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117,923 | 2445a41c6ba6e4533f4a90d6450da25348116846 | Louisville, Kentucky (CNN) -- Appearing very frail, boxing legend Muhammad Ali made a rare public appearance Thursday at an event in his hometown to pay homage to others for their humanitarian work. Former President Jimmy Carter, music artists and young leaders of groups helping the underprivileged were among those honored at the inaugural Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards in Louisville. Even though he was barely able to whisper a word, Ali posed for pictures and participated in presenting the awards. "This is really about his legacy and extending that legacy to others and inspiring them and encouraging them to do the kinds of work that now he cannot always do himself," Ali's wife, Lonnie Ali, said at the gala. While Parkinson's disease has robbed the three-time world heavyweight champion of many of the traits he once treasured in the ring -- the speed, wit and charisma that made him one of the most famous sports figures in recent history -- he has never retreated from public life. 'His head is still there' "People always feed bad when they see my dad, and I feel bad because he has Parkinson's disease and it's hard for him to get around, but he is happy," said his daughter Laila Ali, who retired undefeated as a super middle weight champion. "His head is still there, and all we can do is keep loving him and supporting him even though it's never easy to watch." Recipients of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards included 22-year-old Tanvi Girotra of India, who leads a global youth organization that seeks to combat sex trafficking and empower women. Walking along the red carpet to greet Ali, 71, was 15-year-old Nick Lowinger of Rhode Island, who began outreach work with homeless people at the age of 5. Lowinger was recognized for his foundation, which provided shoes to more than 10,000 homeless and disadvantaged children in 21 states. "Nobody had to asked them to do it, they recognized the need and they jumped to action just to recognize that somebody needed something," said Lonnie Ali. Carter, who turned 89 on Tuesday, was singled out for a lifetime achievement award. The 39th U.S. president was unable to attend, so his son James "Chip" Carter accepted the award. Pop stars recognized . Pop singer Christina Aguilera received the humanitarian of the year award for her work on global hunger relief, while her fellow recording artist Michael Bolton was honored for his work promoting gender equality. The awards were established in conjunction with Ali's core principles of conviction, dedication and giving, which are illustrated at the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum that also chronicles his epic boxing matches, the struggle for racial equality and his conscientious objection to the Vietnam War that eventually cost him his titles and millions of dollars in endorsements. Over the past four decades, Ali has visited more than 100 countries, providing humanitarian assistance and at times mediating in international disputes, notably in situations where U.S. citizens were held captive in Iran and Iraq. "He has a body of work he has done traveling the globe, helping others by bringing assistance and aid to those who are in need," said Lonnie Ali. "And he wants to extend that part of life to others by recognizing their support and serving as an encouragement." While Parkinson's disease has taken a severe toll on Ali, his wife says his commitment to social justice has not wavered. "Every day he gets up with a smile in his face and looks forward to whatever the day brings," she said. "He doesn't let things stop him and he does as much as he can every day and he still finds meaning in life." | Jimmy Carter and Christina Aguilera are among those recognized .
Ali appears at the event in his hometown along with his wife and daughter .
It was the inaugural Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards .
"This is really about his legacy and extending that legacy to others," Ali's wife says . |
252,770 | d31c26023e813c3b3da12549551e13518bd5bed6 | She's only seven weeks old, but Savannah Guthrie's daughter Vale has already made her first appearance on live television. Baby Vale paid a visit to the Today show set Monday morning, surprising Tamron Hall, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Natalie Morales in a Guess the Guest segment. Carson Daly introduced the adorable newborn after providing hints such as 'This guest is a person of few words' and 'This guest has met many of the TODAY anchors but has never been live on the show.' Very special guest: Savannah Guthrie (right) and her husband Mike Feldman (left) brought baby Vale to the Today show set for the first time Monday . Cheeky behavior: The seven-week-old baby was a hit with her mom's colleagues . Ms Guthrie, 43, and her husband Mike Feldman, 45, proudly presented their bundle of joy, whom Mr Daly called 'the most awesome Guess the Guest.’ Vale even got to meet Ben Affleck, who was making an appearance to promote his latest film, Gone Girl. The new mom also revealed that she plans to return to work on November 3. Star sighting: Vale got to meet Ben Affleck, who was making an appearance to promote Gone Girl . Surprise visit: Baby Vale was introduced after the other Today anchors tried to figure out who was waiting backstage in a Guess the Guest segment . Hint, hint: Some of the clues provided were 'This guest is a person of few words' and 'This guest has met many of the TODAY anchors but has never been live on the show' 'What do you think? Am I welcome?' she asked Mr Lauer. Ms Guthrie told Mr Lauer of motherhood: 'It’s exhilarating and thrilling and terrifying sometimes, but terrifying because I love her so much.' She added: 'I couldn’t love anything more. And I hold her life in my hands, and that is so scary sometimes.' Back to work: Ms Guthrie told Matt Lauer (right) that she will return to the Today show on November 3 . The gang's all here: Today anchors Carson Daly (left), Matt Lauer (third from left), Natalie Morales (third from right), Tamron Hall (second from right) and Al Roker (right) greeted baby Vale . Post-baby secret: 'You look amazing,' Tamron Hall (right) told Ms Guthrie, who modestly responded: 'Let me tell you, I’m wearing black' Mr Lauer commented on Vale’s outfit, joking: 'She’s wearing the mittens because she’s a germophobe like me.' But Ms Guthrie explained that the mittens were to protect Vale from scratching her face with her sharp nails. 'She likes to put her hands on her face and I am too much a baby to clip the nails. I’m terrified to do it,' she said. 'So I just file them and keep the mittens on.' Special delivery: Ms Guthrie and Mr Feldman welcomed Vale on August 13 . 'You look amazing,' Ms Hall told Ms Guthrie, who modestly responded: 'Let me tell you, I’m wearing black.' Ms Guthrie and Mr Feldman welcomed Vale on August 13. '[Vale] has blue eyes, a little bit of blondish hair and the chubbiest cheeks you’ve ever seen,' Ms Guthrie told Today shortly after Vale's birth. 'I think we found heaven in this little hospital room in New York City.' | Ms Guthrie also revealed that she'll be back to work on November 3 .
Vale also met Ben Affleck, who was on Today to promote Gone Girl . |
222,366 | abd72aa7a87982c8ad7400eecb2519748b456e3f | (CNN) -- The Marquez brothers Marc and Alex made motorcycling history Sunday with a double triumph in the final round of the season in Valencia. Marc, who had already wrapped up a second straight MotoGP crown, set a new record for wins in a season with his 13th, while his 18-year-old younger brother clinched the Moto3 crown. It means they are the only brothers to hold titles in the same season and it can only be a matter of time before they are direct rivals in the top echelon of the sport. Alex, who will be promoted to the Moto2 class next season, finished third in the final race, enough to hold off Australian Jack Miller, who won in Valencia, by just two points. He then watched as Marc overcame tricky conditions to round off another triumphant season on his Repsol Honda with an emphatic victory. He started from fifth on the grid after a crash in qualifying Saturday, but quickly worked his way through the field. Marquez eventually took the lead on the 11th lap and had opened up a near four-second advantage by the time he took the checkered flag from Italian legend Valentino Rossi, who clinched second in the title race. Marquez's teammate Daniel Pedrosa took the final spot on the podium, while Andrea Dovizioso held off his Ducati teammate Cal Crutchlow for fourth. Marquez, who tied Mick Doohan's 1997 record of 12 runs in the previous round in Malaysia, said he had been inspired by his brother's earlier triumph. "The truth is I am very, very happy. During the race at times I was thinking of my brother and thought I had to do well," he admitted. The 18-round season has proved an all-Spanish affair at the top of all the categories, with Esteve Rabat having already clinched the Moto2 crown. | Marc Marquez wins season-ending MotoGP race in Valencia .
Sets new record of 13 victories in a season .
Younger brother Alex wraps up Moto3 title .
First brothers to hold motorcycle world titles at same time . |
78,617 | dec2ee34b515e0f1615daa16046a80871efdceaf | (CNN) -- "Even Superman has daddy issues." Damon Lindelof -- who, along with Carlton Cuse, oversaw "Lost's" six-season run -- had that to say when asked to compare the story of Superman to the story of the TV series for which he's best known. Lindelof is one of a dream team of writers contributing stories to the landmark 900th issue of "Action Comics," in stores Wednesday. The others include David Goyer, writer of "Batman Begins" and the upcoming film "The Man of Steel"; Richard Donner, director of "Superman: The Movie"; Geoff Johns, DC Comics' chief creative officer and one of its most popular writers; Paul Dini, best known for producing "Batman" and "Superman: The Animated Series"; and Paul Cornell, who has been writing "Action" since last year and is best known for his work on the "Doctor Who" novels and TV series. Nine hundred issues is the most any monthly comic book has ever published (though it went weekly for a brief time in the 1980s), with the first issue of "Action" having introduced the character of Superman in 1938. (That issue also recently sold for $1.5 million.) CNN recently interviewed Lindelof and Cornell, separately, about the historic issue and Superman's legacy. They addressed a few topics of heated fan debate in the process. CNN: What can readers expect in this 900th issue? Lindelof: Obviously, "Action" No. 900 is a landmark issue -- one that covers Superman's past, present and future. I tried to (write) a little story that fits into the myth that we all know but looks at it from a different point of view. Cornell: (There's) an enormous lead story, closing Lex Luthor's adventure into ultimate power, setting him up against Superman in their fight of their lives and then continuing into Superman's new ongoing adventure against Doomsday. With loads of extra features in the back! CNN: What was it like writing for Superman? Lindelof: To actually play in a world that was so inspirational to me since I was a kid is nothing less than a dream come true. CNN: What did you hope to accomplish with your story? Lindelof: My hope was to drum up a little emotion: As heroic as Superman is, there is also an inherent sadness to his story. I wanted to try to tap that. CNN: Is there anything that's surprised you about writing the character? Cornell: I've discovered he really needs thought balloons. He can't show doubt or fear to the world, because he wants to enthuse and support the people around him, but he can doubt and fear inside. CNN: What have you hoped to accomplish in all of your time writing for him? Cornell: To show his essential humanity, especially in comparison to the bad parenting that produced Lex. CNN: Did you grow up as a Superman fan? Cornell: I think we all did. He's one of the most recognizable characters on Earth, and we all know many details of his life and supporting cast, far more than you would with virtually any other character. I think that's the power of radio, that first mass medium, to establish details in the heads of a truly enormous audience, and it all got passed down from there. CNN: If you could have one of Superman's powers, what would it be? Cornell: Flight, obviously. I'd love to be able to take off and go visit people in the States. Customs might be a problem. Lindelof: I'm sure everyone picks flight, so in the spirit of being unique, I'm gonna go with the ability to take the "S" insignia on his chest and make it grow to gargantuan proportions so I could throw it at people and ensnare them (as demonstrated in "Superman II"). CNN: Who is your favorite villain? Cornell: It's obviously Lex. I've been living in his head for a dozen issues now. I think we have a lot in common. Lindelof: Bizarro. I just love everything about that guy. CNN: Do you have a favorite incarnation of Superman, whether it be in the comics, TV, or movies through the years? Cornell: Christopher Reeve. He sorted it and balanced it so well that everyone else since has been influenced by him. Lindelof: Chris Reeve will always be Superman to me ... but as far as comics go, you're never gonna do better than Alan Moore's "For the Man Who Has Everything." CNN: Can you settle this ongoing debate: Is Superman Clark Kent's secret identity, or the other way around? Cornell: Clark Kent is a real person who acts slightly more bumbling at the Daily Planet and has an interesting ethnic heritage. Superman is the job he puts on a uniform to do, and like a cop, he's a somewhat more serious person when he's doing it. Lindelof: As I'm of the belief that everything uttered in "Kill Bill" has to be right, I have to agree with David Carradine on that one. (Carradine's character, Bill, argued that Clark Kent was Superman's secret identity.) CNN: What can we expect beyond issue No. 900? Cornell: A huge fight against Doomsday for the next several issues, with Superman and a bunch of his friends repeatedly saving the world. That's what everyone's after! | "Action Comics" hits historical 900th issue this week .
"Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof part of a dream team of writers for the issue .
Lindelof and "Action" writer Paul Cornell spoke about Superman's legacy .
In separate stories, writers explore Superman's humanity, emotions . |
158,541 | 58f59a6ba7efd0e40b3505d666805e641c07f556 | Manchester United's win against Crystal Palace on Saturday was only their third by a 1-0 scoreline in the 49 Premier League games played since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. It's a result more readily associated with George Graham's Arsenal than the all-singing cast at Old Trafford but Louis van Gaal won't care with a top-four finish his over-riding priority this season. In fact, the way Van Gaal set up his team for a home game against struggling Palace encouraged a tight match in which United could maintain a possession stranglehold of the game and eventually prevail. VIDEOS Scroll down to watch . Juan Mata shoots and scores to give Manchester United a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford . Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie congratulate Mata as United won 1-0 for the third time in 49 matches . United boss Louis van Gaal, pictured with Albert Stuivenberg and Ryan Giggs, set up to maintain possession . The 1-0 scoreline is synonymous with George Graham's Arsenal side of the late eighties and early nineties . Having spent £158million over the summer, van Gaal had become worried by United's soft underbelly, and the ease in which his team had conceded five at Leicester City, four at MK Dons and failed to beat Chelsea or Manchester City in their last two games. This is how the United manager stopped playing fantasy football – and delivered a win. 1: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL CARRICK . Having suffered ankle ligament damage in Van Gaal's first week in the job, this was a first start of the season for the England man. He was asked to sit in front of the back four, give United controlled possession of the ball and be alert to any Palace counter-attacks. It didn't make for gung-ho excitement but United finished the game with 72 per cent possession and Juan Mata took the one chance that counted. Michael Carrick, starting his first game of the season, challenges Crystal Palace striker Marouane Chamakh . 2: WAYNE ROONEY, MIDFIELDER . On paper, the United formation looked as if it would pan out as a 4-4-2 with Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney up front. In reality it was 4-1-4-1 with Carrick sitting and Rooney playing alongside Marouane Fellaini in central midfield. For a home game against Crystal Palace, David Moyes would undoubtedly have been criticised for negativity if he'd used a similar system. But with United having started the weekend a lowly 10th, Van Gaal simply decided on a zero-risk policy, particularly with four centre halves unavailable through injury and suspension. Rooney wasn't a stand-out performer but he was disciplined, kept the ball moving and did venture forward at the right times, firing two shots wide. Rooney, playing in central midfield, gave a disciplined performance and kept the ball moving against Palace . 3: NO MORE FAMOUS FIVE . The hype had us believe that Van Persie-Rooney-Mata-Falcao-Di Maria were going to be United's answer to Tottenham's attacking quintet of Klinsmann-Sheringham-Dumitrescu-Barmby-Anderton. Their attitude was that no matter how many the opposition would score, they would score more. Van Gaal has clearly decided such a line-up and approach is unworkable in reality. Only Van Persie and Rooney stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes on Saturday, and Rooney spent it in midfield rather than attack. Mata started on the bench and soon after he came on, Di Maria made way to keep the balance right and help preserve United's slender lead. Falcao hasn't played for a couple of weeks because of a training ground injury that hasn't been fully explained, and even when he returns there is no guarantee he'll be ahead of teenager James Wilson in the pecking order. Striker Van Persie played 90 minutes but Van Gaal has since decided against playing all his star men together . 4: DI MARIA SACRIFICED FOR THE TEAM . Soon after he'd completed his record £60million move to United, Di Maria was the star of the show for Argentina against Germany in a rematch of the World Cup final, his heat map showing he appeared all over the field to score and set up goals. But his thrilling brand of football is also risky when attacking moves break down and United had been wounded in previous games, the problem compounded by having to make so many changes in defence. So on Saturday, Van Gaal asked Di Maria to stay wide on the left and not to desert his post; no wandering, no dragging the team out of position. For the Argentine, it was difficult; Palace defended so deep and often doubled up on him, so there was no space. He was replaced with 20 minutes to go, soon after supplying the assist for Mata's strike. Van Gaal was sympathetic and his estimation of Di Maria has probably gone up after his selfless efforts. Not every superstar sacrifices his skills for the team cause at a cost to their own performance. Angel di Maria had a difficult afternoon after the Argentine was forced to sacrifice his skills and stay on the left . 5: BALANCE AT THE BACK . Ironically, Van Gaal's predecessor Moyes was a huge fan of having one right-footed centre back play alongside one left-footed centre back. At Everton, he insisted on it as an unbreakable rule – no matter which individuals might be left out as a result. Van Gaal took a leaf out of Moyes' book and brought in midfielder Daley Blind to replace the injured Marcos Rojo, mainly because he is a natural left-footer. Teenager Paddy McNair and Blind therefore had the right-left combination at the heart of United's defence and though they gave up one chance to Fraizer Campbell by leaving a cross to each other, their overall partnership was good given their clear inexperience of the Premier League – just nine previous starts between them. | Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday .
Manager Louis van Gaal set up his side to maintain a possession .
Juan Mata scored the winning goal as the Red Devils moved up to sixth . |
178,061 | 72812bb94cf06559f583fce0039202d1771a4d9f | The coroner who conducted the inquest into the death of Amy Winehouse has resigned, raising the possibility that the case could be reopened. Assistant Deputy Coroner Suzanne Greenaway ruled in October that Winehouse, who was found dead on July 23rd, died of accidental alcohol poisoning. Greenaway resigned in November after officials discovered that she had not been a registered lawyer in the United Kingdom for the required five years. Her resignation was not made public until today. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Greenaway was appointed to her post by her husband, Andrew Reid, who serves as a London coroner himself. In a statement, Reid said that he was under the impression that his wife's tenure as a registered lawyer in her native Australia qualified her for the post. The Camden Council, the local authority in the matter, said it believed Reid "had made an error in good faith." Reid indicated he would be willing to perform any of Greenaway's inquests again if the families of the deceased requested it. Winehouse's family said they are consulting with attorneys and have not yet decided whether to pursue a new inquest. See the full article at RollingStone.com. | Coroner Suzanne Greenaway ruled that Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning .
Greenaway resigned after officials discovered that she had not been a registered lawyer .
Greenaway was appointed to her post by her husband, Andrew Reid . |
157,796 | 5806f24d221b9561a15074476eaf2b43cdedc011 | Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have made a formal complaint to the police after online rape threats were made against their daughter, Chloe. The television presenters said they had handed over 'a substantial amount of evidence' to the police. a week after their 27-year-old daughter was targeted by online trolls over the Ched Evans rape case. And they said detectives had 'launched an immediate investigation' as a result. Chloe was threatened with rape on Twitter after she defended comments made by Finnigan during a debate around the future of of the footballer rapist, in which her mother said his crime was 'non violent' and did not cause 'bodily harm'. Madeley, left, and Finnigan have complained to police about online rape threats to their daughter, Chloe, right . Madeley and Finnigan released a statement today, above, saying Scotland Yard had launched an investigation . Twitter trolls turned on Chloe after her mother appeared to defend rapist Ched Evans, right, on Loose Women . Today Chloe's parents put a statement on their website saying: 'Following legal advice, our family has now made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police about cyber-stalking, harassment and, most recently, rape threats made against Chloe on Twitter. 'We have presented the police with a substantial amount of evidence, and they have launched an immediate investigation. 'We will be making no further comment at this time.' The furore began when Finnigan, 66, appeared on ITV's Loose Women shortly before Evans was released from jail a week ago after serving two and a half years for raping a 19-year-old woman. Finnigan argued that the 26-year-old should be allowed to resume his playing career on his release from jail because, while the attack was 'unpleasant', his victim was drunk. She also said: 'The rape – and I am not, please, by any means minimising any kind of rape – but the rape was not violent. He didn’t cause any bodily harm to the person.' Under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, any 'indecent or grossly offensive' message that causes 'distress or anxiety' to the recipient can lead to prosecution. The maximum punishment is a fine not exceeding level four on the standard scale - i.e. no more than £2,500. Since the 1988 law came into force before the widespread use of the internet, e-mail and social networking, prosecutors have used a number of different laws to charge Twitter trolls. Student Liam Stacey, who sent a series of racially abusive tweets after footballer Fabrice Muamba collapsed, was charged under the Crime and Disorder Act. Two men jailed for inciting riots last summer were found guilty under the Serious Crime Act, and Paul Chambers, who joked he would blow Doncaster airport 'sky high' was charged under the Communications Act 2003. Earlier this month, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling revealed to The Mail on Sunday that the maximum six month sentence for internet abuse will be quadrupled . The tougher new legislation is already being dubbed ‘Chloe’s Law’ after Miss Madeley's public stance against the disturbing messages. Her comments provoked a storm on social media sites, with campaigners accusing her of perpetuating harmful myths about rape. Finnigan apologised several times for causing offence, insisting that rape was 'an appalling crime', and saying she was merely discussing 'the legal facts of the case'. But the trolls merely turned on her daughter, with one saying: 'Judy's given me her blessing to rape you.' Another tweet, directed at her mother, said: 'Hope you discover first hand what rape is like you idiot.' In a message put up via Twitter, Chloe said: 'My mother was voicing an opinion on the matter of criminals being accepted back into society. 'The comments she made on the case in question were facts, so not opinions. 'While it may anger some that the term "non-violent rape" exists, unfortunately it does. 'Referencing it and explaining why that was the charge does not mean that you think this category of rape is acceptable. 'To believe that my mother is pro "non-violent rape" is ridiculous and I am shocked that many people have jumped to this conclusion. 'To the trolls wishing rape on me, stop, you are utterly pathetic.' At the time, Madeley used Twitter to warn the trolls he would go to police, saying: ''I have noted every sick troll threat. 'Do they really think it's ok to wish/threaten rape on a woman? They're in deep trouble, trust me.' He added: 'Trolls who sent sick rape threats? Prosecution awaits you.' A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: 'An allegation of harassment was made to Barnet police relating to messages received via a social media site. Targeted: Stella Creasy MP, left, and historian Mary Beard, right, have both been victims of online trolling . 'A criminal investigation has commenced. There are no arrests at this stage but enquiries continue.' Last month Peter Nunn, a 33-year-old delivery driver from Bristol, was jailed for 18 weeks for using Twitter to threaten to rape Labour MP Stella Creasy in response to her backing of a campaign to put Jane Austen on the £10 note. Historian Mary Beard was trolled after she appeared on television, with one troll, Cambridge student Oliver Rawlings, 20, calling her a 'filthy old slut'. She later accepted his invitation to lunch to apologise, and said afterwards: 'He is going to find it hard to get a job, because as soon as you Google his name, that is what comes up.' Rape in Britain is an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force a decade ago, replacing and refining previous legislation. One of the key changes under the new Act was to define consent. A person consents if they agree to have sex by choice, and if they have the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Therefore in a situation where a victim had sex when they were incapacitated by drink, the law would say that they did not have the freedom or capacity to make the choice, ie did not consent. The law does not require the victim to have physically resisted in order to prove a lack of consent. Source:rapecrisis.org.uk . | Madeley and wife, Judy Finnigan, have complained to the Metropolitan Police .
TV hosts are concerned with 'cyberstalking, harassment, and rape threats'
The couple say they have given police 'a substantial amount of evidence'
Daughter Chloe, 27, was threatened with rape by Twitter trolls last week .
Threats came after Finnigan appeared on ITV's Loose Women talk show .
She seemed to defend footballer Ched Evans, jailed for raping 19-year-old . |
146,588 | 4992241cb7488f41eefe2cdbffd3da855c4705a4 | (CNN)With Ben Ainslie, it's in the stare. Charming, polite, every bit the sailor-cum-businessman, the clothes are perfectly pressed with not a hair out of place. But it's the look in his brown eyes, the glare that offers a glimpse of the other side of sailing's Jekyll and Hyde. His friend and America's Cup rival skipper Iain Percy once described him as the "most competitive man on the planet." And on an industrial estate in a small, understated office -- quintessentially Ainslie -- in Portsmouth on England's south coast, Britain's greatest ever sailor is plotting how to win the America's Cup. "It's the same drive to win," he says of Britain's bid to seal their first win in the event's 163-year history. "Until we're on the start line we won't know for sure how we've done. It's exciting and terrifying so you have to keep the intensity." Even Ainslie admits to having different personalities on and off the water: "I'm pretty aggressive and I certainly wouldn't want to be like that on land." On the water, there's no shut-off valve, just an unabated desire to win. It was there to see in his four Olympic gold medal wins, most notably his infamous Incredible Hulk-inspired "don't make me angry" speech to his rivals at the London 2012 Games. It's even there in training. In the build-up to those Olympics, I traveled to Mallorca to watch Ainslie, already selected for the Games, racing against his British Finn rivals, who were there simply to support him. At dinner the night before, he was quiet and unassuming. On the water, it was like a switch had been flicked, a red mist descended. Ainslie was determined to win this particular training session, racing as though Olympic gold was being dangled before him. It's a competitive nature that has landed Ainslie in hot water. The contentious tactics he employed to edge out Robert Scheidt and win his first Olympic title, led to death threats from Scheidt's native Brazil and Ainslie confesses to "still losing my temper when things aren't going right." Now 37 and with a team off 55 staff -- and growing -- around him, he is trying to be calmer and adapt to his new responsibilities. There's certainly a noticeable difference between the Ainslie of 2012 and the Ainslie of now. There's a calm confidence as he walks through the office from a morning's sailing, helped it must be said by the knowledge that his staff have bought into his mission -- with many leaving other jobs to work solely for him. He might downplay his role -- "I'm not doing any role specifically bar steering the boat when it's on the water" -- but Ainslie is Britain's America's Cup bid. It's his name -- Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) -- on the entrance to the team's headquarters, on the boat and on the clothing that they wear. An essentially shy sportsman who has achieved remarkable feats -- he was also part of Team Oracle's America's Cup victory last year -- it's as if Ainslie has become his very own brand. Dirk Kramers, the ideas man of the team that played a key role in Oracle's dramatic turnaround in San Francisco Bay last year -- before switching allegiances to BAR -- says that Ainslie "is almost embarrassed that his name's on the door." Anslie concurs: "It's strange having my name there but it's something I have to accept because, when we started, the team wasn't anything and we had to sell it around a brand if you like. "As we build certainly I'm keen for it rather than being Ben Ainslie Racing for it to ultimately be BAR and whoever our partners are." While he used to be focused on winning Olympic gold every four years, now Ainslie has myriad other tasks to think about. "For the first time I'm having to sell our team and maybe that doesn't sit naturally," he said. "It's more of a sales pitch." He appeared to have pulled off the ultimate PR coup by gaining royal approval for his venture when the Duchess of Cambridge -- Kate Middleton -- lent her support as a co-patron with Ainslie of BAR's charity, the 1851 Trust. The partnership between the knight and the duchess came about after Ainslie took her sister Pippa sailing. Once on the ocean, the conversation turned to the Middleton family's fondness for sailing. "It got to the discussion, 'Wouldn't it be a great idea if she was supporting the America's Cup team?'" explained Ainslie, who then contacted the Duchess' office to put in what became a successful request. "The duchess is obviously such a global icon really now so it's a huge positive to have someone like that backing us." Queen Victoria was supposedly on hand to watch the first America's Cup in 1851; the duchess is married to Victoria's great, great, great, great grandson providing a loose symmetry with the 2017 America's Cup. The battle for the Auld Mug, the trophy on offer, has a rich and diverse history, with the first regatta taking place around the Isle of Wight -- a mere 15 miles from where Ainslie has set up his headquarters. So why is it that Britain, with its rich maritime history, has never won sailing's most coveted prize? "It's a great question and it goes to show how hard it is," says Ainslie. "For sure, we can win it. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't think we could, but I think it needs the right financing and group of people at the same time and we never quite had that before. We think that this is a really good group of people. We've pulled together a strong team." Ainslie has adopted a "best of British" ethos in everything the team does, despite an influx of international staff in certain key roles. "In sailing terms, it would be the biggest thing that ever happened in British sailing," says Ainslie, reflecting on how big an achievement it would be if the indomitable Team Oracle was upset. "It would be huge. Look at Ellen McArthur and Francis Chichester [two revered British sailors] -- it would be right up there as one of our greatest achievements in British sailing. "In terms of the nation, it's the last great sporting hurdle that we've never been able to get over. We've won pretty much everything else in world sport and this is the one that we've never won." As an eight-year-old, Ainslie's parents Roddy, who took part in the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, and Sue packed him off on a dingy without a lifejacket and just a duffle coat and wellington boots. Now he's effectively the CEO of a $130 million business, which recently announced a tie-up with Formula One design guru Adrian Newey, who was the engineering brains behind numerous F1 title wins. Newey's pedigree is very much in the mold of Ainslie, whose role of super sub in Oracle's overturning of an 8-1 deficit to win the 2013 America's Cup led to one British newspaper hailing him a modern-day Horatio Nelson. "People talk about individuals but it really was a team effort," he insisted. "The designers that helped with the development changes, the shore team, the boat builders that implemented those changes and sailors that pulled it off on the water. "There are so many lessons to learn that you never stop developing, never give up, keep pushing through. It would have been easy to pack up our bags and disappear. But it's never over, you have to keep going." It's no surprise then that Ainslie's favorite quote lends itself to another British military leader -- Winston Churchill. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is courage to continue that counts." And Ainslie's thirst for victory still remains unquenched after all his victories. "Our goal ends up with us bringing the Cup back to Britain." | British sailor Ben Ainslie is plotting a first British win in the America's Cup 163-year history .
Four-time Olympic champion was billed a modern-day Horatio Nelson for his 2013 Cup heroics .
Almost overnight, he has gone from a modest sailor to a CEO of a $130 million brand . |
192,300 | 84fae62e75d09d685abb2b64336131d438dac3d4 | By . Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent . David Cameron refused to break off his holiday and recall Parliament last night despite Britain deploying warplanes to Iraq. In a significant escalation of UK involvement in the crisis, the bombers will take on surveillance and reconnaissance duties. The Tornados are also capable of attacking enemy targets with bombs and missiles. Ministers have already pledged to consider supplying arms to Kurdish fighters battling against Islamic State fanatics. Scroll down for video . Exodus: Yazidi families, fleeing violence from militant forces loyal to the Islamic State in the town of Sinjar, make their way towards the Syrian border with their belongings. British Tornado jets will soon fly over Iraq . Plight: Several ministers are on holiday (left) while Yazidi people flee the terror of Mount Sinjar in Iraq . The developments raise the prospect of Britain joining the US in taking a more active role – all at a time when the country’s leaders are on holiday. The Prime Minister is in Portugal where officials insist he is in close touch with ministers and officials and is still running the country. His deputy, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, is in Spain. Home Secretary Theresa May is on an Alpine break, and First Secretary of State William Hague, who has been Mr Cameron’s official deputy in previous summers, is also abroad. It leaves Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond as the most senior minister in London, even though he has only been in his job for a month. However Downing Street defied mounting calls for MPs to return to work, insisting our role was solely humanitarian. The sense of disarray at the heart of government intensified yesterday as Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds stepped down less than a week after the resignation of Baroness Warsi over what she described as the Government’s ‘morally indefensible’ position on Gaza. Exhausted: A Yazidi baby rescued from the mountains of northern Iraq by Kurdish forces as thousands flee . Tent city: Thousands of refugees from Iraq are being housed at a temporary camp in Derike, Syria . Labour accused the Government of being ‘rudderless’ and former foreign secretary Jack Straw called for a concerted action. ‘One way or another, these maniacs, these medieval maniacs in the so-called Islamic State have got to be defeated,’ he said. Number 10 said Mr Hammond was one of the most experienced ministers in government and had done sterling work in recent weeks. He chaired the emergency COBRA committee yesterday, which was attended by the new Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. But Labour said the fact that three of the Foreign Office ministers had been in the office for a month or less meant the department lacked the expertise or experience to deal with simultaneous crises in Iraq, Gaza and Ukraine. The party had to issue its statement though through junior foreign affairs spokesman John Spellar, because Labour leader Ed Miliband is also on holiday. Mr Spellar said: ‘The new Foreign Secretary has now lost two ministers in just a few days. ‘At a time when the Foreign Office should be focused both on the crisis in Iraq and the situation in Gaza following the recent appalling violence there, David Cameron’s Government instead risks looking increasingly rudderless, and characterised by confusion.’ There were continued demands for a recall of Parliament to discuss the crisis in Iraq and for potential military action by British forces. Departing minister Mr Simmonds told the Mail he would support further action to protect stricken communities in the north of Iraq. ‘If it is the collective international view that air strikes would be the best way to support the Kurds, then we should be supporting the Americans,’ he added. ‘We should be supporting the Americans in that way, but I’m not sure we should be putting troops on the ground.’ Mr Hammond dismissed the call, saying: ‘We don’t envisage a combat role at the present time. ‘We are talking at the moment about a humanitarian operation and using our assets to gain more awareness of what’s going on.’ Tory MPs Nick de Bois and David Burrowes have written to the Prime Minister urging the recall of Parliament to discuss the crises in Iraq and Gaza, while fellow Conservative Conor Burns said he wanted to send in special forces to assist Christians in Iraq. Refuge: This group of children are among some 45,000 people so far to cross the Iraq-Syria border . Tired: A Yazidi child catches a brief moment of rest as she makes her way from Mount Sinjar to Syria . Former defence minister Andrew Robathan said it was ‘no good just sending aid’ – the ‘real solution’ was to stop IS fighters. ‘There are many ways one can use military action,’ he told the BBC’s World at One. ‘Air strikes, or indeed the use of [drones], from a suitable launch site, are ways that it can be done – dare one say it – surgically without putting troops on the ground.’ Two Sentinel spy planes are also being relocated to Jordan from Oman, making them available for operations in Iraq. Lord Dannatt, the former army chief, warned the risk of a genocide unfolding meant further help should be considered, arguing that the UK shared ‘some culpability’ for the breakdown in Iraqi society. Number 10 indicated that Britain may be willing to follow the example of the US in arming Kurdish forces. The Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted Mr Cameron was ‘very much engaged’ with the situation despite being abroad and a recall of Parliament was ‘not on the cards’. In a further blow to the Prime Minister, Labour has jumped to a seven-point lead over the Tory party, according to a Guardian/ICM poll. Labour support has gone up five points over the past month to 38 per cent while the Conservatives have fallen by three to 31 per cent. | Tornados to carry out surveillance and are capable of attacking with missiles .
It is a major escalation of British involvement in fight against Islamic State .
But David Cameron, Theresa May, Nick Clegg and William Hague all abroad . |
30,333 | 563a8a0854eaae2ba25698cee92fe9279c57ee68 | A grandmother with Crohn's disease died after a pharmacy wrongly filled her prescription, giving her medicine which lowered her blood sugar levels to fatal levels. Mother-of-three Dawn Britton fell into a coma and later died after staff at the pharmacy in Kingswood, Bristol, handed her tablets for diabetes sufferers rather than those needed to treat her condition. The 62-year old collapsed after taking the diabetes pills, which were a similar shape and size to her regular medication, for several weeks. Collapsed: Mother-of-three Dawn Britton, pictured with daughter Tammy on her wedding day, fell into a coma after taking the wrong medication for several weeks. She died in hospital one month later . She fell into a hypoglycaemic coma from which she never recovered and died a month later in Frenchay Hospital. The inquest into her death heard that she died from a lack of oxygen as a result of the tablets lowering her blood sugar level. Mrs Britton's children said they are furious that no one at the Jhoots Pharmacy branch on Pool Road has been held responsible. They are now planning to sue. Her son Lee Britton, 41, said: 'We were told it was not in the public interest to prosecute, but how can people be allowed to get away with killing our mother? 'That's what it amounts to. I work as a gas meter reader, I am expected to spot any problems at customers' houses. 'If I checked a meter and then it blew up the next day, I'd be held accountable. Wrong tablets: Mrs Britton, pictured, died from a lack of oxygen as a result of the tablets lowering her blood sugar level, the inquest heard . 'Yet here, our mum has been killed, and it's simply swept under the carpet. It's disgraceful.' Mrs Britton's daughter Tammy Haskins, 40, added: 'Still today I can't comprehend what happened to our mother, and the devastation caused to our family by her loss. 'Even now, when I think about how she died, I still can't quite believe it. 'I go through so many emotions when I think about it. I am gutted and upset, but I am also still angry. Mum should still be here today.' The inquest at Flax Bourton Coroners Court, Avon, heard that Mrs Britton visited the pharmacy in Pool Road, Bristol, in August last year to collect her regular long-term medication. But instead of Prednisolone tablets, used to control her Crohn's disease and breathing difficulties, she was handed Gliclazide tablets, which are used by diabetics. Mrs Britton, from Bristol, had been taking them for several weeks when her son, Lee, found her unconscious next to a packet of the pills on October 23. He attempted to revive her before calling emergency services, who carried out CPR and rushed her to Frenchay Hospital, in Bristol. The grandmother-of-five remained in hospital for a month until she passed away surrounded by her family on November 20. The pharmacist who was working in the branch that day apologised to the family while in the witness box, but remained adamant she had followed all procedures. Mrs Haskins added that her mother was very organised when it came to her medication but may not have realised the mistake because the two different tablets were of a similar size and shape. 'Dispensing error': A member of staff at Jhoots Pharmacy in Kingswood, Bristol, pictured above, gave Mrs Britton the wrong medication. The pharmacist responsible apologised to her family in the witness box . She said: 'My mum was sharp and intelligent and knew when she needed her tablets and how many she had to take. 'The problem was these tablets for diabetes looked very similar to those she normally took. They were the same colour and a similar size. 'When you are given medication by a pharmacist, especially one you have had the same prescription from for some time, you don't expect it to be wrong. You trust them to get it right. 'Devastated': Mrs Britton's daughter Tammy Haskins, pictured, said she still could not believe that her mother had died . 'My mum has lost her life because somebody simply failed to check the medication they were giving out was correct.' Recording a narrative conclusion, coroner Maria Voisin said: 'She died of hypoxic brain injury as a result of profound hypoglycaemia caused by her having taken Gliclazide tablets dispensed for her in error by a pharmacist.' Renu Daly, a specialist clinical negligence solicitor at Neil Hudgell Solicitors, said Mrs Britton's death was as a result of an 'unacceptable pharmaceutical dispensing error'. She said: 'The failure to correctly label and supply Ms Britton with her prescribed medication, instead giving her a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, resulted in her falling into a hypoglycaemic coma from which she never recovered. 'Unsurprisingly, the death of Ms Britton has had a devastating impact on her family. It was completely avoidable and should never have occurred.' A spokesman for Jhoots Pharmacy said: 'A dispensing error occurred at our Pool Road Pharmacy in Bristol on 2nd August 2013. 'The Coroner found that Mrs Britton's death was due to a hypoglycaemic episode and hypoxic brain injury arising from this error. 'Everyone at Jhoots is very saddened by this tragic event. We wish to say how sorry we are for what has happened. 'We do not wish to prejudice any further investigations by commenting further at this time.' | Dawn Britton was given wrong tablets at pharmacy in Kingswood, Bristol .
They were of similar shape and size to ones needed to treat her condition .
She collapsed and fell into a coma after taking drug for several weeks .
Mrs Britton, 62, never recovered and died in hospital one month later . |
138,022 | 3e81f03f1713fc353118f23c7c50af885fb0fa0d | By . Lizzie Parry . The father of a severely ill newborn baby has launched a desperate appeal to save his son's life and bring him home from China for treatment. When tiny Constantine Martland was born on May 5 his parents Michael, 30 and Cath were told their son had the rare heart condition, Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. The illness means only the left side of Constantine's heart can function and he will require a three-step operation to survive. Mr Martland, who moved to Beijing in 2007 to work as a teacher, said immediately after his son was born he was taken away from the couple as Chinese policy dictated he needed to be cared for in isolation. Tiny Constantine Martland was born in China on May 5. Within hours of his birth his parents Michael and Cath were told he had the rare condition Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome . On the second day of his short life, Mr and Mrs Martland were told their baby son had just 24 hours to live, because the Chinese hospital did not have the resources necessary to care for Constantine. The distraught couple discharged their son and upgraded him to the Western-style Anzhen Hospital, with the help of Mr Martland's friend and boss Daphne Hutagalung. There doctors said Constantine could survive but he faces very risky surgery when he is a month old. The procedure, to implant a BT shunt, aims to restart the left side of Constantine's heart. If successful, the tiny baby could be deemed well enough to fly back to the UK for his second operation. But the couple have used up their life savings on hospital fees in China, and are now launching a desperate appeal to raise money to continue funding Constantine's treatment. 'We still need to raise more so Constantine can have the first operation so he can return safely to the UK for the second and third step operations,' said Mr Martland. 'For the first few months, Constantine will be isolated as he cannot risk to be infected, therefore we will not be able to see him for that length of time. 'During the first few days of understanding our child’s condition, my wife and I were going through a range of emotions. 'I wrote a log to vent feelings and also to keep a record of everything that we’d experience so far for future reference.' Constantine is currently in a stable condition, with doctors predicting he has a good chance of surviving the risky first procedure. His parents have launched a desperate bid to raise money to pay for his first operation and after care in China and to fund bringing him back to the UK where he will need another two operations . Mr Martland, who is originally from Wigan, Greater Manchester, added: 'With Constantine stable enough we contacted Helen Walker from the Alder Hey hospital who was extremely understanding with our situation. 'We had an idea to fly Constantine from . Beijing to Liverpool using the SOS International Group but as it turns . out that because of the severity of his condition and lack of prior . insurance we could not afford to fly him out with the medical . assistance. Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome is a very rare condition which causes the right side of the heart to be underdeveloped at birth. It results in the chambers, valves and blood vessels of the right side of the heart being malformed. These malformations include a very small right ventricle and a small pulmonary artery. The malformation means the heart is not able to pump blood efficiently to the lungs causing low blood oxygen levels. Symptoms of the condition normally develop almost immediately after a baby is born. Affected babies often take on a bluish tint - particularly to their skin, lips and fingernails. Treatment options include open-heart surgery and a heart transplant. Source: Congenital Heart Defects UK . 'So at least the first operation must be performed here in Beijing, and it’s usually common for a child to be in the hospital for four months average before they are discharged. 'Our life savings, which were meant to be used for a return to the UK, have been spent in a matter of days. 'That is why we are asking for help and donations for Constantine and other children who need similar help when insurers find it difficult to provide for them. 'We would like the readers to be aware all extra money that is donated after we reach our goal will be re-donated to other children heart foundations in the UK and China so they can also provide care that is needed during a heart wrenching time.' A target of £15,000 has been set and a third of that has been raised so far. Mr Martland added: 'It is difficult for us but at the same time, we find this a painful yet small price to pay for a chance at life for our boy. 'Constantine would not be where he is without the help of people like Daphne, the team at Jia De Montessori Kindergarten (JDM) and the parents who helped us with donations, Dr Jayne Ziermann and all the staff at Oasis Hospital, Dr Helen Walker and Alder Hey and Dr Chen at Anzhen hospital.' To donate, visit the website here. | Constantine Martland was born on May 5 with the rare heart condition Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome .
It means only the left side of his tiny heart can function .
Baby Constantine will need at least three operations if he is to survive .
His parents Michael and Cath have launched a plea to raise money to help fund their newborn son's treatments and bring him home to the UK .
They have already spent their life-savings on his care and treatment .
The couple have set up a fundraising page where people can donate . |
16,610 | 2f171e3bfecaabf82b4511b5d72122c196f4ab27 | (CNN) -- Anthony Pilkington was rejected by Manchester United as a youth player, and Alex Ferguson claims he doesn't even remember the player's time at Old Trafford. But the 24-year-old made a point to the veteran manager on Saturday, scoring the only goal as his Norwich team knocked United off the top of the English Premier League. Norwich's 1-0 home win left United a point behind rivals Manchester City, who earlier thrashed Aston Villa 5-0. "We've been a bit more ruthless and we're putting our chances away; maybe we could have had another one at the end to make it a bit more comfortable," said Pilkington, whose 60th-minute header inflicted United's third league defeat in 12 matches and lifted Norwich up to 13th. "It's a great day for Norwich and it's a massive win for us. We've been performing well over the last couple of weeks and we showed today that we could beat the team that is probably the best in the league." United went into the match without England striker Wayne Rooney, who was ill, and could not continue a remarkable run of come-from-behind victories. "They deserved the win just because they worked so hard for it," Ferguson said. "The players are used to making comebacks and we're always a threat in the last minutes of matches. We had a lot of half-chances but it just wasn't our night." Manchester City face an early European exit if Wednesday's home clash with Real Madrid ends in anything but victory, but the EPL champions picked up a morale-boosting win as Argentine forwards Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez scored twice each against a Villa side who dropped into the relegation zone. David Silva opened the scoring before halftime, while Tevez and Aguero both netted from the penalty spot once as City remained the only unbeaten team in the division. "For us it is very important we start to play well and in the last two games we have scored six goals with our strikers," said manager Roberto Mancini. "I think we have been missing their goals." Third-placed Chelsea's title hopes continued to fade with a 2-1 defeat at this season's surprise team, West Bromwich Albion. Roberto di Matteo's side have now failed to win in four league games, and this setback came in the Italian's first return to the club that sacked him in 2009. Chelsea's defeat at the same ground in March ended the reign of manager Andre Villas-Boas, and his assistant Di Matteo stepped up to take charge and preside over a historic first Champions League title. The London club's chances of progressing to the last 16 of this season's European competition could hinge on getting a result from Tuesday's trip to Juventus in the penultimate match of the group stage. West Brom moved up to fourth to continue the fine start made by new manager Steve Clarke, who spent four years at Chelsea as assistant manager to first Jose Mourinho and then Avram Grant. Chelsea, missing injured captain John Terry, went behind to Shane Long's 10th-minute header but midfielder Eden Hazard leveled six minutes before halftime. However, Nigeria forward Peter Odemwingie nodded the home team ahead just five minutes after the break from a cross by Ireland striker Long as West Brom held on for a sixth win from seven at the Hawthorns. Everton dropped to fifth after a 2-1 defeat at Reading that lifted the promoted team out of the bottom three on goal difference. Striker Adam Le Fondre scored both goals in Reading's first top-flight win since May 2008, after Everton led through Scotland forward Steven Naismith. Everton went into the match without influential veteran Phil Neville, who has been ruled out for up to two months following knee surgery. Arsenal closed on the top four with a dramatic 5-2 north London derby win against Tottenham, who had Emmanuel Adebayor sent off after giving the visitors the lead against his former club. The Togo striker netted his first goal for Spurs this season from close range but then saw red after a two-footed lunge on Santi Cazorla. Arsenal took full advantage as defender Per Mertesacker headed in, fellow German Lukas Podolski scrambled a second and France forward Olivier Giroud also scored before halftime. Spain midfielder Cazorla made it 4-1 before Gareth Bale reduced the deficit but England international Theo Walcott boosted his hopes of a new contract as he ensured a repeat of last season's scoreline. Spurs dropped to eighth, two points behind their rivals and one behind seventh-placed West Ham -- who host Stoke on Monday. Swansea claimed 10th place with a 2-1 win over Newcastle, who went into the match threatening legal action against Senegal's national federation after Papiss Cisse was refused permission to play. The striker did not travel to Niger for a midweek friendly due to a back injury, so Senegal invoked FIFA's five-day rule that stops players from missing internationals and returning immediately to play for their clubs. "I love playing for my country and would only withdraw from a squad -- for either a friendly or competitive game -- for a genuine reason," Cisse said. "I am fully supportive of the position my club has adopted in this matter and am sorry that the Federation seem to doubt my honesty and integrity. I will now consider if I wish to continue to captain my country." Spanish striker Michu and Canadian Jonathan de Guzman put Swansea ahead before a late consolation from Cisse's compatriot Demba Ba -- the forward's eighth league goal this season. Liverpool moved up to 11th with a 3-0 win over Wigan as Luis Suarez continued his goalscoring run -- and again ran into controversy. The Uruguay striker netted a double to move to the top of the EPL charts with 10, but was accused by Wigan manager Roberto Martinez of stamping on David Jones. "The first finish is probably the real clinical one and a sign of a top player," Martinez said. "He was very fortunate because it was a stamp which the referee didn't see, and that wasn't the sign of a top player." Queens Park Rangers lost 3-1 at home to second-bottom Southampton, leaving Mark Hughes' team four points adrift at the foot of the table as the Welshman battles to save his job. | Manchester City move to top of English Premier League with 5-0 win over Aston Villa .
Rivals Manchester United drop to second after losing 1-0 to Norwich City .
Third-placed Chelsea suffer 2-1 defeat away to surprise team West Brom .
Arsenal win 5-2 in London derby with Tottenham, who have a player sent off . |
120,694 | 27fa5cafd3719551e649f1553a297ba832a1801e | Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court for now has ordered Texas not to enforce a law that had effectively shut down several clinics that provide abortions. The court's order means those clinics can reopen immediately. The restrictions had gone into effect in recent days, but a number of abortion rights supporters then asked the justices to intervene on an emergency basis. The 6-3 order Tuesday from the high court was a setback for the law's backers. A ruling by a federal appeals court earlier this month gave Texas the green light to move forward on the mandate requiring all abortion clinics in the state be "ambulatory surgical centers," regulated under the same standards as hospitals. Another challenged provision would force doctors performing abortions to first obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Abortion rights groups said 13 reproductive health clinics were forced to immediately close after the court ruling, leaving all but eight still operating. The high court's action would only have temporary effect, until more appeals can be filed on the larger questions of the Texas law's constitutionality. That process may take several months, at least, to resolve at the appeals court level. The Supreme Court refused to intervene previously when other sections of the Texas law were challenged in court. Lawmakers in the state's Republican-majority legislature have said the regulations would improve patient care and safety. Abortion rights groups counter, saying the law is designed to make it nearly impossible to operate an abortion clinic in Texas. The Center for Reproductive Rights had sued Texas this past spring, on behalf of a coalition of abortion clinics. In August, a federal judge ruled that the "ambulatory surgical centers" requirement was unconstitutional and imposed an injunction. Thursday's appeals court ruling lifted that injunction and allowed the measure to go into effect immediately. Abortion rights groups cheered the justices' intervention. "The U.S. Supreme Court gave Texas women a tremendous victory today," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "This fight against Texas' sham abortion law is not over. HB2 was designed to gut the constitutional protections of Roe v. Wade and half of the state's clinics remain closed. " There was no immediate reaction from state officials to the Supreme Court's one-page order, which Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito opposed. A spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, who earlier defended the law, said it was passed after "careful deliberation by the Texas Legislature to craft a law to protect the health and safety of Texas women." Abortion rights groups counter the mandate will leave women of reproductive age in the state with minimal health care options, and called the appeals court decision "demonstrably wrong." Clinic supporters said before the bill was enacted, there were 41 facilities in Texas providing abortions. The law also bans abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy and tightens usage guidelines for "abortion-inducing drugs" such as RU-486. Critics contend the law, in addition to eliminating abortion across huge swaths of the state, will further deny access to many women in rural communities and will force women to seek dangerous "back-alley" abortions. Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill into law last year. The high court case is Whole Woman's Health v. Lakey (14A365). | Strict new law caused some Texas abortion clinics to close .
Ruling 6-3, the Supreme Court tells Texas not to enforce that law for now .
The action will only have temporary effect, until more appeals can be filed .
Texas lawmakers said the regulations would improve patient care and safety . |
55,175 | 9c47ca8f8e72bbf59df4a5722aec8849317e2b74 | Triple J presenter and stand up comedian Matt Okine has revealed his girlfriend of nine years cheated on him with his best friend. The 29-year-old breakfast radio host told Pedestrian TV the long-term couple broke up right before he took up his new role at Triple J earlier this year. Okine said it was a tough transition because he grew up with his girlfriend and she was right there with him when he was doing open mic sessions in Brisbane every third week as he launched his career. Scroll down for video . Triple J presenter and stand up comedian Matt Okine has revealed his girlfriend of nine years cheated on him with his best friend . 'I found out she was having an affair with my best friend,' Okine said. 'At one stage we were all living together in the house, (it's) full on sort of TV s***. 'Fidelity is such a flimsy reality. So many people hide behind this idea of monogamy and it's all bulls***. I don't know a single couple that I'm friends with who haven't strayed. 'Sometimes you just sit around and you feel so silly – am I the only f***ing idiot who is faithful?' The 29-year-old turned up to the ARIA awards red carpet as child dancer Maddy Ziegler from Sia's film clip Chandelier, while co-host Alex Dyson dressed as Chet Faker . Okine, pictured here with Lorde and co-host Alex Dyson, said he and his girlfriend broke up right before he took up his new role at Triple J earlier this year . But he said there were two sides to every story and admitted he became distant as his career gained momentum. 'I had become increasingly distant in our relationship because I was travelling six months a year… I wasn't as present as I had been as an open micer,' Okine said. It comes just days after Okine revealed to Pedestrian about performing autofellatio on himself once when he was 15. The story came out after the radio star decided he didn't want to be embarrassed by things he had done or experienced in the past. 'It happened when I was 15... I tried to do it and I succeeded. It was for just 10 seconds,' he said. Okine, who shot to fame this year from his Triple J co-hosting job with Alex Dyson, caused a stir on the red carpet at this year's ARIA awards after he showed up in a leotard dressed as child dancer Maddy Ziegler from Sia's film clip Chandelier. Okine said it was a tough transition because he grew up with his girlfriend and she was right there with him when he was doing open mic sessions in Brisbane every third week . He said there were two sides to every story and admitted he became distant as his career gained momentum . | Comedian Matt Okine broke up with his long-term girlfriend before he took up his hosting role with Triple J this year .
The 29-year-old says transition was hard as he grew up with his girlfriend .
He admits becoming distant as he went from doing open mic sessions every third week to entertaining millions on national radio . |
117,435 | 23a3f0a6a5c470a9cb3392261dab905490b65933 | By . Deni Kirkova . She has been in the role just over two months, and Zara Phillips seems to be taking to motherhood with no mess nor fuss. The Royal equestrian, 32, carried baby girl Mia, who was born on January 17, over her shoulder as the pair headed out to see daddy Mike Tindall play rugby yesterday. Zara was clad in a comfortable pair of boots and warm beanie and jacket as Mia wore a cute onesie. Mother and daughter had cause to celebrate as Mike, 35, captained Gloucester to a 40-33 victory over Newcastle Falcons. Zara Phillips and baby Mia make their first public appearance together as they watch daddy Mike Tindall playing for Gloucester against the Newcastle Falcons yesterday . Zara Phillips wears a cosy beanie and jackets and comfortable boots . Following his win Mike took over baby duty today as he took Mia out in a stroller, while Zara returned to work at Point to point where she trains horses. He was joined at the Land Rover Gatcombe Horse Trails with Zara's brother Peter and his family, wife Autumn and children Savannah, three, and one-year-old Isla. Savannah, the Queen's eldest great-grandchild, looked to be a bit of a handful as she frolicked around happily enjoying the sunshine with her dog. Wearing a red coat, denim skirt and black boots the playful tot wore her royal parents out as she ran back and forth while they took time out from watching the horses. Mike Tindall pushes the buggy around the Gatcombe Horse trials whilst Zara works at Point to Point . Can I have one, Mummy! Autumn Phillips dishes out the biscuits to eager daughters Savannah and Isla . Peter and Autumn Phillips took children Savannah and Isla out on day two of the Gatcombe Horse Trials . Princess Anne at the Gatcombe Horse Trials, Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire . A smiling Princess Anne wears a fluffy hat and Hunter wellies to the Gatcombe Horse Trials . Grandmother Princess Anne could be seen happily watching and laughing at the young adventurer from the sidelines. The happy family disappeared briefly to enjoy lunch in a private tent but excitable Savannah, who is 13th in line to the throne, emerged shortly afterwards. The Gatcombe Horse Trials, in the picturesque Cotswolds, Glos., is an annual weekend event which features cross country, show jumping and dressage events. Peter Phillips is the only son of Princess Anne, and brother to new-mum Zara. Zara Phillips working with the horses she trains for Point to Point, as Mike Tindall took care of baby Mia today . | Zara, 32, gave birth to first daughter Mia on January 17 .
Took new baby out to watch daddy Mike Tindall win at rugby yesterday .
Today, Princess Anne and the Phillips' family head out to Horse Trials .
Mike and Mia join them as Zara is back at Point to Point training horses . |
246,016 | ca6d610b43b2d910c04583ca3b73faa5d02d6ba4 | By . David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 11:24 EST, 30 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:38 EST, 30 May 2013 . A new low-cost air carrier has unveiled a ‘hipster-chic’ uniform for cabin crew in a bid to ensure that their service appeals to younger travelers. Air Canada unveiled the uniform for its new discount international airline Air Canada Rouge on Monday, which includes fedoras and cardigans. Since the service is aimed at a younger market than the more traditional service run by Air Canada's main brand, it has decided to take a somewhat unorthodox approach to cabin wear to help foster a ‘fresh, comfortable, and vacation-like environment.’ Too cool for the skies? Air Canada Rouge has unveiled its hipster-inspired uniform . Hat's the way I like it: Despite critics claims that Air Canada Rouge are a 'tad late' in issuing fedoras to cabin crew, the company claims the look is 'fashion-forward' The airline, which launches on July 1, claims the look is ‘fashion forward’ and plans to keep the uniforms in service for the next five to seven years. Critics however have been quick to pounce on the airline’s attempt to give the uniform a ‘hipster makeover,’ claiming that the airline is ‘a tad late on the “cool hat” bandwagon’. Rather than evoking the trendy New York neighborhood of Williamsburg, the uniform makes the cabin crew look more like extras from ‘Glee’. Commentators have also questioned how the 'young look' will work on real hostesses and older workers. As well as the offending fedoras, the uniforms also include scarfs, trousers, and gray and red Fluevog brand shoes for female staff . As well as the offending fedoras, the uniforms also include cardigans, trousers, and gray and red Fluevog brand shoes. The criticism doesn't seem to bothering Air Canada Rouge in the slightest. ‘Our personality, which is fresh and youthful, seems to be the impression that’s coming through,’ Renee Smith-Valade, vice president of customer experience, told Bloomberg Businessweek. ‘The terms being used so far all have a youthful, on-trend context so that’s a success in our books.’ Cool uniform: Air Canada claims to have received more than 5,000 résumés for flight attendant positions . Air Canada Rouge flight attendants have also been receiving customer service training at the Disney Institute in Florida. The airline also received flak after it emerged that Rouge staff have to pay $2,000 towards the training. The staff will repay Air Canada $49 a month for the . next three years to cover their training and if they leave the job before then, they’ll . still owe the money. That hasn’t stopped people flocking to apply to work for the airline. Since announcing the new carrier last year, Air Canada claims to have received more than 5,000 résumés for flight attendant positions. Critics claims that cabin crew on Air Canada Rouge resemble extras from Glee rather than hipsters from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg . | When Air Canada Rouge launches next month cabin crew will be wearing a more relaxed uniform .
The company claims their new look is 'fashion-forward'
But critics have been quick to claim fedoras are 'old hat' and that crew look more like extras from 'Glee' rather than Brooklyn hipsters .
Commentators have also questioned how the 'young look' will work on real hostesses and older workers . |
278,471 | f4bc765620a96d1b61fb30995aa325dcc16a7af0 | (CNN) -- A few thousand Egyptian fans will watch their national soccer team continue its bid to end a long World Cup wait on Tuesday, but coach Bob Bradley says that a population of 85 million are praying for victory. His "Pharaohs" will take on Zimbabwe knowing that a win will put the side five points clear of second-placed Guinea and well on the way to reaching the final round of African qualification for Brazil 2014. With the domestic league halted for a year after more than 70 fans were killed during a riot at a match last February, the American's task of lifting the continent's fallen soccer heavyweight has been fraught with problems on and off the pitch. Al Ahly, one of the clubs at the center of the Port Said tragedy, may have qualified for the Club World Cup by winning the continent's Champions League title last year against all the odds, but Egypt failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations -- a tournament it has won a record seven times. The country's last World Cup finals appearance was in 1990. "When I accepted this mission I knew how hard the challenge was for me," former U.S. team boss Bradley told the African Football Confederation's official website. "Egypt is a big team, a champion in a transitional period where we are rebuilding the squad. Added to that is the current situation, and then came the Port Said incident and football activities were suspended. "This made the mission even more difficult, but I never thought of abandoning it. All this stuff made me determined even more to achieve success with this team." Zimbabwe has just one point from two Group G games, while Egypt has six -- and Bradley's mission was made easier when Guinea could only draw 0-0 with Mozambique on Sunday. "When we faced Mozambique in match day one of the qualifiers behind closed doors, we felt as if we were not the home team," Bradley said. "This time we'll have a few thousands in the stands and 85 million outside praying for us to win. If it was possible most of these millions would be there in the stands. All the Egyptians want to see their national team in the World Cup finals after a 24-year absence. "After Zimbabwe we have two more games in June and everything could happen. But I believe winning on Tuesday will open the door for us to win this group and qualify to the final qualifying round. There are no margins for error in this match." Bradley, who won over many doubters when he took an active interest in the Egyptian people's struggles and protests following his arrival in September 2011, believes his players can overcome their recent adversity -- especially now the domestic league has resumed. "Those players are very strong, mentally and technically. Playing in the World Cup is the ultimate dream for all of them, either the young ones like Mohamed Salah and Mohamed El Nenny, or the veterans like Mohamed Abou Treika and Wael Gomaa who want to put the cherry on the top of their career by playing in the World Cup." Defender Ahmed Elmohamady hopes the presence of supporters will spur his team to victory. "Recently we played either away or behind closed doors and that affected us much. Our supporters' presence will be like magic and will motivate us to win this game," he said. "I know only 30,000 fans can attend because of security measures, but still this is better than nothing. I hope to see 30,000 ones in full voice in the stands." Meanwhile, Ethiopia edged closer to a first World Cup finals appearance after beating Botswana 1-0 on Sunday thanks to a late goal from substitute Getaneh Kebede. It returned Ethiopia to the top of Group A, having surrendered the position when South Africa won 2-0 against Central African Republic on Saturday. Tunisia earned a third successive victory in Group B, beating second-placed Sierra Leone 2-1 to move five points clear. Morocco's hopes of a fifth finals were hit by a 3-1 defeat against Tanzania, which allowed the home team to close to within a point of unbeaten Group C leader Ivory Coast after three matches. Zambia dropped its first points in Group D, being held 1-1 in Lesotho while second-placed Ghana closed to within a point with a 4-0 win at home to Sudan. Burkina Faso beat Niger 4-0 for its first win in Group E, where three teams all have three points but Congo leads the way with a 100% record following Saturday's 1-0 win over Gabon. African champion Nigeria was caught at the top of Group F on Saturday after snatching a 1-1 draw with Kenya, as Malawi also moved up to five points with a 1-0 win away to Namibia. Mali leads Group H by two points following Sunday's 2-1 win over bottom team Rwanda, while Libya's bid to overhaul Group I leader Cameroon was thwarted in a 0-0 draw away to Democratic Republic of Congo. Liberia closed to within a point of Group J leader Senegal with a 2-0 win at home to Uganda. Senegal drew 1-1 in Angola on Saturday in a match moved to Guinea due to crowd trouble in Dakar last year. | Egypt fans allowed to attend World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe in Alexandria .
Previous home match was played behind closed doors due to security fears .
"Pharaohs" seeking to qualify for World Cup finals for first time since 1990 .
Guinea's 0-0 draw with Mozambique gives Bob Bradley's team to extend lead . |
117,693 | 23f6312b5c3ba459da5e465af9a10a143252888d | By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 09:50 EST, 27 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:01 EST, 27 November 2013 . They went there to get close to the animals - and they did, very close. When insurance worker Shirley Painter took her family on a trip to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire she never imagined a predator would take a liking to her Vauxhall Astra. After stalking her car, the powerful female wrapped its enormous jaws around the wing mirror and started attacking it. Wing mirroroar: A lioness at Longleat Safari park tries to take a bite from a car wing mirror . Mrs Painter, 26, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol, was sitting just inches away in the passenger seat and watched with a mixture of terror and excitement. She said: 'We were driving through the lions' enclosure and I saw a lion coming alongside the near side of the car and was watching it in the mirror. 'The next thing I know it is right next to me and then it starts to try and eat the mirror. 'I can honestly say I was excited at the experience but terrified as the lion was enormous and they were all roaring because the safari jeeps were coming through for feeding time. 'I asked my husband what we should do and whether we should beep the horn for help but my husband simply slowly drove forward and the lions mouth came away from the mirror and then went off and joined the rest of the lions.' Despite having sharp teeth and a jaw which could crush a man's skull, the lioness didn't cause any serious damage to the car. A lioness approaches Shirley Painter's car as she drives through Longleat Safari park . On the prowl: Mrs Painter got a fright when a lion at Longleat took a liking to her car wing mirror . Mrs Painter, 26, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol, watched with a mixture of terror and excitement . Mrs Painter admitted the scariest part of the experience was when her husband Richard pretended to wind down the car window . The incident, which took place last Saturday during a family trip to Longleat, came only a short time after the Painters had their wing mirror replaced following a minor accident. And Mrs Painter admitted the scariest part of the experience was when her husband Richard pretended to wind down the car window. She added: 'He thought it would be funny, I did shout at him for that!' There are two lion prides at Longleat with the big cats growing up to three-metres long and weighing 200kg. | Shirley Painter was enjoying a trip to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire .
Then a powerful predator took a liking to her Vauxhall Astra .
It wrapped its jaws around the wing mirror and started attacking it . |
148,068 | 4b75ef2b7817a32e57b8f480681b6d83ad0f466e | Theresa May was yesterday accused of suppressing a critical report that found hundreds of foreign criminals are escaping deportation. John Vine, the independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, gave the report to the Home Secretary in the summer but it has only just been published. Mr Vine, who has exposed glaring gaps in the UK’s border controls, said he could ‘see no reason’ why she had not published it earlier. Scroll down for video . Theresa May has been accused of burying reports into holes in the UK's border controls by John Vine, the independent Chief Inspector of Borders, in order to limit their impact . He also claimed ministers were deliberately sitting on important reports to ‘reduce their impact.’ The latest report looked at a major new scheme known as Operation Nexus, which involves immigration officials working in police stations to run checks on suspects’ immigration status and criminal history. It concluded that despite significant improvements in some areas, many foreign offenders were still being released by police without checking they were allowed to be in the country. The scheme has had a ‘positive impact’ after it was introduced in London in October 2012, the report said. The number of immigration offenders deported from the capital has risen by 158 per cent from 418 in 2011-12 to 1,077 in 2013-14. But 336 of 717 foreign nationals detained by West Midlands Police – the other force in the scheme’s trial – were released before their immigration status was checked. The force also only saw a small rise in the number of foreign criminals that were removed – from 239 in 2012-13 to 274 last year. Mr Vine said he completed one report in the summer but it had only been published now. It concluded that many foreign offenders were being released without police checking if they were allowed in the UK (file pic) And some suspects held by the Metropolitan Police were freed because staff shortages meant there were no immigration officers available to run the checks. Last week, it emerged that a Polish gang who attacked university professor Paul Kohler, 55, and his wife in their home in Wimbledon, south-west London, had convictions in their homeland for violent robbery. Other shortcomings revealed in the report included missed targets for foreigners leaving under ‘conditional cautions’, which are given for petty crimes and usually allow the suspect up to 16 weeks to leave Britain voluntarily rather than be prosecuted. Shadow immigration minister David Hanson said: ‘Theresa May’s reputation for competence will suffer if she can’t ensure schemes like this that can deliver results are put into action properly.’ Mr Vine has been embroiled in an ongoing feud with the Home Office over the publication of reports, and last week sent a letter to the Commons’ Public Affairs Committee, which is investigating the immigration system, to condemn the delays. He also announced in the summer that he was resigning in ‘frustration’ at attempts by Mrs May to ‘manipulate’ his work. | Borders inspector John Vine says he gave critical report to May in summer .
But it has only been published now and he has accused her of a cover up .
Says the only reason for delay is to lessen the impact of his investigation .
He found police were not checking if foreign offenders were allowed in UK . |
207,885 | 99240ae6a22926d4e3dc9f2457ed013b8db6ab2e | Forget the provocative likes of Rihanna and Miley Cyrus; in Japan, the look that both men and women aspire to is cute, wholesome and resolutely virginal. Japanese culture, in particular popular cartoons such as Manga and Hello Kitty, has an innocent mien while the cult of the computer game loving geek, the otaru, is burgeoning. But Japan's obsession with all things cute has come at a price. Not only are people having less sex, the country's birthrate has declined so much the Japanese population is expected to drop by a third within the next 50 years. No sex please, we're Japanese: Many young people from Japan are choosing not to have sex . In Tokyo, a city of 35 million people, just 250,000 babies are born each year - a shockingly low figure when compared to London's rate of 135,000 children born to a population of just eight million. So what's going on? It's a question that film maker Anita Rani attempts to answer in new BBC documentary, No Sex Please, We're Japanese. 'There are lots of reasons for the population decline but one of the biggest trends is that young Japanese people are moving away from wanting to have sex,' Rani revealed in an interview with MailOnline. 'Many young people have just decided they don't want any part of it. I'm as baffled as anyone else by it!' Most baffling of all are the otaku [geeks], many of whom have chosen to withdraw from the dating game altogether in favour of 'relationships' with virtual girlfriends. An increasing number of 'otaku' (geeks) are choosing to have a relationship with a virtual girlfriend over a real woman . Among them are Nurakan, 38, and Yugai, 39, whose 'girlfriends' Ne-ne and Rinko both come in a box and are part of a virtual game created by Nintendo called Love +. And the pair really do believe they're in real relationships with the animated characters. 'I like the girls in this game too much,' explains Yugai, who adds that he tries not to have sexual feelings about his virtual girlfriend because the relationship is supposed to be platonic. Asked whether he'd like a real girlfriend, he answers: 'Yes of course I do but since I began a relationship with Ne-ne, I'm really emotionally involved with her.' 'Ne-ne', should you have forgotten, is a cartoon schoolgirl, who says things like: 'do you really want to talk this late at night?', 'Because I . like you, I will always want to be with you' and 'Let's go to the . beach, let's dream and have lots of fun.' Yugai, who says he is 17 in the Love + game, explains that for him, being involved with a cartoon is easier because he will never have to contemplate marriage. 'At high school you can have relationships without having to think about . marriage,' he explains. 'With real life girlfriends, you have to consider marriage so I . think twice about going out with a 3D woman.' Is it the Japanese obsession with cute that is leading to the population crisis? 'There's so many great distractions,' explains Roland, a non-otaku man who appears in the documentary. 'Why would you get into something as messy, as troubling, as disorienting as a relationship when you could have a virtual girlfriend, a virtual experience, that maybe is even superior to the reality? 'I do know a number of men in Japan, and elsewhere, who find the role play games, the dating SIMS, even advances in pornography, and would rather experience the opposite sex that way than go through the challenges of relationships.' Unsurprisingly, Japanese women are not impressed. 'Relatively speaking, I think most . Japanese women find Japanese men wanting,' explains Roland. 'Men haven't developed autonomy or a sense of individualism and you now have a generation of . women who want something more. They want to be independent themselves . and they want men to be independent too.' 'They were nice guys and totally normal,' says Anita of Yugai and Nurakan. 'They were cool blokes but when it comes to women, they don't want to engage.' Her view is borne out by the experience of a group of Japanese women interviewed for the documentary, among them career girls Natsuo and Yamiko. 'Japanese men are straight but they are . not interested in women that much,' explains Natsuo. 'They don't aggressively try to get . girlfriends. Documentary: Film maker Anita Rani went in search of reasons for the Japanese preference for celibacy . Her friend Yamiko adds: 'They are afraid to get real contact with humans.' A recent survey by Japanese insurance company Meiji Yasuda Life found that a third of Japanese men under 40 have never dated women at all, although women themselves aren't much better. 'They are afraid to get real contact with humans.' - Yamiko . A survey by the Japanese Family Planning Association done earlier this year found that 45 per cent of women between 18 and 24 'were not interested in or despised sexual contact.' 'A few people can't relate to the opposite sex physically or in any other way,' adds Ai Aoyama, a Japanese sex and relationship counsellor in an interview with the Guardian. 'They flinch if I touch them. Most are men, but I'm starting to see more women.' So what is to be done about Japan's ageing population and sex-shy younger generation? For Anita, the answer is more immigration, which she says would give women freedom to work after becoming mothers - a practice currently frowned upon in Japan - as well increasing the number of taxpayers. 'Everyone in Japan is aware of the problem so . conversations happening at highest level,' she explains. 'They know they need to adapt workplaces . to make them child and family friendly. But immigration is big issue over . there because Japan is nation that's always been closed.' But with an ageing population and a growing number of twenty and thirty-somethings who simply aren't interested in real life relationships, Japan is running out of time. No Sex Please, We're Japanese airs tomorrow night at 9pm on BBC2 . In Tokyo, a city of 35 million people, just 250,000 babies are born each year compared to London's rate of 135,000 children born to a population of just eight million . | Only 27 per cent of Japanese couples have sex at least once a week .
Some 'otaku' (geek) men choose to have virtual girlfriends instead .
Subject of BBC documentary called No Sex Please, We're Japanese . |
205,491 | 96054a996f4555c7a53450670d5015b4427a0852 | By . Charlotte Stones For Mailonline . Olympic champion Mo Farah struck up a friendship with Hollywood legend Samuel L Jackson when the unlikely duo met at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. The British 5,000m and 10,000m superstar expressed his amazement at meeting the ‘legend’ via Twitter, before Samuel L Jackson himself shared a selfie of the two with his followers. The star of Pulp Fiction and Snakes on a Plane rated fellow glasses wearer Farah in a post on Twitter with a picture of the pair at the Royal Opera House event. 'Hanging w/ @Mo_Farah! Bad M******h meets Fast M******h!! Dope Frames,’ Jackson tweeted. Fast and furious: Actor Samuel L Jackson tweeted this selfie with Mo Farah at the GQ Men of the Year Awards . Icons in their own right: Jackson and Farah hit it off at the gala evening at the Royal Opera House . Farah picked up a ‘Team of the Year’ prize in 2012 after his double gold was among the many highlights of Team GB’s London Olympics efforts. Mo missed out on the list this year though, with Sportsman of the Year award going to Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton, who shared the red carpet with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger . Farah, who won 10,000m gold at the European Championships, has his eyes on another prize and aims to finish his season in style at Sunday's Bupa Great North Run from Newcastle to South Shields. Big finish: Farah is aiming to finish the season in style in the Great North Run on Sunday . It's not too late to play MailOnline Fantasy Football… There's £1,000 to be won EVERY WEEK by the highest scoring manager . | Samuel L Jackson posted a selfie with Mo Farah at the GQ awards .
The double Olympic champion compared glasses frames with the actor .
Farah will take on the Bupa Great North Run on Sunday . |
152,792 | 517a458ec2b3b596b81f3a513867119d959e3d89 | Buildings of the future may have mirrors that reflect sunlight into space to keep them cool. Developers of the new technology hope the concept could lead to a cheaper and more sustainable form of air conditioning. Their incredibly thin material offloads heat from the sun into space in the form of infrared radiation, and could keep buildings 5°C (9°F) cooler than the surrounding air during the day. Scientists at Stanford University in California have created an ultra-reflective mirror. The incredibly thin material reflects infrared light from buildings (illustration shown), and it could be placed on top of buildings to keep them cool in hot weather by reflecting infrared radiation into space . The technology was developed by scientists at Stanford University in California. It consists of a multi-layered material that is just 1.8 millionths of a metre thick, thinner than the thinnest aluminium foil. This material is made of seven layers of silicon dioxide and hafnium oxide on top of a layer of silver. Heat can be transferred in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation. This material deals with the latter, reflecting infrared light directly into space. The ultrathin coating was carefully constructed to send this infrared light away from buildings at the precise frequency that allows it to pass through the atmosphere without warming the air, a key feature given the dangers of global warming. Professor Shanhui Fan of Stanford University said it was 'like having a window into space'. The coating prevents 97 per cent of sunlight from striking the building and heating it up. This can make the building 5°C (9°F) cooler than the surrounding air during the day. The internal structure of the material radiates incoming infrared rays back into space. Invisible light in the form of infrared radiation is one of the ways that all objects and living things throw off heat. For example, when standing in front of an oven without touching it, the heat felt is infrared light. Sunshine, in a similar way, radiates heat to Earth and can significantly warm buildings in the hottest parts of the world unless they have air conditioning. This cheaper method would prevent electricity needing to be used for air conditioning, and would instead just constantly keep buildings cool. About 15 per cent of energy used in buildings in the US is apparently spent powering air conditioning systems. The material would need to be installed on the roof of a building, where it would reflect heat straight back up into space. The new material reflects 97% of sunlight, making the building 5°C (9°F) cooler than the surrounding air. They say it is a cheaper solution to air conditioning (stock image shown) as the planet warms . As it is highly reflective, placing it on the side of buildings would probably not be an option, as it would radiate heat onto the ground and potentially heat up populated areas such as cities. But its potential for use on the top of buildings is obvious, and the team also think it could be used as a spray-on material to make objects more able to withstand the elements. The researchers said that as the planet gets warmer, such cooling technologies that don't require power might become more commonplace. 'Across the developing world, photonic radiative cooling makes off-grid cooling a possibility in rural regions, in addition to meeting skyrocketing demand for air conditioning in urban areas,' said lead author Dr Aaswath Raman. Right now the Stanford team's prototype is the size of a personal pizza, but cooling buildings will require larger panels. The researchers say there exist large-area fabrication facilities that can make their panels at the scales needed, which will be needed before the prototype can be developed further. More broadly, the team sees this project as a first step toward using the cold of space as a resource. In the same way that sunlight provides a renewable source of solar energy, the cold universe supplies a nearly unlimited expanse to dump heat. 'Every object that produces heat has to dump that heat into a heat sink,' Professor Fan said. 'What we've done is to create a way that should allow us to use the coldness of the universe as a heat sink during the day.' | Scientists at Stanford University in California create ultra-reflective mirror .
The incredibly thin material reflects infrared light from buildings .
It could be placed on top of buildings to keep them cool in hot weather .
The material reflects 97% of sunlight, making the building 5°C (9°F) cooler than the surrounding air .
They say it is a cheaper solution to air conditioning as the planet warms . |
144,092 | 46504b66b39005b0e207be71453826dfb7f85aaf | A Grenadier Guardsman who broke strict rules by dancing on parade outside Buckingham Palace is potentially facing a 21-day prison sentence and a £1,000 fine. Footage of the unnamed soldier performing a series of ballet-style pirouettes while on guard duty has become an internet sensation, watched by more than 1.7 million people on YouTube. But Army top brass have reacted furiously to the video and are ready to hand down a custodial sentence. Scroll down for video . The Grenadier Guardsman who broke strict rules by dancing on parade outside Buckingham Palace is potentially facing a 21-day prison sentence and a £1,000 fine . The guardsman faces hours of marching practice and physical fitness tests at a military prison in Colchester, Essex. He also faces losing his wages for the period of his sentence – about £1,000. A source said: ‘There’s no charge in the disciplinary manuals for silly walks and dancing on parade because nobody in living memory has had the cheek to do it. ‘But this guardsman’s senior officers were livid when they saw the footage. His conduct is contrary to everything being a guardsman is about. ‘He is facing a stint in the jail with no pay and, when he returns to the Grenadiers, he could lose privileges such as going out in London with the other lads in his company. Twenty-one days has been discussed as a prison sentence. The hierarchy want to put a marker down so no guardsman dares prance around outside Buckingham Palace again.’ Footage of the unnamed soldier performing a series of ballet-style pirouettes while on guard duty has become an internet sensation, watched by more than 1.7 million people on YouTube . Last night, defence sources confirmed that Army bosses are taking legal advice before they convene a disciplinary hearing with the soldier, now nicknamed ‘Private Dancer’, who is based at Wellington Barracks close to the Palace. The Queen is understood to have been away when the soldier entertained the crowds. As tourists laughed and cheered, he repeatedly spun around, stopped mid-stride with his foot in the air for several seconds, brushed dust off his rifle and bent down as if to pick something up. The footage was uploaded on to the internet last month. But senior officers now believe he should be formally disciplined. Under the Armed Forces Act 2006, a soldier may receive a custodial sentence for ‘conduct prejudicial to good order and Service discipline’. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the video. Anyone who is found to fall short of the Army’s high standards can expect to face appropriate action.’ Do you know the identity of the pirouetting palace guardsman? Contact [email protected] with any information. | The guardsman could face a 21-day prison sentence and £1,000 fine .
Footage of the unnamed solider performing ballet-style pirouettes has been watched by more than 1.7 million people on YouTube .
But Army top brass have reacted angrily to the video from last month . |
24,591 | 45b7cd76f17332ca6d2a1c609d6de1d6adbc4185 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- A CNN documentary that sparked worldwide condemnation of Thailand's alleged practice of pushing Myanmar's Rohingya boat people out to sea has won an Amnesty International Media Award. Dan Rivers: "This story underscores all the reasons why I became a journalist." The winning half-hour documentary, presented by CNN's Bangkok-based correspondent Dan Rivers, highlighted the on-going persecution of the ethnic Rohingya people in their bid to escape terrible persecution and privation in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and in neighboring countries. Jurors at Tuesday's award ceremony in London singled out CNN's entry for particular praise for putting the issue high on the agenda at an ensuing Southeast Asian summit meeting. They said they were impressed by a brilliant investigation that broke new ground and secured a personal commitment to intervene from the Thai prime minister. Watch Part 1 of Dan Rivers' documentary » . CNN International executive vice president and managing director Tony Maddox said: "This award is a tremendous reflection on the quality and depth of CNN's reporting, the tenacity, bravery and resourcefulness of our correspondent Dan Rivers and an endorsement of the network's strategy to own and create more content. "It is a testament to CNN's London-based managing editor Deborah Rayner and the World's Untold Stories team in Atlanta that only the third edition of the documentary series, produced by CNN International, has won such a prestigious award so soon," he added. The allegations of mistreatment of the Rohingya in the neighboring country of Thailand -- at the hands of the military -- prompted a government inquiry. Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva later told CNN in an exclusive interview with Rivers that he would bring those responsible to account. Watch the Thai prime minister discuss the issue » . The haunting pictures of Thai soldiers towing boatloads of Rohingya and cutting them adrift on the high seas -- first broadcast on CNN's World's Untold Stories -- are one of the iconic images of 2009 and are credited with bringing the practice to worldwide attention. "This story underscores all the reasons why I became a journalist," said Rivers. "It's about getting the facts and using those facts to engage an audience and make a difference." Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen, paid tribute to the winners for bringing human rights abuses to the world's attention. She said: "In the midst of the world financial crisis it is more important than ever to celebrate the achievements of journalists whose outstanding reporting has helped throw a clear light upon human rights abuses. "Not only is the crisis itself having an impact upon people's human rights, there is also a real threat to investigative journalism as media outlets cut costs and reduce staff." | CNN exposé on Thailand's alleged abuse of boat people wins Amnesty award .
Dan Rivers' documentary highlighted persecution of ethnic Rohingya people .
Documentary secured commitment to intervene from Thai prime minister . |
272,323 | ecbac6d40bb27ea599860e30e092e0bdc7a73f31 | (CNN) -- A deadly earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday may have occurred on a "blind fault" and that fault could produce a far stronger earthquake in the future, the head of the country's Seismology Center said. Wednesday's 6.1-magnitude temblor killed one person and left 19 others injured, according to reports from the state-run Central News Agency. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.0 and its epicenter at a depth of 20 kilometers (about 13 miles). Aftershocks from magnitude 4.3 to 3.7 were reported. Seismology Center Director Kuo Kai-wen said Wednesday's quake may have been the third large quake on a blind fault east of the Chelungpu Fault, which produced a 7.3-magnitude quake in 1999 that left more than 2,400 people dead. Blind faults are not on the country's fault maps, Kuo said. Interactive: Measuring the magnitude of earthquakes . "Those faults cannot be seen with the naked eye and can only be determined through special instruments or exposed by earthquakes," he said in the Central News Agency report. Besides Wednesday's quake, temblors of magnitudes 6.7 and 6.1 struck the area in 2000 and 2009, respectively, pointing to the existence of the blind fault, Kuo said. He said the blind fault may be more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) long, making it capable of producing a quake of more than 7.0 magnitude, which is could do serious damage. "The longer the fault, the stronger the earthquake," he said. In Wednesday's quake, a 71-year-old woman was killed when a temple wall collapsed on her, the news agency reported, citing Taiwan's National Fire Agency. The 19 injuries included students who were hit by books falling from shelves at local schools and a plant worker hit by a falling piece of machinery, the report said. Other damage included cracks in buildings and goods shaken from store shelves, reports said. The temblor stopped service on 90 trains, affecting 17,000 passengers. Interactive map: World's biggest earthquakes since 1900 . | "Blind fault" may have produced 6.1 temblor .
Fault may be able to produce much stronger quake, Taiwanese official says .
Quake in area killed more than 2,400 in 1999 . |
13,368 | 25fd3eaa1bdf829eb44ee502e0601fc2ac68f8b1 | In what some would call an unlucky outcome a man has lost the right to part of his former wife's $6 million lotto winnings from five years ago. The court battle over the cash has been dragged out over the past two years, but this month it was determined the man was not entitled to any of his ex-wife's money. Mr Eufrosin - the name he and his ex-wife were given for legal reasons - already had his claim denied in May last year but this month the panel rejected it for the second time, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The decision went to a three-judge bench from the NSW Family Court, who discovered the golden ticket was purchased six months after the couple had split. Scroll down for video . A court has ruled that a man has no entitlement to his ex-wife's $6 million lottery winnings . Mrs Eufrosin had been buying lotto tickets for years before she was married, and bought the one that would win her $6 million while on holidays. Each week her sister reportedly gave her money to put towards the cash pool, and so got a cool $1 million share in the cash when Mrs Eufrosin won. The case was denied on the basis that it could not be proven the purchase of the ticket came from joint funds solely related to the couple's income, as other contributors were Mrs Eufrosin's sister and also a family company. Mrs Eufrosin, given that name for legal reasons, purchased the ticket six months after the separation . Justice Janet Stevenson 'The money used by the wife to purchase the winning ticket could have come from any one of these sources or multiple combinations thereof.' 'In my view, the husband cannot simply assert that the purchase money came from "joint funds",' she added when speaking in May last year. Mr Eufrosin launched an appeal against the Family Court - but was dismissed by the bench made up of Justices Stephen Thackray, Peter Murphy and Murray Aldridge . The man was also ordered to pay his ex-wife's legal fees. | The court case has been ongoing for more than two years .
Mrs Eufrosin, the name used for legal reasons, won the $6 million in 2009 .
It was ruled her ex-husband had no entitlements to the cash .
The ticket was purchased after the couple had separated . |
13,753 | 26f9464431c86f61f24ca79cd9ebe7ca51c719ed | By . Lizzie Parry for MailOnline . A heroin addict pregnant with her third child continued to smoke the class A drug up until the birth of her daughter, powerless to stop her 10-year habit. Kay Shaw smoked £200 of heroin a day at the height of her addiction. Such was the hold the drug had over her, the 32-year-old was unable to break free of its grasp when she became pregnant with Billie. Ashamed of her actions now she is clean, Ms Shaw said 'it's disgusting but it happens'. Her daughter was born four weeks premature, and was immediately taken into care by social services. Scroll down for video . Former heroin addict Kay Shaw, now 32, continued to smoke the class A drug while pregnant with her third child. She is pictured with her son Kenzie, two, who was born after she got clean . At the height of her addiction, Ms Shaw was smoking £200-worth of the class A drug each day . The mother-of-four gave birth to her daughter Billie in February 2006. She was four weeks premature and was immediately taken into care. While she is in contact with her older sons Kye, 16, and Louis, 15, Ms Shaw (pictured with partner Ryan) is hoping to be reuninted with her daughter . Drugs, including heroin, can pass through the placenta to reach an unborn baby. Heroin can slow down the baby's growth and have an effect on its brain development. It can also cause the baby to have breathing difficulties after birth. One of the most serious problems heroin causes for the baby is withdrawal symptoms after birth. If the baby develops these, it will need special care in hospital. As the baby gets older, he or she may be at increased risk of behavioural problems and intelligence could also be affected. Trying to give up heroin during pregnancy can be dangerous and result in miscarriage, premature birth or stillbirth. As a result, pregnant women who want to give up the drug need to be monitored on a drug treatment programme. Source: The BabyCentre . Now Ms Shaw, who has been clean for the last five years, wants to warn others about the dangers of the class A drug. She said: 'I cried every day when I was pregnant and taking drugs because I felt so guilty. 'I’m so ashamed of taking heroin during my pregnancy, but when you’re addicted to something it’s so hard. I think it’s disgusting but it happens.' 'Just because you’re pregnant you can’t stop just like that. 'I’m so angry that I put drugs before my baby but I hope that one day I can make up for my mistakes. 'I . want to show people that heroin is an evil drug that can wreck your . life, but it is possible to battle back from the brink - I’m living . proof of that. 'I was worried about the harm I was doing the baby but I wasn’t the first to do it and I won’t be the last. 'I’ve since had a baby boy, Kenzie, and I feel like I’ve been given a second chance.' The mother-of-four grew up in West Yorkshire with her mother, older brother and sister. The 32-year-old said having Kenzie, pictured with his mother and father Ryan Telford, feels like she has a second chance, adding she hopes to one day be reunited with her daughter Billie . She endured a tough childhood, leaving school at the age of 15 without any qualifications and pregnant with her first child. She . moved to Plumstead in London before giving birth to Kye, now 16, and a . year later gave birth to her second son Louis, now 15. But the stress of being a young mother took its toll. When she was 18, an older boyfriend pressured her into trying drugs. Within a year her addiction had spiralled out of control and when her sons where four and five, Ms Shaw no longer felt able to care for them. She said: 'I sent them to live with their godparents so they could have a better life. 'It was heartbreaking, but I know it was for the best.' But with her children gone, Ms Shaw's addiction escalated. She split up with her partner but became pregnant accidentally when she was 23, by a different boyfriend. Ms Shaw, pictured with baby Kenzie, said she was 27 when she decided she had to get clean and turn her life around . She said: 'I didn’t realise I was pregnant until I was six and a half months gone and I was terrified. 'I . was badly addicted to heroin and I knew I couldn’t be a proper mum but I . could never have an abortion. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. 'I managed to cut down from taking £200 worth a day to £30 worth a day. 'I went to see a drug worker straight away and was prescribed methadone but I still couldn’t quit. I felt so guilty. 'Just because you’re pregnant you can’t stop just like that. I don’t agree with taking it while pregnant - I think it’s disgusting but it happens.' In February 2006, Ms Shaw gave birth to a baby girl four weeks early after developing pneumonia. She said: 'When she was born I was overcome with emotion. I was happy but I was scared because I knew she wasn’t going to be able to stay with me. 'Luckily she wasn’t addicted to heroin when she was born and despite everything she was a healthy baby.' Billie was taken into care and for the next four years her mother continued taking drugs. But when she was 27, she decided to turn her life around. She said: 'I knew I couldn’t get any lower. If carried on I was going to be dead in a couple of months.' Ms Shaw left London and went to stay with her mother in West Yorkshire during the withdrawal period. She started on buprenorphine, a heroin-substitute program, and has been clean ever since. She said: 'It was hard and I was tempted at times but I wanted my life back.' The 32-year-old got her own flat and an office job with a taxi firm and after a short relationship she gave birth to Kenzie, now two, in May 2012. She has recently become engaged to her partner of two years, Ryan Telford, a warehouse worker, and is hoping to marry as soon as possible. She said: 'Addiction is totally a mental illness - maybe it’s self-inflicted but you don’t know people’s background and how they got on it. Ms Shaw, said: 'I'm so angry I put drugs before my baby. I hope that one day I can make up for my mistakes' 'I’ve known people to die from an overdose or end up dangerously ill, I’ve went against all of the odds.' Now the mother-of-four is focusing on being a full time mum to Kenzie at their home in Northumberland. She said: 'I’ve been given a second chance to be a mum again and Kenzie is my world. 'I stay in touch with Kye and Louis and I hope that one day I’ll be reunited with Billie. 'Having Kenzie makes me realize how much I’ve missed out on with my daughter.' | Kay Shaw, 32, was addicted to heroin for 10 years smoking £200-a-day .
When pregnant with her third child she was unable to break her addiction .
When baby daughter Billie was born she was immediately taken into care .
Baby Billie was healthy and not addicted to heroin despite mother's abuse .
For four more years her mother continued to abuse the drug .
But at the age of 27 she decided to turn her life around and banish the drugs .
Ms Shaw has been clean for the last five years and now wants to help others .
She has since had another son Kenzie, now two, in May 2012 .
She said: 'I'm so angry that I put drugs before my baby but I hope that one day I can make up for my mistakes' |
161,390 | 5ca65b8473d6aeb37ca286dc592ff7ecf48c8002 | MANAMA, Bahrain (CNN) -- U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates "had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," a military official said Sunday. Cargo ship Capt. Richard Phillips is shown aboard the USS Boxer shortly after his rescue Sunday. The captain, who'd been held in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean since Wednesday, was rescued uninjured, Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters. Capt. Richard Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, was stormed by pirates 350 miles off Somalia on Wednesday morning. He was "resting comfortably" on the USS Boxer after his rescue Sunday night, according to the Navy. Phillips contacted his family and received a routine medical exam after his rescue at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET), the Navy Central Command said. Video from aboard the Boxer showed a smiling Phillips shaking hands with Navy personnel. "The captain is in good health. He's showered up and in a clean set of clothes," Gortney said in a telephone news conference from Navy Central Command in Bahrain. In Phillips' hometown of Underhill, Vermont, Maersk spokeswoman Alison McColl said Phillips' wife, Andrea, had spoken to her husband by phone after his rescue. "She was laughing while she was on the phone with him," McColl told reporters. "She was saying his trademark sense of humor was still very much intact, and he's in great spirits. If you guys could have seen her light up when she talked to him, it was really remarkable." Watch spokeswoman read statement from Phillips' family » . U.S. forces moved to rescue Phillips after seeing him in imminent danger on the lifeboat, Gortney said. A fourth pirate was negotiating Phillips' fate aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge. "While working through the negotiations process tonight, the on-scene commander from the Bainbridge made the decision that the captain's life was in immediate danger, and the three pirates were killed," Gortney said. "The pirate who surrendered earlier today is being treated humanely; his counterparts who continued to fight paid with their lives." The three pirates, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, were killed by shooters who were aboard the Bainbridge, Gortney said. Watch how U.S. forces believed Phillips was in danger » . The on-scene commander gave the shooters approval to open fire after seeing that "one of the pirates had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," Gortney said. Seas in the area were getting rough at the time of the rescue, Gortney said, and the Bainbridge was towing the lifeboat presumably to calmer waters with a towline about 82 feet long. A senior defense official told CNN that each pirate was shot in the head. After the shooting, special operations personnel shimmied along the tow rope to ensure the pirates were dead and freed Phillips, the official said. The official added that the pirates had become increasingly agitated over the past day, and negotiations were not going well. The fourth pirate was aboard the Bainbridge most of the day and told military negotiators that he wasn't going back to the other pirates, according to a defense official with knowledge of the situation. Federal prosecutors would be "reviewing the evidence and other issues" to determine whether that pirate would be prosecuted in the United States, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said. It's the first time in modern history that the United States has in custody a pirate who carried out an attack on a U.S. citizen, said a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation. The source said figuring out what to do with the pirate is a sensitive issue. Phillips' rescue came a day after he dove into the water in an attempt to escape his captors, Gortney said. The pirates "shot in the water at him" but eventually recaptured him, Gortney said. Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart called Phillips "a leader of men ... [and] a brave and courageous man." He said he has spoken with Phillips and said the captain is "feeling quite good." Phillips and his family, through Reinhart, expressed gratitude to the U.S. Navy. "I actually was more concerned for his family," said Adm. Rick Gurnon, head of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where Phillips had trained. "As a captain in sea, in a lifeboat, he was comfortable -- even if he was sharing it with Somali pirates." Watch Massachusetts Maritime Academy celebrate rescue » . Gurnon stressed that while Phillips was rescued, more than 200 mariners remain captives at sea. "The pirates have a great business model that works for them: See ships, take ransom, make millions," he told reporters. At the White House, President Obama issued a statement saying he is "very pleased that Capt. Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer." "His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew," Obama's statement said. "We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region." Obama had given standing orders for the military to take "decisive action" if Phillips was in "imminent danger," Gortney said. Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged Alabama Wednesday morning, according to Maersk. Crew members have said that after the pirates stormed the ship, they overpowered one pirate and tied him up. The crew released the pirate Wednesday, hoping to exchange him for Phillips, but the pirates instead retreated to the lifeboat with Phillips, leaving the Alabama to its crew. View a timeline of the attack and its aftermath » . Maersk Alabama crew members, who guided the ship to port in Mombasa, Kenya, on Saturday, were "jubilant" when they received word of the rescue, a statement from the company said. Gortney said the Alabama had reported being harassed by pirates the day before the pirates' successful attack on Wednesday. When the Alabama crew made the call, "our closest vessel from all the navies that were out there -- we have 16 navies that are patrolling those waters -- and the closest one was the USS Bainbridge, and it was over 300 nautical miles" away he said. CNN's Zain Verjee, Barbara Starr, Kate Bolduan, Carol Cratty and Mike Mount contributed to this report. | U.S. forces killed 3 pirates after seeing captain in "immediate danger," Navy says .
American captain freed after being held hostage by pirates since Wednesday .
Richard Phillips "is in good health," Navy officer says .
Fourth pirate taken into custody . |
119,442 | 264a260a29333a7b7ef314e7ed06d0af9112eead | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite a bleak economic environment featuring wide-ranging layoffs and rising unemployment, the nation's premier law enforcement agency is touting "one of the largest hiring blitzes in our 100-year history." The FBI is about to embark on its biggest hiring spree since immediately after the September 11, 2001. The FBI posted openings for 850 special agents and more than 2,100 professional support personnel. Officials say it's the largest FBI job posting since immediately after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The FBI's unexpectedly large number of job openings results more from attrition and a wave of retirements than from growing government appropriations, Bureau officials told CNN. The FBI routinely advertises openings for individuals with critical skills in computer science and language fluency. But John Raucci, assistant director of the FBI's Human Resources Division, says current needs are much more wide-ranging. "We're also looking for professionals in a wide variety of fields who have a deep desire to help protect our nation from terrorists, spies and others who wish us harm," Raucci said. The lengthy list of openings includes positions in finance and accounting, security, intelligence analysis, training and education, nursing and counseling, physical surveillance, electrical engineering, physical and social sciences, and auto mechanics. Procedures for applying and a full listing of available positions are posted on the Web site fbijobs.gov. "This is a great time to apply for a great job in the FBI," said the bureau's chief spokesman, Richard Kolko. Officials note at least a few jobs are currently available in every one of the FBI's 56 field offices across the nation. The FBI lists openings throughout the year, but seldom has anything close to the current number of available positions. The present job postings expire on January 16, but a new, possibly smaller set of openings will be posted shortly thereafter, the agency said. | FBI goes on biggest hiring blitz since 9/11 .
Postings on www.fbijobs.gov seek 850 agents, 2,100 support staffers .
Retirements, attrition responsible for openings, FBI says . |
214,428 | a1aaf43dd3397ce436864ad943f6ff7f159e200c | By . Jack Doyle and Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 12:52 EST, 22 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:43 EST, 3 December 2012 . Gone: Avon and Somerset Police Chief Constable Colin Port who has quit after newly elected PCC Sue Mountstevens said he would have to reapply for his own job . A mother-of-three elected as a new Police and Crime Commissioner has seen off the current chief constable on her first day in the job. Sue Mountstevens, 57, who was elected last week as an independent candidate, told long serving Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Colin Port he must reapply for his own job. He refused, and quit on the spot. He is the first of what is expected to be a number of casualties of the new regime in which elected officials take control of the police for the first time. Mrs Mountstevens, a former magistrate and married mother of three children, stood on a platform of cutting anti-social behaviour, burglary and violence. She also promised to keep party politics out of policing and act ‘without interference of national politics’. The day before she took office, she met Mr Port - who has led the force for eight years - and told him his post would be opened to competition from outsiders and he would have to reapply. She had the option of extending his contract for another year, but advertising the job would allow her to appoint a chief for her whole three and a half year term, she told him. Mr Port, who will retire on a pension estimated at £100,000 a year, said: ‘Yesterday I had a meeting with the police and crime commissioner. ‘She told me she intends to start the process to recruit a chief constable to take Avon and Somerset forward. I told her I had no intention of applying for my job.’ ‘I can confirm that I will be retiring from the police service on January 26 2013 at the end of my fixed-term appointment. In effect, I will be leaving considerably sooner.’ Winner: Independent candidate Sue Mountstevens, pictured taking to the stage after clinching the role of Avon and Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner . Mrs Mountstevens, was a long-serving . member of the Police Authority and director of a local family business, . Mountstevens Bakeries. Sue Mountstevens, who lives near Pill, North . Somerset, spent 15 years as a magistrate serving on adult, youth and family . cases. The mother of three was a director of family business Mountstevens Bakeries, . which employed around 1,300 people and had more than 90 outlets across the South . West. Mrs Mountstevens, 57, who has also served on crime, police and . prison boards, was elected to her new position with 65 per cent of the vote in the second round . of counting last week. She was elected ahead of the Tory candidate last Friday with 125,704 votes to 67,842. She paid tribute to Mr Port saying he had ‘made great improvements for this area’ and said he would be ‘greatly missed’. She . said: ‘Everyone is aware that the chief constable’s contract expires on . January 26. Because of that, I would like to run a competitive process . to appoint a chief constable for my whole term of office. ‘It was his choice not to apply but I know that he will continue to do great things and I wish him the very best for the future. He has increased detection rates and reduced crime. He will be greatly missed by staff and partners.’ Long-serving: Colin Port had been Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police for the past eight years . Police and Crime Commissioners were . elected following votes last Thursday in 41 police areas across England . and Wales. Police and crime commissioners have the job of ‘bringing communities closer to the police, building confidence in the system and restoring trust’, according to the Home Office website. They are tasked with creating a police and crime plan, setting the force budget and appointing or dismissing the chief constable. The former police authorities also had the power to hire and fire but this rarely happened. Four police forces in the South West now have acting chief . constables, but they are not all said to be looking at going for the top job. The polls were marred by poor turnout, with just one in six . registered voters participating. PCCs . will have powers to hire and fire force Chief Constables, and will set . the priorities for policing in their area. Senior officers fiercely . resisted the creation of PCC posts, claiming they would politicise the . police. Sir Hugh Orde, . president of the Association of Chief Police Officers said: ‘Colin Port . is a hugely experienced chief constable who has led Avon and Somerset . police with distinction over the last eight years, reducing crime and . raising public confidence, steering the force through a period of major . change and handling a number of high profile criminal cases. ‘His skills and experience will be a big loss to the service.’ | Newly-elected Sue Mountstevens met with long-serving Colin Port yesterday .
Experienced Avon and Somerset chief constable refused to reapply and quit .
First of what could be a number of casualties as elected officials take control . |
191,304 | 83b6834e3701e34742c42e3713a78b784f3e7ac0 | By . Daniel Bates . James Thompson: He died on the same day as the Alps massacre. Now his daughter Joy Martinolich wants his remains to be exhumed . The body of the secret ex-husband of an Alps massacre victim should be exhumed to find out if he was poisoned, his daughter said yesterday. Joy Martinolich wants the remains of James Thompson to be dug up by the FBI and tested for evidence that he did not die of a heart attack as has long been thought. She also appealed for the French police to contact her family to ‘eliminate my father from the investigation’ and find out who was the target of the mass shooting. Miss Martinolich spoke out after a French detective identified her father as having been married to Iqbal Al-Hilli, 47, between February 1999 and December 2000. Mrs Al-Hilli, a Briton of Iraqi origin, was shot dead on September 5, 2012 along with her 50-year-old husband Saad Al-Hilli, her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, and French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45. Their daughters Zainab, seven at the time, and Zeena, who was four, survived the attack, which happened in a forest in the French Alps near Lake Annecy. On the same day, Mr Thompson, a former oil industry worker from Natchez, Mississippi, died aged 60 in the US after slumping at the wheel as he drove home. He suffered from high blood pressure and was said officially to have died from a heart attack. But Benoit Vinnemann, a senior French detective, has raised the possibility that Mrs Al-Hilli’s covert relationship with Mr Thompson may have provided a motive for the murders. And Miss Martinolich, 38, said that in light of the potential link to such a mysterious case, she wants his body examined. She said that no autopsy was carried out on Mr Thompson, meaning questions about potential toxins in his system remain unanswered. Gunned down: Police examine the Al-Hillis' car after the killings. Mrs Al-Hilli, a Briton of Iraqi origin, was shot dead on September 5, 2012 along with her 50-year-old husband Saad Al-Hilli, her mother Suhaila al-Allaf . Slaughtered: The Al-Hilli family pictured in the French Alps the day before they were killed. There are a range of theories about why the Al-Hillis, of Claygate, Surrey, were targeted . Short-lived: Mr Thompson (pictured) was only married to Iqbal Al-Hilli between February 1999 and December 2000. He died on the same day as the Alps killings . Miss Martinolich said her family might be divided about whether to go forward with the exhumation. Her brother Joshua would probably oppose it and she was not sure about her aunt Judith Weatherly. But she said: ‘I would not have a problem with the exhumation for the simple fact that the corpse there is not my father, it’s just the shell of him. ‘If there is something in his body I would want to know what it is. If the FBI agree, I would comply with it.’ There are a range of theories about why the Al-Hillis, of Claygate, Surrey, were targeted. The family originally came from Iraq, and one theory is that their links to the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein may be a reason for their murders. There have also been claims that Mr Al-Hilli was involved in a dispute over a family inheritance with his brother Zaid Al-Hilli, 54, of Chessington, Surrey. Victims: Saad Al-Hilli (left) was gunned down along with his wife, mother-in-law and French cyclist Sylvain Mollier (right). There have been claims that Mr Al-Hilli was involved in a dispute over inheritance with his brother . Last year he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder but then released because of a complete lack of evidence. In . February Eric Devouassoux, 48, a former policeman from the Annecy area, . was also arrested over the killings and spent four days in custody. The . gun collector is still being investigated for arms trafficking, but . there has been no legal action linked to the four murders. Investigators . say that whoever carried out the crime is likely to be a trained . marksman, and to know the local area well. Miss Martinolich said: ‘If . the French police get in contact we will help them in any way. Speaking out: Miss Martinolich said that no autopsy was carried out on Mr Thompson (pictured), meaning questions about potential toxins in his system remain unanswered . ‘Do they even know who was the intended target? It could have been Iqbal. ‘Eliminating my father from the investigation and knowing he had a heart attack would be something we would like to know.’ Miss Martinolich said her father married Iqbal, a dentist, so that she could get a green card and live in the US. In exchange, she bought him a Honda car and fixed his teeth. But she returned to the UK because she was homesick and her family did not want her to marry outside her culture. | Al-Hilli family were gunned down near Lake Annecy, France, in 2012 .
James Thompson, from Natchez, Mississippi, died on the same day .
He was married to Iqbal Al-Hilli between February 1999 and December 2000 .
Joy Martinolich wants FBI to test whether he did in fact die of a heart attack .
She appealed to French police to 'eliminate her father' from the investigation . |
14,510 | 292aa01fa8d9b8e3726cf2af41dd99e6b6103d43 | By . Meghan Keneally . PUBLISHED: . 11:11 EST, 27 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:23 EST, 27 September 2013 . The vegan strip club where Cory Booker's Twitter friend works has jumped on their new-found publicity by adding a new sandwich to their menu. Casa Diablo has added the veggie 'Booker Burger' to their menu of meat-free offerings, noting how they add extra mayo to the sandwich 'since he's the 'mayo'-r of Newark'. The newfound connection between Booker, who is running to fill New Jersey's empty Senate seat, and the unique strip club on the other side of the country in Portland, Oregon was revealed when Buzzfeed released the private conversation between the 44-year-old Democrat and a stripper. Raising her profile: Lynsie Lee (left) released a screen shot of the private exchanges she had with Newark Mayor Cory Booker (right) and now her strip club has named a sandwich in his honor . The woman, Lynsie Lee, sent the site a screen grab of their virtual flirtations on Wednesday and both parties have been downplaying their relationship as innocent. That hasn't stopped the strip club from seizing the opportunity to cash in on the publicity. The New York Post reports that the dinner special listed outside the club on Thursday read 'Booker Burger, with a side of Lynsie Lee thighs!' The vegan approach to adult entertainment means that the performers and patrons are asked not to wear fur, leather, or any animal products inside or on stage. The rest of their menu is similarly tongue-in-cheek as they sell 'drunk bread' which is described as 'whatever bread we have toasted into Garlic Bread because you're drunk & need cheap food'. Unique: Johnny Diablo Zukle is the owner of the vegan strip club where Lee works . Rules: Though Lee is not a vegan herself, the strip club takes an ethical stance against animal abuse . Johnny Diablo, the owner of the strip club, was not the only one who knew that business would be booming following the political publicity. 'If you come to see me at @CasaDiablo tonight, bring your wallets. I'm prime meat for the next couple of days! ;)' she wrote to her thousands of new Twitter followers. She has given a number of interviews since releasing the screen shot, each time defending the Newark mayor and admitting that she has a crush on him. ''I flirted with him publically, as I do with a lot of people,' Lee said about Booker. 'There was nothing secret or sexy about it,' she told The Associated Press, calling their exchange G-rated. Special sandwich: Diablo added the 'Booker Burger' Thursday night and noted that it had extra mayo since Booker is the 'mayo-R' of Newark . Lynsie Lee tweeted this screen shot of a private message with Booker after a woman tweeted that she and Booker, who is running for Senate, often privately message each other . Innocent: Lynsie Lee (pictured) says that her conversations with Booker were 'G-rated' The two started conversing online after they both appeared in a documentary about Twitter- the social media site that Booker has been using actively for much of his career to communicate with constituents and fans like Lee. She sent him a public message saying that the West Coast loved the New Jersey politician, and he responded in a private message, writing: 'and the East Coast love you and by the East Coast, I mean me.' 'Well now I'm blushing :),' she wrote. 'It’s only fair,' Booker responded. After dismissing the exchange during a press conference on Thursday, Booker said that the unusual food choices at the strip club is the real root of the public fascination over the story. 'I really think it's because the press corps is obsessed with vegan living,' he said. | The Portland, Oregon strip club is serving a veggie 'Booker burger' that has 'extra mayo since he's the 'mayo'-r of Newark'
Stripper Lynsie Lee released the flirtatious, private Twitter messages that she exchanged with Cory Booker, who is running for Senate .
He has brushed off the exchange saying that it was innocent . |
171,229 | 699de48dc65ab2d71ae0c28a76d07aaf7d6c6fbe | (CNN) -- Despite some high-profile bombings in recent days, Iraq's security forces are ready to take over for U.S. forces this week to stabilize the nation's major cities, the U.S. commander in Iraq told CNN on Sunday. Except for soldiers in advisory roles, all U.S. combat troops will leave Iraqi cities and towns by June 30. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said he's seen a "constant improvement" in both the security situation and governance in Iraq to prepare for the June 30 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from major cities. "They've been working for this for a long time," Odierno said on CNN's "State of the Union." In a separate interview on "Fox News Sunday," Odierno said all U.S. troops already were out of Iraq's major cities before Tuesday's deadline. "We have already moved out of the cities," Odierno said. "We've been slowly doing it over the last eight months. And the final units have moved out of the cities over the last several weeks." Watch CNN's Michael Ware on the U.S. withdrawal » . The shift is part of the security agreement that former President George W. Bush's administration signed with Iraq. In the CNN interview, Odierno blamed the recent violence in Iraq on "extremist elements using the timeframe and date to gain attention to themselves and divert attention from the success of Iraqi security forces." The 131,000 U.S. troops in Iraq still will "maintain full coordination with Iraqi forces inside the cities" and continue to have intelligence capacity, Odierno said. With approval from the Iraqis, they also will carry out operations in major cities as necessary, he said. Odierno said his goal is to help provide security that allows Iraq to hold planned national elections leading to the eventual removal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. He said his biggest worry is a breakdown in stability such as a "consistent increase in violence" or a situation that Iraqi forces can't handle. "I don't see that" happening, Odierno said. "I think we're on the right path." Odierno also said Iran continues to "interfere" in Iraq, including training insurgents and paying surrogates. But he said his mission is limited to providing security within Iraq, no matter the provocation from Iran or elsewhere. "I'm not authorized to do anything outside the borders of Iraq," he said. Iran's government has repeatedly denied fomenting violence inside Iraq. | Gen. Ray Odierno sees "constant improvement" in security, governance in Iraq .
Iran continues to "interfere" in Iraq, Odierno says .
Iranian government repeatedly denies instigating violence inside Iraq . |
4,087 | 0bc7762efcd0326bb85284a56345683f7bf04e36 | Hull winger Robbie Brady has revealed his part in the crucial winning goal against QPR provided a sweet end to a worrying week. Brady missed several days of training ahead of last weekend's crunch relegation clash after his one-year-old daughter Halle was taken to hospital in Dublin with a virus. Tigers boss Steve Bruce was happy to give the Irishman the time he needed to support his family, but was also delighted when Brady declared himself ready to return to the club on Friday and face Rangers 24 hours later. Robbie Brady was in hospital with his ill daughter ahead of facing QPR but returned to set up a late winner . The Hull winger was in Dublin but with daughter Halle's health improving he returned to play for the Tigers . It was hardly ideal preparation - physically or emotionally - for Brady, but it was his fine cross that set up Dame N'Doye for a last-gasp winner at the KC Stadium. 'We had a little bump in the road, my daughter wasn't well and was in hospital for a few days,' he said. 'I felt I needed to be with her for a few days and I was. 'The manager phoned me to make sure everything was okay and she was picking up, so I flew back in and trained Friday to prepare for the game. Manager Steve Bruce called Brady on Friday ahead of the game and he flew back with 24 hours to spare . Brady's cross created the decisive moment against 10-man QPR, setting up the winning goal in stoppage time . 'My heart was set on playing, especially having just got back in the team recently, and thankfully everything was okay.' Brady's issues were not widely known when he took the field last weekend, but he believes it is important that footballers are not seen as immune from problems such as his. 'We're just normal people. It's still as real for us when something like that happens,' he said. 'That's what comes first for us, just like for anyone else. Dame N'Doye (28) rises to head home Brady's cross to give Hull a vital three points in the relegation fight . N'Doye sprints away to celebrate at an ecstatic KC Stadium after 10-man QPR were finally defeated . 'It's not nice seeing them so small and not being able to do much about it when they're not well, but you've got to be there and be strong for them. 'She's almost back to full health. It's been a hard week but it ended well.' Brady is set to retain his starting spot for the fourth match in a row against Stoke on Saturday, having ousted Scotland international Andy Robertson from the first XI in recent weeks. Brady (left) joins the goalscorer in the celebrations shortly before the full-time whistle was blown . | Robbie Brady's cross allowed Dame N'Doye to score winner against QPR .
But the Hull winger had been at a Dublin hospital with his unwell daughter .
Brady declared himself available to play 24 hours before the game . |
67,720 | c01a8c415c9a0264bd3bcc2bb5108c83e91e9afc | The symptoms of gastroenteritis aren't pretty, but at least doctors know what's behind the wave of cases in recent years. According to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, norovirus sent nearly 1 million children under age five in the U.S. to the doctor or hospital in 2009 and 2010. And treating those youngsters cost an estimated $273 million a year. Norovirus is often called the "stomach flu" or "food poisoning" since its symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea. According to the CDC, the virus, which inflames the lining of the stomach and intestines, causes 21 million cases of illness, 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths in the U.S. annually. A little more than half of the cases are passed from person to person, and 20% are caused by contaminated food. Based on their latest findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said an estimated 1 in 278 kids will be hospitalized for norovirus infection by the time they turn five, about 1 in 14 will visit an emergency room and 1 in 6 will receive out patient treatment. TIME.com: New strain of norovirus is circulating . The estimates came from data involving more than 141,000 kids under age five who required medical attention for acute gastroenteritis between October 2008 and September 2010. Lab tests confirmed the presence of the norovirus. The virus was identified in 278 of the 1,295 cases of acute gastroenteritis and rotavirus, which is another cause of gastroenteritis, was identified in only 152. Infants infected with norovirus were more likely to be hospitalized and about 50% of the medical care visits from norovirus infections occurred in kids between six to 18 months. The surge in norovirus cases may be due in part to better control of rotavirus infection, for which children can be vaccinated. "Our study confirmed that medical visits for rotavirus illness have decreased," said Dr. Daniel Payne, an epidemiologist in the division of viral diseases at the CDC in a statement. "Also, our study reinforces the success of the U.S. rotavirus vaccination program and also emphasizes the value of specific interventions to protect against norovirus illness." TIME.com: Don't keep your grocery bag in the bathroom . There is no treatment for norovirus, other than bed rest and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Most people recover between 24 hours to 48 hours. Work on a vaccine to protect against the virus is underway, and in March, when a new strain of norovirus was identified in the U.S., TIME spoke to Dr. John Treanor, chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Rochester Medical Center who is testing a vaccine developed by LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals: . "The shot contains a part of the norovirus' outer layer, which they hope will generate a strong immune response in those who get immunized. A vaccine would be critical for preventing the disease from escalating in populations; because it spreads so quickly, norovirus infections are difficult to contain. "'You really only have to be exposed to a couple of viral particles to get sick,' says Treanor. 'This makes it very contagious because when you have norovirus, you are dispersing literally millions of particles. When it only takes one or two to make the next person sick, it translates into very high contagiousness.'" TIME.com: Illnesses from imported food on the rise . If successful the vaccine could significantly reduce the number of illnesses associated with the virus, and same millions in health care costs to treat dehydrated children. Until then, the CDC recommends washing your hands regularly, cleaning any infected or contaminated surfaces and laundry and if you or anyone around you is sick, and to wait two to three days after you recover before preparing food for anyone. This story was originally published on TIME.com. Norovirus is leading cause of intestinal disorders in American kids . | Norovirus sent nearly 1 million children to doctor or hospital in 2009 and 2010 .
Norovirus is often called the "stomach flu" or "food poisoning"
The virus causes 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths in the United States annually . |
175,844 | 6f9fd2157bf02b3c8370f1cf010e695c587355b5 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:42 EST, 29 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:00 EST, 29 November 2013 . Wealthy Chinese couples are outsourcing their pregnancies to American women for upwards of $120,000 in order to secure citizenship for their children - and a shot at an Ivy League education. Jennifer Garcia, case coordinator at California-based surrogacy service Extraordinary Conceptions, says about 55 per cent of her clients are Chinese. 'I've heard Harvard mentioned, Yale, Princeton. They just want them to come here and get a great education,' Ms Garcia told Today, 'and by them being a United States citizen they're not going to have a problem to come back and get accepted to those colleges.' Scroll down for video . Happy family: Linda (left) and her husband are one of the many Chinese couples paying American surrogates to have their babies, a process which can cost upwards of $120,000 . Chinese-American: One surrogacy agency reports that 55 per cent of their clientele are Chinese nationals. Above, Linda and her husband's American born baby . All this is possible thanks to the fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees citizenship to any child born on American soil. Surrogacy also allows parents to 'design' their babies. For mothers whose eggs are unusable, parents can chose a surrogate with specific physical traits. Garcia says tall, blonde women are popular among her Chinese clients. Jennifer Garcia is a case coordinator at surrogacy agency Extraordinary Conceptions. She says that many Chinese are turning to American surrogacy as a way to increase the odds of getting into an Ivy League school . Parents can also chose the baby's gender, a big perk for Chinese parents who generally prefer boys due to the country's one-child policy. Surrogacy is also a way to get around that one-child policy. Some Chinese who already have a child of their own are turning to surrogacy as a way to grow their family without drawing the ire of the Communist Party. While having a baby through surrogacy is still a violation of the one-child rule, the government is having trouble enforcing the rule. When the baby is finally born, most agencies work to secure American birth certificates, social security cards and passports for the bi-national infant before their leave the country. Altogether, Ms Garcia estimates that it costs anywhere from $120,000-$140,000 for Chinese couples to have an American surrogate baby, meaning it's still only an option for the very wealthiest. Which explains another reason why Chinese are turning to American surrogates specifically as opposed to surrogates in other countries. Some wealthy Chinese fear they will be targeted if there was ever social unrest in the country again. They believe an American baby will give them a way out of the country. Americans can apply for green cards for their parents once they turn 21. But for many Chinese, American surrogacy isn't about citizenship options - it's a shot at parenthood for those who can't have children. Parenthood: Surrogacy is illegal in China, so after Linda figured out that she couldn't have a child herself - American surrogacy was one of the only options . Since surrogacy is illegal in China, infertile Chinese don't have many options for having a biological child. A Chinese woman named Linda had a disease four years ago which resulted in her loss of fertility. Linda and her husband then decided to turn to U.S. surrogacy and now have a child of their own. 'Without her, we can't get our baby,' Linda said of her surrogate. Some of the American women who have served as surrogates talk about feeling 'fulfilled' in giving a child to a couple who wouldn't have had one otherwise given their country's strict population-control. 'I could not live me life without my three children and the thought of giving that to somebody else is really the main reason why I did it,' a surrogate named Janice said. Service: American surrogate Janice is proud to be able to provide a child to a Chinese couple who wouldn't otherwise be parents due to the country's trick population policies . | Chinese couples are paying $120,000-$140,000 to have their children born through American surrogates .
With the fourteenth amendment, all children born on U.S. soil are automatically citizens .
Since surrogacy is illegal in China, this is one of the only options for mothers who want to have biological children but can't carry to term . |
39,688 | 7011335f23ba5915e81457b4349b5e608b658669 | A moving new campaign has been launched to help ex-cons adjust to society by transforming their prison tattoos into colorful works of art. The Freedom Tattoos project, a collaboration between the Pedagogium College of Social Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, and ad agency Isobar Poland, was created to 'transform crude, hideous amateur tattoos made in prisons and juvenile detention centers into professional, socially well-perceived artistic tattoos, that will help them find a job', according to its website. In a YouTube video describing the project, Pedagogium Professor Konopczynski explains why prison tattoos are harder to remove than ink designs done in regular parlors. Scroll down for video . Bad ink: The Freedom Tattoos project aims to help ex-cons adjust to society by transforming their prison tattoos into colorful works of art; one woman had the word 'vendetta' (left) turned into an artful design (right) Mirror, mirror: The woman is seen happily checking out the results of her transformation . 'Prison tattoos are made with improvised equipment assembled at the facility,' he said. 'Removing them is hard and leaves visible scars. They stigmatize and discourage potential employers.' The video shows two formerly incarcerated women having their tattoos camouflaged by new designs. One explains that she had the word 'vendetta' inked on the back of her neck at a juvenile detention center eight years ago, and was eager to have it covered for the sake of her children. After meeting with a Freedom Tattoos artist, she is told that her prison ink can be camouflaged and transformed into a piece of art that she will be proud to show her children. Before: 'For twelve years, I haven't looked at my arms,' another woman says, revealing a crudely-drawn shark tattoo (pictured) she received in prison . After: She has the shark tattoo transformed into a pretty red floral pattern (pictured) Emotional: 'Now I can discover a part of myself again. Now, I can take another step,' she says after seeing the new design . And when she sees the beautiful floral artwork that has replaced the basic wording, she exclaims: 'Oh my God...the "vendetta" is gone!' A few weeks after her tattoo transformation, she adds: 'Now everything is different. And when my tattoo was healing, my son would come to me with an ointment to put on my wounds. This program gave me a great chance. A chance to start a new life.' The other woman, who has lived with a crudely-drawn shark tattoo for more than a decade, reveals: 'For twelve years, I haven't looked at my arms. I just don't look at myself in the mirror. It's like I don't have a part of myself.' After her tattoo is transformed into an elaborate floral design, she is overcome with emotion. Fresh start: The women work with the Freedom Tattoos artists to create a meaningful design that will camouflage their prison ink . Mission statement: The project was launched to show that 'social rehabilitation is not about erasing the past, but rather building on it based on one's talents and passions' Happy ending: 'Oh my God...the "vendetta" is gone!' the first woman exclaims when she sees her new tattoo . 'Now I can discover a part of myself again,' she says. 'Now, I can take another step. And this is fantastic because I don't have to be locked up anymore in that gray world that held me back.' Professor Konopczynski further explains the significance of adding to the tattoos rather than eliminating them altogether. 'At Pedagogium, we teach that social rehabilitation is not about erasing the past, but rather building on it based on one's talents and passions. Sometimes the slightest change in one's life can bring the best results,' he says. 'If they decided to get tattoos, then it means that they wanted to express something. We help them express themselves better.' | The Freedom Tattoos project is a joint effort from the Pedagogium College of Social Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, and ad agency Isobar Poland .
A video describing the project shows two formerly incarcerated women having their tattoos camouflaged by beautiful new designs . |
124,916 | 2d75eb6107bc304fbd8df131b52a996dc5561c27 | By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 12:58 EST, 2 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:54 EST, 2 December 2013 . The Obama administration has forcefully denied that it is quietly exploring the possibility of a presidential visit to Iran in 2014, despite weekend news reports that originated with a newspaper in Kuwait. The White House quickly pooh-poohed the idea late Monday morning, with National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden telling MailOnline in an email that 'there's no truth to this report.' 'I'll leave it to others to speculate on how rumors get started,' she said. She also declined to speculate on whether the White House might accept an offer to visit Tehran if the initial news report were a trial balloon to gauge the administration's likely response. 'I’m not ... going to comment on hypothetical situations,' Hayden added. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (C) got a hero's welcome when he returned home from the U.S. in September, with demonstrators chanting 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' -- and 'Thank you Rouhani' Obama's last public statements on Iran came during a late-night Nov. 23 announcement of the terms of a nuclear deal with the Islamic republic. Iran later claimed the White House fabricated some of the details it released . National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden (L) was quick to dismiss any idea of Obama visiting Iran, which is still trying to shake its image as the state sponsor of a 444-day hostage crisis in the late 1970s . A . senior national security staffer who served in a Republican . administration told MailOnline that it would be an 'intensely foolish' move for the Obama team. 'The . only way he goes to Tehran is if he doesn't plan on coming back,' said . the former White House expert, who requested anonymity. 'Whatever people may think about the current occupant of the White House, I can't believe this possibility would ever be on the table.' The Arabic-language Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Friday that Obama 'is trying to arrange a visit to Tehran in the middle of next year.' 'The source said his desire for the visit is mutual,' the report read, according to an English translation obtained by MailOnline, 'and that both Tehran and Washington expect Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to invite his American counterpart to visit Tehran as soon as certain arrangements are concluded.' The Obama administration's . relationship with Iran has evolved in recent weeks, following that . nation's preliminary agreement to trim back some portions of its nuclear . program in exchange for a relaxation of economic sanctions. The Kuwaiti news outlet Al-Jarida cited an unnamed diplomatic source and reported that Obama is set to visit Iran next year . How would he explain it to Bibi? Obama's frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be frayed to the breaking point if the White House were to green-light a friendly visit to Tehran . But while Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif mugged for cameras last month in Geneva and promised greater transparency, both Rouhani and Khamenei fed Iranians a steady diet of hard-line rhetoric. And Iranian leaders slammed the Obama White House last week for publishing what it termed a 'one-sided interpretation' of the agreement, later disagreeing with the White House's claim that it would forgo its 'absolute' right to enrich uranium. Iran also said last week that its controversial heavy-water reactor project would continue, a sign that it is developing a plutonium reactor most likely intended for producing weapons-grade nuclear material. The Al-Jarida report first surfaced on a blog published by The Weekly Standard. The confusion over Washington's relationship with Tehran comes as Iran has acknowledged that it will build a second nuclear reactor, which it claims is for peaceful purposes. The state-run FARS News Agency reported Sunday that a new facility would be built in the same province where it already has a function reactor, which Russia helps operate. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida published a report Friday, in Arabic, claiming that President Obama was planning a visit to Iran. Here is a translation provided to MailOnline by a fluent Arabic speaker: . Al-Jarida has learned from a U.S. diplomat that President Barack Obama is trying to arrange a visit to Tehran in the middle of next year. The source said his desire for the visit is mutual, and that both Tehran and Washington expect Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to invite his American counterpart to visit Tehran as soon as certain arrangements are concluded. He [the source] pointed out that the most significant detail remaining to be decided is whether there will be a meeting between Obama and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, or whether that meeting won't be held. The source said Obama was expecting the invitation, and planned to devote the trip to publicizing his administration's policy in the region, which is based on the principles of non-military involvement and harmony. He wants to be the first U.S. president to visit Iran since the Khomeini revolution, and to demonstrate that he is a champion of peaceful discussions, even with those who chant 'death to America.' | National Security Council spokeswoman flatly denies the report that a visit to Tehran is in the works .
'The only way he goes to Tehran is if he doesn't plan on coming back,' a former White House national security expert told MailOnline .
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida claimed on Friday that Obama was expecting an invitation from Iranian president Hassan Rouhani .
According to that report, the only remaining hurdle was the thorny question of whether Obama would visit with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei .
Confusion comes as Iran announces it plans to build a second nuclear reactor, and insists it's for peaceful purposes only . |
63,551 | b473dc73786cc0a3fd8ff44117939d1a3ce132ec | Denver, Colorado (CNN) -- The FBI said Tuesday it will look into an April 2009 beating of a man by Denver, Colorado, police, an incident that resulted in disciplinary action against two officers but no charges. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper requested the investigation Tuesday, arguing that a federal probe would "help ensure justice is appropriately served." Tuesday afternoon, the FBI said it would look into the matter, but said little else. "As with any allegation that may fall within the FBI's purview, the Denver office will conduct a review of those events to determine if there is a basis for a federal civil rights investigation," the bureau said. "Per FBI policy, the Denver Division will not discuss ongoing investigative matters." One of the two police officers involved received a three-day suspension and the other was docked a day's pay as a result of the incident, according to documents released by Denver officials Tuesday. In a statement released by his office, Hickenlooper said the video doesn't look good "when viewed in isolation," but that it "tells only a portion of the story." The officers were disciplined for filing false reports after a review by the city's manager of safety, Ron Perea. But Perea said in a letter released Tuesday that the statements in their reports stemmed from "more of a misperception" than a "willful, intentional or knowing" attempt to deceive their superiors. "Viewing the video alone is inflammatory," Perea wrote. "However, when the entirety of the situation is reviewed as it should be, I believe I made an appropriate disciplinary decision." Despite that finding, the city's independent monitor is now calling for the officers to be fired. "It was clear to me they were trying to cover up what actually happened and make it look better than it was," said Richard Rosenthal, who reviews police internal investigations, told CNN affilliate KMGH. And Michael DeHerrera, the 24-year-old man seen being taken down and struck in the video footage recorded by a police camera, said Monday that he also wants the officers to lose their jobs. "I think they should be fired, and if not, prosecuted for assault," DeHerrera said. "I think if any one of us had done these actions and assaulted someone, we would all be in jail." The scene was captured by a street surveillance camera located across the intersection from where the beating took place. On the video, DeHerrera is seen talking animatedly on a mobile phone while police officers kneel over a friend who was being arrested on charges of punching an off-duty officer working security at a bar. The friend was being thrown out of the bar when the altercation occurred, according to police reports. Another officer who responded the fight confronted DeHerrera, who was on the phone with his father, a veteran police officer. Soon afterward, the officer grabs DeHerrera by the head and shoves him to the pavement, and the camera pulls away seconds later. DeHerrera's father, Anthony DeHerrera, told HLN's "Prime News" that Denver police mishandled the situation. "Officers have so many tools on their belts nowadays, there is no reason to take somebody down the way they did," said the elder DeHerrera, a veteran sheriff's deputy in southern Colorado's Pueblo County. He said he could hear sirens in the background while he was on the phone with his son, "so I felt law enforcement was arriving and everything going to be OK," he said. "And then I heard somebody in the background say 'Drop the phone,' and some obscenities. The next thing I hear is a thud. Then Michael was not talking anymore, so I knew it was Michael that got hit." He said he yelled his son's name into the phone for about seven minutes, but, "All we could hear was cussing in the background and some thuds." The younger DeHerrera had a bloody nose and a cut above his left eye when a police sergeant questioned him after the incident, according to the sergeant's report. He admitted to grabbing police officers he said were struggling with his friend, but denied attempting to punch anyone. "I was already handcuffed, and every time I was trying to tell them what happened, they hit me," he told the sergeant, according to the report. And witness statements found both men shoved the police officer seen in the video while they were across the street and out of view of the camera, Perea wrote. "While there can certainly be debate whether the force was excessive or inappropriate, looking at all available evidence I do not believe excessive or inappropriate force could be proven," Perea added. According to KMGH, charges against DeHerrera and a friend at the scene were dropped, and both men received a monetary settlement from the city. Hickenlooper, a Democrat now running for Colorado's governor, said it was "appropriate for the independent monitor to question the manager of safety's decision" in the case. "Very few cities have this type of check-and-balance system that we have created in Denver," Hickenlooper's statement said. "Even still, we are asking for a federal review of the matter." CNN's Jim Spellman contributed to this report. | NEW: The FBI has agreed to review the incident .
Officers received "appropriate" discipline, city official says .
Mayor seeks to "ensure justice is appropriately served"
Officers involved were disciplined for filing a false report . |
92,032 | 025ebffb0cea06e9440bec7c1e261e6ae464ae55 | (CNN) -- Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o said Wednesday he was the victim of a "sick joke" that had him and legions of fans believing in a "girlfriend" who may never have existed. Te'o was the subject of an inspirational story in which he overcame the deaths of his real-life grandmother and his girlfriend as his team marched toward the BCS National Championship Game. Te'o, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, released a statement and Notre Dame held a news conference Wednesday night after the sports website Deadspin published an article that called the girlfriend story a hoax. Last September and October, Te'o told interviewers the losses of the women, who reportedly died within hours of each other, inspired him to honor them with sterling play on the field. "I miss 'em, but I know that I'll see them again one day," he told ESPN. That and other media reports led to a gripping human interest story of determination. The girlfriend was identified as Lennay Kekua, who had supposedly died of leukemia. Jack Swarbrick, director of athletics at Notre Dame, told reporters that Te'o was the victim of an elaborate hoax. "And he will carry that with him for a while," Swarbrick said. Investigators don't know how many people may have participated in the hoax, he said. Notre Dame said the relationship between Te'o and the supposed girlfriend involved online and lengthy telephone communication. As part of the hoax, several meetings were set up, including in Hawaii, but Kekua never showed, Swarbrick said. The linebacker grew up in Hawaii. Te'o's father, Brian, told the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune last fall that his son did have the opportunity to meet Kekua. "They started out as just friends," Brian Te'o said, according to the newspaper. "Every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, and that happened to be the time Manti was home, so he would meet with her there. But within the last year, they became a couple." Media reports indicate the parents never met Kekua. According to Swarbrick, Te'o in early December received a call from a woman claiming to be his girlfriend and telling him she was not dead. Those calls continued but Te'o did not answer, Swarbrick said. Te'o's grandmother did in fact die in September, according to Deadspin, but there is no Social Security Administration record of the death of the athlete's supposed girlfriend, described as a Stanford University student. Stanford University's registrar's office told CNN that it has never had a student registered by Kekua's name or an alternative spelling. "Outside of a few Twitter and Instagram accounts, there's no online evidence that Lennay Kekua ever existed," Deadspin contends. "There was no Lennay Kekua." According to the website, Kekua, 22, had reportedly been in a serious auto accident in California and was later diagnosed with leukemia. Photographs showing a young woman identified as Kekua in online tributes and news reports actually are photos from social media accounts of a 22-year-old California woman who is not named Lennay Kekua and does not have leukemia, according to Deadspin. The woman never met Te'o, it said. Your opinion: What do you think? After Notre Dame upset No. 10 Michigan State on September 15, Te'o told ABC about his late grandmother and girlfriend. "They were with me. I couldn't do it without them," Te'o said. "I couldn't do it without the support of my family and my girlfriend's family." "I'm so happy that I had a chance to honor my grandma and my family and my girlfriend," Te'o said. "That's what it's all about, family." Timothy Burke, co-author of the Deadspin article, told Miami sports radio host Dan Le Batard, "We got an e-mail last week saying something isn't right" with the girlfriend story. Te'o said Wednesday he "developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her." In his statement reported by ESPN, the star said, "To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. "It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life." Manti Te'o previously told reporters he and his girlfriend would spend hours speaking on the phone. Notre Dame said it hired an independent investigative firm to look into the situation. Swarbrick said the independent investigation found that the perpetrators were involved in "online chatter" indicating that it was a hoax, and Te'o was a victim. "I will refer you to the documentary 'Catfish,'" the athletic director said. "Catfish" is no longer simply a river dweller, but rather a verb defined as "to pretend to be someone you're not online by posting false information, such as someone else's pictures, on social media sites usually with the intention of getting someone to fall in love with you," according to an MTV show of the same name. Swarbrick said he met with Te'o's family two days before Notre Dame played in the January 7 championship game and lost to Alabama. The linebacker is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft this spring. CNN's Amanda Watts contributed to this report. | Te'o's father had said his son, girlfriend met in Hawaii .
Manti Te'o is a hoax victim, Notre Dame says; university hired an investigative firm .
Sports website Deadspin raises questions about the existence of his girlfriend .
In September, Te'o talked about losing his grandmother, girlfriend in the same week . |
70,983 | c940827e14bd55d80d15559015919259bf4be101 | A furious Labour frontbencher has dismissed David Cameron as a ‘low rent PR man’ after being personally singled out by the Prime Minister for abuse at the Tory conference last week. Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt accused the Prime Minister of demeaning his office with the ‘boorish’ attack on his background. In his set-piece conference speech on Wednesday, the PM ridiculed Mr Hunt for going to an exclusive private school but wanting to ‘restrict’ other children from having the same advantages. The Labour shadow minster said it was a ‘highly personalised attack on me, my family and upbringing’ and claimed it was reminiscent of the ‘boorishness’ of Jeremy Clarkson. Privately-educated historian Tristram Hunt accused David Cameron of being a 'low rent PR man' Mr Hunt, elected in 2010 but already tipped as a future party leader, was educated at the private University College School in north London before studying history at Trinity College, Cambridge. In his conference address on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said: ‘Tristram Hunt, their shadow education secretary, like me, had one of the best educations money can buy. ‘But guess what? He won't allow it for your children. He went to an independent school that wasn't set up by a local authority … but no, he doesn't want charities and parents to set up schools for your children.' Mr Cameron added: ‘He had the benefit of world-class teachers who happened not to have a government certificate … but no, he wants to stop people like that from teaching your children. ‘I tell you – Tristram Hunt and I might both have been educated at some of the best schools in our country. But here's the difference: you, Tristram – like the rest of the Labour party – want to restrict those advantages. I want to spread them to every child in Britain.’ Mr Hunt said the Prime Minister’s ‘assault’ was triggered in a refusal among the Tories ‘to believe that anybody called Tristram could or should be a member of the Labour party’. He said: 'To be accused by David Cameron in his party conference speech of “hypocrisy” was rich indeed. 'But his highly personalised attack on me, my family and upbringing spoke volumes about the man himself – and his inability, following those revelations about the Queen “purring” down the phone to invest the office of prime minister with the dignity it deserves.' He added: 'Cameron has moved on little since his time as a low-rent PR man.' The Prime Minister said Mr Hunt had enjoyed 'one of the best educations money can buy' but did not want other children to enjoy such privilege . Mr Hunt saidBut Labour politicians regularly taunt Mr Cameron over his ‘out of touch’ background – with remarks about his education at Eton and membership of the Bullingdon Club at Oxford. Mr Cameron’s attack is reminiscent of the Tory leader Michael Howard's Commons put down of Tony Blair in 2004 when he said: ‘This grammar school boy is not going to take any lessons from that public schoolboy.’ | Tristram Hunt accuses the Prime Minister of demeaning his office .
Comes after the PM ridiculed Mr Hunt for private-school background .
Mr Hunt said the Tory leader had made a 'highly personalised attack' |
184,167 | 7a8ca2686f6b8f2206731d6975f639c0479db81f | (CNN) -- The president of Bahrain's Center for Human Rights was referred Sunday to Bahrain's military prosecutor for publishing a photograph of a protester who died in custody that officials say he fabricated. Nabeel Rajab published on his Facebook page images of a man identified as Ali Isa Saqer. The man in the picture has multiple cuts on his front and back and heavy bruising across his body and face. Saqer, 31, died at a detention center Saturday, according to the general director of Muharraq Governorate Police. He was being held on charges of attempted murder of policemen while trying to run them over with his car on March 13. Authorities said Saqer was creating chaos at the detention center, and when security forces sought to subdue him, he resisted them and sustained various injuries in the process. He was sent to the hospital, where he later died. But Rajab and other activists say the photographs of Saqer show he was tortured and killed while in police custody. "Yes, I have published a picture but this picture was not fabricated. It was an actual picture of a man who had marks on his body from torture," said Rajab. "But I think I have been targeted not because of that. I have been targeted for my work as a human right defender as I have been one of the main people showing the outside world what's happening ... which was making the government upset and angry," he added. In a statement on its website, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said the photograph Rajab published is different from the one taken in the presence of a medical examiner after Saqer's death. The ministry published two photos it also said were of Saqer. The face of the man in the ministry's photos was blacked out and it was impossible for CNN to independently confirm whether the ministry's images and Rajab's photographs were of the same man. In the ministry's photographs, minor cuts and bruising can be seen, but nothing suggesting the abuse the photographs posted by Rajab imply. A CNN documentary film team recently went to Bahrain, one of the United State's strongest allies in the Middle East, to work on a piece about internet bloggers, activists and the revolutions spreading across the Arab world. The group had arranged a series of interviews, but most of the sources who had agreed to talk had since disappeared. Family members or others close to the sources said they had been arrested or gone into hiding after security forces raided their homes and threatened them. While reporting the story, the CNN team was detained by security forces in the street outside Rajab's house. Members of the group were questioned for six hours and released, but warned not to film anything else without permission. Rajab, who was arrested last month, said that the government is engaged in a campaign of intimidation against him and other activists. "They said that they were looking for a suspect who was armed and thought I might know him," Rajab said. "They beat me, punched me, kicked me, handcuffed me. Blindfolded me." The government confirmed Rajab was arrested but did not provide additional details. Protests swept the strategically important island kingdom earlier this year as populations across the Arab world rose up against their rulers. Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy anchors its Fifth Fleet, is a small predominantly Shiite country governed by a Sunni royal family. It called in Saudi Arabia and other regional troops to help end the protests last month. "I think this is the cost of the human rights work that I do," Rajab said shortly after news of his impending legal battle broke. "I knew that what I am doing is costly and it could cost me my life or my family life and this is the price we are paying for our work as a human rights activist in the region," he said. CNN's Amber Lyon and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report. | Ali Isa Saqer, 31, died at a detention center on Saturday .
A leading human rights activist posted images of a man identified as Saqer .
The photographs show what he says is evidence of torture .
The government says the activist fabricated the image . |
208,342 | 99b9eb7f080b1e44826c8e0c4165177aab0dee30 | A 13-year-old girl has died after falling from a chairlift and plunging 20ft to the ground on a school skiing trip in the Alps. Poonam Bhattal hit her head on a cement pylon as she fell shortly after getting on the lift in the Italian resort of Claviere yesterday morning. It is thought the teenager may have had trouble getting on the lift, or slipped off before the protective bar was lowered. Accident: The schoolgirl came off the ski-lift in the Italian resort of Claviere, which is in the Alps . The schoolgirl from the Guru Nanak . Sikh Academy in Hayes, Middlesex, survived the fall and was airlifted . off the mountain, but died on the way to a hospital in the nearby city . of Susa, Italian officials said. Poonam was on a week-long excursion . with 30 other pupils and was due to return to her home in Langley, . Slough, tomorrow. Her parents are now understood to be on their way to . Italy. A spokesman from Guru Nanak Sikh Academy confirmed the death and paid tribute to the student. ‘The leader of this trip and everyone . associated with it is devastated by the death of an absolutely lovely . student,’ the spokesman said. ‘The vice principal leading the trip . has vast experience, having led 28 of such trips throughout his teaching . career. He is obsessive about safety and security on these trips and is . accompanied by two assistant head teachers and a massively experienced . team of eight staff.’ A British consular official is en route from Milan to offer support and ‘try to ascertain what happened’. A spokesman for Turin police added: . ‘We don’t know yet if she didn’t get on properly or if she fell because . the barrier wasn’t down. She was taken to hospital but died on the way, . presumably from a cardiac arrest. ‘Further investigations are in progress.’ The 13-year-old had been on a school trip with Guru Nanak Sikh Academy when she fell to her death . The trip was organised by holiday . company Skibound. A spokesman said: ‘Skibound regrets to confirm that a . pupil from Guru Nanak Sikh Academy in Hayes, Middlesex, has been . involved in a fatal incident in the ski resort of Claviere. ‘The thoughts and condolences of all at Skibound are with the family, school and friends.’ Claviere is a small resort at an . elevation of around 5,800ft on the border with France which is popular . with families and beginners. It is 70 miles from Turin. Poonam is the second British teenager . to die in the Alps in less than a month. Lucy Sallis, 19, drowned in . the French resort of Alpe d’Huez three weeks ago. This week, nine-year-old Brook Hill . was injured at Les Monts d’Olmes resort in the Pyrenees after a . 27-year-old skier mowed him down. He fell into a coma and has had a section of his skull removed to relieve pressure on his brain. | Schoolgirl, 13, from Kent, hit her head as she fell from ski lift .
She had a cardiac arrest and died en route to hospital in Susa, Italy .
Police are investigating why the safety bar did not prevent her from falling . |
89,740 | fedfa1462a587b60ffd3554baad1d82da99ef960 | By . Amanda Platell . PUBLISHED: . 18:16 EST, 10 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:18 EST, 10 July 2013 . Controlling: Charles Saatchi is typical of the sort of man who has to have the last word . The last thing Nigella Lawson would have expected when she picked up the Sunday newspapers last weekend was to read that her husband of ten years was filing for divorce. Charles Saatchi chose to announce the end of their marriage in the coldest and most calculating of ways. Each word of his statement made me shiver in recognition. This was the valedictory missive of a controlling man prepared to sacrifice everything just to have the last word. It's only a month since Nigella suffered the very public humiliation of being photographed with her husband's hands around her throat. Everyone was shocked. How could such a strong, beautiful, hugely successful woman let herself be treated that way? When I read the Mail on Sunday headline 'Saatchi: I'm Divorcing You, Nigella', I was hit by a sense of sick dread. Why? Because I, too, have suffered the grave misfortune of falling in love with more than one such control freak in my lifetime. There is a misconception that controlling men seek out plain, meek women. But in my experience, that is not the case. There is, after all, no sport in leading a lamb to slaughter. No, the challenge for such men is to bring a successful woman down from a great height. That's real power; complete domination. Such men are seductive creatures, shrewdly camouflaging their real character in the beginning, showering you with love so you feel you are the centre of their universe. But then the subtle changes start. There's the carping about the little things, the looks of disappointment, the casually cruel comments about the way you look or gentle criticism of your work, all of which chip away at your self-confidence. Take the behaviour of my ex, Mark, a journalist. I was with him for five years after we met in our late 20s and still wince when I remember how he could turn a compliment into a devastating blow. One evening, for example, after a long day at work, I hurriedly changed in the office loo into a beautiful dress I had bought specially for a party he was hosting. When I arrived, he was sitting on a bar stool surrounded by colleagues. He beckoned me over with a crook of his little finger. With all of them watching, he leant forward and kissed me on the forehead. 'Look at you, darling!' he said admiringly, then whispered: 'That dress does nothing to disguise your bottom, but I love you.' There you have the control freak's sinister double whammy: insult then compliment; knock you down then help you up. Trophy wife: Charles probably regarded Nigella as his prize exhibit - until he felt she was neglecting him for her career . I shudder to this day at the memory of it, and the way he started to begin every sentence with: 'The problem with you, Amanda, is…' A hundred things could ignite his ire: the way I'd cooked dinner, the fact I'd forgotten to pick up his dry-cleaning, or his belief that I didn't pay him enough attention when we went out together. Increasingly, his underlying theme was that he felt I was putting my work before him. I suspect Nigella, 53, found herself in the same situation. Those who know 70-year-old Saatchi say he is a control freak who could not stomach Nigella's success. He is infamous for the way he seeks to arrange everyone and everything around him as though they were exhibits in one of his minimalist art galleries. Nigella - for a while at least - was the prize exhibit. I had first-hand experience of his controlling ways when, in the 1980s, I was marketing director of a major newspaper group and his company, Saatchi & Saatchi, was our advertising agency. Always dressed immaculately in a black suit and white shirt, Saatchi was one of the coldest men I have ever met. He didn't suffer fools gladly, and to him, almost everyone was a fool. We can only speculate what had been going on in their marriage prior to that humiliating, brutish scene in the restaurant. My guess would be that, just like my own relationship with Mark, their problems began had begun many years before. At the beginning, Mark loved having a trophy girlfriend and relished the fact that people recognised me in the street. In the end, though, he perceived my work as a threat: it made me neglect him, he said. It was only by constantly putting me down that he felt he was able to control me and stop me doing the thing he most feared - leaving him. Which, of course, I eventually did. Happier days: The couple dining at Scott's restaurant, the same place where Charles would infamously grab Nigella's throat, precipitating their divorce . What's so ironic is that controllers end up hating the strong, successful woman to whom they were once so drawn. A friend of Nigella's has admitted: 'Charles never liked her being famous. He used to cringe if people came up when they were having a meal. It didn't suit his ego to be seen as Mr Nigella Lawson.' When I read that I almost wept, recalling my ex's reaction when he was sometimes introduced as 'Mr Platell'. It was as though he'd been castrated on the spot. After our separation, he told me: 'I just got sick of living in your shadow.' I wanted to scream back: 'Then try casting one of your own!' To my surprise and shame, I seldom fought back during the relationship. I never said: 'Forget my bum, look at the size of your gut.' I never mentioned the fact that he was stagnating in his career as he criticised the choices I made in mine. Not once did I berate him for not lifting a finger to help in the house, even though I paid the mortgage. My behaviour is, I think, typical of many so-called strong career women. Yes, we can make tough decisions in the workplace, but at home we just seek peace and companionship. We enter the fray each day at work, so it's the last thing we want at home. Nigella's friends say she became the 'ultimate pacifier', wary of her husband's moods and temper. Oh, how I can relate to that. When you're with a control freak, you feel you are walking on eggshells, always trying to second-guess him. Like many successful men, Saatchi was drawn to a remarkable and beautiful woman. Most men would love nothing more than to be married to one of the country's best cooks, yet Saatchi never forgot to mention that he didn't like her cooking and preferred cheese on toast. The controller turns every situation into a new opportunity to abase their victim - as Saatchi did when confronted by photos taken at Scott's restaurant appearing to show him restraining his wife by pushing on the base of her nose. In fact, he insisted, he was cleaning her face as one might a child's. 'Even domestic goddesses sometimes have a bit of snot,' he said, humiliatingly. He never went to parties, so his wife often went alone, corseted in Vivienne Westwood and looking splendid but sadly alone. The message seemed to be that her silly superficial world was not engaging enough for him. Another ex of mine, a businessman I dated in my late 30s and almost married, used the same ploy. He refused to go out with me and my friends, dismissing them as 'boring' sycophants who were only interested in the fact that I was well-known. It was his way of trying to cut me off from those I was closest to. Thankfully, it didn't work. It takes time and experience to spot the tricks of the controller, and another of my exes eventually revealed himself as one such. The first time I got a big promotion and wanted him to celebrate with me and my workmates, he said he was so ill he had to go to hospital. I rushed home, as he knew I would, only to find him watching TV, saying he was feeling a little better. That pattern of mystery illnesses repeated itself again and again. But as well as playing games with my good nature, this man exploited my insecurities. Even when I was slim, he'd pat my tummy in a seemingly loving way and say: 'Could lose a few pounds there, couldn't we?' Hurtful: Saatchi never forgot to mention he didn't like Nigella's cooking and preferred cheese on toast . Most shockingly, after I'd had a major operation, lost 2st and was skeletal, he hugged me in front of my friends and said: 'Finally she's got her figure back.' When I finally left him, he told friends I'd gone mad and left the country. As with Saatchi, he was desperate to have the last word on the relationship. He even called my friends and said I'd become delusional and was in America with a new boyfriend. It was all untrue. One of my more savvy friends emailed him, copying me and my friends into it, saying: 'That's funny, I've just had lunch with Amanda in Chelsea.' Now I'm in my 50s. I have well-honed radar against such men and try to seek out those who are kind and considerate. I can only hope Nigella learns from her experiences in the same way. Any bruises on Nigella's throat will have healed by now, though I suspect those in her heart will linger. They will heal, however, and she should take comfort in the knowledge that she will never again have to hear those sinister words: 'The problem with you, Nigella, is …' | The way Charles Saatchi announced his divorce shows how calculating he is .
But it's typical of a certain kind of man who craves control . |
137,938 | 3e65a5203b882b546b7483e6dcd682b5fd4e344c | (CNN) -- Racist abuse, fan violence, attacks on players -- on the face of it, English football seems to be experiencing a return to the dark days that led to its clubs being banned from Europe in the 1980s. One respected English newspaper declared the sport to be "toxic" and "spinning out of control" following Sunday's tumultuous Manchester derby. "Disturbing ... deplorable ... unacceptable" was how Football Association chairman David Bernstein described the pitch invasion, coin throwing, allegations of racist abuse and 13 arrests made during and after United's 3-2 victory at City. That the Premier League's two leading clubs could be involved in such a poor advert for one of the world's most popular and lucrative sporting competitions has led many to question its leaders. The headlines point to a descent back down the slippery slope that resulted in the 1989 Hillsborough and 1985 Heysel stadium tragedies. The latter occurred when fighting fans at the European Cup final caused a crush that killed 39 supporters of Italian club Juventus. English team Liverpool was also involved at Hillsborough, where 96 people died during an FA Cup match -- an independent review this year found that the fatal crush was caused by the way British police penned rival fans into small enclosures as part of its anti-hooliganism strategy. But there is another view to counter this week's media hysteria -- namely that football is only now facing up to realities deep at the heart of its foundations to which society has turned a blind eye for years. What's more, this could be a vital turning-point in trying to eradicate behavior that would not be tolerated in everyday life. "Previously there were behaviors that we have just passed off as 'Ah, that's football,' " said Clarke Carlisle, chairman of the English Professional Footballers' Association. "Aggressive behavior in crowds, aggressive chanting, throwing things onto the pitch, certain levels of abuse -- people have been all too happy to say 'It's at a football match,' " he told CNN. "Now the tolerance levels for behavior like that are coming right down. That's why we're seeing increased numbers of incidents reported, of fans making monkey gestures in isolation, small numbers of people throwing things on the pitch. "It has been happening for a while but now we are clamping down on these anti-social behaviors." Arrests at Premier League matches actually dropped by 30% last season, but conversely the numbers for race-related transgressions have been steadily rising. The world is watching . The images of blood dripping from the face of Rio Ferdinand after the former England captain was hit by a coin thrown from the crowd on Sunday, and then of the Manchester United defender being confronted by a pitch-invading City fan -- all broadcast worldwide -- have been a lightning rod for criticism after a year of damaging controversies both in the Premier League and the lower divisions. But Carlisle, a former top-flight player now plying his trade in the fourth tier, believes it has just highlighted something that has been a regular occurrence for years. "There have been many televised games where guys go to take corners and you see projectiles coming onto the pitch, but it's only on a rare occasion that they actually hit someone," said the 33-year-old, who in a television documentary explored the racist abuse his father suffered as a black player in a semi-pro English league. "There's been a shift in people's acceptance of these behaviors," said Clarke. "We're expecting people to behave far more reasonably at football matches, we are expecting the football authorities to take control of the situation with all the technology they have available, and we are expecting repercussions for those behaviors, for people to be accountable whether it's a player, a referee, club official or a fan." Moral vacuum? However, there is a growing perception in Britain that those in power are not doing enough -- despite strongly worded statements by the likes of Bernstein. Herman Ouseley, chairman of the anti-racism group Kick It Out, has criticized the FA and the Premier League in their handling of the John Terry/Luis Suarez cases in the past year, labeling it "12 months wasted in hypocrisy." Terry lost the England captaincy before being cleared in court in July of racially abusing an opponent, but was then banned for four matches by the FA almost a year after the original incident. "There is very little morality in football among the top clubs," Ouseley told British newspaper the Guardian. "Leadership is so important; you have to send a powerful message that racism is completely unacceptable. But there is a moral vacuum. "The big clubs look after their players as assets. There was no bold attitude from them, to say that they would not put up with it." CNN asked the FA to respond to these accusations, but was told the ruling body would make no further comment on the Terry/Suarez cases. Clarke agrees that clubs should not just look out for their own short-term interests. "There has to be individual responsibility and accountability at the football clubs for the behavior of their employees," he said. "There's an element of responsibility that needs to be addressed. The FA's sanctions for players, for entry-level discrimination, need to be far sterner." The FA has said it will review its sanctions, but no changes can be implemented until the start of next season. Clarke's PFA said on Twitter this week that it had agreed to an FA proposal of five-match bans for racial abuse. Growing problem? The Manchester incidents completely overshadowed Saturday's events at another EPL game hosted by Swansea, where a man was arrested and charged after Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong complained of being racially abused. Norwich revealed later that police are investigating four cases of racial attacks on the Cameroon international in the past fortnight, three of them on social networking website Twitter. Coming soon after two West Ham fans were arrested for alleged anti-Semitic abuse of Tottenham supporters last month, and several other troubling incidents this season, it doesn't paint a healthy picture of English football --- but shows the size of the challenge faced by the authorities. Clarke said the question of suitable punishments requires an all-inclusive approach. "It's easy for me to say a fan should get 'X' punishment, just as it's easy for a fan to say a player should get 'Y,' " he said. "If we have some kind of consultation across the board to establish acceptable parameters or unacceptable behavior then we will be seen to be putting something into place that everyone has had an input in." Guidelines needed . The FA is working with the British government to work out ways of dealing with football's problems, and Clarke says this will only be effective if there is a clear set of guidelines laid down for all areas of the game. "The biggest change we need in football is some kind of protocol for issues that have come to pass over the past year," he said, when asked about club managers such as Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas publicly defending their players Luis Suarez and John Terry while racism investigations were ongoing. "We haven't got any definitive outlines on what should happen when there are incidents of discrimination, especially racial abuse. It's very much a gray area. The defenses go up at the club, they have their own brand and their own assets to protect. "This is all before official investigation and procedure is taking place to ascertain whether that is valid support of the player or club. I think the first thing we need to do is to have a protocol where everyone knows exactly what should happen in these incidents, exactly what behaviors are expected of the people involved, of the club employees and of the press, as well." He said the incident involving referee Mark Clattenburg, who was accused of racially abusing a Chelsea player before being cleared, showed both the improvements football has made and yet how far it still has to go. "Procedurally it was a real step forward: something was claimed, it was reported, it was investigated and conclusion was drawn. I think that was outstanding, it was done promptly as well," he said. "But because the whole issue went into the press and speculative domain instantly, there were questions that were being proffered and answered that people didn't really have the grounds to answer. "A lot of speculation was drawn and it's possible and plausible that Mark Clattenburg's character had been tainted on the back of that. I believe we need a definitive outline on the protocol in such incidents." Cultural differences . It has emerged that the FA is considering cultural lessons for foreign players in order to prevent a repeat of the Suarez-Patrice Evra case last season, where the Liverpool striker was banned eight matches for constantly taunting the Manchester United defender with the term "negrito" during a match. Liverpool's lawyers argued that it was an acceptable, and often affectionate, term in Suarez's native Uruguay -- but the FA ruled that it had much more negative connotations in Britain. "There is very much a line of thought that we expect people to know what the levels of acceptability and tolerance are over here when it comes to abuse, discrimination etc. I don't think we should do that," Clarke said. "There shouldn't be any gray areas. If we're expecting people to adhere to certain values and a disciplinary schedule then it's our duty to ensure they know what those values are. It's an excellent idea to get rid of any ambiguities for players coming from overseas who may not be familiar with our values." A new era? Ouseley, the first black person to lead Britain's Commission for Racial Equality, is planning to stand down from his role on the FA Council, according to the Guardian. The 67-year-old has been frustrated by an apparent lack of progress by the ruling body. He would be "a big loss" to football's anti-racism cause, Clarke said. "But that opens the door for somebody else to fill that space. His experience will definitely be a loss, but it doesn't have to be a loss to the initiative -- the ideals and the ethos can still be carried forward. It's an opportunity for the FA to carry on their diversity principles." | English football's ruling bodies face criticism after increase in bad behavior by fans .
Violence during Sunday's Manchester derby has sparked fury in British media .
Players' union chairman denies claims that the problems are getting worse .
He says it is more a sign that society is finally not accepting such behaviors . |
272,683 | ed2ca2c930d1fff38360a5196acaf2bea38cd336 | By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 14:37 EST, 4 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:00 EST, 4 June 2013 . Britain basked in wonderful sunshine today with temperatures soaring to a glorious 23C, and the great news is there's even better to come. The mercury peaked at around 23C in Woodvale near Blackpool, but most of the country finally got to enjoy a proper taste of summer after a wet and miserable spring. And Scotland didn't miss out either with Glasgow one of the hottest places. Locals packed into Kelvingrove Park where it hit a sweltering 22C. Scorcher: Students (L-R) Emma Fox 22, Emma Gill 22, and Kiri Shuttleworth enjoy the sunshine on Barry Beach in South Wales . Catching the rays: Sophie Chandler, 20, enjoys the sunshine on Barry Beach in South Wales . Lapping it up: Sun-worshippers flock to Barry Beach in south Wales . Feeling the heat: Donna Devine enjoys the sunshine on Barry Beach in South Wales . Fun in the sun: Four-year-old Eve Heppenstall from Sheffield dashes through fountains in the city's Peace Gardens as most of the country enjoyed glorious sunny weather . Och aye the phew! (L-R) Sisters Luljeta, Tiki, Lirie and Beki Avdyli enjoy the warmth from the sunshine in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow where temperatures soared to 22C . Short shorts: (L-R) Rosemary Maloney, 18, Georgia Woods, 18, Claire Thompson, 19, and Kirsten Dinwoodie, 18, enjoy ice creams in the sunshine at Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow . And you can pack those woolly jumpers away at the back of cupboard as it finally seems we have shaken off the chilly weather. It will get steadily warmer across the country throughout the week with temperatures nudging 25C expected in London on Friday. In fields across the country oilseed rape and buttercups were in full bloom bloom, turning huge swathes of the landscape a stunning bright yellow. Summer scene: A pair of rowers slip along the river at Ross on Wye, Herefordshire . In bloom: Buttercups in the fields surrounding Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland . Picnic in the park: Daisy (left) and Rose enjoying a feat in London's Hyde Park . Capital: Londoners lap up the sunshine in Hyde Park . Hot to trot: Members of The Household Cavalry ride through along Hyde Park . Easy rider: A woman enjoys an ice lolly as she pedals her 'Boris' bike through Hyde Park, London . A spokesman for the Met office said: 'There will more of an east to west divide than north to south on Wednesday. 'In the morning there will be some cloud across east and central England and patches of drizzle along the North Sea coast. 'But the sunshine will develop . throughout the day with most parts experiencing dry and warm weather . although there will be a few sharp showers in Scotland and parts of . Northern England and Northern Ireland. A horse grazes in a field of Buttercups in a field close to the village of Lapley in South Staffordshire . Mellow yellow: Vibrant yellow Rapeseed blooms in the sunshine in a field close to the village of Brewood in South Staffordshire . Rapeseed, or oilseed rape (Brassica napus) has become a familiar sight in rural areas of the UK and is now in full bloom as the sun shines across the country . Getting fruity: A giant pineapple decorates an island in the pond at The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew . Kayleigh Diane, 20, enjoys the sunshine in Victoria Park, Bath . Soaking it up: Jasmine Orton, 21, and Ellie Sutherland, 21, catch some rays on Bath's famous Royal Crescent . Making the most of it: Kayleigh Diane, 20, enjoys a book in Victoria Park, Bath . 'Thursday will be another sunny day with cloud here and there especially along eastern coastal regions. 'Scotland and the north will be sunny also although there will be more in the way of cloud and showers.' 'In the south we should see temperatures peaking at around 22C/23C with lows of around 14C in east Anglia. 'Friday will be more of the same with . a few scattered showers in the south but temperatures in London are . expected to reach around 23C/24C.' Monkey business: An Olive Baboon monkey cools off with an ice lolly at Knowsley Safari Park, in Liverpool . Bon appetit: A family enjoys a picnic lunch in Victoria Park, Bath . Backdrop: People flock to Bath's famous Georgian terrace house in Royal Crescent to enjoy the sunshine . Blooming marvelous: A gardener working in the warm sunny weather at Worthington Gardens, Sale, Cheshire . | After a stinking spring, it seems summer has finally arrived!
Temperatures peak at a glorious 23C and there's plenty more to come . |
203,384 | 9343529850458b73bd76f12b60406d1991edc241 | A Finnish photographer has captured incredible landscape shots in a new collection titled 'Edge'. Mikko Lagerstedt's enchanting photo series highlights some of Finland's extraordinary landscapes. Mr Lagerstedt is a self-taught photographer, who began taking his craft in December 2008 using a DSLR camera Nikon D90. The 31-year-old lives in Kerava just 18 miles from Helsinki. 'Divided' is Mikko Lagerstedt's favourite photo from his collection titled 'Edge' - detailing Finland's stunning landscape . Lagerstedt is a self-taught photographer, who began his fabulous work in December 2008 . 'I love to capture atmospheric landscapes and I'm drawn to night and early morning light,' says Lagerstedt . He focused on shooting on the horizon line, and the images highlight the wild landscapes that he calls home. He began taking the striking photos in 2012 and has continued to travel to the edge of Finland. 'My first inspiration towards photography came when I was driving to my relatives cabin after one rainy day and when the sun was about to set. I saw this beautiful landscape filled with fog and sunlight, and at that moment I made a decision to start capture those wonderful sights. 'I love to capture atmospheric landscapes and I'm drawn to night and early morning light. I shot these images in Finland, either by the coast or far away from the cities.' The photographer lives in Kerava just 30 kilometres from Helsinki, but has travelled to the very edge of Finland . He began taking the striking photos in 2012 and has continued to travel to the edge of Finland . Mikko Lagerstedt is an award winning fine art photographer from Finland and his distinct style captures the emotion of the moment . Lagerstedt, who spent a year taking all of the photographs, says his favourite image is 'Divided'. 'It is a perfect moment to enjoy the night by the sea.' Mikko Lagerstedt is an award winning fine art photographer from Finland. His distinct style captures the emotion of the moment. Capturing simplistic Finnish landscapes and fleeting moments, he strives to use his atmospheric vision to inspire people. His photography has been featured around the world in book covers, magazines and in advertisements. Writing on his website, Lagerstedt says: 'I mostly get inspired from the surrounding nature here in Finland. I'm also interested in movies, TV series and music. 'I have just recently realised, that one of the reasons I create atmospheric photographs, comes from my past - losing my best friend when I turned 20, has definitely influenced my work and how I see things surrounding us.' Lagerstedt found his inspiration when he saw a beautiful landscape filled with fog and sunlight many years ago . Lagerstedt has some simple advice for photographers: 'Keep on taking photos and eventually, you will find your vision and style' Lagerstedt's photography has been featured around the world in book covers, magazines and in advertisements. The Finn uses a Nikon D800 and Ricoh GR to snap the incredible landscapes. If you are mesmerised by these photographs, Lagerstedt has some simple advice. 'Keep on taking photos and eventually, you will find your vision and style. 'Some find it quicker than others but there is no easy route.' Examples from the Edge collection include Divided (2014), Endless Night (2012) and Purple Haze (2012) and are a limited edition set of 50. | Mikko Lagerstedt's enchanting photo series highlights some of Finland's extraordinary landscapes .
He began taking the striking photos in 2012 and has continued to travel to the edge of Finland .
Capturing simplistic Finnish landscapes he strives to use his atmospheric vision to inspire people . |
55,365 | 9cebc854fb713969e9f92b333890d1d401af09cf | By . Lizzie Edmonds . and Simon Cable Showbusiness Correspondent . Earlier in the day, they had greeted huge crowds outside Buckingham Palace as the country rejoiced at victory in the Second World War. And this is how – according to filmmakers, at least – the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret subsequently mingled with the masses as the raucous VE Day celebrations continued into the night. Girls’ Night Out is a fictionalised version of the evening of May 8, 1945, when the future queen and her sister slipped out of the Palace and joined in with the party spirit. Elizabeth detailed the occasion in her teenage diaries, recalling the event was ‘great fun’ as she mixed with revellers in the streets. Elizabeth's friend and cousin, the Honourable Margaret Rhodes, claimed many years later in her memoir the group slipped out of the palace to join the nation's carousing. The new film will put what it will claim is flesh on the bones of that extraordinary assertion. However, that flesh is likely to prove highly controversial as it will suggest Princess Margaret danced exuberantly in a Trafalgar Square fountain and the sisters then went on to a club in Liverpool. Trafalgar Square has been transformed for the filming of VE Day production Girl's Night Out (pictured). Hundreds of actors took to the London landmark today to film scenes for the movie - which is a re-imagining of events on May 8 1945 . Revelers smile at the camera as they celebrate the end of the Second World War in Europe. It is thought more than one million people in the UK celebrated on that night - many of whom flocked to Trafalgar Square . A fictional Princess Elizabeth, played by Canadian actress Sarah Gadon grins in glee as she watches over the events taking place at the London landmark . In one fictional scene, Princess Margaret - dressed in fur and her best baby-pink gown - wades through knee-deep water in the Trafalgar Square fountains (pictured) Princess Margaret, played by Bel Powley, lifts up her skirt to make her way round the fountain in the re-imagined VE Day celebrations. The script has not been verified by the Palace - although the book on which is it based is thought to have been approved by the Queen . The fictional Princess Margaret dances in rather raucous celebration - a scene that is certainly not documented in Mrs Rhodes' extraordinary memoir . The . Final Curtsey by Margaret Rhodes was written with the . full knowledge of the Queen - who is said to have read and approved . sections of the text. However, there has been no official corroboration of its account of the VE Day celebrations. The book recounts how, on the night of May 8, the Queen . enjoyed ‘a unique burst of personal freedom; a Cinderella moment in . reverse’. Mrs Rhodes . writes: ‘I can’t remember exactly what we got up to, and so the Queen . has provided me with an aide-memoire taken from her diary entries for . that time.’ The memoir . states young Princess Margaret's diary entry for the following day . reads: 'PM announced unconditional surrender. Sixteen of us went out in . crowd, cheered parents on balcony. Up St J’s St [St James’s Street], . Piccadilly, great fun. 'Out . in crowd again – Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Pall Mall, walked simply . miles. Saw parents on balcony at 12.30am – ate, partied, bed 3am!’ It . also says the future Queen wrote in her diary: 'Out in crowd, . Whitehall, Mall, St J St, Piccadilly, Park Lane, Constitution Hill, ran . through Ritz. Walked miles, drank in Dorchester, saw parents twice, . miles away, so many people. Later she wrote: 'Out in crowd . again. Embankment, . Piccadilly. Rained, so fewer people. Congered into house [a reference to . the conga and Buckingham Palace] . . . Sang till 2am. Bed at 3am!’ Actress Sarah Gadon, who plays the young Princess Elizabeth in the film, can be seen enjoying the crowds in a fabulous pink embellished dress . Princess Elizabeth smiles and laughs with a handsome man in uniform in the controversial film . The actress looks lost in the crowd before leading a young man in full uniform through the party-goers . King George VI waves from the balcony of Buckingham on VE Day as he stands with Queen Elizabeth (centre left) and their children Princess Elizabeth (left) and Princess Margaret (right) The cast of Girls' Night Out celebrate the fall of Nazi Germany by climbing on to a lion statue in Trafalgar Square. The filming took place exactly 69 years after the original public holiday . The party continues among the crew of the film, which has an all-star cast and has been filmed in numerous locations across the country . Later in the memoir, Mrs Rhodes, writes: 'A . gang of us, including the two Princesses, were given permission by the . King and Queen to slip away anonymously and join the rejoicing crowds on . the streets. 'There must . have been about 16 of us and we had as escort the King’s Equerry, a . very correct Royal Navy captain in a pinstriped suit, bowler hat and . umbrella. 'Princess . Elizabeth was in uniform, as a subaltern in the Auxiliary Transport . Service – the ATS. She pulled her peaked cap well down over her face to . disguise her much-photographed image. Miraculously she got away with it.' Cast and crew surround the landmark's fountain in a scene which appears to be between takes . Uniformed cast members vigorously wave a selection of British and American flags in one scene . Revelers wade in to the water at the central London landmark - hitching up their skirts and shorts. The film has already caused controversy as it depicts a young Elizabeth kissing an RAF gunner . The celebrations continue for the cast members - many of whom are wearing hats and waving small Union Jacks. The film is a re-imaging of events, based on a memoir . A fun-loving cast member wrapped in a Union Jack flag with a party hat on her head smiles as she walks through the streets . The new film, Girls Night Out, however, varies from this account somewhat. In . some scenes, the young royals are seen chatting with handsome young men - . before Princess Margaret jumps into the Trafalgar Square fountain. Young . Elizabeth can be seen getting very close to a man in uniform - and is . later shown kissing a dashing young RAF Lancaster gunner. The film stars Rupert Everett . as King George VI, Emily Watson as Queen Elizabeth as well as Sarah Gadon as . Princess Elizabeth and Bel Powley as Margaret. According . to the film an adventurous Margaret, then just 15, slips away from her guards and hops on a bus. Princess . Elizabeth then races around the city in a bid to find her younger sister - finding the gunner, who has no idea who she is, along the way . As she attempts . to find Margaret, she and her companion visit a couple of sleazy Soho nightclubs - and eventually the princess's identity is revealed. Two female characters seem to be having a whale of a time drinking beer and waving their flags while wandering through the crowds on set . Men from the armed forces wave flags and drink from bottles of beer while chatting to young women. Despite what the controversial kissing scene in the film would suggest, Princess Elizabeth had already met Phillip by 1945 . A cast member with a trumpet is wheeled around by a colleague. The film has been part-produced by British Pathe . Four cast members, some wearing party hats, chat to one another while another plays a trumpet while sitting in a wheelbarrow . | Photographs show the dramatic re-imagination of VE day which marked the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945 .
Young Elizabeth seen talking with young men, while Princess Margaret dances in Trafalgar Square fountain .
Scenes are from controversial new film Girls Night Out - an adaptation of the Honourable Margaret Rhodes's memoir .
The film has not been verified by the Palace - but sections of memoir thought to have been approved by the Queen . |
55,997 | 9ebc9d088c5a1b0beee5471982416451738eaf2a | Up for the cup: Jennifer Aniston shows off marks left by cupping . As she posed for the photographers on the red carpet, Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston looked every inch the A-lister. Shiny hair, immaculate make-up, a glowing tan — not to mention revealing shorts that showed off her perfectly toned legs. But having paid such attention to her appearance, why did Aniston choose a low-backed top that succeeded only in showing off a series of unsightly circular marks on her back? Peculiarly, Aniston was modelling the latest celebrity must-have. Forget Kabbalah bracelets and coconut water: every Hollywood star worth her salt knows that their health routine must include cupping. For those round marks on Aniston’s back are a tell-tale sign of cupping, an ancient Asian therapy where heated cups are placed onto the skin, creating suction that supposedly improves blood flow. Practitioners claim it helps everything from muscle pain to cellulite and depression. Inevitably, it was Gwyneth Paltrow — that well-known proponent of anti-gravity yoga and elimination diets for her children — who set the trend for cupping when she attended a film premiere in 2004 with the distinctive circular welts clearly visible on her back. Victoria Beckham was recently spotted walking through Heathrow Airport with the trademark bruises, and tennis star Andy Murray has also declared himself to be a cupping devotee, even though his girlfriend Kim Sears said it made him ‘look like a reptile’. So — apart from leaving you looking like a well-used coaster — how does cupping actually work? Dating back 5,000 years, the therapy is a form of acupuncture, and is based on the idea that suction from the cups draws the skin up and mobilises blood and energy around the body. ‘If someone is under stress, or they’ve suffered a physical trauma like a pulled shoulder, the energy in their body can become stagnated,’ explains Ian Stones, an acupuncturist in Farnham, Surrey, and member of the British Acupuncture Council, who has been practising cupping for six years. Miracle cure or celebrity fad: Practitioners claim it helps everything from muscle pain to cellulite and depression . ‘Cupping enables the blood and energy to move again and travel to the area to begin the healing process. ‘It can also have good results if someone is coming down with a cold. The suction can help to stop the cold penetrating further into the system.’ Typically, a flame is first placed inside a glass or rubber cup, so the heat can create a partial vacuum, before the flame is removed and the cup held to the skin for about three minutes. Although the resulting marks can look alarming, they are temporary, and this kind of cupping should not hurt in any way as the cups used are thick-rimmed and do not heat up. Other forms of cupping — which costs around £50 per session — involve using a sort of suction kit, so no flame is needed. The UK’s leading cupping practitioner is Dr Nish Joshi, a Harley Street holistic doctor who was held in high regard by the late Princess Diana. Fan: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow made an appearance at a film premier in 2004 sporting large circular marks . His website recommends cupping ‘to aid the lymphatic flow, reduce fluid build-up, increase the blood circulation which will help give the skin a healthier appearance and reduce cellulite’. It was Dr Joshi who was responsible for Gwyneth Paltrow’s introduction to cupping (‘Joshi is truly special. I love him,’ she has said), and other patients include Sadie Frost, Patsy Kensit and Ralph Fiennes. The photographs of Aniston sparked speculation she may be trying for a baby, as some supporters of cupping say it can be a useful aid to fertility. Cupping specialist Saud Hadi says: ‘There are a number of cupping points on each side of the spine which correspond to organs. The most important organ for fertility is the kidney — it’s the source of life according to Chinese medicine. ‘From the look of [Aniston], she’s had cupping in the right spots for fertility treatment. The marks are likely to extend right down to her lower back. If the patient is in good health and has a good diet — like Aniston — then cupping fertility treatment can work within about five days. It also complements IVF treatment.’ But Mr Stones is doubtful. ‘I do a lot of fertility treatment and cupping wouldn’t be my first port of call,’ he says. ‘The location of the cupping marks on Jennifer Aniston would indicate some kind of musculoskeletal injury, such as back pain.’ And he adds that while cupping is perfectly safe, he would not generally use it on pregnant women. ‘It can be a fairly strong treatment, and in pregnancy we like to keep things gentle and light.’ In China, cupping is such an integral part of mainstream medicine that it is practised at hospitals for a variety of conditions. The country’s hugely successful Olympic swimming squad are regularly photographed with cupping marks, as it is thought to be helpful with muscular pain. But while Gwynnie and Jennifer are clearly fans, there are plenty of people who think cupping is simply hogwash. After the author Arabella Weir underwent a series of cupping treatments at the Joshi Clinic, she reported: ‘It feels like 20 14-year-old boys giving you love bites, but not as much fun. I had three or four sessions and I didn’t feel any different — apart from the fact that I wore a burka for two weeks afterwards to hide the unsightly marks. Why would anyone [who’s had cupping] parade around in a backless dress?’ Dating back 5,000 years, the therapy is a form of acupuncture, and is based on the idea that suction from the cups draws the skin up and mobilises blood and energy around the body . Many medical experts are scathing, and warn that fads such as this can become dangerous if people start to use them in place of seeing their GP. ‘Cupping doesn’t make any sense at all,’ says David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at University College London. ‘Bleeding was part of mainstream medicine in the 18th century, until they found out it was harmful rather than helpful. ‘Putting a suction cup on the body may cause the skin to constrict and there could be some increased blood flow, but the idea that this could treat any medical condition is laughable. ‘It’s utterly implausible and just another ingenious way of relieving the rich and gullible of their money.’ Unfortunately, he continues, too many people expect every ailment to be curable. ‘There are many medical conditions — back pain being one of them — that we can’t do much about, or even find out what the cause is. That’s sad, but spending thousands on something as daft as cupping won’t help.’ A review of 135 studies on cupping therapy, published last year in the journal PLOS ONE, found that cupping may be effective on conditions such as acne, facial paralysis and herpes when combined with other treatments such as acupuncture. However, the researchers acknowledged that some of the studies in their review may have contained bias, and said more research was needed. Acupuncturist Ian Stones says he has seen significant results from cupping, adding that the technique is almost always used as part of a larger package of acupuncture treatment, which could explain why there may not be substantial research on its effects as an isolated therapy yet. However, Edvard Ernst, a leading professor of complementary therapy, has little time for such claims. In his book Trick Or Treatment? Alternative Medicine On Trial, he found that despite cupping’s long history, the only controlled trial on this treatment showed no reduction in pain. He added that the fact the skin appears to be sucked into the cup as if ‘by magic’ means cupping is likely to generate an ‘above-average placebo response’. Put simply, people are fooled by the seeming wizardry of the suction action into thinking that cupping must be doing something for them. Professor Ernst says: ‘There is no good evidence that cupping helps any condition — except the dreaded condition of celebrities craving attention.’ | Forget Kabbalah bracelets and coconut water, every Hollywood star knows their health routine must involve cupping .
Heated cups are placed on the skin, creating suction that supposedly improves blood flow . |
166,104 | 62c648e430d8cac948382b8c1ff3921b8bf59c1e | By . Chris Waugh . Follow @@ChrisDHWaugh . CLICK HERE to register - for FREE - and start picking your £100m squad now... As part of the build-up to the start of MailOnline's Fantasy Football season, we will be taking a look at players new to the Premier League with the potential to light up England's top tier over the coming campaign. BAFETIMBI GOMIS IN A NUTSHELL . It is extremely rare for a club to get a proven goalscorer on a free transfer, but that is exactly what Swansea City have achieved with the signing of Bafetimbi Gomis on a four-year deal. The striker's contract had expired at Ligue 1 side Lyon and, despite being a long-term target of Newcastle United, Swansea took advantage of the uncertainty over his situation and brought him to South Wales. With 12 France caps and three international goals, Gomis' talents have been utilised on the big stage and he is a big, bulky forward who also has pace. The 29-year-old can hold the ball up, although his touch is not necessarily his strong point, and he knows where the goal is. Gomis is perfect at leading the line and is a danger particularly in the air, but also on the deck. Bargain: Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis will cost you just £6.9million in MailOnline's Fantasy Football . Power: Gomis is a big centre forward who can hold the ball up well, but he is also pacey in attack . Last season Gomis scored 14 goals in 33 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon. That is a strike-rate of a goal every 2.35 games, which is a decent ratio for the French league. With only three yellow cards last season, his disciplinary record is also decent for a big forward. The striker averages 2.4 shots per game and he wins 1.7 aerial duels a match. WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE GOMIS IN YOUR MAILONLINE FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM . Gomis is never going to set the world alight and he is unlikely to be right at the top of the goalscoring charts with season - but he is a bargain at £6.9million in MailOnline's Fantasy Football game because he will accrue points. With 14 goals in the league for Lyon last season he has proven he can find the net. Goals are like gold-dust in Fantasy Football and so Gomis will guarantee you points. As a second or third striker option he is ideal because he will regularly gather points for your side. His disciplinary record is also decent enough, with just three bookings last season, meaning he is unlikely to regularly lose you points due to him being red-carded or cautioned. Gomis could end up forming a formidable partnership with fellow Swans hitman Wilfried Bony up top, meaning he should keep gathering points along the way all season. European quality: Gomis has scored regularly in Ligue 1 and the Champions League for Lyon . Prolific: Gomis scored 14 goals in 33 Ligue 1 games for Lyon last season - a strike every 2.35 games . THE GAME IN WHICH GOMIS PROVED HIS WORTH . Gomis has taken to life at the Liberty Stadium like a Swan to water, with two goals in his pre-season campaign. His first strike came against Exeter City and it was a trademark Bafetimbi Gomis goal. Full-back Neil Taylor lofted in a excellent ball and Gomis rose well to power a header home from close range, . The French international also netted away to Reading with a goal that showed both his pace and class in front of goal. He launched a run in behind the Royals defence and capitalised on a poor back pass. After racing towards goal with the ball, he put Swansea 2-0 up with a delicate chip over the advancing goalkeeper. He has already started to adapt to life in English football, and more goals are sure to follow. Delicate: Gomis has scored twice in pre-season, including showing his subtler side with a chip vs Reading . Competitive: Gomis is tall and good in the air - he scored a bullet header against Exeter during pre-season . DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT . Swansea manager Garry Monk seems delighted to have recruited the former Saint-Etienne man. He believes the forward's experience at the top level will make him a success in the Premier League. 'It's a fantastic signing; a very big and important signing for the club,' said Monk. 'I'm very happy,' he said, 'You are talking about a quality striker who has played international, Champions League and top flight football in France for a big club. 'It shows just how far we have come that we can attract a player of his quality. 'He's a player that can excite the crowd, make and score goals. He's always done that wherever he's been - and that's what we want him to keep doing here. 'We want him to be an important cog in the squad and help us to continue building.' Aggressive: Gomis (in blue) competes for the ball in the air during a Ligue 1 match for Lyon against Lorient . HE'S CHEAP FOR A PROVEN GOALSCORER . At £6.9m in MailOnline's Fantasy Football game, Gomis is extremely cheap for someone proven to score goals at the top level. Incredibly, he is the 57th most expensive striker, yet his stats should be that of a top-20 player. He will not top the charts but he will give great returns as a second or third striker. You want to budget well and Gomis is a bargain who can accompany some of your more expensive forwards. Here are just some of the strikers who Gomis is cheaper than: . Jonathan Walters (Stoke City) - £8.3m . Fabio Borini (Liverpool) - £8.1m . Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) - £7.8m . Arouna Kone (Everton) - £7.6m . Ayoze Perez (Newcastle United) - £7.5m . Cheap: There are 56 strikers who will cost you more than Gomis yet he is almost sure to get your points . | Gomis signed a four-year deal at Liberty Stadium and signed as free transfer .
His contract was up at Ligue 1 side Lyon, where he had spent four seasons .
He scored 14 goals in 33 league appearances last season for Lyon .
Gomis netted 91 times in 239 games for Lyon, a goal every 2.6 matches .
The 29-year-old costs £6.9million in MailOnline's Fantasy Football game .
There are 56 strikers who will cost you more than Gomis will .
Arouna Kone, Dwight Gayle and Ayoze Perez are all more expensive . |
155,624 | 5528428b8f2d6e6fdd7a5f5955ad601d64c3b55b | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:22 EST, 10 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:23 EST, 10 August 2013 . Pony patches: A new class of pilots is choosing to wear a patch in reference to the kids show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' A new group of Air Force pilots are comfortable enough in their masculinity to wear a 'My Little Pony' patch on their uniforms. The patch was chosen by the 24 student pilots of class 14-05 at Vance Air Force Base - one of four centers in the U.S. where commissioned officers are trained to become professional pilots. Their patch is an allusion to the sub-culture of 'bronies', male fans of the children's show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'. The current show is a reboot of the 1980s cartoon and line of plastic pony toys. The new show has surprisingly spurned a sub-culture of male fans, and an increasing amount of these 'bronies' are members of the military. But . according to Vance Air Force Base spokesman 1st Lieuntenant Thomas . Barger, this class's patch was a joke and not reflective of their . appreciation for the show. 'It was kind of a fluke,' Lt Barger told Air Force Times. Lt . Barger explained that a student proposed the 'My Little Pilot: Flying . is Magic' design as a joke during the slideshow presentation of patch . options. 'That patch . made it all the way through the approval process and is even more ironic . since the class never really wanted it in the first place, ' Lt Barger . said. 'They thought it was so off the wall that it was hilarious. They . have embraced the irony and the humor of the patch an in so doing have . fostered closer ties with each other.' But . the patch is far from unusual. Class patches usually contain some . reference to current pop culture, like the game angry birds or the movie . Austin Powers. Past patches: Class patches are usually humorous and contain some reference to current pop culture. For example: a Pabst Blue Ribbon patch, left, and an Angry Birds patch, right . And that's exactly the point. 'We . train world-class pilots who will go on to defend out great nation. Fostering camaraderie, morale and unity on a regular basis and through . small means - like a tastefully humorous patch - enhances our ability to . complete the mission when working as a team is essential,' Lt Barger told Medium. But not all of the pilots-in-training were happy to wear the patch. One commenter on brony site Equestria Daily, who has a son in class 14-04, witnessed a few trainees unhappy with the design. 'There . was at least one non-brony who straight up refused to wear it and I . overheard another complaining to his mom about it,' the commenter wrote. 'But the fight instructor (who was a captain) was wearing it and he had . no problems with his masculinity.' These discontent pilots may be reluctant to wear a patch that connects them to the real group of military bronies. Passion: These military men call themselves 'Bronies' as they wear patches on their uniforms identifying themselves as fans of the show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic . The show's fanbase among members of the military began about two years ago when the show first began to air. Nearly 9,000 people have 'liked' a Facebook page called 'Military Bronies.' The page highlights various members of the military in patrol situations while wearing the My Little Pony patch. There are variations of the patch that typically include a cloud with a red, yellow and blue lightning bolt. 'Worth protecting': The show geared toward young girls has had a fanbase among members of the military, which started about three years ago when the show first began to air . The design symbolizes a 'rainbow dash,' which is used on the show. Administrators of the Facebook page said today that they do not advocate for servicemen to use the patches, especially if it goes against the rules of the military. On the Facebook page, an administrator said: 'Regardless of how easy it is for others to claim this, we DO NOT promote wearing of unauthorized patches, badges or insignia on your uniform. 'We do not recommend you do ANYTHING that goes against the regulations of your branch of service.' Together: The phenomenon came to light as men in uniform joined the 4,000 fans gathered at the 2012 BronyCon. The most recent BronyCon in Baltimore, Maryland attracted 8,000 attendees . A spokeswoman for the Pentagon told FoxNews.com that the military does not support unauthorized patches on uniforms. One soldier, Ken 'Derpy' Catlin, defended the fanbase and its connection to the military. He said: 'You, the bronies, have taught me that there are things and people worth protecting; things bigger and more important than myself.' A National Guard member named Darius told Buzzfeed.com that he was amazed to see how welcoming other fans were at a brony convention. 'We barely made it up to the top steps and everyone outside was cheering for us,' he said. 'I started clapping because I figured if everyone else was clapping I’d do it too. Then my friend was like, "no dude, they’re clapping for us."' 'Cheering': Military members have said that their passion for My Little Pony has been received with great acceptance by others and has strengthened their beliefs in the military . The first BronyCon held in June 2011 and attracted only about 100 people who trickled into some . meeting rooms in Manhattan. But the fanbase has grown exponentially and the most recent BronyCon held in Baltimore, Maryland last weekend had an attendance of about 8,000. Ongoing: My Little Pony has been around longer than the start of its current show as Hasbro released the first toys in 1983, leading to television specials, a movie and a TV series . In 1983, Hasbro released the first My Little Pony toys, which became popular among young girls, leading to television specials, a movie and the first TV series that ran from 1986 to 1987. The brand stuck around through the years, languishing in relative anonymity. But all that changed when Hasbro hired animator Lauren Faust, who breathed new life into the My Little Pony concept by creating the Friendship is Magic series. Faust had worked on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends before dreaming up the land of Equestria, where My Little Pony characters like Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie get go on exciting adventures. | The class patch for a new batch of Air Force pilots plays on the show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'
The patch is an allusion to the subculture of 'bronies' who are male fans of the show .
A growing amount of military men have been showing up to brony conventions .
A spokesman for the base says the patch was designed as a joke . |
102,367 | 0febafdbe0cb3c0e301c96790275bcba385b9508 | (CNN) -- The United States hailed a World Trade Organization ruling to open Chinese markets and ease controls on the import of U.S. films, DVDs, music downloads and books. U.S. Trade Rep. Ron Kirk, shown, says WTO's decision will "help pave the way toward more open trade." "Today, a WTO panel handed a significant victory to America's creative industries," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday. "These findings are an important step toward ensuring market access for legitimate U.S. products in the Chinese market, as well as ensuring market access for U.S. exporters and distributors of those products." In its ruling, the WTO said China violates free-trade rules by requiring importers to channel media products such as movies, books and music through state-owned companies, rather than giving them direct access to Chinese markets. China denied the charges in the ruling. "The country has always fulfilled its obligations set by WTO on issues related to publication products market entrance permission," Yao Jian, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said Thursday. "China will carefully evaluate the decision. ... Possibilities for China to issue an appeal on its concerned points cannot be ruled out." The U.S. trade representative's office said the ruling could put an end to China's discriminatory trade practices. "This decision promises to level the playing field for American companies working to distribute high-quality entertainment products in China, so that legitimate American products can get to market and beat out the pirates," Kirk said. "To me, that is a clear win. We believe that this report will help pave the way toward more open trade between China and America." In recent years, U.S. officials have pressed Chinese officials for help in controlling the counterfeiting of U.S. products and the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted U.S. products, including movies, music and software. Counterfeit products are estimated to cost U.S. companies billions of dollars in lost revenue. Though senior U.S. law enforcement officials have expressed optimism, China remains a haven for pirated U.S. products. | China violates free-trade rules by impeding direct access to markets, WTO says .
China rejects charges .
"This decision promises to level the playing field," U.S. trade representative says . |
195,327 | 88da3f7897e7659ff47625f162a70dc0b3240a5b | TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) -- The Honduran government extended a nationwide curfew to 36 hours Tuesday, as the country awaits the consequence of the surprise return of deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya. Honduran troops surround the Brazilian Embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Tuesday. Zelaya, a centrist whose politics took a strong turn to the left once in office, was ousted in a coup on June 28. Despite increasing political, diplomatic and economic isolation, the government of interim President Roberto Micheletti has steadfastly resisted pressure to allow Zelaya to return to power. Micheletti maintains that Zelaya's removal was not a coup but a constitutional transfer of power, and Micheletti thwarted two very public attempts by Zelaya to return to his homeland. When Zelaya suddenly appeared inside the Brazilian embassy in the capital of Tegucigalpa on Monday, it caught everyone by surprise, even the Brazilians, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim told CNN en Español. In response, Micheletti's government ordered a curfew beginning Monday evening. Many pro-Zelaya supporters ignored the call and demonstrated outside of the Brazilian embassy. Police dispersed about 2,500 demonstrators without causing any deaths, Micheletti said in a televised statement Tuesday. But a doctor said that at least 80 people were admitted to an area hospital with injuries, Marcial Torres, a Honduran journalist for the newspaper La Tribuna, told CNN. Most were released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon, Torres said. After the curfew was announced Monday, the government extended it once until Tuesday evening and then again to 6 a.m. Wednesday. The result was a nearly-deserted city blanketed by what Torres called a "tense calm." Uncertainty was fueling the tension in Honduras, Torres said -- uncertainty about what Zelaya, who said he returned for "homeland, restitution or death," has planned, and how Micheletti, who has held his ground against international pressure, will respond. "The country is paralyzed," Torres said. Supermarkets, banks, gas stations and public transpiration were all closed because of the curfew. Schools and universities also closed. Police and soldiers maintained a security cordon around the Brazilian embassy, dispersing supporters of Zelaya -- who remained holed up inside the embassy. All flights in and out of the country were canceled Tuesday, after all four of Honduras' international airports were also closed. Micheletti's government isolated the Brazilian embassy by cutting water, power and phone lines to the building, U.S. Department of State spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed to reporters in Washington. Nunes Amorim, the Brazilian foreign minister, said the action was a "very serious" move by Micheletti that violated international law. But police claimed utilities were turned off in the area surrounding the embassy to discourage looting. About 100 people remained inside the embassy Tuesday night, many of them supporters and friends of Zelaya, Nunes Amorim said. The Brazilian foreign minister said he spoke with Zelaya and asked him not to use inflammatory language. Likewise, Kelly said, "The United States calls on all parties to remain calm and avoid actions that might provoke violence in Honduras and place individuals at risk or harm. We urge that all parties refrain from actions that would lead to further unrest." Kelly said the American embassy in Tegucigalpa had closed because of the situation, but that U.S. diplomats remained in contact with both sides in the conflict. Food delivered to the Brazilian embassy Tuesday was believed to have been brought by the Americans, Torres said. The United States and Brazil said they support dialogue between the two sides, centered on the San Jose Accord, an agreement negotiated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. But in an interview with local network Televicentro, Micheletti said that Zelaya's sudden appearance would not revive negotiations. Micheletti's government sent a letter to the Brazilian authorities on Tuesday asking them either to give Zelaya asylum in their country or to turn him over to Honduran authorities. Zelaya faces charges of violating the constitution relating to a proposed referendum that was at the center of his ouster. "Unless the government of Brazil proposes another solution, its obligation is to turn him over to the relevant Honduran authorities with urgency," the letter said. Earlier in the day, local television footage showed video of water cannons being used to scatter Zelaya supporters and the ousted president's backers throwing rocks and other objects at police. The demonstrators flipped over and burned a police vehicle, said El Heraldo newspaper, which showed a photograph of an overturned truck on its Web page. Zelaya was removed by soldiers in a coup June 28 after he tried to hold an election that day on a measure to allow a president to run for a second consecutive term. The measure would have asked Hondurans whether they wanted to place a referendum on the November presidential ballot, which would convene a constitutional assembly to consider changing presidential term limits. Zelaya's term ends in January and he would not have been subject to any measures adopted by the constitutional assembly. The nation's supreme court ruled the June ballot initiative was illegal and congress had decreed Zelaya couldn't hold it. Micheletti has denied that a coup took place, saying that Zelaya was removed legally through constitutional means. He vowed Monday night to stay in power despite Zelaya's return. It was not publicly known Tuesday how Zelaya got into the country and he declined to provide details, only telling CNN en Español that it was a 15- to 16-hour trip he took "with the help of Hondurans." Journalist Elvin Sandoval contributed to this report for CNN en Español. | Brazil's Embassy surrounded after Jose Manuel Zelaya's backers dispersed .
Ousted Honduran leader staying at Brazil's Embassy in Tegucigalpa .
U.S. Embassy closes in Tegucigalpa, spokesman says .
All flights in and out of country canceled; curfew in effect . |
132,822 | 37c06ff30351ee7c03576695df3d4e3d3ca5ad5e | By . Leon Watson . and Freya Noble . and Sally Lee . A mission to send Australian and Dutch officials to the crash site of MH17 to help recover victims' remains has been put on hold after more fighting broke out in the area. Unarmed police were due to be sent to the spot where Malaysian airliner came down in eastern Ukraine to help recover victims' remains. But it emerged that the rebel-held territory is still considered too dangerous. This comes as Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that more Australian Federal Police Officers were being deployed to the crash site as part of the Dutch-led humanitarian mission after Russian separatists agreed to allow access. Scroll down for video . Debris at the crash site of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reports have emerged of fighting in the area . So far there are 170 AFP officers in Ukraine with more on the way to join the 11 currently at the crash site. The 11 officers had been planning to accompany a 30-strong Dutch contingent to the crash site on Sunday guided by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). But the Netherlands' security and justice department says the situation is too unstable. There are reports of heavy shelling in rebel-held Grabove, the village next to the crash site . 'The team of 30 Dutch forensic experts currently has no safe passage to the crash site,' the department said in a statement. 'Because of fighting in the region the situation is still too unstable to safely go to the crash site to work.' The Dutch and Australians are remaining in the the rebel stronghold of Donetsk some 60km from the site. The mission will not be backed up by military personnel although the Australian Defence Force is providing some enabling support including medical and surgical teams. Alexander Hug, the deputy head of a monitoring team from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also confirmed reports of fighting near the city of Donetsk. 'We heard indications there's fighting going on,' he said. 'The situation on the ground appears to be unsafe ... we therefore decided to deploy tomorrow morning,' he said, flanked by Dutch and Australian experts. 'Fighting in the area will most likely affect (the) crash site,' Hug said. Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko (left) visiting the National Guard training centre Novye Petrivtsy outside Kiev. The armaments will be shipped to the conflict zone in the country's south-eastern regions . It follows the deployment in Kiev of an team of EU security advisers to assist the Ukrainian government in imposing the rule of law in rebel districts. Speaking in Canberra on Sunday, Mr Abbott said, speaking of Australia's intentions: 'Our objective is to get in, get cracking and to get out.' The 11 Australian officers already at the site have largely been involved in observing and taking photographs. The latest deployment will involve recovering human remains and having them repatriated. The mission is to stay as long as possible to do a professional job but it should take no longer than two to three weeks, Mr Abbott said. 'We don't want to be there any longer than is absolutely necessary,' he said. The unarmed nature of the humanitarian mission to the site means it doesn't need the specific approval of the Ukrainian parliament. But Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hopes a deal can be ratified early this week that would allow Canberra to send a small contingent of armed police and soldiers to help with security. Ms Bishop stressed on Sunday the mission would be a non-threatening operation. 'All we want to do is secure the site so that we can inspect it thoroughly and bring back any remains,' she said. Yesterday the Kremlin accused the EU of aiding terrorists through its most recent extension of sanctions. Pro-Russia separatists have been blamed for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with a surface-to-air missile on July 17, killing all 298 people aboard. They have also been accused of hampering the investigation into the disaster and the recovery of bodies and the property of victims from the site. Ukrainian servicemen ride on armoured personnel carriers (APC) in the village of Verhnyokamyanske, not far Artemovsk, in the Donetsk region . Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, agreed last week to requests from the Ukrainian authorities for urgent help in bolstering the country's security services. An initial £2 million ($3.7 million AUD) is being provided by the EU to fund the unarmed advisers, but further money is expected to be committed as the conflict continues. Today the country's prime minister Tony Abbott said that by sending in unarmed police, Ukraine's parliament will not need to ratify the deployment as it would if the security force were to be armed. A Russian foreign ministry statement condemned sanctions imposed on Friday against 15 named people, including a former Russian prime minister, a former speaker of the Duma (parliament), senior intelligence officials, and leaders of the pro-Russia revolt in eastern Ukraine. It accused the EU of taking 'a complete turn away from joint work with Russia on international and regional security, including the fight against the spread of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism [and] organised crime'. The statement went on: 'We are sure the decisions will be greeted enthusiastically by international terrorists. What it wasn't able to do over decades - drive a wedge into the international community - they've done with ease in Brussels. Russia called the latest US accusations of Moscow's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict a baseless 'smear campaign' 'At the same time, the European Union has once and for all joined the side of Washington and Kiev's fairytales regarding ongoing events in Ukraine, depriving itself of an alternative and objective source of information. 'Do they understand in the capitals of the EU countries what these irresponsible steps could lead to, either in the political or economic spheres?' There were 193 Dutch and 43 Malaysian people on MH17 when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board. So far 227 coffins containing an unknown number of victims have been taken from the site for identification in Hilversum, near Amsterdam. One person, a Dutch citizen, has been formally identified. | Unarmed police were due to be sent to recover victims' remains .
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Sunday more federal police would be deployed to the crash site .
But it emerged that the rebel-held territory is still too dangerous .
Reports that fighting has broken out near the city of Donetsk .
EU team was deployed to impose the rule of law in rebel districts . |
136,538 | 3ca030428768d65336f363a313ac9df7b2a0d65f | By . Nick Mcdermott . PUBLISHED: . 18:06 EST, 9 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:14 EST, 9 May 2013 . Millions of families are being asked if they would drink water from recycled sewage to avoid shortages . Millions of families are being asked if they would drink water from recycled sewage to avoid shortages. Thames Water, which supplies more than 3.5million homes in London and the Thames Valley, will face a deficit of 125million litres a day by the end of the decade if no action is taken. That is roughly equivalent to the amount needed for a million baths. As well as reducing leakage and wastage, and introducing more water meters, the company is now asking customers for their views on drinking recycled toilet water. Reusing waste water is common in drier climates such as Australia, Spain and the US, but a relatively untested technology in Britain. It involves putting treated effluent from a sewage works back into a river upstream of a water treatment plant. The diluted waste is then treated to drinking quality standards before being supplied to customers. With London’s population continuing to grow, its ageing utilities are struggling to keep up with demand. By 2040, Thames Water will have a 16 per cent deficit if it does not boost its output – leaving 2.2million people short of water. Recycling sewage into drinking water is being considered to meet shortfalls from 2025, with the most likely site in east London, under the firm’s draft resources plan for 2015 to 2040. Currently, Thames Water is investigating recycling used household water – including effluent from dishwashers, washing machines, baths and toilets – at a plant in Enfield, north London. None of the water is being put back into supply. The company said the claim that water drunk in the capital has already gone through the human body seven times is a myth. Recycling sewage into drinking water is being considered to meet shortfalls from 2025, with the most likely site in east London, under Thames Water's draft resources plan for 2015 to 2040 . By 2040, Thames Water will have a 16 per cent deficit if it does not boost its output - leaving 2.2million people short of water . But it did admit that a small amount of . today’s drinking water could come from waste, with treated sewage from . locations such as Reading and Oxford discharged into the Thames before . being purified at downriver plants and pumped to residents in London. The fact that consumers have already been drinking reused water may help convince them not to reject the method. Thames Water said: ‘After 2025 we are likely to require a major new source of water. 'On the basis of what we know now, this would be either a large new reservoir or a major water transfer scheme from elsewhere in the country or significant reuse of waste water. ‘The purpose of the consultation is to explain the pros and cons of all these options to our customers and seek their views.’ Most utilities get their supplies from two major sources, rivers or groundwater – the latter tends to be cleaner. After being passed through grilles to remove large items of debris, the water is pumped into plants where chemicals are added to help remove finer particles such as mud and silt. It is then passed through a fine filter, often a bed of sand which contains micro- organisms that provide additional cleaning by breaking down any organic compounds. The water is then aerated to remove pesticides and any remaining organic compounds, helping to achieve a more neutral taste. In the final stage, chlorine is added as a disinfectant before the water is supplied to the consumer. | Thames Water supplies 3.5million homes in London and Thames Valley .
It will face a deficit of 125million litres a day in 10 years if no action is taken .
Customers will be asked for their views on drinking recycled toilet water . |
139,454 | 4053038d5314c97a842552ed831a5be124c0769a | By . Ray Massey, Transport Editor . Appeals against parking tickets on private land have soared 12-fold in just two years to more than 600 a week, an official watchdog has revealed. The Parking on Private Land Appeals service (POPLA) deals with contested tickets from car parks in places such as supermarkets, service stations and sports centres. The service assessed 23,500 appeals in the year ending March 2014, and decided to quash more than 10,000 tickets. People tended to complain after receiving an invalid ticket, or buying the right ticket but being accused of not properly displaying it on their windscreens . The British Parking Association welcomed the findings, but warned that motorists are still at the mercy of firms who are able to exploit legal loopholes to charge inflated prices for parking . However they upheld around 55 per cent of the tickets, rejecting a total of 12,839 appeal cases over the course of the year. POPLA was established in October 2012 to hear appeals against parking charge notices which have been issued on private land in England and Wales. The organisation mirrors the work of the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, which hears complaints from motorists issued with parking penalties on public roads. POPLA’s 2014 annual report said there had been a ‘sudden growth’ in penalty charge notice appeals. It revealed that they are now dealing with more than 600 appeals a week – with a total of 25,214 registered in 2013-2014. The report said one of the main reasons people contested their parking tickets was when they felt that car park signs were ‘unclear, missing or confusing’. And people also tended to complain after receiving an invalid ticket, or buying the right ticket but being accused of not properly displaying it on their windscreens. POPLA spokesman Henry Michael Greenslade said: ‘Since my last report the number of cases being decided has grown substantially. The workload has increased some 12-fold. This sudden growth brought its own challenges.’ He added: ‘We are now receiving 600 or more appeals each week, and this number is currently increasing. ‘We are probably receiving as many appeals as, if not more, as the Road User Charging Appeals Tribunal, the England and Wales Traffic Penalty Tribunal, the Scottish Parking Appeals Service and the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal combined.’ The Parking on Private Land Appeals service deals with contested tickets from car parks in places such as supermarkets, service stations and sports centres . The AA said the boom in the number of appeals lodged with POPLA proved that parking regulations on private property had descended into a ‘lottery’. AA spokesman Paul Watters called for the Government to regulate the private parking industry, and said loopholes which allow ‘rogue’ firms to overcharge motorists should be dealt with. Speaking about the number of appeals that were rejected, he said: ‘It is a bit disappointing that 55 per cent were refused. Drivers will feel slightly grudging about that.’ He added: ‘Motorists still feel the lack of regulation means that it is a lottery. The Government needs to do more to regulate it. ‘Operators are going overboard on number plate recognition cameras and heavy-handed ticketing. I hope the appeal system is leading them to pull their socks up. The writing is on the wall for operators that blitz tickets.’ The British Parking Association welcomed the POPLA findings, but warned that motorists are still at the mercy of firms who are able to exploit legal loopholes to charge inflated prices for parking. | Parking on Private Land Appeals service deals with contested tickets from car parks in supermarkets, service stations and sports centres .
The service assessed 23,500 appeals in the year ending March 2014, and decided to reject more than 10,000 tickets .
People tended to complain after .
receiving an invalid ticket, or buying the right ticket but being .
accused of not displaying it on their windscreens . |
157,163 | 5731bc7daf3a20cd1a0a8279e61e12f353695e2e | (CNN) -- Dutch speed skating star Sven Kramer was left in tears after confused communication with his coach cost him a gold medal at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday night. The 23-year-old was hot favorite to add the 10,000-meter title to his 5,000m victory earlier in the Vancouver Games, and he completed the grueling circuit in what would have been an Olympic record time. However, his dreams of a double gold crumbled when he was disqualified for an incorrect change of lanes, meaning that the man he was paired with -- Russia's Ivan Skobrev -- won the silver medal and South Korea's Lee Seung-Hoon was promoted to first place. Kramer, the world champion and record-holder at both distances, blamed his coach Gerard Kemkers for the mistake, the Vancouver Sun reported. "Usually, I don't want to blame anyone else, I take responsibility as the skater on the ice. But this time I can't do anything else,'' the son of two-time Olympic speed skater Yep Kramer told reporters after the race. "I wanted to go on the outer lane, then just before the cone Gerard shouted, 'Inner lane!' I thought he was probably right. At first I thought my skates passed the cone on the wrong side, and I will be disqualified. Then I noticed in the stadium, something was wrong. "You have to decide in a split second. I should have gone with my own thoughts but I was brought into doubt. This really sucks. This is a real expensive mistake. This really sucks.'' Sports Illustrated: Coach's gaffe costs Kramer gold . Kemkers, a former speed skater who won a bronze medal in the 5,000m at Calgary in 1988, was also devastated by the turn of events, the Vancouver Sun reported. "My world collapsed. This is a disaster. This is the worst moment in my career. Sven was right, I was wrong,'' he said. Kramer will have the chance to bounce back and try to claim a second gold in the team pursuit event on Saturday -- and erase another embarrassing Olympic memory. At the 2006 Turin Games, Kramer stepped on a block and fell during the team pursuit semifinals and meant the Dutch ended up with only a bronze medal. In such speed skating events, also known as long-track, the athletes race to set the fastest times in staggered starts. In short-track speed skating, the competitors race against each other, with passing the finish line first after a set number of laps taking precedence over elapsed times. | Sven Kramer left in tears after confused communication with his coach cost him a gold medal .
Dutch speed skater was seeking his second victory at the 2010 Winter Olympics .
He set fastest time in 10,000-meter event but was disqualified for incorrect lane change .
The 23-year-old blamed coach Gerard Kemkers for giving him the wrong information . |
197,820 | 8c0b0776c688ec0c74be71ae385ba074536c7300 | By . Bianca London . It beat 'twerking' to be crowned word . of the year by editors of the Oxford English Dictionary and it seems . that the power of the selfie shows no sign of abating thanks to image . conscious Brits. A new study reveals that Brits are so selfie obsessed that the average woman spends an entire month of her life capturing her own face. But it isn't a case of 'I woke up like this', with the study revealing that women spend a total of 753 hours taking, deleting, retaking and touching up their social media selfies to look picture perfect. Scroll down for video . That's a lot of selfies! A new survey reveals that image-conscious British women spend an entire month of their lives taking selfies just like selfie fan, Miranda Kerr . So how do we do it? The study revealed the top five tricks women use to make sure they look their best in their selfies are: using soft mood lighting (51 per cent); shooting from a downward angle (47 per cent); adopting a slimming body pose (46 per cent); using smartphone filters (37 per cent) and ‘smizing’ - a term coined by Tyra Banks that means smiling with our eyes (29 per cent). The ladies of Cardiff favour using filters, 20 per cent of Southampton women love the pouty ‘duck face’, often adopted by Kim Kardashian, and 63 per cent of Newcastle women use flattering lighting in their snaps. A quarter of women confessed that they would never upload a photo of themselves online without resorting to at least one of these quick-fix tricks first. The selfie capital of the UK was revealed as Belfast, where over 84 per cent of respondents take at least one per week. Which pose do YOU adopt? Some of the tricks women use to retouch selfies include the pouty duck face, loved by Kim Kardashian, left, and smizing - a term coined by Tyra Banks that means smiling with our eyes, as shown by Miranda Kerr . This was closely followed by Birmingham (81 per cent) and Newcastle (76 per cent). In contrast, women from Cornwall are least likely to post selfies, with only 54 per cent doing so each week. With the rise of online dating apps, such as Tinder and LinkedUp, it seems that the pressure for women to aspire to perfection on social media platforms has never been higher. Almost two thirds (61 per cent) of the women questioned said that they felt the increasing popularity of dating sites and apps has also intensified the pressure to look good online. In fact, single men, take heed: 71 per cent of women admit they would be seriously put off if a prospective beau looked nothing like their dating profile picture on a first date. A spokesperson for The Body Shop said: 'It’s clear that the rise in popularity of selfies has really ramped up the pressure for us to make that all-important first impression online. 'However, The Body Shop has always been committed to activating self-esteem and we are passionate about giving women the tools to feel more confident in their skin.' Added pressure: Almost two thirds (61 per cent) of the . women questioned said that they felt the increasing popularity of dating . sites and apps like Tinder, right, has also intensified the pressure to look good online - something Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has mastered, left . | Women spend 753 hours taking, deleting and editing selfies .
Using soft mood lighting and a downward angle are top tricks .
Duck face favoured by Kim Kardashian is popular pose . |
167,079 | 641387a6fc6b5b449cdc007faf4587e76691979d | (CNN) -- Authorities evacuated a small town in northern Iowa and waited out a fire at an agricultural chemical company Thursday after warning that the blaze involved sulfuric acid. At least four people complained of breathing problems as a plume of smoke rose over the town of Northwood, near the Minnesota state line, said Sgt. Scott Bright, a spokesman for the Iowa Highway Patrol. Officials in Worth County ordered Northwood's roughly 2,000 residents to leave town, sending them to towns to the south until an all-clear was given Thursday afternoon. Bright said that the facility where the fire broke out houses chemicals used for crop dusting and that some of those chemicals were believed to contain sulfuric acid. Firefighters decided to let the blaze burn itself out, and the column of smoke it put out wasn't expected to affect neighboring communities, he said. During the evacuation, buses brought Northwood residents to a community center in Kensett, about six miles down U.S. Highway 65. But the facility was "by no means overwhelmed," said Don Preston, pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in nearby Manly. "The facility is sort of breathing people in and out," Preston said. "They get off the buses, and a lot of people, especially the longtime residents, have family and friends nearby, and they come and pick them up." Northwood City Clerk Amber Julseth said that about 230 people had been staying at the community center early Thursday afternoon, and "everyone is OK." The evacuation orders were lifted by midafternoon, said Lori McNalley, the city clerk in Kensett. An April fire at a fertilizer company in West, Texas, killed 15 people -- mostly firefighters and paramedics -- when a stock of volatile ammonium nitrate detonated. The blast showed up on seismographs and flattened much of the small town south of Dallas. CNN's Bill Kirkos contributed to this report. | NEW: The evacuation order has been lifted for Northwood, Iowa, official says .
Chemical fire cleared out the Iowa town .
Firefighters let the blaze burn out .
Four people have complained of breathing problems . |
3,414 | 09df70a379653872798f1284efe95240944f6af6 | (EW.com) -- In the late 1950s, a young singer called Ernest Evans began going by the name of Chubby Checker, a handle bestowed in part by Dick Clark's wife (seriously!). Because it was a less vulgar time, nobody thought to warn young Chubby that his new moniker was just begging to be used as a lame double entendre (example: "Chubby Checker? I barely know 'er!"). But 60-odd years later, times have most definitely changed. Celebrities show off their female breast nipples all willy-nilly, despite strict orders from the suits at CBS. Nobody really gives a f— when somebody drops an f-bomb on national TV during the year's most-watched program. And not too long ago, some jokester thought it'd be funny to make an app called "The Chubby Checker," which promises to predict the size of a man's Sammy Davis Jr. based on what size shoe he wears. EW: J.Lo saves Adele from huskster . Naturally, Checker wasn't pleased when he found out about the app's existence — and now he's filing a $500,000,000 trademark infringement lawsuit against Hewlett Packard due to the "irreparable damage and harm" caused by this goofy little novelty. EW: 'Jeopardy' goes all out with 'Call Me Maybe' clues . The twist: The app was removed from all Palm and HP-hosted web sites in September 2012, and the operating system that runs it was discontinued even before then in August 2011. So Checker is asking for half a billion dollars on account of something that cost $.99, was downloaded a grand total of 84 times, and would have faded away quietly and completely if not for this headline-grabbing lawsuit. Bad move, Chubs; you'll never get kinged if this is the way you play. See the original story at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. | The "Chubby Checker" app has run afoul of the singer .
It claims to predict the size of a certain body part .
The app was removed years ago . |
198,368 | 8cc793547039ee8058c406a64f661a3670f42b99 | (CNN) -- Alex Rodriguez will never be remembered as the greatest slugger in baseball, or as the greatest third-baseman, and -- despite the recent headlines -- probably not even as the biggest cheater. But he will go down in record books for something: Having the worst contract in American professional sports history. This is not a title that we hand out lightly, because teams have handed out some doozies over the years. Michael Vick got $135 million over 10 years from the Atlanta Falcons, and for that money, they got a quarterback who completed 54% of his passes and went to prison for animal cruelty. Jerome James signed with the Knicks for $30 million, then averaged a grand total of three points a game. Barry Zito got $126 million from the San Francisco Giants and essentially forgot how to pitch. Rick DiPietro signed a $67 million contract with the Islanders, but now the goaltender couldn't stop a beach ball -- which is an issue because that deal doesn't run out until 2021. And then, there is Bobby Bonilla's deal with the Mets. The money-strapped baseball team in Queens is still paying the retired outfielder more than 18 players on their active roster and will continue paying him $1.2 million through 2035 (when Bonilla is 72) as part of a mind-blowing buyout deal. Still: The Rodriguez deal tops them all for its sheer size and stupidity. On December 13, 2007, the Yankees signed him to a 10-year, $275 million contract loaded with incentives that, five years later, is an anvil on the payroll for even the richest team in baseball. Why is it the worst? Let us count the ways: . 1. The Yankees had a chance to move on. They had moved on, in fact, if you believed the strong words that came out of the team's Tampa, Florida, offices during a tumultuous two weeks. Scott Boras, who was Rodriguez's agent at the time, announced in the middle of a World Series game that his client would void the remaining three years and $72 million of the massive and ill-fated $252 million deal he had signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent. In some corners of the Yankees organization, the news was met with a sigh of relief. Rodriguez was productive in his time with the team, but controversial. And he had, at that point, wilted in the postseason. The idea that the team would bring him back was scoffed at. The Rangers were still paying $7 million a year from the original contract as part of the trade terms to the Yankees, and GM Brian Cashman insisted that the team had no intention of losing that subsidy. "If a player doesn't want us, we don't want them," said Hank Steinbrenner, who had assumed control of the team as his father, George, had started to decline. "That chapter is closed." But Rodriguez, who had 54 home runs and 156 RBI in an MVP season in 2007, was a big star the team wanted for its profitable YES Network and its new $1 billion stadium. So that chapter was reopened. 2. They had no competition. Bringing back Rodriguez, in itself, wasn't an awful move. He was still a productive player in his prime. But somehow, the Yankees were given all the cards in the negotiation and still tossed them face-up onto the table. All around baseball, teams were scoffing at the idea of giving A-Rod a reported $350 million deal. The White Sox didn't want him. The Angels didn't want him. There were so few landing places, it seemed entirely possible, if not probable, that Rodriguez's gamble to opt out of the deal would backfire. So what did the Yankees do? They crawled back to the table and gave him a raise, a deal that would pay him $27.5 million a year with a series of $6 million bonuses for climbing up the all-time home run list. To quote Newsday at the time: "(Hank Steinbrenner) wanted Rodriguez back so badly that he not only reversed a very loud and public proclamation, he wound up bidding against no one but himself in his mad rush to secure A-Rod's services." All it took was an apology from Rodriguez (who says it doesn't pay to say you're sorry?), and A-Rod had his 10-year deal. 3. His production failed to meet the salary from the start. Make no mistake: The numbers were very good. A-Rod earned $95 million in the first three years of his deal, and for that he batted .286 with a .537 slugging percentage, 95 home runs, 256 runs and 328 RBI. And the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, with Rodriguez a driving force during an epic postseason run. Some will say that one October justified the entire contract. Still, the decline began quickly. In 2011-12, Rodriguez missed 103 games to injury and saw his batting average dip to .274 with 34 home runs and just 119 RBI in the two seasons combined. Despite his 647 career home runs, he was so bad in the postseason last October, Yankees manager Joe Girardi dropped him from the lineup entirely, and he hasn't played since after offseason hip surgery. Nobody is sure when he'll be ready again. Which is bad enough. But the Yankees still owe Rodriguez, who turns 38 next month, $28 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015 and $20 million each in 2016 and 2017. If he can't get on the field now, what can the team possibly expect to get from him in his early 40s? And that doesn't even factor in ... 4. The cheating scandals. Note that the word scandal is plural here. After insisting for years that his success was not a product of the "Steroids Era" in baseball, a Sports Illustrated report reveal that he had, in fact, failed a test for illegal substances in 2003. Bleacher Report: Rodriguez responds to latest allegations . So more than 200 journalists packed a news conference in Tampa in February 2009 to listen as Rodriguez explained that, from 2001 to 2003, he had used steroids while with the Texas Rangers. But only with the Rangers. "My mistake was because I was immature and I was stupid," Rodriguez said. "I blame myself. For a week here, I kept looking for people to blame, and I keep looking at myself." He insisted that he was clean during his time with the Yankees. But now, according to an ESPN report, Major League Baseball plans to suspend him 100 games for his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs obtained through a Miami-area anti-aging clinic. The Yankees? Disappointed is the word managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner used. "There have no doubt been times when we've been disappointed in him and we've conveyed that to him and he understands that," he said. "But look, everybody's human and everybody makes mistakes. If you've got a guy over the course of 10 years, there's going to be times any of us make mistakes. "It's a big contract," Steinbrenner said. "We all hope he's going to act like a Yankee and do the best to live up to it." The founder of the clinic, Tony Bosch, is reportedly set to meet with baseball officials Friday. Does he have enough credibility or evidence to support the suspensions of a reported 20 players? Many people around the sport aren't sure. For the Yankees, the question is something else entirely: If A-Rod actually is suspended, will it be enough to get them out from under the worst contract in professional sports history? A-Rod denies performance-enhancing drugs reports . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Steve Politi . | Steve Politi says Alex Rodriguez's contract is the worst in sports history .
The Yankees still must pay him more than $90 million over the next four years .
Rodriguez will be 42 when the contract finally runs out .
Rodriguez has hit 647 career home runs but has yet to play this season because of injury . |
148,741 | 4c57e41dd948ec92054a11abed1e7d2df59b8436 | London (CNN) -- Two men went on trial Friday accused of the "cowardly and callous murder" of British soldier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death in a London street. Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are each accused of murder, conspiracy to murder a police officer and attempted murder of a police officer. They denied the charges at the Old Bailey court in London. Prosecutor Richard Whittam told the jury that the suspects deliberately attacked an unarmed man from behind using a vehicle as a weapon, "and then they murdered him and mutilated his body with a meat cleaver and knives." The court was shown cell phone footage filmed by a witness in which a man who prosecutors said was Adebolajo, holding a bloody cleaver in his hands, spoke into the camera. "The only reason we've killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers," he said. "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth." "You people will never be safe. Remove your governments -- they don't care about you," he said, referring also to British Prime Minister David Cameron. "So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so you can all live in peace. Leave our lands and you will live in peace." The killing of Rigby outside the Woolwich Barracks in southeast London on May 22 shocked the nation. He left behind a wife and a young son. Two men plead not guilty to murder of British soldier . Almost decapitated . Describing the events of that day, the prosecutor said the two suspects drove at Rigby in a car traveling at 30 to 40 miles per hour. The soldier appears to have been knocked unconscious by the impact, he said. The court was shown surveillance video of the car crossing to the wrong side of the road before it hit him, and Rigby rolling onto the hood of the car. He was carried on to the sidewalk. Footage from a different surveillance camera showed two men dragging the soldier's limp body from the sidewalk into the middle of the road. Cars driven by passersby stopped at the scene, some with their warning lights flashing. Whittam, the prosecutor, said the defendants were armed with a meat cleaver, knives and a revolver when they got out of the car. "They both attacked the motionless body of Lee Rigby. He was repeatedly stabbed, and Michael Adebolajo made a serious and almost successful attempt to decapitate him with multiple blows to his neck with the meat cleaver," he said. "Michael Adebowale was using a knife to stab and cut at Lee Rigby's body." Whittam said the two men dragged the soldier into the road so members of the public could "see the consequences of their barbarous acts." At this point, he said, some of the people present showed a "bravery and decency" in stark contrast to the suspects' alleged acts. One woman stroked Rigby's body in a gesture of comfort, he said, while another engaged Adebolajo in conversation despite the fact that he was still holding the meat cleaver in his blood-covered hands. Soldier's family to world: Keep calm, don't seek revenge . Conspiracy 'to attack the police' When police arrived at the scene, the two men moved toward their vehicle, Whittam said. Adebolajo carried the cleaver, while Adebowale held the firearm. He aimed it at the officers, although it was not loaded, the prosecutor said. Both men were shot and detained, and the firearms officers gave first aid to keep them alive, he said. The two suspects are accused of waiting for the police to reach the scene, having conspired together to attack an officer. "It is clear that there was an agreement to attack the police when they arrived," Whittam said. Adebolajo got "very close" to the driver's side of the police vehicle, he said. While the gun carried by Adebowale was not loaded, he also had on him the bloodstained knife he'd used to attack Rigby, the prosecutor said. The prosecutor also told the court how the firearms officers had to react within moments as they arrived at the scene. One officer "felt that he was in the most urgent situation of his life," he said. The court heard that Adebolajo was shot in the arm by police. Having been given morphine for the pain, he allegedly told paramedics, "Your government is all wrong. I did it for my God. I wish the bullets had killed me so I can join my friends and family." Adebowale suffered gunshot injuries to his thumb, abdomen and thigh, the court heard. He was also given pain relief and taken to hospital. Jurors were also shown pictures of the bloodied weapons allegedly used by the two men. Adebolajo had asked to be known as Mujaahid Abu Hamza in court, and Adebowale as Ismail Ibn Abdullah. However, the court has continued to use their given names. The jury was told both men have pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Suspects 'bought knives' Whittam said the attack unfolded in a very public place, near a school. Some children, returning from a school outing, had to be turned back by passersby before they saw the gory scene. Friends and relatives of Rigby were in court for the opening of the trial. Some family members left crying as images were shown of the soldier shortly before the attack, as he left the public transit system in Woolwich. The jury also saw CCTV footage of the suspects' movements in the two days before they allegedly launched their attack. They included a visit to a store where Adebolajo bought a five-piece set of kitchen knives and a knife sharpener, the prosecution said. The car allegedly used by the suspects was also caught on surveillance video maneuvering in the vicinity of the street where Rigby was attacked later that day. Security footage from Rigby's last train journey showed he was wearing a "Help for Heroes" hooded sweatshirt, in support of a charity that aids military veterans. | Court is shown footage of man with bloody cleaver saying attack is "an eye for an eye"
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale are accused of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby .
They are also accused of attempted murder of a police officer; they deny the charges .
One suspect bought a set of knives before the attack, the court hears . |
111,438 | 1bb2460c6fae7b61cc84ec1775d7ebc97df11bd1 | By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 17:59 EST, 28 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 06:40 EST, 1 March 2014 . A groundbreaking new study could hold the key to living longer and remaining healthy in old age. US researchers found a protein called SIRT1 extended the lifespan of mice, delaying the onset of age related health problems. It also improved their general health, lowering cholesterol and even warding off diabetes. Researchers hope the study could one day slow the aging process in the elderly . Although the study was carried out in mice, researchers say it could eventually be used in humans. Researchers led by Dr. Rafael de Cabo of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health tested the effects of a small molecule that activates SIRT1, called SIRT1720, on the health and lifespan of mice. 'Here, we show for the first time that a synthetic SIRT1 activator extends lifespan and improves healthspan of mice fed a standard diet,' says Dr. de Cabo. 'It illustrates that we can develop molecules that ameliorate the burden of metabolic and chronic diseases associated with aging.' The researchers also found that SRT1720 significantly extended the average lifespan of mice by 8.8 percent. Supplementation also reduced body weight and body fat percentage, and it improved muscle function and motor coordination throughout the animals’ lives. The supplement extended the average lifespan of mice by 8.8% . The investigators found that SRT1720 supplementation led to decreases in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels, which might help protect against heart disease, and improvements in insulin sensitivity, which could help prevent diabetes. SIRT1 and its sister protein SIRT2 are known to play a important roles in metabolism across a wide range of species. They are involved in DNA repair and gene regulation, and may help to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The animals were given the supplement from the age of six months and for the rest of their lives, alongside a standard diet. However, experts warn the study is still at a very early stage, and had not yet been tested in humans. | SIRT1 protein delays onset of aging and improved general health .
Supplement extended the average lifespan of mice by 8.8% . |
194,371 | 879b6886f4de5e2764308a7243cdac51d162801a | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 04:11 EST, 5 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:17 EST, 5 August 2013 . Former England footballer: Paul Gascoigne (centre, pictured today) was fined £1,000 after pleading guilty to attacking a train guard in Stevenage last month . Paul Gascoigne’s teenage son was left distressed after seeing his father arrested for drunkenly assaulting a railway security guard, a court heard yesterday. The boy became ‘extremely upset’ as the former England footballer was detained after grabbing the guard by the throat as he tried to help him on a station platform. Gascoigne’s family had hoped he was on the mend from his alcoholism after he was discharged from a rehab clinic in the US in March. But last month he was found drunk on a train. Yesterday, appearing before magistrates in Stevenage, he admitted attacking the guard on July 4. The court heard how he had been visiting his ill father, when a ticket inspector on the train from Newcastle to London found him drunk. Gascoigne, 46, got off at Stevenage, where station guard Jack Sherrington, 23, tried to help him into a wheelchair as he was struggling to walk. Elaine McMillan, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant was abusive towards Mr Sherrington, using the c-word repeatedly and he ended up grabbing hold of Mr Sherrington effectively in the neck area.’ Gascoigne’s ex-wife Sheryl, his stepdaughter Bianca and son Regan were called to the station, where he was arrested for drunk and disorderly and assault at around 10.30pm. Miss McMillan said that Regan, 17, who works as a model, became upset as he watched his father get arrested. Scroll down for videos . After sentencing: Gascoigne started drinking again because he was worried about his sick father, who is seriously ill with a heart condition, the court was told . Arrived: Gascoigne was in such a state after falling off the wagon again that station staff were forced to call his ex-wife Sheryl (pictured), 47, to try and calm him down, Stevenage Magistrates' Court heard . Gavin Harris, defending, said that . Gascoigne had been drinking due to stress caused by worry for his father . and ‘acute physical pain’ resulting from a recent hip operation. He said he had not actually had much . to drink, but the effect was worse as he had not drunk in a long time. ‘Mr Gascoigne is remorseful and apologises for his actions,’ he added. Magistrate Carolyn Marsh said that it . was a ‘serious matter’, and fined Gascoigne a total of £1,245 including . £100 in compensation to Mr Sherrington, who said: ‘I sincerely hope he . gets the help that he needs in the future.’ The court also heard that Gascoigne was receiving 'one to one' treatment for his alcoholism, which was continuing. After sentencing, Gascoigne left the court and was driven away in a grey Porsche. In a statement released through British Transport Police, Mr Sherrington, from Peterborough, said: 'I am grateful for and welcome Mr Gascoigne's decision to plead guilty today. Incident: The ex-footballer was arrested after officers were called to Stevenage station (pictured) on July 4 . Fined: Gascoigne was later pictured leaving Stevenage Magistrates' Court in Hertfordshire in a grey Porsche . 'I am told that since the incident he has offered his apologies for his behaviour, and I fully accept them. 'In differing ways this has not been easy for either of us and I sincerely hope he gets the help that he needs in the future. 'With the conclusion of the case, and . Mr Gascoigne's sentencing, I now consider this matter closed. I will . not be conducting any interviews at this time and ask for my privacy in . this regard to be respected.' Mr Harris said outside court: 'Mr . Gascoigne has asked me to say a few words on his behalf. He wants to . publicly apologise for his actions that evening. He now wishes to be . left alone to carry on with his recovery.' Happier times: Paul Gascoigne is pictured with Sheryl at a Lazio football match against Roma in Italy in 1994 . Family: Paul Gascoigne celebrated his 46th birthday at Royal Windsor Racecourse in May. He is pictured with daughter Bianca (left), her mother Sheryl (centre right) and his son Regan (right) 'Mr Gascoigne wants to publicly . apologise for his actions that evening. He now wishes to be left alone . to carry on with his recovery' The footballer also played for . Rangers, Lazio, Middlesborough and Everton. He was capped 57 times by . England and scored 10 goals. In April, Gascoigne thanked the . Premier League stars and celebrity friends who saved his life after . funding his latest stint in rehab at the Cottonwood clinic in Arizona. Speaking on Alan Carr's chat show . Chatty Man, he thanked Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, and footballers Wayne . Rooney and Steven Gerrard - among others - for stepping in to pay the . £7,500 a week cost. They had clubbed together to help . fund his treatment after he suffered a public meltdown at a charity . event in Northampton in January. Goal: Paul Gascoigne shoots past Andy Goram of Scotland as he scores for England in a 2-0 win at Euro 1996 . Tears: Gascoigne is remembered for crying during the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup against West Germany . By TOM WHITE, PRESS ASSOCIATION . Widely regarded as one of the most gifted English footballers of his generation, Paul Gascoigne has long fought an all-consuming battle with alcoholism. Known for his genius on the pitch, his chaotic life has been dogged by a constant tendency to self destruct. While he enjoyed many highs on the pitch, there have also been many lows, including struggling with mental illness, bulimia, panic attacks, addictions and domestic violence. This came to a head when earlier this year he was placed in intensive care in a hospital in the US while he was being treated for alcoholism during a rehabilitation programme. At the time he was said to be close to death and it was reported that he was revived a number of times. At first, his antics in bars and clubs across Europe had looked like the result of the overblown enthusiasm and thirst for the high life which rapidly became his off-the-pitch trademark. But the excesses that have marred his life for so long eventually led to his exclusion from the England World Cup squad in 1998. Other high profile alcoholism incidents included being sacked from managing Kettering Town FC in 2005 after he was accused of being drunk at games and appearing at the scene of the stand-off between the police and gunman Raoul Moat in 2010. Arriving at the scene in Rothbury, Northumberland, Gazza claimed he was a friend of Moat and said he had brought him 'a can of lager, some chicken, fishing rod, a Newcastle shirt and a dressing gown'. He was also sectioned under the Mental Health Act twice in the space of six months in 2008 and admitted in his autobiography to headbutting his wife Sheryl and throwing her to the floor. Known for his genius on the pitch, his chaotic life has been dogged by a constant tendency to self destruct . First thrust into the national consciousness after a number of brilliant performances at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, he quickly became a household name. From there he would play for such teams as Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, and Rangers and became loved by fans as a talented joker. Born in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, on May 27 1967, he also starred in midfield for Terry Venables' England side during Euro 96, the highlight being his magical goal against Scotland. He is also remembered for crying after being booked in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup against West Germany, as he knew the booking meant he would be suspended for the final if England got there. | Gascoigne, 46, called guard a 'c***' before grabbing him around throat .
Stevenage station staff forced to call his ex-wife, 47, to calm him down .
She arrived with Bianca, 26, and Regan, 17, who was 'extremely upset' |
131,400 | 35eb6a769526d1b9de6caac6a266bcf3a48c7c9e | (CNN) -- Smartphone owners may have to ask themselves: why text when there's Facebook Messenger? That's a question the cellular carriers will lament as the biggest technology players pile into what's known as the mobile-messaging space. Facebook joined the fray on Tuesday with the release of Messenger for iPhone and Android. Facebook's Messages feature, which allows people to communicate privately with friends on the social network and recently with e-mail acquaintances, is already built into the Facebook apps. However, the new standalone Messenger software is a cornerstone for Facebook's ambition to become the communications hub on phones, Facebook employees working on the messaging product have said in interviews. To design the app, Facebook acquired the development team that built a program called Beluga. It allows users to include photos and location coordinates with each message and can also send text messages to phone numbers, much like the new Facebook app. Andrew Bosworth, a Facebook product director, discussed the potential need for a dedicated client in an March interview, days after the Beluga engineers started at the Palo Alto, California, company. "One click from the home screen is a valuable trait," he said, contrasted with the need to open the full Facebook app in order seek new messages. "They've built specifically for mobile-to-mobile. Our messages stuff was built for a convergence between mobile and Web and e-mail and a bunch of other things." Bosworth suggested that a standalone messenger was "the next step" in Facebook's plans. As it turns out, it was. But cell operators, which derive substantial profits from texting plans and per-message fees, stand in the way, Bosworth said. How they manage their SMS networks is viewed by tech visionaries as controlled, stifling. (SMS stands for Short Messaging Service, another name for texting.) Facebook is made up of people who breathe the hacker ethos. Earlier this summer, for example, Facebook hired George Hotz, aka GeoHot, who hacked iPhone and PlayStation 3 software. Networks should be malleable, these people often say. "SMS to SMS: those are controlled by the carriers," Bosworth said during the interview from March. "That's a closed loop." Apple, whose founders famously built "blue box" equipment decades ago for enabling free phone calls, much to the chagrin of telecom firms, apparently buy into this thinking as well. This fall, Apple will bundle a mobile app called iMessage into iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, which can bypass cell carrier infrastructure granting free text messages to other users of Apple devices. Similarly, Research in Motion has BlackBerry Messenger. And Google provides two services: Huddles, which is part of the Google+ social network, and Google Voice. A dedicated app can be deployed on, say, your mother's smartphone in order to ween her off of AT&T's or Verizon Wireless' texting services and into a free communication network that uses minute amounts of data. "To people, it's a bridge -- like, 'Oh, I already know how this works. This is great,'" Bosworth said. These types of apps "are taking SMS and moving it away from that closed-loop thing and into another space," he added. "This is an area that's very exciting and hot and interesting," Bosworth said. "I don't think anyone has the answer yet. I think Facebook Messages is the very likely substrate upon which these things end up operating." An AT&T spokesman declined to comment. Verizon has said it intends to eventually move all of its services onto its next-generation 4G LTE data network. The company hasn't said how it would price the different features. Software alternatives to texting could pose a threat to existing money makers, but carriers must find or create other worthwhile channels to charge for, Verizon Wireless marketing chief Marni Walden said in an interview in January. "We'll always be in a place where we have to evolve how we generate revenue for the business," Walden said. "But we're not going to run away from the innovation that's happening out there. We're going to make sure we innovate it better, or integrate it better on our devices than anyone else, as opposed to putting up a walled garden." To that, the technorati might say: LOL. | Facebook released the Messenger app for smartphones on Tuesday .
Facebook executives have talked about the need for change in the wireless industry .
Other tech giants offer similar software for phones . |
82,730 | ea97874a9dacffb31b1b4123cdf9eafbbcc1930c | By . Leon Watson . UPDATED: . 13:21 EST, 15 March 2012 . Olivia Bazlinton (right) and Charlotte Thompson (left) were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at Elsenham station in Essex . Network Rail was today accused of . 'corporate blindness' after being fined £1million for breaching health . and safety laws at a level crossing where two teenage girls were killed. Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte . Thompson, 13, were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at . Elsenham station footpath crossing in Essex. Judge David Turner QC, sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court, ordered Network Rail to pay the large fine and £60,000 costs. He said: 'I have concluded that there . was a clear history of inadequate risk assessment and a failure to heed . and act upon relevant information. 'There was a consistent failure to . take timely remedial action - a consistent underplaying that this . crossing was being regularly misused. 'Warnings went unheeded, data insufficiently appraised and critical questions went unasked and unanswered. 'Remedial action was unsatisfactorily delayed.' He added: 'Narrow thinking, culpable . corporate blindness and a complacency going beyond merely inefficient . incompetency to entering the realm of criminal failure.' Chelmsford Crown Court heard that . Olivia and Charlotte were killed on December 3, 2005, as they crossed a . footpath leading to Elsenham station platform. The court was told that the pair . 'seemed happy' and were chatting and holding hands moments before their . deaths. The crossing was fitted with warning lights and alarms. A London-to-Cambridge train passed . over the crossing with the red lights and yodel sounding - a warning for . foot passengers not to cross. After the train passed, the lights . remained on and the alarms continued to sound as another train, . travelling from Birmingham to Stansted Airport in Essex, was going to . pass through the station. The girls opened the unlocked wicket . gates and walked on to the crossing. They were both struck by the . Stansted train and killed. The court heard that a safety official . had raised concerns about the possibility of tragedy in a memorandum in . 2001 but the document was not disclosed by Network Rail until last . year. Reg Thompson (left), father of Charlotte, alongside Chris Bazlinton, Olivia's father, speaks outside Basildon Magistrates' Court after winning their six-year legal battle . Tributes are still being placed at the crossing where the girls died . Elsenham Station: The girls were killed in December 2005 as pedestrian gates at a railway level crossing were unlocked. This was the scene a year later . Judge Turner said Network Rail had a . 'solemn responsibility' for the safety of members of the public, adding: . 'The company concedes that the procedures or standards in place for . conducting level crossing risk assessments before 2005 were deficient. 'The company unreservedly apologises for its failures which contributed to the deaths of these young girls. 'Network Rail, in part by itself and . in part through its predecessor Railtrack, failed to ensure that the . risks were properly assessed, controlled or managed.' Olivia Bazlinton (right) pictured with (left to right) her brother Alex, sister Stevie, father Chris and step mum Nick Alvey, in May 2005, seven months before she died . Charlotte Thompson at the age of eight with brothers Harry (left), then six, and Robbie, aged 10, on holiday . Olivia's mother, Tina Hughes, who . clutched an old teddy bear throughout the proceedings, had tears in her . eyes when she said: 'I didn't really want to come to court. 'I wanted to go to parents' evening . and hear the teachers say that Olivia talked too much in class, and sit . in the seat when she took her driving test and cling to it, and see her . bring a bag of washing home from uni, and watch her walk down the aisle . looking like an angel, and look into the eyes of her newborn babies.' She said that if disclosure of key safety documents had come sooner then teenager Katie Littlewood still be alive. The 15-year-old was hit by a train in January at Johnson's Footpath Crossing in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. Her death happened just a few miles down the track from where Olivia and Charlotte were killed six years ago. Charlotte's father Reg (left), who collated . letters to his daughter in a book, and Olivia's father Chris (right) have pledged to continue their fight for improved safety on railways . Ms Hughes said had the documents been . disclosed in time for the inquest of her daughter and Charlotte in 2007, . then key safety changes which Network Rail is rolling out would have . already been implemented and Katie would not have been killed. 'Had it been done before then Katie would not have died on that crossing and that absolutely breaks my heart,' she added. Olivia's father, Chris Bazlinton, . said: 'Everybody says 'Has justice been done?' Justice can't be done . after you have lost your daughter. 'The process of justice has been done and they have been fined £1million - it is nothing more than symbolic.' Charlotte's mother, Hilary Thompson, said: 'They took our daughters from us and they broke our hearts.' Charlotte's father, Reg Thompson, . added: 'I do believe because of what has been done, because of what . Chris and Tina have done, that Charlie and Liv at least have meant that . the railways will be safer. 'What Network Rail have promised to do . today in court, which is to spend £130million on improving safety on . level crossings, and the changes that they have already made, have come . about because of the terrible thing that happened to our daughters.' | Charlotte Thompson, 13 and Olivia Bazlinton, 14, were hit by a train in 2005 .
Network Rail admitted breaching the Health and Safety Act .
Olivia's father said the fine imposed is 'nothing more than symbolic'
Judge blamed Network Rail's 'corporate blindness' and 'complacency' |
188,446 | 80094ddd5adc8ee9808fae8e7ed29db7b0a6fda5 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- Nick Cannon checked out of a Los Angeles hospital over the weekend after being treated for "mild kidney failure" suffered in Aspen, Colorado, over the holidays, his rep said. "He is resting and recovering at home and would like to thank everyone who has expressed concern, well wishes and prayers," Tracy Nguyen said Monday. Cannon will be back on the air with his New York morning radio show next week, Nguyen said. The 31-year-old actor and "America's Got Talent" host tweeted last Wednesday that he was leaving an Aspen hospital for one in Los Angeles. "Thank you all for all your love, prayers and concern. You know me ... I will be a'ight," Cannon said in his tweet. Cannon and Mariah Carey were vacationing in Aspen with their twins, Monroe and Moroccan, when he fell ill last month. CNN's Anisa Husain contributed to this report. | Cannon's "resting and recovering at home" after a "mild kidney failure," his rep says .
The actor returns to his New York radio show next week .
The illness interrupts Cannon's Colorado holiday . |
283,546 | fb4a1f0b3460d1f0f99576623e73d4cadd944e96 | By . Lizzie Edmonds . Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have each been sentenced to 18-month jail terms for tax evasion charges - despite the prosecution arguing for the pair to be acquitted. Italy's appeals court upheld a verdict issued last June against the pair on charges of using Luxembourg holding company Gado to avoid paying taxes on royalties of about 1billion euros (£820million). In court yesterday, the pair were each given suspended sentences of 18 months in jail - reduced from 20 months because of statute of limitations applied to certain facts in the case. Italian fashion designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce were given an 18month jail sentence yesterday for tax evasion on royalties of up to 1billion euros. The pair are set to appeal the decision . The designers - who have always denied any wrongdoing - said they would appeal the decision. Lawyer Massimo Dinoia said: 'I am speechless. We are all shocked. The judgement is inexplicable and we will appeal. 'The prosecutor himself asked for them to be cleared.' The Milan prosecutor had asked the court back in March to clear the pair, who - in a protest last year at being 'pilloried' - closed their Milan stores. The previous decision, by a lower court, handed the duo suspended jail sentences of 20 months each. A fine of up to 10 million euros was also imposed over avoidance of the payments in Italy, where corporate taxes are among the highest in Europe. The case stems from an investigation that began in 2008 when Italian tax authorities stepped up their fight against tax evasion as a global financial crisis began to bite. President of the second section of the appeal court Laura Cairati, center, reads the fashion designers's sentence in court yesterday . The pair, pictured with Kylie Minogue, were first charged with tax evasion last June - but the Italian appeals court upheld the decision yesterday. Their sentence was reduced from 20 to 18 months . Fashion companies have fallen under the scrutiny of Italy's tax authorities partly due to the fact the sector has performed well during the country's longest recession since World War Two. 'Luxury is one of the few sectors to have done well in recent years,' said a partner specialising in tax at Grant Thornton in Milan who declined to be named. 'It is easier to go and ask for money where there is money as opposed to going to a troubled sector.' The cases rarely come to court, however. Giorgio Armani paid 270 million euros to tax authorities in early April to settle a dispute over payments from the group's subsidiaries abroad. Prada Holding, which controls Prada, paid a reported 400-420 million euros to settle taxes in Italy after completing a process of voluntary disclosure in December. | Italian fashion designers first charged with tax avoidance last June .
Appeal court upheld verdict - but reduced sentence from 20 to 18 months .
Prosecution had asked court to clear the pair back in March .
Designers, who have always denied wrongdoing, set to appeal the verdict . |
70,005 | c67c209ba6393e34d539dd0c49702cb01b364295 | By . Jenny Hope . Welsh cancer patients are flooding into English hospitals for treatment they are being denied at home. The number crossing the border has quadrupled from just 3,471 a decade ago to 15,450 last year. The exodus is fuelled by a lack of access to the National Cancer Drugs Fund, which funds treatments rejected by the NHS or awaiting approval. And almost 50 per cent of Welsh patients must wait six weeks or more for vital scans and tests compared with a 1 per cent figure in England. Delays: Fifty times more Welsh patients than English face long waits for potentially life-saving cancer scans . It is thought that many more cross-border patients do not show up in the official statistics because they have moved to England permanently or use a second address. Simon Burns, the Tory MP who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said they were an indictment of the Labour-controlled Welsh Assembly. ‘This has been the result of the serious problems in the way the health service in Wales is run by the Labour administration,’ he said. ‘This is the latest scandal showing the disparity in care after the waiting times were shown to be appalling. ‘It’s all very well having free prescriptions in Wales, but people would rather be treated more quickly and get the drugs they need. I’m worried that this is the kind of service we can expect if Labour win the election.’ In addition to the cancer patients, 5,419 people from Wales came to England for outpatient diagnostics in 2009-10. This had risen to 10,424 by 2012-13. The Royal College of Surgeons has raised concerns over Welsh waiting lists, highlighting the cases of 152 patients who have died in the past five years waiting for operations. Surge: Almost 16,000 people a year are now crossing the border to access the English NHS . Welsh patients can be referred to English hospitals by their GP but otherwise must have an English address to get treatment. They wait considerably longer in A&E and Wales has repeatedly missed the target that 95 per cent of patients should be seen within four hours. In January a 58-year-old man died after waiting four hours in an ambulance outside the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend because there was no room. Hospitals in Wales also have higher death rates although the exact figures are not known and the Welsh administration claims they cannot be compared with those in England. Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of England, has called for an investigation. GPs in Wales normally refer cancer patients to local services but can go out of the area – and to England – for specialist care. The GP making the referral will pay for the services their patient receives, allowing them to purchase cancer treatment from an English provider by agreement. If a GP will not or cannot make a referral for treatment in England a patient can take matters into their own hands and ‘find’ an address in England. The address - rented, owned or through staying with family, is then used to register with a GP in England. Once accepted and registered with a GP, the patient will have access to the services that doctor commissions and pays for in the same way any English patient might. Such a patient should be registered with only one GP and would have to de-register from their Welsh doctor before switching. Andrew Wilson, of the Rarer Cancers Foundation, said: ‘Given the inequality in access to cancer treatments, it is little surprise that Welsh patients are being forced to travel to England for the treatment they need. ‘It is a national scandal that Welsh patients are not able to benefit from treatments that are routinely available in England. ‘The Welsh Assembly Government needs to take urgent action to prevent Welsh cancer services falling further behind.’ Last summer the foundation found that in England an average of 29 patients were given new drugs for every 100,000 of the population. In Wales it was just 7 per 100,000. The long waiting times in Wales have been highlighted by Ann Clwyd, Labour MP for Cynon Valley. Miss Clwyd has accused University Hospital Wales of treating her husband Owen Roberts ‘like a battery hen’ prior to his death in October 2012. Miss Clwyd has received numerous letters from Welsh patients who felt forced to pay for private tests to avoid long waits. Others said they had had to use English hospitals. NHS Wales last month announced a review of the way it deals with NHS complaints. A Welsh Government spokesman said: ‘The [parliamentary] figures represent a small amount of the total cancer activity for patients living in Wales. The vast majority receive treatment in Wales; there were around 141,000 admission episodes for a primary diagnosis of cancer for Welsh residents in Wales in 2012-13. ‘There will be very strong clinical reasons why a patient will need to be treated in England. ‘What remains most important, as set out in our Cancer Delivery Plan, is that Welsh patients receive treatment based on individual need.’ Over the past three years the National Cancer Drugs Fund has given almost 50,000 cancer patients in England access to life-prolonging drugs. Registered in London: Annie Mulholland is signed up to a London GP which allows her to access better treatment . Annie Mulholland has spent all her adult life in Wales but switched addresses to England to get a potentially life-saving cancer drug. The ovarian cancer sufferer says a postcode lottery in Wales stopped her having Avastin. She registered with a GP in London last year after ‘finding’ an address as a base in England. That resulted in her being prescribed the drug and the 61-year-old from Cardiff was given the ‘wonderful’ news this week that she is in remission. But Mrs Mulholland, who runs a support group for ovarian cancer sufferers, says many women in Wales have not had her luck. ‘I have nothing but praise for my GP in Wales and NHS staff but they are often not able to prescribe treatments available in England and it affects the care they can give,’ she said. ‘Funding is patchy, there’s a postcode lottery. ‘I decided to become a permanent visitor in Wales and an absent resident in London to get the hospital, and treatment, I wanted. Anyone in Wales can do what I’ve done.’ | A decade ago 3,471 crossed the border for treatment, now it is 15,450 .
Movement is fuelled by lack of access to the National Cancer Drugs Fund .
Half of Welsh patients wait more than six weeks for vital cancer scans .
The figure for England is 1 per cent . |
98,143 | 0a5ab0ac858a063a121bee426a19dde5eefec335 | Washington (CNN) -- An envelope that tested positive for the deadly poison ricin was intercepted Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol's off-site mail facility in Washington, congressional and law enforcement sources tell CNN. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was told the letter was addressed to the office of Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. A laboratory in Maryland confirmed the presence of ricin after initial field tests indicated the poison was present, according to Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer. However, the FBI said additional testing is needed as field and preliminary tests produce inconsistent results. "Only a full analysis performed at an accredited laboratory can determine the presence of a biological agent such as ricin," according to the bureau. "Those tests are in the process of being conducted and generally take from 24 to 48 hours." A law enforcement source said more tests would be conducted at the Army's biomedical research laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland. The letter had a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark and no return address, Gainer wrote in an e-mail to senators and aides. Sen. Claire McCaskill told reporters after a briefing for lawmakers that a suspect has already been identified in the incident, but a knowledgeable source said no one was in custody Tuesday night. Wicker, the junior senator from Mississippi, has been assigned a protective detail, according to a law enforcement source. A primer on ricin . Postal workers started handling mail at a site off Capitol Hill after the 2001 anthrax attacks that targeted then-Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, among others. Senators were told the post office would be temporarily shut down "to make sure they get everything squared away," McCaskill, D-Missouri, said Tuesday afternoon. "The bottom line is, the process we have in place worked," she said. Members will be warning their home-state offices to look out for similar letters, she added. A previous ricin scare hit the Capitol in 2004, when tests identified a letter in a Senate mailroom that served then-Majority Leader Bill Frist's office. The discovery forced 16 employees to go through decontamination procedures, but no one reported any ill effects afterward, Frist said. Ricin is a highly toxic substance derived from castor beans. As little as 500 micrograms -- an amount the size of the head of a pin -- can kill an adult. There is no specific test for exposure and no antidote once exposed. It can be produced easily and cheaply, and authorities in several countries have investigated links between suspect extremists and ricin. But experts say it is more effective on individuals than as a weapon of mass destruction. Ricin was used in the 1978 assassination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov. The author, who had defected nine years earlier, was jabbed by the tip of an umbrella while waiting for a bus in London and died four days later. Wicker, 61, was first appointed by former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour to the U.S. Senate in December 2007 after the resignation of then-Sen. Trent Lott. He was then elected to the seat in 2008 and won re-election in 2012 to a second term. Before joining the Senate, he was a U.S. representative in the House from 1995 to 2007. Before that, he served in the Mississippi Senate. CNN's Rachel Streitfeld and Matt Smith contributed to this report. | Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of ricin, Senate official says .
The letter had a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark and no return address .
It was addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi .
Ricin is a highly toxic substance derived from castor beans . |
190,776 | 8306697d16879e03095a1201952677f1941764f2 | (CNN Student News) -- October 7, 2011 . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . New York City & Stanford . Nairobi, Kenya . London, England . Hong Kong, China . 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. | The daily transcript is a written version of each day's CNN Student News program .
Use this transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary .
Use the weekly Newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on CNN Student News . |
107,867 | 170f9ab4669ab8ceb41f04cf40c28aab0b31ba62 | By . Meghan Keneally . PUBLISHED: . 07:21 EST, 12 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:56 EST, 12 March 2014 . Dottie Sandusky has branded the boys who accused her husband of molesting them as money-hungry liars as she opened up in her first on-camera interview since the 2012 scandal. 'I think they were manipulated. Once lawyers came into the case they thought there was money,' she said of the multiple young boys who accused her husband Jerry of sexual abuse. 'I think people need to know that Jerry is not guilty. You can see all the discrepancies in the trial,' she told The Today Show's Matt Lauer. 'I believe he showered with kids and that’s the generation that Jerry grew up in.' Maintaining innocence: Dottie Sandusky said that her husband never sexually assaulted young boys even though he was found guilty on 45 counts of sex abuse and is now spending his life in prison . 'Rough time': Mrs Sandusky said that her family has been extremely supportive- with the exception of her adopted son Matt who was going to testify that Jerry sexually assaulted him as a teen . Her husband is now serving between 30 and 60 years in prison after being found guilty of 45 counts relating to child molestation. The former Penn State assistant football coach was accused of inappropriately touching the boys both in the locker room showers and in a basement bedroom in the Sandusky's Pennsylvania home. In the trial testimony, at least one of the boys said that he was screaming for help when Jerry molested him in the basement, and he hoped that Dottie would come to his aid because he knew that she was in the house. Dottie, who was never criminally charged herself, showed Lauer the bedroom where the boy alleged the abuse took place. In the room: Sandusky showed Today's Matt Lauer the bedroom in the basement where one of the abused children said that he was sexually assaulted by the former football coach . 'There was nothing that went on because I was here I mean I will take you downstairs. It is not a dungeon. It is not what that kid said,' Dottie said. Lauer noted that because of their 'small house', it would be difficult for her not to hear screams. 'Because he didn't scream,' she said. She also defended herself against critics who have called her a weak enabler to allow her husband's years of abuse to continue unabated. 'They called me Sarge because I kept everybody in line,' she said. Teary-eyed: Dottie Sandusky opens up about how prison has changed her husband, former assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky . Behind bars: Sandusky, seen center in October, was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child abuse and will spend between 30 and 60 years behind bars- depending on how long he lives . She told about her weekly trips to the maximum security prison where he is living, and how it takes her more than three hours each way to spend just an hour with him. During the day, he is confined to his cell 23 hours every day, and then the remaining hour he is let out in an outdoor ‘cage’ while wearing waist chains and handcuffs- but even that respite depends on the weather. He also makes a weekly trip to the prison’s law library where he is able to spend two hours reviewing other cases in order to help strengthen his appeal case. She said that they talk of his appeal often and he remains very hopeful about his chances of being exonerated. ‘He reads, he meditates her writes he has a TV which is a lifesaver for him,’ she said. ‘I really haven’t seen a whole lot of changes in him. ‘Jerry's still a happy person and he smiles and he tries to make people laugh. He said “I’m in the situation I’m in and I’m going to make the best I can.”’ Opening up: Dottie started to cry when she told how her husband of 46-years wrote to a friend saying that the things he missed most were his grandchildren and doing 'special things with friends' Dottie gave some insight into her husband's life inside the walls of a . maximum security prison. 'A friend had written to him and asked him what he missed, what did he take most for granted?' she said. 'He said family meals, the fun time with the grandkids playing ball, (and) doing special things with friends.' She broke down in tears in the middle of her sentence, pausing to compose herself before continuing. Dottie was the one to bring up their adopted son Matt Sandusky, who was willing to testify for the state prosecutors about . how he underwent seven years of abuse at the hands of his father. He testified in a grand jury investigation that he was not abused by his father but then was planning to recant that testimony during the open court proceedings. Matt spoke about the abuse, and whether or not his father's actions were an . open secret in the football-loving community, in a documentary that . premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Support: Dottie stood by her husband and was at his side during his 2012 trial . During the Today Show interview, Dottie accused him of being a liar and a thief, who not only stole money from their family but also stole her husband's championship rings. She . said that even though they had taken him in for '15, 16, 17' years, he . turned on them and tried to get his siblings to do the same. 'Our . whole kids do not believe him either, he tried to get someone of them . to turn. Money was a motive, he had some financial problems,' she said. One . major inconsistency that was repeated throughout the hour-long . interview, which was posted online in spite of only a fraction of it . being aired on Today, was the amount of time that she has known her . husband. Early on in the interview, Mrs Sandusky said: ‘I have known Jerry for 38 years. We've been married for 37.’ She repeated that at a later point as well. Their side: Dottie was accompanied by documentary film maker John Zeigler who believes that Jerry, Joe Paterno and the Penn State administrators have all been wrongly accused . Those . numbers effectively erase a decade of their relationship: Dottie and . Jerry Sandusky got married in 1966 meaning that they have been a couple . for 47 years. She said as much in a letter to the judge that she wrote in 2012 pleading for a lesser sentence. ‘I . am Dottie Sandusky, Jerry Sandusky's wife of 46 years in September. It . is with a heavy heart I write this to you. I have known Jerry for 47 . years and he has always been truthful with me, even if it hurt,’ she . wrote in the October 2012 letter. The . inconsistency even continued further with Lauer, as he actually read . quotes from the letter and adjusted the number of years to reflect what . Dottie had said earlier in the interview. No explanation was given for the mistake. She . ended her talk by apologizing to the ‘many’ people who had been hurt by . the scandal- specifically citing the Paternos, her children, the Penn . State administrators who lost their jobs and are the subject of their . own criminal investigations- but she chose not to include the young . victims among the injured parties. | Jerry Sandusky's wife of 46-years has shown the bedroom in the basement of their Pennsylvania home where some of the sexual assaults took place .
Dottie said that her adopted son Matt, who was going to testify against Jerry, was a liar and thief who stole Sandusky's championship rings .
Told how living in a maximum security prison 'hasn't changed' Jerry .
'Jerry's a happy person and he smiles and tries to make people laugh'
The former Penn State assistant football coach was found guilty of 45 counts of child abuse and will spend between 30 and 60 years in jail .
Dottie stood by him throughout the trial and wrote a letter to the appeals judge on his behalf and has now given her first on-camera interview . |
51,761 | 929940002688cd8e16b330ee94f6eb32fa80ebd0 | By . Jack Doyle . Ministers have been handed ‘conclusive evidence’ of how leaks by surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden damaged national security. It claims suspected terror cells and individuals disappeared from the intelligence radar after the American revealed information on techniques used by the British listening station GCHQ. A dossier showing how the publication of leaked material in newspapers including The Guardian affected UK spying operations has now been passed to David Cameron and senior Cabinet colleagues. Spy chiefs claim that the work of GCHQ, pictured, has been severely compromised by Snowden's leaks . A senior counter-terrorism official yesterday said there was ‘unambiguous’ evidence that the release of information from the Snowden documents had made gathering information about terrorists more difficult. Charles Farr, head of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, told The Times: ‘Ministers want to understand the impact of Snowden and have been provided with material on more than one occasion. ‘It is part of our job to provide to ministers evidence that Snowden has changed our national security work. ‘I’m clear that that evidence is conclusive. Our coverage of counter-terrorist activity is not as good as it otherwise might have been.’ Edwards Snowden, the American whistleblower, has released classified documents . Mr Farr, among those tipped to take over as director of GCHQ from Sir Iain Lobban, refused to give specific examples of the damage done because it could create ‘a danger of making a problem worse’. His comments come days after a watchdog rubbished claims about the extent of mass surveillance made by Snowden, 30, a former IT contractor with the US National Security Agency. He stole tens of thousands of confidential and top secret files and leaked them to The Guardian and the Washington Post and has now sought refuge in Russia, where he was granted asylum. However, the Interception of Communications Commissioner Sir Anthony May said it was untrue that MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, were engaged in ‘mass intrusion’ into the private lives of millions of innocent citizens. Nor were they breaking the law, or using US intercept material to snoop on Britons overseas.He said they did not ‘misuse’ the powers given to them by Parliament to engage in ‘random mass intrusion in to the private lives of law-abiding citizens’. Such acts are not permitted by law and would be ‘comprehensively unlawful’, he added. Mr Farr also revealed how terrorist suspects have been hauled from aircraft as a result of a new early warning system designed to give airlines better information about passengers. He said a ‘handful’ of people judged to ‘pose a threat to aviation security’ have been stopped travelling by air as a result of work by the National Border Targeting Centre. They were off-loaded before they boarded flights bound for Britain, thanks to a system designed to give airlines ‘advanced, real-time information’ about travellers, he said. | Ministers have been given dossier on how GCHQ's work has been hindered .
A senior official said this was 'unambiguous' evidence . |
152,082 | 508b7ce8d020110ed2ff87af32b08934a4dc56ba | By . Jaya Narain . PUBLISHED: . 20:12 EST, 14 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 04:34 EST, 15 January 2014 . Mike Betts, 51, received the money as boss of Motability Operations . The chief executive of a taxpayer-funded scheme that leases cars and scooters to the disabled earned about £850,000 in pay and perks last year. Mike Betts, 51, received the money as boss of Motability Operations, a not-for-profit company funded by the state. Four other senior directors at the firm also earned large sums, taking home more than £2million in total in 2012. Motability Operations, which received . £18.3million in government grants last year to cover its running costs, . leases various types of vehicle to around 600,000 disabled people. It receives their mobility allowances direct from the Department for Work and Pensions. Last night politicians and campaigners condemned the ‘lavish’ and ‘over generous’ management pay scales, and called for cuts. Labour . peer Lord Rooker said: ‘This scheme has been run for 30 years and . provides an excellent service but I can’t believe it requires people on . banker-style salaries to administer it.’ Jonathan . Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘It is vital . that mobility allowances are used to help those who really need it. This is a staggering sum of money for someone to earn from a business whose only customer is taxpayers. ‘Given . Motability Operations is wholly reliant on government grants it’s . absolutely right that it should face scrutiny over how it is run.’ Disability campaigner Josh Lennon said: ‘There is absolutely no need for the Motability bosses to be paid such lavish salaries. It is time these over-generous wages were reined in. 'They do a good job ensuring many people have the independence and mobility they wouldn’t otherwise have, but we would like to see cuts in their remuneration.’ Motability Operations is owned by Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, and overseen by registered charity Motability. In its annual report, the company boasts that it is guaranteed an income stream with ‘minimal credit risk’. Mr Betts, who has been chief executive since 2003, is the highest-paid director, on a basic salary of £487,525. Lifeline: Motability Operations, which received £18.3million in government grants last year to cover its running costs, leases various types of vehicle to around 600,000 disabled people . He also received £237,500 in performance-related pay, £24,295 in benefits and £96,881 in lieu of pension. The scheme faced criticism in 2011 over claims that expensive saloon cars leased to the disabled were being driven by their family and friends. Government officials voiced concerns that it was encouraging spurious benefits claims, and that checks on relatives allowed to drive the cars were too lax. In 2006, Welsh welterweight boxing champion Keith Jones used his free Motability car to drive to the gym and fight 100 bouts. The boxer was fined £500 in June that year after claiming he did not know he had to tell the DWP that his asthma condition had improved. A Motability Operations spokesman said Mr Betts had been ‘instrumental in driving forward changes to the organisation to deliver the levels of personal care, expertise and service required’. He added: ‘The remuneration is decided by the board based on the advice of their Remuneration Committee.’ The spokesman said pay is reviewed regularly to ensure it is competitive over the long term, and to make sure rewards are related to performance. Welfare Minister Lord Freud said in a statement: ‘The department regularly monitors and evaluates the use of public funds by the organisations we work with, including charities such as Motability, to make sure the services they deliver are fit for purpose.’ | Mike Betts received the money as boss of Motability Operations .
Motability Operations is a not-for-profit company funded by the state .
It received £18.3million in government grants last year . |
27,853 | 4ef0cf4183e1f4ad5cd1fac67fdcc9af9596b031 | By . Rob Preece . PUBLISHED: . 03:13 EST, 30 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 03:22 EST, 30 July 2012 . Under-fire private security firm G4S was at the centre of another embarrassing Olympics scandal today after an employee allegedlycalled a soldier a 'baby killer' as they worked at a Games venue. The Asian civilian guard, who faces the sack, is said to have spat at the serviceman and made the abusive remark at the archery contest at Lord's Cricket Ground. The remark is believed to have been a reference to the soldier's service in Afghanistan. Security guards at the archery competition at Lord's Cricket Ground. Neither of the men were involved in the row between a G4S guard and an Afghanistan veteran . G4S, which had to be bailed out by troops after failing to provide enough guards to protect London 2012 venues, has begun an urgent investigation into the claims. It said the soldier, understood to be a member of 35 Engineers, had asked to search the security officer. The incident happened behind the scenes on Saturday evening as spectators watched Italy win the gold medal match against the U.S. in the men's team archery event. A spokesman for G4S said: 'We are urgently investigating claims of an altercation between a security officer and a soldier. British soldiers check a woman's bag as she enters a London 2012 venue. None of the people pictured were involved in the incident at Lord's Cricket Ground . 'We take any case of improper behaviour by a member of our staff very seriously. 'We do not tolerate insulting behaviour and, where necessary, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.' The Ministry of Defence described the alleged incident as an 'isolated occurrence'. A MoD spokesman said: 'We can confirm that there was an incident at Lord’s cricket ground on 28 July. 'The matter was reported and is being investigated by G4S. 'This isolated occurrence is not indicative of the good working relationship between the military and G4S.' G4S was forced to admit it had not hired enough security guards to patrol the Games just weeks before they were due to begin, requiring the Government to step in and provide 4,700 extra military personnel to plug the gaps. The incident happened during the men's team archery competition at Lord's Cricket Ground on Saturday . | Asian guard is also said to have spat at the serviceman during confrontation .
Pair were working at the archery contest at Lord's Cricket Ground .
G4S has begun urgent internal investigation into claims . |
172,973 | 6bda854e0d51d37832bfd44345200624e596a872 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 01:00 EST, 18 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:00 EST, 18 June 2013 . A woman fired from her teaching job because of a menacing, abusive ex-husband's behavior is back in the news. But this time it's good news. Thanks to her courage leading her to take her story to television, Carie Charlesworth has been offered a fresh start with a brand new teaching position. Sometime after her story aired on San Diego local news, Charlesworth was contacted by a concerned viewer. The woman, who did not want to release . her name, runs a private school in Los Angeles and offered to take . Charlesworth on as a new employee. Brave: Carie Charlesworth thought her career as a teacher was over when she took her story--of being fired for being the victim of constant domestic violence--to local television . And Charlesworth, who thought all the . publicity would spell the end of her career as a teacher, was overcome . by emotion. 'It's good to know that people generally care about other people,' a teary-eyed Charlesworth told San Diego's NBC 7. Though Charlesworth said she would be willing to relocate for the job, she and the good Samaritan still have much to discuss. Nonetheless, the offer itself was enough to bring hope back to a woman whose life was so recently torn apart. A victim of domestic violence has been fired from her job as a sixth-grade teacher in California because the private school have deemed it too dangerous to keep employing her. Darker days: Second-grade teacher Carie Charlesworth says the Diocese that runs her school called her a liability and fired her because of her menacing ex-husband . Carie Charlesworth recently received a . letter from the Diocese of San Diego informing her that her . ex-husband’s ‘threatening and menacing behavior’ was too much of a . concern, and they could no longer allow her to work at Holy Trinity . School in El Cajon. The . shocking decision not only impacted Charlesworth’s career and ability . to earn, but her four children who also attended the school have also . been barred from returning. ‘They’ve taken away my ability to care for my kids,’ she said. ‘It’s not like I can go out and find a teaching job anywhere.’ The incident dates back to January when Charlesworth was forced to call police after what she called ‘a very bad weekend with him.’ The next day, she spoke to her principal to warn them about her ex-husband, Martin Charlesworth. Not long afterwards he showed up at the school parking lot - forcing the entire school to go into lockdown. Since then Charlesworth and her four children have not returned to the school. Her ex-husband was jailed on two felony charges, but is due to be released later this month. A letter was sent to parents at the time of the incident explaining what happened and explaining that Charlesworth and her children had been put on ‘indefinite leave.’ In a letter from the Diocese who runs Holy Trinity School, Charlesworth was informed that she and her four kids were barred because her ex-husband was 'too dangerous' Three months later Charlesworth received the letter informing her that she was fired – a move which despite 14 years working in the Diocese means she is now barred from working at any of its area schools. The letter from the Diocese explained that Charlesworth was being fired because of her husband’s ‘twenty-plus year history of violence, abuse, and harassment of people - mostly women.’ ‘We know from the most recent incident involving you and Mrs. Wright (the principal) while you were still physically at Holy Trinity School, that the temporary restraining order in effect were not a deterrent to him,’ stated the letter. ‘Although we understand he is currently incarcerated, we have no way of knowing how long or short a time he will actually serve and we understand from court files that he may be released as early as next fall. 'In the interest of the safety of the students, faculty and parents at Holy Trinity School, we simply cannot allow you to return to work there, or, unfortunately, at any other school in the Diocese.’ Charlesworth, who says she feels like she’s being treated like a criminal, has hired a lawyer and intends to sue the school. But NBC reports that several parents at the school said the district did the right thing in a no-win situation because they feared for the safety of their own children. There was even a movement to 'pull kids out of the school' if Charlesworth returned. 'I mean that’s why women of domestic violence don’t come forward, because they’re afraid of the way people are going to see them, view them, perceive them, treat them,' said Charlesworth. Carie Charlesworth received this letter from the Diocese of San Diego informing her that she was sacked . | An employee at a Los Angeles private school wants to give Carie Charlesworth a second chance and has offered her a new teaching job, miles from her menacing ex-husband .
Charlesworth lost her San Diego job because her employer was concerned about her ex-husband's 'threatening and menacing behavior'
The decision prevented her from working for any schools under the control of the Diocese of San Diego .
Her four children were also barred from returning to Holy Trinity School in El Cajon . |
95,026 | 06199d34c9bcb6ec74a053acdfdd1b5056757ee6 | The League Cup has always been used by Manchester United as a chance to showcase their academy graduates. And with Louis Van Gaal facing an injury crisis in defence ahead of Tuesday night's second round tie at MK Dons, a 22-year-old right-back called Marnick Vermijl could be pressed into action. But who is he? Here's our lowdown on the young Belgian. Name: Marnick Vermijl . Age: 22 . Club: Manchester United . Position: Right-back . Getting stuck in: Manchester United's Belgian right-back Marnick Vermijl (right) slides in on Liverpool's Kristoffer Peterson during last Friday's Under 21 Premier League encounter at Anfield . Why all the fuss? Van Gaal faces a bit of a headache as he makes his team selection for the tricky-looking trip to Milton Keynes as United enter the League Cup at the second round stage for the first time since 1995. Chris Smalling limped off with a groin injury in the first half of Sunday's Premier League draw at Sunderland and is unlikely to make it, while Rafael is also a doubt. New signing from Sporting Lisbon Marcos Rojo hasn't received his work permit in time to make his debut and so United are struggling a little for men at the back. Enter Vermijl, who could be in line to make his first United start in two years at stadium:mk, most likely alongside Jonny Evans and fellow academy graduate Michael Keane. Selection dilemma: Injury problems could force Louis Van Gaal to field an untried back line at MK Dons . Forced off: Chris Smalling picked up a groin strain in United's draw at Sunderland on Sunday . Too soon: New £16m signing Marcos Rojo hasn't received a work permit in time to play . The 22-year-old has waited some time since his United debut, which came on September 26, 2012 when he played 77 minutes in a League Cup tie with Newcastle United. It was a campaign in which Vermijl appeared in the United squad on other occasions - twice in the Champions League and at Chelsea in both the League Cup and FA Cup - but didn't gain any further time on the pitch. Now, having gained more experience during a season-long loan with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, it looks as though he will have another chance to impress. What's his background? Vermijl was born on January 13, 1992 in Peer, a small town close to the Dutch border in the north of Belgium and joined the academy of Standard Liege at the age of 16. With United's scouting network well established in the Low Countries, Vermijl was picked out despite not making a senior appearance for the Belgian top flight side. His delighted dad revealed the news of his contract at Old Trafford in 2010, after a £250,000 compensation payment had been agreed with Liege. 'They said he was the best right or left-back they had seen in years,' Dirk Vermijl told Het Laatste Nieuws. Shadowed: Vermijl keeps a close check on Liverpool's Cameron Brannagan during the U21 game . '[Sir Alex] Ferguson told me that Marnick in the following years would become a fixture in the Manchester United squad.' Ferguson and then-reserve team coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had clearly seen potential in him, as they had in his compatriot Ritchie De Laet. And he made an immediate impression when he scored twice, playing in a more advanced position, in a pre-season friendly with Shamrock Rovers. Part of the attraction had been Vermijl's ability to play right across the back four, or even on the right side of midfield, but he quickly settled into the right-back role. He became a mainstay in United's reserve team during the 2010-2011 season and picked up a winners' medal in 2012 when United defeated Aston Villa on penalties. His consistent displays in the reserves led to Ferguson calling him up to the first-team squad for the first time in the League Cup last 16 tie at Aldershot on October 25, 2011. He didn't feature in the 3-0 win, however. The following season was another encouraging one for Vermijl, with his handful of first-team squad selections balanced with a leading role in United winning the inaugural Under 21 Premier League. He scored one and created another in the Old Trafford final against Tottenham, inspiring a United comeback from two goals down to win 3-2. Under 21 coach Warren Joyce shortlisted him for the club's Reserves' Player of the Year award, capping a fine year. Battler: Vermijl goes in for a challenge with Sheyi Ojo during the 1-1 draw at Anfield . Going Dutch . With the departure of Ferguson and the arrival of David Moyes at the start of last season, Vermijl was sent out on loan to NEC in Holland, where he was a regular starter at right-back. He performed well, with three league and one Cup goal during the season, which unfortunately culminated in relegation from the Eredivisie for the Nijmegen club. His performances resulted in a call-up to the Belgium Under 21 side, but Moyes seemed indifferent to the young player. In March, Vermijl's agent said his client's future would depend on whether Moyes remained at Old Trafford. 'If the manager stays, then it does not look good because he let Marnick go quite easily to NEC. 'If Moyes is sacked, it may open greater chances.' As we all know, Moyes was shown the door and Vermijl, who has one year left on his contract, is back in the frame at United, with Van Gaal keen to assess what he can do. He played a full 90 minutes in the Under 21 side's 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield last week and could now be set for another first-team chance, especially if the injury crisis worsens. Where does he play? As mentioned, Vermijl is a right-back, or the right-sided operator in Van Gaal's hallmark 3-5-2 formation. But in his younger days, he was more of a forward or a winger and so isn't afraid to get forward in support of the midfield if necessary. One of his main attractions when United first signed him was his versatility and, if required, Vermijl could slot in right across the back line. Like our dedicated Manchester United Facebook page. Out on loan: Vermijl spent last season with Dutch club NEC Nijmegen to gain experience . Strengths and weaknesses . Vermijl is well-regarded for his consistency and, in the Dutch league at least, was seldom found wanting by speedy wingers. If beaten, he possesses the pace to recover position and is a reliable winner of the ball in the tackle. During his campaign in Holland, he received just one booking. If he is to be part of Van Gaal's team, he'll have to show quality going forward and he does have a decent quick-step to get beyond defenders and a fairly good cross. One thing that was exposed in the Eredivisie, however, was his passing, with too many balls going astray. International honours? Yes, Vermijl has been capped by Belgium at every level from Under 17 to Under 21. In all, he has 43 caps for Belgium across the various standards and has scored five times. | Injury problems could hand Marnick Vermijl a start at right-back for Manchester United in their Capital One Cup tie at MK Dons .
Belgian defender has made just one senior appearance for United .
The 22-year-old spent last season on loan with Dutch club NEC Nijmegen .
Vermijl is a capable of playing right across the defence and further forward .
Has been capped by Belgium at Under 21 level . |
201,233 | 908a88070a97062fb828a0bb94e1a77e27aad2ec | West Ham have signed Hamilton defender Stephen Hendrie on after the clubs agreed a £1million compensation package. The Scotland U21 international left-back will join in the summer after signing a pre-contract agreement with the Hammers. Hamilton claimed that Reading and Bournemouth were also interested in the former Accies youth player, who was due to be out of contract in the summer. Stephen Hendrie will join West Ham in the summer after the clubs agreed a compensation package . The move looked to be off last week when Hamilton vice-chairman Ronnie McDonald criticised West Ham, however, David Sullivan has smoothed over negotiations. 'I'm absolutely buzzing,' Hendrie confirmed. 'The last few days have been busy, but now that I'm down here and I've signed, I cannot wait to start in the summer. 'I'm thrilled to bits. I can't believe that it's happened. West Ham is such a massive club with a massive fan base and I just cannot wait to get started. I'm looking forward to it. Hendrie, pictured in action against Partick Thistle was also being chased by Bournemouth and Reading . 'I think the Premier League's the best league in the world and you want to play at the highest level you possibly can. Since I was a kid I always wanted to play in the Premier League and I've got a fantastic chance to do that now.' 'I know that the atmosphere is electric at the Boleyn Ground. The fans are brilliant and we've moving to a bigger stadium and it'll be even better, so I'm looking forward to that too.' 'They're big names and everybody knows West Ham up there because of those boys,' he confirmed. 'They did extremely well here and everybody knows West Ham because of them and because of how big a club they are. The fan base is brilliant and so is everything else that goes with it.' The young defender is the latest Hamilton youth product to move south of the border in recent seasons, following the likes of Everton midfielder James McCarthy and Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur. | Stephen Hendrie will join West Ham in the summer .
Hendrie praises the West Ham fans and the chance to play for the club .
Hamilton claimed Bournemouth and Reading were interested . |
35,798 | 65adc4f450c218c2b5b630a59a1ef88163491984 | (CNN) -- Its lack of productivity and partisan drama ensure that Congress remains the butt of political jokes. It has been pegged as less popular than lice, cockroaches, the IRS and eating vegetables. A new round of derision surfaced as the House and Senate began their August recess, leaving mounds of unfinished business in their wake. Arguably the most pressing thing is stalled legislation to address the surge of migrant youth, many of them unaccompanied, across the southern border this year. (Congress did get some things done in the final days before its summer break. It agreed to keep road construction projects funded through next May, provide more money for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, and overhaul the Veterans Affairs medical system). But fresh polls confirm that Congress is not doing a whole lot of legislating and the public doesn't like it. A new poll Monday by NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College found that only 3% of registered voters surveyed thought Congress has been "productive." And the Pew Research Center found that this Congress has been the least productive one since 1997-98. Finally, a July Gallup poll found that Congress had a 15% approval rating. Polls convey public opinion scientifically, but the freewheeling nature of social media produced similar sentiment. An executive at the libertarian Cato Institute pointed out that Congress and President Barack Obama are less popular than the most disliked Star Wars characters. But everyone loves Internet news. Take some advice with that criticism, Congress. Obviously. Same-sex marriage is getting more popular. So is pot. And the United States just might be turning into a soccer country. Congress, still not that likable, though. Although this tweet was before the CIA admitted to spying on the Senate committee in charge of overseeing the spy agency. One thing more popular than Congress: Obama, who is not very popular. Perhaps this is some insight into why Congress is so unlikable right now. The good news. There's little place to go but up. | Congress pegged as less popular than cockroaches, the IRS and eating vegetables .
A new round of political jokes surfaces as the House and Senate begin their August recess .
A new poll found that 3% of those surveyed thought Congress has been "productive" |
283,947 | fbdee9485e2865daffacfb5ada471237ee2dfdb7 | By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 13:13 EST, 16 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:00 EST, 16 October 2013 . The case of a 15-year-old girl arrested by police in front of fellow pupils so she could be expelled to Kosovo with her family as illegal immigrants has caused outrage across France. The government, trying to save face, is now investigating the case of Leonarda Dibrani who wants to return to the country, and has described her shame when she was escorted by police from a school bus after a field trip. Immigrants' rights groups and even members of the governing Socialist Party are calling the conditions of the expulsion shocking. Leonarda Dibrani, 15, sits at her home with her family members in the town of Mitrovica in Kosovo earlier today. She was deported after French police hauled her off a bus during a school trip . The teenager's case has angered many French people, who feel her treatment was heavy-handed . The Dibrani family fled Kosovo about five years ago because they are Roma, or Gypsies, and face discrimination and few opportunities, according to activist Jean-Jacques Boy who works with immigrant families in the Doubs region in eastern France, where the family lived. The Interior Ministry said the family's application for asylum had been rejected and it no longer had the right to stay in France. It said they repeatedly refused to leave, so police detained the father and deported him to Kosovo on October 8. They also detained the mother and five of their children, but Leonarda was away on a school field trip. Police met her bus when it returned. The teenager 'was crying, she was upset... she was discouraged' when she got off the bus, Mr Boy said, and teachers and other children were shaken by the incident. Removed: French policemen stand guard as members of the Roma community leave a camp in Roubaix last week . Leonarda, her siblings and mother were sent to Kosovo on October 9. She later described being escorted from the bus. A teacher 'told me to say goodbye to my classmates. I told her it wasn't fair,' she said. Leonarda said her life was now 'a nightmare' and that all she wants is 'to come back to France with my family'. Prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault ordered an investigation into how she was taken into custody and said that if any errors were found, the family will be allowed back to France for further examination. The Education Without Frontiers Network said the expulsion was a setback for their efforts to keep illegal immigrants in school and to protect them from police intervention. It is also an embarrassment for Socialist president Francois Hollande's government, which has portrayed France as a haven for the world's oppressed and distanced itself from his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy's tough policies toward Roma and other immigrants. PR disaster: The incident has embarassed Francois Hollande's government, which has portrayed France as a haven for the world's oppressed . Thousands of Roma are living in squalor around French cities and are getting involved in a wide range of crimes including armed robbery and aggressive begging. Earlier this month French police began a major crackdown on Roma families and raided gypsy camps around the country, carrying out identity checks. Meanwhile dozens of Roma families took up a French government offer of a free ticket out of the country. Last month Manuel Valls, the Interior Minister, said it was ‘an illusion to think that we can solve the Roma problem through integration.’ Mr Valls wants to do everything possible to keep the Roma out of France, as he associates them with crime and public health problems. His views were supported by a BVA poll which revealed that 77 per cent of French people agreed that Roma were inherently ‘different’. On October 6 Five Eastern Europeans were held in Paris after a £1million jewellery raid by up to 15 men brandishing sledgehammers and axes. Police believe a Roma gipsy gang was behind the well-organised robbery at a Swiss luxury watchmaker’s store in the French capital. | The case of teenager Leonarda Dibrani has shocked French society .
She was met by officers after trip and hauled off in front of her friends .
Now the French Government has backtracked and ordered a probe . |
257,981 | d9e02a0db3779093855d4239dfdac1fe7716b259 | A growing number of stores across the nation are stocking their shelves with an unusual item – Zombie Bullets. After the recent stream of disturbing news reports of people eating others' flesh, Hornaday Manufacturing has released bullets that promise to ‘make dead permanent.’ The ammunition, branded as Zombie Max offers Proven Z-Max bullets, is live ammunition, but is actually only intended for use on targets – not people. Scroll down for videos . The Walking Dead: Hornady Manufacturing has started selling Zombie bullets, 'just in case'; it is live ammunition . Attacks: Carl Jacquneaux, left, who was arrested for allegedly biting another man's face and Brandon De Leon, right, who allegedly tried to bite two policemen while threatening to eat them . Hornaday spokesman Everett Deger told WWJ Newsradio 950 that the company’s president has a love of zombie . culture – including popular shows like the Walking Dead – and was . inspired to make the bullets in honour of the cultural phenomenon. The 'bath salts' sold under the name Cloud Nine are likely to be stimulant drugs such MPDV or ephedrine. 'Bath salts' does not refer to a single chemical, but instead to a range of synthetic drugs that can be sold legally in the U.S. as long as they are not marked for human consumption – hence the misleading name. Drugs such as MPDV are highly potent stimulants, similar to some amphetamines, and in MPDV's case particularly, cause a strong compulsion to 'redose' with more of the drug. In high doses, such drugs can cause violent and unpredictable behaviour, and terrifying hallucinations – and the compulsion to take more of the drug continues, even once the 'high' has begun to make the user feel bad. Various different compounds use the name 'Cloud Nine', and it's still not confirmed which exact chemical was in the drug reported to have caused these attacks, but some reports have pointed the finger at MPDV. The chemical is already illegal in Florida – although other 'bath salts' remain perfectly legal in the state. ‘We decided just to have some fun . with a marketing plan that would allow us to create some ammunition . designed for that…fictional world,’ he told the radio station. Mr Deger noted that the bullets are some of the ammunition company’s most popular products. The news comes as two more cannibal . attacks have been reported in the US as police warn of a dangerous new . mind-altering drug called Cloud Nine. Last week Rudy Eugene - who is believed to have taken the over-the-counter ecstasy-like drug - . growled at officers as he chewed off most of a homeless man's face before being shot dead by Miami police. Since then two further incidents have been linked to the substance, which is part of a new line of 'bath salts'. The . second occurred on Saturday when a snarling homeless man, identified as . Brandon De Leon, threatened to eat two officers, echoing the Miami . attack. A third incident took place in Louisiana where Carl Jacquneaux, 43, bit off a chunk of his victim's face. Miami police have issued a warning . about Cloud Nine and told their officers to exercise extreme caution . when dealing with homeless men who appear to be acting unusually. Police . investigating the case of Rudy Eugene, who ate the face off a homeless . man, say as well as being naked, he was carrying a bible. Some pages had been ripped out of the book and were found close by, according to CBS Miami. A preliminary toxicology examination has also found that the 31-year-old had been smoked cannabis shortly before the incident. They were forced to fit 21-year-old De Leon with a Hannibal Lecter-style mask after he was arrested for disturbing the peace in North Miami Beach. When put in a police . cruiser De Leon slammed his head against the plexiglass . divider and shouted at officers, 'I'm going to eat you', NBC Miami . reported. He then growled, gnashed his teeth and tried to bite the hand of an officer attempting to treat his head wounds. 'Brandon growled and opened and closed his jaw, slamming his teeth like an animal would,' the report said. Miami police said they believe he was on a cocktail of drugs, including Cloud Nine. In a second case Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue. Victim: Todd Credeur, though in shock, managed to spray his attacker in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face . Scene: Todd Creneur was attacked while working on the yard outside his home in Scott, Louisiana . KATC reported that Mr Credeur was working in his front yard when he was attacked. Scott Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas said: 'During the attack, the suspect bit a chunk of the victim's face off.' Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face. Jacquneaux . then allegedly left the home and went to another man's home where he . held him at knife point and stole a hand gun. This is where police found . him and arrested him. A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene. Eugene . ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo in Miami last week and a . police memo to officers has highlighted the dangers surrounding the . drug's use. It warned the De Leon case 'bears resemblance to an incident that occurred in the city of Miami last week, when a male ate another man's face'. 'Please be careful when dealing with the homeless population during your patrols.' Police have suggested Eugene was under the influence of the synthetic stimulant usually sold in drug paraphanelia shops. Cloud . Nine is 'addictive and dangerous', the memo said, part of a 'disturbing . trend in which new drugs are sold in the guise of household products'. The drug, which is also as Ivory Wave in the U.S., comes in harmless-looking packets, police said, adding that it is illegal in Britain and Australia. Crazed attack: Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene (left) when he savagely attacked 65-year-old Ronald Poppo (right) The potentially addictive drug stimulates the central nervous system and symptoms include heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour. The series of shocking incidents began on May 26 when a naked Eugene encountered his victim, 65-year-old Ronald Poppo, who was sleeping in the shade on elevated train tracks. In surveillance footage from the . nearby Miami Herald building, Eugene was seen struggling with the naked . homeless man, throwing him to the ground and then tearing into his face . with his teeth as cars and bicycles sped by. About . 18 minutes into the attack, an officer appeared on the scene and yelled . at Eugene to stop, but the 31-year-old just growled at him and . continued chewing Poppo’s face. The officer then opened fire on Eugene, shooting him to death. Horrific attack: The spot on MacArthur Causeway when a man was killed after chewing the face off a stranger . Disfigured: Poppo, here on a stretcher, miraculously survived the attack, but was left without a nose, mouth or eyes . Poppo remains in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with his nose, mouth and eyes torn off. He faces months of treatment to rebuild his features and psychological care. Controversially this week the scene of the attack on Poppo has been Miami added to sites visited by a tourist tour's itinerary. The famous Miami Mystery & Mayhem: Crime Tour tour led by Miami-Dade College professor Dr Paul George will stop on the road that connects downtown Miami to popular South Beach. Dr Paul told the South Florida Business Journal: 'Horrible as it was, it is part of our history. Currently, our tour takes us over the causeway right past the site, so this fits well.' In a completely separate case not involving the drug, Canadian Luka Rocco Magnotta has been sent back to his country from Germany after an international manhunt. He is alleged to have killed his partner, Jun Lin, before eating parts of his body then chopping it to pieces that were then posted to different authorities. Mr Lun's head has not yet been found. Since Rudy Eugene . attacked and ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo on May 26 in . Miami, Florida, while allegedly high on 'bath salts' there has been a . spate of similar attacks. The . 'Miami Cannibal' case shocked the nation after police had to shoot dead . Eugene when he refused to stop eating his victim's face off. Poppo is . now recovering in hospital with horrific injuries. Brandon DeLeon, 21, was high on drugs and drunk on Four Loko on June 2 when he tried . to bite off a police officer’s hand after he was arrested for . disturbing customers in a Miami fast food restaurant. The homeless man repeatedly banged his head . against the patrol car’s Plexiglas and yelled, ‘I’m going to eat you.’ At . the police station, De Leon tried to bite the officer who was taking . his blood pressure and tending to his self-inflicted wounds. The police . report noted that he 'growled and opened and closed his jaw slamming his . teeth like an animal would.' Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue. Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face. A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene. Alex Kinyua, 21, a college student, used a knife to carve up Kujoe . Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, 37, before eating his heart out and parts of his brain. He . then took to his social networking site to boast about it to his . friends saying: 'Are you strong enough to endure ritual HBCU mass human . sacrifices . around the country and still be able to function as human beings?' He . referred to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and 'other past . university killings around the country' and warned 'ethnic cleansing is . the policy, strategy and tactics that will affect you, directly or . indirectly in the coming months.' | Ammunition company also offering 'Zombie Bullets' - live ammunition with a clever marketing campaign .
Mind-altering drug available over the counter in U.S., but banned in Britain .
Police link drug to previous cannibal attack when a man ate another's face .
Causes heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour . |
23,073 | 4178ec61b4515bbcb200dc698e4bea493c3d9b64 | Ebola tests on two children at a hospital in Melbourne have come back negative for the virus. Victoria's deputy chief health officer Michael Ackland said the girls, aged four and eight, who were admitted to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital on Thursday, are being treated for a respiratory illness. Despite being cleared for now, the girls will again be tested in 72 hours to rule out the possibility of having contracted the Ebola virus, something Professor Ackland said was a normal process. The girls returned home to Melbourne overnight with their parents and another sibling following an extended trip to Guinea. Scroll down for video . Ebola tests on two girls, aged four and eight, who were admitted to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital on Thursday, have returned as negative . Two children under the age of 10 were tested for the deadly Ebola virus at The Royal Children's Hospital . Other family members remain well. 'Routine screening of returning travellers from Ebola-affected countries in west Africa identified that the girls had elevated temperatures,' Prof Ackland said in a statement on Thursday. In accordance with universal infection control procedures, they were taken to Royal Children's Hospital to be assessed for a range of infections including Ebola. He says it's unlikely other travellers on the plane from Abu Dhabi or others who had contact with the girls inside the airport will fall unwell. Earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson for The Royal Children's Hospital told Daily Mail Australia that the patients are being kept in isolation. Medical staff are battling against Ebola in West Africa . 'Two patients have been isolated at The Royal Children's Hospital following admission this morning with an infectious disease. The children, aged under 10, are being tested for a range of infectious diseases, including the ebola virus,' the spokesperson said. 'Specialist medical staff are caring for the patients, using the procedures and equipment in which they have been trained. The safety of staff and the community is paramount. 'Results of the diagnostic testing will be known within a few hours. The hospital is unable to provide further information about the patients or their conditions until the test results are known.' The ABC reports the children were suffering 'elevated temperatures' when they touched down at Melbourne Airport from an Ebola-affected country on Wednesday night. Worried passengers on Etihad flight EY460 can contact 1800 356 061 and talk to medical staff about the signs and symptoms of Ebola. In October, Australia prompted outrage by becoming the first Western country to ban visitors from Ebola-hit areas of Africa, amid warnings the restrictions could make it harder to fight the deadly disease. Australia prompted outrage by becoming the first Western country to ban visitors from Ebola-hit areas of Africa . The outbreak has become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976 . In a dramatic move, the government said it would refuse entry to anyone travelling from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leona - the countries most severely hit by the epidemic - despite there being no known cases of the virus in Australia. But a Sierra Leone official condemned the ban, describing it as 'counter-productive' and 'too draconian'. Liberia's president urged Australia to reconsider its decision, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned travel restrictions could seriously hamper efforts to beat Ebola. There have been numerous Ebola scares in Australia since the outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014. The outbreak has become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. Sue Ellen Kovack volunteered as a nurse treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and was tested for the disease when she returned to Australia . In October last year, a volunteer nurse was monitored inside a Queensland hospital for Ebola. Her test results returned as negative, a Queensland Health official has confirmed. Sue Ellen Kovack was tested for the deadly virus on her return from Sierra Leone where she was volunteering with the Red Cross in the fight against Ebola. There were fears the 57-year-old, from Cairns, was suffering from the illness she was helping to treat after she reported feeling a fever. Ms Kovack was put under observation and quarantined at Cairns Hospital. | The children were admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne .
They flew in to Australia from an Ebola-affected country .
It's claimed the children were suffering 'elevated temperatures'
'They are being tested for a range of infectious diseases,' hospital says .
Victoria's deputy chief health officer Michael Ackland said they are being treated for a respiratory illness . |
56,027 | 9ecc2eb0f17762b0decda6627cbe8a299286c29b | Watchdogs have flagged up concerns over the creation of a British pork pie monopoly. The Competition & Markets Authority has sounded the alarm over the purchase of the savoury pastries business owed by Kerry Foods by the rival manufacturer Pork Farms. The official watchdog is concerned the deal will concentrate the manufacture of pork pies, sausage rolls, pasties, scotch eggs and some other savoury pastries in too few hands. The pork pie is the ultimate everyman food and can trace its origins back to medieval times . Watchdogs have flagged up concerns over the decision by Pork Farms to buy the chilled savoury pastries business of rival manufacturer Kerry Foods . As a result, it warns this could lead to higher prices for the traditional pork pie, pies and sausages and a reduction in choice. The pork pie is the ultimate everyman food and can trace its origins back to medieval times. They were originally seen as a handy and transportable lunch that were popular with the lower class, particularly agricultural workers and grooms. Today, the Melton Mowbray pork pie is the most famous of the lineage and it has even been granted special status by the EU, which means production is restricted to a small area of Leicestershire. The decision by Pork Farms to purchase the chilled savoury pastries business of Kerry Foods has created a pork pie giant, which manufacturers the product both under its own brands and for the big supermarkets. Pork Farms, which was established in 1931 and is based in Nottingham, claims to be the nation’s favourite brand of pork pie selling over 20 million a year. It also sells millions more under the Bowyers brand, which also sells Scotch eggs and sausage rolls. Pork Farms said it was ‘disappointed’ with the CMA’s decision to order a further review of the deal . The company bought the savoury pastries business of Kerry Foods, which includes factories at Poole, Dorset, and Spalding in Lincolnshire, in August for an undisclosed sum. This allowed the company to make pork pies and other savoury pastry brands under the Wall’s and Millers brands, under licence from Kerry Foods. The new company will be a dominant force in a market for pork pies, sausage rolls and other savoury products that is estimated to be worth around £1billion a year. Pork Farms said it was ‘disappointed’ with the CMA’s decision to order a further review of the deal. | Watchdog worried about Pork Farms acquisition of Kerry Foods' savoury pastries business .
Concerned the deal will put the manufacture of pork pies, sausage rolls, pasties and scotch eggs in too few hands .
Could lead to higher prices for the traditional pork pie, pies and sausages .
Pork pie is ultimate every-man food and origins date to medieval times . |
242,966 | c67bf388aefd7d68e34953f8252b462880c5e62a | They are considered to be one of man's best friends. But one dog was not shown the hand of human kindness by his vicious owner who allegedly threw him off the third-floor balcony of an apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri. Roadrunner the dog needed to have his eyes removed because of the alleged abuse meted out to him by his former owner Kimberly Anderson, 36. Scroll down for video . Injuries: Roadrunner the dog needed to have his eyes removed because of the alleged abuse meted out to him by his former owner Kimberly Anderson, 36 . According to eyewitnesses, Kimberly Anderson, pictured, threw the 12-pound Tibetan spaniel, from the third-floor balcony of an apartment building in the 1200 block of Independence Avenue in November . But the good news is that the resilient dog is expected to make a good recovery. The Kansas City Pet Project, an animal shelter in Missouri, took Roadrunner in after he suffered the horrific injuries at the hands of Anderson. According to an eyewitness, Anderson took the 12-pound Tibetan spaniel and threw him from the third-floor balcony of an apartment building in the 1200 block of Independence Avenue in November. The witness also said that Anderson wrapped a leash around the dog's neck, picked him up and slammed him to the ground. She then allegedly choked the dog a second time and kicked him, leaving him outside wincing in pain. Surgeons had to remove the dog's damaged eyes and repair his broken pelvis. Since his surgery, he has been healing in a foster home and was neutered last week. Roadrunner: Surgeons had to remove his damaged eyes and repair his broken pelvis after the abuse . Recovery: The Tibetan spaniel has managed to develop new skills to cope with being blind . Tori Fugate, manager of marketing for The KC Pet Project told The Kansas City Star: 'We wanted to show how well he is doing and show his recovery has just been amazing. He is just doing great.' 'He is adjusting very, very well. He gets along great with the two other dogs in his foster home. He loves playing with them, and he loves playing with toys.' 'He's just acting like a normal dog,' Fugate said. 'He is very cautious when he moves around and walks around in case he bumps into something. But if he bumps into it, he corrects himself.' Adorable: Roadrunner appears in this photo shoot showing just how resilient he is after the attack . Model: The photographs were shot by Kaye Ness Photography and show the dog in a variety of poses -including relaxing on a red velvet sofa . Cuddles: Tori Fugate, manager of marketing for The KC Pet Project wraps her arms around Roadrunner . The Tibetan spaniel has even managed to develop a range of new skills to cope with being blind. Fugate said that he can quickly identify where he is and gets around with ease. She describes how he is able to walk into their office unaided and can suss out exactly where things are located. The KC Pet Project reveals that donations have covered most of Roadrunner's medical expenses which have included multiple surgeries. Meanwhile, his former owner is currently in the Jackson County jail awaiting trial. She has been charged with animal abuse, a felony, and animal abandonment, a misdemeanor. She is being held on a $10,000 bond. Playtime: Roadrunner, seen here, plays with a toy as he continues to stage a recovery . Adoption: Little Roadrunner, seen here surrounded by a bunch of his furry friends in a suitcase, will continue to live in a foster home, until he can find a new owner . Healed: The amazing dog has already had a great deal of interest from potential owners from all over the U.S. As for little Roadrunner, he will continue to live in a foster home, until he can find a new owner. There has already been a great deal of interest in him from all over the United States. He has even appeared in his very own photo shoot with Kaye Ness Photography showing off a variety of poses on a red velvet sofa, in a tie and with a toy bone. 'We are hoping to make an announcement soon about his future and what is going to happen,' Fugate said. 'He has been medically cleared now.' For more information about The KC Pet Project, click here or call 816-513-9821. | WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT .
Roadrunner, the dog needed to have his eyes removed because of abuse .
The 12-pound dog was thrown from the balcony of an apartment building .
Surgeons had to remove his damaged eyes and repair his broken pelvis .
But the good news is that he is expected to make a good recovery . |
216,788 | a4a57cfb3eb93a5bb9f5b1332e76790daa8a6788 | Police in Thailand say an American tried to ship infant body parts to the United States, but the delivery was stopped after a call from the shipping company. The bizarre discovery is not the first time infant remains have been found in Thailand. In 2010, more than 2,000 illegally aborted fetuses were recovered at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Thai police say they received a phone call from a DHL shipping office in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on Saturday. Police say workers there discovered the body parts inside parcel boxes as they were scanning shipments for delivery. The boxes contained an infant skull, internal organs and a few pieces of human skin, police say. Police dispatched a forensics team to retrieve the three boxes, which contained the human parts sealed in plastic bags and preserved in formaldehyde. Police Col. Adisorn Semsawat, chief of Bang Pongpang police station, said, "We have talked with an American who was trying to send the parcels to the USA, but we could not press any charges on him and we are not quite sure which laws we can apply to him." Police went on to say that the unidentified American told them that he found the infant body parts at a night flea market and that he had paid about $100 for them, though he could not remember where the market is located. Police say they are trying to find the seller. Thai police say they've been in touch with the U. S. Embassy and that the tourist's name has not been revealed because he hasn't committed any crimes or been formally charged. Infant body parts can be bought on the Thai black market. Some Thais practice black magic and believe that supernatural power comes from infant body parts, if the rites are performed by monks or sorcerers. They believe that having the items provide protection and business success and can ward off bad luck. Police say in 2010, the smell of decay led investigators to the Phai-nguern Chotinaram temple in central Bangkok, where they discovered more than 2,000 illegally aborted fetuses. Three people were arrested, including two morticians who were charged with hiding bodies. | DHL shipping office in Bangkok called police when body parts found in boxes to be sent to U.S.
Packages included an infant skull, internal organs, preserved in formaldehyde, police say .
Police have talked to American who packed the shipment, but he's not charged with a crime .
Infant body parts are used in some magic rituals in Thailand and are sold on black market . |
259,794 | dc5c321e6335f35fb6171ddc442e4ae6411a80ec | By . Nina Golgowski . A camera lost nearly six years ago in the churning waves of Maui has resurfaced more than 5,200 miles away in Taiwan with mysterious photos of its believed owner discovered fully intact inside. The only thing left to find now is the mystery owner whose colorful photos of blue lagoons, mountains, flowers and fish, were up until now, most likely never seen before. Bruce Chen, General Manager of the China Airlines Honolulu Branch, has set out to do just that and potentially provide a complimentary flight for the owner out to Taiwan. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Memories: An underwater camera believed to have drifted away from its owner in August of 2007 during a snorkeling trip in Hawaii has reappeared with all of it photos seen intact, in Taiwan . Tiny traveler: The small Canon camera is seen still with a few barnacles on its casing after recently found on a beach along Taiwan's east coast . He says it was an employee of his walking on a beach in Taiwan recently who found 'something strange' resting in the sand. There, beneath a light covering of crusty barnacles and sand, was a beat up Canon camera with its memory card surprisingly neatly preserved inside. 'We checked the memory card and found lots of pictures,' Mr Chen told Hawaii News Now. He believes they are the personal photographs taken during a diving trip in Kannapali in August of 2007 where the camera's believed to have first drifted away. Details: After reviewing the photos, that were remarkably perfectly preserved inside, they're believed to have come from a diving trip in Kannapali . Mystery owner: Bruce Chen, General Manager of the China Airlines Honolulu Branch whose employee found the camera, believes its owner is the blonde woman seen on the right . Somehow, more than five and a half years . later, it traveled directly west through the North Pacific Ocean until . hitting Taiwan's east coast. 'I don't know how this camera goes to Taiwan but I believe it's God's arrangement,' Mr Chen said. So moved by the discovery Mr Chen is on a passionate mission to find its rightful owners and return their lost memories. The problem is, he says: 'I am not sure if this lady is living in Hawaii or Mainland U.S. I don't know.' Travels: The camera's path it seen after heading more than 5,200 miles west of Maui in the North Pacific Ocean in 2007 . Free trip: Whomever the owner is, China Airlines is offering him or her a free ticket to come collect the camera in Taiwan . He's narrowed it down to a single young blond woman seen in the photos as the possible owner. If he can find her, or whomever is the rightful owner, China Airlines is offering a free ticket for them to come and collect the camera in Taiwan. He hopes stories like this one will help get the message out. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: . Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL . | Search underway to find owner and fly her or him out on a complimentary flight to Taiwan to reclaim the camera . |
156,382 | 562c6233ae409f6e0ba7bd07809ad57ff4a2c4d9 | By . Amanda Williams . PUBLISHED: . 14:40 EST, 20 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:17 EST, 21 March 2013 . Zookeepers have finally been able to get close enough to a protective mother gorilla to determine the sex of her baby. And after two months Twycross Zoo, Warwickshire, is finally able to . announce it is a bouncing baby boy. Mother, Ozala, gave birth to the critically endangered western . lowland gorilla, on January 3, 2013, at 9.15am following a short and stress-free labour. But staff at the zoo soon found they were unable to get close enough to 16-stone Ozala to take a look at her baby. Scroll down for video . Zookeepers have finally been able to get close enough to a protective mother gorilla to determine the sex of her baby . And after two months Twycross Zoo, Warwickshire, are finally able to announce it is a bouncing baby boy . Ozala, gave birth to the critically endangered western lowland gorilla, on January 3 2013, at 9.15am following a short and stress-free labour . Yet, while initially some were lucky to catch a glimpse of the newborn, Ozala is now a very confident and relaxed mother, enabling staff to properly inspect the infant. Now, the only thing left to do is to decide on a name for the baby. The zoo is part of a successful primate breeding programme. The youngster, is the fourth offspring born to the 18-year-old female. At the time of the birth, Neil Dorman, curator of conservation programmes and planning at the zoo, said: 'Gorillas are very protective creatures, for the first few weeks, even months, the baby with stay very close to mum, she will carry it all the time. 'Even when it starts to become more independent, she won't let it venture very far from her. 'Because she is holding it so close it is very difficult to tell the sex, early indications are it is a boy, but we can't be certain. 'She's being very attentive towards it, cleaning it, feeding it, all the signs are good at this stage.' Gorillas have been at Twycross Zoo, which is part of the European breeding programme for critically endangered primates, since the 1960s and they have been successfully breeding the animals since 1985. After the baby gorilla was born, staff at the zoo soon found were unable to get close enough to 16-stone Ozala to take a look at him . In 2009 a new 20-year-old male, a dominant silverback named Oumbie, was introduced to Twycross' gorilla 'troop,' which also includes Ozala's mother, Biddy, 38, and her half-sister, Asante, 27. By that time Ozala had already had two babies - her first born, Matadi, arrived in March 2003 and is now cared for at Paignton Zoo, Devon. Unfortunately, her second baby, a female named Ndoki, who was born in May 2007, died aged just three months. However, following the arrival of Oumbie, Ozala fell pregnant again and a male Okanda was born last April. Although Okanda suffered some problems around six months old, when the zoo's vet Sarah Chapman was forced to care for him at home for a spell because he wasn't getting enough nutrients from his mother, he survived and is currently living at Stuttgart Zoo, Germany. Oumbie is also the father of the new baby . A 60 per cent decline in numbers in the last 25 years has moved the central African ape's status from 'endangered' to 'critically endangered'. Forest clearance, which has allowed hunters into previously inaccessible areas, combined with the deadly Ebola virus, has been blamed for wiping out a third of all western lowland gorillas in protected areas in just 15 years. | Twycross Zoo, Warwickshire, is finally able to .
announce sex of baby gorilla .
Mother, Ozala, gave birth on January 3 2013, at 9.15am after short labour .
But zookeepers were unable to get close to the protective 16 stone mother . |
155,635 | 552d57ba8f7efbd2c44bbddd4f625dc1b8108a9f | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:52 EST, 24 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 00:06 EST, 26 August 2012 . Apple has been awarded more than $1 billion in damages as it prevailed in its patent-infringement case against Samsung. The jury decided that the majority of Samsung smartphones and tablets violate patents held by Apple including features such as the zoom in and out innovation achieved by tapping the screen. The jury also decided that Samsung's infringement was intentional and said the firm's counter-suit for $399 million against Apple was without merit. Kevin Johnson, (right), and Victoria Maroulis, (left), attorneys for Samsung, leave the US Courthouse and Federal building after a jury reached a decision in the Apple Samsung trial on Friday, Aug 24, 2012 in San Jose, California . The iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II: Apple claims Samsung ripped off their phone with the Galaxy . Outside counsel Jason Bartlett for Apple Inc. is surrounded by reporters after jurors found Samsung Electronics infringed on all but one of seven patents at issue in the patent case with Apple Inc. Samsung has said it will appeal against the ruling. 'We will move immediately to file post-verdict motions to . overturn this decision in this court and if we are not successful, we . will appeal this decision to the Court of Appeals,' a statement from . Samsung said. The verdict in the complex case came after the nine-member jury began deliberations on Wednesday. The software giant are set to call for a sales injunction at a hearing next month, demanding Samsung products are pulled from the U.S. market. The landmark legal case could also affect other territories such as the UK, as Apple could call for import bans on its rivals products. Apple . Corp. filed its lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the . country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its . top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its . own lawsuit seeking $399 million. But the day belonged to Apple as the jury rejected all Samsung's claim . against Apple. The jury did reject some of Apple's claims against the . two dozen Samsung devices at issue, declining to award the $2.5 billion . Apple demanded. During closing arguments, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny claimed Samsung was having a 'crisis of design' after the 2007 launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device. Samsung's lawyers countered that it was simply and legally giving consumers what they want: Smart phones with big screens. They said Samsung didn't violate any of Apple's patents and further alleged innovations claimed by Apple were actually created by other companies. Reporters wait outside the United States Courthouse and Federal building after a jury reached a decision in the Apple Samsung trial on Friday . A Californian court has decided that Apple's iPad was copied by Samsung Electronics' Galaxy tablet 10.1 (right) and that the South Korean firm must pay over $1 billion in damages . Apple's legal team plans to formally demand Samsung pull its most popular . cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. They also can ask . the judge to triple the damages to $3 billion. U.S. District Judge Lucy . Koh will decide those issues along with Samsung's demand she overturn . the jury's verdict in several weeks. The outcome of the case is . likely to have ripple effects in the smartphone market. After seeing . Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on Android may . become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into . court. 'Some of these device makers might end up saying, 'We love . Android, but we really don't want to fight with Apple anymore,' said . Christopher Marlett, CEO of MDB Capital Group, an investment bank . specializing in intellectual property. 'I don't know if $1 billion is hugely significant to Apple or Samsung,' Marlett said. 'But there is a social cost here. As a company, you don't want to be known as someone who steals from someone else. I am sure Samsung wants to be known as an innovator, especially since a lot of Asian companies have become known for copying the designs of innovators.' Samsung conceded that Apple makes great products but said it doesn't have a monopoly on the design of rectangle phones with rounded corners that it claimed it created. The trial came after each side filed a blizzard of legal motions and refused advisories by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to settle the dispute out of court. Samsung has sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed uses its technology. McElhinny said those devices accounted for $8.16 billion in sales since June 2010. Apple and Samsung combined account for more than half of global smartphone sales. As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. From the beginning, legal experts and Wall Street analysts viewed Samsung as the underdog in the case. Apple's headquarters is a mere 10 miles from the courthouse, and jurors were picked from the heart of Silicon Valley where Apple's late founder Steve Jobs is a revered technological pioneer. While the legal and technological issues were complex, patent expert Alexander I. Poltorak previously said the case would likely boil down to whether jurors believe Samsung's products look and feel almost identical to Apple's iPhone and iPad. Vengeance: Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up an . Apple iPhone: He vowed to fight to the bitter end against those who . stole its design . Apple CEO Tim Cook, (left) seen with Steve Jobs in 2010, took over Apple after Mr Jobs' death in October of 2011 . To overcome that challenge at trial, Samsung's lawyers argued that many of Apple's claims of innovation were either obvious concepts or ideas stolen from Sony Corp. and others. Experts called that line of argument a high-risk strategy because of Apple's reputation as an innovator. Apple's lawyers argued there is almost no difference between Samsung products and those of Apple, and presented internal Samsung documents they said showed it copied Apple designs. Samsung lawyers insisted that several other companies and inventors had previously developed much of the Apple technology at issue. Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has . overtaken as the leading smartphone maker. Samsung's Galaxy line of . phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has . given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers. Google . entered the smartphone market while its then-CEO Eric Schmidt was on . Apple's board, infuriating Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who considered . Android to be a blatant rip off of the iPhone's innovations. After . shoving Schmidt off Apple's board, Jobs vowed that Apple would resort . to 'thermonuclear war' to destroy Android and its allies. If . Android lose any ground in the mobile computing market, that would hurt . Google, too. That's because Google relies on Android to drive mobile . traffic to its search engine and services to sell more advertising. The . Apple-Samsung trial came after each side filed a blizzard of legal . motions and refused advisories by the judge to settle the dispute out of . court. Deliberations by the jury of seven men and two women began . Wednesday. Jurors left the courthouse without addressing the scrum . of international media who camped out at the San Jose courthouse for a . month. They notified the judge at about 2:30 p.m. that they had . arrived at a verdict after deliberating two-and-a-half days. Many . expected deliberations to last longer because of the complexity of the . case. Jurors filed into the courtroom silently Friday, the . youngest juror who favored flip flops, shorts and playing videogames was . wearing a Beatles sweatshirt and handed over the 20-page verdict form . with little fanfare. Jason Bartlett, outside counsel attorney for Apple, center, leaves the United States Courthouse and Federal building after a jury reached a decision in the Apple Samsung trial on Friday . Head-to-head: Samsung and Apple have closed . their battle on patent infringement with Apple claiming Samsung copied . their iPhone's design (right) for theirs (left) The U.S. trial is just the latest skirmish between the two tech giants over product designs. Previous legal battles were fought in Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany. The U.S. case is one of some 50 lawsuits among myriad telecommunications companies jockeying for position in the burgeoning $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets. And in what could be a foreshadowing of the U.S. verdict a court in South Korea ruled Apple and Samsung have both infringed each other's patents on mobile devices . The Seoul Central District Court . decided Samsung did not copy the look and feel of the iPhone, and that . Apple infringed on Samsung's wireless technology. Legal battle: In this drawing from inside the San Jose court room earlier this month, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller addresses a judge during the California trial . Comparisons between the Samsung Tablet and Apple's iPad are seen in this image presented at the patents trial in San Jose, California . In . a split decision on the case, however, the panel of judges also said . Samsung violated Apple's rights to the bounce-back feature when . scrolling on touch screens. The . ruling affects only the South Korean market, and is part of a larger, . epic struggle over patents and innovation unfolding in nine countries. The biggest stakes are in the U.S., where Apple is suing Samsung for . $2.5billion (£1.6billion) over allegations it has created illegal . knockoffs of iPhones and iPads. The Seoul ruling was a rare victory . for Samsung in its arguments that Apple has infringed on its wireless . technology patents, which previously have been shot down by courts in . Europe. 'This is basically Samsung's victory on its home territory,' patent attorney Jeong Woo-sung told The Associated Press. 'Out of nine countries, Samsung got the ruling that it wanted for the first time in South Korea.' | Californian jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion .
Apple plan to formally demand Samsung pull its most popular .
cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market .
They can also ask .
the judge to triple the damages to $3 billion .
Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken them as the leading smartphone maker .
Samsung sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed .
uses its technology .
After seeing Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on .
Android may become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting .
dragged into court .
Apple could also call for import ban on rival's products in other territories .
Samsung plan to appeal . |
1,068 | 0306f56e051310df778f13221b6fb0ad98c5da11 | The great British public has voted Hull the the least romantic destination in the UK, while the capital city takes the number one spot as the most romantic destination. Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of the nation chose London as the top location to take a loved one this year, ahead of the Lake District which slipped to second place with 15 per cent of the vote. Taking the crown for most romantic destination, London, beat last year's reigning champion, the Lake District, and other popular locations including Cornwall, the Cotswolds and Edinburgh which also featured in the top 10. London 1, Hull nil: Hull has been voted the UK's least romantic place in a new survey by Hotels.com . The annual Destination Romance Report from Hotels.com reveals that while London takes the top spot as most romantic UK city, it also comes in third place in the 'least romantic' list. Both the Scottish and Welsh capitals also featured in the top 10 with Edinburgh in fourth place and Cardiff in ninth place. At the other end of the scale Hull was voted by a fifth (19 per cent) of Brits to be the least romantic destination in 2015, rising three spaces from its third position in last year's report and knocking last year's champion, Slough - which no longer features in this year's list at all - from the top spot. I heart St James' Park: London is given the thumbs up as the top place to spend time with loved ones . Second placed: Traditional favourite the Lake District is knocked off the top spot by London this year . Birmingham came in second for the second year in a row with 11 per cent of the vote, while both London and the ballroom capital Blackpool came in at joint third place. It seems the capital divides opinion, with 18 per cent declaring it the most romantic destination, while 7 per cent send it into the list of the least romantic hotspots. Other new entries in this year's least romantic report included Leicester, Glasgow and Coventry who all featured in fifth place with 4 per cent of the nation's vote. Birmingham is voted the second least romantic place - again - by those who took part in the annual study . 1 London 18% . 2 Lake District 15% . 3 Cornwall 7% . 4= Cotswolds 6% . 4= Edinburgh 6% . 6 Stratford-Upon-Avon 5% . 7= York (new entry) 4% . 7= Devon (new entry) 3% . 9= Bristol (new entry) 2% . 9= Cardiff (new entry) 2% . 1 Hull 19% . 2 Birmingham 11% . 3= London 7% . 3= Blackpool 7% . 5= Leicester (new entry) 4% . 5= Glasgow (new entry) 4% . 5= Coventry (new entry) 4% . 8= Swansea (new entry) 3% . 8= Liverpool (new entry) 3% . 8= Sheffield (new entry) 3% . 'With numerous new cities now featuring in both our lists, it is clear that those who previously held the top spot are working hard to prove they can be romantic too,' said Caroline Annand of Hotels.com. 'Last year's number one least romantic city, Slough, has been able to avoid the top ten list altogether this year - other locations need to show that romance can be found in the most unlikely of places as well.' | Almost a fifth of those who voted picked Hull as least romantic place .
Birmingham was second placed - again on the least romantic list .
London beat The Lake District to be top placed for lovers . |
245,738 | ca11546d7e6281f24680b78642f54bd920bc9ece | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Roger Clemens said Wednesday he received only vitamin shots from Brian McNamee, but the ex-trainer insisted before a House panel that every injection contained steroids or other performance enhancers. Clemens sat mere feet from his chief accuser as the two men, both under oath, offered lawmakers starkly conflicting accounts about the injections McNamee administered years ago. The committee's chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, said, "Someone isn't telling the truth." "If Mr. McNamee is lying, then he has acted inexcusably and he has made Mr. Clemens an innocent victim," Waxman said . "If Mr. Clemens isn't telling the truth, then he has acted shamefully and he has smeared Mr. McNamee. I don't think there is anything in between." Clemens told reporters afterward that he was "very thankful and very grateful" for the chance to answer the allegations. In a nearly direct exchange with McNamee, Clemens told the House panel that McNamee injected him with vitamin B-12 on three occasions, but never with steroids or other illegal substances. McNamee -- who served as Clemens' trainer until 2007 -- countered that he injected Clemens with only testosterone, the steroid Winstrol or human growth hormone. "I've never given Roger B-12," McNamee told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Clemens' testimony to the panel examining performance-enhancing drug use in America's pastime also failed to jibe with an affidavit provided by fellow New York Yankees ace Andy Pettitte, who has told the committee that in 1999 or 2000 Clemens "told me he had taken HGH." Saying Pettitte was and will remain a close friend, Clemens said he believes Pettitte made a mistake. "I believe Andy has misheard, Mr. Congressman, on his comment about myself using HGH, which never happened," Clemens said. Insisting he's never taken "shortcuts," a clearly miffed Clemens opened Wednesday's testimony saying he resented accusations that have forever tainted his legacy, which includes a record seven Cy Young Awards. "No matter what we discuss here today, I am never going to have my name restored, but I've got to try and set the record straight," Clemens said. McNamee flatly challenged Clemens' remarks, saying, "I injected those drugs into the body of Roger Clemens at his direction. Unfortunately, Roger has denied this and has led a full-court attack on my credibility." Watch McNamee apologize for "tainting our national pastime" » . McNamee defended his credibility and told lawmakers he was promised no special treatment "for fingering star players." "I have no reason to lie, and every reason not to. If I do lie I will be prosecuted," he said. "All that I was ever told was to tell the truth to the best of my ability, and that is what I have done. I told the investigators that I injected three people, two of whom, I believe, confirm my account. The third is sitting at this table." McNamee said he believes he stopped giving baseball players performance-enhancing substances in 2002. He called steroid usage "pretty prevalent" among players at the time. Watch Clemens explain how he treated McNamee » . Grilled on why he provided players with such substances, McNamee replied, "I just accepted it as the norm, and it was part of the culture in baseball." Missing from Wednesday's hearing was Pettitte. He had been named along with Clemens and other players in ex-Sen. George Mitchell's scathing report alleging widespread steroid use in baseball. Pettitte previously acknowledged using human growth hormone in 2002. The House panel revealed Wednesday that Pettitte admitted using it again in 2004 shortly before having season-ending elbow surgery. Watch Clemens say Pettitte "misheard" a remark several years ago » . Pettitte initially withheld details of the second incident because he got the HGH from his father, who had obtained it to help overcome health problems, Pettitte's attorneys said. Pettitte "sought to shield him from publicity," read a statement. Pettitte, who has played with Clemens for the Yankees or Houston Astros since 1999, was excused by the committee Tuesday, along with former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch. McNamee told the panel he injected both men with performance-enhancing substances. See the key players in the case » . "Mr. Knoblauch and Mr. Pettitte have answered all the committee's questions and their testimony at the hearing is not needed," read a statement from the panel. Waxman said Pettitte's and Knoblauch's testimony backed up McNamee's account. Read Sports Illustrated analysis of the latest developments . Clemens' attorneys have steadfastly denied their client used performance-enhancing substances. Clemens was careful in his remarks to attack McNamee's credibility, rather than the Mitchell report's integrity. "If I am guilty of anything, it is of being too trusting of everyone, wanting to see the best in everyone and being too nice to everyone," Clemens said. Clemens' legal team has filed a lawsuit against McNamee, saying his allegations "fueled rampant speculation and irreparably tainted the reputation of one of baseball's hardest working and most talented pitchers." McNamee's attorneys last week, however, showed reporters photos of needles and gauze that McNamee said were used to inject Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone. They said they turned the items over to federal investigators in January. McNamee, a former New York City police officer, kept the items because he was nervous that Clemens' drug use would become public and Clemens would turn against him, said Richard Emery, who is representing the former trainer. Rusty Hardin, Clemens' lawyer, dismissed the purported evidence as "the desperate Hail Mary of a man who wants to ruin Roger." Hardin would not indicate whether Clemens would voluntarily provide a DNA sample but said, "Any time any legitimate law enforcement agency asks a reasonable inquiry of us, we'll be glad to respond." Waxman said Wednesday that McNamee has acknowledged he was not forthcoming with investigators in past statements. Rep. Dan Burton questioned why the panel should believe McNamee when he has lied repeatedly to investigators and the media. McNamee acknowledged lying when he previously said he'd never had dealings with steroids and that Clemens and Pettitte had never asked for any. "You're here under oath, and yet we have lie after lie after lie," Burton alleged. McNamee did not get a chance to respond. McNamee previously told the panel he withheld information about Clemens because he was "trying not to hurt the guy," Waxman said. Watch McNamee tell the panel, "I did tell the truth" » . The chairman also said that Clemens' past remarks included "conflicts and inconsistencies" on whether he had discussions about human growth hormone with McNamee. Clemens met individually Thursday with House lawmakers, including Waxman. Wednesday's hearing comes a day after the House committee took testimony from four doctors who testified on "the myths and facts about performance-enhancing substances such as human growth hormone, B-12 and other substances." E-mail to a friend . | Congressman blasts ex-trainer Brian McNamee for telling "lie after lie after lie"
Disputing Clemens' account, ex-trainer says, "I have never given Roger B-12"
McNamee further says that drugs "were part of the culture in baseball"
McNamee says he injected Clemens "at his direction"; Clemens denies claim . |
124,278 | 2ca83a8010293135268e2438ea4fea84ba533339 | Newsreader: Fiona Bruce, 48, said she dyes her hair a glossy brown because she wants to stave off any question of her being too old for television . You need a warm voice, an air of calm authority and a way with words to read the news. According to Fiona Bruce, absolutely no hint of grey in your hair is also an advantage. The 48-year-old BBC1 newsreader has explained that she dyes her hair a glossy brown because she wants to stave off any question of her being too old for television. ‘Age is definitely an issue for women in TV,’ she said. ‘So far, it hasn’t been for me, but I know I need to make the best of myself. ‘For instance, I have a few grey hairs. I dye them. I don’t let my grey hair show when I’m reading the news.’ As well as fronting BBC news programmes, Miss Bruce hosts Antiques Roadshow and arts programme Fake or Fortune?. Despite being one of the Corporation’s most recognisable faces, she appears far from certain about her long-term career. ‘I’m 48 years old and I feel very fortunate to be offered such amazing jobs,’ she told the October issue of Reader’s Digest. ‘I know it’s not always going to be like this. There comes a point - especially if you’re a woman - when your career just falls off a cliff. ‘I’m not being self-pitying. That’s just the way it is.’ Miss Bruce has already contemplated life after the BBC, saying she dreams of travelling, enjoying more time with her family or even becoming a magistrate one day. She is married to advertising executive Nigel Sharrocks, and they have two children Sam, 14, and Mia, ten. On the box: Miss Bruce has already contemplated life after the BBC, saying she dreams of travelling or enjoying more time with her family . Asked how she would approach her life . post-TV she replied: ‘I’m sure there’ll be a period of adjustment. For a . start, I won’t be looking as glam as I do today. ‘I’ll . be slobbing around in a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt, hair all over . the place. “Blimey, that Fiona Bruce has let herself go a bit!” ‘Seriously, though, there are a million and one things I’d love to get stuck into. 'Age is definitely an issue for women in TV. So far, it hasn’t been for me, but I know I need to make the best of myself. For instance, I have a few grey hairs. I dye them. I don’t let my grey hair show when I’m reading the news' Fiona Bruce . ‘Travel, finally get to spend some time with the family. And I’d love to become a magistrate. ‘Then again, maybe I’ll just take off on my horse. ‘Yeah, that’s where you’ll find me. Trekking across the Andes.’ Despite her concern for her appearance, Miss Bruce said she would never have cosmetic surgery. ‘My husband would never forgive me,’ she said. ‘When the person you love feels that way, it’s a bit of a non-starter.’ It’s not the first time she has spoken of the pressures on women in TV. In 2009 she declared they had to devote more time to their appearance than male colleagues. ‘You can’t look like the back end of a bus, and you do have to scrub up quite well,’ she said at the time. ‘But do you have to be a beauty? No. Do you have to pay more attention to your appearance than the blokes do? Yes. Twas ever thus, and I can’t see it changing in my lifetime.’ | Fiona Bruce hosts BBC News and Antiques Roadshow .
She said age hasn't been an issue for her on TV 'so far'
Added she could become magistrate after leaving BBC . |
139,527 | 406d20992a53a8947d04486678d3ff13d1ea2ec1 | By . Abul Taher . It was supposed to be a high-profile, cheerful celebration of Countryfile’s best-known star. But last week’s programme to mark John Craven’s 25 years with the BBC’s rural affairs series has degenerated into a bitter row – after former presenter Miriam O’Reilly accused the Corporation of ‘erasing’ her from the show’s history. Ms O’Reilly co-hosted Countryfile with Mr Craven for eight years from 2001. But the anniversary programme did not include one shot or mention of her, despite showing dozens of clips from Mr Craven’s years on the series. Former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly, who says she was deliberately left out of a tribute to fellow presenter John Craven . She believes that a deliberate decision to exclude her was taken because BBC bosses have still not forgiven her for launching a landmark age-discrimination case against the Corporation after she was axed from Countryfile in 2009. Ms O’Reilly, now 57, and three fellow female presenters in their 40s and 50s – Juliet Morris, Charlotte Smith and Michaela Strachan – were dropped ahead of the programme leaving its Sunday morning slot for a prime time evening slot. While the three other presenters went quietly, Ms O’Reilly took the BBC to an employment tribunal and won a case for age discrimination. She is believed to have been awarded between £100,000 and £250,000. ‘I am not angry, as I am past that now. But I am disappointed,’ she said after watching the anniversary Countryfile. ‘I feel I’ve been erased from the show’s history. It was the BBC’s way of wiping out my contribution because I challenged them at this tribunal. ‘I appreciate the show was marking John’s 25th anniversary at Countryfile, and he was editing it, but I presented the show with him for eight years and they’ve left me completely out.’ She also pointed out that she worked for the BBC for 25 years and has won a number of prestigious awards. In last Sunday’s show, the three other female presenters who were axed with Ms O’Reilly also did not get a mention. But the younger presenter hired to replace them in 2009, Julia Bradbury, now 44, was shown twice. Ms O’Reilly said she had not intended to watch the anniversary Countryfile, but fans who follow her on Twitter alerted her to the snub. Countryfile star John Craven, far right, who co-hosted the BBC programme with Ms O'Reilly for eight years from 2001 . One fan, known as ‘Craig O’, tweeted: ‘It’s not right that you seem to have been erased from its history but BBC are good at not mentioning certain things!’ Another wrote: ‘Catching up with John Craven’s 25yr retrospective on #Countryfile. Strangely, no Miriam O’Reilly to be seen... It was appalling.’ Speaking from her home in Aberdovey, Wales, Ms O’Reilly said she had a ‘professional and friendly’ relationship with Mr Craven, 73, and does not believe he was responsible for editing her out of the show. She believes that it was the work of BBC executives who have ‘blacklisted’ her. ‘I feel they just have not accepted the findings of the tribunal, where judges said that I was discriminated against because of my age,’ she said. ‘Publicly they said they accepted its findings, but privately they did not. ‘This is why I have been left out. It’s childish and mean, but that’s how they are.’ After her tribunal victory, Ms O’Reilly was given a three- year contract to work across the BBC. But she terminated her deal two years early after receiving very little work. Last night the BBC denied that Ms O’Reilly was blacklisted. A spokesman said: ‘Sunday’s Countryfile was a celebratory edition for long-standing presenter John Craven and included some of his most memorable moments from his 25 years on the show. ‘The programme was not intended as a look back at the entire history of Countryfile but purely to mark John’s anniversary and his contributions.’ Mr Craven was not available for comment. | Presenter was left out of special programme to honour John Craven .
Co-hosted Countryfile with him for eight years of his 25 years from 2001 .
Accused BBC of 'erasing' her from show's history as she was not mentioned .
Says it was because she launched an age discrimination case against corporation . |
257,963 | d9da1159dd7609d70e5c6230e0a2fcb45e99b111 | Six-month-old twin girls who were born joined at the abdomen will undergo tissue expansion this month as doctors begin the lengthy process of separating them. Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata weighed just 3lbs 7oz each when they were delivered by Cesarean section at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston at 31 weeks on April 11. The adorable sisters, who remain in the hospital's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, share a liver, diaphragm, pelvis, intestines and heart lining. Now, they are preparing to undergo six-to-eight weeks of tissue expansion to stretch skin that will be used to cover patches of their bodies when they are separated in December. Adorable: Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, pictured with their mother Elysse, weighed just 3lbs 7oz each when they were delivered by Cesarean section at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston on April 11 . Conjoined twins: The adorable sisters, who remain in the hospital's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, are joined at the abdomen. They share a liver, diaphragm, pelvis, intestines and the lining of the heart . Today, Knatalye and Adeline's mother, Elysse, who spends at least seven hours at the hospital every day, said she felt 'sick' with worry about the long and arduous procedure. 'When I think about December I get that sick feeling in my stomach. I want to know how much pain they are going to feel after. What is it going to be like for them?' she told Reuters. 'They are where they should be developmentally. They reach up for toys, they reach out for us when we get close and talk to them.' During the surgery in December, two shifts of teams of pediatric, urological, plastic, orthopedic, cardiac and gynecological surgeons will work to separate the girls. Cared for: The girls (pictured in hospital with their mother) will now undergo six-to-eight weeks of tissue expansion to stretch skin that will be used to cover patches of their bodies when they are separated . Twins: Today, Knatalye and Adeline's mother, Elysse, who spends at least seven hours at the hospital every day, said she felt 'sick' with worry about the long and arduous separation procedure in December . Dr Darrel Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of the hospital's Fetal Center, said the separation team will start and the reconstruction team will complete the process. He added: 'The [girls'] intestines appear to be intermingled but there appears to be enough intestines for both children.' After the separation, the girls will undergo rehabilitation to learn how to balance, crawl and walk. In 1992, surgeons at Texas Children's Hospital successfully separated one-year-old twins Tiesha and Iesha Turner, who shared a sternum, liver, entwined intestines and fused organs. Hospital: Dr Darrel Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of Texas Children's Hospital's (pictured) Fetal Center, said there 'appears to be enough intestines for both children' to have following the separation . Together: After the procedure, the girls will undergo rehabilitation to learn how to balance, crawl and walk . Conjoined twins occur once every 200,000 births. Around 40 to 60 per cent arrive stillborn, while 35 per cent live only one day, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Mortality rates for twins who do live and then undergo separation vary, depending on their type of connection and the organs they share, it said. The Mata family's life was turned upside down in January when a routine ultrasound revealed that Mrs Mata was carrying conjoined twins. The family was referred to the hospital's Fetal Center. The expectant mother, her husband John and their five-year-old son Azariah relocated from Lubbock to Houston, where the girls were born. Loving family: Mrs Mata, pictured with her husband John and their five-year-old son Azariah, spends at least seven hours at the hospital every day leaving only when it is time to pick up her son from school . On a YouCaring page, Mrs Mata said the twin's 20 per cent chance of survival at birth inspired their middle names, Faith and Hope. While the mother spends most of her daily life at the hospital, leaving only when it is time to pick up her son from school, full-time worker Mr Mata spends every weekend with his daughters. Mr Cass said he expects both Knatalye and Adelie to be able to experience independent, happy lives following the surgery. But he added: 'It is likely further reconstructive surgeries may be needed in the future. Perhaps the biggest challenges may be orthopedic and in helping them walk and have normal gait.' | Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, aged six months, born April 11 .
They share liver, diaphragm, pelvis, intestines and lining of the heart .
This month, they will begin tissue expansion to stretch areas of skin .
Skin will be used to cover patches of twins' bodies during separation .
Girls are currently living at Texas Children's Hospital's neonatal unit .
They are scheduled to undergo life-changing separation in December . |
123,530 | 2baecddfff6884172e168e1c1a467ac9492a0b01 | If the chilly winter weather is getting you down, there's nothing like a little summer dreaming to brighten up the dark damp days. Gazing at this collection of the world's most extraordinary pools, put together by Home Life, may help to warm you up and give some inspiration to start planning summer holidays abroad. Bondi's Icebergs pool is the only Australian location to appear in the list, while Chile's San Alfonso Del Mar is the largest pool in the world capable of holding 250 million litres of water. The luxurious lengthy pool located atop the Marine Bay Sands in Singapore is in the heart of the CBD and looks over the city skyline, while the pool at Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Japan is a makeshift beach with artificial waves and sand. At the Holiday Inn in Shanghai the more daring divers can plunge into a glass-bottomed pool that overhangs the 24th floor of the resort, and in Greece The Perivolas Resort brags a private swimming pool carved into the rock face of the island. From India and Jordan to Thailand and Bali, these gems - some secluded and some not so secret - are dotted across resorts and holiday locations across the globe. Scroll down for video . Sydney makes its mark with the iconic Bondi Icebergs pool that has been a landmark for over 100 years . San Alfonso Del Mar, located on the coast of Chile, is the world's largest pool and holds 250 million litres of water . This luxurious aquatic experience at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore sits right in the heart of the bustling CBD with stunning views of the cityscape from the 57th floor . The pool at Phoenix Seagaia Resort, Japan features artificial waves and sand, a sky painted on the walls and the air temperature is kept at a summery 30 degrees. The roof can also close up so that visitors are not affected by outdoor weather . Not for the faint of heart, this glass bottom pool overhangs the 24th floor of the Holiday Inn located in the middle of Shanghai . The Perivolas resort in Greece is carved onto the rock face of this incredible island. The dreamy Perivolas Suite includes a private caved swimming pool which stretches out to the grand terrace and the magnificent panoramic sea view . It's more than just a quick dip in the pool at the The Oberoi in India, it is an experience like no other where you are able to swim while admiring the majestic Rajasthani Mewari moated palace . The Hanging Garden is far away from the notorious nightlife of Kuta, Bali. It is the hidden treasure of Ubud and faces an ancient Hindu temple while being surrounded by lush greenery . This extraordinary red pool is located on the eastern Thailand island of Koh Samui. It can be found at boutique hotel The Library and the vibrant colour comes from red tiles which line the pool . At the luxe Six Senses Spa in Jordan guests can swim under the natural hot spring cascading down the mountains that are right in in the middle of the desert . Surrounded by the Swiss Alps the pool at The Cambrian gives you a sense of peace and tranquility, and a welcome warm relief from the cold outside . | From the pool surrounding a moated Indian castle to another on the 24th floor of a modern hotel in Shanghai, these pools are some of world's most unique aquatic treasures .
Sydney's iconic Bondi Icebergs located by the seaside is the only Australian pool on the list .
The most unusual of the lot is the bright red pool at luxury resort The Library, located on Thailand's Koh Samui . |
153,008 | 51be77f59742b5b52e08b2f7d4929584227934b0 | London (CNN) -- European leaders recently thrashed out a deal aimed at ending months of uncertainty over the future of the euro and resolving an escalating debt crisis that has pushed several economies to the brink of collapse. The eurozone fiscal pact has to be ratified by 12 participating nations. The UK refused to sign up to the deal and now Ireland has called a referendum on the treaty -- a decision that could cause difficulties for the agreement. So what was originally agreed in the treaty negotiations? The "fiscal compact" outlines the closer integration of the national budgets of the 17 eurozone countries. A new legal framework and greater fiscal scrutiny will be imposed to avoid a repetition of the dubious financial practices that triggered the crisis. The treaty also agrees to strengthen mechanisms that guarantee short-term stability to euro economies in hot water. The main points are: . • The legal framework will see those signed up to the deal effectively hand more sovereign powers over to centralized European control. • Under the new deal, eurozone nations must be deliver "balanced" budgets, designed to ensure there is no repeat of the overspending and under taxation that left Greece in need of a bailout. All plans to issue national debt must be reported in advance. • The current European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the money-lending safety net created by the eurozone last year to combat the crisis, will be phased out in mid-2013. • The implementation of the eurozone's permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), brought forward to 2012, will run alongside the existing fund for about a year. • Voting rules in the European Stability Mechanism will be changed to allow emergency decisions to be passed with an 85% qualified majority -- an attempt to move away from the deadlock that has stymied earlier bailouts. Where will the money come from? Bailout money comes from selling bonds guaranteed by eurozone countries. The bonds are bought by investors --- which can include countries like Japan --- in return for interest. The cash raised is then lent to the eurozone countries in trouble. The EFSF was set up in a hurry after Greece's May 2010 bailout, and was only ever meant to be temporary. Its lending firepower has been boosted to €440 billion from an original €250 billion. The ESM will get €700 billion in funds paid in by eurozone countries relative to the size of their economies. That cash will likely come from national treasuries. That chunk of cash sitting as back-up means the ESM will be able to lend up to €500 billion when it is fully operational. The €200 billion earmarked for the IMF will come from Europe's national central banks. It will likely come from the banks' reserve funds, although the details are not yet agreed. What sanctions can be imposed on countries that breach the deal? The deal says there will be "automatic consequences" including possible sanctions if member states exceed a 3% deficit ceiling --- in other words, greatly spend beyond their means. There will be graduated financial sanctions for those countries which consistently breach the ceiling. What are the consequences for the financial markets? Global stocks were mixed after the deal was unveiled and analysts warn only time will tell if it can work. The plan could supply short term stability but previous experience on euro crisis measures shows relief can be brief. Elisabeth Afseth, of Evolution Securities, says its success may depend on whether markets believe Europe's politicians will stick to tighter financial supervision. Has everyone agreed to the deal? No. Talks have been fraught and the resulting deal threatens to become one of the most divisive issues the 27-nation European Union has ever faced. Some European Union nations have balked at ceding further powers to EU authorities and have threatened to walk away. Some say this will result in a two-tier European Union. So who is in and who is out? All 17 eurozone nations and six other EU states outside the euro area have signed up. Initially, four countries cast doubt on the deal, complaining that it sweeps away some of the away hard-fought foundations of the European Union. Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told CNN that he had no mandate for treaty change. But, alongside Hungary and the Czech Republic, he said his country would leave the door open. This leaves Britain, under Prime Minister David Cameron, alone among the 27 European Union nations to point-blank refuse to sign. Cameron said the treaty failed to safeguard Britain's voice in crucial policy decisions over the European single market and financial services sector. He said he had effectively vetoed an original deal, forcing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to forge ahead with a treaty that will be subservient to EU regulations. Ireland has decided to hold a referendum on the fiscal pact because under the Irish constitution the people have to vote to ratify any significant transfer of sovereignty to Europe. It is likely to take at least three months to organize the referendum. The Irish have twice rejected EU treaties, only to approve them in second referendums. Is this the beginning of the end for the European Union as we know it? The treaty has exposed deep divisions between European Union members -- chiefly Britain and the rest of the bloc. This sets the stage for a series of legal challenges as Britain strives to ensure the treaty does not result in a wholesale restructuring of the EU. With Britain forcing the treaty to operate outside EU mechanisms, there could be an appetite among the rest of Europe to cold shoulder the UK and concentrate resources within their new club. That said, Britain's prior refusal to join the euro and pervading "euro scepticism" could just mean the new treaty reinforces the status quo, albeit with frostier relations. So will this solve the crisis? The new treaty was not due to be finalized until March this year -- after which it will have to be ratified by all participating countries. The Irish vote will likely delay this process. Even aside from the potential spanners in the works presented by Britain, Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic, grim prospects for the euro and European Union still lurk on the horizon. Ideally, everyone will stick to the new rules, and those countries that require emergency bailouts will be granted them, allowing the European Union to slowly put its debt problems behind it. The danger is that with politically-unpopular austerity measures biting deep, the new stricter controls on government borrowing will become unworkable. This could lead to an evaporation of investor confidence, the collapse of debt-exposed banks, an emptying of government coffers, a nosedive by share markets, and bleak prospects for the euro. | "Fiscal compact" lays out tighter financial rules for eurozone countries .
Deal also strengthens mechanisms to safeguard financial stability and bailouts .
Britain has walked away from deal, raising prospect of EU in-fighting .
Ireland has decided to hold a referendum on the fiscal pact which could take months to organize . |
220,249 | a91406b90cdc4fd11db498503a412a4c9d5a2be2 | By . Daniel Bates . Last updated at 12:00 PM on 8th September 2011 . Rick Perry sealed his position as GOP front-runner last night after he eased through his first presidential TV debate with a straight-talking and confident performance. The Texas governor defied expectations he might falter on the national stage and batted off challenges from Mitt Romney on the economy, healthcare and social security. Pulling no punches he repeated his controversial claims that social security is a 'Ponzi scheme', revealed that he backed the opening of Guantanamo Bay and won a huge round of applause for his staunch support of the death penalty. Pulling no punches: Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick Perry speaks during a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Reagan Library on Wednesday . Clearly the focus of the debate he at one point admitted to feeling like a 'Pinata' because he came under so many attacks. But the big loser of the night was Michele Bachmann who faded as the debate went on and fared worse than even Newt Gingrich. Having lost half of her support in . recent weeks she now faces grave questions over whether she can mount a . serious challenge - making it more likely than ever the contest is a . two-horse race. The debate, the second in the race to . become the Republican presidential candidate, puts Perry in a strong . position but also gave voters the biggest glimpse of his outlook. He was combative and put forward the . most coherent philosophy of all the candidates - including refuting the . idea that mankind is behind climate change. He also draw a clear line between . himself and Romney on a range of issues and left the former . Massachusetts governor looking defensive at times. Coming up short: Representative Michele Bachmann (L) faded as the debate went on while Perry and Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R) sparred during the event . The audience at the Reagan library in Simi Valley, California did not have to wait long to see the pair clash. The sharpest divide was over social . security during which Perry said that it was a 'monstrous lie,' adding, 'It's a Ponzi scheme . to tell our kids that are 25 and 30-years-old today you're paying into . a programme that's going to be there. 'Anybody that's for the status quo with social security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids. 'I don't care what anyone says, we know that, the American people know that and those 25 and 30-year-old people know that.' Romney however said he would do the opposite and vowed to save social security. 'You say that by any measure social security is a failure,' he said with a passion which has so far been lacking in his campaign. 'You can't say that to tens of . millions of Americans who live on social security...our nominee has to . be somebody who isn't committed to abolishing social security but is . committed to saving social security.' But in his rebuttal Perry came back . and said: 'Maybe it's time to have some provocative language in this . country and say things like let's get America working again and do . whatever it takes to make that happen'. Republican presidential candidates, from left: Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman stand at their podiums to answer questions . The two men also disagreed over healthcare and spent the first seven minutes of the debate sniping about the economy. In an exchange which went back and . forth five times Romney made made a dig referring to Perry's links to . former Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore. But then Perry sniped: '(Former Massachusetts governor) Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt.' As the crowd cheered Romney replied: . 'As a matter of fact George Bush and his predecessor at a faster rate . than you did governor.' As the debate wore on the audience . warmed to Perry and even applauded when host Brian Ross read out the . fact that 234 people had been executed by the state of Texas. In a series of unapologetic answers he . laid out his philosophy on climate change – which he denied was . definitely linked to mankind – and foreign policy. In a clear reference to the Libyan . invasion he said that the U.S. should not invade another country unless . American interests were clearly at stake. His comments on the death penalty, however, were his most blunt. Taking a stand: Republican presidential hopeful and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (L) listens on stage and presidential hopeful and businessman Herman Cain (R) speaks during the debate . Outspoken: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich (L) won a huge cheer for a bitter attack on Barack Obama while Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman (R) listened during the debate . In the race: Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Representative Ron Paul speaks during the Republican Presidential Candidates debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday . He said: 'In the state of Texas, if . you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a . police officer, you're involved in another crime and you kill one of our . citizens you will face the ultimate justice and that is you will be . executed.' The focus on the two men left the rest . of the candidates looking like bystanders, although Gingrich was better . than the last debate and won a huge cheer for a bitter attack on Barack . Obama. The night's big casualty was Bachmann who looked tired and seemed to dry up as the debate went on. She only won a moderate round of applause for her comments on the economy and for opposing the invasion of Libya. Her support has crumbled in recent weeks from 16 per cent to eight per cent and she is now all but out of the race. Speaking after the debate Eugene . Robinson of the Washington Post said that Bachmann had 'dropped out of . the first tier into the second tier.' MSNBC political host Al Sharpton went further and said she had 'left the race tonight'. Republican presidential candidates, from left: Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman stand together before the debate . Turning to Perry he said that the Texan's performance had 'fed red meat to his base'. He added: 'I don't think Romney made any major mistakes. I was surprised he wasn't as rattled as he could have been'. Political commentator Ed Schultz said that Perry did what his supporters wanted him to do by 'not backing down'; . 'This guy is solid in his philosophy and that's what helps in the right wing of the party,' adding that . Bachmann was 'not as smooth' as she had been before. Larry Sabato of the Centre for . Politics at the University of Virginia pointed out that some of Perry's . views might cause him problems further down the line, notably his stance . on climate change. After the debate he tweeted: 'Perry has both won & lost debate. Republicans liked what he said & how he said it. 'But Social Security comments are BIG swing voter problem.' The other candidates in the debate were Texas Representative Ron Paul, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, former pizza magnate Herman Cain and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Social Security: 'It is monstrous lie, it's a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 and 30-years-old today you're paying into a programme that's going to be there. 'Anybody that's for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids. 'I don't care what anyone says, we know that, the American people know that and those 25 and 30-year-old people know that.'The death penalty: 'In the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved in another crime and you kill one of our citizens you will face the ultimate justice, and that is you will be executed. 'Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly in the vast majority of cases supportive of capital punishment. 'When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens, in the state of Texas... you will face the ultimate justice.'Climate change: 'I do agree that the science is not settled on this. 'The idea we would put Americans' economy in jeopardy based on scientific theory that is not settled yet to me is nonsense. 'Just because you have a group of scientists who stood up and said this is the fact... Galileo got outvoted for a spell. 'To put Americans' economic future in jeopardy, asking us to cut back in areas that would have monstrous economic impact on this country is not good economics and I would suggest is not necessarily good science. 'Find out what the science truly is before you start putting the American economy in jeopardy.'George W Bush and Guantanamo Bay: 'He maintained the chase and we took out a very bad man in the form of bin Laden. I tip my hat to him. 'He kept Gitmo open against the will of his base and I'm glad he did that. America's safer for it.'Foreign policy: 'I don't think America needs to be in the business of adventurism. 'Americans don't want to see their young men and women going into foreign countries without a clear reason that American interests are at stake. 'They want to see a clear exit strategy as well.'The economy: 'What Americans are looking for is somebody who can get this country working again. 'We created one million jobs in state of Texas at the same time America lost two and a half million. 'Americans are focused on the right issue and that is who on this stage can get America working?'The deficit: 'We have to cut the snake's head off. Until you get a balanced budget amendment then the American people can go to sleep at night with a little more comfort and know they're not going to be broke in the morning.' | Perry repeated controversial claims Social Security is a 'Ponzi scheme'
Romney vowed to save Social Security, sparred with Perry over economy .
Bachmann faded as debate went on, won moderate round of applause for comments on the economy and opposing the invasion of Libya . |
230,533 | b68a896642477adc61037e8f9a490fcb07b0f375 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:03 EST, 20 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 02:03 EST, 20 January 2014 . From Bar to kitchen: Judith King has given up her job as a barrister to run a B&B, saying it pays better . A barrister who said she could no longer make ends meet thanks to legal aid cuts has quit her career - to open a B&B. Judith King, 54, spent 10 years defending clients in Kent but said she was forced to rent a 'tiny house', drive a 'tiny, economical car' and rely on savings to pay basic household bills. The mother-of-two claims her new business, in Grade II listed Greco-revival style townhouse 280 miles away in the Yorkshire Dales is better-paid and she is happier than she has been for years. She said: 'The Government would like people to believe that all lawyers are fat cats - earning six figure sums. 'The truth is that many earn much less than that - some, like me, struggled to make ends meet. 'For me, defending and prosecuting the sort of cases I did and not to be able to afford a very modest lifestyle is ridiculous. 'At that time, I was renting a tiny house and running a tiny economical car yet I just couldn't earn enough to pay the basic household bills and I was subsidising everything with my savings.' The former nurse used her medical expertise to prosecute complex cases including one of child rape and another involving the torture of two children. After her first child was born, she completed a Masters degree and was called to the Bar in 2002 - but said she and her colleagues were hammered by successive cuts to legal aid. Barristers walked out of courts across the country earlier this month in the first ever criminal bar protest over justice secretary Chris Grayling's plans to make £220 million in cuts by 2019. Move: Judith King and her partner moved 280 miles from their home in Kent to Settle, North Yorkshire . Gown off, sleeves rolled up: Ms King trying her hand at DIY, left, and right with her partner Martin Perkins . So Ms King moved to Settle, North Yorkshire, with her partner Martin Perkins, who quit his medical sales job so he could help her convert their new home. 'I was used to opening a case in the crown court but this opening has made me very nervous,' she said. She added: 'Although it is strange no longer being in court, in reality I am now happier than I have been for many years. 'I have no regrets. And when I saw my former colleagues stood in protest outside the Crown Court it just reassured me that I had made the right choice. 'The level of financial and personal sacrifice it takes to get to the Bar is considerable. 'Over the last few years the demands have become higher and higher and the money lower and lower. Protest: Barristers walked out of the Old Bailey earlier this month to protest against planned cuts to legal aid . Lawyers say the cuts could lead to miscarriages of justice. Conservatives say the budget is too bloated . 'I was faced with the prospect of having to go up to London every day to get work there and I just couldn't face that. I loved Kent. 'Then I realised if the work was no longer enjoyable and you are not earning enough - then what was the point? However, the barrister has not yet ditched her gown and wig, she said - adding: 'You never know'. | Judith King spent 10 years defending clients in Canterbury, Kent .
But cuts to legal aid meant she could no longer pay household bills .
She was renting a 'tiny' house and running a 'tiny economical car'
She has moved 280 miles to open B&B in Yorkshire - which pays better .
'Government would like people to believe all lawyers are fat cats,' she said . |
134,776 | 3a537eebd3200a8064fae90dc1e663b85407bbe2 | (CNN) -- Ecuador's government says it has well-founded suspicions that a private security company bugged its London embassy. But Surveillance Group Limited, whose website boasts ties with British law enforcement agencies and European financial institutions, denied that accusation on Thursday. "We have this morning heard an accusation the source of which is apparently Ricardo Patino, the Ecuadorian foreign minister, suggesting that we have bugged the Ecuadorian Embassy. This is completely untrue," Timothy Young, the company's CEO, said in a written statement. "The Surveillance Group do not and have never been engaged in any activities of this nature. We have not been contacted by any member of the Ecuadorian government, and our first notification was via the press this morning." Patino told reporters Wednesday that Ecuador had "founded suspicions" that the British company was tied to a secret recording device discovered inside an electrical outlet in the ambassador's office last month. But he did not detail what led Ecuadorian authorities to suspect the company's involvement. The foreign minister called for British authorities to help investigate the incident. In addition to serving as an office for Ecuadorian officials abroad, the embassy has also been home for more than a year to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who received asylum from Ecuador in August and risks arrest if he leaves the property. The revelation comes amid worldwide debate over U.S. surveillance, including reports that the National Security Agency planted bugs in diplomatic offices. It also comes as Ecuador plays a key role in the global guessing game over the next steps for Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who is on the run after admitting that he leaked classified documents about U.S. surveillance programs. Snowden has asked for asylum from Ecuador and 20 other countries. Patino said on Wednesday that his country was still evaluating the request. Asked whether Assange's presence inside the Ecuadorian Embassy had opened the building to more risks, Patino acknowledged that the WikiLeaks founder's presence had brought greater attention to the embassy. "Surely, there are risks, yes ... but we are willing to run them when it comes to defending rights," he said. | CEO: Accusations that a company bugged Ecuador's embassy are "completely untrue"
Ecuador says a hidden recording device was found inside its London embassy .
The "spy microphone" was placed in an electrical outlet, the foreign minister says .
He calls for British authorities to assist in Ecuador's investigation . |
68,917 | c371010e476ae61c5ac1590d6496dfdffe336fb4 | Wearing his sister’s skirt to school certainly got Chris Whitehead noticed. Now it has also secured a nobler aim – and forced his school into a climbdown over its ban on shorts. Chris, 13, made headlines with his outrageous method of protest at being prevented from wearing shorts in hot weather. Skirting the issue: Chris Whitehead, pictured last year, has finally made a breakthrough against his school's uniform policy following his unusual protest . He brought national scrutiny to the uniform policy at Impington Village College, Cambridgeshire, when he turned up for lessons in a knee-length skirt last year. He claimed it was unfair that girls were allowed to wear skirts while boys were banned from wearing shorts. Forcing boys to wear long trousers during warm weather had a negative effect on their concentration, he argued. Around 30 friends joined him at the school gates to beg headteacher Robert Campbell to reconsider. They displayed banners reading ‘Cool Shorts Not Hot Pants’, ‘Shorts For The Long-term’ and ‘Boy’s Legs Deserve Better’, . Equality: Chris had argued it was unfair male pupils were made to wear trousers even in sweltering summer months . Yesterday Chris claimed victory after the school announced that boys would be allowed to wear shorts after half-term for the rest of the school year. The youngster, who hopes to become a politician, welcomed the decision but added: ‘It’s a shame that only a little has changed after such a long uniform review. It seems that the adults influenced the decision more than the students themselves.’ The 1,368-pupil school, which was classed as ‘good’ in its latest Ofsted inspection in 2006, imposed the shorts ban two years ago after a consultation with parents and teachers. Its code stated that students must wear ‘plain black tailored trousers or knee-length skirts without slits’ – but did not specify gender. This meant that while shorts were prohibited, boys were free to wear skirts as long as they were ‘free-moving, not tight against the legs’. Chris won support across the country, with Daybreak presenter Adrian Chiles donning a skirt in solidarity. The schoolboy was even named runner-up in Liberty’s human rights young person of the year competition in London. Yesterday his parents Brian Whitehead and Liz Hill said: ‘We hope that Chris’s campaign inspires other young people to take a stand for things they believe in. ‘In this case, he has won his campaign for shorts – if only for a trial period – but in the future there will no doubt be other more significant issues for him to engage with.’ | Chris Whitehead had protested against 'discriminatory' uniform rules .
School lifts ban on boys wearing shorts following his protest . |
221,788 | ab19484bee76551ba2243fbc53e2e7e13ba4af70 | An adult film producer was convicted on Friday of violating federal obscenity laws by selling movies depicting bestiality and extreme fetishes. The verdict ends a long-running legal saga that saw two mistrials, including one in which sexually explicit material was found on a personal website of the chief justice of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who was overseeing the case. Ira Isaacs, 60, was found guilty of five counts, including mailing obscene matter, his attorney Roger Diamond said. The jury at the Los Angeles trial took about two hours to reach its decision. Convicted: Ira Isaacs, left, with his attorney Roger Jon Diamond, poses outside the Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on June 9, 2008 . Isaacs could face a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years in prison. He remained free on bond pending his August 6 sentencing hearing. Federal prosecutors did not have an immediate comment about the verdict. Diamond said he and his client were disappointed but relieved the case is finally at an end. 'The government sometimes can wear you down,' Diamond said. Controversy: Isaacs' 2008 trial was halted after . it was reported appellate court judge Alex Kozinski had sexually explicit material on a personal website . Isaacs was indicted as part of an effort by a Bush administration task force to crack down on smut in the United States. The unit has since been disbanded. In March, jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, voting 10-2 in favor of a conviction on 10 counts. Isaacs' 2008 trial was halted after the Los Angeles Times reported Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, had sexually explicit material on a personal website. Among the questionable images was video of a man cavorting with a farm animal and a picture of nude women painted to look like cows. Kozinski recused himself and was admonished by a special committee of his colleagues for actions they deemed as poor judgment. He was presiding over the criminal case under a program in which appellate judges are assigned federal trials. At issue at the trial was whether the videos sold by Isaacs were obscene. The test hinged on a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held that a work is not legally obscene if it has 'literary, artistic, political or scientific value.' Jurors also were asked to decide whether the videos, some of which depicted fetishes involving feces, violated standards of what is acceptable to the community at large. In all three trials, jurors had to watch a series of explicit videos in entirety. Isaacs has maintained his work is an extreme but constitutionally protected form of art, but he hasn't been supported by others in the porn industry. 'He was determined to fight the case to vindicate the First Amendment, but the regular adult industry doesn't consider him to be part of it because they claim his material goes well beyond what is mainstream porno in California,' Diamond said. | Ira Isaacs, 60, found guilty on five counts, including mailing obscene matter .
Could face up to 20 years in prison .
Verdict ends long-running legal saga after four years . |
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