop in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, was beaten to top spot in the first final of the day by Bezzoubenko, who won her third gold with a routine of 14.800 with the apparatus. Jones took second place just 0.05 marks behind Bezzoubenko with 14.750, while Poh San won bronze with 14.650. Silver lining: Wales rhythmic gymnast won her third medal of the Games on Saturday morning . The Welsh gymnast then added to her silver collection and Halford claimed bronze in the second final of the day with the ball. Bezzoubenko . claimed her fourth gold medal of the event with a routine of 15.250 . ahead of Jones who won her fourth silver with a routine of 14.875, while . team-mate Halford won bronze with 14.550. Jones would have claimed gold but for . the dominance of Bezzoubenko, who was the last gymnast out and . performed an impressive routine which well surpassed her mark in . qualifying. The Canadian won her fifth gold shortly after with a 15.350 score in the clubs final. Bezzoubenko's . dominance could not be halted by Jones, who claimed her fifth silver . behind the 17-year-old after being awarded a mark of 14.800, while . Cyprus' Themida Christodouli took bronze after being the first to . perform a routine which scored 14.300. In . the last apparatus final, Jones held the lead at the midway point after . a beautiful ribbon performance that scored 14.500, with Halford out of . the medals with a score of 12.850. Hoop dreams: Jones has three silvers at the Glasgow Games after her second place in the hoop final . England's . Lynne Hutchison produced a routine of 13.550 but slipped out of the top . three, with Bezzoubenko the penultimate gymnast to perform. The Canadian scored 13.800 to leave Jones waiting for South Africa's Grace Legote's score to find out if the gold was hers. Legote . was awarded a mark of 13.100 but Jones was forced to wait to see if she . was destined for the top step on the podium following an enquiry by . Bezzoubenko. The enquiry was rejected meaning Jones finished off her lengthy career on a gold-medal high. | The 23-year-old claimed gold in the last final of the rhythmic gymnastics competition with the ribbon .
She had already won silver in the hoop, ball and clubs on Saturday .
Jones will leave Glasgow with six medals after also winning silver in the individual all-around and the team event .
Fellow Welsh gymnast Laura Halford claimed bronze medal in individual ball final . |
26,314 | 4a98cc8b422649e70f4413b68bfc407c5c85bf39 | By . Rachel Quigley . The billionaire husband of Elle Macpherson is being sued for $50million in relation to a fatal helicopter crash last year which claimed the life of his best friend. The lawsuit is being brought against hotel heir Jeff Soffer, 44, by the family of Lance Valdez, who died in the Bahamas crash last Thanksgiving. The 48-year-old father-of-three was traveling to the up-scale Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club on Great Guana Cay on November 22 when a gust of wind hit their chopper as it was landing and sent it plunging to the ground. Married: Jeff Soffer, left with Elle Macpherson and right, rekindled his romance with the former supermodel soon after the horrific crash . Father-of-three: Lance Valdez, pictured with his wife Dasha, perished in the helicopter crash last year and now his family are filing a lawsuit against his friend Jeff Soffer . The rotor blades hit the ground and threw three of the passengers out - Lance and Soffer's employees Dan and Paula Riordan. The couple survived the accident along with the pilot. They all suffered serious injuries. Sources told the New York Post's Page Six the suit will contain 'bombshell claims' including allegations the billionaire was at the controls when the chopper crashed. It is not known if he has a helicopter license. 'Lance’s family and friends believe some details of the crash have been covered up. They want answers,' the source said. An investigation was launched by the Bahamian authorities, but no conclusive report appears to have been filed. Steven C. Marks, an attorney who specializes in aviation disasters and represented Soffer and the other victims after the crash, told the New York Post: 'Mr Soffer was a passenger, just like Mr Valdez. The pilot signed a statement saying he was in command at the time of the crash. Mr. Soffer is a victim, and was not responsible for the crash. 'A large settlement was paid to Mr Valdez’s family after all the statements were taken, so I don’t understand why they would take this position and challenge the facts now.' Soffer is a hotel heir and head of the Miami-based Turnberry Associates, one of the country's leading property firms, owners of the famed but financially troubled Fontainebleau resort in Miami Beach as well as condominiums in Las Vegas, the Bahamas and Washington D.C. Soffer rekindled his relationship with Elle Macpherson soon after and the couple got married earlier this year. He was recently linked to Gwyneth Platrow after she was accused of cheating on her husband of ten years Chris Martin with him. | Father-of-three Lance Valdez was the only person who died in the crash .
Soffer rekindled his relationship with Macpherson soon after the crash .
The pair got married in August .
Soffer already paid Valdez's family a large settlement . |
196,526 | 8a596864cf032b9bd8850e16d6ba2f4e9b2cffae | By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 14:24 EST, 15 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:01 EST, 16 December 2013 . Serious risk: Robert Edward Hind, 46, was reported missing on Wednesday . A dangerous and prolific sex offender who poses a serious risk to children is being hunted by police after absconding. Robert Edward Hind, 46, was reported missing on Wednesday after he disappeared from an address in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. He has since been recalled to prison, having breached the terms of his license. Officers say Hind, who is also known as 'Dack', is a well-known sex attacker with a varied history of offences and presents a serious risk to the public, especially children. They have urged the public not to approach him. Detective Chief Inspector, Paul Jeffrey of Kirklees Police said: 'Hind was last seen on foot at around 9:00am in Dewsbury on Wednesday 11 December. 'We believe he remains in the West Yorkshire area and may have travelled to Huddersfield. He does however; have connections in the Lancashire area. 'Extensive enquiries have been conducted to trace him and these are continuing. His details have also been circulated to other Forces. 'It is likely that he is using public transport to get around and I would urge members of the public to let us know immediately if they believe they have seen him. 'He is described as slim, around 5'8" tall, with brown hair, green eyes and has a distinctive scar on his neck. 'He was last seen wearing a dark hat and a green jacket with oriental style writing on the back. 'I am appealing for vigilance and support from the public and would ask that people do not approach him, but contact 999 immediately. 'Likewise, anyone with information as to his current whereabouts should call the police straight away.' Absconded: CCTV shows the sex offender leaving an address in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire . | Robert Edward Hind went missing from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire last week .
The 46-year-old, also known as 'Dack' has history of a range of offences .
Police believe he is still in the area and have warned the public not to approach him . |
205,755 | 965daec12ffbf522916cbc140e8332ec90f62ec1 | By . Ben Spencer . PUBLISHED: . 06:43 EST, 11 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:03 EST, 11 February 2013 . Message: Vince Cable, pictured yesterday in Eastleigh, said 'unfriendly and inflexible' visa rules are putting off rich immigrants from coming to Britain . Britain needs to attract rich immigrants who are being put off by ‘unfriendly and inflexible’ visa rules, Vince Cable warned last night. The future of the British economy depends on attracting trade and visitors from powerful economies such as China - who are being deterred by red tape, the Business Secretary said. Citing figures that suggest the UK is being shunned by tourists and business visitors in favour of Italy, France and Germany, Mr Cable said the country ‘can’t afford to miss out’ on lucrative opportunities. His belief in more open borders puts him at odds with some of his Coalition colleagues. The Liberal Democrat’s views are shared by some in the Conservative front benches, including Chancellor George Osborne, but Home Secretary Theresa May and others think relaxing rules could undermine national security. Mr Cable, writing in an article for the Telegraph, said: ‘China is the new economic superpower and we must treat its re-emergence with respect: as an opportunity rather than a threat... our future prosperity will depend on it. ‘But if we are serious about trading more with countries such as China, then we must make sure our borders are as open as possible to genuine tourism, business visitors, investment and trade. ‘Chinese spending on tourism alone has increased 400 per cent in the last decade. ‘Britain simply can’t afford to miss out on that. He added: ‘If we are serious about trading more with countries such as China, then we must make sure our borders are as open as possible to genuine tourism, business visitors, investment and trade. ‘Of course, it is necessary to prevent abuse of the immigration rules. But equally we cannot allow red tape to deter the very people that we want to come to the UK and help make the economy stronger. ‘We want to create and promote an image of Britain which means and delivers what it says on the tin: open for global business.’ Britain’s share of Chinese visitors has fallen over the last five years, he said. Uncompetitive: The Business Secretary says Chinese nationals are going to Europe instead of Britain because of red tape . Business groups have warned that Chinese tourists, who spend an average of £1,600 per visit, are shunning Britain in favour of European countries. Mr Cable said: ‘With anecdotal evidence of people saying our visa system is unfriendly and inflexible, it’s no wonder that there were only 180,000 Chinese visitors to the UK in 2011, a small fraction of those going to continental Europe. ‘Britain can compete and win its share of global markets. But when the French and Germans have already rolled out the red carpet and are reaping the benefits, we cannot afford to lose out.’ Home Secretary Theresa May has recently hit out at criticism of the way the visa system is run, insisting it was something ‘we can be proud of’. She said last week: ‘The continued use of spurious figures and skewed perceptions of the way we run our visa system is damaging its reputation. And it is the very people who claim to be pro-growth who are guilty of spreading this harmful message.’ | Tourists and business visitors are going elsewhere in Europe, he says .
'We must make sure our borders are as open as possible to genuine tourism, business visitors, investment and trade' |
55,536 | 9d6f9cfb74b7678a9e580c8db4bf667d80f3a660 | By . James Chapman and Tim Shipman . PUBLISHED: . 08:41 EST, 7 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:19 EST, 7 January 2013 . Goodbye: Lord Strathclyde's resignation was announced as the Prime Minister and his deputy unveiled a 'mid-term review' packed with new policy pledges . David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s attempts to restore Coalition unity were dealt an embarrassing blow yesterday as the longest-serving member of the Tory frontbench quit with a parting blast at the Lib Dems. Lord Strathclyde, whose resignation was announced as the Prime Minister and his deputy unveiled a ‘mid-term review’ packed with new policy pledges, admitted that in ‘moments of irritation’ he ‘might well have said’ that the Coalition had ‘broken down in the Lords’. The Cabinet minister said the Lib Dems increasingly faced a choice over whether to disrupt individual pieces of legislation or pull together and accept they will be judged on the overall success of the Government. The Leader of the Lords is also understood to have grown frustrated at having to steer legislation through the Upper House in the face of serial rebellions by Left-wing Lib Dem peers, who Mr Clegg appears unable to control. Disappointing: David Cameron (pictured) and Nick Clegg's attempts to restore Coalition unity were dealt an embarrassing blow . The announcement of his resignation . could not have been more badly timed for Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg, who . yesterday refused to rule out another coalition deal after the next . General Election as they promised help for working families, pensioners . and housebuyers. Both . insisted the Coalition would endure until the day of the next election . in May 2015 as they attempted to head off backbench critics who want the . two parties to go their separate ways. No . 10 officials said Lord Strathclyde, whose wealth is estimated at . £10million and was an insurance broker before he entered politics, was . keen to return to the private sector after 25 years of continuous . service on the Conservative frontbench, 15 of them as leader of the Tory . peers. Lord Strathclyde, whose full name is . Thomas Galloway Dunlop du Roy de Blicquy Galbraith, was one of the most . colourful Cabinet members. His . parties at Tory conferences were famous for bottles of champagne piled . high in baths full of ice in his hotel suite, before they were deemed . inappropriate in times of austerity. Tory . MPs expressed amazement that news of his departure was not released . last week, rather than only hours before Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg’s . mid-term review. Committing the Government to 180 . policy measures, the Prime Minister sought to characterise the Coalition . as a ‘Ronseal deal’ which ‘does what it says on the tin’. Both he and Mr Clegg declined to rule . out a fresh deal between the Tories and the Lib Dems after 2015 – while . Mr Cameron claimed that their sense of ‘shared purpose’ had, if . anything, grown since 2010. The Coalition document identified six . priority areas for reform – childcare, elderly care costs, pensions, . housing, personal freedoms and investment in the roads network – with . detailed policies due to be unveiled over the next few months. Plans include underwriting some . mortgages, helping first-time buyers who are unable to raise a large . deposit, while planning rules will be eased to promote housebuilding. Working parents are expected to get up . to £2,000 in help with childcare costs per child, while the potentially . huge costs of long-term care for the elderly will be capped – but at a . higher level than the £35,000 proposed by an independent review. Asked how his ‘marriage’ to Mr Clegg . was faring, the Prime Minister said: ‘We are married – not to each . other. We are both happily married. This is a government, not a . relationship.’ Mr Clegg added: ‘Of course we can . fight, as we will do, as two separate, independent parties [at the . election]. Of course we will set out different visions of the future. ‘But we will govern and provide this . country with good government until the election is held in May 2015.’ The Lib Dem leader was scathing about Labour’s opposition to deficit . reduction measures – suggesting he would not countenance a coalition . deal with Ed Miliband. The Prime Minister insisted he was . fighting for a Tory majority, but refused to rule out a new power- . sharing arrangement, even if he won a small lead in the Commons. But Lord Strathclyde told Channel 4 News: ‘I think all of us would much rather be in a single party government.’ The school day should be dramatically extended to ten hours to improve standards and make it easier for parents who work, a group of reforming Tory MPs said yesterday. The 2020 Conservatives group called for pupils to be in class from 8am to 6pm. A typical state secondary school day runs from 9am to 3.30pm – just six and a half hours. In a report designed to encourage more radical reforms in the public sector, the MPs also called for wider study of key languages such as Mandarin. The report also backs George Osborne’s plan for benefit rates to be set regionally so state handouts don’t deter people from working in low income areas. The report said: ‘As both parents are working more hours, schools should facilitate work, at the same time as improving educational standards. ‘The length of the school day may need to change. In Hollywood schools are open from 8am to 6pm, 360 days a year. And if exams are failed, students come back in the holidays to catch up.’ | Lord Strathclyde resigns as Leader of the Lords after almost three years .
Cameron and Clegg unveiled 'mid-term review' with new policy pledges . |
141,991 | 439dba1d03e4da745590df1fb187c77751be65f6 | (CNN) -- France pulled its last troops engaged directly in combat out of Afghanistan Saturday, in line with a promise by President Francois Hollande to accelerate his country's withdrawal from the long-running conflict. About 1,500 French troops remain in Afghanistan to remove equipment and to help train Afghan forces, Defense Ministry spokesman Thierry Burkhard said. They are likely to stay there for about six months, he said. The troops who left Saturday will spend a couple of days in Cyprus to decompress and rest before rejoining their families in France for the holidays, according to CNN affiliate BFM-TV. Top general expects IED problem to rise in Afghanistan . Some 2,500 French troops in total have been withdrawn from Afghanistan over the past year, the channel reported. French personnel will continue to run Kabul's international airport and serve at the city's military hospital into 2014, BFM-TV said. France was one of the bigger contributors of troops to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The United States, whose troops make up the bulk of the force, still has some 68,000 personnel in Afghanistan. Coalition forces are working to get Afghan security forces ready to take charge of security after all NATO-led troops withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. What does future hold for Afghanistan? | France pulls out its last units engaged directly in combat in Afghanistan .
About 1,500 French troops will remain to remove equipment and train Afghan forces .
French medical personnel will also continue to serve at a military hospital in Kabul .
The United States still has 68,000 troops in Afghanistan . |
263,981 | e1e654d31032ba2ef9a3b4af1ffbffd682bad54d | (CNN)The hunt is on for Hayat Boumeddiene, the 26-year-old woman wanted over Thursday's fatal shooting of a French policewoman. Early reports suggested she might have escaped Friday from a kosher grocery store in eastern Paris as French authorities mounted a rescue operation to free hostages being held there by Amedy Coulibaly, believed to be her boyfriend. However, CNN reports that no witness has publicly said the woman was actually at the scene of the siege, and now sources are saying she left France before the attack on the policewoman. Boumeddiene is believed to have left France for Turkey around January 2 with the final destination of Syria, according to French and Turkish sources. Regardless, photographs of Boumeddiene published by Le Monde show her shooting what appears to be a crossbow in an all-enveloping black niqab. At first glance, this might appear puzzling. After all, jihadist militant organizations support Taliban-style rule, which allows women only a role at home. However, we have seen a number of women from the West, including American citizens, taking an operational role in jihadist terrorist plots, including Colleen LaRose, a Caucasian-American 46-year-old from Pennsylvania, known as "Jihad Jane," who traveled to Europe in 2009 to scope out an attack on Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who had drawn a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed's head on the body of a dog. European women have also played an operational role in jihadist terrorism. Muriel Degauque, a 38-year-old Belgian woman, died when she committed a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2005. And on May 14, 2010, Roshonara Choudhry, a 21-year-old British woman, stabbed Stephen Timms, her local member of Parliament, for his vote in support of the Iraq War. Timms survived the attack. And there is also 31-year-old British citizen Samantha Lewthwaite, who is, according to Interpol, "wanted by Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011." The Kenyans believe she was part of a terrorist cell that was planning to carry out an attack in Kenya. Lewthwaite is the widow of one of the suicide attackers who set off bombs on London's transportation system on July 7, 2005, killing 52 commuters. All this underscores that the phenomenon of females joining the jihad has become far more common in the past four years, fueled by the Syrian war, which is drawing an unprecedented number of foreign militants from around the globe, including from the West. According to data collected by New America, based on media reports and court documents, of the 455 individuals who have been publicly identified from around the world who have traveled or were arrested while attempting to travel to Syria to fight with a terrorist organization, 36 were women from the West. That's 8%. And their average age is, astonishingly, only 18 years. They hail from countries from around the West: Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain and the United States. And in many cases, these Western women are often going to Syria with the fantasy that there they will be able to marry the jihadist militant of their dreams. Several of these aspiring jihadist brides are Americans. In October, three teenage girls from Colorado were intercepted at Frankfurt Airport in Germany as they were trying to make their way to Syria to join ISIS. Their parents tipped off the FBI when they went missing. Another Colorado resident, 19-year-old Shannon Maureen Conley, was arrested at Denver International Airport before she departed on her journey to join an ISIS camp near the Turkish-Syrian border. She planned to marry a member of ISIS whom she had met online. She pleaded guilty in September. Another girl, the 17-year-old sister of Chicago-based Mohammed Hamzah Khan, was allegedly planning to travel with her brother to Turkey and from there to join ISIS. She and her brother were arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in October. Khan faces up to 15 years in prison for trying to provide "material support" in the shape of his own services to ISIS, while his sister, who is not being named by the government, is a minor and likely won't be charged. Finally, there's Nicole Mansfield, a Michigan resident who left her 18-year-old daughter behind to join rebel forces in Syria. She died in May 2013 fighting, reportedly, with one of the many jihadist militant groups fighting there. It's a strange kind of jihadist female equal opportunity: You too can be part of the holy war that seeks to install a Taliban-style utopia that will ensure you can never have a job or get an education. | Peter Bergen: Search for Hayat Boumedienne highlights issue of female jihadists .
European women have also played an operational role in jihadist terrorism, he says . |
196,917 | 8ade9011328e96cc434f375434b88eb18e5b41d9 | Good bacteria: Gut microbes are being linked to mental health issues . People suffering from anxiety, might just need to eat more 'healthy' bacteria. Some scientists think there may be a link between our digestive tract microbes and disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia and autism. They are beginning to recognise the power of healthy gut bacteria, especially seeing that the average adult carries up to five pounds of bacteria - trillions of microbes - in their digestive tract. Probiotics are commonly consumed as part of fermented foods with specially added active live cultures, such as in yogurt, soy yogurt or as dietary supplements. Probiotics are also delivered in fecal transplants, in which stool from a healthy donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient. A study published in Nutritional Neuroscience from The Great Plains Laboratory, has shown that HPHPA levels - the chemical byproduct of the clostridia bacteria - are much higher in the urine of autistic children. Those treated with antibiotics effective against clostridia show a decrease in symptoms of autism. Dr James Greenblatt, a Boston-area psychiatrist, treated a teenager with severe obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and an array of digestive problems. Greenblatt first did a simple urine test for the metabolite HPHPA and found that it was elevated. He put the patient, Mary, on a course of high-powered probiotics to boost her good bacteria, followed by antibiotics, and her levels began to ‘dramatically’ go down, he told ABC News. After six months, Mary's symptoms began to disappear. And by a year, they were gone. Today, three years later, Mary is a senior in high school and has no sign of either mental disorder. Autism: HPHPA levels - the chemical byproduct of the clostridia bacteria - are much higher in the urine of autistic children . Dr James Greenblatt, a Boston-area psychiatrist, says all doctors should make organic acid urine testing for HPHPA levels a standard practice . In some patients, the strep bacterium has been linked to OCD in a condition known as PANDAS - an acronym for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections. PANDAS, which is a rare disease that usually appears in children, is hypothesised to be an autoimmune disorder that results in a variable combination of tics, obsessions, compulsions, and other symptoms that may be severe enough to qualify for diagnoses such as chronic tic disorder, OCD and Tourette syndrome. A 10-year-old from Virginia was treated with probiotics after being incorrectly diagnosed with PANDAS after he developed compulsive symptoms following a strep infection and a lengthy course on antibiotics. ‘He had no gut flora,’ said his mother, Robin, who did not want to use her last name. ‘He had been healthy and athletically coordinated and then developed these compulsive behavior and tics. It didn't seem like it was in his control.’ After probiotics, ‘it was like night and day’, she told ABC News. ‘His symptoms went away and he was totally fine.’ A recent study in the journal Science shows that thin and fat people have different bacteria -- a discovery that could lead to weight-loss programmes. Babies are born with a sterile digestive tract and first acquire their bacteria while traveling through the birth canal and get more in breast milk and in the world outside the womb through contact with other people. Sterile: Babies are born with zero microbes in their digestive tract and first acquire their bacteria while traveling through the birth canal and then through breast milk . Scientists are so far unable to identify every strain of bacteria, but they can test for the chemical byproducts that they produce, according to Greenblatt. He said he checks every patient for HPHPA with a simple organic acid urine test before moving ahead with medications to treat symptoms. 'Eight out of 10 people are fine,' he said. 'But in the two patients where it's elevated, it can have profound effects on the nervous system.' 'I don't know why this test isn't done on every psychiatric patient,' he said. 'I question that every day.' HPHPA causes deactivation of an enzyme so that dopamine cannot be converted to the neurotransmitter neuroepinephrine, Greenblatt said, and that causes a build-up of dopamine. 'We know elevated levels in the dopamine gene cause agitation,' he told ABC News. In one 2010 study at McMaster University in Canada, published in the journal Communicative and Integrative Biology, scientists found a link between intestinal microbiota and anxiety-like behaviour. Researchers compared the behaviours of normal 8-week-old mice and those whose guts were stripped of microbes. Those without bacteria showed higher levels of risk-taking and the stress hormone cortisol. They also had altered levels of the brain chemical BDNF, which has been linked to anxiety and depression in humans. Lab mice: A test showed that those without bacteria showed higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and altered levels of the brain chemical BDNF, which has been linked to anxiety and depression in humans . Jane Foster, associate professor of neuroscience and behavioral science and part of the McMaster University & Brain-Body Institute, says gut bacteria ‘talk to the brain in multiple ways through either the immune system or the enteric nervous system’. However, while using probiotics may help a ‘subset of patients’, she said. It's not a ‘magic bullet’. Early life stresses, nutrition and building a strong immune system all play an important role in a person's mental health, she said. | The average adult carries up to five pounds of bacteria .
Healthy bacteria are known as probiotics, commonly found in yogurt, soy yogurt or as dietary supplements .
Probiotics are also delivered in fecal transplants, in which stool from a healthy donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient .
Strep bacterium is linked to OCD .
Gut bacteria regulate dopamine levels .
A build-up of .
dopamine causes agitation and stress on the body .
Gut bacteria ‘talk to the brain' through the immune system or parts of the nervous system . |
286,260 | feebdb4068003157458dc1765339d35935c822b5 | By . Pete Jenson . Follow @@petejenson . James Rodriguez was only 14 years old when he was thrown into a relegation battle in Colombia’s Liga Postobon with his first club Envigado. Unable to keep them up after a 15-year run in the top flight the club that had taken a gamble on the slight-of-frame midfielder found themselves in the second division. The teenager was not about to let them down though. Rodriguez led the team that got the Medellin-based side back into the top division the following season scoring nine goals in 22 games and making South America sit up and take notice of what was clearly going to be the next big thing. VIDEO Scroll down to watch James Rodriguez give the thumbs-up during his Real medical . Galactico: Colombia's James Rodriguez is on the verge of signing for Real Madrid from Monaco . Short stay: Rodriguez signed for Monaco in May 2013 but caught Real Madrid's eye at the 2014 World Cup . Golden Boot: Six goals in Brazil made him the tournament's top scorer and alerted the world to his talents . Argentine side Banfield took the most notice and signed the youngster putting him on a high-protein diet and weights regime to toughen him up for the rigours of league football in Argentina. He made a slow start under Jorge Burruchaga but when the World Cup hero from Argentina’s 1986 success in Mexico lost his job after a string of bad results Julio Cesar Falcioni came in and decided to build his team around Rodriguez. In the 2009-10 season he scored nine goals in 38 games as Banfield won the league. That was enough to earn him a move to Europe and with Jorge Mendes guiding him he landed at Porto for 7.5m euros, despite interest from Espanyol and Udinese. He played in the Andre Villas-Boas team that won the Europa League in his first season in 2011 and he won three leagues in three seasons at Porto playing his way into Jose Pekerman’s Colombia team making his debut in 2011. The success in Portugal persuaded Monaco to pay 45m euros for Rodriguez in 2013 and in his first, and last season, he scored 10 goals in 38 games. In an exclusive interview with MailSport before the World Cup his Colombia team-mate Radamel Falcao picked him out to be a star of the tournament. That seemed like pals, compatriots and club team-mates looking out for one another at the time, but events in Brazil proved otherwise as Rodriguez became player of the tournament in all but name. Tip: Monaco and Colombia team-mate Radamel Falcao backed him to star at the World Cup . Silverware: Rodriguez won the Portuguese league title at Porto under Andre Villas-Boas . Trio: Rodriguez could line up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Real Madrid . His stunning World Cup, scoring six times in five games to win the Golden Boot – including the goal of the tournament against Uruguay – was all the encouragement Real Madrid needed to celebrate winning their tenth Champions League by making him their big signing. President Florentino Perez was always going to wait to see which new star emerged in Brazil before signing this season’s ‘Galactico’ and Rodriguez became that player with a string of sensational displays, some post-knockout emotional interviews, and no shortage of charm. To say he made the right noises after the World Cup would be an understatement. The tears were barely dry after Colombia’s exit against Brazil when he declared: ‘I prefer Madrid to Barcelona’. He then told Marca: ‘I would go to Madrid with my eyes closed. It would be a dream to play for them. The first time I went to the Bernabeu I said to myself: “I want to play here one day”.’ The wheels were well and truly in motion and with Mendes, the agent he shares with his new team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, at the heart of negotiations the move went through with little or no resistance from Monaco's Russian president Dmitry Rybolovlev. After seeing the BBC forward line of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano shoot their way to Champions League glory aided and abetted by Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria last season all that remains now is for Carlo Ancelotti to find a way of fitting in all his superstars. Conundrum: Real coach Carlo Ancelotti could have trouble finding space for all his star names . Angel Di Maria and Sami Khedira could face uncertain futures at Real Madrid following Rodriguez's arrival . James is happiest in a 4-2-3-1 playing as the No 10. He could line up between Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in a formidable second line of attack behind Karim Benzema and in front of midfield pairing Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. That will be the preference of President Perez. All Ancelotti and the club’s director general Jose Angel Sanchez will have to do then is find a home for, or a way of keeping happy, Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Isco, Di Maria and Jese… just another summer at Real Madrid. Long-term commitment: Rodriguez has signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid . | James Rodriguez has signed for Real Madrid for a fee in excess of £60m .
The Colombia forward won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup .
But he began career fighting relegation with Envigado in Colombia aged 14 .
Then had successful spells with Banfield, Porto and Monaco before Real .
Rodriguez could line up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale . |
248,447 | cd763b603c0b2e23e3395b6a25e05839259b2d53 | Teaching assistant Helen Louis Turnbull pictured today arriving at Teesside Crown Court on the second day of her trial . A married teaching assistant threatened to have her schoolboy lover murdered by gipsies if he tried to leave her, a court heard yesterday. Helen Turnbull, now 35, allegedly told the 16-year-old she would hire a notorious family of travellers to shoot him. The schoolboy said he was left in a state of constant worry, believing that Turnbull, a mother of two, had accessed confidential school records to find out his home address in order to have him killed. The victim was allegedly groomed with sweets and cuddles from the age of 12 at his Roman Catholic secondary school in Durham. When he turned 16 he began to meet Turnbull for liaisons in her Mini after she sent him provocative pictures of herself in her underwear, and messages asking for ‘power sex’. Turnbull split from her husband during the brief affair, and even changed her Facebook profile picture from one featuring her three-year-old daughter to a photograph of her and the schoolboy. On only their second meeting outside the classroom the pair are said to have kissed before having sex in Turnbull’s car. The boy said the teaching assistant gave him a packet of 10 cigarettes afterwards. They met twice more during the summer holiday, allegedly having sex both times. Giving evidence on a police video played to court yesterday, Turnbull’s victim, now 18, told how the affair took a sinister turn when it became ‘too much’ for him to deal with. He told officers he had been left ‘really worried and anxious’ after Turnbull threatened to contact a family of gipsies. ‘She said: “You deserve shooting, I am going to get a contract out”,’ he added. ‘We argued over stupid stuff and I was making excuses when she wanted to see me. It got too much, it is stupid the way it happened and what happened.’ The schoolboy said that even as he was ending their affair, Turnbull continued to send him messages and even used a teenage girl as a go-between in a bid to win him back. He added: ‘She came by my house but I never told her my address. I don’t know how she found out where I live, that is what worried me the most... she had made threats that she is going to get people to come and see me, and she has found out where I live.’ The pupil said he assumed she had accessed his personal details on the school database. Teesside Crown Court had earlier heard how Turnbull confronted the child’s father at the family home. He accused the teaching assistant of being a paedophile. Turnbull denies three charges of sexual activity with a child while holding a position of trust, but has admitted a fourth, relating to kissing. The case continues. Helen Turnbull, pictured right at an earlier court appearance, allegedly became 'obsessive' about the relationship with the boy. The 35-year-old, left, allegedly agreed with the boy to keep their relationship secret . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Helen Turnbull allegedly became obsessive about her relationship with boy .
Teen tells court he frequently ignored messages from the teaching assistant .
Boy claimed the pair argued a lot over internet messages .
Alleged victim said they had agreed not to tell anyone their relationship .
The story got out after he was said to have confided in a friend .
Turnbull allegedly threatened to have the boy murdered by gipsies . |
234,931 | bc1996810e5991b492f46a3ed6e0670c3b1355f6 | Dr Christian Jessen, the presenter of Channel 4's medical reality show Embarrassing Bodies, has revealed he has an embarrassing problem of his own. The doctor has suffered from a thinning hairline ever since a battle with pneumonia left him with weakened follicles, and has since been the subject of cruel jibes on Twitter. Users have taken to the social networking site with comments such as 'great body, pity about the hair', and simply 'you've got s*** hair', leading the doctor to spend £5,500 on hair implants with a leading celebrity surgeon in Manchester. Before: Dr Christian Jessen, who has thinning hair due to a battle with pneumonia, before he had £5,500 hair implants at Dr Asim Shahmalak's Crown Cosma Clinic in Manchester . Before and after: 'I am really pleased I have had it done again - the techniques have improved a lot in the four years since I had the first one' Dr Jessen, 36, already had thinning hair before suffering from a debilitating bout of pneumonia last year, resulting in further hair loss. He . explained: 'Most of my hair grew back after the pneumonia but there was . just a bit less. Any serious illness can result in hair loss. The same . thing can happen to women after they give birth.' He had already had an implant operation four years earlier, but realised his hair could do with a second boost and was delighted when surgeon Asim Shahmalak at Manchester's Crown Clinic offered to help. He transplanted 3,000 hairs from the back to the front of Dr Jessen's scalp. Dr Jessen said: 'I hadn't realised that there was an option for a second hair transplant. When . I was told it was possible, I thought it would be good to make my hair . thicker at the front. There were also a few gaps which need filling. 'I am really pleased I have had it done again. The techniques have improved a lot in the four years since I had the first one.' After: Dr Christian Jessen had a hair implant operation four years ago, but his hair began thinning even more after pneumonia so he had another . He added: 'I am very pleased that I had it done - it has been very empowering for me. 'I thought to myself, "Why am I always telling people how to change things about their bodies that they dislike if I can't do the same thing for myself?" 'We view cosmetic surgery for men and women so differently. Having a boob job for a woman is seen as such an everyday thing these days, but for a man to have a hair transplant is seen as a far bigger step. 'There are so many men out there who want to have this done but don't dare. I just hope by talking about it openly that I will remove some of the stigma attached to men having cosmetic procedures. 'It's great that other celebrities with transplants like Wayne Rooney and James Nesbitt have gone public as well. 'It may mean that more do not suffer in silence. When a transplant is done well, it can really transform your life.' Hair today: Dr Jessen - pictured left before operation, right after - had 1,800 grafts (3,000 individual hairs) transplanted in a procedure known as Follicular Unit Transportation . Up 30 per cent of male hair transplant patients end up having a second procedure, because while the transplanted hair from the first procedure remains permanent, they can carry on losing their natural hair. Dr Jessen had 1,800 grafts (3,000 individual hairs) transplanted in a procedure known as Follicular Unit Transportation. The operation involved taking a strip of hair from the back of his scalp, then dividing it into individual hairs and planting them like seedlings into his hairline. It will take up to a year for the transplanted hair to fully grow back. Both of Dr Jessen's transplants were carried out by the surgeon Asim Shahmalak who has worked with a number of celebrities including Homes Under The Hammer star Martin Roberts and the model Calum Best. Dr Jessen had his first transplant with Dr Shahmalak in October 2009. He had always had naturally high temples and he disliked the 'curtains' hair style he had at the time with a floppy fringe. Operating theatre: Dr Shahmalaks carrying out the procedure on Dr Christian. Dr Christian Jessen from Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies at Dr Asim Shahmalak's Crown Cosma Clinic in Manchester for a hair transplant . Dr Jessen, who works out up to six times a week, explained: 'I am not on TV for how I look. I am on TV because I am doctor, but I guess at first I didn't realise that your appearance is important and all part of the game. 'I did get some pretty hurtful comments. Some people would just say, '"You've got s*** hair," or they would write, "Great body, pity about the hair." 'After I had my first transplant all those negative comments stopped immediately and no one ever commented on my hair again. 'I have to do a lot of photo shoots for my job and I had never really enjoyed them before. I may give the impression when I am on TV that this all comes very naturally to me, but believe me, it doesn't. 'The new hair really boosted my confidence. I found doing photoshoots much more bearable.' Meet the doctors: Dr Jessen presents Embarrassing Bodies on Channel 4 with Dawn Harper, left, and Pixie McKenna, right . Dr Jessen said the fact that he worked out regularly had created an added pressure over his body image. He said: 'I've slightly dug a hole for myself. I have always worked out and I guess I got known as the 'fit young doctor,' though it was never a label I sought. There is then this enormous pressure to keep it up. 'Your name crops up on blogs, chat rooms and forums like Twitter. They are not talking about your medical skills or your bedside manner – they just comment on your looks. TV star: Dr Jessen works out up to six times a week . 'After I went public after the first procedure I had so many emails asking me about it and where I had it done. You realise this is a very important issue to a lot of men. 'I guess if they see someone like me making no secret of the fact that I have had it done it might make it okay for them to have it too. 'I'm not urging others to have it done. My message to men who are unhappy with their hair is to at least inquire. 'And if you do decide to have it done, be very careful about the surgeon you chose.' Dr Jessen said he chose Dr Shahmalak because they had worked together on his Channel 4 medical show Embarrassing Bodies. He said: 'We filmed him on the show after performing a hair transplant. The patient looked fantastic afterwards and I remember thinking, 'Wow that is great.' 'It occurred to me that I could benefit in the same way. 'Dr Shahmalak has a very nice manner and is very calm and I am very pleased with the results he gets.' Dr Shahmalak said he had enjoyed working with Dr Jessen for a second time. He said: 'I was able to fill in the gaps in his temples and transplant some new hair in his mid-scalp.' He said that many patients top up their first hair transplant with a second procedure a few years later. Dr Shahmalak said: 'Many men discover they need a second procedure a few years after their first one because their hair loss continues. 'You tend to find that if men start losing their hair at a relatively young age – say in their 20s – this hair loss tends to drop off in their mid-40s.' Dr Shahmalak said he was thrilled to operate on another doctor. He said: 'All my patients get the same level of care but it is true that there is an added pressure when you are operating on another doctor, particularly one like Christian who is so well informed and well read. 'I love the fact that I am the doctor's doctor. Being recommended by a doctor or treating a doctor is the ultimate compliment.' | Dr Jessen presents Channel 4 medical reality show .
Hair began thinning seriously after a battle with pneumonia .
Had implants with celebrity surgeon in Manchester .
Wayne Rooney, Calum Best and James Nesbitt have had same operations .
Dr Jessen said implants have 'empowered' him . |
145,966 | 48bc263f5156db05330973e95bacfd06db2799ec | By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 08:03 EST, 27 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:11 EST, 27 June 2013 . The mother of a teenager who died after going into cardiac arrest last year is suing Monster Beverage Corp., claiming his death was caused by the company's caffeinated energy drink. Alex Morris, 19, from Silver Spring, Maryland, suffered cardiac arrest during the early morning hours of July 1 and was later pronounced dead in hospital. His mother, Paula Morris, is now suing the drinks company, claiming her son drank two cans a day every day for the three years leading up to his death, as well as on the day he died. Her lawyers previously filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Anais Fournier, a 14-year-old girl who died in 2011 after consuming two 24-ounce cans of the drink in a day. Missed: Alex Morris, 19, is pictured with his mother Paula, who is suing Monster Beverages Corp. after her son died last year. She blames his death on how he drank two of their drinks every day for three years . 'Our allegations in the lawsuits are the same and that's the peoples deaths were caused by these energy drinks and, more specifically, the defendants failure to warn about the dangers,' said Alexander Wheeler, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in both cases. 'Consumers need to know that these . energy drinks can be dangerous, and even lethal, especially to young . people and people with heart problems. 'It's especially important that . consumers learn about these risks because the energy drink companies do . not put appropriate warnings on the cans or their advertisements . telling people about these dangers.' Following Alex's death, the Alameda . County Coroner determined that his cause of death was . cardiac arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy. Powerful: The company claims that the drink has safe levels of caffeine but says its target is for over 18s . Monster and other energy drinks have . received increased scrutiny in recent months. The Food and Drug . Administration is investigating reports of deaths linked to energy . drinks, including five that cite Monster beverages, but the agency noted . that the reports don't prove the drinks caused the deaths. The agency also has been investigating at least 13 deaths linked to 5-hour Energy drink. Monster has previously said its target . market is 18 to 34 years old but that its drinks are nevertheless safe . for children as well. It has stood by the safety of its . drinks, which it says contain 240 milligrams of caffeine for a 24-ounce . can, compared with 330 milligrams in a 16-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee. Monster's current label says drinkers should limit themselves to one can every four hours and a maximum of three per day. It also says the drink isn't recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are nursing. But San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has pointed out that three cans amount to 480 milligrams of caffeine, nearly five times the recommended maximum for adolescents and above the 400 milligrams per day the FDA has indicated is safe for adults. The autopsy and toxicity reports found no illegal drugs or alcohol in his system. A cardiac arrhythmia is an electrical problem . with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat, meaning it can beat too . slow or too fast. When this occurs, the heart may not pump enough blood . to the brain and other organs, which could result in the loss of . consciousness or death. Speaking with the Globe Newswire, Paula Morris remembered her son as 'compassionate, funny, smart... he lived a life full of love and courage' - and she said they would not stop fighting for him. 'It is . hard for all of Alex's family and friends to relive the terrible moments . of his death,' she said. 'But we cannot be silent while more seemingly-healthy . young adults like Alex are putting their lives at risk, and we do not . want any other parents to experience the devastation of losing their . child.' Monster representatives did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Monster has previously said its target market is for 18 to 34 year olds but that its drinks are nevertheless safe for children as well. It said that in Fournier's case, no blood test was performed to confirm she died of 'caffeine toxicity' as the suit claimed, saying she died of natural causes brought on by pre-existing conditions. The cause of death on her autopsy report was 'cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehler's-Danlos syndrome' - a heart condition. The company also said that evidence obtained as part of the lawsuit's discovery process shows Anais regularly had energy drinks and frequented Starbucks without incident. Deaths: Morris died months after the death of 14-year-old Anais Fournier, who also consumed Monster energy drinks. Her family is also suing the company, claiming that it is responsible for her death . Missed: Morris, pictured with family members, has been remembered as a compassionate and funny teen . Monster has stood by the safety of its drinks, which it says contain 240 milligrams of caffeine for a 24-ounce can, compared with 330 milligrams in a 16-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee. Monster and other energy drinks have received increased scrutiny in recent months. The Food and Drug Administration is investigating reports of deaths linked to energy drinks, including five that cite Monster beverages, but the agency noted that the reports don't prove the drinks caused the deaths. San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera is also suing Monster Beverage for marketing its energy drinks to children, saying the products pose severe health risks. 'Energy drinks contain massive and excessive amounts of caffeine that may lead to a host of health problems in young people, including heart problems, and banning companies from marketing these products to adolescents is a common sense action that we can take to protect the health of American kids,' AMA board member Dr. Alexander Ding said in a June 18 statement. | Maryland teenager Alex Morris went into cardiac arrest in July last year .
He drank two cans of Monster energy drink every day for three years, including on the day of his death .
Lawsuit filed by same attorneys representing Anais Fournier, a 14-year-old girl who died after drinking two cans of drink in 2011 .
Monster has maintained that its drinks have safe levels of caffeine . |
232,218 | b8b41b47489222af68c3e251b288433bb6a6cdd4 | High school senior Draven Rodriguez will get his wish to have a picture of himself with his cat in the yearbook. but only if he's willing to share the space with his principal. Rodriguez's original plan was to use a picture posing with cat Mr. Bigglesworth framed by lasers as his senior photo at New York's Schenectady High School, but that school officials refused to put it in the portrait section. Rodriguez, 16, started an online petition to support his picture, and now he's been offered a spot on the principal's page with administrator Diane Wilkinson and her mixed chihuahua, Vivienne. Draven Rodriguez, 16, started an online petition to support his picture, and now he's been offered a spot on the principal's page . His campaign soon went viral, prompting support from publications like Gawker, Time, and Cosmopolitan. The picture, which will be taken by the same photographer and retain Rodriguez's lasers backdrop, will include an urge for animal rescue and adoption. “I don’t want to go in the yearbook with the generic ‘I-look-like-everyone-else’ photo. I wanted a ‘He looks great. Only he would try that’ photo,'' Rodriguez told The Daily Gazette. 'When people look at it, they will know that was me.' School officials said the image of Rodriguez and cat Mr. Bigglesworth did not meet yearbook guidelines for the portrait section . Though Rodriguez could not be reached for comment, district spokeswoman Karen Corona said he was on board. 'It was the principal's idea, she went to the student with it, and he loved it,' Corona told The Times-Union. To be included in the senior portrait section an image must be uniform and 'professional looking.' 'I'm a little out there, and a little tongue-in-cheek,' Rodriguez said. 'Cats and laser....sarcastic. It's so outlandish and ridiculous . Rodriguez was the first to admit the original image was over the top, which was the point to begin with. 'I'm a little out there, and a little tongue-in-cheek,' he said. 'Cats and laser....sarcastic. It's so outlandish and ridiculous. 'I'm not trying to make any statement other than my photo is ridiculous and this is how I am.' | Draven Rodriquez wanted a photo his classmate's would say 'only he' would think to do .
Pic of Rodriguez and cat Mr. Bigglesworth was rejected from senior portrait section .
Principal Diane Wilkinson offered to share her page with him as long as she could bring her mixed chihuahua . |
126,024 | 2ee751d3ec9b7d471a03c3a2ec457e28d08789d2 | By . Lucy Crossley . and Lucy Osborne . and Lizzie Edmonds . Desperation: Paul and Sandra Dunham, who are facing extradition to the US over fraud charges, have revealed they tried to kill themselves in order to avoid prison . The British couple facing extradition to America over an expenses row were remanded in custody last night due to fears they could make a fresh suicide attempt. It came after retired businessman Paul Dunham and his wife Sandra, both 58, admitted they took a drug overdose earlier this week to avoid the prospect of dying in a US jail. The couple had been due to hand themselves to police at 10am on Thursday, before being passed to US authorities. But officers rushed to their £600,000 home in Northampton at 7.15am after concerns were raised over their welfare. Speaking from his hospital bed at Northampton General yesterday, Mr Dunham said: ‘When we felt there was no hope, the prospect of what lay ahead of us in the US, we felt that wasn’t worth living for.’ 'If you look statistically, white collar crime has a 98 per cent chance of going to a plea bargain. 'If you look at this in the cold light of day we have gone through this rationally so many times in our minds. 'Somewhere down the line someone is either going to offer us a ridiculously long prison sentence or a plea bargain. 'We could easily be in the US for six or eight years. 'We would return to the UK in our mid-sixties, with no money, no jobs and no home. 'Frankly that was a prospect we didn’t feel like enduring eight years of hell for.' Last month the couple lost a High Court . battle last month against extradition to Maryland to stand trial over . fraud charges relating to Mr Dunham's company, Pace. Mr Dunham is accused of over-claiming . $1million (£600,000) in expenses when he was chief executive of US firm . PACE and his wife of aiding and abetting him. They insist these were ‘wholly legitimate’ business expenses. The case has caused anger over the . use of the Extradition Act to haul them across the Atlantic for trial . for what their supporters say amounts to a civil dispute. Mrs Dunham is accused of eight counts of fraud for allegedly aiding and abetting him. The Dunhams' failed High Court case . heard that Mr Dunham had suffered several mini-strokes and mental health . problems, and Mrs Dunham was suffering from depression. Emergency: Police were called to the Dunhams' Northampton home by a worried journalist who had arrived to take a statement from the couple - only for them to fail to answer the door . The couple, who have five . grandchildren, 'vehemently reject' allegations relating to expenses . claims by Mr Dunham while he was working in the US, arguing the spending . was sanctioned by Pace's board and that auditors raised no objections. Speaking yesterday, Mr Dunham said the final straw for the couple had come when they learned that Home Secretary had cancelled a planned meeting with their MP Andrea Leadsom. 'On Wednesday evening, we were really just hanging on,' he said. 'That evening we got an email from MP Andrea Leadsom saying Theresa May had cancelled her meeting with her. Treatment: The Dunhams both spent the night at Northampton General Hospital and are expected to be taken to Westminster Magistrates court when they are discharged . 'Andrea has worked tirelessly for us - but the people that should care just don’t seem to want to be involved. 'We rationally weighted up all the options and saw no other choice. 'We faced a three year wait for a . trial in the US and we were already told we were going to be held in a . high security super max prison with a pretty harsh regime and it . wouldn’t have the medical facilities for my health. 'We were facing the prospect of enduring eight years of hell, and are still facing the same dilemma. Denial: The couple, who have five grandchildren, 'vehemently reject' allegations relating to expenses claims by Mr Dunham while he was working in the US . 'It’s a bit like when someone has a . terminal illness, they will sometimes end their lives with the happy . memories they once had rather than face the terminal illness. 'What we did wasn’t a publicity stunt, . we fully expected not to be here today and we have to be grateful for . the police and hospital staff for how they have looked after us over the . last 24 hours. 'Now we are having to go to separate counselling meetings where we are really saying "what’s next?" 'Nothing’s really changed, the extradition warrant still exists and that hasn’t changed at all.' A journalist from a local newspaper had arrived at the couple's £500,000 detached home to speak to them but police were alerted when there was no response from the pair. Officers forced the door open and contacted paramedics, who arrived in two ambulances and took the couple to hospital. Officers from Northamptonshire Police forced entry to the property after a reporter from the local newspaper dialled 999. Mr Dunham said: 'A local reporter came . to interview us because they knew we would be leaving, they had planned . to meet us as we came out the front door. 'They got suspicious, didn’t see anyone around, once several minutes passed he got concerned and called police. 'I expect to be in hospital for a day . or two to get over the effects and then we are hoping we will have some . additional psychological counselling to see whether we can muster the . strength to face this ordeal.' Mr Dunham added that his wife has been taken off a drip and is feeling 'very shaken' and is 'struggling to sit up.' Fear: Mr Dunham says the couple face a three year wait for a trial in the US, and would be held in a high security prison . | Paul and Sandra Dunham remanded over fears of another suicide attempt .
Yesterday the couple were treated in hospital for suspected drugs overdose .
Pair were due to be handed over to U.S. marshals later in the day .
Alarm was raised when they failed to answer the door to a journalist .
Police forced their way in to couple's £500,000 Northampton home .
'We weighed up all the options and saw no other choice,' says husband, 58 .
They deny fraud charges relating to Mr Dunham's time with U.S. company . |
273,047 | edac8669ad5cec59f63197f332fd5708e6da94f9 | By . Reuters Reporter . A lightning strike on Saturday killed a man in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, a day after another strike killed a woman who had been out on a hike. Four people were injured in Saturday's strike, and eight were hurt on Friday, officials said in a news release. Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson identified the woman killed on Friday as Rebecca R. Teilhet, 42, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, who had been hiking with her husband and a friend on the Ute Crossing Trail, which is located off Trail Ridge Road. For the second day in a row, lightning killed a visitor at Rocky Mountain National Park in the Rockies of Colorado and injured the victims' companions . She died at the scene as rough weather allowed an air ambulance to land only between 'cycles of severe weather', Patterson said. The man killed in Saturday's incident was not identified. The victims were struck by lightning at Rainbow Curve, where visitors often gather to watch for rainbows after rainstorms. Patterson said rangers learned of the latest strike at the 11,000-foot high lookout trail shortly before 4 p.m. Mountain Time. Saturday's incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m., when rangers were notified of a lightning strike near Rainbow Curve, at 10,829 feet along Trail Ridge Road. Four people were injured and taken to Estes Park Medical Center, where one man was pronounced dead. Seen here is a stock image taken in Wichita, Kansas . The four injured people and the man who died were taken by regular ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center, she said. Thunderstorms pummeled the area around the park on Saturday, and heavy rain and more storms were expected Saturday night and Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Rocky Mountain National Park is known for its vast network of hiking trails. The park is located northwest of Boulder in the Rockies. It includes the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Colorado River. | Man killed Saturday at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado .
Three others taken to hospital .
Woman who died Friday has been identified as Rebecca R. Teilhet, 42, of Yellow Springs, Ohio .
Hiking on a 11,000-foot high lookout trail .
More dangerous storms expected Saturday night and Sunday . |
20,430 | 39f8487d866ad026cae5b4a44c865084e1c9f804 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:40 EST, 20 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:36 EST, 20 September 2012 . Police believe a Naval Postgraduate School professor shot her ex-wife multiple times at his home before dismembering her body and dumping some of the remains in a remote area of Aromas, California. Norife 'Janie' Herrera Jones, 29, was discovered murdered September 7 on Cannon Road in the suburban town. Lawrence Jones, 69, was arrested a week later in connection to his ex-wife's slaying, police said. In a statement released on Wednesday, investigators said Herrera Jones died from multiple gunshot wounds before her lifeless body was mutilated. Tragic end: Norife 'Janie' Herrera Jones, 29, left, was discovered brutally murdered last week, and police suspect that her ex-husband, 69-year-old Lawrence Jones, right, is responsible for the slaying . Herrera Jones was killed a week after the couple's divorce became finalized, putting an end to a tempestuous five-year marriage. Friends and neighbors say that the young woman separated from her husband earlier in the year because of his angry outbursts. The 69-year-old was taken into custody following a search of his Spray Avenue home in Monterey, during which police said they had found enough evidence to charge him with his ex-wife’s murder. Jones did not enter a plea at his court appearance on Wednesday. He was initially scheduled to appear before a judge the day before, but an undisclosed medical problem resulted in a delay. On Wednesday, Jones was seen in court sporting a bandage on his right wrist, which suggests that he may have tried to take his own life, considering his history of suicide attempts. Tragic find: Herrera Jones' remains were discovered September 7 along Cannon Road in Aromas . Lawrence Jones, known to friends as Larry, has been a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School for 25 years, most recently serving as financial management chair, The Monterey county Herald reported. He worked as a visiting consultant for the Asian Development Bank, as a visiting scholar at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and the University of Siena in Italy. He taught at NPS and has lived in Monterey since the late 1980s. Janie Herrera Jones was described by those who knew her a sweet and trusting young woman. According to her online resume, the 29-year-old was a highly educated and accomplished businesswoman in her native Philippines, with a strong interest in international affairs and a master’s degree in business management. However, when Herrera Jones arrived in the U.S., she was forced to seek more humble positions, including a job at a Macy’s department store and a stint at Lens Crafters. She also volunteered her time working for charitable organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Special Kids Crusade in Monterey, where she organized more than 1,200 books for the library. Volatile marriage: Herrera, left, tied the knot with Jones, right, in 2006, but the relationship started going south due to the husband's alleged outbursts, leading the 29-year-old woman to leave him last year . Long career: Jones spent the last 25 years teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy . It is believed that Herrera Jones married the distinguished professor 40 years her senior in February of 2006. Friends and former neighbors said the marriage appeared happy at first and that Janie Jones told them she loved her husband the first couple of years. But then the relationship apparently started turning sour between the two, and last year, the young woman left. Janie Jones told friends that her husband, a Stanford University graduate, became upset after his alma mater’s football team lost a game, and things escalated from there. The outburst was the last straw for Janie Jones, said friends. Co-workers gave her clothes and helped her move to San Jose, where she got an apartment, found work and started her new single life. Gruesome scene: Police searched Jones' home on Spray Avenue in Monterey (pictured) and arrested him after discovering evidence of a crime . Her volatile ex-husband, however, was apparently not ready to move on. As the divorce came close to being finalized, police said he slashed his wrists and begged his estranged wife to come back. Suicide concerns: Jones appeared in court on Wednesday with a bandage around his right wrist, suggesting that he may have attempted to take his life . According to former neighbor Sat Kirtan Khalsa, the apparent suicide attempt was a reprisal of an incident that took pace years earlier. During a previous marriage, Jones slit his wrists and was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. Janie Jones’ friends said she felt sorry for her ex-husband and was heartbroken over the divorce, but was determined to start a new life. She planned to visit relatives in Asia this month, and after family members had not heard from her for days, friends filed missing persons reports. Police are trying to determine what led Janie Jones to travel to her ex-husband’s home just days before her murder. According to friends, the 29-year-old said last month she had to visit Lawrence Jones to sign final papers for her divorce. However, Michael Mendenhall, a legal assistance who prepared the couple’s documents, tld the Herald that there was nothing left to sign. Although . people close to the couple described a troubled and abusive marriage, . Mendenhall said the couple appeared polite and cordial during a meeting . this past February. ‘He was what could best be described as a . perfect gentleman. He wanted to be sure that she was taken care of . financially, so he explained to her what he was going to do for her . financially,’ Mendenhall told the paper. According to court records, the couple separated November 16, 2011. In February, Lawrence Jones filed for divorce. He signed final papers on June 18, Mendenhall said, and the papers were filed with the court on June 20. The final decree was issued August 31. A week later, the 29-year-old woman was found killed and dismembered. Police are investigating how she ended up in the Spray Avenue house, and how long she was there before her death. Investigators say they are looking into friends' suspicions that she was kidnapped before her murder. | Lawrence Jones spent 25 years teaching at Naval Postgraduate School .
Norife 'Janie' Herrera Jones, 29, was a successful businesswoman in the Philippines with a master's degree .
Couple married in 2006 and separated last year apparently over the husband's violent outbursts .
Divorce was finalized in February of 2012, ending a five-year marriage .
Janie Jones moved to San Jose, but for some reason returned just days before her death . |
39,168 | 6eafa1f4d251a30fe8009da129d9b7c8502e1da2 | Washington (CNN) -- Shortly after Elena Kagan left the White House in 1999 to teach at her alma mater, Harvard Law School, the nationwide controversy over military recruiting on campus had just begun to heat up. Kagan and fellow academics had actively sought to block military recruiters from Harvard because of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on removing openly homosexual service members. Kagan later supported other schools challenging a federal law -- known as the Solomon Amendment -- requiring that recruiters be given equal access or face the loss of federal funding. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law on March 6, 2006. Just four months after taking the job as Harvard's dean, in October 2003, Kagan offered students her thoughts in a campuswide e-mail, saying that to give recruiters equal access to the campus "causes me deep distress. I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." She called it "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order." The same week as the high court's 2006 ruling in favor of the military, a top Pentagon official wrote colleagues in an internal memo of the department's efforts "to limit the polarizing nature of the anti-Solomonites who now rattle sabers over an intent to shout down the military." William Carr, then deputy undersecretary for military personnel policy, noted, "Dean Kagan is a case in point because she reportedly 'encouraged students to demonstrate against the presence of recruiters ... (and) to express their views clearly and forcefully.' Not a true fan of 'equality and scope' it would appear." In Rumsfeld v. FAIR, the high court unanimously upheld the Solomon Amendment. "A military recruiter's mere presence on campus does not violate a law school's right to associate, regardless of how repugnant the law school considers the recruiter's message," said Chief Justice John Roberts. Before that ruling, the issue at Harvard was how much access to allow the recruiters. Kagan sought to have campus visits coordinated by student veteran groups, not the Career Services office, and wanted the military not to appear alongside civilian recruiters. Negotiations with the Pentagon and Harvard continued for years, with frustration expressed by both sides. Documents released by the Pentagon over the weekend show that overall, Kagan's involvement was minimal and that the ultimate decision allowing military access was made by the school's president, Larry Summers. But the memos show the two apparently clashed over the issue. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said Saturday that Kagan acted responsibly and allowed military recruiters at the Harvard Law School. "The materials produced by the Department of Defense provide further documentation that military recruiters were never barred from the campus of Harvard Law School, neither before Elena Kagan became dean, nor during her tenure," Leahy said in a written statement. "The unfair charge made by some that Elena Kagan broke the law as dean continues to have no basis in law or fact." But the panel's ranking member, Sen. Jeff Sessions R-Alabama, has been very outspoken over Kagan's handing of the "don't ask, don't tell" controversy. "Don't ask, don't tell was created and implemented by President Clinton. Where was her outrage during the five years she served in the Clinton White House? Why would she blame the military? They didn't pass the rule. It was Congress and the president," Sessions said. "Instead of taking a stand in Washington, Ms. Kagan waited until she got to Harvard and stood in the way of devoted, hardworking military recruiters." | Kagan sought to block military recruiters from Harvard because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Said in memo, "I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy"
Documents show decision allowing military access made by school president, not Kagan .
Leahy says Kagan acted responsibly and allowed recruiters at Harvard Law School . |
155,836 | 5571d9577c13abdde291523448410cf57df04174 | By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 04:49 EST, 27 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:49 EST, 27 September 2013 . The U.S. is hopeful that years of standoffs over Iran's nuclear programme are coming to an end after UN talks yesterday. Secretary of State John Kerry met one-on-one with the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the end of the summit, shaking his hand and sitting beside him in the highest-level contact between the two nations for six years. However officials want the Islamic nation to draw up a detailed plan of action to reassure the world it is not secretly trying to develop an atom bomb. Scroll down for videos . After the UN summit Kerry leaned over and asked the Iranian foreign minister to talk one-on-one in the highest-level contact between the nations in six years . President Hassan Rouhani (far right) has taken to the international stage for the first time since being elected . Kerry said: 'Needless to say, one meeting and a change in tone, that was welcome, does not answer those questions. 'All of us were pleased that the foreign minister came today and that he did put some possibilities on the table.' Fresh talks will now be held on October 15-16 after the UN council's five permanent members, plus Germany, agree to fast-track negotiations. Iran is keen to win a reprieve to tough sanctions which have slashed oil exports by more than half, restricted its international bank transfers, devalued its currency and sent inflation surging. Zarif said the end result would have to include 'a total lifting' of the international sanctions, adding: 'We hope ... to make sure (there is) no concern that Iran's program is anything but peaceful.' 'Now we have to see whether we can match our positive words with serious deeds so we can move forward.' The upbeat tone comes a day after Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, called on . Israel to join an international treaty banning the spread of nuclear . weapons, chiding the Jewish state for being the only Middle East nation . that has failed to do so. Rouhani faces a backlash in his country after seeming to concede that the holocaust happened in a TV interview, after eight years of denials from former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . 'Almost . four decades of international efforts to establish a nuclear . weapon-free zone in the Middle East have regrettably failed,' Mr Rouhani . told a United Nations meeting on nuclear disarmament on the sidelines . of the General Assembly. Israel is the only Middle East nation that has not signed the landmark 1979 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and Mr Rouhani said that has prevented the region from establishing a nuclear-free zone. It has never commented on suggestions it possesses a nuclear arsenal. Mr Rouhani also said all nations should be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and other nuclear safeguards. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only, and says it needs to enrich uranium to produce reactor fuel and for medical purposes. But world powers fear Iran is trying enriching uranium to higher levels which would enable it build warheads. Amir Hekmati, a joint U.S. Iranian citizen, has been in prison in Iran since 2011 after being convicted of spying . Earlier in the week Mr Rouhani said a deal over Iran's nuclear weapons should be struck with the US within three months. Mr Rouhani told the Washington Post: 'The only way forward is for a timeline to be inserted into the negotiations that's short–and wrap it up. 'That is a decision of my government, that short is necessary to settle the nuclear file. 'The shorter it is the more beneficial it is to everyone. If it's three months that would be Iran's choice, if it's six months that's still good. It's a question of months not years.' The apparent thawing of relations between America and Iran in recent weeks has seen Rouhani apparently admit that the holocaust happened in an interview broadcast on CNN. Rouhani's predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spent years denying the holocaust as part of his rhetoric against the Jewish state of Israel, one of America's strongest Middle Eastern allies. While the new President would not be drawn on the scale or numbers invovled, he is now facing a backlash at home after a conservative news agency accused CNN of wrongly translating the remark. The improvement in relations between Iran and the West has also prompted the father of an imprisoned former U.S. Marine to beg for his son's release. Hekmati (pictured left), a former U.S. Marine, claims he was visiting the Islamic state to see his grandmother . Hekmati's father, Ali, says he has a brain tumour and wants to see his son 'one more time'. Right is a picture of Amir taken from Facebook in which he is said to be wearing a headdress for a Halloween party . Ali Hekmati is asking Rouhani to order the release of his son, Amir, as Ali is now suffering with a brain tumour and may not have long to live. In a letter, the ailing father says: 'I long more than ever to see Amir's face. I am now very sick. 'I ask that you let me see him again, one more time, and so that he may lead our family when I am gone. 'Amir is a good man. An honorable man. He is not a spy, I can assure you of that.' Amir Hekmati, who has dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, was arrested in Iran in 2011. The family claim he was visiting his grandmother but the Islamic state accused him of being a CIA spy and convicted him. A short while later a video was released showing Amir 'confessing' to his crimes. Amir's father has reason to be hopeful after Iran freed dozens of political prisoners last week, just as Rouhani was headed to New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier this month, Amir wrote a letter to US Secretary of Sate John Kerry describing his 'miserable prison conditions' and his belief that Tehran wanted to use him in a possible prisoner exchange. Hekmati's letter was smuggled out of prison and his sister authenticated the handwriting. The State Department said it was trying to determine Hekmati's condition through Swiss diplomats in Tehran. The Swiss represent U.S. interests in Iran because no U.S. officials are based there. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in 1979. Two other American citizens are believed to be detained in Iran: Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. The release of prisoners and the softening on nuclear talks are part of a fresh charm offensive by Iran following years of icy relations under the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As a condition of any deal Iran has said it will agree to international inspections along the lines of those between 2003 and 2005 and has not ruled out a meeting with Barack Obama. Rouhani added: 'If Mr Obama and I were to get together, we would both be looking at the . future, and the prospects ahead and our hopes for that future. 'The notes and . letters and exchanges between us are in that direction, and they will . continue. We need a beginning point. I think that is the nuclear issue.' | John Kerry spoke one-on-one with Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Zarif .
Fresh talks will happen next month after process was fast-tracked .
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has asked Israel to join nuclear treaty .
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and not bombs .
Rouhani is facing criticism at home for accepting the holocaust happened .
The father of former U.S. Marine held in Iran has begged for his release . |
209,270 | 9b0047828fbed58a52f816c9c104aec330b8b457 | By . Associated Press . A bow-hunter in Washington says he was attacked by a black bear while looking for deer. Jerry Hause, 61, and his 26-year-old son Jeffrey were out on a hunt Monday when he decided to sit down to rest for a minute. That's when he saw the black bear coming at him at a dead run. 'I stood up and in one motion that bear jumped out of the creek it was in and was on level ground with me,' Hause, of Longview, told The Daily News. 'And as soon as it was on level ground it was on a dead run after me.' Jerry Hause is an avid outdoorsman, but running away from a black bear was a first for him . A few days before Jerry Hause was bit by a black bear, his son captured this image of what appears to be the beast that bit him . Hause is an avid outdoorsman who's been hunting for decades — but having started bow hunting just four years ago, he didn't think he'd have time and the skills to pick up his bow and shoot the charging bear. Instead, he scrambled up a tree while the animal, which appeared to be 250 to 300 pounds, closed in on him. 'I knew the tree was right there, so I headed up that to get far enough up the tree that the bear couldn’t get me,' Hause told The Daily News. He thought he was out of the bear's reach. He was wrong. 'It totally amazes me how fast that bear got on me,' Hause he told the newspaper. 'In three seconds it was on me.' The black bear bit and clawed against the hunter's left leg — and didn't let go until Hause kicked it in the snout with his right foot. 'I was thinking, "If it gets me out of this tree I’m a dead man,"' he told The Daily News. 'It was mad, it was growling, it was serious about what it was going to do.' But amazingly, the bear let go after the kick, dropped to the ground and moved on. Hause waited around for a while and was eventually able to walk out and call for help. He was treated for puncture wounds and claw scratches at a hospital and is recovering at home. Wildlife experts say black bears usually run away when they hear people. This unusual level of aggression indicates the bear may have been a mother protecting its cubs. Local officials planned on euthanizing the bear — but Hause convinced them otherwise because of the likelihood it was a just a frightened animal acting our of motherly instincts. 'It either had cubs out there or I was threatening its food,' he told The Daily News. 'It’s bear country. They live in the woods. I don’t.' For his part, Hause has learned his lesson: next time he goes bow hunting, he plans to carry a pistol. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Washington hunter Jerry Hause, 61, got the scare of a lifetime when he was rushed by a huge bear while looking for deer .
He scrambled up a tree to get away from the animal .
The bear bit his left leg and didn't let go until it was kicked in the snout . |
114,699 | 20086b7ca8179cdce49bda3685b995bdd6ff2e87 | A brain-damaged boy whose parents had asked doctors to turn off his breathing-support has now undergone a possible life-saving surgery after being sponsored by a charity. Xiong Junyi, from Anhui, east China, suffered severe brain damage in an accident at his father's workplace, when he got stuck on a mail delivery conveyor belt. His parents Zhengqing, 35, and Guangqun, 33, were unable to pay for the care of the sick toddler, so had asked medical staff to take him off life support. Saved: Xiong Junyi was severely brain damaged in an accident at his father's place of work and unable to afford the right care for him, his parents wanted to turn off his life support . However, after an unnamed local charity heard about the family's plight, they stepped in to cover the cost of life-saving brain surgery and aftercare for Xiong. The 18-month-old's parents had taken him to visit his father at work at a courier firm in the Hekou township in Huoqiu county in central China's Henan province on December 1st last year. Xiong somehow ended up getting trapped in a conveyor belt used to deliver parcels, leaving him horrifically injured and on life support in the local hospital. Xiong was in the hospital in Anhui for over a month after the accident, and was not able to move or talk. He also had difficulty swallowing and breathing after being discharged. His parents applied for his life support to be switched off, as they were unable to afford proper care for him, which would lead to him slowly dying in severe pain. New beginning: The story of Xiong's accident and his parents heartbreaking choice attracted international attention and after a charity stepped in to help, he successfully underwent brain surgery in Shanghai . Accident: Xiong was involved in an accident while visiting his father at his place of work, a courier delivery firm, when he got stuck on a conveyor belt . Family care: Guangqun, 33, feeds her 18-month-old son in the hospital in Shanghai . Their request was rejected by the local civil affairs bureau because euthanasia is illegal in China. However Xiong's story attracted international attention and after a charity stepped in to help, he successfully underwent brain surgery at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai last week. Dr Li Hao, director of the children hospital's neurosurgery department, said that the follow-up rehabilitation will need a good deal of time, energy and money, and that they were optimistic the boy would have a chance of recovery, although it was still unclear to what degree. He said: 'We can't promise how well he can recover. The best result would be that he can take care of himself in the future.' The boy's father told Shanghai Daily: 'The thought of euthanasia came about because we could see no solution and couldn't bear to see our son suffer every day.' He said: 'We knew that many people would condemn us when they realised that we wanted to ask permission for our son to die, and two-months-ago I would have also said it was unthinkable whatever the circumstances. A mother's love: The toddler's parents saw no other way out when they asked for doctor's to let him die . No choice: Guangqun and her husband's request was rejected because euthanasia is illegal in China . Guangqun is seen preparing a medication for Xiong who now has a chance to recover from the accident . 'But the counterpoint as a parent is whether it's just as unthinkable to see so much suffering continue with someone you love. 'Our son was lying in intensive care and the doctor said that because of the massive brain damage he suffered, there was no chance of a proper recovery. When he finally woke up he couldn't even feed himself, and all he can do is breathe unaided. 'We could not even afford the drips to feed him after the money ran out, and are having to inject milk directly into his stomach to keep him alive.' They said that they had run up massive debts and that after taking the boy home it was a living nightmare watching their child struggling for every breath. Zhengqing said earlier: 'His eyes were rolling around inside his head because of the effort of breathing, and the doctors have confirmed the diagnosis that there is no chance he will get any better.' But after the charity came forward and offered to help, he said: 'This hospital is one of the best in the country and we will work with doctors in any way we can to help our boy. Now at least there is hope.' | Xiong Junyi suffered brain damage in incident at his father's job .
The toddler became trapped on parcel delivery conveyor belt .
Parents asked to turn off life-support as they couldn't afford care .
Unnamed charity stepped in to cover the cost of surgery and care . |
156,460 | 564659a6eb06bbd70b1265093ccbb6e710e83c04 | (CNN) -- A court in southwestern China has given heavy sentences to two ethnic Tibetans convicted of murder for "inciting" people to set themselves of fire, state media reported Thursday. Self-immolation has become a dramatic and harrowing form of protest in recent years for ethnic Tibetans unhappy with Chinese rule. Opinion: Tibetans reject Chinese rule with one voice . Beijing has taken a tough line on the protesters and their associates, accusing the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, of fomenting unrest inside Chinese borders. The court in Sichuan province on Thursday sentenced Lorang Konchok, a 40-year-old monk, to death with a two-year reprieve and stripped him of his political rights for life, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. It sentenced his nephew, Lorang Tsering, 31, to 10 years in prison, stripping him of his political rights for three years, the agency said. The court -- in the prefecture of Aba, a Tibetan autonomous area in Sichuan -- convicted the two men of encouraging eight people to self-immolate, three of whom died as a result, Xinhua reported. How many more Tibetans will sacrifice themselves? The other five people didn't go through with the act, either because they chose to abandon the plan or because police intervened, the court found, according to Xinhua. Accusations against the Dalai Lama . Speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Chinese authorities hoped that with the verdict Thursday, "the international community will be able to clearly see the evil, malicious methods of the Dalai clique in the self-immolations and condemn their crimes." By December 2012, 95 Tibetans had set themselves on fire, with 28 self-immolations in November alone when China's political elite ushered in its next generation of leaders during its Communist Party Congress. At least 81 of the 95 self-immolators died, according to the International Tibet Network, a coalition of some 150 pro-Tibet groups. Independently verifying the reported self-immolations is difficult because of Chinese restrictions on reporting from the restive areas, and the reluctance of local officials to comment on the accounts provided by foreign-based Tibetan advocacy groups. Beijing rejects accusations of oppression, saying that under its rule, living standards have greatly improved for the Tibetan people. It makes centuries-old historical claims on the region. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising, has long denied China's assertion that he's seeking Tibetan independence. He says he wants only an autonomy that would offer protection for their traditional Buddhist culture. | The court says the two Tibetans encouraged others to self-immolate .
It sentences one of them to death, with a two-year reprieve .
China says the verdict shows the Dalai Lama's role in the Tibetan unrest .
The Dalai Lama has long denied assertions he's seeking Tibetan independence . |
26,439 | 4b13da2e6adc09f9f8b7f2a52fd639af8ebfacfc | (CNN)He may have worked with world leaders, but now Nigerian billionaire investor Tony Elumelu is focusing on those yet to turn their business dream into reality. The chairman of pan-African investment company Heirs Holdings Limited has pledged $100 million to find and support 10,000 entrepreneurs throughout Africa. Launched earlier this week, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) wants to help find and grow businesses who will contribute $10 billion in revenue across Africa over the next 10 years. "I have always sought ways to help inspire a generation across our continent," said Elumelu. "[It is] my fundamental belief that entrepreneurs -- women and men across Africa -- will lead Africa's development and transform our futures." Driving entrepreneurship . It is this belief that led Elumelu to coin the term "Africapitalism" -- an economic philosophy "that the African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments, creating both economic prosperity and social wealth." Entries are open to entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries and applications will be accepted in English, French and Portuguese. These will be reviewed by a panel of judges, tasked with selecting the 1,000 most promising startups each year. The chosen entrepreneurs will be given seed funding and 12 weeks of business skills training. They will also be put through their paces at an entrepreneurship "boot camp." Among the judges are Ayodeji Adewunmi, the co-founder of the popular Nigerian job search site Jobberman, Opunimi Akinkugbe, CEO of African board game company Bestman Games, and Monica Musonda, chief executive Zambia-based Java Food. As well as these business names, the initiative is also collaborating with big hitters from other sectors, like Vera Songwe, the World Bank country director for Senegal, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. "We must strive for entrepreneurial innovation in Africa," says Songwe, "and my participation in this program further promotes the World Bank Group's push for entrepreneur-led global development." Africa brimming with entrepreneurs . The initiative's goal to nurture 1,000 entrepreneurs every year for a decade may sound ambitious, but research reveals Africa is a hotbed of entrepreneurial spirit. According to research conducted in 2012 by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, over 80% of people in Nigeria and Uganda see opportunities for starting businesses. And across the continent, 53% of people intend to pursue a business in the next three years. In Angola, Botswana, Malawi and Uganda that figure is 70%. Crucially, however, the continent is also experiencing high discontinuation rates as many entrepreneurs abandon their efforts after failing to make profits. "African entrepreneurs have ideas, they have products but they don't have support," says technologist Marieme Jamme, a Davos Young Global leader and CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions. "Mentorship for entrepreneurs in Africa is the key," she continues, calling for governments to improve educational efforts work with the private sector to create new markets for entrepreneurs. "There is not enough funding available despite that we have lots of money in Africa and billionaires," adds Jamme. "Some people are ready to fund amazing and bright ideas, like Tony Elumelu, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here -- we have great challenges on quality control. We need good products, locally designed by Africans for Africans and global markets." Read this: 12 brilliant entrepreneurs under 22 . Read this: Africa is buzzing with entrepreneurial spirit . More from African Start-Up . | The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program plans to support 10,000 entrepreneurs throughout Africa .
Selected entrepreneurs will receive seed funding and mentoring .
80% of people in Nigeria and Uganda see opportunities for starting businesses .
The initiative is the largest African philanthropic gift aimed at boosting the continent's entrepreneurs . |
206,989 | 9800037ed8ebd0fc207e8eac14a922a4bcdb5988 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- The opening scenes to a massive highway project dubbed "Carmageddon II" have so far been free of traffic jams, officials said Saturday. The construction project is shutting down this weekend a mountainous 10-mile section of a Los Angeles highway that's one of the nation's busiest freeways. Motorists have been told to stay home to avoid massive gridlock. "So far, 'Carmageddon II' is an excellent sequel," Los Angeles Fire Capt. Alicia Mathis said. "Carmageddon II" repeats last year's closure of the same section of Interstate 405, which had been expected to be so apocalyptic that Los Angeles residents labeled the weekend shutdown "Carmageddon." The theatrical play on words captures Los Angeles' love affair with the automobile -- and its dread of common traffic jams -- but last year's evacuation of the highway went smoothly, causing no paralysis. The drama is heightened by how the closed portion of the 405 overlaps the Sepulveda Pass of the Santa Monica Mountains -- one of only two major highways over the range. No major traffic jams had been reported by Saturday evening. A mile-long backup near the south end of the project had been cleared by midday. Lauren Wonder, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, said residents so far had heeded warnings to stay home or in their communities. Officials continued to advocate the use of public transportation. Because last year's closure went well, officials were concerned this year about ultra-gridlock out of a fear that motorists may get behind the wheel this weekend out of excessive confidence and complacency. "The risk factors that caused transportation, law enforcement and emergency response agencies heartburn during last year's I-405 freeway closure have not changed," said Murthy. The 405, as it's locally called, connects suburban San Fernando Valley with Los Angeles International Airport. It also stretches into the well-to-do neighborhoods of west Los Angeles, such as Bel Air and Brentwood. Specifically, the 405 was closed between Interstate 10 and U.S. 101. Crews were taking down a portion of the Mulholland Drive bridge to make room for a wider roadway. The bridge is being reconstructed. Road crews will continue this weekend's shutdown of the 405 until Monday morning, and the reconstruction is expected to finish on time, said K.N. Murthy, an executive director of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The highway construction project this weekend will complete a carpool lane system over the mountain pass to create a continuous carpool lane of almost 73 miles in each direction between Orange County and Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley -- the longest in the world, officials said. Highway reconstruction will continue until 2013, when the overall $1.34 billion project is scheduled for completion, officials said. Improvements include new bridges and ramps, officials said. Caltrans maintenance crews were taking advantage of the closure to pack in extensive maintenance, according to Wonder. The list included cleaned culverts, removal of debris, tree trimming, striping and the application of rubber sealant on the roadway. CNN's Kyung Lah and Phil Gast contributed to this report. | Residents appear to be heeding warnings .
This weekend's closure of Interstate 405 is dubbed "Carmageddon II'
The 405 is a critical artery that will be closed for 10 miles through mountains .
A closure last year was dubbed Carmageddon . |
264,608 | e2bb2321f934ff782971d2f1dfeb8d230fd5b6c9 | By . James Rush . For Nicholas Brody, the star of hit U.S. TV show Homeland, the half-finished Tower of David in Venezuela was both a prison and a refuge. On the run as a wanted Al Qaeda terrorist, the shaven-headed Brody, played by the English actor Damian Lewis, got sucked into a world of gun-wielding thugs and drug abuse. But for the people who live there in real-life the tower made famous by the TV show is their home. Standing 45 storeys tall, complete with helicopter landing pad and glorious views of the Avila mountain range, it was built with the intention of becoming a shining new financial centre in Venezuela's capital. Since it was abandoned roughly 20 years ago, amid a massive run on the country's banking sector and the death of its developer, this incomplete skyscraper has been transformed into what has been described as the tallest slum in the world. The building was seized by squatters in 2007, when then-President Hugo Chavez's socialist government turned a blind eye, and now about 3,000 people call it their home. Scroll down for video . Standing tall: The incomplete skyscraper, dubbed the Tower of David, stands 45 storeys tall in the city of Caracas, Venezuela . The shaven-headed Nicholas Brody, played by the English actor Damian Lewis, got sucked into a world of gun-wielding thugs and drug abuse in the third series of Homeland . Home: Adriana Gutierrez and her son Carlos Adrian watch TV as they sit on their bed in their 24th floor apartment inside the skyscraper . Salvage operation: Men rest after salvaging metal on the 30th floor of the 'Tower of David' skyscraper in Caracas in February . Incomplete: Children stand along the corridors of the skyscraper, which was intended to be a shining new financial centre but ended up being abandoned in 1994 . Yet while many residents of Caracas view the skyscraper as a den of thieves and a symbol of disrespect for property, residents see it as a safe haven from the city's crime-ridden slums. 'There is far more order and far less crime in here than out there,' 27th-floor resident Thais Ruiz, 36, told Reuters. Like many inhabitants, Ruiz abandoned her shack in the violent Petare slum of east Caracas in 2010 to build a spacious four-bedroom apartment in the tower where she lives with her husband and five children. The family at first lived in a tent in a space initially intended to be a fancy corner office with a vista, but over the years they hauled bricks, furniture, water tanks and even barbecue equipment up the 27 flights of stairs to build their home. 'I never lived in an apartment before. We're so comfortable now,' she says. 'We had to get out of Petare and the daily gang shootouts. Once we found a dead body on our doorstep. Now look, we can leave the door wide open.' The building does seem to have escaped the violence and turf warfare that has followed similar building takeovers in the city over the last ten years. Occupied: Children ride bicycles on one of the top inhabited floors of the 'Tower of David' skyscraper in Caracas. Squatters seized the building in 2007 . Safe haven: Men salvage metal on the 30th floor of the abandoned skyscraper in Caracas. Residents see the building as a safe haven from the city's slums . Tallest slum in the world: Work was sufficiently advanced by the time the tower was abandoned for the first 28 floors to be habitable . Security: Families pay a 200 bolivar ($32) monthly 'condominium' fee, which helps fund 24-hour security patrols . Working out: Gabriel Rivas, 30, lifts weights on a balcony on the 28th floor of the Caracas skyscraper. The building has featured in an episode of U.S. TV drama Homeland . Communal corridors are freshly-polished, rules and rotas are posted everywhere, and non-compliance is punished with extra 'social work' decided by a cooperative and floor delegates who make up a mini-government. Work was sufficiently advanced by the time the tower was abandoned for the first 28 floors to be habitable, though the squatters have had to brick up dangerous open spaces, and put in their own basic plumbing, electrical and water systems. Families pay a 200 bolivar ($32) monthly 'condominium' fee, which helps fund 24-hour security patrols. Yet few deny the conditions can still be precarious. One young girl fell to her death through a hole in the wall a few years ago, while a drunk motorcyclist rode off an edge and killed himself. Leaving for work: A man, who is on his way to work, walks through the lobby of the 'Tower of David' skyscraper in Caracas . Business: A woman looks out of a window of her shop in a corridor inside the skyscraper. The building does seem to have escaped the violence and turf warfare that has followed similar building takeovers in the city over the last ten year . Living conditions: Thais Ruiz, 36, talks on the telephone and drinks coffee as she sits under a crack in the roof of her living room on the 27th floor of the skyscraper . At work: Maria works in a sewing workshop in her apartment inside the tower. Residents acknowledge the tower had problems with crime but insist miscreants have been kicked out over the last 18 months, and that a new leadership is keeping the house in order . The building has been dubbed the 'Tower of David' in honour of its developer - financier and horse-breeder David Brillembourg. It has also featured in an episode of U.S. TV drama Homeland, while doocumentaries annd analyses of the tower have been shown at art festivals around the world. The tower however is not without its problems - neighboours in the area surrounding the tower have complained of robberies, ATM hold-ups, and drug trafficking taking place under the noses of authorities. Residents acknowledge the tower has had problems with crime but insist miscreants have been kicked out over the last 18 months, and that a new leadership is keeping the house in order. 'Everyone thinks we're a bunch of . thieves and thugs in here. We are not "invaders", we're occupants of an . empty space,' argues another resident, Luis Raul Pinto, 63. The former government employee drives a taxi by day before clambering up to his roomy apartment every evening. Rules: Communal corridors inside the building are freshly-polished, rules and rotas are posted everywhere, and non-compliance is punished with extra 'social work' decided by a cooperative and floor delegates who make up a mini-government . Leaving: Paola Medina, 29, packs as she prepare to leave her apartment after living in the 'Tower of David' skyscraper for almost a year . Residents: A girl rides a bicycle on a balcony in the 'Tower of David'. Though the tower could be viewed as an indictment of his housing policy, inhabitants appear fiercely 'Chavista' 'Sometimes, I'm driving customers and they look up at the tower and tut "Look at those criminals in there". When I drop them off, I tell them "Hey, I live in the Tower of David, I'm not a criminal, come and have a coffee with me some time".' Though the tower could be viewed as an indictment of his housing policy, inhabitants appear fiercely 'Chavista'. Posters of Chavez, under the phrase 'Eternal Commander', adorn walls. Some have photos of him by their beds. The former president, who died last year of cancer, spoke affectionately of the tower's residents several times. 'Chavez's legacy is the values you see right here in this tower,' said Nicolas Alvarez, a 38-year-old filmmaker who first entered the tower to give photography courses. He ended up moving in after getting married and struggling to find a home. 'What Chavez did was to rescue the sense that we all have the same right to live on this planet.' | Half-finished building was made famous when it was used as a set in the third series of U.S. drama Homeland .
It was intended to be a shining new financial centre in Venezuela's capital before it was abandoned in 1994 .
The building was seized by squatters however in 2007 and now about 3,000 people call it their home .
Residents in the city view it as a den of thieves, but those who live there say it is a haven from crime-ridden slums . |
136,077 | 3c0f8216c685c89d4bbba6831cce3f83fed56a03 | Editor's note: CNN's Ed Henry traveled with Barack Obama to Europe on the his first overseas trip as president. President Obama speaks during a news conference after the G-20 summit in London, England, on April 2. ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- One of the most revealing moments of President Obama's European tour came early in the trip at the close of the G-20 summit in London, England, where expectations were sky high for the new guy. He had just scored some victories on the financial crisis, while also taking some lumps. And now he had to face the media. Pushed by a reporter on why he couldn't get more done, the president was ready with a comeback about how it was far easier for American and British leaders to get their way at summits in years gone by. "Well, if there's just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy, that's a -- that's an easier negotiation," the president said to laughter from reporters. "But that's not the world we live in, and it shouldn't be the world that we live in." In two simple sentences, the president accomplished a lot. In the first sentence, he made a fair point about how no U.S. president -- Barack Obama or George W. Bush -- can simply wave a magic wand and get the world to follow his lead. And in the second, with the line about how "it shouldn't be the world that we live in," he was trying to send a signal to Europe that he's not planning to bully them. Again and again, Obama said he was here to listen and learn -- not to lecture colleagues such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Left unsaid, since it was plain enough to see, was what Obama was really saying: I'm not President Bush. That was clearly Obama's biggest accomplishment on this trip. He was able to effectively press that reset button administration officials have been talking about in order to make the case that traditional U.S. allies should come back into the fold, and it seemed to work. I remember sitting in the front row during a news conference at a palace in France to hear Sarkozy positively gush, "And it feels really good to be able to work with a U.S. president who wants to change the world and who understands that the world does not boil down to simply American frontiers and borders. And that is a hell of a good piece of news for 2009." Those are the style points where Obama clearly scored, and not just with European leaders. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 79 percent of Americans surveyed feel that Obama has had a "more positive" effect on how people in other countries view the U.S. Only 19 percent of those surveyed thought he's had a "more negative" effect. The much tougher question is on substance, and whether Obama was able to capitalize on those warm feelings to accomplish what he set out to do before this trip. On that he basically has an incomplete because the early record here in Europe has been mixed. At the London summit, the president pushed for big money to be pumped into the world economy, and the leaders responded with $1.1 trillion. But that money is being directed to the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries, not pumped into the large economies to stimulate growth as U.S. officials had hoped. And Obama was also able to help prevent Sarkozy and others from getting a global supercop to oversee markets across all borders, a bit of a victory in his effort to make sure new regulations do not go too far. Perhaps the biggest victory came on the sidelines of the G-20 and had nothing to do with the financial crisis. Obama had his first face-to-face with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and they seemed to thaw those recently icy relations. Most important, is the two men agreed to begin intense negotiations to drastically reduce each side's nuclear stockpiles. This could be a dramatic step forward for world peace, so pay close attention to this development. But a cautionary note: There's a lot of heavy lifting left before this becomes a reality, and we may not know until Obama's visit to Moscow in July whether or not this deal has legs. At the NATO summit in France and Germany, the president was hoping to get a boost in resources for the war in Afghanistan. He did get allies to cough up about 5,000 troops, but in the form of police and security trainers -- not combat troops. So with Obama already committing 21,000 more U.S. troops to the mission, this is a very U.S.-heavy effort, something to keep a close eye on in the days ahead. In Prague, Czech Republic, at the European Union summit, Obama delivered a speech about nuclear nonproliferation to more than 20,000 people -- a boisterous crowd reminiscent of the campaign. He even used the old line "yes we can" to answer critics who think he can't follow through on ridding the world of nuclear weapons. But the most important moment of that stop in the tour came a few hours before the speech. It was when the infamous 3 a.m. phone call that Hillary Clinton talked about in the campaign finally arrived. Except it came at 4:30 a.m., when spokesman Robert Gibbs woke the president with the news that North Korea had tested a missile. He basically passed the test of his first international crisis (with -- ahem -- Secretary of State Clinton at his side, no less), although so far the administration has gotten nowhere at the United Nations despite a clear case against North Korea. Welcome to the U.N., sir. And finally, in Turkey the president officially began his outreach to try and repair the U.S. image in the Muslim world. Most interesting is that he got personal, alluding to the fact that he grew up in Indonesia and his father was Muslim -- politically risky given that last year he spent so much time having to deny false rumors that he's Muslim. "The United States has been enriched by Muslim-Americans," Obama said. "Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country -- I know, because I am one of them." The speech was very well-received in this Muslim-majority nation. But it will take far more than one speech to fix tensions flared by everything from the war to Iraq to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. In all, that's a hefty agenda to confront in just eight days abroad. It's no surprise then that I've noticed the president has been looking very tired on this trip. One aide told me that Obama was planning to go out for a nice unofficial dinner with first lady Michelle Obama in Prague on Saturday night but it was canceled because they simply needed some sleep. The fatigue has been complicated by the fact that Obama has been battling a nasty cold, telling aides he feels like he's got an "acorn up my nose" -- an interesting turn of phrase I had never heard before but seems to mean the president is stuffed up. And that brings me back to that brandy Roosevelt and Churchill shared decades ago. Obama made a legitimate claim about the difficulty of calling the shots in the current global environment, where small and mid-sized countries hold more sway than before. But right now all I can focus on is the brandy itself. After eight long days on the road, and very little sleep, I'm pretty ragged, too. That sounds like a pretty good way to cap things off. | Obama: World's fate no longer decided by Roosevelt and Churchill sitting over brandy .
Europeans respond favorably to president's message that it's a new era .
Obama meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; relations start to thaw .
Lots of heavy lifting to be done to make lofty goals reality, CNN's Ed Henry cautions . |
63,428 | b413a3fdd22e48e075fc35c3b4ba2912388fa992 | By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 19:36 EST, 11 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:41 EST, 11 December 2013 . Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £62million for breaching US sanctions against Iran and other brutal regimes, in another day of shame for British banks. The State-backed lender reached the settlement with US authorities after it emerged that it has been concealing transactions with clients in Iran, Burma, Libya and Sudan for more than a decade. Employees in the UK were given a step-by-step guide on how to conceal the identity of these sanctioned countries, stripping details from transactions with clients. Fined: RBS breached sanctions on dealing with Iran and had been hiding deals with clients in Burma, Libya and Sudan since as early as 2002 . The cover up occurred from at least 2002 to 2011, with more than 3,500 US dollar transactions worth £320 million routed through US banks. The fine is split between the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve and New York state’s Department of Financial Services. Anger: New York governor Andrew Cuomo will continue the battle against the banks . Four senior RBS employees, including its head of anti-money laundering were fired after RBS launched its own internal investigation in 2010. Regulators said they were fully aware of the deceit and in some cases gave instructions to their employees. Last night the bank said it ‘deeply regrets these failings’, which US regulators said ‘threatened the safety and soundness of RBS and violated New York law.’ Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York said: 'We have a vital responsibility to combat misconduct at banks and continue strengthening the long-term integrity of the financial system. 'In New York, we will continue our aggressive work rooting out global money laundering that puts our national security at risk.’ RBS is just the latest British bank to be fined for breaching US sanctions against rogue nations. HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered have all reached settlements with US authorities, with Standard Chartered fined £415 million last year. It was accused of dealing with clients including Iranian state backed lenders suspected of financing terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. | RBS has been concealing transactions with Iran, Burma and Sudan .
UK employees given guide on how to conceal transactions with regimes . |
208,449 | 99e00bcfd48d4f9179c88bbb4e2aca8ca2a999f2 | Diego Costa has been rewarded for his fine Premier League start by being named August's Player of the Month. The Chelsea striker scored four goals in three games as he began his English stay with a bang. After a similarly strong showing early on in the season with Swansea, Garry Monk has scooped the manager's award. Monk's side won all three matches, including a victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Chelsea are favourites for the title - Monk . Diego Costa is the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month after some fine performances for Chelsea . Garry Monk collected the manager's award following three wins out of three with his Swansea side . Diego Costa (Chelsea) Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) Nathan Dyer (Swansea) Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa) Costa has looked like the ideal signing for Jose Mourinho ever since touching down after a £32million switch from Atletico Madrid. The Spain international netted on his debut against Burnley and again against Leicester before claiming a double in the 6-3 victory over Everton. Top boss Monk was handed the full-time Swansea gig in the summer after impressing in Michael Laudrup's absence last season. Diego Costa struck twice as Chelsea beat Everton 6-3 at Goodison Park in their last Premier League fixture . Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the winner as Swansea silenced Manchester United Old Trafford with a 2-1 win . Garry Monk (Swansea) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) Paul Lambert (Aston Villa) Mark Hughes (Stoke) The Welsh side started in impressive fashion, giving Louis van Gaal a nightmare start at Old Trafford with a 2-1 win. They have since added to their streak by taking maximum points from clashes with Burnley and West Brom. Chelsea and Swansea play each other this weekend in a top-of-the-table clash. And Blues keeper Petr Cech was another winner, albeit from last season, collecting his Golden Glove award. Petr Cech collects his Golden Glove award from last season . Jose Mourinho was also a contender for Manager of the Month after leading Chelsea to three wins . VIDEO Chelsea are favourites for the title - Monk . | Diego Costa scored four goals in three games last month with Chelsea .
Garry Monk won all three matches as Swansea started season strongly .
Swans' impressive start included victory at Manchester United .
Costa netted against Burnley, Leicester and twice in 6-3 win over Everton .
Petr Cech collects Golden Glove award from last season . |
237,802 | bfce5d7d025e22658be3289b12821051542b5b23 | (CNN) -- Key West's historic Duval Street reopened Monday morning after a fire swept through a building housing three well-known businesses and temporarily shut down other popular spots on the island city's main street. A fire broke out late Sunday night on Duval Street in Key West. The fire, which started at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and was contained by 1 a.m. Monday, wiped out a crepe shop, an art gallery and a sign shop. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, city spokeswoman Alyson Crean said. The fire department was working Monday to determine the cause of the blaze, Crean said. Singer Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant and store was one of the businesses initially shut down, halting late-night festivities at the popular watering hole in mid-pour. "I was hoping to go back in, finish off my shift and clean up, but they wouldn't let us back in," said waitress Patricija Hambrook. "It became bigger than we thought. "We couldn't close out checks, and the drinks we made were never served." Margaritaville's restaurant reopened Monday afternoon, and its adjacent retail store reopened a few hours later, the fire department said. In addition to protecting Margaritaville, firefighters kept flames away from the historic San Carlos theater, although the facility's administrator said that a large broken out window and about 2 inches of water on the floor of the lobby would keep it closed for a few days. Alex Pascual said he anticipated the theater would reopen by Thursday, in time for a concert scheduled for that evening. The San Carlos was founded in 1871 and was the site of Cuban patriot Jose Marti's 1892 speech launching his drive for Cuban independence. Fire officials initially shut down Duval Street to vehicular traffic but allowed pedestrians to stroll the sidewalks. Traffic restrictions prompted some business owners to be concerned about their livelihoods, at least for the short term. Robert Porter, assistant manager of Crazy Shirts, was concerned early Monday "because there aren't any cars driving through." But Banana Republic general manager Darren Paugh said the foot traffic and onlookers curious to see the aftermath of the fire "should increase business for the day." Plus, he said, three cruise ships were in port Monday morning. And Crean indicated life for tourists won't stop in Key West because of the fire. "We have a lot of spring breakers on vacation and bikers coming from Bike Week in Daytona," Crean said. All the concern proved unfounded when officials reopened Duval Street at about 10 a.m. Monday morning. For the owners of the three businesses that took the brunt of the fire, however, it will be some time before it's business as usual. "It's a big loss for us. And we worked so hard, it's not fair," said La Creperie Cafe owner Yolande Findlay in a story published on the Keynoter newspaper's Web site Monday. Findlay, according to the paper's Web site, opened the popular crepe shop with her partner, Sylvie Lenouail, six years ago. Both are from Brittany, France. The American Royal Art gallery, which specialized in entertainment art, and the sign shop Montage were destroyed in the fire. | Historic Duval Street initially opened only to pedestrians .
Several businesses damaged late Sunday night .
The fire department is working to determine the cause of the blaze . |
250,280 | cfebe322f9e0c1ecc534719ed4de012b83091dca | (CNN Student News) -- October 27, 2009 . Downloadable Maps . Download PDF maps related to today's show: • Afghanistan & Pakistan • Los Angeles & San Diego • Ft. Jackson, South Carolina . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. NATISHA LANCE, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: A member of the military is making history. We'll explain how in today's edition of CNN Student News. Hi, everyone. Carl Azuz is off this week. I'm Natisha Lance. First Up: Afghan Crashes . LANCE: First up, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The countries share a border, and they also share a common problem: threats from militant groups and terrorists like the Taliban and al Qaeda. It's an issue facing both nations' governments, and one that the U.S. government is concerned about as well. That's why President Obama has been holding a series of meetings with some of his advisers. They're reviewing the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Samantha Hayes has the latest on those meetings and on the violence in the region. (BEGIN VIDEO) SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Two helicopter crashes make it the deadliest day in four years for Americans in Afghanistan. While a NATO security force spokesman says enemy fire is not to blame, the loss of 14 Americans comes while President Barack Obama is considering a request to send thousands more troops to the region to fight al Qaeda. The president addressed service men and women in Jacksonville, Florida Monday, after a White House meeting with his national security team. U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Fourteen Americans gave their lives, and our prayers are with these service members, their civilian colleagues and the families who loved them. HAYES: The deadliest of the two crashes happened following a raid on suspected drug traffickers, and three DEA agents were among those killed. Also among the dead, three U.S. civilians, members of the embassy community. The State Department says the efforts of civilians and other nonmilitary personnel are essential to the overall mission. JACOB LEW, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Improving Afghan governance, providing security, justice, jobs and services, and giving the Afghan people a meaningful alternative, as much as possible, to the Taliban's recruiting. HAYES: Democratic Senator John Kerry, off of a recent trip to the region, addressed those efforts and the U.S. relationship with the Afghan government in a Washington speech. SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: The fact that the Afghan government has not prosecuted a single high level drug trafficker damages all of our efforts because it goes to the fundamental question of credibility. HAYES: President Obama's White House meeting was the sixth in a series of high-level discussions about what to do in Afghanistan, as the administration awaits results from that country's November 7th presidential runoff. For CNN Student News, I'm Samantha Hayes. (END VIDEO) I.D. Me . CNN STUDENT NEWS: See if you can I.D. Me! I was born in 1939 in Searchlight, Nevada. I was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, and I'm currently the Senate Majority Leader, which means I'm the highest ranking member of the Senate's majority party. I'm Harry Reid, a Democrat who is the senior senator from Nevada. Public Option . LANCE: And in that role as majority leader, it's Sen. Reid's job to help combine health care bills from different committees into a single bill that can be presented to the entire Senate. Yesterday, Sen. Reid announced that the combined bill will include a government-run health care program; what's been called the public option. During his announcement, Reid also said that the bill will let individual states choose not to take part in the public option. They would have until the year 2014 to make that decision. This has been one of the most controversial issues in the debate over health care reform. Critics argue that if companies use the public option, then some people might lose the health care coverage that they currently have and are happy with. But Sen. Reid believes it's an important part of the reform. SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I believe that the public option can achieve a goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system. It will protect consumers, keep insurers honest, ensure competition, and that's why we intend to include it in the bill that we submitted, that will be submitted to the Senate. Tea Party Protests . LANCE: Meanwhile, the Tea Party Express is back on the road, protesting issues like government involvement in health care. The Express, which is named for both the organization and its bus, launched a new tour Sunday in California with rallies in San Diego and Los Angeles, where some people actually showed up to protest the Tea Party protesters. The Express plans to hold demonstrations in dozens of cities over the next several weeks. One of the group's main goals is the push for less government involvement, and these rallies also aim to give people who feel that way an opportunity to express their views. CHRIS KEAYS, TEA PARTY PROTESTER: We need to get back to the days when we were responsible and we assumed the responsibility of ourselves and our families, and the government is not a part of my daily life. I really resent the government taking up so much of my time that I'm down here having to protest right now. New Jobs Outlook . LANCE: And some potentially good news for the U.S. economy: A new survey indicates that companies are planning to hire more employees in the very near future. The report from the National Association of Business Economics says for the first time since the recession started nearly two years ago, the number of employers planning to hire workers over the next six months is higher than the number of jobs that are expected to be cut during that same time. The country's current unemployment rate is 9.8 percent. That's the highest the statistic has been in more than a quarter century. Shoutout . TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! What base is home to the U.S. Army's Drill Sergeant School? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Fort Bragg, B) Fort Hood, C) Fort Jackson or D) Fort Knox? You've got three seconds -- GO! You'll find the Army's Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Top Drill Sergeant . LANCE: Drill sergeants are responsible for training tens of thousands of soldiers every year. And the head of the Drill Sergeant School, its commandant, is responsible for training them. The current commandant broke new ground when she took over the position last month because she's the first she to head up the school. Jason Carroll introduces us to this trailblazing soldier. (BEGIN VIDEO) JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Historically, this is the image of the military drill sergeant: a tough guy. That was then; this is now. At 48, Command Sergeant Major Teresa King is the first woman to lead the Army's Drill Sergeant Training School. What are you looking for? I mean, because it all pretty much looks like everybody's exercising to me. CMD. SGT. MAJOR TERESA KING: I'm looking for attention to detail, conformance. CARROLL: Before sunrise at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, King readies her drill instructor candidates for a rigorous run. What's wrong with that? KING: That's too big, Top. You need to break it up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fall out! CARROLL: She leads by example. King runs the five-mile course from the front of the pack, outperforming men half her age. STAFF SGT. LERON DELANEY, U.S. ARMY: She's older than me, so if I fall out and she's still running, I feel bad. CARROLL: Extinguishing those who think a woman can't be commandant. SGT. 1ST CLASS MICHAEL CHILDS, U.S. ARMY: We've got to stay on top of our game even more than we used to with her, because she's that sharp. CARROLL: King says she wakes up some mornings still shocked she is commandant. KING: I had never considered it, although I've been in training for about seven years. But I never considered it, the Drill Sergeant School. CARROLL: King's first Army job some 30 years ago was postal clerk, but her hero, General George Patton, inspired her. KING: I saw that he had the respect of his men. And I saw he was resolute. CARROLL: King eventually rose through the ranks, excelling at training infantry men and paratroopers alike. KING: I'm doing what I've always done. It's just now, people are paying attention to it. CARROLL: And to her opinions. The military prohibits women from serving in front line combat roles. King trains men for combat and thinks it's time to train qualified women. KING: I think if they can do it, they should be allowed to do it. CARROLL: The reality: Women make up 14 percent of active soldiers in the Army. Some women question how many others will follow in King's footsteps. OPERATIONS SGT. ANGELA ANDREWS, U.S. ARMY: I wouldn't say it opens the door, but it may crack it somewhat. CARROLL: King says she will continue to lead by example. KING: I have vision. And I believe I can cause people to do some things that they thought they never could do. (END VIDEO) Before We Go . AZUZ: Before we go, some science projects can balloon out of control. Which was the whole point of this experiment in Indiana. College students filled this high altitude balloon with helium and then let it fly away. The thing actually climbed 90,000 feet before... awww. Looks like their bubble burst. Actually, they knew it would. The cameras and sensors inside the balloon gently parachuted back to the ground. So in the end, the experiment was a total success. Goodbye . AZUZ: Just don't tell that to the students. We wouldn't want them to get an inflated ego. That's all the time we have for today. For CNN Student News, I'm Natisha Lance. | Consider U.S. efforts to offer Afghan citizens an alternative to the Taliban .
Hear how a proposed health care bill addresses the issue of the public option .
Meet a soldier who is making history at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School .
Use the Daily Discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories . |
168,403 | 65d1f4a45fc7b3f587391abc460aa08ef8d9b5a3 | Hong Kong (CNN) -- The first giant panda to be born in Japan in 24 years has died just one week after generating huge excitement in the country as locals celebrated the rare birth. The seven-day-old unnamed cub died from pneumonia after its mother's milk accidentally entered its airway, according to officials at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, where it was born. Toshimitsu Doi, the head of the zoo, told reporters at a televised press conference that the baby panda was found not breathing on its mother's belly. It had been returned on Tuesday to its mother's cage from an incubator, and zookeepers had heard its cries at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Less than an hour later, they discovered the lifeless cub and tried to revive it by massaging its heart. The baby panda was confirmed dead at 8:30 a.m. local time. Only panda born in U.S. in 2010 named 'Po' "The cub swallowed milk into its respiratory organs and developed pneumonia," Doi said, while wiping away tears. The seven-year-old mother, Shin Shin, had given birth to the baby after conceiving naturally, a first in Japan and a rare feat among the bears who have a low birth rate and are usually bred in zoos using artificial insemination. The cub was celebrated by the zoo as a success of its breeding program, and officials held daily press conferences since its birth last Thursday to report on its development. The cub was monitored around the clock and was occasionally placed in an incubator. Zoo officials said at the press conference that 60% to 70% of baby giant pandas die within their first week. China leased the mother, Shin Shin, and her mate, Ri Ri, to Japan in early 2011 for a fee of $1 million per year. China is known to use gifts or loans of pandas as gestures of diplomacy. After the cub's birth, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry said the newborn could promote better relations between China and Japan. Shortly before the cub was born, Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo, sparked outrage in China by suggesting the cub be named "Sen Sen" or "Kaku Kaku" -- both in reference to Senkaku, the Japanese name of disputed islands lying 120 miles east of Taiwan that are a prominent source of tension between the two countries. In 2010, a 14-year-old panda under loan by Japan died while under anesthesia during a semen-extraction procedure. Its death worsened the strained relations between China and Japan at the time over the islands, which are called Diaoyu in Chinese. Facts of life behind cute animal faces . | First giant panda born in Japan in 24 years dies after one week .
Zoo officials said its mother's milk had entered its airway .
The cub had generated huge excitement in Japan .
China is known to use gifts or loans of pandas as gestures of diplomacy . |
260,194 | dced818d1cb0ae1d86a39a220a175773c3ccac07 | PADUCAH, Kentucky (CNN) -- The aunt of former U.S. soldier Steven Green told jurors tearfully Monday that "We did not send a rapist and murderer to Iraq" as defense lawyers worked to save her nephew from a death sentence. Former U.S. soldier Steven Green has been convicted of raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl. Patty Ruth, a Texas elementary school principal, told a civilian jury about Green's childhood as a reader who loved to be hugged by relatives. "I do not know how we got to this spot," Ruth said in emotional testimony. "I do not know how this happened." Green was convicted last week in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of murder, rape, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with a 2006 rape-and-murder south of Baghdad. A jury found him guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl, then killing her and setting her body on fire to destroy evidence. Green also was found guilty of killing the girl's parents and 6-year-old sister. He could become the first former U.S. soldier to face the death penalty for war crimes before a civilian court, where he was tried because he had been discharged from the military before his crimes came to light. Four other former soldiers are in prison for their roles in the crimes and the cover-up that followed. Green faces either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. His fate will be in the hands of the jury by week's end. The defense has presented relatives and medical professionals who have pieced together a picture of Green's childhood as troubled and stressful. It included the breakup of his parents' marriage, routine beatings to the point of injury by an older brother and being moved about through Texas by his mother. Ruth, the final witness scheduled by the defense, said that when the idea of the military came up for her nephew, she was unsure the Army would accept him. Even after he received a high school diploma through a correspondence course, she said, "I could not picture or imagine how he could make it through basic training." Ruth said when she saw a picture of her nephew before his September 2005 deployment, she knew he wasn't "Stevie" anymore, standing as tall as his father in the photo at Fort Benning, Georgia. When he returned from Iraq 11 months later, he was "remarkably thin," Ruth said, and she noticed circles under his eyes. Green and his father spent a night at the Ruth home, his aunt said, and she remembered him pacing the yard while smoking. He fell asleep wearing his fatigues, she said. When asked by the defense about the rape-murder plot that left an Iraqi family dead near Yusufiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, Ruth responded, "He's my Steve. You can't stop loving someone." There were other family members in the court on Monday. Green's father, John, an oil field worker from Midland, Texas, looked on quietly. He did not testify. Ruth, who is John Green's sister, noted for the jury that Green's mother is not at the trial this week. The mother is moving and had to attend a going-away party, Ruth said. Final arguments are expected Wednesday. | Steven Green in sentencing phase after being convicted of rape, murder .
Green found guilty last week of incident in Iraq while he was soldier .
Aunt: "He's my Steve. You can't stop loving someone" |
286,455 | ff298268ec15c044ba1d2dde7315249c90ce40a3 | Jeremy Clarkson has joined those paying tribute to the former MoS motoring editor . Jeremy Clarkson has joined those paying tribute to former Mail on Sunday motoring editor Frank Page, who has died aged 84. Celebrated as one of the outstanding motoring journalists of his generation, Mr Page died last Saturday from septicemia, after being taken ill days earlier. The motoring editor at The Mail on Sunday between 1982 and 1985, he was also a presenter of the BBC’s long-running series Top Gear from 1980 until 1990. He began his career in 1952 at Garage And Motor Agent magazine. Current Top Gear presenter Clarkson tweeted: ‘Holy moly. Frank Page has died. My condolences to his family.’ Mr Page was a former chairman of the Guild of Motoring Writers. The Guild said: ‘He was well-liked among his peers as great company and known for wide-ranging interests, particularly motorsport, the theatre and jazz.’ The father of three lived in Longtown, Herefordshire, with his wife of 44 years, Sam, who survives him. | Jeremy Clarkson in tribute to Frank Page, former MoS motoring editor .
Mr Page died last Saturday aged from septicemia after being taken ill .
Edited MoS from 1982 until 1985 and presented Top Gear from 1980-1990 . |
104,205 | 12725043a5fa326c28887133ba765bd67f6de1c5 | Gareth Bale returns to Real Madrid's formidable strike force to face Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and Carlo Ancelotti wants the Welshman to increase his defensive work. Despite registering five goals and more shots than Isco, the Real manager has asked Bale to emulate the defensive work ethic that the Spaniard has shown in Bale's absence. 'Lightning returns,' read Marca's headline ahead of Bale's return to Madrid's forward line alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, known collectively as BBC. The 'Lightning Returns' says Marca as Gareth Bale looks set to return to Real Madrid's starting line up . The 25-year-old came on as a substitute in Madrid's Champions League clash with Liverpool on Tuesday but missed the El Clasico with Barcelona on Saturday after suffering with a gluteal muscle injury. Fellow Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo, focused on Lionel Messi scoring his 71st Champions League goal, equalling the record set by Raul, despite being just 27 years old. The Argentinian has been in competition with Ballon D'Or winner Ronaldo, who remains one behind the record with 70 goals. In Italy, Corriere dello Sport looked at Inter Milan and Napoli's performances in the Europa League. Former Swansea midfielder Jonathan de Guzmán scored a hatrick to give Rafael Benitez's side a 3-0 win against Young Boys, while Inter were held to a 1-1 draw with St. Ettiene on Thursday. Tuttosport reported the reaction of former Juventus star Pavel Nedved to their 1-1 draw with St. Etienne, saying that Massimiliano Allegri's side need to improve in Europe. Lionel Messi equalled Raul's record of 71 goals in the Champions League on Wednesday at the age of 27 . Napoli midfielder Jonathan de Guzman scored a hatrick on Thursday against Young Boys to ensure victory for Napoli . Former Juventus star Pavel Nedved said Massimiliano Allegri's side need to improve in Europe . | Gareth Bale will be reinstated in Real's imposing forward line on Saturday .
Carlo Ancelotti has asked the Welshman to increase his defensive work .
Lionel Messi equalled Raul's Champions League record at the age of 27 .
Pavel Nedved says Juventus need to improve in European competitions . |
58,504 | a5ecb8889d3de47bbc50273c4bc2a9719c198d8e | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 10:37 EST, 20 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:20 EST, 20 September 2013 . One of Britain's poshest social housing projects is being rented to wealthy holidaymakers because it is too expensive for tenants desperate for somewhere to live. The £200,000 apartment, in a Georgian block in the heart of Bath, is now let to tourists for £700 per week despite 3,500 people being on the city council's housing waiting list. This fully-furnished, one-bedroom property, is also available at £450 for a three-night stay, and has already received rave reviews online. Welcome to paradise: This apartment at Sydney Place in Bath is being let as a holiday apartment by social housing giants Curo . Financial plan: A social housing giant has caused controversy after launching a programme to rent their properties to tourists . Change of plan: Curo decided to start a pilot scheme letting houses out as holiday homes after it was decided they were unaffordable and unsuitable for usual tenants . The company that owns it, Curo, admits that the flat was once used for social housing but would not say when it was refurbished. In an apparent UK first, the firm has launched the scheme after deciding some of their properties were unaffordable and unsuitable for potential tenants. Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo, said the scheme was designed to make the most out of the 12,000 properties the company owns across the West Country. He said: 'Bath's status as a top city break destination has enabled Curo to explore whether using a small number of our properties as holiday lets we can generate income to re-invest in building much-needed, modern and affordable homes for local people. 'If this project is successful it will mean we can avoid selling properties which would otherwise not be viable for Curo to retain.' Trial: Bosses are testing the new scheme with a Georgian flat which costs holidaymakers up to £700 per stay . Beautiful: This perfectly manicured garden was originally meant for social housing tenants but the business running them has decided against renting it to them . Mr. da Cunha added that the layout of . the ground-floor flat and cost of heating it all year round made it . impractical for tenants on low incomes. The . property is equipped with a TV and DVD player, wi-fi, iPod docking . station, fitted kitchen, private garden and its own parking space. The . flat has already had its first guests and has received a four-star Gold . Standard by Quality in Tourism, the assessment service for Visit . England. Room with a view: It overlooks one of Bath's . most exclusive streets and with its luxury bathroom it has to be one of . the glitziest social home ever . Dramatic: The apartment is in the heart of Bath, widely considered on of Britain's most beautiful cities because of its Georgian architecture built from local stone . Speaking on the . Bath Holiday Rental site, Edward, who was the first visitor to stay in . the apartment said: 'It's a beautifully decorated period apartment which . I found completely relaxing and equipped with every conceivable modern . appliance to make my life easy. 'The . position in Bath is perfect; walking down Great Pulteney Street to the . city centre is like being in the middle of the most beautiful film set. 'Great to be the first Guest ever to use it!' Curo hope if the pilot is successful they will be able to use more of their homes as holiday lets. | The apartment in the heart of Bath is available for £700 per week or £450 for three nights .
One-bedroom Georgian property is worth around £200,000 .
There are 3,500 currently on the local council's housing waiting list but owner believes it is too expensive for them .
Social housing giant Curo says renting out properties in this way will allow them to keep a larger social stock . |
80,608 | e47757ac7d7ec7914dc02a2c692554602162ffb6 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . The head of Scientology has met with local government officials in Clearwater, Florida after the controversial church has been in a public spat with the town leaders for years. The trouble began when the Church of Scientology bought a one-acre plot of land across from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium that the city was planning on using as a parking lot. The church refused to part with the land when the city offered to buy it off them earlier this year, and the spat grew from there. Meeting of minds: David Miscavige (left) had a meeting with Clearwater city manager Bill Horne (right) on Thursday after a very public dispute over local property . Scene stealers: The Church of Scientology bought a plot of land opposite the Clearwater Marine Aquarium that the city was planning on using as a parking lot . The Tampa Bay Times reports that the city began looking at other options for the parking lot- including one directly across from The Flag Building, a seven-story property that is the closest equivalent of a cathedral that the Church of Scientology has. City Manager Bill Horne stoked the fired even further, previously telling the paper that because of the city zoning code's lack of height restrictions, the city could theoretically build as 'high as we want' in that particular plot. The back-and-forth prompted David Miscavige, the reclusive head of the controversial church, to meet with Horne in a rare face-to-face sit down. 'His interest was- in light of everything that has happened— how do we move forward? That was the tone of the meeting,' Mr Horne told the Tampa Bay Times about the discussion that took place Thursday. Backlash: in response, the city bought a plot opposite the Scientology Flag Building (pictured) and threatened to build a structure higher than the Flag Building . Important: The Flag Building is the closest thing Scientology has to a cathedral, so they want to protect the area around it (Miscavige shown on a big screen at the building's dedication in November) Horne hadn't spoken to Miscavige directly over the past three years before the Scientology head called and suggested this week's meeting. 'The last time we met was a little rocky. This time, it was a positive meeting,' Mr Horne said. The City manager added that Miscavige's biggest point of complaint was actually the newspaper itself and how the Church had been covered in the press, specifically in relation to the Clearwater property disputes. No final decision was reached over the property across from the aquarium, but Horne said that it appears as if Miscavige is more open to discussions than he had been in the past. 'I think there's some opportunity, one of which is, maybe we can get the site we really want to build a garage,' Mr Horne said. | David Miscavige, the head of the controversial religion, has met with local leaders in Clearwater, Florida after a public land dispute .
The Church of Scientology bought a plot of land that the city intended to buy and use as a parking lot opposite the aquarium .
City fought back by threatening to build a towering complex directly opposite the 'cathedral' of Scientology . |
77,783 | dc8630e971d0dcc92860a723c0259ecb3ab663c9 | (CNN) -- It is the day after the tumultuous one before. Victorious captain Jose Maria Olazabal has arrived back in Europe with the Ryder Cup trophy as the continent continues to celebrate one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time. It is a very different story across the pond as the head scratching continues. How did the United States turn what was supposed to be an emphatic victory into the 'Miracle of Medinah'? Despite an insistence from both sides they would get together over a beer at the end of the competition come what may, no U.S. players dropped into the European party, according to those who celebrated all night long. That should come as no surprise, as a party is probably the last thing any of the shell shocked Americans had on their minds as they tried to piece together a startling collapse that ended in a 14 1/2 - 13 1/2 defeat. Not that they are alone in their disbelief. Even some of the European players are still struggling to come to terms with such a decisive swing during the singles matches on Sunday in Chicago. As they head back home after overturning a 10-6 deficit to claim a fifth Ryder Cup win in the last six years, the magnitude of their achievement is yet to sink in for some of those who made it happen. Chicago resident Luke Donald, who led the charge by taking down Masters champion Bubba Watson in the opening singles match, is one of them. "I still can't quite believe that happened yesterday, what an amazing feeling being a part of one of the biggest sporting comebacks ever," he said on his official Twitter site. Ian Poulter, who won four of his matches and gained a crucial point for Europe with a late victory over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, echoed Donald's sentiments. "On the plane on the way back to Orlando, why does it feel like we just robbed a bank? Not sure how long it's going to take to sink in," he said on the micro-blogging site. The joy the European contingent felt was tinged with relief for world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who nearly forfeited his match with Keegan Bradley by missing his tee-off slot. The Northern Irishman thought he was teeing off at 11.25am eastern time, but Chicago is in the central time zone and his starting berth was an hour earlier. After a frantic call from his manager he was hurried to the course in a police car, arriving 11 minutes before his match was due to begin. Had he missed the start, he'd have handed a crucial point to Bradley on a plate. "I was just lucky there was a State Trooper downstairs who could take me, get his lights on and pass all the traffic,' he told reporters. "Once we got off the highway it would have taken 10 minutes without him to get through that junction. "I've never been so worried going to a golf course. I got to the course at 11.14, so I had 11 minutes to get ready and had just enough time to put my shoes on, have a couple of putts and go to the first tee. "In a way it wasn't a bad thing because I didn't have time to think about it -- and I played probably the best I played all week." As for captain Olazabal, who channeled the spirit of the his great friend and erstwhile Ryder Cup playing partner, Seve Ballesteros, it was the crowning glory after a tough opening two days. The U.S. dominated the foursomes and fourball matches, until a late Poulter charge on Saturday evening gave rise to the impossible dream, delivered in style by his charges on Sunday. "It's going to take a little while before it completely sinks in," Olazabal was quoted as saying by the European Tour website. "It's been a very emotional week, especially when things were not going our way, but (Saturday) everything turned round for us. "We changed a couple of crucial matches around down the stretch and that gave us the chance to have this trophy back. It's completely different from playing, being a Ryder Cup captain. I think in my career it ranks number one." The mood was very different back in the States, where one sports journalist was vilified for a column on Saturday in which he said the Ryder Cup was done and dusted unless one of five things happened. One included the abduction of Keegan Bradley, who lost to McIlroy, while another was a way for Olazabal to go back in time like Marty McFly from the Back to the Future movies. Elsewhere in the press, recriminations started to fly. 'Americans produce a choke for the ages at Ryder Cup,' cried the New York Post. The Chicago Tribune went with the headline 'Epic Ryder Cup Collapse Inexcusable' and said: "Europeans forever will refer to it as the Miracle at Medinah. For the U.S., Medin-ahhhhhhhhhh!" Several European players will now head to Scotland, host of the 2014 Ryder Cup, to play in the next European Tour event, including Martin Kaymer, who holed the putt that ensured Europe would retain the trophy. Ryder Cup rookie Nicolas Colsaerts, who delivered a fourball point on Friday with an inspired performance, said he was so enraptured by the atmosphere it will difficult going back to regular Tour life. He said: "You don't come across an atmosphere like this anywhere else. It's almost like a fix -- you're going to need to play in an atmosphere like this. "I can imagine how quiet it's going to be for the guys playing in tournaments next week. It's just going to be like you're playing in your garden on your own." | Europe's players bask in the glow of a monumental comeback Ryder Cup victory .
Several players involved in the fightback still struggling to take in their epic win .
United States press have started the inquest over what caused their team's collapse .
European hero Ian Poulter said on Twitter it feels like "we have just robbed a bank" |
142,576 | 4464a4457eae6473b8f89fd93509a44a92992a8f | Two teenage boys have been jailed for the murder of a young father after their gang gatecrashed a birthday party. Ayomindy Bile, 15, and Jesse Quaye, 18, were convicted of brutally stabbing 20-year-old Connor Barrett after a four-week trial in November. The father-of-one was stabbed in the chest and back at a party in a family home in Hemsby, Norfolk in May last year. Ayomindy Bile, 15, (pictured left) and Jesse Quaye, 18, (right) were jailed for 15 years each for the murder of Connor Barrett . He was attacked after a large group of uninvited guests, including Bile and Quaye, turned up and began to cause trouble. Norwich Crown Court heard Bile, who can be named after an anonymity order was lifted, pulled out a knife. He and Quaye then attacked Mr Barrett and stabbed him in the back after he confronted them about punching his friend. The court heard that Bile then bragged to his friends how he had 'hooked him' as his victim's young brother watched him die. Father-of-one Connor was stabbed in the chest and back at a party last year . It also emerged the 15-year-old was on bail at the time for possession of a kitchen knife in a public place after being arrested two weeks earlier. He also has two previous convictions for street robberies dating from when he was 13. Quaye, of Cobholm, Norfolk, and Bile, of Great Yarmouth, were jailed for 15 years each on Friday after being found guilty of murder. Judge Stephen Holt said: 'Connor was a much loved young man who was the life and soul of most parties. He preferred talking to violence. 'The whole atmosphere changed when you two turned up to a party with a group of friends. 'Before the violence kicked of Bile produced a flick knife. When asked why you were carrying a flick knife your response was "if anyone f***s with me they'll get it in there". 'Connor approached and he was unarmed. He was surrounded by you and your gang. 'One of the wounds on his back would have required severe force - according to the pathologist it splintered bone. 'We will never know who inflicted that fatal wound. Bile then bragged 'I hooked him'. 'Connor's family were at that party and his younger brother watched his life slip away.' The judge added: 'This is a truly tragic case and there are no winners. 'A decent and loving young man has had his life taken leaving his family and friends distraught and young son's life devastated. 'The one message that must go out is that is if young men don't carry knives they are not going to be able to pull them out and use them . 'If they do, they may use them with tragic results. This message has to be got across to young people.' Tributes were left at the scene of the murder after the father-of-one was stabbed in Hemsby, Norfolk . Mr Barrett was attacked after a large group of uninvited guests, including Bile and Quaye, turned up at the party and began to cause trouble . The teenagers were also found guilty of actual bodily harm to Ricky Halliday, the party-goer Mr Barrett was trying to defend. Bile pleaded guilty and Quaye was found guilty of possessing offensive weapons. A third defendant, Anthony McLean, 41, also from Great Yarmouth, was found guilty of assisting Quaye to evade justice. A court heard he drove the teen to London in the hours after the attack. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Anthony McLean, 41, from Great Yarmouth, was found guilty of assisting Quaye to evade justice . Amjad Malik, prosecuting, said Mr Barrett had been DJing at the 21st birthday party when Bile and Quaye arrived having heard about it on social media. When a fight broke out, Mr Barrett intervened in an attempt to protect his friend Mr Halliday and tried to talk to the defendants. But instead he was brutally stabbed multiple times before the cowardly teenagers fled. Paul Keleher, mitigating for Quaye, said he had a troubled upbringing and a 'misguided view' that he needed a knife for self-defence. After the case, the victim's family said they had suffered 'immeasurable sadness' since his death. They said: 'Connor was a considerate, kind, caring and loving great grandson, grandson, son, brother, nephew and cousin. He was also a dedicated and devoted father to his own son. 'His life has been cruelly stolen from him and his family, when he was coming into the prime of his life just a month away from his 21st birthday. 'The past eight months, we have suffered immeasurable sadness - there are no words which can describe the pain and grief we feel. 'We have taken no pleasure from hearing the guilty verdict, or the sentence given today. 'We accept the sentence but in no way feel that justice will be served, as no length of time will ever help us come to terms with what we have lost. 'We are relieved this horrific part of our lives is over and will go home today to begin to grieve for Connor and learn to come to terms with the life sentence that we were given on 11 May. We will never be given parole. 'Our thanks go to all that have helped the family and to convict the accused.' Judge Stephen Holt said: 'Connor was a much loved young man who was the life and soul of most parties' After the case, the victim's family said they had suffered 'immeasurable sadness' since his death. Police at the scene in Norfolk in May last year . They said: 'His life has been cruelly stolen from him and his family, when he was coming into the prime of his life just a month away from his 21st birthday' | Ayomindy Bile and Jesse Quaye convicted of stabbing Connor Barrett, 20 .
They were jailed for 15 years each after being found guilty of murder .
Father-of-one was stabbed in the chest and back at a party in Norfolk .
He was attacked after uninvited group turned up, including Bile and Quaye .
Court heard Bile, who can be named after anonymity order was lifted, pulled out a knife and stabbed Mr Barrett . |
87,330 | f7c5e1ac79f8d40a225d472a51bc47dac49d85e6 | Judging by the sullen display from Johnny 'Football' Manziel when he was left to 22nd pick in the NFL draft on Thursday, the emergence of an apparent scathing Patriots' report on him will add insult to injury. According to an anonymous tipster who passed the scathing scouting report to BroBible, Manziel was dubbed 'cocky' and 'a spoiled brat' by the New England Patriots. The report, which BroBible claims to have verified, also warned that the former star quarterback at Texas A&M University comes from a family with 'outlaw bloodlines'. Scroll down for the full report . Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel reacts after being selected by the Cleveland Browns as the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft on Thursday. His alleged scouting report from the New England Patriots has been leaked where he was called 'cocky' Johnny Freefall? The day after Johnny Manziel dropped to 22nd pick in the NFL draft, an alleged scathing report from the New England Patriots emerged online . The remarks on the report, which allegedly was written by a member of the Patriots scouting team, calls Manziel a 'cocky, me-guy' When it comes to his performance on the football field, the 2012 Heisman Trophy Winner is noted for his formidable talent as 'an outstanding athlete' with a 'unique skill set'. However the report also claims that his teammates resent him in the off-season 'when he isn't coming to workouts and they are busting their butt'. The Patriots 'scouting report' claims that Manziel doesn't study the game and sources at Texas A&M are looking forward to getting rid of him because he is a 'me-guy'. The words 'arrogant' and 'full of himself' also appear but the author of the report does admit Manziel has 'ultimate confidence'. It is remarked upon that he 'will drink' but doesn't smoke and his arrest reports are included. The report also noted that the player doesn't take too kindly to being yelled at by coaches. The Patriots appear to criticize the fact that the quarterback's father bought him a luxury car and his grandfather gives him an allowance. Despite the sensational report's alleged veracity, NFL experts have quickly judges it a fake. Jeff Howe, New England Patriots beat reporter for the Boston Herald, tweeted on Friday: 'Fake. Not how Patriots numerical draft grades are presented.' Allsportsnolife.com added: 'This is fake, draft grade's are FAR more complicated than that. plus the scouting report has OLD Patriots logo. Nice try though.' Nail-biter: Johnny Manziel, from Texas A&M, waits backstage during the first round of the NFL football draft on Thursday where he was picked 22nd by the Cleveland Browns . New England Patriots beat reporter for the Boston Herald Jeff Howe dubbed the Patriots' scouting report of Johnny Manziel a fake after it emerged on Friday . Manziel was one of the most . anticipated players to enter the draft which took place on Thursday amid . much fanfare at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The former star quarterback at Texas A&M University sat with a sullen look on his . face until the Cleveland Browns made its third trade of the round and grabbed the . 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at No. 22. To rousing cheers and chants of . 'Johnny, Johnny,' Manziel smiled widely as he walked onto the stage. Later he was spotted partying in a VIP room with rapper Drake at Avenue nightclub in Manhattan and dozens of girls, according to TMZ. Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, from Texas A&M, holds his new jersey with general manager Ray Farmer at the NFL football team's facility in Berea, Ohio today . | An anonymous tipster released the New England Patriots report which called 'Johnny Football' 'cocky' and a 'me-guy'
However report concedes that Manziel is an 'outstanding athelete with a unique skill set'
Boston Herald Patriots reporter already dubbed scouting report 'a fake' |
1,110 | 032449c915acc507cabf1e0a2ea64bf88397f332 | By . Kieran Corcoran . PUBLISHED: . 04:37 EST, 22 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:49 EST, 22 September 2013 . Scared: Tulisa Contostavlos, pictured here at the Academy Awards, called police after men were spotted outside her house . English Defence League boss Tommy Robinson was questioned by police after he was spotted outside the home of Tulisa Contostavlos with a cameraman. Mr Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was confronted by police officers and had his car searched after the former X Factor judge dialled 999. Friends of the star have said she feels 'victimised' by their activities and is still too scared to return to the £6million Hertfordshire home. However the men, who claim they were filming a documentary, were not arrested, and police decided that no crimes had occurred, the Sunday People reported. Mr Robinson had used her house as the backdrop for a video six days earlier in a video asking viewers for money. At the end of the video, he jokingly adds that the money could let the EDL 'buy a house like this', before walking towards it as if to go inside. The former N-Dubz member reportedly . tried to ignore the activity but eventually felt compelled to call the . police once she spotted the men outside her gated home late at night. A friend of Miss Constostavlos said: 'She's really shaken up - she has no idea why the EDL targeted her. 'She's absolutely not a supporter of the EDL, but she's never said anything publicly about them, so feels pretty victimised.' Four police cars and a dog unit were called to the house on September 11, while Miss Consostavlos's PA Gareth Varey confronted the men. A Hertfordshire Police spokesman confirmed that they had been called to the incident. He said: 'We were called at 10.23pm to reports of suspicious behaviour of two men in a vehicle outside a property. Scroll down for video . Filming: A video uploaded to YouTube shows EDL leader Stephen Lennon gesturing towards the star's house . Spotted: At the end of the video he walks towards the gated house as if to go inside . 'Both men were spoken to. As a precaution, we also searched the area. We were satisfied no crimes had occurred.' Mr Robinson, who tweeted pictures of the officers questioning him and searching his car, later said: 'It was just me and a camera guy who is making a documentary.' He then said that Mr Varey had 'started piping up cos we was [sic] making a 3 min vid in a lay by outside'. After the news emerged this morning, Mr Robinson tweeted 'Worst idea I've ever had!' Online: EDL Leader Stephen Lennon sent this tweet after police questioned him outside Miss Contostavlos's house . Some of the video the two men made outside the star's house had been uploaded to Youtube, and shows the EDL leader begging viewers for donations to pay legal fees. Mr Robinson tells his audience that he desperately needs money to pay a legal bill he said he had already run up trying to challenge police restrictions on one of the EDL's controversial marches. In a bizarre sign-off at the end of the video, Robinson addressed the camera and jokes: 'Please give us some money - so we can by a house like this.' He then adds: 'Who lives in a house like this?' before walking towards it as if to go inside. Miss Contostavlos, who is currently on bail on suspicion of dealing drugs, is said to be staying in north London, in a flat she previously shared with Mr Varey, until she feels safe enough to return to her Hertfordshire home. | Former X Factor judge called police after men seen filming outside her house .
English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was questioned by police along with cameraman .
Officers concluded no crimes had taken place - but Tulisa still too shaken to move back . |
4,795 | 0dc2fa3de5e1ae1202ffc851ff12ea14d1b690b5 | Whoever beats Brazil wins the World Cup this summer. It’s that simple for me, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, and Argentina and Portugal — with one massive caveat — are the two biggest challengers to the hosts. The caveat is whether Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s best footballer, is fully fit and playing at his peak. If he is, and it’s a big if, then I think the Portuguese are capable of being the cat among the pigeons.Can you imagine a final that pits Ronaldo on one side against the world’s second-best player, Lionel Messi, on the other? It would be a fantasy showdown. I for one would absolutely love to see that happen. Influence: Cristiano Ronaldo could lead Portugal to World Cup glory in Brazil this summer . Crucial: With Ronaldo in their team, Portugal could go all the way to the final in Rio De Janeiro . Tough: Portugal have been drawn in group G alongside Germany, Ghana and the USA . If you think Cristiano has an enormous ego already, imagine what it would be like if he reached the World Cup final! As a big fan of his, as well as his friend, I relish the prospect of that spectacle. He’s a showman and this is the biggest show. People see his ego — and don’t get me wrong, Cristiano’s ego is gargantuan! — but that is his fuel. It’s his inspiration. He reads all the articles written comparing him with Messi. ‘How can they say Messi is better than me?’ he’ll ask. ‘I’ll prove that writer wrong.’ That’s his mindset. Driven. Self-obsessed in the most positive way. Always looking to improve. That’s why he has become what he is, through effort and determination. It didn’t all come naturally. He worked hard at technique and hitting the ball. He’s the hardest worker I’ve had the privilege to play alongside. He’s a great team-mate, a companionable man, always involved in the changing room. But when it’s time to work he’s passionate about what he does and his emotion comes out. Support: Hosts Brazil are among the favourites to be crowned world champions this summer . Heavyweights: Lionel Messi's Argentina team have been tipped to win the World Cup . Predictions: Rio Ferdinand is tipping Brazil to be victorious in the World Cup on home soil . People say he stole Gareth Bale’s thunder in the Champions League final. Eh? He took his shirt off. He’s got an unbelievable physique and his girlfriend is a supermodel, and someone’s criticising him for taking his shirt off? The exhibitionist is part of who he is. But away from the field of play he’s one of the nicest kids you could meet. He makes time for fans, he’ll sit around a table late into the night talking. He’s no lone wolf. He first came to our attention at Manchester United when we played Sporting Lisbon in 2003. By half-time he’d razzle-dazzled us and we were all in the dressing room asking: ‘Who the hell is this kid? We MUST sign him!’ And Sir Alex did. He arrived at Old Trafford with his tricks and his stepovers and his attitude. What a young showpony he was, wanting to look good, then be good, in that order. The wrong order. Fergie had a word or three over time, and so did Ronnie’s hugely influential compatriot, Carlos Queiroz, and we as team-mates let him know there needed to be an end product to his skills. Side by side: Rio Ferdinand and Ronaldo together in their Manchester United days . Upstaged? Cristiano Ronaldo took his shirt off after scoring a penalty in the Champions League final . Change: Ronaldo left Sporting Lisbon in 2003 to join Manchester United, where he became a star . To his enormous credit, the penny dropped, and he took it all on board and started on his journey to become the world’s best. There are players who maybe have more natural talent and the penny never drops for them. You will have guessed by now that I’m a fan of CR7’s work! I hope for him that he has a standout World Cup. With him on fire, Portugal can make huge waves. Without him, they’re half a team or less. With my pragmatist’s hat on, and fearing that seven games could be a few too far for Portugal if Ronaldo isn’t 100 per cent physically well, I believe we’ll see a Brazil-Argentina final. And I think that Brazil, inspired by the maverick genius of Neymar, will be triumphant on home soil.I see Brazil overcoming Germany (if not Portugal) in one semi-final, and Argentina beating Spain in the other. I think Holland might struggle to get out of Group B, that Spain should win, because Chile are a fine team, although Robin van Persie is a match-winner. Colombia and Ivory Coast should come through Group C and England’s group are dealt with elsewhere: Italy plus one, basically. France win Group E for me, and Argentina take F, with Germany and Portugal coming out of G and probably Belgium winning H. Pressure: Neymar is the poster boy of the World Cup and is expected to fire Brazil to glory . Tricky: 2010 finalists Spain and Netherlands have been drawn in the same group this time . Shining light: With Messi leading the line, Argentina have an number of attacking options . The Belgians should win their group, but they are a peculiar prospect in some ways. They could be the team everyone believes they are capable of being and reach the last eight or further. Or they could be the biggest burster of expectations because their youth and inexperience may tell at this level. Argentina have a strength in depth that means they could cope without Messi if they had to. It tells you something when a player of Carlos Tevez’s qualities didn’t even make the cut. Aside from Messi, they have Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero — the world’s best natural goalscorer in my book — as well as Angel Di Maria, one of the stars of the Champions League last season, and Ezequiel Lavezzi, and on and on. The one area of caution is defence, but it’s hardly shabby. As big an admirer of Spain as I have been in recent times, I do think this could be a tournament too far as age starts to tell. But they’ll still go far. But not as far as Brazil. The Confederations Cup victory last summer was a fillip that cannot be understated. They know now they can perform and win under that enormous home pressure. Sunning up: Juventus forward Carlos Tevez missed out on Argentina's World Cup squad . Dark horse: Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard will lead Belgium's quest at the World Cup . In Neymar they have a player who bucks a common trend of great performances for club and indifferent games for country. He pulls on his Brazil shirt and shines. He is Brazil’s go-to guy for inspiration, and backing him up he has a cast awash with talent and no small amount of toughness, exemplified by Fernandinho, who is a top player. Ramires is a great athlete, so too Willian. Oscar will score and Hulk is a danger. Brazil’s Achilles heel for me is a lack of a traditional No 9 but they have enough elsewhere to compensate. As they say in Rio: Vamos! Rio Ferdinand is an interviewer, programme-maker and football expert for BT Sport . | Cristiano Ronaldo could be the only one to stop a Brazil-Argentina final .
Portuguese star is hardest worker I've played alongside .
Seven matches could be too many for Portugal if Ronaldo is not fully fit .
Brazil, inspired by the genius of Neymar, will be triumphant on home soil .
Argentina have enough depth that they could cope without Lionel Messi .
This World Cup could be a tournament too far for Spain as age starts to tell . |
112,727 | 1d72ad57e4acdf7cc8cce7ee0a11404a5320e145 | (CNN) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion that the United States may send troops to fight Mexican drug cartels riled officials and spurred debate from analysts on both sides of the border Monday. Mexico's top representative in the United States rejected the idea, which the Republican presidential candidate mentioned at a New Hampshire campaign stop Saturday. Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan told reporters his country's longstanding opposition to the presence of American forces had not changed. "The matter of the participation or presence of U.S. troops on Mexican soil is not on the table," Sarukhan said Monday. "It is not a component that forms part of the innovative approaches that Mexico and the United States have been using to confront transnational organized crime." Perry said Saturday that leaders from Mexico and the United States should meet after next year's elections to address the deadly drug trade. "It may require our military in Mexico working in concert with them to kill these drug cartels and to keep them off of our border," he said. Analysts in the United States and Mexico said the controversial idea could have significant political consequences and security implications -- even as a political campaign proposal. "It may be well-intentioned, but it has the potential of really undermining cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico," said Eric L. Olson, who studies security relationships between the neighboring countries at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. The United States admits its drug market plays a role in fueling violence in Mexico, and has pledged $1.4 billion in assistance through the so-called Merida Initiative, which includes programs to help train Mexican military, police and justice officials. "If there's a perception in Mexico that this is all designed somehow as a backdoor entry into Mexico by the U.S., if there's a perception that this is leading to the United States' direct intervention into Mexico, it puts at risk all those cooperative efforts," Olson said. George W. Grayson -- author of "Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?" -- described Perry's proposal as "absolute, unadulterated nonsense." "The first thing you'd have to fight is the Mexican Army if you sent troops in there. It's ludicrous," he said. Even if they don't gain traction, Perry's comments will likely resonate in campaign rhetoric beyond the United States' borders, as presidential campaigns in Mexico are also kicking into high gear, Grayson said. "Typically this is a time of nationalism and breast-beating by candidates. ... The politicians are the ones who are going to walk all over it. They're going to say, 'See, the gringos are coming after us,'" he said. Several Mexican lawmakers -- who the country's constitution says would need to approve any presence of U.S. soldiers -- expressed concern about Perry's comments Monday. Institutional Revolutionary Party Sen. Maria de los Angeles Moreno said U.S. troops in Mexico would be a clear "aggression." "We must make an effort to face our own challenge, the violence of the criminals and the organized crime groups, but with our own forces and always maintaining the control of our territory," said Sen. Carlos Navarrete of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party. But security analyst Pablo Monzalvo said when it comes to U.S. involvement, some Mexican officials are prone to double speak -- allowing U.S.-led measures to occur even as they speak out against them. Earlier this year Mexico's foreign minister fielded questions from angry lawmakers who said U.S. surveillance of Mexican territory -- aimed at detecting criminal groups -- was illegal. "There is interference...and this has been said publicly. But I ask myself what has been accomplished by ceding a certain amount of authority," Monzalvo said. Perry, who was first elected governor of Texas in 2002, has faced criticism from opponents who have attacked his conservative bona fides on illegal immigration at a series of debates this fall. "He's trying to compensate and say, 'Yeah, I'm really tough on Mexico,' but I think he's overcompensated," said Grayson, who is also a professor of government at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. This isn't the first time Perry has called for greater force fighting drug cartels. Last year he asked U.S. President Barack Obama to send 1,000 additional National Guard troops to the border. "We must show the cartels that Washington will no longer tolerate their terrorizing and criminalizing the border region," he wrote in a letter to the president. Troops crossing the border, however, is a different matter, Olson said. "No Mexican wants the U.S. to send its military troops. ... They welcome cooperation and they welcome the U.S. accepting responsibility for its role, but they don't welcome the notion of sending troops. That's crossing a line," he said. CNN's Isabel Morales and Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report. | The Texas governor says fighting the drug trade "may require our military in Mexico"
Mexico's ambassador says the presence of U.S. troops "is not on the table"
The idea could have serious political and security consequences, analysts say .
Analyst: Sending troops could undermine cooperation between the neighboring countries . |
114,170 | 1f4c9409e14b215a4a14e93908ecc58f9edbfa25 | The US Army is set to launch the first of two blimps designed to help the military detect and destroy cruise missiles or rogue aircraft incursions targeting America's East Coast cities. The first radar-toting vehicle will be set airborne next week as part of a three-year test of the latest defense system at an Army facility near Baltimore, Maryland. When fully deployed next February, the $2.8billion system will feature two, unmanned, helium-filled aerostats - able to scan the oceans and coastline in a 340-mile radius. Defense project: The US Army is set to launch the first of two blimps designed to help the military detect and destroy cruise missiles targeting the nation's capital or other major East Coast cities . One balloon will continuously scan in a circle from upstate New York to North Carolina's Outer Banks, and as far west as central Ohio. The other will carry precision radar to help the military on the ground to pinpoint targets. The system is called JLENS - short for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System. The project, built by Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts, and TCOM L.P. of Columbia, Maryland, has cost the government about $2.8 billion so far. And last week Congress approved another $43.3 million for the first year of the test. Reducing costs: Despite the project setting the US government back by £2.8billion, experts say the airships will save money in the long run by reducing the need for surveillance by conventional aircraft . Despite the staggering cost, supporters of the project say JLENS will save money in the long run by reducing the need for surveillance by conventional aircraft. 'The analysis we've done says it's about five to seven times less than operating a fleet of aircraft to cover the same area over the same time period,' said Douglas Burgess, Raytheon's JLENS program director. The white balloons, each 80 yards long, are part of a new wave of lighter-than-air surveillance equipment. Testing: A giant radar dome is seen on the bottom of the unmanned aerostat, which will be launched next week . They will not carry weapons as enemy missiles would be destroyed by air, ground or ship-based weapons. Major General Glen Bramhall, commander of the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense, said: 'We can defeat cruise missiles but we have limited capability to detect. 'And so, with an elevated sensor, such as JLENS, and the ability to look out over the horizon, now we have the ability to detect and to enable our systems to defeat cruise missiles.' The government has also deployed tethered airships near the Mexican border, in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the Caribbean Ocean to combat drug smuggling. The airships at Aberdeen, Maryland, will be the first of their type near a major East Coast city, visible from Interstate 95. Plan: When fully deployed next spring, the system will feature two, unmanned, helium-filled aerostats, tethered to concrete pads 4 miles apart . The military has insisted that the balloons will not carry cameras in response to privacy campaigners' concerns about snooping. But David Rocah, of the American Civil Liberties Union in Maryland, said the group was leery of the airships' ability to constantly monitor moving objects, including cars on the ground. Mr Bramhall says the radar is unable to identify individuals or record cellphone conversations. 'The mission is not to spy on U.S. citizens. It is not designed for that,' he said. | First of two airships will be launched next week at Army facility in Maryland .
Unmanned blimps will scan 340 miles of East Coast using advanced radar .
Despite staggering cost, experts say system will save money in long term .
Privacy campaigners expressed concern over blimps' snooping ability . |
134,798 | 3a5c679eb8a20437f1bbb6764fea792e7a32b9a4 | Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has spoken of his sadness following the death of his brother Ibrahim and suggested that his club did not offer him sufficient support during a period which he describes as 'the hardest in my life.' The Ivory Coast midfielder's 28-year-old brother tragically died of cancer last week, while Yaya was in Brazil representing his country at the World Cup and the City talisman has stated that he felt disappointed that he wasn't afforded greater sensitivity by his club employers. The full squad were required for a post-season trip to Abu Dhabi, where City played a friendly game and met the club's owners. On the ball: Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure in training ahead of Ivory Coast's final Group C clash . International duty: Toure's brother Ibrahim died in Manchester while Yaya was playing at the World Cup in Brazil . Tragedy: The Ivorian FA informed confirmed that . Ibrahim Toure, pictured here playing in Beirut in October, died in . Manchester where he was being treated for cancer. He was aged 28. Toure told France Football: . 'At the end of the season, I wanted to stay for four or five days with . my brother before I flew to prepare for the World Cup with Ivory Coast, . except that City did not want to grant me a few days. 'I went to celebrate the title championship in Abu Dhabi while my . brother was lying in his sickbed. By fortune, Kolo was at his bedside. After that I blame myself for not insisting and for not making them . respect me. 'However, . club officials knew very well that I was suffering for a few months as . the health of my brother declined. This is the reason I had several . injuries at the end of the season, because my head had taken control of . my body. These last four months have probably been the hardest in my . life.' Sticking together: Brothers Yaya (L) and Kolo Toure ahead of their opening World Cup game against Japan . Manchester City . have been left disheartened by Toure's quotes and Sportsmail . understands that Toure did not request compassionate leave to spend time . with his brother. City . are widely acknowledged to have always adopted a caring and sensitive . approach to personal issues affecting their players and they have an . impeccable track record when it comes to offering welfare to their . players, with Pablo Zabaleta, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor all . receiving sensitive support from the club and time off following . upheaval in their personal lives in recent years. A senior insider maintained that had Toure asked for those few days off, they would have been granted without hesitation. Sportsmail also understands that City have been pro-active . behind the scenes in supporting the midfielder, both during Ibrahim's . battle with cancer and since his death last week. Star man: Toure helped Manchester City clinch their second title in three years last season . City are believed to have pledged their unequivocal support to the . family in the past week, with the club maintaining dialogue with former . player Kolo Toure and brother Yaya, contributing to the arrangements for . the funeral and even assisting with the paperwork. Before Ibrahim died, he was also invited to the club's Carrington training ground as a special guest. A well-placed source stated: 'It is what we do for our players. They will always have our support.' It . should be noted that City, although a little bemused, do not view this . latest development in their relationship with Toure as a major sticking . point. It is understood . that there has been no conflict since the bizarre episode that saw Toure . throw his future at the club into doubt when his agent Dimitri Seluk . claimed that the club should have made more of a fuss for his 31st . birthday, with his representative said that the midfielder was left . 'very upset'. City did . give Toure a birthday cake and wished him happy birthday on Twitter but . the player's agent suggested he was ignored by the club's Abu Dhabi . owners when the squad visited at then end of the season. 'None of them shook his hand on his birthday. It's really sick,' Seluk . added. Toure later backed his agent, writing on Twitter: 'Everything . Dimitri said is true. He speaks for me. I will explain after the World . Cup.' VIDEO City didn't let me visit dying brother - Toure . Slice it up: The controversial cake . VIDEO Toure threatens to leave over birthday row . | Ibrahim Toure died in Manchester last week after losing battle with cancer .
Toure says City did not grant him time to visit his brother after winning title .
The midfielder instead joined City on their post-season tour of Abu Dhabi .
Toure will play for Ivory Coast against Greece in final World Cup group game . |
272,852 | ed639320c7b815747555e2309d47ca565b5c37bd | Flares may never be back in fashion, but with a little help from a 1970s film icon, Qantas are about to take off on a nostalgia trip. The flag carrier airline of Australia unveiled their newest boeing 737-800 aircraft on Monday but with a retro-themed 70s livery, as a tribute to 70 years of the iconic flying kangaroo logo. And who better to take a journey down 1970s memory lane with than Travolta, who is also a Qantas ambassador and massive aviation . aficionado. He even stepped out in his Qantas uniform at the event in Seattle, Washington. Scroll down for video . Qantas ambassador John Travolta unveils Qantas' new retro-designed Boeing 737-800 at the Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington . News.com.au reported that standing beneath a giant mirror ball dangling from the Boeing hangar, Travolta quipped to guests and the media: “I don’t know whether to do an Aboriginal dance or a disco dance!” After stepping out of the Qantas plane, he walked down a red carpet with two Qantas air hostesses dressed in original Pucci uniforms from the 70s. Aussie DJ Grant Smilie blasted Elton John's Rocket Man through the Boeing Hangar as the new plane was revealed. John Travolta (third right) points to the 1970s livery that Qantas was famed for throughout the world . Travolta later told news.com.au that the retro livery had particular significance to him and his career. When he took his first flight to Australia in 1980 it was on a Qantas 747SP in this colour. 'It was at the peak of my arrival in film and television,' Travolta explained. 'I’d been famous for about five years but it was my first big international trip to Australia, and I was excited, I was going to meet Olivia (Newton-John) there and she was going to take me to her house. 'I was there to promote Urban Cowboy, the movie, so my memories of this time-frame of livery are exciting, it represents a lot for me.’ The new Qantas boeing 737-800 aircraft with the retro-themed 1970s livery that made the airline so famous . John Travolta (second right) celebrates the unveiling of Qantas' boeing 737-800 aircraft with cabin crew . Qantas pilots and cabin crew get the red carpet treatment as the air carrier's new boeing 737-800 aircraft is unveiled . The legendary Ochre colouring that reflected the colours of the outback where Qantas was established in 1920 . The plane is the 75th Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet, and will fly throughout Australia when it arrives in Sydney on Wednesday. The aircraft will operate across all domestic routes from November 20, and it will no doubt bring back many happy memories for passengers. The livery is also timed to mark Qantas’ 94th birthday this month. The signature element of the 1971-1984 livery design was the ochre band around the window line of the aircraft. Ochre reflected the colours of the outback where Qantas was established in 1920. The winged kangaroo logo is used on the tail and was adapted from the original 1947 version designed by Gert Sellheim. Qantas ambassador John Travolta was the ideal man to honour the 1970s and the airline's retro look . In 1984 the flying kangaroo discarded its wings, evolving to its current slender and stylised form. Qantas’ Chief Financial Officer, Gareth Evans, said the livery signifies the airline’s outback roots. The famous 1970s Qantas livery that is making a comeback on the airline's new boeing 737-800 aircraft . 'It’s a livery that will be familiar to Australians because the 70s and 80s saw Qantas become a truly global airline,' he said. 'It was a new era where long haul travel became a realistic aspiration for ordinary Australians. Millions of Australians experienced this overseas travel for the first time on a Qantas aircraft painted in this iconic design.' John Travolta (right) and Qantas cabin crew take time out for a laugh and a joke during the unveiling ceremony in Seattle . | The brand spanking new 737-800 came compete with a retro-themed 70s livery .
It was a change made as a tribute to 70 years of the iconic flying kangaroo logo known the world over .
'When I took my first flight to Australia in 1980 it was on a Qantas 747SP with this colour,' said Travolta .
The retro livery's return is also timed to mark Qantas’ 94th birthday this month . |
151,877 | 5046924f26f5862e1c6a0e3a48e65730a0bbcef3 | (CNN) -- Luxembourg's Andy Schleck dramatically revived his Tour de France hopes with a stunning victory on an epic 18th stage which finished at the summit of the imposing Col du Galibier. At 2,645 meters, it was the highest-ever stage finish on the Tour, and Leopard Trek's Schleck certainly hit the heights with a brave solo victory. He broke clear of a group of favorites on the Col d'lzoard with 60km remaining, reeling in the fragmented remains of a breakaway, before crossing the line alone over two minutes clear of his chasers. Schleck, written off after muted performances in the Pyrenees and the first stage in the Alps, said he had decided to take his courage in his hands. "I don't want to finish fourth in Paris, and I said to myself 'I'm going to risk everything, it'll work or it'll fail'," he told Eurosport. "That's the way I am, I'm not afraid of losing. And if my legs were hurting out in front I knew the others would be hurting to catch me up." But he failed by 15 seconds to take the yellow off the shoulders of French hope Thomas Voeckler, who again performed heroics to take fifth on a stage which effectively marked the end of Alberto Contador's chances of retaining his crown. The three-time winner from Spain struggled on the upper slopes of the Galibier and now trails Voeckler by four minutes 44 seconds in seventh place. To complete a superb day for the Schlecks, Andy's brother Frank took second on the stage to move up to third overall, one minute eight seconds down. He gained precious time on Australia's Cadel Evans, who slipped to fourth at one minute 12 seconds. Friday's 19th stage, the third in the Alps, could well hold the key to the eventual winner with the finish on the famous Alpe d'Huez after another climb on the Galibier. Both the Schlecks will be looking to pick up further time on Evans, who is a stronger time trialist, ahead of Saturday's individual test against the clock over 42.5km in Grenoble. | Andy Schleck wins 18th stage of the Tour de France on Col du Galibier .
Schleck closes to within 15 seconds of race leader Thomas Voeckler of France .
Andy's brother takes second on the stage to improve to third overall .
Defending champion Alberto Contador loses time on the final climb . |
239,758 | c2636dc29f404c36d1560039d9e3408de9521205 | Meet Andele Lara, the 22-year-old student who is the mirror-image of risque superstar Rihanna. Andele, from Boston, Massachusetts is such a dead-ringer for the Bajan beauty that she can't step out the house without being mobbed by screaming Rihanna fans. Strangers follow Andele on her way to work and send her fan mail whilst companies pay her thousands of pounds to endorse their products - making her life not too dissimilar to the Umbrella singer. Scroll down for video . Likeness changed her life: Andele (left) is confused for Rihanna (right) on a daily basis and often approached by screaming fans . Mirror image: Her similarity to the singer means that companies pay her thousands of pounds to endorse their products . Guess who? A selfie from Andele Lara's Instagram account where she has a huge following because of her resemblance to Rihanna . Her success has prompted Andele to become a full-time Rihanna lookalike. She explains: 'The moment I step out anywhere, everyone starts staring and whispering before I get bombarded by strangers asking to take their photo with me. 'This happens every day - It doesn't matter what I do. I can't go twenty-four hours without hearing Rihanna's name. 'I know I could happily give up my part-time job and studies to have a career as a Rihanna lookalike.' As a child, Andele always felt like the ugly ducking. However she became more confident in her looks during her teens. She says: 'Growing up, I was a very shy girl. I was known as the skinny girl with the big forehead. 'But as I got older, I went through many stages to find myself and experimented with different hairstyles and fashion trends.' Andele - who is single and dating - was fifteen years old when friends at school first noticed her remarkable likeness to the world-famous diva. She explains: 'The comments started in my sophomore year. My friend had a magazine with Rihanna on the cover. He held it up to my face and was like "You look like her!" 'I wasn't really sure. She was glammed up in a magazine and here I was in my school uniform. 'Personally, I never realized I looked like Rihanna. I do see some resemblance but not as much as everyone else I think.' But as Rihanna's fame increased, Andele could not escape the comparisons to the star and her day-to-day life changed forever. Blossomed: Andele, pictured right, out clubbing with friend, says she felt like an ugly duckling as a child . Could be twins: Andele was 15 when friends at school first noticed her remarkable likeness to the singer . She explains: 'When 'Umbrella' came out, a lot more people began commenting that I looked like Rihanna. 'But after Ri-Ri released her album 'Loud' in 2010, the attention I started to receive for looking like her was undeniable. 'People began approaching me in the street asking if I was her and I would see photos of myself going viral on social media.' Now, Andele's incredible likeness to the singer means she is regularly swarmed by strangers believing her to be Rihanna. Resemblance pays off: Andele has landed over £13,000 worth of clothing contracts in the last year due to her uncanny resemblance . 'Literally, people mistake me for her all the time! I only have to step out of the house for an hour before I hear someone say, "Oh my god, is that Rihanna?" 'At first, I thought it was funny to take a picture with someone who believed I was her and then make their day. But as Rihanna gets even more famous, the attention just intensifies. 'Some people follow me into stores or as I'm driving. Other times fifteen people will swarm at me all at once to take a picture with me. 'I do think the attention I get is cool but there have been some scary occasions when some super-fans have followed me on my way to work everyday. 'And I must admit there have also been moments when I couldn't face taking a photo with yet another Rihanna fan. But it really makes their day to think they met Ri-Ri. I've never denied anyone a picture.' Andele says the attention is most extreme when she goes out clubbing. 'When I go on a night out, that's when the attention is at its highest. Even my friends get annoyed by the number of people that come up to me. 'Men come up to me all the time, thinking I'm Rihanna and buying me drinks! They chat me up and try to get my number.' Last year, Andele was even mistaken for Rihanna when she happened to be partying at the same nightclub as the star's bad boy ex Chris Brown. She says: 'I was at a club in Boston and Chris Brown was there. Because he was there, I guess everyone assumed I was Rihanna! 'I was casually walking around and all these star-struck people were holding their hand to their hearts backing away from me and staring. Rihanna mania: People regularly follow the 22-year-old as she goes about her life believing her to be the star . Andele now plans on becoming a professional Rihanna lookalike, but says unfortunately she can't sing . 'At first, I was confused but then I realised what was going on. In the end, I spent the whole night taking fun pictures with groups of people who had mistaken me for Rihanna.' Andele's resemblance to the singer has thrust her into the limelight and made her well-known on social media. As a result of the similarities, Andele has landed over £13,000 worth of clothing contracts in the last year and over 18,000 followers on Instagram. She says: 'I wouldn't really say I've gone out looking for opportunities, they've just come along naturally. I reckon if I put more effort, I would get even more! 'I've scored hair contracts as well as sneaker, mascara, hair accessories and apparel deals. I also get into clubs for free and I get a lot of free drinks too! 'I am grateful for my followers and I love the chance to give them advice. I get tons of fan-mail and messages from people. 'After Rihanna was banned from Instagram in April, some of her fans have written to me saying that my profile had replaced hers in their lives.' Even Rihanna herself has inadvertently come across Andele on social media. 'One Rihanna fan page on Instagram mistakenly posted my picture with the caption, 'Rare pic of Rihanna' and Rihanna actually commented on it with 'OH?!' 'But that was the closest I'd say to her knowing me. It was a brief moment but the comments and followers on my Instagram that came after that was unbelievable. 'Every time I refreshed my page, I had at least thirty new followers and some really hateful comments too. 'In the end, the attention and mean comments from some users was a bit too much. I had to turn my notifications off on Instagram and make my account private.' She added: 'I'm a big fan of Rihanna though. A lot of celebrities become someone they aren't but she seems to have stayed true to herself. 'I would love to meet Ri-Ri and take a selfie with her!' Andele plans on becoming a professional Rihanna lookalike but says she'll have to draw the line at performing like the popstar. She said: 'I know I could make a career of it. I'm pretty much a lookalike in my daily life now! But unfortunately I can't sing though so I might have to take singing lessons!' | Andele Lara, 22, is the mirror-image of risque superstar Rihanna .
She's approached by screaming fans who follow her and send fan mail .
Has a huge social media following due to her resemblance to singer .
Companies pay her thousands of pounds to endorse their products .
Landed over £13,000 worth of clothing contracts in the last year .
Now plans on becoming a professional Rihanna lookalike . |
166,468 | 6343d0fde9b605b45eb47a83acf1a4e642b7118b | (CNN) -- As my companion and I passed through security on a gorgeous Washington afternoon Friday, invited by President Barack Obama to join hundreds of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks at the White House for a reception celebrating LGBT Pride Month, I couldn't help but reflect back. The White House and I go back a long way. In the 1950s, as a young gay boy growing up in a small fishing town on the southern coast of California, I had, for some seemingly inexplicable reason, an intense fascination with all things White House, and especially its occupants, our American presidents. On Halloween in the third grade, my mom crafted for me a magnificent costume of Thomas Jefferson, and I missed that I'd won a prize because my cotton wig impaired my hearing. At major family gatherings, I'd dress up in what became known as my "presidentials" and entertained relatives by my deft ability to name all the presidents in order, right up to and including Dwight Eisenhower. So, the idea of growing up to be president some day was implanted in my head, and it became the source of great consternation for me when, in grad school in the late '60s as civil rights, feminist and anti-Vietnam War ferment was swelling, I ratified my own commitment to social justice by openly claiming my gay identity. I burst out of the closet with a bang, co-founding the Berkeley, California, chapter of the Gay Liberation Front, for one thing. But with all that came the sad realization that, alas, I had to completely abandon my dream of ever becoming president. Still, the White House beckoned me. In the mid-1980s, I had an opportunity to represent an obscure and unhappy publication as its journalistic correspondent in the White House for a few years. I leaped at the chance, moving across the U.S. to be there, in the press room, almost daily. I didn't like who I worked for and I didn't like who was president at the time, but I loved the White House, especially on the few occasions when I was included among journalists invited to one of the many holiday parties held there. LZ Granderson: The secret gay agenda . Ah, the East Room (where the formal news conferences were also held), the Blue Room, the Red Room and so forth! All the ponderous presidential portraits and artifacts chronicling the colorful history of the nation's chief executives. But while there, I felt light years away. I was gay, and I kept it to myself in those days. I was an outsider granted a glimpse of what I'd cherished so intimately as a youth. The idea of being gay was allowed nowhere near the official corridors of power. To the gay movement, it was a huge breakthrough when, in the 1990s, a president first uttered the word, "gay," in a nonderogatory or "as in happy" sense, in a major speech. President Bill Clinton later spoke at one of the first national dinners of the Human Rights Campaign in the late 1990s. Held at a hotel ballroom blocks from the White House, I was there. Hope for LGBT people was in the air. Fast forwarding to last week, it was deeply moving to be back in the White House, finally not as a closeted journalist or anything other than an open and affirming public citizen. Unlike the LGBT reception held there just a year earlier, this time there were women and men in military uniform, some holding hands with their same-sex partners, made possible only after the president led the overturning of don't ask, don't tell in the course of the past year. Entering the East Room amid cheers to speak to us, President Barack Obama reaffirmed the commitment he'd made only weeks before to full support for gay marriage. We have a president now who can say without hesitation, as he did Friday, "As long as I have the privilege of being your president, I promise you, you won't just have a friend in the White House, you will have a fellow advocate for an America where no matter what you look like or where you come from or who you love, you can dream big dreams and dream as openly as you want." Thank you, Mr. President: You mean those kind of "big dreams" I had as a kid! There is no doubt in my mind now that there is some LGBT youngster in our land right now who will grow up to become president of the United States some day. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nicholas Benton. | As a child, Nicholas Benton was fascinated with White House and presidents .
He gave up his dream of running for the presidency when he came out .
Benton was invited to attend Friday's White House reception for LGBT community .
He says it's now possible for a gay person to think realistically of running for president . |
213,191 | a018122454a46fa16b5d8b9f22fdcd809b8a92ab | A baby boy died from meningitis after hospital doctors twice failed to spot the symptoms and dismissed his mother’s fears as ‘hysterical’. As the little boy screamed in pain in a waiting room, one nurse even suggested his parents wheel him around in a buggy because he was ‘a bit loud’. Hours later, 13-month-old Bobby Bushell was dead. The appalling standard of care he received was laid bare yesterday after his parents won a five-figure sum in damages from the hospital trust. Shocking failures: As 13-month-old Bobby Bushell (pictured with his mother in 2007) screamed in pain in a waiting room, one nurse even suggested his parents wheel him around in a buggy as he was 'a bit loud' Last night Bobby’s mother, Jane Hooks, said hospital doctors had ‘arrogantly’ dismissed her concerns he was suffering from meningitis. ‘The treatment by staff at the hospital was nothing short of disgraceful and the doctors arrogantly waved away my fears my little boy was suffering from meningitis – not once, but twice,’ she said. ‘Their attitude cost my son his life. If they had listened to a mother’s instinct instead of lazily dismissing me as hysterical then Bobby would be alive today.’ Miss Hooks said that as her son’s condition deteriorated and his screams became desperate, a nurse told her to wheel him around. ‘She came to me in the side room of the children’s ward with a sit-up buggy and said: “Can you wheel him round a bit? He’s a bit loud”. 'I was so shocked but told her he was so ill he couldn’t sit up or even hold his head up. It was such a dreadful thing to say. Just hours later Bobby died.’ Distraught: Bobby's mother Jane Hooks (pictured this week with her partner Craig Bushell) said hospital doctors in Doncaster 'arrogantly' dismissed her concerns that her son was suffering from meningitis . The tragedy unfolded on August 12, 2007 when Bobby became ill at home near Doncaster. His mother contacted an NHS out-of-hours service and took him to a local surgery where her own GP examined him at around 4.40pm. 'In desperation I grabbed a female doctor by the arm. She said: "Your son is very, very ill"' Jane Hooks, Bobby Bushell's mother . Although he did not diagnose meningitis, the GP advised Miss Hooks and her partner Craig Bushell to take Bobby to Doncaster Royal Infirmary. They arrived at around 5.20pm and he was seen by a senior house doctor. Despite the little boy having three non-blanching rashes on his leg and chest – a classic meningitis symptom – the doctor decided only to monitor his condition. Miss Hooks, 29, a former retail worker, said: ‘He said he had a viral infection. I immediately asked for a second opinion. He told me a second doctor would only agree with him.’ Failings: The tragedy unfolded when Bobby (pictured left and right in 2006) became ill at home near Doncaster . Tragic: Bobby is pictured (left) at Christmas in 2006 and (right) with a cake on his first birthday on July 14, 2007 . Miss Hooks said a second doctor, a registrar, saw Bobby at around 6.45pm and despite the rash spreading on four different areas, also failed to diagnose meningitis. 'The treatment by staff at the hospital was nothing short of disgraceful and the doctors arrogantly waved away my fears my little boy was suffering from meningitis – not once, but twice' Jane Hooks, Bobby Bushell's mother . She said: ‘He was arrogant and dismissive. He refused to carry out a lumbar puncture which would have diagnosed meningitis.’ It took four more hours before Miss Hooks could persuade another doctor to help. ‘In desperation I grabbed a female doctor by the arm. She said: “Your son is very, very ill”.’ Bobby was then given intravenous antibiotics but it wasn’t until around 3am that a consultant finally examined him. Moves began to transfer him to Sheffield Children’s Hospital but it was too late and he died at 6.50am on August 13. Baby: Bobby is seen (left) in September 2006 and (right) with Mr Bushell on an Isle of Wight holiday in June 2007 . After birth: Miss Hooks and Mr Bushell are pictured at Royal Doncaster Hospital in July 2006 with their newborn son Bobby. The 13-month-old boy died at 6.50am on August 13, 2007 . The family sued the Trust but it refused to admit liability and fought the claim all the way to the courts. 'Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust denied liability and made his parents endure a five-year struggle to achieve justice for their little boy' Helen Budge, from law firm Pannone . Last month a judge dismissed the hospital’s defence and found in favour of the family at Sheffield County Court. They received a five-figure payout. Helen Budge from Manchester law firm Pannone said: ‘Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust denied liability and made his parents endure a five-year struggle to achieve justice for their little boy. It is to be hoped that the Trust has learnt lessons from this tragic episode.’ Sewa Singh, medical director at the Trust, said: ‘We offer our deepest sympathies and apologies to Miss Hooks, Mr Bushell and their families for any shortcomings in the care provided to Bobby.’ | Bobby Bushell screamed in pain in Doncaster Royal Infirmary waiting room .
But nurse told parents to wheel him around because he was 'a bit loud'
He'd become ill at home in 2007 and GP told family to take him to hospital .
Doctors 'arrogantly' dismissed concerns he was suffering from meningitis . |
240,531 | c35f9150c313b2537504d64334ba16c4fe0d79be | London (CNN) -- A pair of British journalists held by a Libyan militia have been handed over to the central government, British government sources said Wednesday in what one called a possible step toward their freedom. Nicholas Davies and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson were seized in late February, along with the Libyans who accompanied them, according to Human Rights Watch. Libya's transitional government had been trying to get the militia to hand over the two men, the group said. The British sources said the men have now been transferred to the transitional government. "We are pretty hopeful this is a prelude to their release," one of the sources, who asked not to be named while discussing sensitive issues, told CNN. Some militias that established themselves to fight former dictator Moammar Gadhafi have remained intact and outside government control since Gadhafi's government fell in August. The Saraya Swehli militia accused the journalists, who work mainly for Iran's state-run Press TV, of lacking proper immigration paperwork. The group told Human Rights Watch that it did not have faith in the central government, an HRW official told CNN in February. | "We are pretty hopeful this is a prelude to their release," a source tells CNN .
Nicholas Davies and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson were seized in late February .
A Libyan militia accused them of lacking proper immigration papers . |
166,349 | 6319fd21ee9636acfd030c5b3d9918887eedc0e1 | By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 08:31 EST, 10 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:56 EST, 10 January 2013 . A super-slimming couple with two children are to 'remarry', eight years after their first wedding, to celebrate having lost over 11 stone between them. Damon Clarke, a 37-year-old taxi-driver from Charminster, near Dorchester, Dorset, and his wife Clare, 31, first married in 2004. But Damon - who back then weighed 25st 3lb stone - is so 'embarrassed' to look at their old wedding photos that he and Clare are going to do it all again, in order to generate a brand new family album. Damon Clarke, 37, and his wife Clare, 31, have lost 11 stone between them since their 2004 wedding, and will now be renewing their vows so as to generate a brand new photo album of their second special day . Damon has lost over eight stone in . just 11 months after realising he needed to take drastic action to . tackle his weight when he became physically incapable of playing . football with his sons Callum and Tyler. He embarked upon a healthy eating and lifestyle regime - and Clare joined him, managing to lose three stone herself. After hitting his target weight, Damon . proposed to Clare for the second time, because he feels 'like a new . man' and is finally confident if front of a camera. The couple are planning to renews their vows in Jun, at the same church where they wed in 2004. Embarrassed: Damon feels embarrassed when he looks at his wedding pictures from 2004 and can't wait to marry his wife as a new man . He said: 'When I married Clare I was about 24 stone and my suit jacket wouldn't do up - so I had to have an extra button put in. 'When . I look at our wedding photos now I feel embarrassed. So I got down on . one knee and proposed to Clare again as I thought, "I'm a new man and I . want to do it again". 'I . look completely different to how I did,and I would like to do my . wedding again because I feel like an improved version of myself. 'We are really excited about renewing . our vows. I meant them the first time around, but now I am not . only going to feel comfortable saying them, but feel comfortable in the suit I am wearing too!' Second time lucky: Damon Clarke will meet his wife down the aisle for a second time in a bid to recreate their wedding day now that he has lost 8.5 stone . Clare . said: 'When we first met, Damon was quite slim - probably the same weight . he is now. So when I walk down the aisle again it will be like marrying . the man I first met. 'He has completely changed and become much more confident. I am so proud of his achievements.' Damon used to live on a diet of ready . meals, fish and chips and takeaways. Over the years his waist six . ballooned to a staggering 61 inches. He said: 'I have always been a big person, even though I have played football all my life. 'When . I left school I worked at a fish and chips shop where I could have a . free meal - then I started working at the taxi company. 'There's . a chippy next door and a Chinese and kebab shop nearby, so it was easy . to grab something - and most of the food at home was from Iceland. 'I was playing football with my son . last year and had to go and get a drink because within minutes I was . sweating - he looked so embarrassed in front of his friends. 'I decided to do something about it and joined Slimming World. Since . then, I have lost a lot of weight and feel like a new person.' Different man: Father-of-two Damon had ballooned to 25 stone, and he decided to take action when he realised he was too rotund to play football with his eldest son . Damon's . waist size is now down to a trim 36 inches and he has had to buy new . clothes from normal shops rather than plus-size catalogues. His new diet consists of healthy home-cooked meals and he visits the gym three to four times a week. Clare, an administrator at a care home, has also lost three stone by eating the same meals as Damon in the evening and has gone from a size 20 to a 14. She said: 'Although I eat healthy food at work I wasn't as committed as Damon but still managed to lose weight by eating the same dinners as him. 'When Damon proposed I was shocked. We both weren't wearing our wedding rings because they were too big after we lost weight. 'He had taken mine without me knowing and had it made smaller for me. I am really looking forward to the day.' | Damon Clarke weighed 25st 3lbs stone when he married Clare in 2004 .
Has lost 8.5 stone in just 11 months - now weighs 16st 11lbs .
Clare lost three stone and dropped from size 20 to size 14 .
Damon realised he had to diet after he was unable to play football with sons .
Will renew their vows in June, in the church where they first married . |
96,539 | 0837e939e28bb07344a70eb76fdd104b373798bf | Ten minutes or so into the second half of Manchester United's FA Cup game against Cambridge on Tuesday night, the home team were winning 2-0 and progress to the next round was all but assured. United's captain, however, was found 20 yards inside his own half executing a sliding tackle on breaking opponent Cameron McGheean. This, in essence, is the new life of Wayne Rooney. England's captain and most reliable centre forward is no longer a striker for his own football club. Louis van Gaal's team formation all but confirmed what Rooney has known for a while and as national coach Roy Hodgson attempts to move his own team forward he is going to have to accept it, too. Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is no longer a striker at his own club as he is pushed back in midfield . Rooney sat back away from the action up front against Cambridge in his new role under Louis van Gaal . Rooney applauds the fans at Old Trafford after Manchester United ran out comfortable winners on Tuesday . United's average positions against Cambridge on Tuesday night with Rooney (No 10) and Fellaini (31) Rooney has always liked to tackle, has always liked to roam the field in search of the ball. This is different, though. Van Gaal does not want to play Rooney as a central striker anymore, a fact confirmed when he sent his team out with Marouane Fellaini in a position further advanced than United's third-placed record goalscorer on Tuesday. 'I think he's a bit lost,' was the opinion of former United forward Lou Macari, now an in-house TV analyst. 'He's there to score goals. 'Can he play in midfield? He can because he's good but is it his best position? In last six or seven games, it's apparent that it's where he is going to play. 'He's the most natural goalscorer at the club and always has been. His goals tell you that. He knows whether to bend it, place it or drive it or take a touch. There is an art in that and he has got it. 'At the moment he is wasted in midfield. He was at the far post in front of how own goal with ten minutes to go, challenging as the Cambridge defender came in. United were 3-0 up. 'Why is he there? Is that really the best place for him?' Rooney has long since been a victim of his own versatility and energy at Old Trafford. He tackles, passes and anticipates more than well enough to play in the middle of the field. Contrary to what Macari said, he does not look lost there but whether that is his best position is something that can only fuel debate. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted six years ago that he had played Rooney out of position too often in order to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo. He vowed to change that and never did. David Moyes, meanwhile, spoke earnestly about restoring Rooney to his 'best position' last season but by that stage Robin van Persie was the club's automatic choice at 'number nine'. Rooney shoots against Cambridge but the England centre forward finds it hard to push forward these days . Rooney is living a new life under Van Gaal as the Manchester United manager avoids using him up front . Rooney averaged a position further back than Marouane Fellaini (left) and Juan Mata (right) on Tuesday night . Rooney's average position on the pitch this season . There is a difference, though, between Rooney playing in and around a central striker and being transformed in to a much deeper player, a midfield player. Rooney always knew the change would come one day but – as he said in an interview last September – he did not expect it to come for a couple of years or more. 'The manager goes into so much detail about the opposition and there'll be times I'll be needed to play deeper or wider, which I've no problem doing,' Rooney told the Sunday Times. 'But in the main I feel I've still got at least two or three years up front. I know I've the qualities to play in midfield. I've done it comfortably. 'There'll come a time when I move to a deeper position for good and that could be this week, it could be in a couple of years. It's down to the manager and I'll accept it.' Van Gaal has accelerated that process now. The United manager's centre forwards are now Van Persie, Radamel Falcao and young James Wilson. It's a decent line up, certainly, but the fact that Rooney is no longer on the list maybe says more about the lack of quality midfield options available to Van Gaal than anything else. What Hodgson makes of it is anybody's guess. Van Gaal will not concern himself with this and nor should he. United's supporters – notoriously ambivalent about the national team – will not lose sleep either. The England head coach, though, will be concerned. This season has seen Hodgson's options in the centre forward department expand significantly. Van Gaal has taken over at Manchester United and given the club's English captain an entirely new role . Van Gaal has moved Rooney back although the Manchester United star still has eight goals this season . England manager Roy Hodgson has decisions to make for who to use up front next month . Rooney may partner Daniel Sturridge (right) up front but his new position could make Hodgson reconsider . At least one happy striker on Tuesday night was James Wilson, who scored as United beat Cambridge 3-0 at Old Trafford. Click here for Ian Ladyman's match report . A Barclays Premier League season that has seen Harry Kane, Charlie Austin and Danny Ings blossom, for example, will surely be reflected in the squad when England gather for their next mind-numbing Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania next month. What is certain, though, is that Hodgson started this campaign with the image on an attacking partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Rooney in mind for next summer's finals in France and will not have expected to consider deviating very much from that in the intervening months. Currently Rooney has eight goals for his club this season and has scored in just one United game since the middle of December. Austin, meanwhile, has 13, Kane 20 and Ings – who didn't get going until the end of October – seven. These are statistics that very much reflect the direction of Rooney's career at United. Asked about it on Tuesday night, Van Gaal gave little away, preferring to talk about Fellaini's height – 'he is a very long player' – than the actual matter in hand. That is the United manager's prerogative. He will do what he thinks is best for his club and currently he is managing to nudge his peculiar and inconsistent team vaguely along in the right direction. They are third in the Premier League and now in round five of the FA Cup. Rooney, though, must adjust to a drastic change in his circumstances. Had been deployed much further back on Tuesday night, he would have been untangling his studs from his own goal net. Rooney's stats show that he is adapting to his new life in midfield away from acting as a striker . Rooney must adjust to his new role under Van Gaal and he was playing in that position against Cambridge . | Wayne Rooney averaged a position behind Marouane Fellaini on Tuesday night as Manchester United beat Cambridge at Old Trafford .
United comfortably won 3-0 in their FA Cup fourth round replay .
Rooney must adapt to his new role under manager Louis van Gaal .
England's most reliable centre forward is getting used more in midfield .
Rooney has eight goals this season despite being pushed further back .
CLICK HERE for all the latest Manchester United news . |
251,305 | d14427f9cc4b7b4fe19df4901d6af7758d66a975 | Che Adams turned Shefifeld United's Capital One Cup semi-final against Tottenham on its head with two goals in two minutes, but his manager Nigel Clough was left ruing the attacker celebrating his first goal. After replacing Jamal Campbell-Ryce on 74, Adams slotted clinically past Michel Vorm from a narrow angle to haul United back into the cup tie. Bramall Lane erupted and clearly swept up the 18-year-old Adams into the emotion as he ran off to celebrate rather than picking the ball out of the net with his team still chasing another goal. Che Adams (left) slots past Michel Vorm (right) for Sheffield United's first goal against Tottenham . Adams ran off to celebrate his strike rather than pick the ball out of the net for United . But Adams (centre) made amends by scoring another goal two minutes later to bring United level . But he made amends, scoring another two minutes later on 79 to ensure a nervy ending for Tottenham, who eventually secured their passage to Wembley with a second goal from midfielder Christian Eriksen. 'I am delighted with Che Adams,' Clough said. 'We like the look of him, he is raw and has a lot of potential. But he needs to learn not to celebrate when we are chasing another goal.' Clough's cold remark will undoubtedly draw comparisons to his father, Brian. But the Blades manager spoke of his pride after the League One side were eliminated by their illustrious, Premier League opponents in the closing moments of the game, when Eriksen reached a pass from Harry Kane and caressed the ball across Mark Howard and into the far corner of the net. 'I am incredibly proud of the players for what they have given over the two legs, to run a team like Spurs close,' Clough said to Sky Sports 1 after the full time whistle. 'That bit of quality missing tonight. The crowd and everyone at the club gave everything they had.' Clough's opposite number, Mauricio Pochettino, could not conceal his delight at booking a place at Wembley on March 1. Clough's reaction to Adams' celebrating his goal was reminiscent of his father, Brian . Brian Clough was a famous manager in his own right and conquered Europe with Nottingham Forest . Christian Eriksen (right) rolls the ball into the far corner to secure Tottenham's place at Wembley . Mauricio Pochettino said United put Tottenham under 'unbelievable pressure' during the cup match . 'I am very very happy, happy for our players because they deserve to go to the final, to Wembley and happy for our supporters, they deserve it too,' Pochettino said. 'In football you need to score when you have the possibility. 'Sheffield put unbelievable pressure on the pitch and it was a difficult last 10-12 minutes.' | Che Adams scored twice for Sheffield United in semi-final with Tottenham .
His double came in two minutes and five after entering the game .
Nigel Clough praises Adams but did not want him to celebrate first goal . |
74,012 | d1ddc29db018be6065fbcc809f611abb305c8569 | The world is watching on in horror as the conflict between Israel and Gaza escalates – and its devastating impact has now reached space. Looking down from his perch on the International Space Station 200 miles (320km) above Earth, astronaut Alexander Gerst was yesterday able to see rockets lighting up the troubled area. Gerst tweeted an image of the horrifying scenes describing it as his ‘saddest photo yet’. Scroll down for video . Tel-Aviv is pictured on the centre of the coastline at the top of the image. The city lights of Be'er Shiva can be seen towards the centre left, while the Gaza Strip appears as a darker patch running along the coast to the far left. Jerusalem is directly below Tel-Aviv as the main patch of lights in the centre. Hebron is shown to Jerusalem's left, while the sprawl of lights from Amman are shown on the bottom right . Rockets can apparently be seen firing between Israel and Gaza – although Nasa has said it still needs to verify the image. The densely populated areas are highlighted. ‘From ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over Gaza and Israel,’ Gerst wrote on the Twitter caption . The ISS' lofty vantage point has given it access to many scenes of conflict since its permanent habitation began in 2000. For instance, astronauts watched on in horror when they saw the terror attacks in New York on Sept 11, 2001. Poignant footage from space showed smoke rising from New York's Twin Towers, moments after two planes smashed into them in the terror attack which killed thousands of people. In 2008, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko used a used a 800mm telephoto lens to take images of the South Ossetia region shortly after Russian forces invaded Georgia. The image shows Tel-Aviv near the centre with the city lights of Be'er Shiva seen towards the centre left. The Gaza Strip runs along the coast to the far left of the photo. Disturbingly, many of the explosions are seen in the densely populated regions. Rockets can apparently be seen firing between Israel and Gaza – although Nasa has said it still needs to verify the image. Gerst is a German flight engineer, geophysicist and volcanologist who has so far spent six months aboard the ISS. In this image, Hebron is seen in the centre as the main sprawl of lights, while Tel Aviv is on the bottom left by the coast and Gaza on the bottom right. Alexander Gerst’s photo appeared just as the UN warned Israel may have committed war crimes in its attack against Hamas in Gaza. ‘There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes,’ said Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights . ‘From ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over Gaza and Israel,’ he wrote on the Twitter caption. Alexander Gerst's image went viral on Twitter, with many expressing their horror at the wide-reaching mark the conflict has left . The 16-day conflict has now claimed the lives of 718 Palestinians, most of them civilians, Palestinian health officials say. Israel has lost 32 soldiers, all since July 17, when it widened its air campaign into a full-scale ground operation aimed at halting rocket fire from Gaza. Gerst’s photo appeared just as the UN warned that Israel may have committed war crimes in its attack against Hamas in Gaza. ‘There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes,’ Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said. However she went on to say that Hamas had also been violating international law by attacking civilian areas. ‘Israeli children, their parents and other civilians have a right to live without the constant fear that a rocket from Gaza may land on their houses or schools, killing or injuring them,' she said. Israel has denied having a policy of deliberately targeting civilians, blaming Hamas for using civilians as ‘human shields’ to protect its munitions, and claimed it warns targets first with either a 'knock on the roof', text messages of phone calls. But Ms Pillay said: 'A number of incidents, along with the high number of civilian deaths, belies the [Israeli] claim that all necessary precautions are being taken to protect civilian lives. | Astronaut Alexander Gerst tweeted an image of rockets firing between Israel and Gaza while on board the ISS .
The image shows Tel-Aviv near the top centre with the city lights of Be'er Shiva seen towards the centre left .
Gaza Strip runs along the coast to the left and many of the explosions are seen in the densely populated regions .
Gerst’s photo appeared as the UN warned that Israel may have committed war crimes in its attacks against Gaza . |
57,486 | a2eebdfdeb0a2e9c6d38f3b99544a1854b4ec2d1 | The future of 25 Australian babies born to parents who are asylum seekers is uncertain after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison retrospectively changed the legal status of some children born in detention. Born in Australia from the 19 July 2013, the infants - who range from the age of one to just a few months old - are currently in detention centres in the country, where their families anxiously await their fate. Legislation passed by the government in parliament on Tuesday morning means the babies are now defined as Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals (UMAs) because their asylum seeker parents arrived in Australia by boat. The babies' lawyer Katie Robertson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Falling pregnant was the catalyst for many of these women to come to Australia... it was the final straw, they didn't want to impose what they'd suffered on their child.' Scroll down for video . The future of 25 babies born in Australia to asylum seeker mothers is uncertain after a change in legislation . Lawyer Katie Robertson, who is representing the families on behalf of Maurice Blackburn’s social justice department, had been fighting for the right to apply for visas for the babies . The mothers of the babies, all classed to have high-risk pregnancies, gave birth in Australian immigration detention - watched over by security guards - because the medical conditions on the tiny Pacific Island of Nauru where they were originally being held were so poor. Ms Robertson, who is representing the families on behalf of Maurice Blackburn’s social justice department, had been fighting for the right to apply for visas for the babies. However, a change to the Bill announced by Mr Morrison on Tuesday means the babies now have little chance of being allowed to stay in the country in which they were born. Ms Robertson said: 'These babies are born to the most vulnerable parents. 'The babies have never had a free day in their life... It’s so arbitrary and cruel'. Speaking to New Matilda Ms Robertson also said: 'Clearly Morrison and his department agreed we had a good argument because they've now amended the law.’ Eight of the 25 babies are born to parents from Myanmar. Because of their Rohingya heritage the government does not recognise them as citizens. They could be sent to Nauru detention centre in a matter of days due to Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's retrospective change . One of the babies fighting to stay in Australia is a one-year-old Rohingya baby called Ferouz, who was born in Brisbane. He is now being sent to live on Nauru until his future is decided. Ferouz was born prematurely in Australia after his mother was classed as a high-risk pregnancy. Ms Robertson said the families are ‘beside themselves with anxiety’. The legislation means put forward by Scott Morrison (pictured) the babies are now defined as Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals (UMAs) 'One woman grew up in an refugee camp in Africa from the age of three. She came to Australia when she was pregnant and spent time in Nauru,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'She says she is tough but she does not want her child to go there as it is no place for children. 'If you can put yourself in their situation these families have fled persecution. They have been returned to Australia because they are the most vulnerable cases.' The changes came as part of a deal Mr Morrison made. He argued that if the government would pass the Bill he would allow 108 children currently being held on Christmas Island with their parents to be granted Temporary Protection Visas rather than be deported to Nauru. Ms Robertson has a clear message for Mr Morrison, calling him out on the promise he broke when he vowed to allow children of asylum seekers to live in the community. 'We are calling on him to be true to his word. He made a clear promise that children in detention would be released into the community,' she said. 'We are not saying they should be able to stay, we are saying they should go through the same application process. If they are not found to be refugees, fair enough.’ Maurice Blackburn Senior Associate Murray Watt said: ‘Minister Morrison claims that his bill will release children from detention, when in fact it will do just the opposite. ‘While some children may be released and may become eligible to apply for Temporary Protection Visas, the bill also condemns 25 Australian-born babies to removal to Nauru. ‘Buried in the bill are amendments that retrospectively deem these babies to have come from Nauru, when they were born here and have never left Australia.’ The infants are now being classed as Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals despite being born in Australia. This is the ID card of one of the babies . They could be sent to Nauru detention centre as early as Wednesday . Mr Blackburn added: ‘We are urgently calling on Scott Morrison to amend his bill and let these babies stay in Australia – they were born in Australia and have spent their entire lives here, yet because their mothers spent time previously on Nauru they will now be taken away. ‘That is grossly unfair, and it is not the Australian way. 'We also appeal to Senator Ricky Muir, who holds the deciding vote, to stand up for these Aussie kids and amend this bill. ‘Senator Muir has kids of his own, and I can’t imagine he would want to see other kids born in our country locked up indefinitely on Nauru.’ Ms Robertson argues the children have never left Australia and should at least have the right to apply to stay . In response to the 25 babies' imminent deportation, Christian Leaders around Australia held nationwide prayer sit-ins in seven MP's offices in six cities: Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. More than 50 church-goers were spread protested in Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's Perth office as well as Mr Morrison's office on Wednesday. On Friday, Guardian Australia published photos from inside the family and single adult women camp - Regional Processing Centre 3 (RPC3) – were the women would have lived. Christian action group Love Makes A Way organised a sit-in at Scott Morrison's office . Church-goers also visited Julie Bishop's office in Perth . The distressing images showed young children playing in dirt, covering from the sun under cardboard boxes, and clothes hanging on fences. There have long been concerns over the way asylum seekers are treated at Nauru and in October the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) visited RPC3 and expressed concerns that facilities there were in violation of international human rights laws . In November 2013, a UNHCR report ruled the education room at the centre was ‘too hot for the children to remain in it for any length of time’ and highlighted ‘deteriorating mental health’ of children held there. Members of the media are currently denied access to the detention centre on Nauru where there are already 106 asylum seeker children detained. The UNHCR recommended the government should ‘cease to transfer children and their families to Nauru under current conditions’. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Immigration Minister Scott Morrison for comment. Many reports have slammed the conditions of the facilities saying they are no place for children or families . | The 25 babies were born in Australia from 19 July 2013 .
New legislation means they are classed as Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals .
They could be sent to Nauru as early as Wednesday evening .
Lawyer for the families told Daily Mail Australia they are fighting for the right to apply for visas for the babies .
Eight of the babies are born to parents from Myanmar .
Because of their Rohingya heritage the government does not recognise them as citizens . |
126,242 | 2f2a8679f82bd40e6f715e2735dcdf20b1f5dce2 | It is known as the Sacred City, but Rome could soon get its own official red light district. The Mayor of the Italian capital, Ignazio Marino, has given his blessing to proposals to designate a specific area for prostitution from April. The legislation will allow prostitution in the EUR business district south of the city with the aim of reducing the number of streets currently being used for the purpose. Pope Francis has called trafficking in Rome a 'shameful plague' St. Peter's Square, Vatican City . Prostitution is legal in Italy, and women plying their trade are a common sight in certain areas of Rome and other cities, but residents have long complained about the visibility of the sex trade. The proposal will mean that an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 women selling sex to around 2.5 million customers will be working in a safer environment, officials say. The council believes that by creating an official red-light district in what is a largely non-residential area, there will be less chance of trafficking, described by Pope Francis recently as a ‘shameful plague’. Residents of Rome have long been campaigning for a solution to reduce the visibility of the trade on certain streets, and it is believed the move could help shield children and families from the sex trade. Prositution is currently conducted on more than 20 streets in the EUR district of Rome . A prostitute walks in an alley of the Esposizione Universale Roma district . The plans include proposals to provide ‘psychological support and health care’ to prostitutes on the designated streets, and clients of prostitutes who work on non-designated streets risk fines of 500 euros (£370). Unsurprisingly, the proposal has been criticised by some Church figures, with the weekly magazine of the Conference of Italian Bishops, Avvenire calling it ‘shameful’. One councillor went as far as to suggest that the idea will create prostitution 'ghettos'. Giovanni Ramonda of the Pope XXIII Community was reported by English-language paper The Local as saying that with the legislation, Rome would be in effect introducing ‘tolerance zones for the slavery of women.’ The paper carried out a survey which found that nine million Italian men – more than one in three of the population – had used a prostitute at least once. If the experiment proves successful, the council may establish up to three separate red light zones within the district. Last week Pope Francis called for more help for ‘the men, women and children enslaved, exploited, abused as instruments of work or pleasure and often tortured and mutilated’. He urged governments to act decisively to remove the ‘shameful plague’ of trafficking which he called unworthy of a civilized society. | Red-light district approved by Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino .
Legislation will allow prostitution in the EUR area of city from April .
Some Church leaders have called the proposal 'shameful' |
96,703 | 0873238071b4dedc1a976ee33b3d91f5826b9ecb | A gang leader drove teenage thugs around in a stolen Audi searching for professional women out by themselves at night to mug, a court has heard. Junior Cooper, 35, drove his teenage cohorts around central London as they searched for vulnerable women, before gang members grabbed their victims, choked them and stole their bags in three violent attacks last year. Cooper was sentenced to nine years behind bars last month after he was found guilty of conspiracy to rob, while 19-year-old gang member Remy McLeod was jailed for eight years today. Gang: Junior Cooper, 35, (left) drove his teenage cohorts, including Remy McLeod, 19, (right) around central London as they searched for vulnerable women . Southwark Crown Court was told that the women were grabbed from behind by the attackers, before their bags were snatched. One of them, pianist Susanne Suhonen suffered a broken finger and may never be able to play properly again. The court heard how another woman, Jacqueline Hurst, had just parked her car near her home in Marylebone at 10.30pm on November 15, 2013 when she was attacked by the thugs. One grabbed around the waist while another choked her with her own silk scarf. She was knocked to the ground during the robbery and continues to suffer the psychological effects. ‘Before the attack I was a confident girl, happy, fun and totally unfazed by city living’, she said, in a victim impact statement read to the court. ‘Everything has changed and I am half the woman I used to be - at all times day or night I am looking behind myself.’ Ms Hurst said she now has to wait for her boyfriend to escort her from her car, and can only sit or stand with her back to a wall when out in public for fear of being grabbed from behind. Attack: Southwark Crown Court was told that the women were grabbed from behind by the attackers, before their bags were snatched . About half an hour after the attack on Ms Hurst, Sarah Lewishon was attacked as she walked from her car to her house in St John’s Wood, north London. She too was grabbed round the neck as the gang snatched her bag and knocked her down. As she refused to let go of her handbag she was dragged along the ground, and continues to suffer from severe neck pain, as well as being too afraid to go out at night unaccompanied. Ms Suhonen was attacked by the gang 11 days later, on November 26 last year, as she walked home. Her finger, which was fractured when her bag and jewellery were snatched, has healed crooked, meaning she may never be able to play the piano properly again. She told the court she was unable to sleep for about two weeks after the attack, and that she kept having nightmares. ‘I had to open my eyes and I didn’t want to close them for fear of seeing the same scenes again - needless to say I was exhausted in my domestic life and at work,' she said in her statement. Tom Nicholson, prosecuting, told the court: 'She fractured her finger on her right hand, which healed crooked, due to the fracture and the way the position of the tendon, she is unable to have it straightened. 'She might not be able to play the piano properly with that hand again. Her wrist was inflamed and extremely painful. She had to postpone her piano exam for one year because of her injuries.' Cooper, of Queens Park, north west London, and McLeod, of no fixed address, were both convicted of conspiracy to rob after a trial. Cooper, who was jailed in 2009 for a spate of robberies, was sentenced to nine years in prison at a separate hearing last month. McLeod appeared relaxed in the dock and grinned as Judge Michael Grieve sentenced him to eight years detention. The licence period was extended by three years for the protection of the public. He was also sentenced to six months for possession of a knife, which will be served concurrently. | Junior Cooper, 35, drove gang around London looking for vulnerable women .
Victims were choked and had their bags snatched in the attacks last year .
One, a pianist, may never be able to play the instrument properly again .
Cooper was sentenced to nine years behind bars last month .
Gang member Remy McLeod, 19, jailed today for conspiracy to rob . |
12,619 | 23c40c31c2afb483c0fe113d32568b1bb1f24868 | By . Peter Allen . PUBLISHED: . 05:28 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 04:09 EST, 24 January 2014 . Her ruthless determination has earned her the unflattering nickname The Rottweiler. Now, it seems, Valerie Trierweiler has been living up to that volatile, ferocious image. It was claimed yesterday that France’s First Lady flew into such a rage when she learned that Francois Hollande was cheating on her that she smashed up his office – causing £2.5million damage. Hopes: Valerie Trierweiler is reportedly desperate to save her relationship with cheating President Francois Hollande . The 48-year-old allegedly went on the rampage after a magazine revealed the President’s trysts with an actress. Among the national treasures said to have been shattered by the notoriously volatile Miss Trierweiler was a Sevres porcelain vase dating back more than 200 years to the reign of Louis XVI. As the claims swirled around the French media, a spokesman for the Mobilier National – the office responsible for presidential furniture – was forced to ‘categorically deny’ them. Despite this, the latest edition of Closer magazine, which first carried pictures revealing Mr Hollande’s two-year affair with Julie Gayet, 41, runs the headline: ‘The truth about the clean-up which cost the state three million euros.’ The latest twist in France’s presidential soap opera came as Mr Hollande was told to ‘stop dithering’ about the future of Miss Trierweiler. Closer suggests the damaging claims about . the President’s partner have been stirred by her numerous enemies, one . of whom tells the magazine the First Lady ‘always puts her emotions . first’. Reports that Trierweiler caused £2.5 million worth of damage after going on a rampage around The Elysee Palace on hearing about Hollande's affair were categorically denied . Rampage allegedly took place after a magazine revealed the President’s trysts with actress Julie Gayet (left) Following eight days in a public hospital suffering from stress, she is now staying in La Lanterne, the luxury presidential home in Versailles, west of Paris. There she enjoys a heated swimming pool, a cordon bleu kitchen and numerous other perks – including one of the best-stocked wine cellars in France. Nicolas Sarkozy is likely to attempt a political comeback because he is desperate not to ‘end up like Tony Blair’. The former French president has seen his old friend become an increasingly marginal figure on the world stage. Despite being prime minister for a decade, Mr Blair, 60, now concentrates on making a living as a highly-paid consultant and lecturer. Mr Sarkozy, 58, lasted only one term before losing to Francois Hollande in 2012. Despite facing corruption inquiries, he is convinced he can beat Mr Hollande in 2017. According to Le Figaro newspaper, he has said ‘no to a life like Tony Blair’, showing that Mr Blair’s admission that he regrets having left Downing Street has not been lost on Mr Sarkozy. He wants to avoid being ‘nothing more than an upmarket adviser’. Like Mr Blair, Mr Sarkozy is often accused of mainly being interested in making lots of money. Closer claims that Miss Trierweiler is at least ‘under the control’ of the presidential establishment while she is at La Lanterne. But it warns that she is determined to travel to Washington DC next month as First Lady, even though Mr Hollande wants a formal separation. Elysee Palace sources told French media yesterday that Mr Hollande needed to stop dithering about his love life, and announce to the world exactly who his First Lady is. Meanwhile, says Closer, the delighted Miss Gayet has already held a party for close friends and family to celebrate her relationship with Mr Hollande being made public. A photograph of the smiling actress, who has appeared in more than 50 French films, is also splashed across the cover of the latest edition of Paris Match magazine. In photographs which were clearly taken with her permission, she is seen walking close to her parents’ country estate in the Gers department in south-west France. They will infuriate her love rival – Miss Trierweiler has been a staff writer on Paris Match for more than 20 years, even holding on to the job when she became La Premiere Dame in 2012. Both women have used the media constantly to bolster their careers, and their strong links with France’s most intrusive popular magazines will be another cause of embarrassment for Mr Hollande. Earlier this week, his advisers said he should remain a ‘bachelor president’ to avoid further scandal. The President is reportedly seeking legal advice on how to to bring his ten-year relationship with Ms Trierweiler to an end . The 59-year-old Socialist has made no official comment on his domestic future since revelations of his secret visits to Miss Gayet, with pictures of him arriving at a Paris love nest on the back of a scooter. But one source said: ‘If there must be a split, it must be dignified and elegant regarding Valerie Trierweiler. ‘And above all, Julie Gayet mustn’t instantly move into the Elysee.’ The Motoblouz 'Dexter' helmet, now listed on the company's website as the 'Dexter President' A French crash helmet company has publicly thanked President Frangois Hollande for wearing one of their products on his way to secret trysts with glamorous actress Julie Gayet. Hollande, 59, was pictured wearing the 'Dexter' helmet made by French company Motoblouz on his way to clandestine meetings with his 41-year-old mistress. Since the photos were published by France's Closer magazine when they exposed his affair two weeks ago, the Dexter helmets have sold out across France. The helmet is now listed on the company's website as the Dexter President, where it is being billed as a 'Star des Medias' (media star). Now Motoblouz boss Thomas Thumerelle has taken out a quarter-page ad in French daily Liberation to thank the president for choosing his product to his his face from papparazzi. The ad reads: 'Thank you Mr President - for having used our helmet for your personal protection. 'We salute your choice of a French-made helmet for your scooter outings. And you will find other models on our website for your future escapades. 'You will also see that we have a collection of women's jackets, which would make an ideal Valentine's Day gift.' Thumerelle said his company normally sold 20,000 Dexter helmets a year, but had sent out 1,000 within 24 hours of the Closer revelations. He added: 'We were both extremely surprised and deeply proud to see the president wearing one of our helmets. 'We thought the most appropriate response would be to write him an open letter, both sincere and a bit tongue-in-cheek, to thank him for the excellent publicity.' Hollande's popularity has also soared in France since the scandal erupted on January 10. The philandering leader's approval rating leapt to 31 per cent this week, up from 26 per cent in October - the lowest level a French president in modern times. | French First Lady 'ready to forgive' President for affair with Julie Gayet .
She still hopes to .
accompany him on visit to Washington next month .
President reportedly seeking legal .
advice on how to end their relationship .
Crash helmet used by Hollande for secret trysts sells out across France . |
148,598 | 4c26987b249fd1ce40fa9d46d5b4d976012b5aff | By . Jonathan O'Callaghan . One of the theories for how life began on Earth is something known as panspermia. This says that life was first carried to Earth in microbial form by an asteroid or comet that originated from a planet in our solar system such as Mars, or even one outside it. But could the opposite be possible? Could we send our own life into the universe to ‘seed’ other worlds? That’s what some researchers have discussed - and they say it’s feasible. Scientists have suggested that our best bet of colonising the galaxy might be to send human genomes throughout the cosmos (arist's illustration shown) in the hope they seed life on a planet. The radical proposal was made at a talk for the Smithsonian Magazine in Washington DC recently . In a talk at the Smithsonian Magazine’s ‘The Future is Here Festival’ in Washington DC in May, Nasa engineer Adam Seltzner spoke about the future of space exploration. The 100-year Starship Project is a joint endeavour run by Darpa, Nasa, Icarus Interstellar and the Foundation for Enterprise Development. Through the project Darpa has previously suggested that 'printing' humans on distant planets, like the proposal suggested here by Seltzner, is a possibility for colonising the Milky Way galaxy. Announced in January 2012, the project has an overall goal of achieving manned interstellar travel by 2112. To . do so it is evaluating a number of different techonolgies, including . ‘warping’ space time to travel great distances in short time frames at . faster-than-light speeds. The project is also considering building ‘generation ships’ that move slowly but have a self-sustainable long-term population. To date Nasa has contributed $100,000 (£60,000) to the project and Darpa $1 million (£600,000). And aside from reiterating the importance that we continue manned exploration, he spoke of a lesser-known method of space exploration – sending the human genome to far-flung planets. His somewhat radical proposal, building on work by other researchers, would see humans launched as bacteria to distant planets before being ‘printed’ by methods unknown, perhaps a machine, according to a report written by Meghan Neal for Motherboard. ‘Our best bet for space exploration could be printing humans, organically, on another planet,’ he said. ‘Maybe we will colonize other worlds not with astronauts in space suits, but with bacteria,’ Seltzner continued. ‘Those considerations seem beautiful, fantastic.’ The idea was first dreamed up by Harvard biologists Dr Gary Ruvkun and Dr George Church, as reported in a Harvard Medical School release. They suggest that fractions of the human genome could be sent to distant worlds in bacteria. Upon arrival, the various segments would then be reassembled into a human genome. In fact, in a paper from April 2012, scientists from Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan discussed how so-called ‘reverse panspermia’ might have already happened - albeit by accident. They say previous impacts could have sent life-bearing meteorites from Earth to other planets. The Chicxulub crater event, for example, which is thought to have ended the time of the dinosaurs, might have been sufficient to send Earth-based life to other planets in the solar system. ‘If life forms inside remain viable, this would be evidence of life from Earth seeding other planets,’ they wrote. The proposal would be based around one of two methods. Either bacteria carrying the human genome (strand of DNA pictured) would be sent to 'infect' distant planets and evolve, or a robot would be sent thousands of years in advance and then tasked with printing humans from beamed information . Planets such as Kepler-186f (artist's illustration shown), which was announced in April, provide tantalising hints of habitable worlds outside our solar system. This particular planet is the most Earth-like found to date, orbiting its star in the middle of its habitable zone where liquid water and possibly life could thrive . Quite how these bacteria would grow into humans is up for debate. They could simply be left to evolve, as life did on Earth, seeding another planet with our own organisms. Alternatively, an autonomous machine capable of creating cellular life could be sent thousands of years in advance to a habitable exoplanet outside the solar system. Upon arrival, information on how to genetically construct a human would be beamed to the machine. Of course, these proposals are something that will only be possible for humans hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years in the future. But many scientists are of the belief that we will one day be able to create multicellular life - and it stands to reason this could include an organism as complex as a human. The theory might sound unlikely but it's not entirely without precedent. In May the European Technology Exposure Facility (Eutef), attached to the exterior of the Columbus module on the ISS, proved that bacteria could survive an interplanetary trip from Earth to Mars, suggesting a journey even further could be possible . The proposal also overcomes a well known problem of interstellar travel - namely, travelling to a distant planet in a human lifetime is impossible based on our current knowledge of the laws of physics. Without a form of travel that can ‘cheat’ when travelling large distances, such as a wormhole that jumps through space-time, interstellar travel just isn’t a realistic proposition. So, perhaps to colonise other worlds our best bet is simply to send the ingredients for humanity and let nature take its course. Whether we’d then be able to communicate with these distant humans, or if they’d know we exist, is another consideration altogether. If the idea sounds like purely science fiction rather than science fact, it might seem less so when a recent experiment on the ISS is taken into account. In May the European Technology Exposure Facility (Eutef), attached to the exterior of the Columbus module, proved that bacteria could survive an interplanetary trip from Earth to Mars. For an interstellar trip they would need more protection in order to survive the long travel time. But one day down the line, perhaps our descendants will decide that throwing bits of human genome into the cosmos in the hope it sticks on a distant planet is our best bet of colonising the galaxy. | A Nasa expert has joined others in saying we could launch DNA to planets .
Sending fragments of the human genome might allow people to be 'printed'
Could solve the problem of how humans can survive interstellar travel .
The genome segments would be left to evolve on a distant exoplanet .
Or information on how to 'print' a human could be sent to a machine . |
95,705 | 07032b33fb40880f29d60b2d888f763e7979519d | (CNN) -- Superstorm Sandy caught the attention of plenty of U.S. celebrities, some of whom were caught in the middle of it. Here's a sampling: . @tylerperry: Hurricane Sandy passing through the Bahamas. Thank God that all storms pass! @rickygervais: This "Sandy" who's on TV all the time and is blowing the entire east coast, I assume she's a Kardashian right? @MarthaStewart: the dogs do not want to go outside -the cats have not moved from their beds all day-the horses,donkeys,chickens are all inside-are you? @RealMichelleT (Michelle Trachtenberg): You know NYC is under hurricane crisis when there's not a single cab on the road. #Frankenstorm . @MelissaJoanHart: Moving the family to the basement. Too many giant trees falling. Stay safe everyone. God Bless . @sethmeyers21: Every time I go outside to see how bad #Sandy is I see someone confidently walking a tiny dog. @RuPaul: Upon arriving in NYC, #Sandy has requested that we now refer to her as Saundra . @chrissyteigen: the worst of the storm is about to come, nyc. if only you had listened to lindsay lohan and emitted only positive energy. next time. @joshgroban: Sending my thoughts to all in the path of #sandy...looks pretty bad. @katharinemcphee: "@AngeliqueMabida: @katharinemcphee why are you scared?" Because it sounds like my windows are gonna blow in. #HurricaneSandy . @Bethenny (Bethenny Frankel): Wow. The Hudson River is now on the streets of TriBeCa. @ryanlochte: Due to Hurricane #Sandy the @90210 episode is postponed until November 5th. Hope everyone is safe up north! @DebraMessing: And red wine... All I need are s'mores and a book and I'm set for #sandy . @katiecouric: This crane collapse is scary on West 57th! #sandy . @joshduhamel: Praying #Sandy doesn't do too much damage & everyone stays safe. @ChelseaClinton: Grateful my Mom is away from #Sandy and in Algeria working toward peace in #Mali. @Fergie: Hello #Sandy. Please be nice. @JaredLeto: To everyone in the path of #sandy , please be safe. @itsgabrielleu (Gabrielle Union): To all in #Sandy 's path...pls be safe, stay out of harms way & make sure to check on friends, fam, neighbors. Better to be SAFE than sorry! @Jon_Favreau: Stay safe, East coast. #sandy . @RobLowe: Flying home from east coast and #Sandy . Wish I could bring all in harms way with me. #StaySafe . @llcoolj: My prayers have been offered for all those affected by hurricane Sandy. Stay safe. @leannrimes: Sending prayers out to everyone in the eye of Hurricane Sandy. @mindykaling: 9 months from now hopefully we will have some cool Hurricane Sandy babies! @aaronpaul_8: Sending everyone lots of love who are in the path of hurricane Sandy. May she disappear as soon as possible. @SpikeLee: WAKE UP.People Please Be Safe From The Wrath Of Hurricane Sandy.Mother Nature Don't Play And This Isn't A Joke.Serious Business.SEEK SHELTER . @VWOfficial (Vanessa Williams): Still have power in NY, thank God! Hurricane Sandy gave me 2 days off from @666ParkAve_ABC . Cooking short ribs recipe on learned on @thechew . @Joan_Rivers: Thinking of everyone in NY and on the east coast. Stay safe! I'm stuck in LA and unable to appear live on @QVC . This truly NEVER happens... @snooki: Ahhhhh our power went out! | Ricky Gervais: Is this "Sandy" a Kardashian?
Katharine MacPhee: It sounds like my windows are gonna blow in .
LeAnn Rimes: Sending prayers out to everyone in the storm's path .
Spike Lee: Mother Nature don't play and this isn't a joke . |
276,681 | f2710ad0874e962ca3204543f4a0d75a666fba82 | (CNN) -- An FBI agent was arrested in Pakistan this week after he attempted to board a domestic flight between Karachi and Islamabad with ammunition and knives, police said Wednesday. The man was arrested Monday with fifteen 9 mm bullets, three small knives and a wrench, according to police Superintendent Malir Rao Anwar. All of those items, along with his laptop computer and cell phone, have been taken to a forensics lab for analysis. The agent was visiting Pakistan as part of an assignment to train local police, a U.S. law enforcement official said. A State Department official said diplomats are working with Pakistani authorities to gain the release of the agent. He appeared in court Tuesday to face anti-terrorism charges, which restrict unauthorized weapons and ammunition on commercial flights, and he is scheduled to appear again Saturday. Employees for the FBI and other U.S. agencies are allowed to carry weapons in Pakistan when authorized. U.S. officials hope this incident is more easily resolved than the 2011 case of a CIA contractor who was arrested and charged with killing two men. Raymond Davis said that he believed they were trying to rob him. The case inflamed local anti-American sentiment and soured relations until the United States agreed to compensate the families of the two men. Davis was then freed. Rao Anwar said he expects the case to go to trail, calling it a matter of "upholding Pakistan's dignity and honor. (The agent) acted illegally, and his arrest is perfectly legal." CNN's Sophia Saifi contributed to this report. | The agent was stopped for carrying ammunition as he tried to board a domestic flight .
He was carrying fifteen 9 mm bullets, police said .
The agent is in Pakistan as part of effort to train local police .
A diplomatic effort is under way to gain the release of the agent, who appeared in court Tuesday . |
191,490 | 83f8b02e02b02ae2048190d963f27b8915276d5a | The way that Benedict Cumberbatch – one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors – announced his engagement to Sophie Hunter in The Times newspaper has loudly applauded by a public sick of celebrity over-sharing. The style is typical of the Sherlock Holmes star – unassuming and modest in comparison to his showbiz status, as was his response a question from a reporter about how he felt about breaking thousands of women’s hearts – that he had made the most important heart happier. His charismatic personality is as much of a lure for his legions of followers as his acting prowess – an old school gentleman in a sea of brash modern males. Scroll down for video . Benedict's mother Wanda (left) has been a huge influence in both the star's personal and professional life. The actress had been desperate until recently for her son to settle down and have grandchildren, so was delighted to hear that he had proposed to girlfriend Sophie Hunter (right). Wanda is an extremely talented actress who tarred in UFO, Carry On films and Only Fools And Horses . He is the result of a comfortable upbringing in a loving family, where his parents are as much in love today as they were 42 years ago, but also as the son of a successful actress who was a household name in the 1970s. So who is this woman who inspired both Benedict’s career and love life? His mother Wanda Ventham, 79, is an extremely talented actress in her own right, with a long list of TV shows and films credits to her name. While she was a familiar face on television throughout the 70s and 80s, Wanda is best for her role as Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970’s sci-fi programme UFO. One reviewer said of her performance in the show: ‘Colonel Lake is effortlessly played by the Hammer horror beauty Wanda Ventham. ‘Tall, slim and incredibly attractive, she portrayed a cool executive without losing her femininity.’ Ed Bishop and Wanda Ventham in the television series UFO in 1973 . UFO wasn’t the only big name show that she featured in, from 1989 to 1992 she had a recurring role in Only Fools And Horses as Cassandra’s mother, in Heartbeat as Fiona Weston and in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates as Margaret Balshaw, to name just a few. She also appeared in two of the Carry On films - Carry On Cleo in 1964 and Carry On Up the Khyber 1968. Benedict has previously spoken of his embarrassment at some of his mother more raunchy roles, including a theatre part that involved her helping a cheating man to get dressed before his girlfriend returned. He told The Sunday Times in 2010: ‘I had to say to her, sorry, Mum, I just can't bear to see that gag one more time. ‘I was so sensitive to it, she must have wondered if I was gay." But despite cringing at some of her roles, it was Wanda and his actor father Timothy’s successful careers that convinced him to try for a career in performance art himself. Actress Wanda Ventham seen at her Kensington flat in the late 1970s . He told The Times Magazine last year: ‘What kid wouldn’t? Have you ever been backstage? ‘All the sets, with the name of the production on the back, with weights on the bottom of them, to hold them steady. ‘And in the wings, you see all that. But then you walk on stage – and you walk into a real world, for the people who are watching it. It’s amazing.’ Wanda was an extremely talented actress, with many expecting Brighton-born woman to become one of Britain’s exports to Hollywood. But from very early on, her love of a family life battled side-by-side with her desire to perform. Even in her earliest days of acting she always put her children first – she had to turn down an invitation to join the Royal Shakespeare Company because she was pregnant with her daughter – Benedict’s older half-sister. Benedict has since spoken of his regret that Wanda may have missed some golden opportunities through putting the needs of others above her own. He said: ‘I'd love her to have a 'Cranford moment', but for that you have to have a huge backlog of classical roles." (L-R) Tom Pelphrey, Wanda Ventham, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tracie Bennett and Timothy Carlton pose backstage at the hit play "End of The Rainbow" on Broadway at The Belasco Theatre in New York on May 1, 2012 . This maternal instinct overriding ambition carried on throughout Benedict’s childhood – he has spoken previously of her decision to choose commercial television over the RSC in order to provide the fees needed for his preparatory school in East Grinstead and later his scholarship place at Harrow. A scholarship place among Britain’s super-rich has caused many in the public school system to crack, but it was Wanda and Timothy’s complete confidence in their middle-class son also helped him hold his own among the elite at the prestigious boarding school. He told The Times that he was never bullied there because: ‘My parents loved the f*****g life out of me, so I felt confident about the world. ‘Not… entitled. Just like… I could step into the world. Investigate it.’ One area that they influenced Benedict against their better judgement though, was in his career choice. Fully aware of the financial difficulties that came from a life in the arts, his mother tried hard to convince him that he would be more suited to a serious job. Wanda Ventham pictured in a scene from the programme The Gold Robbers in 1969 . Benedict had played along and looked into a career in law while studying at Harrow, before eventually deciding on a degree in Drama at Manchester University. He told The Times: ‘They just saw the pitfalls of it every day. You don’t know where your next job is coming from, and it’s unstable, and you want stability for your children.’ And fortunately for the thousands of Cumberbitches out there, Benedict continued to go against his mother’s advice and forged a glittering career in film, television and theatre. But her anti-showbiz stance has stayed with him throughout his ascent to stardom – it is one of the key reasons that he constantly shies away from the limelight and is rarely seen at a celebrity party. Wanda’s biggest influence on her son though has got to be the example of romance that she and his father Timothy have set throughout their 38-year marriage. The couple met while in 1972 while filming the TV drama Family At War together. Wanda was still married to her first husband, the businessman James Tabernacle, at the time, but the union had been on the rocks for a long time and was all but finished. Timothy and Wanda had instant chemistry on the television set and have barely been apart since – finally marrying in 1976. Benedict's parents Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham in London in the early 1980s . The pair are hopeless romantics and for the first seven years that they were together, Timothy sent her a single rose every morning. She told an interviewer in the late 1970s: ‘Tim is a great romantic, which is really why—in the end—I decided I would remarry.’ She got hitched in a pair of jeans held up by braces – much to the embarrassment of her daughter Tracy, who was by then a teenager. Her fashion choices have definitely rubbed off on Benedict though – he has made it very clear before that he has little interest in high-maintenance ladies. He told an interviewer back in 2011: ‘A woman who knows that she doesn't have to get all decked out to look good is sexy. Wanda and Timothy lived for more than a decade in a three-bedroom flat in Kensington – until Benedict was 12 years old. Wanda Ventham in Midsomer Murders in 2005 . Without a garden of their own, Wanda took him regularly to Kensington Gardens, where he found a love for London parks – an interest that influenced the positioning of his current home next to Hampstead Heath. As Benedict headed into his teens and enrolled at Harrow, his parents sold up and moved to a three-bedroom cottage in Gloucestershire that neighbours Kate Moss’s mansion. While the couple also own a holiday home in Greece, Wanda mainly spends her time at the Cotswolds property, where she tends to the garden and indulges in her hobby of collecting barn owl memorabilia. Although she claims to be retired, the actress has recently been dipping her toe back in television – most recently with a cameo on Holby City earlier this year. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter attend the Men's Final of Roland Garros French Tennis Open 2014 . She also starred in an episode of Sherlock where she and her husband played the onscreen parents of Benedict’s detective character. But her keen interest in her son’s career has been matched in recent years by her desire for him to settle down and have children. So, she would have been delighted to have been informed that her son had asked his girlfriend Sophie to marry him last month. He admitted last week that grandchildren were next on her wish list for her son, saying: ‘My mother is also waiting for Cumberbabies.' | His mother Wanda Ventham, 79, is an extremely talented actress .
Mother-of-two starred in UFO, Carry On films and Only Fools And Horses .
Her 38-year marriage to his father Timothy is also an inspiration .
The couple gave Benedict his drive to succeed in the performing arts . |
3,472 | 0a0aa464d262b903f44b0f8eaa67f13dd1946cfd | By . Antonia Hoyle . PUBLISHED: . 17:02 EST, 21 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:04 EST, 22 August 2013 . Suzanne Morris off to sleep at 2am as her tiny two-month-old son George lay beside her. With him snuggled between Suzanne and her husband David, the fledgling family seemed the picture of contentment. But a couple of hours later Suzanne awoke with a start and realised George was no longer by her side. Her shock had turned to panic by the time she discovered him under the duvet at the bottom of her and David's marital bed. 'He'd either wriggled there or we had pushed him down in our sleep,' says Suzanne. 'I get a cold sweat when I think about it. George could have been smothered. He was sound asleep and it was just a lucky coincidence I woke up. Who knows what could have happened? He could have died and become a statistic.' Dangerous bonding: Babies can be squashed or suffocated if they sleep in the same bed as their parents (posed by models) The statistic to which Suzanne refers is the number of babies who die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) each year. They were given a disturbing new focus recently when researchers revealed that babies who share a bed with their mothers are up to five times more likely to die than those who sleep separately. SIDS - the sudden and unexplained death of a child under the age of one - kills 300 babies a year in Britain. It has been long known that premature babies and those with breathing and heart problems are more susceptible, while parents who smoke, take drugs or drink to excess are known to put their baby at risk. But it now transpires that even the most diligent mothers, like Suzanne, are also jeopardising their baby’s safety by co-sleeping. 'Babies have been squashed or wriggled under the duvet and can die from being overheated' The comprehensive review - compiled with data from five previous studies and after examining nearly 1,500 cases of SIDS - revealed that an estimated 88 per cent of deaths that occurred while a child slept with their parents would not have happened if the baby had not been bed-sharing. 'Deep down, I suppose we knew it was risky,' says Suzanne, 40. 'It wasn't a choice to co-sleep that night. We were just so tired. I was absolutely mortified and still am.' An adult bed can be a dangerous environment for a baby, as Alison Edwards, a senior lecturer in midwifery at Birmingham City University, explains: 'Babies have been squashed or wriggled under the duvet and can die from being overheated.' Yet 50 per cent of all mothers share a bed with their baby at some stage, despite Department of Health guidelines urging them to place an infant in its own cot for the first six months. Risk: Half of all mothers share a bed with their baby at some stage, despite Department of Health guidelines urging them to place an infant in its own cot for the first six months . This is, perhaps, due to the popularity of trendy 'attachment parenting', as espoused by psychologists such as Penelope Leach and celebrity mothers from Angelina Jolie to Heidi Klum. It encourages mothers to feed their babies on demand and never let them out of their sight. The 'breastapo' also has a case to answer: pressure on women to breastfeed has led to a huge rise in co-sleeping, with 80 per cent of mothers succumbing to it. Because breast milk is easier to digest than formula, babies grow hungrier faster and need to be fed more often than their bottle-fed peers. Many mothers feel the only way they can get any sleep at all is to keep their child by their side. Suzanne, an event manager, who lives with David, 42, a chartered surveyor, and George, now seven, and Ruby, four, in Hove, East Sussex, admits that's what happened to her. 'I was desperate to breastfeed and was advised by my parenting class to keep George on my breast non-stop to get feeding established,' she says. 'When I think of what could have happened I feel sick. I now fully appreciate how dangerous co-sleeping can be' 'But he never got enough milk. I was feeding every two hours. I would never have slept.' George was given a bottle and his own cot in their room, but Suzanne is still haunted by the incident. 'When I think of what could have happened I feel sick. I now fully appreciate how dangerous co-sleeping can be.' Yet plenty of professional bodies still promote its benefits. Rosemary Dodds, senior policy advisor at the National Childbirth Trust, insists the organisation does not advise new parents on whether to sleep with their baby, but adds: 'We are aware of the advantages of bed sharing for a baby in terms of reassurance and establishing breastfeeding. 'For parents it works very well because they get more sleep. Historically and culturally babies have slept close to their parents.' Certainly, until the advent of the cot in the 19th century, co-sleeping in Western society was de rigueur. Parenting expert Sarah Ockwell-Smith, author of BabyCalm, insists that co-sleeping poses no added risk if planned properly. 'It is the most common way of sleeping in Japan and they have the lowest SIDS rate in the world,' she says, claiming that mothers instinctively form a protective 'frame' around their baby with their body. But Ockwell-Smith admits there are caveats. Babies should always be put in sleeping bags above, never under, parents' duvets. Three's a crowd: Sleeping with your baby can drive a wedge between couples . They should sleep on their mother's side of the bed, as research shows fathers are less attuned to their child's movements and more likely to roll on top of them. And formula-fed babies - without the immunity-boosting properties of breast milk - should not co-sleep at all as studies have shown them to be at a higher risk of SIDS in the first place. Professor Helen Ball, who runs the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab at Durham University, says she has also discovered that breastfeeding mothers instinctively position their babies more safely in their bed than those who have never breastfed. 'Mothers who have only bottle fed place their baby up near their face, rather than at their chest, so they are on the pillow and at risk of suffocation,' she says. 'Your partner will start to feel left out if you have a little person with you 24 hours a day. There is never time to be a couple' Some co-sleep for the feeling of closeness as much as to facilitate breastfeeding. 'The increased skin-on-skin contact releases a hormone called oxytocin that promotes bonding,' says Ockwell-Smith. Kate Kirrane, 40, a company director from London, co-slept with her daughter Iyla, now three, after her birth in September 2009 until her son Isaac, now 18 months, was born in February last year. Now he still sleeps with Mum if teething or fretful. 'It feels unnatural not to,' says Kate. 'He wants to be close to me - why would I deprive him of that?' She says health visitors and midwives were already aware of the dangers at the time she gave birth. 'It was rammed down my throat I shouldn't do it but I have always been mindful of safety and my natural instinct won over,' she says. 'It is wrong that mothers are made to feel guilty.' And what of the husbands in this arrangement? Co-sleeping inevitably creates an added barrier to spousal relations which are often already strained by a newborn. Kate admits that there were times when her husband Michael, 43, a company manager, 'put his foot down'. 'But at the end of the day it’s not him getting up in the night, is it?' She claims co-sleeping has had little impact on their romantic life, however. 'I sleep better this way so I'm happier, which means I'm a better mother and wife.' But maternity nurse Rachel Waddilove, author of Sleep Solutions, is adamant co-sleeping has a ruinous effect on a relationship: 'Your partner might enjoy it for the first few days but he will start to feel left out if you have a little person with you 24 hours a day. There is never time to be a couple.' Attachment parenting advocates as much skin-on-skin contact as possible . Colette Burgess couldn't agree more. She and her husband Dave, a welder, agreed long before their son Ben was born in July 2009 and daughter Chloe came along two years later that there was no place in their family for co-sleeping. 'I adore my children but don't want to spend every waking moment with them,' she says. 'Our bedroom is the only place we can get away. There is barely enough room for two of us without a baby in the middle.' Ben and Chloe both slept in a cot at the bottom of the bed before moving into their own rooms at four and eight months respectively. Colette, 33, breastfed each for eight months and says that the safety implications of co-sleeping worried her almost as much as the invasion of her marital privacy. 'I'd go downstairs to feed so I didn't risk falling asleep on our bed,' she says. 'I was paranoid about suffocating them and no matter how tired I was I'd never feed lying down.' Colette, a primary school teacher from Manchester, was brought up by her own parents never to enter their room and is now training Ben and Chloe to do the same. The upshot is that neither wakes in the night, she adds. 'I have friends who have co-slept and their children are now six and still getting into their bed. At what point do you draw the line and say they need to sleep on their own?' It is a controversial question. But based on the latest scientific findings, it seems that sooner would be infinitely safer than later. | Babies who share a bed with their mothers are up to five times more likely to suffer Sudden Infant Death Syndrome .
Department of Health urge placing infant in own cot for first six months .
Many mothers share a bed due to popularity of 'attachment parenting'
Others find it easier when breastfeeding .
But it can also ruin relationships as well as being dangerous . |
259,202 | db87581db3d50b3054243473f0c34339e5bd23a2 | (CareerBuilder.com) -- There are essentially three generations of job seekers vying for jobs today: Baby Boomers, Generation X or Gen X, and Generation Y or Millennials. Because of this, job seekers are finding themselves competing with people of all different ages for the same job; people that can bring different experiences and skill sets to the position. I asked career coaches, advisers and recruiters if there are any patterns in how job seekers from different generations go about the job search. Here are some that they noted: . Baby Boomers: Often show a high level of professionalism and excel in face-to-face interviews. "Baby Boomers know that the job search is ultimately about relationships, and [they] tend to invest the time in the process of developing relationships," says Lynne Sarikas, executive director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University. "They know the value of a handwritten thank-you note." Gen X: Tend to utilize both in-person and online communication effectively. "When it comes to overall communication skills and working knowledge of technology, members of Generation X fall squarely between their 20-year-old and 50- to 60-year-old counterparts," says Maribeth Kuzmeski, author of "The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life." "They are used to online job searches, emailing résumés and following up via both email and handwritten notes." Millennials: Often adept at using all forms of social media in their job search. They tend to embrace all kinds of technology and use that technology to their advantage, including applying via their smartphone or tablet or following up via creative ways online. "[Job seekers] over 50 years old may be used to looking for work in a newspaper, attending job fairs, dropping by a company to inquire about job leads and speaking to those in their network regarding job opportunities," says Lavie Margolin, career coach, speaker and author of "Lion Cub Job Search: Practical Job Search Assistance for Practical Job Seekers." "A younger generation would be more apt to look for jobs online and use social networks to reach out to people for help as opposed to speaking to people face-to-face or giving someone a call." So how do job seekers compete with those from other generations? Perhaps it's by learning from each other and applying a combination of new and tried-and-true job-search tactics. Here are some tips on how job seekers of all generations can be successful in their job hunt. Embrace both offline and online communication . To get the most out of a job search, try using both online and offline resources. Search for jobs on career websites as well as social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Consider building an online portfolio that houses your résumé along with examples of your work or previous successes, but don't forget to bring hard copies to an interview, too. Also try meeting with a headhunter or recruiter who specializes in finding jobs in the field for which you're applying. Networking works . "Regardless of generation, the single most important thing you can do to support your job search is networking," Sarikas says. "Identify alumni, former colleagues, friends of friends or family who work in the companies you are interested in as employers. Conduct informational interviews to learn about the company, the culture and the types of roles in your area of interest. Meet as many people as possible who can help support your efforts, and identify how you can help them as well. While you can use the Internet and other tools to identify resources, do your networking in person whenever possible. Have a real conversation." Execution matters . "Execution matters — cover letters and résumés must be flawless; no spelling or grammatical errors," Sarikas says. "You should be well prepared for your interview. Research the company and the people you are meeting. Have questions prepared. Information is easily accessible, so there is no excuse for not being well prepared." The power of thank you . Follow up with both an email and a snail mail thank-you note. "Write a handwritten thank-you note to each interviewer and show your enthusiasm for the job as well as your appreciation for their time. It makes them remember you in a positive way," Sarikas recommends. © CareerBuilder.com 2011. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority. | Baby Boomers excel in face-to-face interviews while Gen X and Millennials are more adept in using online technology .
Networking is important regardless of generation .
Follow up with both an email and a snail mail thank you note . |
125,705 | 2e801d8b2fd0b8aab3bf2c1fd6ebe6f244ba6e55 | A day late and a compromise short. House Republicans stayed in Washington longer than planned to try to change an emergency border bill so it can pass without any Democratic help. A split between tea party conservatives and more moderate Republicans over how to respond to the immigrant surge from Central America threatened to further delay the start of the five-week summer break for Congress. GOP leaders abruptly pulled the bill from the House floor on Thursday, to address concerns by some conservative factions. They came back Friday with a revised version that included more money for the National Guard. Among the changes: provisions making it easier to deport children back to Central America and scheduling a separate vote on a bill to deny President Barack Obama the authority to halt deportations of young immigrants -- the so-called "Dreamers." In one way, it worked: The updated version passed the House on Friday night, by a 223-189 resoundingly Republican vote. But that doesn't mean this legislation is going anywhere. Zero chance . That's because the measure has zero chance of getting through the Democratic-led Senate, meaning Congress will go on its August recess without sending legislation to President Barack Obama on what both parties call a humanitarian crisis. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed as much Friday, saying "I don't think it's going to get done" because he "can't imagine" the Senate approving the House version. Obama later said the failure of Congress to provide emergency funding in response to the immigrant influx means he must decide how to reallocate resources because "we've run out of money" to handle the surge. He blamed overall Washington dysfunction on the inability of congressional Republicans to agree among themselves on what to do, telling reporters that GOP legislators "are not able to act even on what they say their priorities are" and are unable to compromise because of differences among themselves. Internal division . As an example, he cited the refusal by House Speaker John Boehner to hold a vote on a comprehensive Senate immigration reform measure passed last year with bipartisan support from backing from across society including the business community, labor unions and faith-based groups. "The argument isn't between me and House Republicans," he said. "It's between House Republicans and Senate Republicans. House Republicans and the business community. House Republicans and the evangelical community." Boehner spokesman Michael Steel shot back that it was Obama's failed leadership that caused the current border crisis, saying the President has been "completely AWOL." For House Republicans, the optics of passing a plan before heading home became the top priority after Senate Democrats were unable to push through their own version, which died Thursday night on a procedural vote. Steel pushed that point, noting that "Senate Democrats have left town without acting on" Obama's request for emergency funds." "Right now, House Republicans are the only ones still working to address this crisis," he said. Such is the state of politics in Washington less than four months before congressional elections. The partisan climate is as fierce as ever with conservatives again rising up to challenge establishment priorities and assert their agenda. Immigrant influx . The influx of immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador -- many of them unaccompanied children -- into Texas has overwhelmed border facilities and services, inflaming an already volatile political issue. Obama had asked for $3.7 billion in emergency funds to strengthen border security and speed up the processing of new arrivals, while the Democratic plan scuttled in the Senate called for $2.7 billion. The GOP measure in the House slashed that to $659 million and included a change to a 2008 anti-trafficking law to make it easier to send home the child immigrants. Tea party Republicans, spurred on by conservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, rejected the plan because it failed to limit Obama from acting on his own on immigration issues, such as halting deportations of some child immigrants who arrived years earlier. Unilateral steps . They also fear further further unilateral steps signaled by the White House that would allow more undocumented immigrants to work in the United States. Ted Cruz weighs in . The conservative backlash forced GOP leaders to cancel a scheduled vote on Thursday night, originally planned as the last session before the summer recess. Instead, the Republican caucus met Friday to revise their plan by adding $35 million to help Texas pay for National Guard troops deployed to the border and loosen regulations to ease the ability to send home newly arriving immigrants with no standing to remain in the country. Legislators said after the meeting the changes appeared to secure the necessary support to pass the bill, but some dissatisfaction remained over plans to hold separate votes on the funding measure and a Cruz-backed provision to halt Obama's unilateral steps on immigration. Obama, however, called the resulting GOP legislation "the most extreme" version so far and said Republicans knew it had no chance of becoming law because the Democratic-led Senate wouldn't pass it and he would veto it. Widening gap . The changes widened the gap between Republicans and Democrats, who oppose removing guaranteed immigration hearings for child immigrants from Central American now required under the 2008 law. Reid said the House "appears to be heading from bad to worse" in its effort to secure conservative votes. Thursday's developments were an embarrassing result for Boehner and his new leadership team put together after former Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary defeat last month. The canceled vote and resulting confusion displayed the continuing deep divisions between conservative and more moderate House Republicans that has caused similar episodes in the past on other spending matters. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration already has shifted resources from the nation's interior to the border to try to speed up the processing of new arrivals. Obama also will do what he can to address overall immigration reform because House Republicans have refused to vote on a comprehensive measure passed last year by the Senate, Earnest said. Rubio plunges into immigration debate . Crisis impacts public opinion . | The GOP-led House passes an immigration bill by a 223-189 vote .
Democrats, including President Obama, have criticized the measure .
Senate failed to push through its version and left town for the month of August .
With no legislation, Obama will act on his own . |
186,267 | 7d421601e3850739b2bfcf9f0949c4ab9968d140 | (CNN) -- In just a few decades, Dubai has risen from relative obscurity to become a global leader in the world of aviation. Emirates Airlines, their national carrier, is the third largest airline in the world according to CAPA Center for Aviation, and at the rate it's growing, it won't be long before it beats out Delta and United to the top the list. The city is host to one of the biggest events on the aerospace calendar: the biennial Dubai Airshow. The five-day show, which kicks off November 17 this year, will be held for the first time at the city's new $32 million Al-Maktoum International Airport -- set to be the world's largest on its 2027 completion. More: 9 unique Dubai restaurants . The 2013 event is expected to be one of the most popular in the show's history, with more than 1,000 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors already registered. "The days where air shows were dominated by Paris and Farnborough are gone," says Saj Ahmad, a chief analyst with StrategicAero Research. "Dubai is home to Emirates and (budget carrier) flydubai, two of the fastest growing airlines in the world, and thanks to its ever-expanding airport -- which could push Heathrow down the rankings table next year -- Dubai has shown that the region is key to the aviation market." Read more: The Middle East's airport wars . The Airshow, which first launched in 1989, has become pivotal for plane manufacturers. Over $155 billion worth of deals took place at the 2007 show -- the largest figure for any global aviation event. That same year, Emirates ordered £31.7 billion worth of Airbus A380s -- the biggest single order in airline history. In 2011, Boeing received its largest aircraft order -- also from Emirates -- for $18 billion worth of 777-300ERs. "The legacy of Paris and Farnborough are important. However, Dubai's prominence as a venue for game-changing deals is one that the two European hosts will never match," says Ahmad. Infographic: Super-sizing the Middle East's airports . Already there are mumblings of record-breaking orders planned for this year's event. Likely, Boeing will unveil orders for their new 777X widebody jet, and there's rumors that Emirates is planning to purchase 100 of the planes for upwards of $30 billion, while Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is supposedly set to buy 25 to 30. It should probably come as no surprise that aviation makes up a bulk of Dubai's economy; the industry accounts for nearly 20% of Dubai's workforce and 28% of its GDP. It is becoming important in other countries in the region as well. Aviation contributes $11.4 billion to Qatar's economy and more than $19.45 billion to Saudi Arabia's. Read more: Inside Dubai's A380 concourse . "The geographic position of the Gulf happens to be excellent in the 21st century economic context," notes John Strickland, an independent transport consultant. "Carriers like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar can access emerging markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America and connect them in a way that is meaningful to travelers, and that European carriers can't hope to copy. If you want to fly from Africa to China, in terms of lines on a map, it just doesn't make sense to stopover in Europe." | The Dubai Airshow matches Paris and Farnborough as an important aerospace event .
This year's show will be held at the new $32 million Al-Maktoum International Airport .
In previous years, the show broke records for most deals made .
It's rumored this year will break more records, as Emirates might buy $30 billion worth of Boeing's 777X jetliner . |
202,487 | 9227fe6eda3a51ebf6fef19af87d7ca45998e083 | With its incredible presentation, near-prefect controls and life-like animation, it’s hard to find anything wrong with NBA 2K14. And although it’s not radically different from the previous game, key gameplay mechanics have been tweaked to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. Court in the act: everything from the animation to the way each player looks is right on the money . Perhaps most impressive is how 2K Sports have captured the feel of the sport. Fast breaks are easier to execute than ever before, while showboating Assist Passes (achieved by a tap of the right and left triggers) means no game is without flair. Play-calling, achieved via the D-Pad, is a breeze, too, allowing you to change tactics on the fly. There are also plenty of dribble moves – with an impressive amount of combinations available at the touch of the right analogue stick. Thankfully, they don’t always work, and pulling them off at the wrong moment will often result in a turnover. Shooting from deep is as rewarding as ever, made even more so by just how well-realised the players are. Many of the most famous stars have made a seamless transition to the game – from pixel-perfect expressions, to their shot technique. Three points! Shooting isn't easy, but it's not so hard as to put you off trying your luck from distance . Sadly, although the game looks incredible in motion, cut-scenes do not have the same level of polish. Characters have a ‘dead-behind-the-eyes’ look about them, and uncomfortably jolt around. Given the high-quality of the presentation – from the outstanding commentary to glitzy game menus and impeccable soundtrack – it’s a shame such an integral part of the game isn’t quite up to scratch. Thankfully, this blip can’t take away from the wide selection of game modes on offer. The standard pick-up-and-play matches, multi-season and multiplayer feature but it’s the LeBron: Path to Greatness, that takes centre stage. In similar vein to NBA 2K12’s Jordan Challenge, you take control of LeBron James and take part in a series of key games across several seasons. So close but so far: If only the cutscenes had more polish, then this could be the perfect sports game. There is still hope, though, when the game is released on next-gen consoles . You can choose either the Heat Dynasty – where James must help Miami become a dominant force in the league, or the Fantastic Journey – that sees the star hop around different teams. It’s a worthy addition, but one many won't find as fun as the Jordan Challenge. No matter, because for the most part, NBA 2K14 is a slam-dunking success. NBA 2K14 is out now. Agree with Talal? Follow us on Twitter: @DailyMailGames and on Facebook: Daily Mail Games. | Impeccable overall presentation let down slightly by the cutscenes .
Fantastic gameplay that captures the feel and flair of the sport .
Plenty of game modes - including the enjoyable LeBron: Path to Greatness .
Sadly, Path to Greatness is not as fun as NBA 2K12's Jordan Challenge .
For those after the best visual package, you'll have to wait for next-gen . |
264,582 | e2b407f7f3336353f03bce5226140f83d6171cf0 | Controversy: Former EC president Jacques Delors made a u-turn over Britain's role in the single market . One of the key architects of the European single market today admitted Britain would be better off leaving the European Union. Mr Delors's radical U-turn comes 22 . years after he infuriated Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and other . Eurosceptics by trying to force European federalism on the UK. In November 1990 the economist became the subject of a famous headline in the Sun newspaper which read: 'Up Your Delors!' Frenchman Jacques Delors, who was president of the European Commission three times, suggested that 'the British are solely interested in their own economic interests, and nothing else. We could offer them another kind of partnership.' In an interview in the German economic daily Handelsblatt, Mr Delors continued : 'If the British do not follow the tendency towards more integration in the European Union, we can anyway stay friends, but in another way.' Mr Delors suggested Britain might sign up for an agreement 'like that of the European economic area' or a 'free trade agreement'. If Britain does leave the EU, said Mr Delors, the country would still be a 'partner', because it is 'strategically and economically important'. But, in a typically cutting aside, Mr Delors said that 'other countries' were also important in the new economic order, including India and China. The United Kingdom belongs to the EU since 1973, but has not joined the Eurozone. On Thursday Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, warned that David Cameron's drive to repatriate powers from Brussels risks damaging the EU and could cause the collapse of the single market. Mr Van Rompuy - who chairs the EU's . summits - said the Prime Minister's attempts to achieve a new settlement . with Europe were destabilising the 27-member bloc. 'If . every member state were able to cherry-pick those parts of existing . policies that they most like, and opt out of those that they least like, . the union in general, and the single market in particular, would soon . unravel' said Mr Van Rompuy. Tense handshake: Jacques Delors pictured here with Prime Minister Thatcher in 1987 after a battle over European federalism . Jacques Delors (far left) and Prime Minister Thatcher pictured here with President George Bush and other European heads of state at an economic summit in 1990 . He . added: 'All member states can, and do, have particular requests and . needs that are always taken into consideration as part of our . deliberations. I do not expect any member state to seek to undermine the . fundamentals of our co-operative system in Europe.' Eurosceptic . Conservatives are concerned that the party could lose out to UKIP, the . UK Independence Party, in the 2015 general election unless Mr Cameron . makes more effort to boost British sovereignty over Brussels. Delors became the President of the European Commission in January 1985. During his presidency, he oversaw . important budgetary reforms and laid the groundwork for the introduction . of a single market within the European Community, which came into . effect on 1 January 1993. In the autumn of 1988 Delors . addressed the British Trade Union Congress, promising that the EC would . be a force to require governments to introduce pro-labour legislation. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . responded with her famous Bruges Speech in September 1988, in which she . said that she had not rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain . only to see them reimposed by a Brussels superstate. These developments were of key . importance for domestic UK politics – as recently as the early 1980s . large elements of the Labour Party had been opposed to British . membership of the EC, whereas the Conservatives had favoured joining. The Sun's now infamous headline made Prime Minister Thatcher's message loud and clear . Jacques Delors puts on a brave smile as he arrives ahead of talks with Mrs Thatcher . Facing a fight: Prime Minister David Cameron will now have to confront his own party's Eurosceptic camp following the comments from Jacques Delors . After 1988, however, it was to be the . Conservatives who were divided, with Thatcher and her supporters . opposed to further European federalism. On 1 November 1990, shortly before Thatcher was ousted as Prime Minister, Delors bore the brunt of British Euroscepticism. The Sun's famous headline sent the message loud and clear with 'Up . Yours Delors' in response to his supposed attempts to force European . federalism upon the UK. After 1988, however, it was to be the Conservatives who were divided, with Thatcher and her supporters opposed to further European federalism. On 1 November 1990, shortly before Thatcher was ousted as Prime Minister, Delors bore the brunt of British Euroscepticism. The Sun's famous headline sent the message loud and clear with 'Up Yours Delors' in response to his supposed attempts to force European federalism upon the UK. The proposal from Mr Delors prompts concerns France might be willing to cut Britain loose, boosting the influence of Paris, as the EU moves to fiscal and political union in 2014 in the wake of the eurozone debt crisis. In a concerted campaign to keep Britain in Europe, Germany and senior European officials have warned that British demands to be able to "cherry pick" which bits of the EU it signs up to could unravel the whole bloc. Prime Minister Cameron is under pressure to give the British public a say on whether to leave the EU, demands that will be fuelled by the comments from Mr Delors. Mr cameron has said he supports continued EU membership but wants a 'new settlement' involving Britain opting-out of justice measures and seeking exemptions to any further centralisation of power in Brussels. He is widely expected to make a speech in the New Year outlining plans for a referendum in 2015, which would voters a choice between a new relationship with Europe and leaving altogether. This includes committing to a national referendum on whether Britain wants to remain in the EU. | Former EC president Jacques Delors was architect of single market .
The French socialist had bitter dispute with Prime Minister Thatcher .
Feud with PM over EU prompted 'Up Yours Delors' front page .
Now he says said UK and Europe could split but "stay friends"
News could mobilise Tory Eurosceptics .
Comments may create major political headache for Cameron . |
268,282 | e780bb615047d0341be027b790de7c963965b6d3 | What was meant to be a joyous and romantic evening for a newlywed couple instead became a horror scene when the groom head-butted and choked his bride. Police were called to a home at Fannie Bay in Darwin on Friday night, where they were met by the 29-year-old 'intoxicated' and 'dishevelled' groom who was still in his dress shirt after being married earlier that night. 'Apparently an argument began at the wedding reception when the groom called his new father in law a very unsavoury name,' Northern Territory Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said. A 29-year-old Darwin man was arrested on the night of his wedding after he allegedly threw his wife 'to the ground and kicked her' 'In the car ride home from the reception the groom tried to head butt and choke the bride. 'She retaliated by slapping him,' Supt Jorgensen said. 'When they reached their home in Fannie Bay the shocking violence continued.' The man is alleged to have thrown his wife to the ground and kicked her before neighbours intervened. He was arrested and spent the night in custody and a Domestic Violence order is expected to be obtained. Police were called to their home at Fannie Bay in Darwin on Friday night, where they were met by the 29-year-old 'intoxicated' and 'dishevelled' groom who was still in his dress shirt after being married earlier that night . 'Police, witnesses, friends and family were appalled by this situation and needless to say the future of this short union does not augur well,' Supt Jorgensen said. In a statement on Saturday, officers clarified that they had shared news of the incident in an effort to highlight the ongoing issues and problems of domestic and family violence. 'In particular, that it can occur to any member of the community, male or female, rich or poor, young or old, newly married or together for years,' the statement read. Anyone who has experienced or is at risk of family and domestic violence or sexual assault can call the 24 hour, National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line on 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | A 29-year-old Darwin man was arrested on the night of his wedding .
He then allegedly threw his wife 'to the ground and kicked her'
Police said the argument began at the wedding reception when the groom called his new father in law 'a very unsavoury name'
He spent his wedding night in custody and a Domestic Violence order is expected to be obtained . |
60,890 | ad01a55b0663318e60bdc5b8160d4def2834bacd | (CNN) -- Protests planned around Egypt -- particularly in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- on the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution are expected to be an explosion of dissent, revealing the deep divisions in the country between President Mohamed Morsy and the Egyptian people. Opposition to Morsy's authoritarianism is broader than the world recognizes. In making accommodations for Morsy's government, the United States is -- once again -- out of step with the Egyptian people. Egyptians may not know exactly what they want, but they know what they don't want. Although an effective political opposition has yet to coalesce, Egyptians from all sectors of society are united in their refusal to accept another repressive regime. Egypt is on a collision course. An ever growing, if periodically discouraged, portion of the population opposes the government and Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood, and supports the revolution's goals of social and economic justice, accountable government, and basic freedoms, including freedom of expression and protection of minorities. Yet the government is moving in exactly the opposite direction, with its authoritarian control over political, social, and religious life. The government's investigation of the wildly popular "Egyptian Jon Stewart" Bassem Youssef -- charged with insulting Morsy and undermining his command -- and the forced "retirement" of respected journalist Hani Shukrallah, editor of state-owned Al-Ahram's English-language website, are just two very public examples of the vice tightening on freedom of expression. In fact, the Arab Network for Human Rights says about 24 lawsuits for insulting Morsy have been filed against journalists and activists since his election in June. The regime is trying to put the revolution genie back in the bottle. But it is clamping down on a population that has discovered its voice. In opposition to this repression, Egyptians at all levels are increasingly engaged in politics. A Cairo cab driver -- ever the measure of popular sentiment -- recently debated the failings of the Constitution with a passenger. After reaching the destination, the driver leapt out, grabbed a dogeared copy of the Constitution he kept in the front seat, and pointed to a passage to prove his point to his passenger. The December demonstrations against President Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Constitution, which attracted an even broader segment of the population than those who stood in Tahrir Square in 2011, revealed the broadening chasm between the regime and the people in Egypt. Assembled outside the Presidential Palace were old and young, veiled and unveiled, rich and poor. Whether they arrived in chauffeur-driven cars or whether they marched from Cairo's outlying shantytowns, the hundreds of thousands joined together in their refusal to accept a state that squashed the dreams of the revolution and dictated political, social, and religious behavior. Many call the second wave of the revolution in the fall of 2012 the "Mothers' Revolution." Parents and grandparents went into the streets to protest the divided loyalties in their families between the Islamists (Brotherhood or Salafis) and those supporting a democratic, secular Egypt. In Egypt, secular means freedom from state control of religion, not nonreligious. The clash between these two visions of Egypt -- secular with freedom and social justice, or a religious state run by the Brotherhood with its version of Sharia law -- played out inside families and on the streets. Soldiers protecting the Presidential Palace during the December demonstrations were moved to tears when an Egyptian woman, referring to Morsy, shouted at them, "Why are you protecting this man who is pitting Egyptians against each other?" Mohamed El Gindy, a successful businessman who opposes Morsy and spent much of December camping in Tahrir with the young revolutionaries, has experienced this division within families firsthand. A relative who had joined the Salafis informed him that the extreme Islamist group had put El Gindy at No. 5 on its "hit list," which is widely believed by Egyptians to exist. The relative was unapologetic until El Gindy told him that he might as well put El Gindy's mother on the list, too, since the octogenarian also had joined the street protests. Egypt and its families may be divided, but on one subject, all are united -- in the belief that the United States is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government. Visible in the throngs at the December demonstrations were signs opposing Qatar and the United States -- yes, the U.S. and Qatar were lumped together as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood regime. "This is such a historic opportunity to restore the image of the U.S., but instead it is putting itself in the same position as Qatar. ... And this from President Obama -- so disappointing," Riham Bahi, a professor at American University in Cairo, said, reflecting views heard repeatedly last December in Egypt. Opposition leader and blogger Bassem Sabry was even more blunt: "With the Constitution in play, you are subsidizing an Islamist state." Sabry said he was always pro-U.S. "until the revolution." In addition, the Pentagon plans to proceed with the delivery of 20 F-16 jets to Egypt, a step that looks to Egyptians like a vote of confidence in Morsy. Unchanged since the revolution, U.S. aid policy toward Egypt still makes the military alliance its priority. Two years after the Egyptian Revolution, the U.S. government finds itself again backing an authoritarian regime against the popular will. As January 25 approaches, with massive protests planned against Morsy's government, this is a precarious position for both the U.S. and Egypt. In his second term, Obama should adopt a more agile and informed policy toward Egypt, one that matches the words often heard from the White House -- "The United States always has stood with the Egyptian people" -- with action. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Cynthia Schneider. | National protests against Morsy set for second anniversary of Egypt's revolution .
Cynthia Schneider: U.S. out of step, underestimates the anti-Morsy sentiment .
She says proponents of secular democracy think the U.S. backs Muslim Brotherhood .
She says massive protests will show U.S. needs to align itself with the popular will . |
160,951 | 5c146d274266fed3cb4a3bb39b630465f575b5e5 | Hazard, Suarez, RVP... IN. David Silva? Go on then. There's £100million to spend. And if your picks are on the money you can once again win big in MailOnline's fantasy football game. Even though the deadline to be in with a chance of securing the £1million prize has passed, there is still £60,000 to be won in other prizes. The overall winner scoops £40,000, with smaller prizes for the runner-up and third place. Meanwhile, there are 10 Manager-of-the-Month prizes worth £1,000 and . even a £1,000 'Golden Boot' award for the team that scores the most . goals. There's also a £4,000 prize pot for the highest average scoring . mini-league at the end of the season. You might even have an advantage by starting a little late - click here to find out why. You can still pit your wits against former Liverpool, Tottenham and England midfielder, and Sportsmail columnist, Jamie Redknapp. Jamie has picked his side and it will be automatically placed into all mini-leagues for you to compete against. Main men: Will you select Eden Hazard or splash the cash on Robin van Persie? The choice is yours... Sportsmail will be bringing you a weekly fantasy football column to help guide you . through the season, with hints, transfer tips and other advice. Plus, players will receive regular emails detailing their weekly scores. **CLICK HERE TO PLAY MAILONLINE FANTASY FOOTBALL NOW!** . It looks easy, doesn’t it? Jose Mourinho can do it, David Moyes can do it – Manchester City will be hoping Manuel Pellegrini can, too. We all think we can pick the right team and now you can prove it. I’ve going picked my team in MailOnline’s brilliant new Fantasy Football game – and you can go head-to-head with me. But when it comes down to it, do you pick RVP or Luis Suarez? Can you afford Gareth Bale? And what about the new boys in the Premier League, like Paulinho or Fernandinho? Do you go for goals with David Luiz in defence, or stay a little more solid with Vincent Kompany? I’ve studied the transfers and the stats to pick my fantasy squad. You can test yourself against me by entering my team in your mini-league. Fancy your chances? There’s a £40,000 prize for the top manager at the end of the season. Plus there’s a £1,000 bonus for each Manager of the Month so it’s well worth tinkering through the season. Get thinking, get researching and register your teams NOW! Good luck, . JAMIE . Ready for action: Jamie Redknapp will put his team in your mini-league... can you beat him? Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Enter up to FIVE teams... It's completely FREE .
Play against ex-England star Jamie Redknapp in your own private league .
Top manager of the season wins £40,000 .
There are manager of the month bonuses and more cash prizes .
MailOnline Fantasy Football is produced in association with Coral. Click here to claim your free bet NOW. |
233,014 | b9ac88d998b98595fb8d52a78d5d77064c466dd7 | By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 18:56 EST, 18 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:58 EST, 18 November 2013 . A benefits fraudster who fled the UK for the Costa del Sol ahead of his sentencing in 2008 has been jailed for three years. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith labelled the case as 'outrageous' when it emerged 70-year-old Norman Brennan had been at large in Spain for five years. He vowed to bring the pensioner back to face justice. Brennan had earlier admitting fraudulently claiming nearly £120,000 of various benefits before he skipped bail. Benefits fraudster Norman Brennan, from Merseyside, had been at large in Spain for five years before he was found by Sky News reporters . Some of the benefits were claimed in the name of his brother, Leslie, who had lived in Germany for nearly three decades. Brennan, formerly of Netherton, Merseyside, was given bail when sentencing was adjourned in July 2008 but gave authorities the slip and left the country. Last month, Sky News tracked down Brennan to the Spanish village of Mijas Costas, and asked him if he thought he should be in the UK. 'No,' was Brennan's response. Mr Duncan Smith told the news channel: 'I'm astonished. I'll certainly take this case away, and I know that I have myself fraud investigators who are out in Spain already. 'So, what we'll do is we'll check this case, and I can promise you that if they haven't done enough, they will now do their level best to get this man back. 'This sort of case is outrageous, and I'll deal with it.' Brennan (left), formerly of Netherton, Merseyside, was given bail when sentencing was adjourned in July 2008 but gave authorities the slip and left the country . Weeks later Brennan was detained on a European Arrest Warrant and extradited to Britain. Sentencing him today at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge David Aubrey QC told him: 'The law has finally caught up with you.' Brennan made the false claims between March 2001 and February 2008. His first bogus application was for Jobseeker's Allowance and council tax benefit when he failed to declare ownership of another property he inherited from his mother in December 2000. Emboldened by dishonestly receiving those benefits, he failed to notify the authorities a year later that he was now in work as a self-employed joiner - a job which he continued to do up to his arrest. Brennan had earlier admitting fraudulently claiming nearly £120,000 of various benefits before he skipped bail . Liverpool Crown Court heard Brennan made the false claims between March 2001 and February 2008 . The third strand of the fraud also . began in 2002 when he claimed Jobseeker's Allowance in the name of his . brother, Lesley, who in fact had been living in Germany for three . decades. He forged the . signature of his unsuspecting brother on benefit forms and he even . pretended to be him when he handed in identity documents to social . security staff, including a bogus ID card which showed his photograph. Brennan admitted seven counts of council tax, housing benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance fraud at the earlier hearing in 2008. Today . he was jailed for two-and-a-half years for those counts and given an . additional six months in prison for failing to surrender to bail when he . did not attend his original sentencing hearing. Judge . Aubrey told him: 'The claims in my judgment were dishonest through and . through. They were blatant. Week by week, month after month, year by . year, you were in effect stealing from the public purse. 'You have shown complete and utter disdain and contempt - not only for the welfare state but also the criminal justice system. 'The . fraud was persistent, prolonged and sophisticated. You were fleecing . the public purse with no compunction and in my judgment as a result of . sheer greed. Vernon Sanderson, Department for Work and Pensions regional fraud manager, said: 'We have worked hard with Sefton Council and the police to bring Brennan back to justice. 'Fraudsters need to know our investigators have the resources and powers to ensure we track them down wherever they hide and make sure they face the courts.' | Norman Brennan, from Merseyside, had been at large in Spain for 5 years .
He was tracked down to the Spanish village of Mijas Costas by reporters .
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith labelled case 'outrageous'
Weeks later Brennan was detained and extradited to Britain .
At Liverpool Crown Court, Brennan was sentenced to three years . |
169,844 | 67d15a05a953c549c0251b7f6df127abff93029d | By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporter . A driver accused of running a Massachusetts stop sign and causing an ambulance crash that killed a patient is being charged with negligent motor vehicle homicide. Driver: Lisa Zemack, 61, drove through a stop sign, hitting an ambulance and killing a dialysis patient who was being transported . A spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said Wednesday that Lisa Zemack, 61, also faces a charge of driving to endanger in connection with the crash a day earlier in Milford, 40 miles southwest of Boston. Zemack, a local real estate agent, will be summoned to court at a later date. Police say the patient in the ambulance was 58-year-old Upton resident Karen Scott. They say she died when the ambulance was struck on its right rear bumper by Zemack's car and overturned. She . had been traveling from a dialysis appointment to an assisted care . facility where she was living, according to the Boston Globe. Surveillance video at a nearby pizza shop captured the crash. Zemack's Mercedes can be seen driving straight towards an intersection as the ambulance approaches on Route 140. Zemack neglects to stop, passing . straight through a stop sign at Green Street and hitting the ambulance . on its right rear bumper, causing it to spin and then flip over. Scroll down for video . Patient killed: The ambulance can be seen on top of the guard rail, which it nearly went right over after being hit by Lisa Zemack who ran a stop sign . Dented: Zemack's Mercedes was crumpled in the crash . Write caption here . 'Once it goes 90 degrees, physics and momentum causes it to flip over, a complete flip... It almost went over the guardrail,' Milford Police Sergeant John Sanchioni told the Boston Globe. Karen Scott was pronounced dead at Milford Regional Hospital on Tuesday. A paramedic riding with Scott in the ambulance was injured but has since been released from hospital. The Boston Globe reports that Zemack has three prior citations, for speeding in 1990, 1995, and 2005. There has been no answer at a telephone listing in the name of Zemack, who lives in Framingham. It's unknown if she has an attorney. | Lisa Zemack, 61, is accused of ignoring a stop sign and hitting an ambulance, causing it to flip and killing the patient inside .
Security footage shows Zemack's Mercedes driving straight through the stop sign, clipping the ambulance .
She will be charged with negligent motor vehicle homicide and driving to endanger .
The vicim was Karen Scott, 58 .
Scott was a dialysis patient being transported from the hospital to a care facility . |
181,555 | 770f53e7f83e011b11158e4b3722e1f13879a726 | The latest version of Google’s Android operating system, dubbed ‘Android L’, has been revealed. In a video, the new software is shown running on a Samsung Galaxy S5 and it highlights some of the system's new features including lock-screen notifications and non-invasive alerts. No official release date for Android L - rumoured to stand for Lollipop but also possibly Layer Cake - has been announced yet, but it is expected to be unveiled later this month. Scroll down for video . California-based Google's next operating system has been previewed in a video that shows a leaked version of the software. The software is shown running on the Galaxy S5 using Samsung's TouchWiz. Android L stops alerts such as phone calls from taking up the whole screen . The test build version of Android L was revealed by SamMobile. In the video, the site explores the app and shows off some of its various functionality. Each phone operator has their own slightly tweaked version of Android - with Samsung’s being called TouchWiz - but this video still reveals some of the features users can look forward to. Google has announced its next-generation Android software will prevent law enforcement officers and governments getting their hands on user information. Only people with passwords or passcodes for devices running Android L will be able to access the files on it. This means that if search warrants are served on Google for the customer's information, it won't legally be able to get hold of it. Google began adding encryption tools to devices in 2011 and it was a standard feature of Android Jelly Bean. However, the tool was optional and many users either didn’t know how to enable the feature, or weren’t aware it existed. Any devices that upgrade to Android L next month will have this tool turned on by default. For starters, Samsung has done away with the blue background it previously used on its phones, instead now preferring white backgrounds. This seems slightly odd as lighter backgrounds use more power and thus drain more battery than darker ones - something Android L is attempting to improve, reports Pocket-Lint. Pulling down with two fingers on the screen now opens up a menu of shortcuts, and holding one will take you to that settings menu - such as the Wi-Fi screen. And as mentioned earlier, the lock screen now displays notifications such as messages and missed calls - but at the expense of widgets on previous versions of Android. Google has also redesigned the look of the operating system, which it calls Material Design. This includes a new look for Dialler, Messages, Memo, Clock and more. And another interesting new feature is heads-up notifications, which means that alerts no longer take up the whole screen. Known as Android L - which may stand for Lollipop or even Layer Cake - the software is the successor to KitKat used on current phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5 (shown). Google is rumoured to be gearing up to release Android L later this month . So, for example, if you’re playing a game and someone calls you, or your clock alarm goes off, an alert will appear at the top of the screen rather than covering the playing area. The clipboard has also been updated, and now keeps a history of saved screenshots and copied text. MirrorLink support for cars has also been brought in as well, allowing users to mirror the screen of their device on their car’s display. SamMobile add that the test version is still in its alpha stage, so it doesn’t run entirely smoothly, and there are a number of glitches to iron out before it's released. | Google's next operating system has been previewed in a video that shows a leaked version of the software .
Known as Android L - which may stand for Lollipop or even Layer Cake - the software is the successor to KitKat and will be used on upcoming phones .
In the video, features including lock-screen notifications are shown .
Software is shown running on the Galaxy S5 using Samsung's TouchWiz .
Android L also stops alerts like phone calls from taking up the whole screen .
Google is rumoured to be gearing up to release the software later this month . |
51,519 | 91d8b67fca76a6d95582441ffe294a90bd890141 | By . Nick Enoch . Mourners said goodbye to a 16-month-old toddler, who died when her dad accidentally reversed over her, by dressing up in animal onesies for her funeral. Angel Pitts, who had just learned to walk, died from serious injuries in hospital after she was struck by the reversing car on June 14 outside her family's home in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The young girl’s devastated parents called for all those attending the service to wear animal onesies and bright colours in her memory. Mourners wore onesies today as they said goodbye to toddler Angel Pitts, who died when her father, Scott (pictured left), accidentally reversed over her. Angel's mother is also pictured (wearing the grey onesie) Angel Pitts, who had just learned to walk, died from serious injuries in hospital after she was struck by the reversing car on June 14 outside her family's home in Leeds, West Yorkshire . The young girl's devastated parents, Megin and Scott Pitts (pictured above), called for all those attending the service to wear animal onesies and bright colours in her memory . As the procession of 50 or so family and friends began the slow, silent, walk from the cul-de-sac where Angel lived and played, her parents followed directly with the rest of the crowd staying a respectful distance behind . Their request was taken up in earnest with bright pinks, yellows, and oranges replacing the customary funeral black. Angel’s parents, Megin and Scott - donning their onesies - followed her horse-drawn hearse on foot along a three-mile walk to the Cottingley Hall crematorium from their house. Other animals making an appearance among the mourners were a tiger, an elephant and a gorilla. The name ‘Angel’ was picked out in pink and white flowers on both sides of the hearse. The small white coffin could clearly be seen through the glass sides, along with a picture of Angel. As the procession of 50 or so family and friends began the slow, silent, walk from the cul-de-sac where Angel lived and played, her parents followed directly with the rest of the crowd staying a respectful distance behind. The small white coffin could clearly be seen through the glass sides, along with a picture of Angel . The funeral party followed Angel's horse-drawn hearse on foot along a three-mile walk to the Cottingley Hall crematorium from their house . Angel suffered fatal injuries in the incident outside her home in a quiet cul-de-sac (pictured) in Leeds . Despite desperate attempts by neighbours and paramedics to save her, she was confirmed dead a short time after arriving at Leeds General Infirmary . On the ground, outside each home in Angel’s street, lay a small bouquet of flowers. Having grown to around 100, the funeral party was too large to fit in the small chapel and many stood outside for the half-hour service, before joining the main party in the walk to Angel’s final resting place. Angel’s parents had earlier released a statement where they said: 'Angel Jackie-Jean Pitts died aged 16 months. 'This was a tragic accident that her father did not see coming and could have never imagined it happening. 'We would like to thank everyone for their support at this tragic time. 'Any donations are welcome, all to go to the Sweet Dreams charity that provides memory boxes at hospitals for parents that have lost a child.' At the time of the accident, Angel had wandered out into the garden while her mother was distracted and ended up behind the car. Scott Pitts was leaving . the home in the family car and failed to see her as he drove away, . reversing over the little girl. Despite . desperate attempts by neighbours and paramedics to save her, she was . confirmed dead a short time after arriving at Leeds General Infirmary. A neighbour described the tragic event: 'He . [Scott Pitts] had nipped out on a quick errand on Saturday evening and . realised mid-journey that he had forgotten something and had rushed back . home.' Her parents have requested that any donations should go to the Sweet Dreams charity that provides memory boxes at hospitals for parents who have lost a child . 'He'd . opened the garden gate and the family dog ran out into the street. 'The mother came out trying to catch the dog, all her attention was on . the dog. 'Nobody had seen that the little girl, who had just learned to . walk, had come out of the gate as well and had wandered towards the rear . of the car. 'Dad then came out of the house and reversed over the little girl.' Another neighbour said: ‘They are devastated. Even though it is an accident, the dad is blaming himself. 'It was horrendous, the other residents tried their best to help but there was nothing to be done to save her. 'She was a lovely 16-month-old girl who had just started to walk and wanted to explore the world.' | Angel Pitts, 16 months, died in 'tragic accident' earlier this month .
Her father, Scott, accidentally reversed over her outside their home in Leeds, West Yorkshire .
Mourners attending her funeral were asked to wear Disney or animal onesies .
Her parents have requested that any donations go to Sweet Dreams charity that provides memory boxes at hospitals for parents who have lost a child . |
200,944 | 90219c2e4bd97bcd07e359ad5a875334b2703868 | Sportsmail’s Mike Dickson speaks to British Australian Open quarter-finalist Dom Inglot ahead of Andy Murray's last eight clash with Nick Kyrgios at the Rod Laver Arena. Inglot feels Murray has the quality to overcome Kyrgios despite the rapturous home support that will be cheering on the Australian at the Melbourne showpiece. Inglot and his team-mate Florin Mergea caused a major upset in the Australian Open doubles after they defeated brothers Bob and Mike Bryan to reach the knockout stages. Andy Murray is ready to deal with a vocal home crowd when he faces Nick Kyrgios in Melbourne . | Andy Murray faces Nick Kyrgios in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday at the Rod Laver Arena .
Kyrgios is the first Australian to reach the knockout stages in a decade .
Murray will be playing in his sixth successive Australian Open quarter-final . |
92,536 | 03032e2ba0381b3e64296bdb9c3ab8d556d5c488 | Lukas Podolski and Alexis Sanchez are warming up for Arsenal's clash with Tottenham... by taking a dip in an ice bath. £30million signing from Barcelona Sanchez will take part in his first North London derby on Saturday, while Podolski will be keen to feature after struggling against Southampton in the Capital One Cup. And the duo looked relaxed as they prepared for the Premier League game. Podolski posted on Instagram: 'Take on each day & challenge with a smile. Ice bath recovery with Sanchez! It's a bit 'Chile' in here. Have a 'warm' day everyone !!' Lukas Podoski poseted: 'Ice bath recovery with Sanchez! It's a bit 'Chile' in here' Alexis Sanchez scored a stunning goal for Arsenal against Southampton in the Capital One Cup . Lukas Podolski will be hoping for an outing in the North London derby against Tottenham on Saturday . Sanchez has scored four goals for Arsenal so far this season, including a stunning free-kick at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Podolski was widely criticised for his performance in the cup defeat as he started up front on his own. The game between Arsenal and Tottenham starts at 17.30pm. | Lukas Podolski posts: 'It's a bit "Chile" in here!'
Alexis Sanchez and Podolski gearing up for North London derby .
Arsenal take on Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday . |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.